Alcatel has taken the wraps off a new phablet — the A3 XL — which is targeted at budget-conscious buyers at the CES 2017.
On Thursday, Jan. 5, the China-based OEM debuted the colossal handset which is part of the company's "A" series lineup of devices. The A3 XL is the first handset in this new "premium" series, which attempts to marry functionality with affordability effectively.
Alcatel revealed that the A3 XL is targeted at consumers who are constantly on the move. Thanks to the smartphone's massive 6-inch screen, the A3 XL will make a great companion for those who like to read or watch movies on their handset.
"Our audience are those who really live on-the-go, are creative, socially active and are highly engaged with their communities of friends, family and work colleagues. The new Alcatel A3 XL enables them to watch the best HD movies and get an all-round fabulous multimedia experience, including gaming that involves high-volume data transfer. In short, it gives them a lot of bang for their buck. They will enjoy it," revealed Vittorio Di Mauro, SVP Smart Connectivity Division, Alcatel.
The Alcatel A3 XL has a mammoth 6-inch HD IPS display and is 7.9mm thick. However, despite the big screen, the device only boasts a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, which may disappoint many consumers. Whether the Alcatel smartphone will be able to live up to the company's assertions of a fantastic multimedia experience based on these specs is circumspect.
Under the hood, the device houses a quad-core MediaTek MT8735B quad-core CPU, which clocks in at a paltry 1.1 GHz and 1 GB of RAM.
The 4G LTE-capable handset also sports an 8-megapixel primary camera, as well as a 5-megapixel front-facing snapper. The handset offers 8 GB of on-board storage, which can be expanded to an additional 32 GB via a microSD card.
The A3 XL is fuelled by a 3000 mAh battery; however, the talk time support offered is not known at this juncture.
The A3 XL may be a budget handset but it boasts a fingerprint sensor — a feature which may find favor with consumers. The phablet will also come preloaded with the latest Android 7.0 Nougat operating system.
Release
Alcatel intends to release the A3 XL in Q1 2017 in Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Consumers in Europe would be able to lay their hands on the phablet in Q2 2017. Whether the A3 XL will be released in the United States is not known.
Alcatel has not revealed the price of the A3 XL and since it is targeted at budget-conscious buyers, consumers would hope that the company lives up to its promise and keeps the device affordable.
