I know this brand way back in late 90s. In this day and age, Alcatel Philippines gave this blog a chance for their first smartphone review - Alcatel Go Play
So these are the front and back views of the box.
Front: 5 inch IPS HD display, 5 MP front camera
Back: 8 MP AF rear cam with flash, Alcatel branding, speaker, non removable back cover
Internals: Android 5.1 Lollipop, Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor Cortex-A53, 1 GB RAM, 8 GB ROM, 2,500 mAh built-in battery
Left: Single nano SIM tray and micro SD tray in a flap cover
Right: Volume rocker and power/unlock button
As the phone features some waterproofing capabilities so surprise that at the top, 3.5 mm. audio jack was covered with noise cancelling mic. The bottom comes with another mic and micro USB port with cover. Sadly, this phone does not have OTG support
Except for the custom app icons, it was almost stock Android Lollipop for me. The better version of SD410 was a smooth experience for me for basic tasks.
Here's what the app drawer looks like.
Out of 8 GB ROM, you will be getting a quite critical 2.98 GB for apps and games.
Calls, texts, WiFi, Bluetooth and mobile internet are a-ok as expected for Alcatel but the biggest pain that I got in my review unit was the GPS. Not really as accurate as it is as I checked either on Google Maps or Pokemon Go.
The gallery is simple and beautiful as you can see below.
The 8 and 5 MP shooters are very good in outdoor conditions. It was also a good performer on low light. I even enjoyed the selfie camera when I tried it for some attempts at my previous Facebook Live sessions.
Alcatel Go Play rear camera samples
Alcatel Go Play front camera sample
Extras: The video battery rundown test that I had on this device counted at 8 hours and 45 minutes which translated for 22 hours max. of usage with 5 hours of screen time on battery saving mode. The audio was also good on headphones. As you know it as a review unit, I never attempted to do some water resistant tests. Charging time took me at around 2.5 hours. Gameplay worked fine on me via Asphalt 8 on medium settings
Alcatel Go Play has a nice mix from the processor, nice pair of cameras, good and unusual phone design and well rounded performer. The lack of OTG support, single nano SIM only and those GPS problems that made me a bit sad of this device which I hope it was only the case of my review unit. The price of Php 6,149 is in a good position if you will only compare it to international brands. The nearest competition that I am seeing so far is the Vivo Y51. I will gonna rate the Alcatel Go Play at 3.75 out of 5.