Alcatel

The Alcatel 5 offers a dominating 18:9 display and reasonable camera performance for around £230. However, a slightly odd design, underwhelming performance and mediocre software make it hard to recommend in a strong field. The similarly priced Moto G5S Plus does the basics a lot better and with considerably more style.

Unremarkable yet perfectly adequate, the Alcatel A7 doesn't seek to dazzle with cutting-edge specs or features, and instead aims to offer a near-stock Android experience backed up by a good screen, excellent battery, reliable performance and no-frills camera setup.

From our short experience with it, it appears that you get a lot - like real lot - for your money. We are not too fussed about the low storage space or average processor, or even top bezel as for the price you get a very good looking phone with some nice premium features.

You won’t see much of an improvement in performance unless you spend double the £79 asking price, so for teenagers or as a simple internet tool it will suffice.

Alcatel has brought its attractive, but-flawed Idol 5S to Cricket as an exclusive to the prepaid carrier, but the new phone makes too many compromises to offer any appeal beyond its low price.

Alcatel isn’t known for making the most premium smartphones on the market, but that hasn’t stopped them from delivering a good quality smartphone. The Idol 5 is a great device and it only costs $200 at full retail, and that’s a huge plus, if you’re willing to switch to Cricket, or if you’re already on Cricket.

For $200 you are getting a smartphone that feels well crafted and not cheap. It has great sounding dual speakers; natural feeling display and quick charging for battery life.

Alcatel did a fine job with the Idol 5. The handset is attractive, made from quality materials, and delivers the right mix of value for the dollar.

It's a tossup because the Idol 5 is indeed VR ready from the get-go, offers an atypical premium design for its category, and customizations to the software that help to make it even more useful than stock.

Alcatel's Idol 5 has a lot of good things going for it, and it comes in at a price point that's accessible to a wide array of different people – as long as you're on Cricket. The phone is an exclusive to the AT&T-powered MVNO, and if you're already on the network, it's a great buy.