Alcatel returns to the mobile game with three mid-range phones, the Pop 4, Pop 4+ and Pop 4S, each of which puts emphasis on customization and bang for the buck.
A part of the customization refers to the outside design of the handsets, as they arrive in different styles, namely Leather, Hairline-Brushed, Baby Skin and Wood. By taking a peek at the overall aspect of the phone, we can say that slimness and premium feeling are at their best with the new Alcatel series.
CW Park, Chief Designer and General Manager of Global Design Center at ALCATEL, explains that the Pop 4 series comes with a vast array of covers that are fit for each and every user:
"To consumers in their early 20's, the POP 4 smartphone is 'designed by you, inside and out," Park says.
He goes on to add that Alcatel made customization "a top priority" in its new mid-sized line.
Pop 4 is the most affordable and the "little brother" of the bunch. It packs an 8-megapixel rear camera and a quad-core CPU that runs at 1.1GHz and gets backed in processing duties by 1 GB RAM. Visuals are displayed on a 5.0-inch HD IPS capable of producing resolutions of 1,280 x 720p. The default storage space measures 8 GB, with a microSD card slot which boosts the device up to 32 GB. A 2,500 mAh battery provides juice for the Alcatel Pop 4.
Previous rumors placed the price of the Pop 4 under $100, but no official information currently exist on the matter.
The second Alcatel handset is called Pop 4+ and hosts a bigger screen of 5.5-inch HD IPS able to render 1,280 x 720p graphics. The quad-core CPU is shared with the Pop 4, but this model has 1.5 GB of RAM instead. The 8-megapixel camera is also borrowed from the Pop 4, but the Pop 4+ has a base storage space of 16 GB. It, too, can be extended via microSD slot to 32 GB.
The leader of the pack is the Pop 4S. Its 5.5-inch FHD IPS can display graphics at 1,920 x 1,080p, and it has more powerful specs all around.
It is the only Alcatel from the new line that sports an octa-core CPU backed by 2 GB of RAM. While the previous two phones can capture 720p video, the Alcatel Pop 4S is able to record 1080p video with its 13- megapixel camera. The phone starts from 16 GB of default storage and can be upgraded to 64 GB via microSD.
The Pop 4S also packs the heaviest power source of the trio, with a 2,960 mAh battery.
Some unique features come to the Pop 4S, namely a fingerprint scanner, fast charging, and 4G LTE Cat 6. The Pop 4+ and Pop 4 devices only work on 4G LTE Cat 4.