In recent years, the main MWC announcements have increasingly shifted in time. If earlier manufacturers raced to announce all their novelties on the first day, now the key novelties are shown two days before the start of the exhibition. This time the palm went to Alcatel, however, this does not mean that its announcements will be the most interesting.
At its event, Alcatel talked about the redesign of its logo and the abandonment of the One Touch brand. Now the company's smartphones will be called simply Idol. Actually, two new "idols" and a tablet on Windows 10 were shown.
- Class: flagship
- Form factor: monoblock
- Platform: Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 (MSM8952)
- Processor: octa-core
- RAM: 2/3 GB
- Storage: 16 GB, microSD card slot (supports 64 GB cards)
- Screen: 5.2'', capacitive, IPS-matrix, 1920x1080 pixels (FHD), automatic backlight level adjustment, oleophobic coating
- Camera: 13 MP, phase detection autofocus, dual LED flash
- Front camera: 8 MP, flash
- Battery: 2610 mAh
- Thickness: 6.9mm
- Price: 20,000 rubles
- Sales start: second quarter
The new smartphone plays in the middle segment, where it is already quite crowded from competitors. What does Idol 4 offer for 20,000 rubles? First, the appearance. The front and back of the smartphone are made of protected glass, while the lid shimmers beautifully in the light. The ends are made of aluminum, and the thickness of the device is only 6.9 mm.
The company separately praised a smart smartphone accelerometer that can rotate the image 360 degrees, while if you watch a movie or play, the stereo speakers of the device adapt to the new position and change channels.
The new Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chipset is responsible for performance. Interestingly, this time Alcatel did not use MediaTek models, apparently Qualcomm offered very good conditions. For the end user, this is only a plus, I personally liked the work of the 615th with FHD resolution, I think that its updated version will be at least as good.
A lot has been said about the camera. So, the main module has a phase autofocus and focuses in 0.15 seconds, and the front one has got a separate flash and learned how to take three-dimensional photographs. In essence, you rotate the camera around you, and in the end you get a three-dimensional selfie.
The company praised the sound of the new flagship, noting that the speakers were developed in collaboration with JBL. Alcatel also came up with a separate button that is responsible for improving the sound quality, display and other parameters of your smartphone in various usage scenarios. Press it in games - you get better graphics, while listening to music - better playback quality.
The start of sales in Russia will begin in the second quarter, the planned price is 20,000 rubles. It is too early to assess the prospects of this model, but now it has a number of serious competitors from Lenovo and Huawei, so the final conclusions about the attractiveness of the device can only be made after a full review.
- Class: flagship phablet
- Form factor: monoblock
- Body materials: aluminum and glass
- Platform: Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 (MSM8976)
- RAM: 3 GB
- Screen: 5.5'', capacitive, AMOLED-matrix, 2560x1440 pixels (QHD), automatic backlight level adjustment, oleophobic coating
- Camera: 16 MP, F2.0, sensor size 1/2.8
- Navigation: GPS/Glonass (A-GPS support)
- Battery: 3000 mAh
- Thickness: 6.9mm
- Price: 30,000-35,000 rubles
- Sales start: second quarter
The enlarged version of Idol 4 received the prefix "S", a larger display resolution, a different type of matrix and a larger battery capacity. Interestingly, the thickness of the model remained the same as that of the original "four", but the estimated price increased immediately by one and a half times! If the original Idol 4 is still interesting for its 20,000 rubles, then the price of 4s seems prohibitive to me, however, these data are only indicative so far.
Both models will come in four colors: silver, dark grey, gold and rose gold, just like the latest iPhones.
The presentation also talked about various accessories that come with extended versions of smartphones, but at the moment it is not known which of them will be officially sold with us and which will not. Among them, it is worth noting a branded headset from JBL, a VR helmet and a book case.
