In a rather untypical Alcatel move for a major
event, the company unveiled just four devices at this year's MWC. Those include a trio of smartphones and a Windows 10 2-in-1.
The Alcatel A5 LED is the most interesting of the
phone bunch - on the one hand, it boasts the best specs, but on the other - its
back is lit. Literally. First things first, though - the A5 LED sports a
5.2-inch 720 IPS display, and is powered by the Mediatek MT6753 chipset, an
octa-core 1.5 GHz CPU at the helm. There are 2GB of RAM on board and internal
storage is 16GB, expandable via microSD. An 8MP primary camera sits on the
back, while selfies are covered by a 5MP snapper, and both capture 1080p video.
The A5 LED runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and has
the basic connectivity options covered - you get Cat.4 LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n,
Bluetooth 4.2, and GPS. A 2,800 mAh battery keeps the lights on and you charge
it via good old microUSB.
That's the boring stuff, though. The fun's on the
back - the A5 LED has a snap-on rear cover with an array of LEDs (hence the
name, duh) that light up dynamically and can produce patterns and display
notifications. There's a dedicated app that's in charge of the process and the
LEDs can even be set to light up to the tune of the music that's playing.
That's not all. There are other back covers too -
one is a battery pack, the other - a speaker with a kickstand. They snap on to
the back like a conventional rear panel would back in the day when all back covers
were removable. Next in line comes the Alcatel A3 - no fancy LEDs here and even
less impressive hardware, but Alcatel calls this the 'Most Affordable 5"
HD Smartphone', so there's that.
The specsheet starts with a 5-inch 720p IPS display
and goes to list a Meidatek MT6737 chipset with a quad-core 1.25 GHz CPU, 1.5 GB
of RAM and 16GB of storage. This one has a higher-res 13MP primary camera than
its big bro, but it's again 5MP on the front. The A3 also has a fingerprint
sensor, unlike the A5 LED, would you believe it? Battery capacity is listed at
2,460 mAh.
The Alcatel U3 is the most modest one of the three,
but it's also 'the most affordable 5" 4G smartphone', Alcatel says. This
one is equipped with a 5-inch display with a rather coarse 480x854px resolution,
quad-core 1.1 GHz CPU inside a Mediatek MT6737M chip, a single gig of RAM and
8GB of storage.
The PLUS 12 is a whole different beast. A Windows 10
2-in-1, the PLUS 12 features an 11.6-inch IPS display (which does technically
round up to 12") with FullHD resolution and measures a reasonably compact
284 x 175 x 7.9mm. The keyboard part of the duo is marginally larger at 287.5 x
186 x 6.9mm, and the whole ensamble weighs in at 990g.
Anyways, the PLUS 12 runs on an Intel Celeron N3350
processor and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, albeit in a weird 32GB
eMMC + 32GB embedded microSD config. You can also add your own microSD, up to
128GB. The tablet is powered by 26.8Wh battery, packs a fingerprint scanner and
isn't strapped for connectivity options - you get a USB-C, micro HDMI, and a
3.5mm audio jack.
The tablet communicates with the keyboard via 7 pogo
pins, and that's one rather essential link - the keyboard packs the bits and
pieces for LTE connectivity - SIM slot and radios. It has a heart of its own -
a Qualcomm MDM9207 with a single Cortex A7, plus 128MB of RAM. It can carry its
own power too (2580 mAh of it) and adds a full-size USB-A port for activities.
There are no details on pricing and availability for
any of the products just yet.
