Cheap Unlocked No-Contract Phones Rock The States

Do you like no-contract phones? How about no-contract phones that are unlocked? What about unlocked no-contract phones that are dirt cheap? I ask because according to a review written by ZDNET contributor Matthew Miller, the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 fits these specifications to a T! And unlike other no-contract phones, it actually performs well.

Case in point: It contains a large 6.1-inch display with a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution. Keep in mind that according to Apple, the 4-inch screen on the highly popular iPhone 5 smartphone is limited to a 1136 x 640 resolution. Also included right above the Mate’s display is a 5MP front-facing camera that hosts the capability “to capture panoramic selfies so you can capture yourself and your friends.” There’s also a 13MP rear-facing camera. Compare this to the iPhone’s 1.2MP and 8MP front and rear-facing cameras, respectively.

Another notable feature of this no-contract smartphone is a 3,900mAh battery that Miller claims “went for a day of heavy usage and multiple days with lighter usage.” Mind you, it also hosts a micro-USB port for charging. This is noticeable because micro-USB is the preferred charging option. It’s so popular that even airports and some airplanes come with USB charging ports.

Additional features include 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, as well as a microSD card slot, a SIM card slot and a quad-core 1.6GHz processor. Also, the Ascend Mate 2 functions off the Android 4.3 operating system. It should be mentioned that this places it behind newer phones, many of which operate off the Android 4.4 (“KitKat”) operating system.

Probably the most important factor to keep in mind is that, according to PC Magazine, this phone can operate off T-Mobile and AT&T’s GSM, UMTS, and 4G LTE networks:

“I tried it with a SIM from both carriers, both of which worked without issue and connected to the appropriate LTE networks.”

The multifunctional phone can also handle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. It’s pretty much a full-fledged smartphone. So then why is this unlocked no-contract phone so impressive? Digital Trends reports that it costs just $299.99. This pales in comparison to the vast majority of other unlocked phones, all of which retail for somewhere between $400 and $700. See the difference?

Other unlocked phones will likely catch up one day with the Ascend Mate 2, but for now, it may perhaps be the cheapest of all unlocked no-contract phones available on the market. And oh, it can also be used as a prepaid cell phone courtesy Straight Talk Wireless.

[Image via Google Images]