Tablet Alcatel Plus 10
- Class: middle
- Form factor: monoblock
- Platform: Intel Cherry Trail T3 Z8350
- RAM: 2 GB
- Screen: 10.1'', capacitive, IPS-matrix, 1280x800 pixels (HD), automatic backlight level adjustment, no oleophobic coating
- Mobile network: LTE in the keyboard
- Operating system: Windows 10
- Camera: 5 MP
- Front camera: 2 MP
- Navigation: GPS/Glonass (A-GPS support)
- Battery: 5830 mAh +2580 mAh (keyboard)
- Dimensions: 259.3 x 156.2 x 8.35mm
- Price: 25,000 rubles
- Sales start: second quarter
Alcatel's latest novelty is a Windows 10 tablet with a detachable keyboard that has its own built-in battery. An interesting feature of the keyboard is the presence of a slot for a SIM card. In addition, the keyboard can distribute the Internet from the connected SIM card, which is quite unusual for such a device. Of the other pluses, it is worth highlighting the two front stereo speakers located on the front side of the tablet. Otherwise, we have a typical transformer laptop, all the advantages and disadvantages of which we can already evaluate in a full review. Unfortunately, there was only one sample of the tablet at the presentation, and besides, without the necessary lighting, so below are the official photos of the device, and we will add live photos when we visit the company's booth.
Conclusion
Well, the series of articles from MWC 2016 has begun, although the exhibition has not yet opened. Follow the updates on the site, today we will delight you with new articles from the exhibition.
The field of activity of the French company Alcatel is the release of software, computer and telecommunications equipment, and the development of communication networks. For a long time, the company was not engaged in the production of telephones. Only in 2004, the division of this brand merged with the division of the well-known Chinese company TCL that produces this product. Thus, an enterprise called TCL & Alcatel Mobile Phone appeared, and the production of these devices in China began with it.
Since 2005, all Alcatel smartphones have been a product of TCT Mobile. Their products are of excellent quality among devices of a similar price category. They have a stylish design, pretty good performance, and with each new model they use more and more advanced new technologies. For example, the Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra phone is presented as the thinnest smartphone in the world at the moment.
In our online store you can buy an inexpensive Alcatel phone in Moscow. The model range of this brand in the catalog on the site begins with a ridiculous price - 590 rubles. Due to the fact that there are discounts in the store under a special bonus program, you have the opportunity to purchase a device with the necessary characteristics at a very low price. Also, quite often we have a variety of promotions, and there is a sale from the warehouse of various models.
Alcatel / Alcatel is a well-known brand in Russia for its smartphones and push-button phones. Initially, Alcatel was a French company, but in 2005, the Chinese company TCL (which is one of the top ten smartphone manufacturers in the world) bought the rights to the Alcatel brand and began to produce smartphones under this name. In 2006, Alcatel merged with the American company Lucent. The combined company, Alcatel-Lucent, operated primarily in the telecommunications industry. In 2017, Alcatel-Lucent was acquired by the Finnish company Nokia and ceased to exist. Thus, today the Alcatel brand is a Chinese brand owned by TCL. Therefore, Alcatel smartphones currently being produced have the same advantages as other Chinese smartphones, namely an excellent price-quality ratio.
8 Alcatel Pixi 4 (4) 4034D - Alcatel's most popular smartphone
The average price in Russia is 2,700 rubles. The model, which appeared in 2016, scored 49% of fives in reviews. According to Yandex-Market, this is the most popular model in the Alcatel catalog. In addition, one of the cheapest (only a couple of models on ancient versions of Android are cheaper). Specifications: 4-inch screen with a resolution of 800x480, Android 6.0 operating system, 4 GB of built-in (2 GB available to the user) and 512 MB of RAM, there is a slot for a memory card up to 32 GB. Dual SIM support. 3G support. Main camera 3.2 MP with LED flash. Front camera 2 MP. Battery capacity 1500 mAh. Battery life in talk mode 7 hours, standby time 12.5 days. 4-core processor MediaTek MT6580M. Housing made of plastic.
