Telstra and Boost have both quietly added the Alcatel U3 to their product range, and it’s available now for $69.
The Alcatel U3 is a basic, affordable and Blue Tick certified smartphone and comes after both companies were forced withdraw its ZTE white label devices from sale a few months ago, after ZTE’s major operating activities had ceased following the imposition of a trade embargo by the US Government. Though there has been a temporary lift on this ban earlier this week, it is unsure if we will see ZTE devices rebranded under the Telstra and Boost brands.
That being said, for $69 you could do a whole lot worse but I wouldn’t be expecting mid or even high end performance from this device. Just in case you’re wondering what the Alcatel U3 is offering, here’s the full rundown for you:
- 4-inch (800 x 480) display
- 1GB RAM
- 1.3GHz Mediatek MT6580M
- 4GB storage
- 5MP rear camera
- 2MP front facing
- ARM Mali400 MP2
- WiFi b / g / n
- Android 6.0 (Lollipop)
- GPS, Bluetooth v4.0
- Dimensions: 121.3 × 64.4 × 9.7 mm @ 110 grams
Interestingly, Telstra have decided to sell a device with an OS that is now well over 2 years old and speaks desperation to bring affordable devices to the market.
That being said, this is only 1 of 2 blue tick devices which means its suitable to use in more regional areas and is only available to utilise the 3G Network of Telstra’s and not its 4G services. If your interested in checking out the Alcatel U3, you can either head over to the Telstra Pre-Paid website or your local Telstra store along with Boost Mobile website as well for $69.
It is also worth mentioning that the device is locked to the Telstra networks and unlocking fees will apply should you wish to to use this device on another network. You can find more about Telstra’s unlocking fees here.
I purchased Alcatel U3 3 weeks ago, I didn’t need anything fancy but this stupid phone doesn’t keep its charge and is completely flat every morning. I took it back to Telstra today but that experience was horrible. I had the receipt and original box but they told me I should have brought an apple phone if I wanted a better battery life. I searched the warranty but no details on how to claim. Nightmare
But Vodafone’s Alcatel U3 has 8GB of Storage priced at $79… Plus it includes a $10 Starter SIM Pack 🤔
I honestly wonder who would actually use this. Definition of landfill. SoC aside, 1GB of RAM isn’t enough for anything, 4GB ROM (more like 2.8GB or so usable) would mean a handful of standard apps + updates (forget games) would fill it up. Its also running Marshmallow. At best this should actually cost $30 or less. Mystery.
1GB of RAM isn’t enough for anything anymore, unless it’s running Android Go, which this isn’t.