Alcatel Unveils Hero And Idol Alpha Smartphones

Alcatel One Touch has revealed two new smartphones for the IFA consumer electronics conference in Berlin.

The first device is called the Hero, which features a 6-inch full HD in-plane switching (IPS) display, 1.5 GHz Quad Core processor and 13 megapixel camera. The second device is the Idol Alpha, which boasts a Quad Core 1.2 GHz processor and is set in an aluminium metal frame with a 7.5mm thin body.

Hero Smartphone

The main feature of the Hero is MagicFlip, which notifies users of everything the smartphone does and allows them to stay informed about important updates directly through the cover with the embedded LED. In addition, the smartphone comes with an inductive wireless charger, which allows users to charge their phone with just one flip.

Users can also extend the display with the E Ink cover. The technology enables users to read as if physical ink and paper on their mobile device with the stable image and wider viewing angle. Other features including wireless mirroring, which lets users share the phone screen onto a computer monitor to play a video or share a presentation by a TV Link connectivity device.

The Hero has a 3,400 mAh battery and also comes with a stylus which turns the phone into a creative enterprise tool, letting users annotate, create memos and professional sketches. It is complimented by apps designed to utilise handwriting recognition, which enables users to create and edit office documents on the go.

The device also allows users to project the phone screen anywhere, thanks to the Pico Projector, which allows users to create an image larger than 70 inches for multimedia presentations or movies. Finally, a tiny companion Bluetooth-enabled accessory phone allows users to receive SMS, calendar entries, place voice calls, sync their address book and more without removing the larger device from a pocket or bag.

Idol Alpha

Alcatel provided far less detail about the Idol Alpha handset, but did mention that the handset mixes a metal case, curves and translucent edges that glow different colours when different notifications reach the user, and the handset features a 4.7-inch edge-to-edge HD IPS screen.

The Idol Alpha also has a 13-megapixel camera and 2,000 mAh battery, as well as 16GB of memory. The Idol Alpha will run Google’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system.

The struggling company announced a restructuring plan in June that is getting a cautious reception from analysts. Alcatel One Touch is calling its latest effort the “Shift Plan,” a move to transform the company from a more general telecommunications equipment vendor to a specialist focusing on IP networking and ultra-broadband access, both areas that show high growth due to the growing demand from cloud and Internet providers for high-speed networks.

Alcatel One Touch is the brand of phones sold by Alcatel Mobile Phones, a joint venture set up between Altacel-Lucent and TCL of China. The group sells phones made by TCL, and is well known in the techWeek offices for its backing of Mozilla’s Firefox OS, in its One Touch Fire phone

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Originally published on eWeek.

Originally published on eWeek.