Update: The Alcatel Avalon V price has changed to $99 from $120, so we've updated our story.
The Alcatel Avalon V is basically the polar opposite of the new Galaxy Fold. It doesn't bend, it doesn't have basic features like a fingerprint sensor and it doesn't have specs that will blow you away.
Oh, and it's 1/20th the price of Samsung's foldable phone and has less front bezel.
At just $99, this is one of the cheapest 4G LTE phones we've gone hands-on with in 2019. It's exclusive to the Verizon network (a first for an Alcatel phone) and sports a 5.34-inch screen and tall 18:9 'Full View' aspect ratio to fit into modern times.
The screen size, one-hand-friendly design, and textured Suede Gray-colored back cover make it easy to hold onto, but there are obvious compromises for the rock-bottom price.
$120 worth of specs
This is a phone for an entirely different purchaser than Samsung's flagship. It has a Qualcomm 425 chipset, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It does have a microSD card slot, but only supports up to 32GB of extra space. It’s limited, but ideal for one of the free, cheap-o 32GB microSD cards you get with GoPros and other devices.
There is a 3.5mm headphone jack (good), a microUSB port instead of USB-C (bad), and Android 8.1 Oreo (could be better with Android Pie out and Android Q beta here in the middle of its test phase).
And then there's the unknown. It has 2,460mAh battery, promising up to 24 hours of usage time. We'll have to test that out when we get more time with this $120 phone.
This isn't an exciting phone – it's just a phone. It's enough for people who have had enough with increasing phone prices. This will do the basics and Verizon’s strong nationwide signal.
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