MWC 2017: Alcatel gets gimmicky

If you think the Mobile World Congress is home to only flagships and top-tier phones, you’re mistaken. TCL Communication’s Alcatel line introduces three phones from entry level to mid-range plus an all-new 4G connected 2-in-1 hybrid.

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Alcatel A5 LED shows off with gimmicky cover

If you are going to hit at the home of the top dogs, you might as well hit hard—this is what Alcatel tried to do with the A5 LED, a mid-ranger with some tricks up its sleeves. Well, the more proper term would be at the back, because this 5.2-inch HD smartphone sports a a Lightup+ rear cover that allows you to visualize playing music, create unique LED cover patterns, and customize notifications based on color and the first letter of the app. This means that you can set your incoming Facebook notification to light your cover blue with a white “F.”

The light show doesn’t end there, as Alcatel’s Color Catcher 2.0 allows you to absorb up to 5 colors from any image or object to display or flash on your LED cover. Worrying about the battery life? Switch the LED rear cover with a normal plastic one and you’re good to go.

The A5 LED also features a fingerprint sensor that can memorize five different apps for five different fingerprints. You can also use this feature to lock and access private apps and photos.

Under the hood, the Alcatel A5 LED runs on Android Marshmallow powered by an octa-core CPU, 32GB expandable inbuilt storage, 3GB of RAM, and 2,800mAh battery. The phone also has a 13-megapixel rear camera with and f/2.0 aperture and equipped with dual-tone flash, and a 5-megapixel front camera with flash featuring selfie-centric quirks such as Face Show and Face Beauty.

Alcatel A3 enjoys 5-inch HD

Following the release of the A3 XL during this year’s CES, the company outs a smaller sibling: the Alcatel A3. This phone touts a 5-inch HD screen housed in a textured plastic cover, a rear-mounted fngerprint sensor that functions like the A5 LED, and front-facing speakers.

Running on Android Marshmallow, the A3 houses a 1.2GHz octa-core CPU, 16GB inbuilt storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via the MicroSD slot, 1.5GB of RAM, and 2,460mAh battery.

For imaging, the A3 has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera loaded with similar apps such as Face Show and Face Beauty.

Alcatel U5 is an entry-level competitor

Alcatel’s penchant for the mid-range is coupled by its bravery to offer an entry-level phone during the MWC: the Alcatel U5. The 5-inch FWVGA phone banks on the “enjoy.now” motto of the brand by offering decent specs such as having 4G LTE connectivity at an incredible price.

The phone runs Android Marshmallow on a 1.1GHz quad-core CPU, 8GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, and 2,050mAh. The U5 carries 5-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front cameras, both equipped with flash. The Alcatel U5 also carries the signature Face Show and Face Beauty apps.

Alcatel PLUS 12 optimizes productivity

With 2-in-1 hybrids on hype these days, Alcatel jumps on the bandwagon with the Alcatel PLUS 12, a 12-inch Full HD screen that connects to an LTE-ready full keyboard with touchpad that can double as a WiFi hotspot for up to 15 devices.

Alcatel PLUS 12 runs Windows 10 Home RS2 on an N3350 Intel Celeron processor with 64GB of tablet storage (32GB eMMC + 32GB embedded microSD; expandable up to 128GB) and 256MB NAND flash keyboard memory, and 4GB LPDDR3 RAM in the tablet and 128MB LPDDR2 RAM in the keyboard. The tablet chugs through a 6,900mAh battery while the keyboard through a 2,580mAh one.

This 2-in-1 also features fingerprint sensor for an input-less log in through Windows Hello, dual speakers, a 5-megapixel front camera, micro-HDMI slot, microSD slot, 3.5mm audio jack, and USB Type-C ports.