We're currently in a space where smartphones are becoming more and more essential in our lives. With the launch of the Vodacom Smart 6, at its excellent price point, a smartphone is now within reach of even more South Africans.
The Smart 6 is designed to make the cost to connect more affordable. It's aimed at anyone who wants the advantages that come with having a smartphone, but without a high pricetag. It also comes with a range of awesome extras including 100MB a month for free for six months for prepaid customers plus free access to Vodacom's e-school portal.
Sure, it may not be able to compete with the top-of-the-range Samsung Galaxy S6, but it will open up a world of opportunities for first-time smartphone users who haven't been able to afford it before. Plus, connecting with Vodacom means that users will be able to enjoy South Africa’s best network with the fastest mobile internet.*
Design
Design-wise, the Smart 6 is well constructed, compact and good looking. More importantly it's comfortable in the hand. It's nicely rounded, with a clear 4-inch 480 x 800 pixel screen. The Smart 6 is available in a choice of black or white.
Specs
There is a headphone jack on the top, and a microUSB connector at the bottom. The back of the phone is removable so you can access the replaceable battery, the SIM and the memory card, the latter of which can be expanded up to an extra 32GB from the onboard 4GB memory. This is more than enough space to store music, videos and photos.
Processor-wise, you're looking at a 1.0GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor running Android 4.4 KitKat, which offers decent performance.
Apps
The Smart 6 comes with a host of Vodacom apps preinstalled, including music streaming service Deezer and Vodafone Protect, a custom anti-virus software powered by McAfee. You'll find a Smart Tips info app walking you through all the features of the Smart 6, so you'll know exactly how to use your phone. It also comes preinstalled with Vodacom e-school, My Vodacom and vouchercloud.
As this is an Android device, you'll be able to download any number of apps via the Google Play store such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, WeChat and Mxit. You'll also benefit from Google's suite of apps including Maps, Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos.
attery life
Battery life will easily last you a full day if you're using it in a reasonable manner – calls, texts, emails, perhaps a video or two. Like most smartphones, if you use it intensively you're going to need to charge earlier than the end of the day, but that isn't anything unusual. The Mediatek processor is designed to reduce battery drain as much as possible.
Camera
The Smart 6 has a 2MP rear-facing camera which will do the job for Facebook and social media. We recommend taking pictures in bright light conditions to get the best pictures. There's no front-facing camera on the Smart 6 which may annoy selfie addicts, but considering the price point, it's a compromise we're willing to accept.
The verdict
The Smart 6 is designed to do the basics well. If you're looking for a smartphone that gets the essentials right – calls, texts, instant messaging, social media and web browsing – then the Smart 6 is a fantastic choice. It's ideal for a first-time smartphone user.
Get the Vodacom Smart 6
The Smart 6 will be available from today and can be purchased on prepaid for R799 as well as on a range of packages, including the uChoose flexi 110 for R99 per month.
Prepaid customers who purchase the device and activate it on the Vodacom network will receive 100MB of data per month for free for the first six months.
The data allocation will take place every 30 days from activation, provided that the SIM card inserted at activation is still in the device.
This promotion will run until 30 November 2015.
The Smart 6 also comes with free access to Vodacom’s e-school portal and one week’s free access to gaming store Gameloft, as well as one free game.
Pricing on devices and plans are accurate at time of publishing on Vodacom now! and may change over time.
*T&Cs apply
