Palm Brand To Be Resurrected By Alcatel

Palm Brand To Be Resurrected By Alcatel

  According to a new report, Palm phones might be making a comeback in the market courtesy of Alcatel One Touch, which is Alcatel's smartphone wing. It's not clear as to whether this will mean a complete remodeling of Alcatel or a standalone device with Palm and Alcatel branding, but it's certainly good news for lovers of the almost extinct webOS platform.

  HP killed off webOS and sold off its developmental assets to LG, with the company launching Smart TVs powered by the OS. So it will be interesting to see where Alcatel will chime in. Given the recognition enjoyed by Palm in the developer community, it wouldn't make sense for Alcatel to launch an Android device bearing the Palm branding. WebOS saw an early (and an unfair) demise, so users are hopeful that Alcatel will breathe a new life to the platform.

  The report emerges from the fact that Palm trademarks were transferred to a company called Wide Progress Global Limited. And not surprisingly, the VP of this firm is also the President of Alcatel One Touch (Americas and Pacific) and TCL. There are a lot of dots to connect here, but it does seem likely that Palm could be resurrected soon given the evidence on paper.

  Alcatel One Touch is yet to confirm any of this, so nothing is conclusive as of yet. But considering the company's ambitions to make it big in the global smartphone scene, a move like this can always be expected. One Touch devices mostly cater to the midrange segment with a handful of devices sold in India as well.

This information is brought to you courtesy of http://www.gizmodo.in/

Android Lollipop vs. KitKat

Android Lollipop 5.0 vs KitKat 4.4.4 Performance Comparison

00:00 - Boot

00:57 - Web browsing

02:12 - Opening some apps

03:10 - Antutu Benchmark

08:08 - Geekbench Benchmark

10:11 - Opening one more app

10:32 - GTA San Andreas gameplay

14:00 - Turning off devices

This basic rundown of both operating systems was designed to show the snappy quickness found in the new Android Lollipop operating system.  Although the Lollipop system runs a bit faster, it is not running at such a blazing speed that I would risk crashing my new phone just to have it.  The Android Kitkat 4.4.4 is a beast of it's own and in some instances tends to outperform the mighty fable Lollipop.  This test is a good depiction of what one can expect when downloading this new system, which in my humble opinion after watching this video is........Not much at all.

However, there are many hidden features which make this a great new system.  Transferring information from one phone to another has become a snap and the usability is much easier.  There now is much more information available at your lock screen than ever before as well as several new fancy pants animations from screen to screen.

Alcatel OneTouch Hero 2 Review

Alcatel OneTouch Hero 2 Review

  As Alcatel has earned a reputation for bringing powerful yet affordable mobile devices to market, it appears as if the Hero 2 is falling in those same footsteps as their new and improved Hero gets quite a makeover.  This phone may not boast the incredible battery life that most were hoping for but it is still certainly an improvement over other flagship models on the market.  Android Authority offers a great review below with regards to specs and overall usability.

With the huge success of the Galaxy Note, which is now in its fourth iteration, and the arrival of the Nexus 6, it seems that devices with 6 inch (or thereabouts) displays are becoming mainstream. But the Galaxy Note 4, Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and the Nexus 6 (all winners of our Editor’s Choice Award) aren’t the only 6 inch phones around. One very interesting alternative is the Alcatel Onetouch Hero 2.
The Alcatel brand is best known in Europe, mainly because it originates from France. In 2004 Alcatel entered into a joint venture with TCL, a Chinese electronics giant, to create Alcatel Mobile Phones. In time Alcatel sold its part in the venture, however the name lives on in Alcatel Onetouch.
The Hero 2 was announced in September of this year, it has a 6 inch full 1080p HD display, a 13 megapixel camera, 2GB of RAM, a 3100 mAh battery, and comes with a stylus. I received a Hero 2 a few days ago and I have been playing with it ever since, this is what I discovered.

