This may be the best year ever for Alcatel in Australia – not just because the world has changed and perhaps our focus is on being more conservative with our spending, but because the Alcatel product offering for 2020 looks to be their best yet.
It may seem strange to say this, but just the overwhelming presence of high-quality product photos and specifications at launch gives you a reason to really have confidence in this product range and shows how highly Alcatel regard these products.
And while the specs may scream “Mid-tier” that $499 price point or there abouts is for Alcatel’s sister brand TCL – the three phones announced today by Alcatel sit under $200. All three of them.
The range is topped off by the Alcatel 3L which has a triple-rear camera system and a 6.22 inch screen.
Sam Skontos from Alcatel isn’t holding back when he calls it the “best bang for your buck smartphone” telling EFTM “Australians are looking at their budgets and technology needs more than ever before, so it is only appropriate that we answer the call with our new range for 2020. I believe the Alcatel 3L brings to life everything we believe in, packing some serious punch in a device I believe is the best ‘bang for buck’ smartphone on the market today,”
“To be able to introduce such great options at three critical sub-$200 prices shows the impact that our manufacturing capabilities can have in ensuring Australians have access to the latest technology without breaking the bank.”
Before we get into reviews in the weeks ahead, here are the details of the three new devices coming to Vodafone from Alcatel:
Alcatel 3L – $199
The 3L is the “Flagship” for Alcatel, with a triple lens camera, running a 48MP sensor with Artificial Intelligence built in, Alcatel claim “high quality” photos in low light conditions. This is due to a 4-in-1 pixel technology to increase light sensitivity.
The AI has up to 22 scenes it can recognise and optimise the photo from.
There’s also a 5MP 115 degree wide angle lens and a 2MP macro lens for close up photos.
Around the front is an 8MP selfie camera which uses the 6.22 inch screen as a flash for great selfies.
Alcatel’s 3L also includes a new design called “Aurora” which has a micro texture laser etching on a shiny gradient back design.
Under the hood is 4GB of ram, 64GB of storage and an octa-core processor.
Alcatel 1V – $149
$50 cheaper at $149, the Alcatel 1V also has a 6.22 inch screen with a feather patterned finish on the back with curved edges.
Stylish, and just $149. Pretty good stuff.
A dual camera with AI scene detection as well as a dedicated Google Assistant button give this some great top end features at an affordable price.
Alcatel 1B – $99
Think about that for a minute – a smartphone for $99.
This thing will run the COVIDSafe app no drama, something plenty of people are finding problematic on older phones – so a $99 upgrade is all you need.
It comes with Android 10 Go Edition, a quad core processor and 2GB of RAM.
A 5.5 inch display around the front allows for vibrant visuals, while the 1B also has the dedicated Google Assistant button.
The standout is under the hood – a 3,000mAh battery means this will be an all-day phone with ease, if not much more.
| Alcatel 3L | Alcatel 1V | Alcatel 1B |
| 6.22” HD+ 19:9 Vast Display with U Notch | 6.22” HD+ 19:9 Vast Display with U Notch | 5.5” HD+ 18:9 |
| 4G | 4G | 4G |
| MT6762 Octa-core CPU | MT6762D Octa-core CPU | 4Core 1.3GHz |
| Android 10 | Android 10 | Android 10 (Go Edition) |
| 4GB RAM/64GB ROM | 2GB RAM/32GB ROM | 2GB RAM/16GB ROM |
| Rear: 48MP + 5MP + 2MP | Rear: 13MP + 5MP, AI scene detection | Rear: 8MP |
| Front: 8MP | Front: 5MP | Front: 5MP with flash |
| Face Key, Fingerprint sensor | Face Key, Fingerprint sensor | |
| 4,000mAh | 4000mAh | 3,000mAh |
| $199 with $40 Vodafone SIM Pack | $149 with $30 Vodafone SIM pack | $99 with $10 Vodafone SIM Pack |
