Pop Up, Start, First and Idol 3C hands-on

Alcatel Pop Star

The Alcatel Pop Stars are even more budget-friendly than the Pop Ups. Starting at €110 for the 3G version (with a couple of extra back covers in the box) this one targets the Moto E with Motomaker-like customizations.

Alcatel Pop Star

You get 20 different options for the back covers, including real metal, wood and leather. The quality doesn’t match what you would get on a Moto X obviously, but getting several of these in a box is a steal. A cute little feature has you scanning a QR code on the cover you put on so that the phone will automatically load a theme that matches.

A variety of back covers

There's a 4G version of the Alcatel Pop Star for €130, prices for extra covers were kept secret. The basics of the Pop Star include a 5" 720p screen, 8MP/1080p + 5MP/1080p cameras and, surprisingly, a faster 1.3GHz quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM.

Pixi First

The Alcatel Pixi is the baby Alcatel, a small KitKat-running phone with a 4" WVGA screen (that's 480x800px). You get optional dual-SIM (no LTE though), a 1.3GHz quad-core processor with a somewhat limited amount of RAM (512MB) and a 5MP/1080p camera on the back.

Alcatel Pixi First

The screen quality is rather poor (it's not just the resolution either), the plastic body is rather glossy though the matte finish option was genuinely nice. The UI felt surprisingly smooth given the limited RAM, but you should keep your expectations grounded.