| Smartphones are expensive. For many of us, they are the most important devices in our lives, justifying their cost. But there’s no ignoring the fact that most smartphones you buy cost $600, $700, or even up to a thousand dollars. |
| For that price, you generally get a great display, speedy performance, a reliable camera, and easy-to-use software. But what if you didn’t have to spend that much to get those features, and still could have a smartphone just as capable as ones costing many hundreds of dollars more? | | That’s the promise offered by Alcatel Onetouchs new Idol 3. A little known brand in the US, Alcatel Onetouch has produced very low-end models of phones, often branded by the carriers that sell them. The Idol 3 is different: it’s the first flagship device to be sold by the maker in the US, and it doesn’t have any carrier branding at all. Offered unlocked for just $249, the Idol 3 has a spec list that competes with phones costing three or four times as much. And yet, after using the Idol 3 as my primary phone for the past week, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything I get from the much more expensive phones I’m accustomed to. |
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