Quietly introduced earlier this month at IFA 2017
trade fair, the Alcatel Idol 5 will make its debut in the United States in late
October. The smartphone will be exclusively carried in the country by Cricket
Wireless.
The Idol 5 promises premium features at a fraction
of the price of today's major brand smartphones. But how much exactly Alcatel's
handset really costs? According to Cricket, the Idol 5 will be available for
purchase for just US$ 199 beginning October 27. Now let's see what are those
“premium features” that Alcatel says the Idol 5 has to offer for that price.
First off, the smartphone comes with Android 7.0 Nougat on board, which isn't
quite unusual.
The 5.2-inch display with full HD (1080p) resolution
is nothing to be impressed of, while on the inside there's a MediaTek Helio P20
processor, paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB expandable storage. The back side
features a 12-megapixel camera, while in the front there's a secondary
5-megapixel selfie snapper.
Alcatel Idol 5 is powered by a 2,850 mAh battery and
comes with two front-facing speakers that promise to provide “exceptional
sound” either you're watching your favorite show and video, or listening to
music on Alcatel's exclusive music app.
Speaking of this particular music app, Alcatel Music
is integrated with Deezer from Cricket, but you'll have to pay for subscription
separately. Design-wise, the Idol 5 is
encased in a metal body with high-polished aluminum edges, and it's wrapped
around curved Corning Gorilla Glass to make it more durable.
Along with Idol 5, Alcatel also introduced its new
UNI360 VR Goggles, which are available for purchase separately for US$ 49.99. The
VR goggles have been optimized to work on the Idol 5, but they are compatible
with other VR capable smartphones that come with 5- or 6-inch displays.