7 Alcatel U5 5044D - cheap smartphone with 4G LTE support
The average price in Russia is 5,200 rubles. The novelty of 2019 has not yet received reviews in Yandex Market. Specifications: 5-inch screen with a resolution of 854x480, Android 6.0 operating system, 8 GB of built-in and 1 GB of RAM, there is a slot for a memory card. Support for two SIM cards. 4G LTE support. Main camera 5 MP with built-in flash. Front camera 2 MP. Battery capacity 2050 mAh. Battery life in talk mode 30 hours, standby time 20 days. 4-core processor MediaTek MT6737. Housing made of plastic.
6 Alcatel PIXI 4(6) 8050D - Alcatel phone with the largest screen
The average price in Russia is 6,000 rubles. The model, which appeared in 2016, scored 69% of fives according to reviews in Yandex Market. Specifications: 6-inch screen with a resolution of 960x540, Android 5.1 operating system, 8 GB of built-in and 1 GB of RAM, there is a slot for a memory card up to 64 GB. Support for two SIM cards. 3G support. Main camera 8 MP with LED flash and autofocus. Front camera 5 MP. Battery capacity 2580 mAh. 4-core processor MediaTek MT8321. Housing made of plastic.
5 Alcatel A3 5046D
The average price in Russia is 8,000 rubles. The novelty of 2019 has not yet received reviews in Yandex Market. Specifications: 5-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x720, Android 6.0 operating system, 16 GB of built-in and 1.5 GB of RAM, there is a slot for a memory card up to 32 GB. Support for two SIM cards. 4G LTE support. Main camera 13 MP with LED flash. Front camera 5 MP. Battery capacity 2460 mAh. 4-core processor MediaTek MT6737. There is a fingerprint scanner. Housing made of plastic.
4 Alcatel Shine Lite
The average price in Russia is 8,300 rubles. The model, which appeared at the end of October 2017, scored very good reviews in Yandex Market - 82% of fives. Specifications: 5-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x720, Android 6.0 operating system, 16 GB of built-in (9.5 GB available to the user) and 2 GB of RAM, there is a slot for a memory card up to 128 GB. Single SIM support. 4G LTE support. Main camera 13 MP with LED flash and autofocus. Front camera 5 MP. Battery capacity 2460 mAh. Battery life in talk mode 20 hours, standby time 19 days. 4-core processor MediaTek MT6737. There is a fingerprint scanner. Body made of glass and metal.
3 Alcatel POP 4S
The average price in Russia is 8,650 rubles. The model, which appeared in 2017, scored 50% of fives according to reviews in Yandex Market. Specifications: 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920x1080, Android 6.0 operating system, 16 GB of built-in and 2 GB of RAM, there is a slot for a memory card up to 64 GB. Support for two SIM cards. 4G LTE support. Main camera 13 MP with LED flash and autofocus. Front camera 5 MP. Battery capacity 2960 mAh. Battery life in talk mode 15 hours, standby time 21 days. 8-core processor MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755). There is a fingerprint scanner.
2 Alcatel IDOL 4
The average price in Russia is 14,000 rubles. The model, which appeared in 2017, scored 65% of fives according to reviews in Yandex Market. Specifications: 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1920x1080, Android 6.0 operating system, 16 GB of built-in (12.3 GB available to the user) and 3 GB of RAM, there is a slot for a memory card up to 128 GB. Support for two SIM cards. 4G LTE support. Main camera 13 MP with LED flash and autofocus. Front camera 8 MP. Battery capacity 2610 mAh. Battery life in talk mode 15 hours, standby time 21 days. Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 MSM8952 octa-core processor.
