Alcatel becomes the first brand to launch a phone running Android Oreo (Go Edition). Dubbed Alcatel 1X, the phone was launched right before MWC 2018 and comes pre-loaded with Android 8.1 Oreo, becoming one of the first devices in the entry-level segment to get the latest Android version. The company has announced the phone’s price to be €100 (~$123/₹7,956) and it comes with some basic specifications. Besides this budget phone, Alcatel also announced four other phones under its 3 and 5 series.
Alcatel 1X
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To start with, the Alcatel 1X has an 18:9 display measuring 5.3 inches with a 480 x 960 pixels resolution. The company has used a quad-core chipset from MediaTek that is coupled with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory with an option to get a 2GB RAM variant. While the phone takes in a microSD card, a fingerprint scanner is also present on the phone’s back, which may not be available in some regions.
The phone will get either a 13MP or an 8MP rear camera, again depending on the region. Either of them will support video recording at 1080p along with Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) and a 5MP camera on the front. It has a 2,460mAh battery with an optional dual-SIM variant that costs €110, against €100 of the single-SIM variant. Alcatel will start shipping the phone starting April.
Alcatel 3-series
Alcatel launched three smartphones under its 3-series – Alcatel 3V, Alcatel 3X, and Alcatel 3. Of these, the Alcatel 3V offers the biggest and the sharpest display with a 6-inch IPS panel with n FHD+ resolution. It has 2GB of RAM offers an internal storage of 16/32GB which are expandable via microSD card. It features a MediaTek MT87365A processor and a 3,000mah battery.
It offers two cameras at the with 12MP + 2MP resolution that have an f/2.2 aperture and support EIS. There is a front-facing 5MP camera coupled with an LED flash. It runs the Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, without Android Go. Alcatel has priced that phone at €190 (~$234/₹15,116) and is available for purchase immediately, though only in some markets.
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On the other hand, the Alcatel 3X has a 5.7-inch HD+ (1440 x 720) display and has the same 3,000mAh battery. It is powered by a MediaTek MT6739 quad-core processor, runs Android Nougat, and has 3GB of RAM with 32GB of internal storage in the top variant, while the base one gets 2GB of RAM and 16GB storage. The phone boasts dual 13MP + 5MP rear cameras with EIS and a 5MP selfie camera. It will cost €180 (~$221/₹14,321) when it is made available next month.
The cheapest of the three, Alcatel 3 shares the processor with the Alcatel 3X along with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, however, it gets Android 8.0 Oreo onboard. The screen size and resolution are the same and so is the battery capacity. The Alcatel 3 has a single 13MP rear camera and costs €150 (~$184/₹11,934). All the three phones under the Alcatel 3-series offer a display aspect ratio of 18:9.
Alcatel 5
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While looking the most premium of them all, the Alcatel 5 settles for a 5.7-inch display with an HD+ resolution. For the internals, the phone comes powered by a MediaTek MT6750 SoC and offers two RAM and storage variant – 2GB + 16GB and 3GB + 32GB. The phone gets a single 12MP camera for the back while there are two cameras on the front with 13MP and 5MP resolutions and they also have EIS and an LED flash.
The Alcatel 5 will come powered by Android Nougat and offers a battery capacity of 3,000mAh. It has a fingerprint scanner that sits on the back, right below the camera. The phone supports dual SIM cards and will be available in certain markets right away. The company has priced it at €230 (~$283/₹18,299).
See our full MWC 2018 coverage here.
