Most of the phones in Alcatel’s lineup may be entry-level devices, but the company’s Idol family of phones typically offer strong specs at affordable prices… and the new Alcatel Idol 5S is no exception.

It features a 5.2 inch full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. While those aren’t exactly flagship-level specs, the phone doesn’t have a flagship-level price either.

It’s up for pre-order for $280 and the Idol 5S should begin shipping July 10th. Or if you’re an Amazon Prime member and don’t mind putting up with ads on the locks screen, you can snag one for $200.

The Alcatel Idol 5S is one of five new phones added to the Amazon Prime Exclusive lineup today, along with the Nokia 6, Moto E4, and a few cheaper Alcatel handsets.

Note that this is not a phone for bezel-haters. There are rather notable ones above and below the screen, but for good reason: the Idol 5S has stereo 3.6 watt front-facing speakers.

Other features include a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone, a 2,620 mAh battery, a USB 2.- Type-C port, 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, a 12MP rear camera, and an 8MP front-facing camera.

You can use a microSD card to add up to 512GB of additional storage. And the phone is compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks in the US at the moment. Sprint and Verizon support are said to be “coming this summer.”

The phone also supports VoLTE, but only on T-Mobile’s network.

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One reply on “Alcatel Idol 5S launches for $279 (or $200 for Amazon Prime members)”

  1. some pretty decent model if you are willing to put up with the ads. I bought two of the Blu R1 HD back in the day and was able to remove adds. They’re both still working pretty well for the kids.

    Wish the Idol 5s had a bigger battery. But if people are able to remove the ads again, I might give a couple of these a try. Though I suspect Amazon might have made things harder to unlock/remove ads this time around.

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