Alcatel
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Alcatel’s $100 Android Go phone hits the U.S. next week
At MWC, ZTE promised that its Tempo Go would be the first device to bring Android Oreo (Go Edition) to the States. But, well, stuff happened, and the company’s had a lot bigger things to deal with in the intervening months. Alcatel, however, is on the case with the 1X.
TCL announced this morning that the budget device will be hitting Amazon some time next week, priced at an extremely affordable $100, unlocked. It will also be arriving at Best Buy and Walmart soon after, no doubt taking advantage of the fact that it’s the only Android Go handset available in the U.S. for the time being.
The specs are unsurprisingly uninspiring. There’s a 960 x 480 5.3-inch screen, a MediaTek chip and 1GB of RAM. The good news, however, is that the new, lightweight version of Google’s mobile operating system is built for exactly those hardware restraints, which means you ought to get a much smoother Android experience than you would on a similarly specced handset running the full OS.
While the operating system is well positioned to get a foothold in developing countries, Google was quick to point out that it wasn’t limiting Android Go’s availability to those parts of the world. But while a number of manufacturers have signed on, none appeared too eager to launch the handsets in the States — well, aside from ZTE, but we all know how that went.
Another Android Go devices is on the way as well, with HMD bringing the Nokia 2.1 to the States in July.
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Former smartphone giant Blackberry has said it will no longer manufacture its own devices. Instead it intends to outsource hardware making to development partners, although the core focus of its business is firmly on software services at this point.