T-Mobile's $100 Coolpad Catalyst won't set the world on fire, and doesn't aim to

By Williams Pelegrin June 2, 2016

coolpad catalyst t mobile for — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Positioned as one of the largest smartphone makers in China, Coolpad is a relative unknown here in the U.S. The company hopes to continue its quest to change that with the affordable Coolpad Catalyst for T-Mobile.

Beginning on the outside, the Catalyst sports a 5-inch, 854 x 480 resolution panel, with a 2-megapixel camera sitting right above it. Meanwhile, the rear camera sits in at 5MP. Below the display are your typical Android soft keys, though you will notice that the back button is on the right and the multitasking button is on the left, all relative to the home button. That is something to keep in mind, if you are not a fan of Samsung’s similar arrangement on its phones.

Taking a peek under the hood reveals a quad-core 1.1GHz processor (possibly the Qualcomm Snapdragon 210) as well as a 2,200mAh battery that should keep the lights on throughout the day. Eight gigabytes of native storage is all you get — there is a MicroSD card slot, but unfortunately any additional storage you want to add through that slot will not be adoptable, since the Catalyst runs Android 5.1 Lollipop, not Android 6.0 Marshmallow. In other words, the MicroSD card you use will not combine with the phone’s native storage, so there will be limitations to what you can do with the card.

Finally, the Catalyst features your standard radios and sensors, along with support for T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network.

Overall, the Catalyst will not set the world on fire, and given the tepid specifications, does not seem to have that goal in mind. That being said, the phone will go for just $100 when it becomes available for purchase on both T-Mobile and MetroPCS. Prospective T-Mobile customers can get their hands on the Catalyst on June 7, while MetroPCS customers will need to wait until July 11.

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Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

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