Optus pounces to pick up the affordable Alcatel Pop 4
Optus’ latest prepaid phone is the inexpensive but surprisingly good Alcatel Pop 4.
Alcatel’s core business is in the affordable sector of the market, with a particular eye towards the youth crowd. That’s definitely the target market for the entry level Alcatel Pop 4 handset range. Alcatel’s usual business model has been selling handsets outright through direct sellers, although some devices, like the Idol 3, have ended up with telcos instead.
The Pop 4 will be offered in Australia through Optus this month with an asking price of $119 outright. As you might expect from a budget handset offered by a telco, it will be locked to the Optus network at that price. While the Pop 4 technically comes in multiple colours, only the charcoal grey variant will be offered to Optus customers.
Alcatel also told finder that it intends to offer the Alcatel Idol 4 that it first showed off at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona by September. It’s in talks with both direct carriers and MVNOs, according to Alcatel’s Sam Skontos, but if it doesn’t come to terms with a carrier, it intends to sell the handset itself directly online. Expected pricing on the Idol 4 will be $399 for the baseline model and $599 for the higher end Idol 4s.
| Alcatel | Pop 4 | Idol 4 | Idol 4S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen size | 5in | 5.2in | 5.5in |
| Storage | 8GB | 16GB | 16GB |
| Weight | tbc | TBC | TBC |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 |
| Rear camera | 8MP | 13MP | 16MP |
| Front camera | 5MP | 8MP | 4MP |
| Battery | 2500mAh | 2610mAh | 3000mAh |
| Resolution | 720x1280 | 1920 x 1080 | 2560×1440 |
| Display density | 401ppi | 423ppi | 534ppi |
| RRP | $119 | $399 | $599 |
