Switched On: Alcatel A7 is here
The budget device, announced last year, has finally made its way to the UAE
F or starters, the cost of the A7 starts at Dh244,000 and you can head over to wheels. ae to read about the Audi. Alcatel’s namesake will set you back approximately Dh800.
Let’s get to what’s in the box. Here is where budget smartphones really go the extra mile. Besides the phone, which we’ll get to later, you get a range of accessories as well. There’s a sturdy screen protector, a clear phone case, pretty decent in-ear earphones and the charger.
You wouldn’t guess this device just costs Dh800. At first glance, the phone is quite premium, in full black with minimalistic gold accents. I prefer the black device to the gold one, since the gold trimmings around the speakers on the front, the camera and the fingerprint sensor on the rear, really stand out.
The device is quite light at 164g, and while its body could feel rather low-cost when you hold it, when wrapped in its case it doesn’t matter at all. When placed amid premium devices, it fits right in.
The addition of the gold trimmings is what really catches your eye when you look at the phone. The rear body of the device features an engraved finish which compliments the gold on the rear and the gold on the sides around the power and volume buttons.
Together with how posh this smartphone looks, the two main perks of the A7 is its screen and its battery life.
The 5.5-inch full-HD display is quite clear with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels — something that looks amazing as soon as you power on the phone, thanks to the pre-loaded wallpapers that really inspire your inner photographer.
Your inner photographer will be quite satisfied with the rear camera on the A7 as well. It’s packed with a 16MP main camera with autofocus and a dual tone flash. Its front camera is a respectable 8MP and has its own front flash as well.
The camera does take some time to load up and focus. And lowlight photography is a write-off unless you use the flash. After being spoilt rotten by cameras on expensive flagships it would be unfair to the little A7 to compare it with them. However, it does take decent pictures for its price range. Surprisingly, I liked the front camera a lot more. The front camera, while like the rear, takes a bit of time to start up (a few microseconds), it focuses well and offers smooth yet crisp selfies. The front flash is amazing as well.
PERFORMANCE
Now for the inner workings and performance of the device. It runs the latest Android 7.0 Nougat operating system, powered by a Mediatek Octa-Core 1.5GHz processor. You then get a larger-than-life 4,000mAh battery with fast charging, 32GB of internal memory and 3GB of RAM. A microSD card slot capable of holding up to 128GB and an optional dual-SIM setup is also available.
Overall, these are really good stats for a budget device. If you overlook the processor, the pros outweigh the cons.