Aspera has the distinction of being a fully Australian-owned mobile phone brand.
The company produces a range of very affordable smartphones, feature phones and models that are designed specifically for rugged Australian conditions.
What to consider when choosing an Aspera phone
Aspera may not be touted to the extent of Samsung or Apple, but if you're keen to find an affordable mobile phone with just the key features, this Australian brand is definitely worth considering.
It's essential to have a good grasp of what you need from a mobile phone before you buy. This is especially important when selecting an Aspera model, as they're available in a range of choices in both the smartphone and feature phone categories. Smartphones provide a range of features and versatility, while feature phones have much more basic capability, though usually at a lower price point.
To simplify the task of comparing Aspera's range of handsets, and to ensure you choose the Aspera phone that best meets your budget and needs, listed below are the main details you need to consider.
Aspera's product lines are split between Android and feature-phone devices, and there's a gulf between the two in terms of internal storage. The Android models have 8GB or 16GB of onboard storage, which is relatively low even in budget terms. They do support microSD memory card expansion, but again, only up to relatively low limits of typically no more than 32GB.
Feature-phone storage is even more constrained, typically only 128MB. However, if you go with a feature phone, your need for storage beyond contacts information isn't likely to be all that high. Feature phone contact lists generally only take up a few kb of data each, so unless your social diary is literally filled with hundreds of thousands of people, you shouldn't have a problem. As with the Androids, microSD expansion is possible for most models, up to a maximum of 32GB.
Aspera's Android phone displays are at the smaller end of the scale, measuring between 4 and 5 inches diagonally, and have no more than HD resolution. That's quite low even in the budget space, where it's increasingly common to find Full HD displays at 5 inches and above.
Feature phones by nature don't require as much screen real estate as smartphones, so you can expect much smaller displays, typically in the 2 to 3-inch size range.
Aspera's phones are made with budget in mind, so that they're more affordable for end users.
They're primarily priced for the prepaid market, and most sell for between $100 and $200. The most expensive rugged smartphone models peak at $399, but these lie outside Aspera's general price range. Cost is clearly a key selling point, so if you're after a budget phone, it's worth considering Aspera alongside other budget competitor brands such as Alcatel, Kogan, Huawei, ZTE and Nokia.
There's a trend in the smartphone space, especially for premium handsets, to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack, in return for other features such as improved battery capacity or better camera capabilities.
Aspera is bucking the trend, and all its handsets feature standard headphone jacks. This includes the rugged and water-resistant models, though you may have to grapple with waterproof seals to get at the headphone socket if you do need wired audio.
There's not a lot to say about Aspera's phone security model as the reality is there isn't that much to it. It's selling Android 7.0 phones in 2019, which means it's already substantially behind the times when it comes to core Android security. Neither are there any authentication methods such as fingerprint readers on the Android smartphones. This may once have been a feature only found in premium smartphones, but it's super-common today, even in budget phones, so this is very much a weakness in Aspera's offerings.
The cameras in Aspera's handsets have very average specifications, tending towards low-key even for budget models. The Android smartphone cameras are better than those of the feature phones, but on the whole they only have a 5-megapixel sensor. Megapixel count isn't the be-all and end-all of camera quality, but when the competition manages 8MP sensors or better, the chances of crisp photography are not high.
The story for the feature phones is even more stark; their camera sensors are a low 0.3MP and will reproduce the world in a rather grainy fashion, even in the best situations. Again, if this isn't a feature that's important to you, it shouldn't be troublesome.
The phones cover all the typical bands of Australia's mobile networks, with a range of support for 2G, 3G and in selected models 4G connectivity, although Aspera doesn't publish category speeds for any of its handsets.
While network speed is more than just a function of phone category speeds, they do provide a ceiling on the performance you're likely to see. A 3G-only phone will obviously run more slowly than one that can support 4G signals. Just in case you weren't aware, there's no point fussing about 2G signal speeds in Australia any more, although it is a feature that may come in handy in some countries if you're travelling internationally any time soon.
All Aspera's phones are single-SIM only.
If you're interested in learning more about the real performance of a given phone category speed, read our complete guide to network category speeds.
As all the phones sit in the budget category, you can't really expect wireless charging capabilities just yet. However, the smaller battery capacity of many of the handsets means you shouldn't have to wait too long for your phone to charge.
Aspera doesn't publish expected battery life figures for its smartphones. Most of them come with a battery capacity of between 1400mAh to 2200mAh, which is quite small by modern phone standards, even for budget buys. One small saving grace is that because the phones are built with low-power Mediatek processors, they simply can't run fast enough to exhaust their battery too quickly. Still, their overall battery capacity sits low in the budget category.
The feature phones are also a little low on battery size. You won't get much more than 1200mAh even on the most "powerful" models. However, the lower usage profile of its feature phones makes this less of a concern. If you're only taking and making calls or sending the odd text, a low-power battery will last a lot longer.
Selected models of Aspera's phones are among the few left in the market that support removable batteries. If you like being able to swap out a new battery on a handset, this is definitely a key differentiator.
In the budget arena it's very rare to see any level of water resistant design that's actually been tested, but Aspera has an entire range of handsets, both smartphones and feature phones, with IP-rated water resistance features.
All of Aspera's rugged phones feature an IP67 protection level for water resistance, which means they can be submerged in up to 1 metre of water for up to 30 minutes. That doesn't make them scuba-suitable phones or anything of the sort, and it's always worth keeping in mind that IP tests are performed in clean lab water. Still, if you work in some of Australia's least hospitable environments and want an affordable handset option, Aspera has a phone that fits.
Aspera's phones are built to a very low cost point, around Mediatek's very affordable processors and with low levels of onboard RAM. We're yet to put Aspera's latest phones through their paces, but even from a specifications level we can see they're not going to be strong performers even in the budget space. While there is an element of "getting what you pay for", Aspera's competitors tend to push the features of a budget handset a little harder.
Looking for an Aspera phone on a plan?
As Aspera's phones are sold as budget models, they're mostly sold on an outright basis, and then you can pair them up with a low-cost prepaid mobile plan. Singular models do sometimes crop up with selected providers, but at this kind of price point there isn't much point in signing a contract. You're going to save more and have more flexibility if you buy your Aspera handset outright and match it up with a flexible prepaid plan.
Check out the table below to compare postpaid SIM-only plans:
A multi-award winning journalist, Alex has written about consumer technology for over 20 years. He has written and edited for virtually every Australian tech publication including Gizmodo, CNET, PC Magazine, Kotaku and more. He has also been the Editor of Gizmodo Australia, PC Mag Australia, CNET.com.au and the Tech and Telco section at Finder. Alex has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England and a serious passion for retro gaming.
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