Alcatel 360 camera hands-on: an affordable shooter for VR enthusiasts
The gizmo comes in two variants — a square-shaped flat one, and a spherical one. Both have 210-degree fisheye lens-equipped cameras on both sides, and both are small, light, and easy to carry around. The square model is more pocket-friendly, for sure, while the spherical one is vaguely described as "maximizing 360-degree shooting".
Since the Alcatel 360 aims to be on the cheap side, it doesn't have its own battery or storage slot to save footage on. Connection to a smartphone is done directly via a microUSB dongle, sticking out of the camera. Alternatively, you can connect the shooter to its own stand, and then link the stand to your phone via a standard USB cable.
It works with its own app, which needs to be installed on the smartphone, and, for now, Alcatel is advertising it as strictly working on the Idol 4, Idol 4s, and Pop 4s, and this will be true for the early life of the gizmo. However, the company is working on expanding compatibility to other Android devices.
The build quality definitely feels like it's lacking a bit, but we can forgive this, seeing as what Alcatel is looking to accomplish with the 360 camera. Its price isn't official yet, but representatives said it would cost somewhere around €100 on release, which translates to about $111. Bear in mind, that's not final as of yet.
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