After announcing the flagship Idol 4 and 4S at MWC last month, Alcatel is releasing a $200 unlocked ruggedized phone with decent specs to match. The OneTouch GO PLAY is fully IP67 water, dust, and shock resistant plus comes with an additional thick protective case.
At MWC last year, I think it’s fair to say Alcatel OneTouch surprised us all with its last Idol series phones. The Idol 3 lineup boasted specifications that pushed way past its price-point. The 1080p 5.5-inch model specifically was easily one of the best value-for-money phones available in 2015.
Fast forward to this year, and the company has done it again. With the Idol 4 and 4S, Alcatel (notice, no more OneTouch) is ensuring it remains competitive in 2016, giving the big-names a run for their money…
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Alcatel OneTouch has built something of a name for itself at the affordable end of smartphone and tablet market. This morning at CES 2016, the company announced a brand new range of ultra low-end Pixi 4 phones and tablets, all powered by Android and a dual-core or quad-core processor, but each with a different-sized screen.
Alcatel OneTouch’s latest Pixi range will come with 3.5-inch, 4-inch, 6-inch and 7-inch models, with the last of those being far more like a small tablet than a smartphone.
Although they’re clearly entry-level products, the new Pixi range have been loaded with a number of features to make them attractive to first-time smartphone buyers, or those with lower budgets. The pre-installed Polaroid software lets users design their own collages from photos and add borders and text, while the front-facing flash on the 4-inch and 6-inch models means you can take selfies in the dark. What’s more, the Arkamys optimized speakers means audio shouldn’t be terrible.
You can find the full list of key specs for each model below. No specific release date or pricing has been mentioned for any of the devices.
Alcatel OneTouch has come from nowhere of this past twelve months and has become a brand-name synonymous with cheap products with decent specs. The OneTouch Idol 3 was something of a hit once it launched earlier this year, and is still a popular phone among consumers looking for an entry-level smartphone with great performance.
Now, it looks like the company is set to launch a new phone. The OneTouch Fierce XL is coming to T-Mobile, and is purportedly going to be available in both Android and Windows Phone flavors…
The information comes via well-known leaker, Evan Blass who tweeted the image of the two phones above earlier today.
[tweet https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/655311609947009024 align=’center’]
It’s safe to say that pricing and specifications will be on the low side. A previous tweet from Evan suggested the device will feature a Snapdragon 210 processor, 5.5-inch 720p display, 16GB storage, 2GB RAM and a 2,500mAh battery. Based on that information alone, the one stand-out feature should be battery life. With a 720p resolution display, getting the phone to last 1-2 days with a battery of that capacity shouldn’t be too difficult.
These specs match up pretty well with what Alcatel and T-Mobile have partnered on in the past. The carrier often stocks budget-friendly phones and tablets made by Alcatel OneTouch, and they’re almost always really affordable. In fact, last year, the company was virtually giving away tablets to anyone who signed up for one.
With the holiday season fast approaching, we can imagine the carrier pushing this as a stocking stuffer, and perhaps first smartphone for kids.
If Motorola and OnePlus thought they could have the leather and wooden customization options to themselves, they were wrong. This morning, Alcatel OneTouch, makers of the popular Idol 3 handset, have announced a new range of affordable and highly customizable smartphones. The POP STAR range was announced alongside the rugged and sporty GO PLAY range and an enormous tablet that’s so big, we probably shouldn’t call it a tablet.
Months after its initial announcement at MWC in Barcelona, Alcatel OneTouch is finally making the smaller, 4.7-inch Idol 3 available to buy in the US and Canada. You will be able to order the device for $179 from the company’s online store or Alcatel’s official Amazon store from Friday, August 14. In terms of design, the 4.7-inch model looks virtually identical to its bigger brother. But it does come with different specifications.
Instead of housing a full HD display panel, the smaller phone comes with a 1280×720 resolution screen. Thanks to its size, that still pushes it over the 300ppi mark. It has a 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera and has a 2,000mAh battery to keep it going all day. What’s more, it’s powered by a Quad-core 1.2GHz processor paired with 1.5GB RAM and with 16GB of internal storage. Like the bigger model, you can expand the memory using a MicroSD card, but only up to an extra 32GB. Surprisingly, for a phone this small, it still manages to pack in a pair of stereo front facing speakers powered by JBL audio, just like the 5.5-inch model.
On the software side, it runs Android 5.0.2, what’s more, a security update to patch the Stagefright bug will be available to download OTA as soon as you power the device on.
Overall, it’s a promising device but it will be interesting to see how well it compares to Motorola’s latest Moto G. At the same price point, and similar-ish specs, these two devices are clear competitors.
When you think of the word “budget,” rarely does it fit in-between the words “great” and “smartphone.” Well, you may not be super familiar with them, but Alcatel OneTouch has a new budget offering that’s not only a smartphone, but overall pretty great. Meet the Idol 3…
There’s no denying that 2015 will be filled with smartphone releases, but only a few will shine as the best in the budget category. We’ve seen a few major players make their mark in this area recently, but back at MWC 2015 Alcatel OneTouch announced a budget offering that may give the others a run for their money. The Idol 3 smartphone is in many ways a budget flagship smartphones. We’ve been pretty excited to get our hands on it and today, we’re doing just that…
As suggested last week, it seems that TCL, parent company of Alcatel Onetouch, has indeed purchased the rights to the Palm trademarks from HP and plans to launch new devices under that banner. What new devices, exactly, is still a mystery, however.
Today TCL CEO George Guo said that he believed the existing value of the Palm brand had piqued the company’s interest in acquiring the trademarks, though it seems it did so without much of a plan for the future. The executive said that the Palm name will be brought back to the market, but TCL is hoping that the public will provide ideas for products it can produce under the brand.
The Palm smartphone brand may not be as dead it seemed. While parent company HP has already taken the company apart and sold off its remnants, there’s some new evidence pointing to the idea that the name, logo, and other related trademarks may be preparing to make a comeback.
Specifically, HP sold Palm’s trademarks to a company called Wide Progress Global Limited. Other trademarks owned by that company include… absolutely nothing. It seems Wide Progress Global was created solely to handle the Palm trademarks until some other company could put them to use.
