GADGET: The £12 smartphone is on the way this year

There’s no question that smartphones are expensive pieces of hardware, especially if you’re springing out for one of the latest and greatest blowers, such as the Samsung Galaxy S5, but even the modestly priced handsets, like Motorola’s Moto G, are still not affordable for everyone. We’ve seen smartphone prices come crashing down along with specs, but now chip maker ARM expects to see a $20 (£12) blower pop up in the next few months – fancy one of these?

According to a new report from Anandtech, ARM reckons that a fully-fledged smartphonecan be made for cheap as chips from just $20 (£12) in the next few months, making it even cheaper than the budget $25 (£15) Firefox OS smartphone that has popped up recently with reduced memory.

Of course, for that amount of cash, you’ll be looking at a seriously entry-level phone, but it would be running ARM’s own Cortex A5 processor along with Android – and that means you’ll be able to install all your favourite apps, and you won’t have to settle for basic feature phone specs and software.

While you won’t be seeing an iPhone hit that rockbottom price, ARM’s Cortex A5 processor actually runs faster than the original iPhone launched in 2007, which cost a whole lot more than £12 – but it’s unlikely you’ll see this entry level smartphone drop any lower in price: manufacturing limits will likely prevent scaling to drop below $20 (£12), but network subsidies could see the price drop even lower in the future – we’ll be sure you fill you in with the latest as soon as we hear it.

What do you think of the £12 smartphone? Do you think it’ll be good enough for you? Do you prefer a feature phone or are you happy forking out for an expensive smartphone? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!