Alcatel Intros A Few New Budget Dual-SIM Android Phones–The 991D, 916D, & 985N

July 15 15:56 2012 by Alexei Rivera Print This Article

We don’t really know who the celebs are in here, but they sure make a good picture

Alcatel, a French brand associated with affordable mobile phones, (like the Glory 918N & Blaze 990) is set to increase their product portfolio a little further by introducing three new Android phones – and they’re all in the popular Dual-SIM flavor to boot. The three new musketeers are all priced under PHP 10k under each their own price slots and offer unique features – like the 916D’s full-QWERTY bar form factor with a Facebook button, reminiscent of the HTC Chacha. The other two are your more traditional (Since when did full-touchscreen become traditional anyways?) full-touchscreen bars – with the 991D offering a large 4” HVGA panel and the 985N being a more budget-friendly version with a 5MP camera. Hop over the jump for a quick rundown on the specs and a video preview for these devices.

The Alcatel One Touch Inspire 991D

The 991D is an interesting device to check out to say the least. It technically isn’t the highest model the company has, (The 995 is the flagship) but its got some nice specs for a sub-10k priced device – particularly a large 4.0” 320×480 screen. The resolution makes it a little wider than most 4” devices, (with 800×480 res) but we think it adds a little bit to its unique feature set. Aside from the larger screen though you’ll also be getting an 800Mhz processor, 5MP camera with LED Flash, a VGA front facing camera, and all the usual Android connectivity options running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Should you be interested in what we think of this device in more detail, we’ll have a review and unboxing for you soon. Until then, you can check them out in stores with a price tag of PHP 8,999 and they come in Black or White variants.

The Alcatel One Touch Blaze 985N

For one thousand less Pesoses, you can get the Alcatel Blaze 985N – which is more like the 991D’s little brother. In terms of specs, you’ll be getting a touchscreen Android phone running on a 650Mhz processor, 3.5” HVGA (320×480) screen, 5MP Camera with LED flash, VGA front facing camera, and the usual WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS connectivity accoutrements. (Running Android 2.3 Gingerbread) If you ask us, it’s a little bit of a step up from the 918N (PHP 5,999) and a step down from the 991D above it. But if the price of PHP 7,999 suits you best, then the 985N might be the right Dual-SIM Android for you.

The Alcatel One Touch Spark FB 916D

Next we have a new “Facebook phone” that was sort-of introduced by HTC (with the Chacha) last year. The form factor is of course the QWERTY-bar form factor with a capacitive landscape touchscreen on top of it. Chief feature here is probably the Facebook integration with the phone – which, if its any similar to the HTC-variant, should allow you to share things on the social network using (literally) a press of a button. That feature aside, you’ll also be getting some standard budget specs which include a 650Mhz processor, 2.6” 320×240 screen, a higher-than-usual 5MP camera with LED flash, and the usual connectivity options under the Gingerbread operating system. While there’s very few competitors to this type of device anywhere, we do have to note that the Chacha enjoys an HVGA screen (320×480) and 800Mhz processor over this Alcatel phone. Still, it does have an SRP of PHP 6,999, which you might feel more comfortable with as a purchase.

During the event, we’ve had the opportunity to check out two devices in this new range – the 991D and the 916D respectively. As you might expect, that means we have a video preview for you guys – so check it out below.

When you combine these three new devices to their current line of Androids, Alcatel has got a phone for pretty much any price range these days. You can get a phone for PHP 5,999 (918N), PHP 6,999 (916D), PHP 7,999 (985N), PHP 8,999 (991D), and the flagship PHP 13,999 (995). So if you’re looking out for something Android-y in those price ranges, you might want to check out an Alcatel store near you.

For more pictures of the event, check out our gallery below.

Alcatel 991D, 916D, & 985N Launch VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL