Quad Band Phones – A Feature Comparison Of The Top 3 Quad Band Handsets

GSM phones, or quad band phones, are able to access four different GSM bands: 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz. With quad band technology, your mobile is able to work on any network in Europe or the Americas.

Taking a phone overseas used to mean losing service in certain areas, or buying a separate satellite phone which was rather pricey and not part of the regular phone plan. Every country has at least one GSM network, meaning this type of phone is going to be supported no matter where it is.

Who Makes a Good Quad band Phone for Work?

The BlackBerry Curve 9320 is a strong competitor as always, and a business favourite. With proprietary software, BlackBerry is able to streamline their handset to work perfectly with a whole slew of customisable apps. Whereas the HTC One has a large, impressive touch screen, the Curve focuses its energies more on allowing users to type out messages efficiently on a physical keyboard.

With the Curve, users have access to GPS support, including Geo-tagging photographs and the ability to run navigational apps. For hands-free operation, the Curve keeps up with its competitors, offering voice dial, voice memos and voice activation.

The Curve retails for a wallet-saving £99, and even fits neatly into pockets at a mere 103g. By opting for a contract, phone buyers can save even more money by letting the carrier give them the phone at no additional cost.

Who Wants a Free BlackBerry Curve?

The answer to this question should be “everyone.” For everyone interested in a smart quad band work phone with a sharp camera and physical keyboard, the Curve comes free with the signing of a contract with O2. For £27 a month for 24 months, O2 gives customers:

• a free BlackBerry Curve
• £338 cashback
• Unlimited talk time
• Unlimited text messaging
• 1 GB of data

For those who would care to spend less on the monthly plan and still receive a free phone, Vodafone is offering a deal for £11 a month for 24 months that comes with:

• A free BlackBerry Curve
• 100 talk-time minutes
• 5000 text messages
• Unlimited data

HTC One

HTC has a competitor for BlackBerry in the quad band market, and its name is simply, “One.” The One comes complete with a full 252 PPI, a noticeable difference from the 164 PPI of the Curve. Add to that more battery life (3.45% more power) and 5x higher resolution and the figures speak for themselves: the One is simply more about display and leaving the phone unplugged for a couple of days than the Curve is.

With a display size 1.54 times bigger than the Curve, 3.50 GB more of internal memory and 2.92 times better download speed, the One is clearly a more marketable entertainment device than the Curve is. Let us look at available apps, as this is where we can really see what these two handsets are all about.

The One has over 1 million apps available for download. Compare that to 105,000 for the Curve and again, this phone is more about being on the front lines of display and entertainment than about serious business application.

Another feature of the One that the Curve does not have is Word Wrap. This enables the One to zoom in on a document in the browser and view it without the user needing to scroll horizontally. Yes, we are that spoiled that only vertical scrolling is acceptable, at least most of the time.

A Free HTC One, You Say?

Indeed, deals are available on this fabulous little smartphone which make phone operators want to give it to you for free. Vodafone offers one of the most comprehensive free HTC One deals to be had. For £29 a month during a 24 month contract, users receive the following:

• A free HTC One
• Unlimited talk time minutes
• Unlimited texts
• 1 GB of data per month

Samsung Galaxy S4

Samsung enters the top-tier quad band mobile market with the Galaxy S4, their answer to the top-level mobile market. The Android OS is rock solid, and with an even bigger screen than the One (6.38% to be exact), 4.30 GB/s higher memory to access data even faster, and an even thinner device by 1.40 mm, the Galaxy S4 can operate on all four GSM bands and do it in style.

A few features that will not be obvious at first, but are pretty important when you use them both, involve the battery. First, the Galaxy permits removal of the battery for replacement whereas the One has a permanent battery fitted. Second, the Galaxy offers wireless charging without the need for external devices attached to the phone.

Even the camera on the Galaxy has been designed to be top of the line, with 13 MP. Compare that with the 4 MP of the adequate camera on the HTC One or the similarly equipped 3.2 MP camera on the BlackBerry Curve.

Again, a battery power jump when you choose Samsung’s Galaxy over HTC’s One, with an extra 13% more battery power at 2600 mAh. This means longer lasting talk time as well as stand-by time before the need to plug the mobile in becomes inevitable.

Yes, but are there any free Galaxy S4s?

The answer is yes, so there is no need for you to run out of cash purchasing the Galaxy outright. Instead, opt for a contract and you will have all the phone you crave while holding onto your wallet as tightly as you can.

Vodafone again offers some of the most comprehensive deals around, and for the slightly staggering monthly price of £38 a month, Vodafone is offering customers:

• A free Samsung Galaxy S4
• Sky Sports Mobile TV or Spotify Premium
• Unlimited talk time minutes
• Unlimited text messages
• 2 GB of data

Each of these three phones has its strengths as a quad band bad-boy. From most sensible to most outrageous, the BlackBerry Curve, HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 offer a line-up that will serve anyone looking to travel with their mobile enough choices, at least for this year.

Phil Turner wanted a mobile which would work on any network whilst travelling in Europe so he looked up quad band phones on comparison websites like uSwitch.