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Alcatel is not a brand we hear often around the US of A. The TCL Communication-owned brand is very popular in other markets, and it seems like the name will start sounding much more familiar to all of us soon. T-Mobile is getting ready to bring Alcatel to the States by releasing the ONE TOUCH Fierce and ONE TOUCH Evolve.
Alcatel devices are not bad options for affordable handsets. In fact, I would go as far as saying I tend to prefer them over manufacturers like Huawei. The only problem is they don’t have a presence in the states and most people won’t trust a new brand. Let’s see what you can get from Alcatel on T-Mobile, though.
The Alcatel ONE TOUCH Fierce is the best out of the two T-Mobile smartphones, but it is still considered mid-end. The device will feature Android 4.2, a 4.5-inch qHD display and a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor. Meanwhile, the ONE TOUCH Evolve is much more modest with a 1 GHz processor and Android 4.1.
We know these specs are no longer something to be surprised by, but I don’t know what will please you if the prices don’t! You can get both of these very affordably with a Simple Choice plan. The Evolve costs $27.99 for the down payment and only $3 per month for 2 years! The Fierce costs a bit more, with a $19.99 down payment and $6-dollar monthly payments for 2 years.
Not bad, right? I would look into these if I were looking for an affordable smartphone. These will be available beginning October 5th, but only from select national retailers. The Evolve will be available for pre-sale starting Oct. 14th, with its release being on the 16th. The Fierce will see its full release on the 23rd.
What do you guys say – are you going to look into these? May be a good gift for mom, your kids or for the non-techies in your family!
I’d definitely give the Fierce a good once-over in the store to check it out. If it doesn’t lag horribly and the skin isn’t too in-the-way, I’d definitely recommend it as a budget device.
I wouldn’t touch the Evolve with a 12 ft’ pole, though.
It would be interesting to see what kind of dev support these devices get.
Yes. Or a backup phone. I was thinking about being nostalgic and getting the Nexus 1, but I like the idea of being up-to-date.
The Grinch wouldn’t touch that Evolve with a 29 and a ½ foot pooooolllllllllll
*39 and a ½ foot pooooollllleeeee
This would make one of the phones $100. 27.99 + (3*24) = $99.99
The downpayment is with taxes added already.
I should pick one up as a back up phone. I wanna sell my HTC One and get one of the new phablets, but I wouldn’t have a phone if I did that. Hmm…
This isn’t a bad phone at all. I’ll have to save this to my Google Keep. =.P
Thank god. my LG L9 has crapped out as far as Wi-fi and I need to send it for repair and don’t want to go a week without a phone but $100 isn’t a bad filler till i can get something else. maybe a nexus 5 if they ever announce it.
Taxes are different everywhere. How do you figure the down payment includes tax?
It was such an odd number that it looked like taxes were added. But you are right. Taxes are different everywhere.
So in Texas that would be… $8.29 added on. If anyone wanted to know. =.3
Thanks for pointing that out. It still makes this phone super cheap. I’m actually considering making this a back-up phone.
Is it LTE?
Wow that’s some great pricing. I’ll be buying one as a back up device for sure as long as it’s not sluggish. I’ll be recommending them as entry level devices.
I had the onetouch Smart while I was waiting on my RAZR to get replaced. It wasn’t a bad wee device. Acatlel would be a good bet for someone who doesn’t want to spend a lot for a decent phone
Here are a few things you need to know about the new One Touch Fierce:
1) The camera is a joke, it is FIXED-FOCUS (yeah, kind of like iPhone1 was), it cannot take clear close-up shots, so forget about barcode reader apps or check deposit apps (banks, paypal) or readable shot of a page of text, cannot happen. Did i mention the camera cannot focus? That square you can tap on to move the focus, not there.
2) There is something wrong with the GPS, it cannot get a fix when in airplane mode, seems to need the help of AGPS data and Google Location Services (cell tower and WiFi triangulation) but even with them takes long time. Maybe it’s the chip, maybe antenna, i don’t know.
3) Screen is iffy. Limited angle of good view, not bright enough under the sun and has distinct bluish tint.
Other than those issues, it boots/restarts very fast and has long battery life (maybe because of selective power/freq to the CPUs). Battery is not removable.
Are there any details on the specs such as memory, and how much will be used up by bloat software?