EE's Harrier and Harrier Mini provide 4G and Wi-Fi calling on a budget

EE's 5.2-inch Harrier and 4.7-inch Harrier Mini come with Android Lollipop and very affordable prices.

Andrew Lanxon Editor At Large, Lead Photographer, Europe

Andrew is CNET's go-to guy for product coverage and lead photographer for Europe. When not testing the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.

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Andrew Lanxon

April 22, 2015 4:01 p.m. PT

2 min read

EE is introducing two new bird-themed phones to its aviary of mid-priced mobiles. The Harrier has a 5.2-inch, full HD screen and a 13-megapixel camera, and the Harrier Mini is a 4.7-inch phone with an 8-megapixel camera.

The Harrier will be available on pay as you go for £200, or free on a range of contracts starting at £22 per month. Its little brother costs £100 on pay as you go and is free on contracts from £17 per month. Both phones will be available online and in EE stores from 28 April.

Features

The Harrier is unquestionably cheap, but you do still get a decent amount of kit for your money. It runs the latest Android Lollipop software and it's powered by an octa-core processor. The 1,920x1,080-pixel display resolution is very welcome at this price, where I'd typically expect to see lower 720p resolutions.

The Mini meanwhile comes with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, which should be more than enough to handle your essential Instagramming, and like its pricier sibling, it also has Lollipop on board. Both phones will be able to make use of EE's newly launched Wi-Fi calling service, which lets you make calls using a Wi-Fi connection, rather than cellular signal.

Both phones have fairly plain, albeit functional designs, with brushed-effect plastic back panels and gold rings around the camera lens to add just a touch of flair.

I'll be going hands-on with both devices early next week, when I'll be putting the processors, cameras and batteries through their paces to see what these budget blowers have to offer. EE already has a solid entry-level phone in the form of the Kestrel . Its slim design and decent all-round specs represent good value for only £100 on pay as you go. I'm interested to see what the Harrier Mini offers over the same-priced Kestrel.

Outlook

While neither the Harrier or Harrier Mini will appeal to those of you looking for the most cutting-edge mobile around, both phones seem to pack in enough kit to tackle your everyday essentials with aplomb, and don't ask for much cash in return. Stay tuned for full reviews soon.