A selection of Digicel-branded budget smartphones are proving popular with customers only weeks after going on sale in Bermuda.

They sell at a fraction of the price of big name devices, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S7, and Apple’s iPhone, and that has sparked interest. One of the three models, the DL 1 Lite, has already sold out. The company is awaiting a fresh shipment next week, and it expects the model to be one of its top three sellers this year.

Prepaid and postpaid plans for the Digicel DL 1 phones range from $79 to $159, with the handsets costing nothing with a number of the plans. This compares to the $500 or more needed for higher spec Galaxy or iPhone devices, again dependent on the accompanying plan.

“These phones are selling fast. The price is affordable and you can do everything on them that you can do on a smartphone,” said Raykeisha Burgess, Digicel store supervisor, who added that the devices appeal to customers who lose their smartphones and are unable or unwilling to splash out on an expensive replacement.

The DL 1 handsets are made by Alcatel, which is owned by the Chinese electronics company TCL Corporation, and use the Android Marshmallow operating system.

All three of the Digicel models have two cameras, one of which is front facing. The top of the range DL 1 Plus has a 13 megapixel main camera, a 5.5-inch screen, and 16 GB of memory. Digicel views the phone as offering comparable specifications to an iPhone.

The DL 1 standard model has half the memory of the Plus version, a five-inch screen and lower specification cameras, while the smallest in the range, the DL 1 Lite, has a four-inch screen.

Applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, can be run on the phones. Ms Burgess said those are the most popular apps for Bermuda customers, and she said the ability to play music, either for exercise to, or simply to enjoy, was also highly valued by local customers.

The DL 1 handsets have the My Digicel app pre-installed, which allows users to do a variety of things, including track their data use, pay bills, and contact Digicel for live chat assistance. Also installed is the d’Music app, which is Digicel’s new app for streaming and downloading music.