Alcatel 1B & 1X Hands On - Entry Level That Works

There are a lot of high-end phones on the market these days and there are a bunch of companies that claim to offer "flagship killers". Those "killers" used to be quite affordable, but they've crept up in price to the point where they are expensive enough, that they really need to offer something special. Often they don't. They are merely "killers" based on the slightly discounted price and cheaper materials.

The often overlooked smartphone segment is the entry-level arena. While it may not be that exciting, these phones sell way more units and probably make the manufacturer more money than they do from the relatively small number of flagship devices they sell.

Today we are taking a quick look at the low-end of the entry-level market with these Alcatel devices. The 1B comes in at a mere $99 CAD price point at the time of publication and the more expensive 1X is a whopping $168 CAD. Converted to USD for many of you readers, that's $75 and $126 respectively.

Can they hold up, stack up and offer enough performance and features to even seriously consider? We'll show you what you're getting and share our thoughts so keep reading!

Product #1: Alcatel 1B
Product #2: Alcatel 1X
Provided by: Alcatel
Price(s): ~$99.99 & ~$179.99 MSRP at time of publication

Introduction:

A lot of energy and effort is put into reviewing top-tier phones from top-tier manufacturers, and rightfully so. High-end hardware is exciting and fun. When Alcatel approached me with the press release regarding these two products, I thought it might be interesting to see what you actually get for your dollar. You obviously are getting quite a bit less, but you're also spending a lot less - a LOT less. A loaded S20 Ultra can currently set you back a hair over $2,000. So you can actually pick up 20 of the 1B or 12 of the 1X for the same price. 

To see what all is in the box, you'll have to watch the video here. For a quick look at these devices, check out the images below.

Alcatel 1B (2020):

I'm not really sure why the 2020 model of the 1B still packs a MicroUSB port. Maybe the cost of the USB-C connector is more expensive, or the charging circuitry to handle the extra current all adds up to a few more cents and they wanted to keep the overall cost as low as possible. That's the only thing I can think of, and is quite possibly my biggest pet peeve about the 1B.

Alcatel 1X (2020):

The overall feel of both of these devices is heavy on the plastic, but the 1X feels a bit weaker as it is thinner - and plastic. Either way, they don't feel horrible, they just don't feel like premium devices. They feel like they should cost about $100 and $170 respectively - and they DO!

On the next page, we'll take a quick look at the features and specifications of both devices before we carry on through our evaluation.