The new Alcatel low cost smartphones presented at CES 2021

Three smartphones and a tablet make up the new range of low cost devices presented by Alcatel at CES 2021: prices start at less than 50 euros.

Good news for fans of the historic low cost brand Alcatel, now owned by Chinese giant TCL: at CES 2021 were in fact revealed three smartphones and a low cost tablet. These are Alcatel 3L, Alcatel 1S, Alcatel 1L and tablet Alcatel 1T 7 WIFI.

These devices bring in the low end of the market technologies until last year reserved for higher priced models: triple camera enhanced by artificial intelligence, good size screens with HD+ resolution, capacious batteries. All accompanied by the Android 11 Go Edition operating system, running on an SoC with an eight-core CPU and at very low prices, even for the Chinese market. Certainly these are cheap products, from which you can not expect great performance, but these smartphones raise the starting level of mobile user experience for those who can not, or do not want to spend hundreds of euros on a smartphone.

Alcatel 3L, 1L and 1S: features and prices

Of the three smartphones Alcatel presented at CES 2021 the 3L is the superior one. The rear photo department offers a 48 MP main sensor, a 2 MP macro and a 2 MP depth sensor. The front selfie camera, on the other hand, is 8 MP, with face tracking.

The Alcatel 3L's cameras take advantage of an artificial intelligence algorithm that can recognize 22 different types of scenes and adjust the image quality accordingly.

The screen is 6.52-inch HD+, with a screen-to-body ratio (the percentage of the body covered by the display) of 88.5%. So the bezels are quite thin. The glass is slightly curved (2.5D). The octa-core processor is joined by 4GB of RAM. The international price is $149, 122 euros at the current exchange rate.

Alcatel 1L has a slightly smaller screen (6.1 inches), with screen-to-body ratio of 86%. There are two rear cameras: the 13 MP main one, with artificial intelligence, and the 2 MP macro. The front one is instead 5 MP.

The RAM and storage memory are, respectively, 2 GB and 128 GB and the price, with Android 11 Go pre-installed, is 135 dollars equal to 111 euros.

Alcatel 1S, finally, is the cheapest smartphone of the brand that belongs to TCL, but not the least equipped: it is in fact a middle ground between the 3L and 1L. It features the same screen as the 3L, three rear cameras (13 MP with AI, 2 MP macro and 2 MP for depth) and front camera with face recognition. The international price is $109, which is less than 90 euros.

Alcatel 1T 7 WIFI: the ultra low cost tablet

Finally, the Alcatel 1T 7 WIFI was also presented at CES 2021. This is a 7-inch tablet for use exclusively at home, or at least where Wi-Fi is available. There is in fact no data SIM slot. Sold as an inexpensive tablet for the family, it can also be entrusted to a child thanks to the special "Kids Mode" with simplified graphical interface and a system to protect the eyesight of children. It can also be used for educational purposes.

Alcatel 1T 7 WIFI is sold in two versions, both with a very low price: with 16 GB of storage memory, at 59 dollars (less than 50 euros) and with 32 GB, at 69 dollars (56 euros).