Alcatel Idol 5 heading for Cricket Wireless

MediaTek-powered handsets might not be capable to target the high-end sector of the mobile market yet, but these devices usually offer a good price/specs ratio to the consumers on a tight budget all around the world. The Cricket Wireless-exclusive Alcatel Idol 5 is such a device that "offers the premium features you want at a fraction of the price of today's big brand smartphones," as revealed in the official press release that the US carrier issued earlier this week.

The Alcatel Idol 5 has a MediaTek Helio P20 processor inside, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, and microSD support. Its 5.2-inch display has a full HD touchscreen panel, while the cameras are slightly above average: the 8 MP selfie-shooter is accompanied by a 12 MP main camera with dual-tone LED flash. This handset has a 2,850 mAh battery onboard and runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.

Leaving the standard features for its price range aside, the Alcatel Idol 5 also comes with the following: a metal body with aluminum edges, stereo front-facing speakers, NFC connectivity, and VR support. Sadly, the Idol 5-optimized Alcatel UNI360™ VR Goggles retails separately for US$49.99, but this accessory can be used with most other 5-inch and 6-inch devices. The handset itself has a price tag of US$199 and is scheduled to reach Cricket-branded stores and the carrier's online shop on October 27.

Cricket Wireless is a subsidiary of AT&T with a 4G LTE network coverage of almost 320 million people. Its current plans start at US$25 a month (text and talk without data access) and go as high as US$60 per month for the "unlimited" plan with 22 GB of data traffic at full speed.