At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, popular budget OEM Alcatel unveiled a whopping five new devices as part of its newest smartphone portfolio, and it's announced just now that two of them are heading stateside.
The Alcatel 1X and 3V are shipping to the United States soon, with the 1X being one of the very first devices to run Android Go, Google's stripped-down mobile operating system that's guaranteed to work on low-spec'd hardware.
Alcatel 1X Is A Budget Android Go Phone
Make no mistake: the 1X isn't exactly winning any points in the aesthetic department. It also won't hold a candle to 2018 knockouts the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S9, Nokia's new phones, the Asus ZenFone 5, and others. At under $100, this is clearly targeted at consumers who need a workable phone but aren't willing to pay hundreds of dollars for features they don't need.
No surprise, then, that the phone is a bit lacking in certain areas. But surprisingly, its specs still look pretty decent regardless. For starters, it runs Oreo, the latest version of Android. It's also got a fingerprint scanner, a rarity in budget phones. Its 5.3-inch screen has a ratio of 18:9, though the resolution is just 960 x 480. Alcatel says the 1X is the first $100 phone to sport an 18:9-inch screen, which is commonly found on higher-end devices like the LG V30.
Alcatel 1X Performance
As The Verge reported in February, the Alcatel 1X was expectedly not at all that impressive, but it was still remarkable because it offers so much for such a low price. However, Android Authority noted in its hands-on that the phone proved sluggish at times.
"Loading the recent apps takes a noticeable moment and there are frequent instances of lag when scrolling through the app drawer or through a webpage."
Alcatel 1X And 3V Release Date
Alcatel didn't give an exact release schedule for the 1X, but said it will be launching in "the coming months," and so will the 3V, which still doesn't have a price point yet but will probably retail for around $200. The 3V is a much more feature-packed phone than its 1X sibling, complete with an improved display and dual rear cameras. Unlike the 1X, it'll run the standard version of Android Oreo, not the Android Go edition.
Both the 1X and 3V will be available unlocked, so they'll work on different U.S. carriers. Thoughts about the device? Sound off in the comments section below!
