Skip to main content

Alcatel is bringing its new budget phones, the Alcatel 1X and 3V, to the U.S.

U.S. shoppers can get the ultra-cheap Alcatel 1X from Amazon starting next week

Image used with permission by copyright holder

At Mobile World Congress 2018, Alcatel announced that the Alcatel 1X and Alcatel 3V would both be making their way to the U.S.

Recommended Videos

The two phones boast some pretty decent specs for the price — and could be the phone of choice for many on a budget. Here’s everything you need to know about the phones, including when you’ll be able to get your hands on them.

Alcatel 1X

The Alcatel 1X is actually a very interesting offering. Why? It’s one of the first sub-$100 devices to offer an 18:9 display aspect ratio, which helps make it look slightly more modern than it otherwise would. Apart from the 18:9 display, you’ll also find a MediaTek MT6739, coupled with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The 18:9 display only has a resolution of 480 x 960 — but that is to be expected from such a cheap device. The camera on the device comes in at 13 megapixels, with the front-facing camera at 5 megapixels. Last but not least, according to Alcatel, the U.S. variant of the 1X will come with a fingerprint sensor.

When it comes to software, the phone is an Android Go device — so it offers a stripped-down version of Android with stripped-down apps — all built specifically for phones with less RAM and low-power processors.

So when can you get your hands on the Alcatel 1X? Well, it’ll actually be available in the very near future. Alcatel has announced that you’ll be able to buy it in the first week of June, and it’ll be available for $99. The phone will first be available from Amazon, after which it’ll head to Best Buy and Walmart in “coming weeks.”

Alcatel 3V

The Alcatel 3V is a little more high-end. It’s actually Alcatel’s first dual-lens phone to come to the U.S. Under the hood, the phone offers a MediaTek MT8735A processor, along with 2GB of RAM and either 16GB or 32GB of storage. The rear-facing camera on the device has a dual 12-megapixel sensor, while the front-facing camera offers five megapixels. Like its less expensive sibling, the phone has an 18:9 aspect ratio display, but the resolution comes in at 1,080 x 2,160. The phone also comes with Android Oreo — but its the full version rather than the Android Go version.

We’ve actually reviewed the Alcatel 3V, and you can check out that review here.

Alcatel hasn’t said exactly when the Alcatel 3V will be available in the U.S. beyond telling us that it will be available unlocked in “coming months.” We will update this article when we get more information on pricing and availability.

Update: The Alcatel 1X will be available in the first week of June.

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
AMD is bringing 3D V-Cache back to Ryzen 7000 — but there’s a twist
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D socketed in a motherboard.

Great news for AMD fans -- the company has now officially confirmed that it will be bringing back 3D V-Cache in the upcoming Ryzen 7000 processors, as well as future Zen 5 CPUs.

Unfortunately, there is a catch -- it seems that the technology will still not be as widespread as some may have hoped for.

Read more
AMD teases performance of its revolutionary 3D V-cache chip
AMD CEO holding 3D V-Cache CPU.

AMD is currently readying its new Ryzen 7 5800X3D, featuring a 3D V-cache, and it looks like we may soon have a powerful processor on our hands. AMD has teased that we can expect an up to 15% performance boost over the base Ryzen 7 5800X.

The tech giant talked about the new chip during the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSSC) and revealed more information about its architecture. While the Ryzen 7 5800X3D will certainly be an improvement, will it be enough to compete with Intel's best processors?

Read more
HMD Global shows its serious about U.S. expansion with 5 new Nokia phones
HMD Global's range of new Nokia phones at CES 2022.

HMD Global has big plans for the U.S. market, and at CES 2022 it has revealed a new range of devices that cost less than $250, all coming out over the next months. Buoyed by LG and ZTE both leaving the U.S., it has struck lucrative deals with T-Mobile, Tracfone, Verizon, and other carriers to supply Nokia phones on pre-paid contracts, including low-cost feature phones.

To help achieve its ambitious targets in the U.S. for the coming year -- it's targeting number one in feature phones, and number three in pre-paid smartphones -- it has announced five new U.S. exclusive phones that will arrive during the first six months of the year. Top of the list is an affordable 5G phone, followed by three 4G phones, and a new feature phone with Kai OS software onboard.

Read more