Contrary to the name Vertu, hearing about the brand Alcatel, probably none of you will remember words like "premium", "utterly expensive" or "luxury". The originally French, then Far-Eastern company's name always meant cheap phones, and they couldn't break this stereotype, not even with names like Elle or Mandarina Duck.
Alcatel E206a and E227a
Alcatel had mentioned a few months ago that it planned to roll deep with US launches this year -- kind of hard to swallow, considering the non-presence they've had here for years and the difficulty for a new player to break into the market -- but sure enough, here we go with the first volley. Locus Telecom's prepaid O2 Wireless brand (naw, not that O2) has launched two low-end Alcatel sets to accompany its range of LGs and Motorolas, the E206a candybar and E227a flip. Both are sans camera or high-speed data of any sort; in fact, they put along with mere dual-band GSM radios, and in the case of the E206a, a positively miniature 96 x 76 display, while the other has a 1.5" 128 x 128 TFT screen. Not exactly a groundbreaking entrance into the market for Alcatel, but an entrance nonetheless. O2 says its service is for "students, seniors, and trendsetters," so if you're a trendsetter, go ahead and get your Alcatel on.
Translated by Szaszati
