Latest News:  alcatel

Alcatel recently announced their new Alcatel Flash 2 smartphone online. Like the OneTouch Flash before it, the Flash 2 is a selfie smartphone with a front LED flash and f2.2 aperture 5MP autofocus front camera designed to offer a mobigraphy manual mode and an 84 degree wide angle shot. The design is surprisingly curvy with lines that make it seem as if it has no bezels. Other tech specs include a 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage + up to 128GB microSD, 5-inch display with 720 x 1280 and Miravision display tech, 13MP ISOCELL rear camera with Realtone (dual tone) LED flash and 2.0 aperture, 3000 mAh battery and dual SIM 4G connectivity. No Malaysia pricing details yet but according to their blog, the Malaysia release date should be on 15 October 2015. Check out the video below and the Alcatel Flash 2 site for more details.

According to Alcatel, their Alcatel OneTouch Flash2 smartphone is coming on 22 September 2015. Set for an online press conference, there aren't that many tech specs or features revealed yet for the smartphone apart from a 5.0-inch display and the phrase "The Power of Green". Since the original Alcatel OneTouch Flash was launched for the selfie masses, we assume that the OneTouch Flash2 will offer updated specs and perhaps a green exterior. The previous OneTouch Flash features a 5MP front camera so we assume that the Flash2 will either go for an 8MP front camera or go all the way with dual 13MP front and back cameras like the recent ASUS ZenFone Selfie. No news yet on actual Malaysia release dates or pricing details, but we would assume that the OneTouch Flash2 would be priced higher than the previous RM699. Stay tuned for more details as the live event should be happening in the next 7 days.

Alcatel had recently announced the global release for the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3, which is a flagship under its OneTouch series that can be reversed from top to bottom to take calls. The phone has the following tech specs including a 64-bit Snapdragon 615 chipset with Octacore 1.7GHZ SoC bearing the Adreno 405 GPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB built-in storage with expandable micro-SD up to 128GB, 5.5-inch IPS LCD (1080x1920 pixels) display with Technicolor Color Enhance technology, a 13MP rear camera sensor backed by Sony IMX214 with an aperture of F2.0 and a 8MP front camera. Other noteworthy features include the symmetrical top/bottom design of the phone supported by its user interface, allowing users flexibility to use the phone in either direction. The limiting factor is that there is no dual microphone, so users will still need to angle the phone correctly for calls. It's JBL-branded stereo speakers are equipped to overcome loss of music details and over-compression through the Harman Clari-Fi technology. The phone supports 4G LTE connectivity but access is limited to GSM carriers in the US only. The phone is available from the Alcatel US website for USD 249.99 (RM 918) while the suggested retail price is USD 279.99 (RM 1028). Malaysia pricing or Malaysia release dates have yet to be revealed and no announcement has been made on the Alcatel Malaysia website yet but stay tuned for more developments as US pre-orders are set for 21 April 2015.

Alcatel has announced two new smartphones at MWC 2015, both called the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3. There will be two different versions of the device, one sporting a 5.5-inch display and the other with a 4.7-inch display. It looks like Alcatel is taking some inspiration from the Apple iPhone 6, but the similarities end there. The new Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 smartphone features JBL front facing speakers with Harmon Kardon Clari-Fi audio technology. This tech restores the audio quality of compressed digital music ensuring the best sound experience for the user. The major highlight of the device is that it's reversible. This means, the user can talk on the phone even when it's held upside down. The interface also changes accordingly. As for the tech specs, the 4.7-inch device features a quad-core Snapdragon chipset and 720p display resolution. On the other hand, the 5.5-inch features a powerful octa-core 64-bit Snapdragon 615 processor and full HD 1080p display resolution.  There will be a 13MP rear camera at the back with LED flash and 84 degrees wide angle front camera with Fast Face Focus tech which can focus in just 0.26 seconds. Other features include 4G LTE connectivity and Android 5.0 Lollipop OS out of the box. No Malaysia pricing or availability details have been revealed so far. 

Apart from the Alcatel OneTouch smartwatch, the company also unveiled three new smartphones and a 10-inch tablet during the recent CES 2015. The three smartphones in its Alcatel Pop 2 lineup feature a similar design profile but come in different sizes. Unfortunately, the company has only given out partial details about these devices. The largest one in the OneTouch Pop 2 family sports a 5-inch 1080p IPS display and comes with a 64-bit Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz. The processor supports Category 4 LTE networks which provide downlink up to 150Mbps. There is an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front shooter. The Alcatel OneTouch Pop 2 (5) will run on the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop version and comes with a 2500 mAh battery. The second model namely theOneTouch Pop (4.5) also features the same Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor. The display however is smaller at 4.5-inches and comes with an 854 x 480 FWVGA resolution. The back features a 5MP shooter with LED flash.

