CES 2017
The mother of all trade shows, the Consumer Electronics Show takes over Vegas for the first week of January. Some major phones are usually announced, and we'll have hands-on reports for each one. This year, we expect big news from Huawei, LG, ZTE, and T-Mobile. Plus we'll have hands-on details of other interesting apps, services, and accessories in the world of phones.
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Alcatel Debuts the A3 XL with 6-Inch Screen
Alcatel today announced the A3 XL, the first in a new line of "premium affordable" mobile phones from the budget phone maker. The most distinctive characteristic of the A3 XL is the 6-inch 720p HD display. Alcatel is also calling out the phone's fingerprint sensor for biometric security. The phone is powered by a MediaTek MT8735B 1.1 GHz quad-core processor with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage. It supports memory cards up to 32 GB. The A3 includes an 8-megapixel main camera with flash and HDR, and a 5-megapixel front camera. It has a 3,000mAh battery and runs Android 7 Nougat. LTE support is limited to bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20, and 28b, meaning it isn't compatible with the 4G networks run by AT&T and T-Mobile. Alcatel says the phone will be sold overseas, though it plans to expand the A series over time.
TCL Teases Its Next BlackBerry Phone
TCL today offered a sneak peak of a new BlackBerry smartphone in a short video. TCL is the parent company behind Alcatel and recently struck an agreement to design and manufacture smartphone hardware for BlackBerry. Though TCL builds the devices, BlackBerry is providing its secure, Android-based platform. The agreement between the two companies builds on work the to did together last year. For example, TCL repurposed the Alcatel Idol 4 into the BlackBerry DTEK50. This new phone, which has no name, nor any stated specs, it a slab-style device with both a touch screen and physical QWERTY keyboard. TCL didn't share any real details about the phone, but it has an aluminum chassis, dual cameras, a fingerprint reader, USB-C, and a non-removable battery. TCL said it will fully announce the device at Mobile World Congress in February.
TCL Outlines Alcatel and BlackBerry Handset Strategy
TCL, the parent corporation of Alcatel, unveiled its new handset strategy moving forward. The company will continue to build its Alcatel-branded smartphones that target the low/value end of the market. These devices will run Android and will generally be sold via carriers and the open market. The company will also work closely with BlackBerry to design BlackBerry-branded handsets for North America and other markets. TCL will make the hardware, but it will rely on BlackBerry's hardened version of Android with government-grade security and business software on board. TCL sees its new partnership with BlackBerry as a way to get its phones into the high-end and enterprise segments of the market. BlackBerry and TCL hope to regain the trust of corporations that have in recent years turned to Apple and Samsung for employee devices. TCL plans to work with BlackBerry's sales team to sell BlackBerry-branded handsets directly to businesses, but it also intends to forge new carrier deals to reach consumers via carrier stores over time. TCL's Steve Cistulli says the BlackBerry DTEK50 and DTEK60, which are rebranded variants of the Alcatel Idol 4 and 4S, are performing well and have helped level off the decline of BlackBerry sales in North America. TCL believes it can reverse that decline over time with a range of unique BlackBerry handsets. The company also revealed its first entirely new BlackBerry smartphone that is scheduled to debut later this year. The phone is a slab with a physical QWERTY keyboard and touch screen. TCL did not announce the phone's name, nor its specs. BlackBerry said it will continue to support BBOS 10, and pointed out that it recently released BBOS 10.3.3 for older phones such as the BlackBerry Classic.