SPEC SHEET

Display 6” Full HD IPS 1080 x 1920 pixels, Dragontrail glass

Processor 2.0GHz, octa-core Mediatek MT8392, Cortex-A7

RAM 2GB

Storage 16GB, microSD card slot, up to 32GB

Camera 13.1 Megapixel Rear Camera with Optical Image and Video stabilization (OIS+EIS), 5MP Front Camera

Battery 3100 mAh

Connectivity NFC, GPS, microUSB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth

Networks GSM, 3G, 4G LTE

Software      Android 4.4 with Google Play

Dimensions 160.5 x 81.6 x 7.9 mm, 175g

SIM slots 1xMicro SIM

Alcatel OneTouch Idol Alpha

Alcatel OneTouch Idol Alpha review

Key Features: 4.7-inch 1,280 x 720 pixel IPS screen; Android 4.2; 13-megapixel camera with LED flash

Manufacturer: Alcatel

Well, Alcatel has certainly set the bar quite a bit higher with this model as it's design is one of a kind in this marketplace and it's specs are higher than any model they have previously revealed.  At first glance, one can hardly avoid noticing the Alpha's clear bezel above and below the screen.  All LED Notifications shine brightly through here but otherwise the design is crystal clear.  

The phone has received mixed reviews as many marvel at it's beautiful design but are not quite happy with the specs for the higher price tag of nearly $300.

Trusted Reviews gives their verdict below.

Should I buy the Alcatel OneTouch Idol Alpha?

The Alcatel OneTouch Idol Alpha is an interesting handset with some eye-catching design motifs. However, start using the phone and begin to assess it within the wider market and it just doesn’t make a great deal of sense. 

Most core elements are fine: the camera’s decent enough, the processor is a fair match for the 720p display and the resolution is just about sharp enough for the screen size. However, there are some design blunders that we find hard to accept when the specs are already a stretch given the SIM-free price. 

The lack of a headphone jack is unforgivable, we don’t like the soft keys much, there’s no 4G and the software is very old. If you don’t want to use your phone for music at all, and can find the Alcatel OneTouch Idol Alpha at a much lower cost than the standard SIM-free price, this is a perfectly respectable phone with rather good battery life. But we do mean a much lower cost. 

Verdict

While solid in most respects, some annoying design decisions and a high price lose the Alpha a recommendation.

The Alcatel "Selfie" Phone

The Alcatel "Selfie" Phone
Alcatel One Touch Flash

The Alcatel One Touch Flash looks simple at first but when you start exploring its specifications and the product’s build quality, it has a lot more to offer than what you see in the first look. The phone is set down to compete with a dozen other products in the market that focus on selfie centric front camera but can it actually stand out from the crowd?

Design

Sporting a sleek and slim design with crystal white back, the Alcatel One Touch Flash is a strong reminder of the Samsung phones that used to be the most popular choice among Indian buyers. There are useful capacitive navigation buttons below the screen which helps you save display space and the volume, power buttons are on the right for immediate access. The textured back finish is lovely to touch and doesn’t attract grease or act as a finger print magnet. It’s a neatly designed phone.

Display

The Alcatel One Touch Flash boasts of a great looking 5.5-inch IPS display which is definitely one of the unique sales points of the phone. However, they should have gone with a full HD display to woo buyers but the 1280 x 720 pixels for such a large screen reduces the pixels per inch. You definitely won’t find much difference when it comes to viewing apps, playing games or watching movies in general but the comparison is evident only when you pit a phablet with a 1080p display close by. The brightness levels are good even under sunlight and colors are ok.

Performance

A 1.4 GHz Mediatek octa core processor powers the phone which is coupled with 1 GB of RAM. It has 8 GB of storage and 32 GB expansion support which makes it an ideal choice for even power users who like to fill up their storage space with movies, music, games and apps. The One Touch Flash conveniently handles most intense multi-tasking apps and even is good for your occasional gaming on the go. It heats up a little bit when it is pushed to its limits for consequent hours but that’s nothing to worry about.

Camera

The camera in the Alcatel One Touch Flash is its highlight. A strong 13 megapixel rear camera promises the best pictures and videos while the 5 megapixel front camera invites users to take some great selfies. When we put it in comparison, the selfie camera is good and as you would most probably use a lot of filters, the end result should be quite impressive. It has 4x digital zoom and stabilization control.

Battery

Even after using it all day with Wifi turned on, playing numerous games and download apps, the 3200 mAh battery refused to lose its power and we managed to still have almost 25% of it still left before we had to hit the charging point.

Verdict

The Alcatel One Touch Flash combines the best of user performance, battery life and good camera at an affordable price point except for its not-so-impressive display. A good purchase that you could go for!