Alcatel Pixi 4 (5)

How little can you pay for a decent 4G-enbled phone? Christopher Minasians tests an Alcatel model you can buy for less than £50.

- Christopher Minasians

The Alcatel Pixi 4 (5) is a 5in quad-core phone that comes with 4G connectivity, Android 6 Marshmallow and a microSD-card expansion slot. What really sets eyebrows rising, though, is that it can be bought on the High Street from just £44.99 (Argos, bit.ly/alcatel418, locked to EE). Even free of an operator contract, it’s cheap, costing just £59 for an unlocked model from Giffgaff (www .giffgaff.com). That’s more than £100 cheaper than the Motorola G4 budget smartphone, which we reviewed in Issue 404 (bit.ly/ webuser404).

The Pixi 4 comes in different sizes and specifications, but Alcatel hasn’t made it easy to distinguish between the different models. There’s the Alcatel Pixi 4 (4), the Pixi 4 (5) and the Pixi 4 (6), all of which have different internal components and different sized screens (four, five and six inches, respectively).

To make matters even more confusing, there are also 3G and 4G models of the Pixi 4 (5). Here, we’re reviewing the Alcatel Pixi 4 (5) 5045X 4G-enabled model.

Build and design

We found the 5in model provided a good compromise between a pocketable size and enough screen space for media browsing, videos and one-handed operation. However it is a tad heavy, weighing 148g, and chunky – 9.5mm from front to back – so it’s not the most comfortable device to hold.