1 Alcatel Idol 4S - smartphone with virtual reality glasses included
The average price in Russia is 20,000 rubles. Moreover, for this price you will receive virtual reality glasses, which are included in the kit. The flagship Alcatel, which appeared in the spring of 2017, scored 65% of fives according to reviews in Yandex Market. Specifications: 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 2560x1440, Android 6.0 operating system, 32 GB of built-in (25 GB available to the user) and 3 GB of RAM, there is a slot for a memory card up to 512 GB. Single SIM support. 4G LTE support. Main camera 16 MP with LED flash and autofocus. Front camera 8 MP. Battery capacity 3000 mAh. Battery life in talk mode 13 hours, standby time 17.5 days. Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 MSM8976 octa-core processor. There is no fingerprint scanner.
The Alcatel brand, whose phones were popular in ancient times, is now owned by the Chinese TCL, also known as the manufacturer of Thomson TVs. Despite the fact that the former big name is long gone, the brand is not forgotten, and the company regularly presents new smartphones. At the MWC 2018 exhibition in Barcelona, the manufacturer brought three lines of smartphones under the Alcatel brand at once.
All devices are designed for a wide audience and are equipped with screens of the popular 18:9 format. The junior device is Alcatel 1X, which belongs to the ultra-budget price category and is equipped with entry-level hardware. The Alcatel series includes three inexpensive smartphones at once: Alcatel 3, 3V and 3X. Alcatel 5 became the most expensive of the presented devices. The release date of new Alcatel smartphones is scheduled for March 2018.
The youngest of the new products is the ultra-budget Alcatel 1X. This smartphone is designed for unpretentious buyers looking for an affordable device with an 18:9 screen. The diagonal of its display is 5.3", and the resolution is only 960x480 pixels, which gives a picture clarity of 203 PPI. Very modest, as for 2018, when even $ 70 devices are equipped with HD screens. The price of Alcatel 1X for Europe is 100 euros , for Russia, the recommended price tag is 6500 rubles.
The smartphone is based on the new MediaTek MT6739 chipset, equipped with 4 cores and PowerVR GE8100 graphics. RAM on board 1 or 2 GB, the drive holds 16 GB, there is also a slot for a flash drive. The resolution of the main camera is 8 or 13 megapixels, and the front one is 5 megapixels. At the same time, both cameras are equipped with flashes. A 2460 mAh battery is responsible for the autonomy of the device. Works Alcatel 1X running Android 8 Go Edition.
Specifications Alcatel 3
The next model, Alcatel 3, has a more advanced set of features. This smartphone received a 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of HD + 1440x720, with a pixel density of 293 PPI. For Europe, the price of Alcatel 3 is set at around 150 euros, and for Russia the price tag is almost 9 thousand rubles.
The basis of the smartphone is the MEdiaTek MT6739 chipset, the RAM on board is 2 GB, and the storage capacity is 16 GB. There is also a microSD slot. The main camera has a resolution of 13 megapixels, supports phase detection autofocus, is equipped with a flash. There is every reason to believe that the photographic module is similar to those previously installed in the budget Meizu and Xiaomi. There is a 5 megapixel camera on the front, it is also equipped with an LED flash.
Autonomous operation of the smartphone is provided by a 3000 mAh battery. This is not very much, but, looking ahead, it is worth noting that things are better here than with other new products. After all, they are equipped with similar batteries, but they have large screens, and therefore 3000 mAh is frankly not enough for them. Alcatel 3 is running Android 8. One version of the device has NFC, but it is not known whether it will be officially sold in the Russian Federation.
Specifications Alcatel 3X
Alcatel 3X is also equipped with a screen with a resolution of HD 1440x720, but its diagonal is 5.7", which is why the pixel density is lower and equal to 282 PPI. sold at a price of 10 thousand rubles.
The novelty works on the same MT6739 chip, but it has more memory. In addition to the basic version with 2/16 GB, there is also a version with 3 GB of RAM plus 32 GB of permanent memory. The device supports memory cards and OTG drives. For taking photos in Alcatel 3X, a dual camera is responsible, with matrices of 13 and 5 megapixels. The resolution of the front module is 5 megapixels, there is a flash both in front and behind.
