Not content with its new range of low and mid-range smartphones and tablets, Alcatel has surely made quite an impact here at CES 2013 with the announcement of its new high-end One Touch Idol Ultra, which now holds the title of the world’s slimmest smartphone. In addition, the French company has also announced not one, not two, but three entries to the increasingly packed 5-inch smartphone category.
Read more on the One Touch Idol Ultra and the bevy of five-inch models after the break.
The One Touch Idol Ultra is the perfect model for the French company to make its mark at this year’s CES. At 6.45mm thick, it is 0.1mm thinner than the incumbent, the BBK Vivo X1. Hardware wise, the One Touch Idol Ultra is no slouch either. It has a 4.7-inch, Super AMOLED 720p HD display, a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU paired with 1GB of RAM and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. In addition, there’s an 8MP camera at the back and a 1.3MP front-facing module, and both records up to 720p videos.
On the downside, there is only 8GB flash storage here which is non-expandable – one of the drawbacks of such a thin phone. In addition, there is no 3.5mm audio jacks to be found. Instead, the audio jack has a separate micro USB adaptor. There’s no LTE too, and for now the Idol Ultra will only be available in China when it is released this month for $449 (around RM1380).
On the other hand, Alcatel has also announced three new five-inch smartphones under the One Touch Scribe series. The flagship among these, is the One Touch Scribe X, featuring a five-inch Full HD IPS screen. Under the hood, the Scribe X is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM. There is a 12MP rear camera at the back, and a 720p module in front. There is also a suite of software that comes with the Scribe X that allows users to create movies, edit photos and connect wirelessly to their TVs.
In addition to the Scribe X, Alcatel has also announced two other lower-specced five inchers – which are essentially the same. The One Touch Scribe HD has a five-inch 720p IPS display and a 1.2GHz quad-core Mediatek processor paired with 1GB of RAM. At the back, there is an 8MP shooter, while the front-facing camera is capable of 720p videos. There’s 4GB of onboard storage with a microSD card slot, and a large 2500mAh. Also, the Scribe HD also comes with a stylus, jumping on the bandwagon of Samsung’s Galaxy Note II.
There will also be a separate version of the HSPA+ Scribe HD, called the Scribe HD-LTE, which is exactly the same as the Scribe HD, but with the addition of a 4G LTE radio. Again, there is no word on availability or pricing for the One Touch Scribe X and One Touch Scribe HD-LTE, but the One Touch Scribe HD will be priced in the $400 region (around RM1230) and will be released in the US in Q3 this year.
(Source: Engadget (1), (2), (3))
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