Alcatel A5 LED, A3, U5 Smartphones and PLUS 12 Tablet Launched at MWC 2017

Alcatel has launched three budget-end smartphones, namely - Alcatel U5, Alcatel A3, the Alcatel A5 LED, and Windows 10 running Alcatel Plus 12 tablet at MWC 2017 in Barcelona. While the pricing of the smartphones or their availability has not been announced as of now, their specifications indicate that they will be priced competitively in the budget price segment.

Coming first to the most exciting product out of the mix, the Alcatel A5 LED features the most powerful specifications among the three newly-launched smartphones but the highlight feature on the smartphone is its LED panel back that lights up with colours in different patterns. The LED back cover is removable and the company is also offering other cover options including a battery pack and a speaker back. The swappable covers are similar to the Moto Mods as can be seen in Moto Z smartphones - such as the new Edge Moto Mod with a wraparound LED light for notifications. Interestingly, the LED back cover can also provide users notifications and its functionality can be controlled by a dedicated app.

The Alcatel A5 LED smartphone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, sports a 5.2-inch HD touchscreen display, and is powered by a 1.5GHz octa-core Mediatek MT6753 SoC coupled with 2GB of RAM. The phone comes with 16GB of internal storage, which is expandable via microSD card.

In terms of optics, the Alcatel A5 LED packs an 8-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel camera at front for clicking selfies. The smartphone features a 2800mAh battery. In terms of connectivity options, the A5 LED offers Cat.4 LTE, Micro-USB, Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS, and Bluetooth 4.2.

"With the A5 LED, Alcatel is delivering new fun features, like light-up notifications and unique LED cover patterns and themes you create yourself, as well as an enhanced multimedia experience and more ways to take and share selfies, ideal for people who value having fun and letting their personality shine," William Dowie, portfolio management director at Alcatel, was quoted as saying in company's release.

Moving on to the Alcatel A3 smartphone, termed by the company as the "Most Affordable 5-inch HD Smartphone", the device runs Android Marshmallow. The smartphone sports a 5-inch 720p display and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor coupled with 1.5GB of RAM. The A3 comes with 16GB of inbuilt storage, which is expandable via microSD card.

In terms of optics, the smartphone comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel camera at front. The Alcatel A3 houses a 2460mAh battery. Interestingly, the smartphone comes with front-facing speakers and a fingerprint sensor, which is notably missing from A5 LED.

Coming finally to the Alcatel U5 smartphone, the device runs Android Marshmallow. The smartphone sports a 5-inch 480p display and is powered by a quad-core 1.1 GHz processor coupled with just 1GB of RAM. The Alcatel U5 comes with 8GB of built-in storage. The device sports a 5-megapixel rear camera.

Alcatel has also announced its Windows 10 2-in-1 PLUS 12 tablet. The device packs an 11.6-inch full-HD IPS display and measures 284x175x7.9mm. The tablet is powered by an Intel Celeron N3350 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM. It comes with in an unusual 32GB eMMC + 32GB embedded microSD storage configuration. The storage is expandable up to 128GB via microSD card.

The Alcatel PLUS 12 houses a 26.8WHr battery and offers connectivity options including USB Type-C, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a Micro-HDMI port. Interestingly, the company has also introduced a keyboard accessory for the tablet that connect via pogo pins.

The keyboard is powered by a separate Qualcomm MDM9207 SoC coupled with plus 128MB of RAM. The accessory also houses a 2580mAh battery and features a full-size USB-A port for connectivity. PLUS 12's innovative detachable 4G LTE keyboard serves as a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 15 devices.

"With the A5 LED, Alcatel is delivering new fun features, like light-up notifications and unique LED cover patterns and themes you create yourself, as well as an enhanced multimedia experience and more ways to take and share selfies, ideal for people who value having fun and letting their personality shine," William Dowie, portfolio management director at Alcatel, was quoted as saying in company's release.

As mentioned before, the pricing and the availability of the devices has not been shared by the company as of now.