In a world where smartphones dominate the majority of the market, basic phones are usually left unnoticed, even more so, the flip phones! But, that does not mean that they are already dead. In fact, several mobile brands released at least one, just like the Alcatel 3026, which is dedicated for Senior Citizens.
 |
| Alcatel 3026 Review; Capable Flip Phone for Senior Citizens |
This clamshell-phone was announced last November 2018, alongside with Alcatel 5, Alcatel V5 and other Android smartphones, as part of Alcatel's return to the Philippines. Does the old has something new to offer? Or it is just a nostalgia of the past? Let's find out in this review!
PHYSICAL:
Before moving on, let's check first the contents of the retail package. As a basic phone, inside the box contains only the essential items, namely the unit itself, charging stand, power adapter, and earphone.
 |
| Retail Package |
One of the most important aspects in this kind of mobile phones is the size of the physical dial keys. It has a large ergonomic soft keyboard that greatly simplifies typing and gives the user a better and more efficient user experience. In addition, to make the use even easier, the 2.8-inch screen of the Alcatel 3026 only shows one menu at a time. Thus, making it ideal for senior citizens, which usually have problems with small in-display characters.
 |
| Keypads |
Aside from the regular alphanumeric and call keypads, there are also three shortcut buttons that can access Contacts, Messaging, and Flash Light in just one touch.
 |
| Left |
 |
| Right |
The left side of the phone is where the 3.5mm jack is situated for audio listening using the included mono earphone, as well as the volume keys, while the right side holds the MicroUSB port. The front, that's when the is closed, is where you can find the Alcatel logo, loudspeaker grill, and the distress button, will go deeper on that one later. At the back, is where the 2MP camera and LED flash is located.
PERFORMANCE:
As mentioned above, it has a distress or emergency button, and can save up to 10 telephone numbers. Once this button is pressed, it automatically calls and send messages to the first contact in the list informing the said person that the user is in an emergency situation. If in any case, the first contact is not available, it will reach the second contact, if still unreachable, it will connect with the third contact, and so on and so fort.
 |
| Alcatel 3026 Emergency Button |
Another feature worth mentioning is that the Alcatel 3026 is compatible with M4/T4 types of hearing aids. This means that users can turn up their hearing aid without interference, and in some cases, reduce the background noise.
It has an FM Radio, so that our seniors can hear some music from a wide variety of channels. There's also a storage expansion slot, which can be used to store some songs for music listening experience.
As a phone, users on both ends can hear each other clearly!
CAMERA:
 |
| Camera with LED Flash |
As an added entertainment for the elderly, the Alcatel 3026 is equipped with a 2MP (interpolated to 3.2MP) camera with LED flash, allowing them to snap photos and videos whenever they want to.
Camera Sample Photos:
 |
| Outdoor |
 |
| Indoor |
 |
| Low Light |
As you can see in the above photos, there's nothing spectacular with Alcatel 3026 camera, which is expected given the fact that it has a low resolution sensor. Nonetheless, it is still a nice addition to the phone, than having none at all.
BATTERY:
Inserting the phone charging cable can be a very complicated action for some old users, especially for those that needs orientation like the MicroUSB port. For this reason Alcatel 3026 has a simple and practical solution - the charging cradle.
 |
| Charging Pins |
Regarding its battery capacity, it has 970mAh that assure us a battery life of 5 hours and a half in conversation through 2G and four and a half hours in 3G. Its duration in standby mode is 280 hours on 2G and 200 hours on 3G. The charging time of its battery is approximately 2 hours.
FINAL WORDS:
Alcatel 3026 is one of the most user-friendly Alcatel phones, especially for our elderly love ones. It has a large 2.8-inch screen, an ergonomic keyboard, very good acoustics and a unique emergency button. It is more than just a flip phone nostalgia, but a very capable and useful handset for Senior Citizens.
It can be purchased for a price of Php2,490 in Shopee, Lazada and MemoXpress nationwide. The available colors are two: Metallic Gray and Metallic Silver. Both are at the same starting price.
Alcatel 3026 Specs (Philippines):
- Single Micro SIM, supports 3G connectivity
- 2.8-inch TFT-TN QVGA (320 x 240) screen
- Dimensions: 106mm x 55.4mm x 16.9mm
- Weight: 108 grams
- 460MHz dual-core Spreadtrum SC7703 chipset
- 128MB of RAM
- 256MB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via a micro SD card, uses dedicated slot
- 2MP camera with LED flash, 480p video recording
- Multimedia player
- 3.5mm audio jack
- FM radio
- Bluetooth v2.1
- MicroUSB 2.0
- Battery: 970mAh
- Color: Metallic Gray, Metallic Silver
- Price: Php2,490