Vodafone Smart N9

Large, bright display ; Sharp design ; Relatively unadorned UI

Sluggish performance ; Very poor camera ; Considerable price bump from N8

The Vodafone Smart N9 impresses with its large display and sharp design, which seem to come from a much pricier model. However, poor performance and a terrible camera leave you in little doubt where it really stands.

Won’t find 18:9 screens on phones any cheaper ; Relatively stock version of Android ; Bargain price

MicroUSB charging (remember that?) ; Sluggish performance ; Basic, slow camera

The N9 is smart in name only: you don’t have to spend a whole lot more to get significantly more phone

Cheap ; Fingerprint reader ; Good quality display

Laggy UI ; Weak GPU ; Fiddly touch screen ; Battery life still poor

In short, the Vodafone Smart N9 is not a great smartphone and though more expensive, it isn’t any better than its cheaper forebear, the Smart N8, despite an updated MediaTek, bigger screen and slightly higher resolution.