Remember a few years back when Alcatel starting marketing their phones with the branding “Alcatel OneTouch”? Yeah, that’s actually quite some time ago. After a long hiatus, Alcatel is coming back to Malaysia with 3 new smartphones – the Alcatel 5V, the Alcatel 3L, and also the Alcatel 1.

Alcatel 5V

Alcatel is trying to make a comeback with the Alcatel 5V, with quite a decent list of specs.

• 6.2-inch 19:9 display with 1500×720 resolution display
  • Protected with Asahi Dragontrail 2.5D glass
• MediaTek MT6762 (Helio P22) Octa-Core chipset; produced with 12nm process technology
  • 4x Cortex-A53 @ 2.0GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.5GHz
  • PowerVR GE8320 GPU with 2 cluster cores
• Dual rear-facing cameras
  • 12MP with 1/2.8-inch sensor size and 1.25μm pixel size f/2.2 main camera
  • 2MP with 1/5-inch sensor size and 1/75μm pixel size f/2.4 depth sensor
• 8MP selfie camera; 1/4-inch sensor size with 1.12μm pixel size f/2.4
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB internal storage (expandable with microSD)
• 4,000mAh battery
• Android 8.1 Oreo

Looking at the list of specs, the Alcatel 5V looks like a compelling offer. We review the Redmi 6 that is using the Helio P22 chipset here, and we’re surprised by how decent the performance is.

Alcatel touts that the 5V comes with a large notched display as well – 6.2-inch with 19:9 aspect ratio is definitely something special, but I’m quite disappointed by the 720p resolution. There are smartphones that are cheaper than the Alcatel 5V with 1080p screen!

To Alcatel’s credit, this is one of the rare phones that uses Asahi’s Dragontrail glass. For those who don’t know what Dragontrail glass is, then think of it like Corning’s Gorilla Glass. Asahi Dragontrail is meant to compete with Gorilla Glass after all. It has a beautiful glossy plastic back as well.

As for the dual rear-facing cameras, the depth sensor will surely help in producing cleaner bokeh shots and helps with focusing. The depth sensor’s specs and pixel count does not matter that much. While on the subject of the camera, Alcatel 5V touts “Pro AI scene photography” which enhances your image depending on the scene and subject. Also comes with Google Lens for you to get more data via pictures taken.

The Alcatel 5V is priced at RM899 and comes in two colors – Spectrum Black and Spectrum Blue. I honestly like the blue color a lot more – and they’re available at RM898.

Alcatel 3L

Here’s a smartphone that Alcatel is puting it right below the Alcatel 5V’s standpoint. It has the follow specs:

• 5.5-inch 18:9 aspect ratio IPS screen with 1440×720 resolution
• MediaTek MT6739 chipset
  • 4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.28GHz
• Rear-camera: 13MP (interpolated to 16MP)
• Selfie camera: 5MP
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB internal memory (expandable with microSD)
• 3,000mAh battery
• Android Oreo

From our hands-on with the device, we can feel that the back of the phone’s texture. It has some concentric circle at the back with a little bit of groove. For a smartphone of such price, I find it pretty interesting?

There’s also a bit of a curvature at the back to make the phone comfortable to hold. Just a really subtle curvature.

The Alcatel 3L is available at RM498.

Alcatel 1

Looking for a smartphone for those who just want a device to take pictures and use WhatsApp or something along that line? Then the Alcatel 1 is surprisingly a good choice as it uses Android Go. Here are the specs:

• 5-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio with 960×480 pixels in resolution
• MediaTek MT6739 chipset
  • 4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.28GHz
• Rear-facing camera: 5MP (interpolated to 8MP) with fixed focus
• Selfie-camera: 2MP (interpolated to 5MP)
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB internal storage (expandable with microSD)
• 2,000mAh battery
• Android Oreo (Android Go edition)

Android One for a smartphone of this price is actually impressive. At just RM298, you can grab the Alcatel 1 for those who want a basic smartphone.

---

Like our Facebook Page here at NasiLemakTech.com for more news and in-depth reviews! Also, join our Facebook Group for insightful information and memes!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel too!

---