The highlight of the bundle is the Idol 3, an Android smartphone that delivers powerful internals at an attractive price point. Powering the phone is the now-popular octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor, accompanied by 2GB of RAM, more than sufficient for gaming and multitasking. Around front, you’ll find a 5.5-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 display, as well as speakers created by JBL above and below the display.
Also in the front sits an 8-megapixel camera designed for wide-angle selfies, while the 13-megapixel camera around back features fast focusing and real-time high dynamic range (HDR) calculations.
Related: Check out our coverage of both the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 and the Alcatel OneTouch Watch
An impressive upgrade from last year’s Idol 2, which was only released in Asia, the Idol 3 saw acclaim from both critics and customers, thanks mostly to its price point and how well the phone handles loads of various activities.
Not to be forgotten, the second part of the bundle is the Alcatel OneTouch Watch, which we first tried out during CES 2015. Available for purchase since April, the Watch forgoes Android Wear for Alcatel’s own proprietary operating system, though it can still handle notifications and music. In addition, the Watch is similar to the Moto 360 in that both feature a flat-tire style, semi-circular touchscreen.
When we had our initial hands-on with the Watch, we found its user interface to be somewhat unintuitive and not as responsive as Android Wear, though it does work with both iOS and Android.
If you’re interested in Alcatel’s back-to-school bundle, you can nab it through Amazon for $300. That represents quite a savings over the $430 you would shell out if you bought the two items individually ($280 for the Idol 3 and $150 for the Watch), allowing you to save quite a bit of moolah that can be used towards something else.