The Pop 2 (4.5) is a dual SIM phone and runs on the Android 4.4 platform. The smallest device in the family is the OneTouch Pop 2 (4) which features similar tech specs as the 4.5-inch model. The only major difference is in the display size which is just 4-inches with the same 800 x 480 pixel resolution. Both the smaller models come with exchangeable back covers in a number of colors. The 4.5-inch model even has color options for the front – black or white. Finally, the largest device of the lot is theOneTouch Pop 10 tablet. It features a 10-inch IPS display and claims to be the lightest and thinnest tablet of its size. This large screen tablet is LTE enabled and also comes with a keyboard dock with a small touchpad to convert it into a mini laptop. Malaysia pricing and release date details have not been revealed.  

In the past few months, one thing was established in the wearable industry – round watches are much more popular than square ones. Now, Alcatel wants to take advantage of this popularity with its newAlcatel OneTouch Watch. Apart from being round, the OneTouch watch is said to retail for less than $150 (RM533) which will make it cheaper than other round offerings such as the LG G Watch R and theMotorola Moto 360. The watch features a 1.22-inch near circular touchscreen display. There is a small black bar at the bottom like the Moto 360 which acts as the back button. The power button is located on the right side. Inside this 10.5mm thick stainless steel body, there is a STMicroelectronics STM429 chipset which powers the watch. The 210 mAh battery onboard can provide two to five days of run time on a single charge. Other features include an altimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope, e-compass, IP67 certification, heart rate monitor, activity tracker, sleep monitor, phone locator, phone camera remote and music control. The Alcatel OneTouch Watch runs on its own proprietary software instead of Google's Android Wear and is compatible with iOS and Android devices. Apart from the original black and red watch, there are other variants too like the all-white version and the premium all-metallic version. The original model will be available for less than $150 (RM533) and the other two versions for sub-$180 (RM640) price tag. Alcatel plans to launch all the three models in Q1 2015.

Apart from their Alcatel OneTouch Watch, Alcatel OneTouch have also announced the Alcatel OneTouch Pixi 3 series. The series will have 4 models, with tech specs and features that include a 3.5-inch display with 3G connectivity for the first model. The other three models have 4-inch, 4.5-inch and 5-inch displays with 4G LTE connectivity. The most notable feature is that all four Pixi 3 models can run Firefox, Windows and Android. Now, Alcatel OneTouch have not explained whether each phone will have all three operating systems (for a triple boot device) or if you get to choose in the beginning which OS you'd like to use, but we'll find out more soon. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet, but the Pixi 3 series look to be entry-level to midrange devices.

As usual, every tech company is set for major announcements come CES 2015 and Alcatel OneTouch are no exception. They have also announced that they will be releasing a circular smartwatch named the Alcatel OneTouch Watch on 6 January 2015. While there is not mention of tech specs the image shows multiple (and possibly interchangeable) watch straps, a circular watch face and a mostly touchscreen and voice control interface. We're not sure if it will use Android Wear but features will include notifications, remote music playback, pedometer and other health tracking functions. While there are no Malaysia release dates or pricing details just yet, Alcatel OneTouch have said that the OneTouch Watch will have a "smart price". While it is unclear if it is smart for Alcatel OneTouch or for us, it would be great if it is priced below the usual $300 (RM1058).

Alcatel OneTouch (TCT Mobile Malaysia) just launched their Alcatel OneTouch Flash smartphone for the selfie masses here in Malaysia at just RM699. Equipped with a 5MP front camera, 1.4GHz octa-core processor, 13MP rear camera and 5.5-inch IPS display, the smartphone is Alcatel's answer to the Xiaomi Redmi Note. Available in grey and white, the OneTouch Flash looks to offer the same rounded corner look as the previous OneTouch Idol series but also has a metallic trim along the side. Check out our hands-on photos and the full tech specs below:

• 1.4GHz octa-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB storage
• 5.5-inch display (IPS, 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, MiraVision color enhancer)
• 13MP rear camera (auto focus, LED Flash, face tracking) + 5MP front camera (beauty enhancement feature)
• features HotKnot (NFC) technology, OTG support
• supports Dual SIM dual standby, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 with EDRm GPS
• 152.1 x 76.2 x 8.1mm | 150g
• 3200 mAh battery
• Android 4.4.2 KitKat

A device going by the name of Alcatel OneTouch D820 has recently appeared at GFXBench where it revealed some very interesting tech specs and features. The most notable fature is that of a 4.6-inch screen with 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution for a pixel density of 639 ppi, which is 100 more than the previous champion, the LG G3 which has display with 534 ppi. Other tech specs include a new MT6595 octa-core processor from MEdiaTek, 3GB of RAM and 16GB of storage but only packs in an 8MP rear and front camera. The device will come with Android 4.4.2 KitKat but there are still no details on pricing or Malaysia release dates. Stay tuned for more updates.