One of the best, if not the best low-cost smartphones of the year is coming to Telus, Bell and Videotron on June 30th. Alcatel OneTouch, the Chinese manufacturer making a run at the big names in smartphones, is set to release its latest flagship, the Idol 3, at the end of the month.
Claiming to be the fifth largest smartphone manufacturer in North America, and the fourth largest in Canada, Alcatel OneTouch quietly built a number of low-cost, high-quality Android handsets that worked well, but were not without their issues.
The Idol 3 leverages a new low-cost octa-core chip from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 615, that gives it ample performance and energy efficiency. When I reviewed the device, I was surprised at its sprightliness, which has since only improved with two subsequent over-the-air updates.
Alcatel also saw the value of partnering with well-recognized brands like JBL for speakers, Technicolor for display calibration and Sony for its camera sensor to overcome any consumer skepticism at the OneTouch name. Sporting an excellent 5.5-inch 1080p display, a 13MP rear Sony sensor, and stereo front-facing speakers, the Idol 3 can hang with the best of them in terms of specs. It also comes with a fairly stock version of Android 5.0.2, and a 2910mAh battery.
While the company isn’t giving any hints as to the Canadian pricing of the Idol 3, we can assume from the $250 USD price down south that it will be $0 on a 2-year contract and around $300 CAD outright. It’s unclear whether Alcatel OneTouch plans to sell the device unlocked on its e-commerce store like it does in the U.S., but if it does it will likely be after the carrier launch.
Read more about the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 in our review.
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