Alcatel 1X Is First Android Go Smartphone
Android Go lands its first smartphone in super cheap handset Alcatel 1X.
Alcatel unveiled a number of new units at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC), most notable of which is Alcatel 1X, the first-ever smartphone powered by Android Orea (Go edition). This is Google's new operating system designed specifically for low-end phones or that do not pack as much RAM as other expensive phones.
The upcoming phone sports a 5.3-inch 960 by 480 18:9 display. Hardware wise, it is packed with a quad-core MediaTek processor that runs on 1 GB of RAM and has 16 GB of storage. The phone can be charged with a microUSB.
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Unlike many recent releases, the phone will not have a fingerprint scanner. Instead, it will feature Alcatel's signature "Face Key."
Analysts say there is nothing much to the Alcatel 1X, except it is an unbelievably cheap phone for the innovation it comes with. Android Go should be able to maximize its 1 GB RAM, to help it do more with less power. It should also cut down app sizes by half and introduce high-end features like the Google Assistant.
According to The Verge, however, the entry-level phone is not as impressive as Google pegged it to be. The media outlet was able to try out the phone prior to its release and noted that the operating system did not run as smoothly as promised. The user experienced frozen screens, camera problems, and sluggish working of the app drawer — overall not a good start for the new device.
Google clarified later on that the said phone was not running on a consumer build of the OS, and the problems might have ensued from it being a preproduction unit.
Users and analysts should learn more about the phone's capacities or lack of it as the weeks go on. Alcatel 1X launches to the public in April for €100 (around $123) for a single-SIM variant and €110 (around $135) for a dual-SIM variant.
