Known for their range of affordable phones, Alcatel has this Tribe One Touch 813D handset that will appeal to those wanting a dual-sim phone with a nice set of useful features.
The Alcatel Tribe Touch 813D features a curved form which might appear bulky but it’s rather light, or should I say just right for its size. It has a rubbery coating its shell making it immune to visible fingerprints and also adds additional grip when handling.
It sports a resistive touchscreen display and a portrait keyboard for fast messaging. Resistive meaning you’d rather use your nails or a hard object to navigate on the small screen. The small 2.4-inch display may not be ideal for web browsing but it’s sufficient for your usual text messaging and updating your status on Facebook or sending a tweet which is very possible with the dedicated apps and WiFi connectivity. There’s a slight flex when you press the glass a bit hard though.
The portrait keyboard is easy to get used to although I still get the Delete and Enter key mixed up. You might want to try the phone out at first if you would feel comfortable typing with it. Some keys feel different to press than the others. What I like is the dedicated key for “@’” which also has an Fn equivalent for “.com”. There’s also the Fn key to automatically set the phone to silent mode. The directional pad at the center provides to be useful when navigating through your text message or even the phone’s menu.
With the built-in Facebook and Twitter app, you’re glad that this phone has WiFi capability. I don’t know of any branded dual-sim phones out there with a portrait keyboard and WiFi so props to Alcatel for filling up that void.
Another neat feature this phone has is its homescreens. Just like Android phones, the One Touch 813D has homescreens where you can add widgets such as calendars, favorites, quick settings and also shortcuts to commonly used apps.
As for the dual-sim feature, it works similar to most current dual-sim handsets out there. You get two tabs (one for each number) for messages, calls and contacts. Select a tab when you want to view messages saved or contacts on that SIM. You will receive calls and messages as if you are using both SIM at the same time.
The phone also has a dedicated music button on the side to launch its music player which works nicely on a touchscreen by the way. Slap in a microSD card (up to 8GB) and you can also use it as your mp3 player. The 2-megapixel camera is nothing special but at least its there just in case.
Battery life is pretty good. If you’re not into WiFi and those Facebook stuff and just use it purely for calls and messages you can get up to 3-4 days with this phone. With light browsing and FB you’re looking at 2 to 3 days.
Wrapping things up, what you’d get from the Alcatel Tribe Touch 813D is an affordable dual-sim phone that has WiFi capability, built-in Facebook and Twitter and also a nice touchscreen that can display widgets in homescreens. All of these things for only P3,999 so you might as well go for a trusted brand right? It also comes in a multitude of colors: Black, Red, Blue, Fuschia and Steel Grey.
| Alcatel Tribe One Touch 813D Specs: |
|---|
| MTK6235, 208 MHz processor |
| 2.40 inches resistive touchscreen display (320 x 240 pixels), 262k colors |
| Full keyboard (QWERTY) |
| Dual sim slot |
| Opera mini browser |
| Built-in Facebook and Twitter client |
| 2 megapixel camera |
| Bluetooth, WiFi b/g |
| FM Radio |
| Mp3 Player |
| 101 g |
| Colors: Black, Red, Blue, Fuschia and Steel Grey |
| SRP: Php3,999 |
