Alcatel has announced the launch of what the company is calling its ‘most affordable smartphone yet’. The device, called the Alcatel TRU, is an entry-level handset that’s been launched exclusively on prepaid carrier MetroPCS. While Alcatel is well-known for devices like the Idol 4 and its more premium variant, the Idol 4s, the company has also been known to have a few cheaper alternatives in its portfolio to appeal to a wider set of buyers worldwide. As for the company’s latest release, MetroPCS customers can pick up the Alcatel TRU from today for as low as $29 after a $20 instant rebate and $60 Mail-in-Rebate. Without the discounts, though, the phone will cost a comparatively more substantial $109.
Taking a quick look at the tech-specs of the newly-announced device, the Alcatel TRU features a 5-inch FWVGA display panel, which means a screen resolution of 854 x 480 pixels and a pixel density of 195 dpi. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 (MSM8909) SoC, which comes with an integrated quad-core CPU clocked at a frequency of 1.1 GHz. The device comes with just the 1GB of RAM and only 8GB of internal storage, although, users will be able to expand that storage with the help of a microSD card of up to 32GB in capacity. The Alcatel TRU will also support T-Mobile’s LTE network on Bands 2, 4 and 12, so it will be fully compliant with the MetroPCS LTE service.
As for the imaging credentials of the Alcatel TRU, the device sports a 5-megapixel rear-facing primary camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing secondary camera for selfies and video chats. The one interesting feature about the device is the so-called ‘enhanced camera software’ from Polaroid, which is something that Alcatel is definitely emphasizing on rather prominently. The device is also said to carry a 2,000 mAh battery and comes running on Android 5.0 (Lollipop). All of that will be topped of by a “soft noir faux leather back”. While the tech-specs are nothing earth-shattering, that is likely to be expected at this price-point. However, with such a wide variety of smartphones – arguably sporting more attractive hardware – available for price-conscious consumers these days, it remains to be seen how well the Alcatel TRU will do, although at $29 after all available rebates, it is a purchase to keep in mind.
Buy the Alcatel TRU