As mentioned above, Alcatel 3X is also equipped with a 3000 mAh battery. Like model 3, NFC is declared in the older modification, which is rare in the price category up to $200. Despite the hardware identical to Alcatel 3, for some reason, the smartphone has an older Android 7 Nougat system, and not 8 Oreo.
Characteristics of Alcatel 3V
Alcatel 3V differs from all presented novelties, first of all, by its display. It has a diagonal of 6 "and a resolution of 2160x1080 (402 PPI). The price of this smartphone is set at around 190 euros. In Russia, you can buy Alcatel 3V for 10,990 rubles.
It is very interesting that the novelty for some reason works on the basis of the MT8735A chipset, designed for tablets. After all, firstly, the device still belongs to a slightly different class, and secondly, this chip is a little outdated. RAM on board 2 GB, the drive holds 16 or 32 GB, there is a slot for a flash drive. Also, the smartphone in version 5099Y supports NFC. The novelty is running Android 8.
The main camera in Alcatel 3V is also double, but it is based on other matrices than Alcatel 3X. The main sensor is 12 MP 1 / 2.8", similar to that used in Xiaomi or, and the auxiliary sensor is 2 MP. The front camera is 5 MP, with LED flash. The Alcatel 3V battery capacity is 3000 mAh.
Specifications Alcatel 5
Closes the list of new smartphones Features Alcatel, shown at MWC, model number 5. An interesting feature of the device is a frameless design on three sides, combined with a fairly wide strip above the screen. Such a step can be very convenient in terms of ergonomics. After all, the lower the display is set, the more convenient it is to get your finger to its upper part, and from above you still need a place for cameras, a speaker, etc.
The Alcatel 5 screen has a size of 5.7", and its resolution is 1440x720. That is, the more expensive device received a lower resolution than the lower model. But 282 PPI is not bad, the picture should be clear enough for average eyes. In EU countries the device will cost about 230 euros, and in Russia you can buy Alcatel 5 for 12,990 rubles.
If in Alcatel 3V the chipset surprised me a bit, then here it rather upset me. Of course, the MT6750 installed in the Alcatel 5 is more powerful than the MT8735, but it is just as old and already weak for a $200+ device. Due to the rather old chipset, the device received not the most recent Android 7.1 OS. The RAM in the gadget is 2 or 3 GB, and the storage capacity is 16 or 32 GB. The older model is equipped with an NFC module.
The main camera of Alcatel 5 is the same as the 3V, but single, without an auxiliary matrix. But a dual module is installed in front, with sensors of 13 and 5 megapixels. A notable feature of the front camera are pixels enlarged to 1.4 microns. The battery of the novelty has the already mentioned capacity of 3000 mAh, but a USB Type C port is provided for charging it, while other novelties received the old MicroUSB.
Conclusion
The new Alcatel smartphones presented at MWC 2018 leave a mixed impression. The youngest of them is an ultra-budget, of which there are many on the market, but it will fit well as the first smartphone for a child or a pensioner. The advantage over the Chinese, who are a couple of tens of dollars cheaper, is the availability of a guarantee in Russia. So the device, although very modest, but it has a potential audience.
The Alcatel 3 line pleases with dual cameras in some models, the presence of NFC. But the hardware component there is not the most powerful, the batteries are not very large. These are smartphones for those who need an inexpensive device with modern features (like a dual camera or an 18:9 screen), but iron details are not important. If you need power, there are many competitors.
Alcatel 5 leaves the most positive. Despite the HD screen and two-year-old chipset, it is really interesting both in terms of layout and other features. It will certainly be of interest to fans of mobile photography, selfie fans, as well as those who are looking for a convenient and inexpensive device.
You will also like:
Alcatel A3 XL is out, a new budget smartphone with a huge 6-inch display
Alcatel introduced three midrangers: Idol 5S, A50 and A30 Plus
