Yeah, a cell phone that is a 'smartphone' for under $100.
Android has really seen the need to develop for not just the flagship user end, but also for the developing smartphone user. They started with Android Go as a 'scaled down' version of the OS, so that it could work on more 'economically viable' phones. All the basic Android apps like Maps or Gmail have a 'Go' variant. Maps Go, Gmail Go, etc...
The idea is that if you make the apps 'less' there's more that the phone can have for storage (i.e. photos) and then can run on lower end handsets. It's quite smart really. I was just away on a trip this weekend with a friend who was thinking about getting a cellphone but could only really afford one of the flip variants. Something like this would have been perfect.
So, Google/Android makes Go, and then OEMs make the phones that'll run it.
Alcatel has just released their "Alcatel 1" which runs Android Go and you can pick it up from most carriers for about $100.
So, let's look at the specs of this Go phone:
So, yeah, it's not going to be a lot for most of us. But for that someone who's just getting into it (a kid, or senior maybe) who's not ready to dive full in and drop flagship level cash this is great.
For those who are interested it's currently available at the following:
Android has really seen the need to develop for not just the flagship user end, but also for the developing smartphone user. They started with Android Go as a 'scaled down' version of the OS, so that it could work on more 'economically viable' phones. All the basic Android apps like Maps or Gmail have a 'Go' variant. Maps Go, Gmail Go, etc...
The idea is that if you make the apps 'less' there's more that the phone can have for storage (i.e. photos) and then can run on lower end handsets. It's quite smart really. I was just away on a trip this weekend with a friend who was thinking about getting a cellphone but could only really afford one of the flip variants. Something like this would have been perfect.
So, Google/Android makes Go, and then OEMs make the phones that'll run it.
Alcatel has just released their "Alcatel 1" which runs Android Go and you can pick it up from most carriers for about $100.
So, let's look at the specs of this Go phone:
- 5" @ 960x480
- 1.28GHz x4 MT6739
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB ROM + microSD (32GB max)
- 5MP / 5MP
- 2000mAh
- Android 8.0 (Go)
So, yeah, it's not going to be a lot for most of us. But for that someone who's just getting into it (a kid, or senior maybe) who's not ready to dive full in and drop flagship level cash this is great.
For those who are interested it's currently available at the following:
- Bell - $109 or $0 on term
- Lucky Mobile - $90
- Virgin Mobile - $90 or $0 on a term
- Koodo
- TELUS
(there were no links that I could find for the Koodo or TELUS options