Alcatel OneTouch Hero hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/05/alcatel-onetouch-hero-hands-on/

Okay, you have to admit: there might actually be something to this whole large smartphone business, started by Samsung two years ago at this very trade show. Not only has the trend not gone away, nearly every major OEM is hopping on the bandwagon. Alcatel OneTouch is interested in joining the party, and it's entering the field with a doozy aptly called the Hero, a 6-inch behemoth with a full HD (1,920 x 1,080) display and a few tricks up its sleeves. It's relatively easy on the hands, with a curved back and a decent thickness of 8.5mm. In fact, compared to the Acer Liquid S2 (another 6-inch smartphone announced at IFA), it's 6mm narrower, 7.5mm shorter and 0.5mm thinner -- great news, especially since we felt pretty comfortable with the S2 during our hands-on.

In many parts of the world, Alcatel OneTouch is still an unknown, despite the fact that the manufacturer has a reputation for pushing out up to a dozen handsets at one time. While this is still very much the case this week, we've noticed that the company has put a much higher amount of focus on quality. The Hero doesn't remind us of a cheap KIRF or knockoff phone. Instead, we came away much more impressed with the phone's look and feel than we originally expected. Continue past the break for more of our thoughts and the Hero's features.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Velodyne vQuiet active noise-canceling headphones (ears-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/05/velodyne-vquiet/

Velodyne is a name closely associated with subwoofers, but the company also knocks-out portable audio gear, too. The vQuiet, as you may have guessed, is Velo's first pair of active noise canceling headphones -- hopefully ensuring that your jams are more listenable on the rowdy floor of a busy trade show. In our very short time with the gear, we found that Bob Dylan's quiet-voiced bootlegs were a little more audible with the head wear activated than not. Of course, we'd rather spend a little more time with them before making a final judgment, but until then, the vQuiet will arrive more generally in October for $299 -- offering you a choice between them and the ever-present Bose sets that you see during those long-haul flights.

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Filed under: Portable Audio/Video

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Alcatel OneTouch intros prototype pico projector docking port (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/05/alcatel-onetouch-pico-projector/

Pico projectors are swell, but they're not wildly popular. Very few smartphone manufacturers can find a way to embed them into devices without making them incredibly thick and expensive, and without sucking the battery dry in no time at all -- the Samsung Galaxy Beam comes to mind regarding all of the above concerns -- and carrying around a separate accessory is just plain impractical and expensive. (Plus, most devices can wirelessly mirror content onto TVs and monitors anyway, making the actual market even more limited.) But what if you could find a clever way of incorporating it into another useful accessory while keeping it small, simple and inexpensive? Well, we're not sure about the latter qualification, but Alcatel OneTouch is at least keeping an eye on this niche with a new docking station that doubles as an aforementioned pico projector. It's a prototype accessory that's compatible with the OneTouch Hero, thanks to its set of magnetic docking contacts on the back -- all you have to do is clip it on and the phone recognizes that it's been attached. The projector is 12Lm, which is a little dimmer than we'd prefer (we were told that the final product may actually be brighter than this, but they can't confirm for now), and the company claims it can show a screen larger than 70 inches.

Company reps tell us that this nameless accessory isn't officially coming onto the market just yet, and they're trying to determine how best to proceed (the Hero's press release suggests that this for sure will be available later, however, so we'll take it with a grain of salt at the moment). It's a clever idea that could come in handy for a number of business travelers who need to carry on impromptu presentations, but price (of both the projector and the phone itself) will be a key factor in its success. Check out a few images below that show off the prototype in all its miniature glory.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Mobile

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Alcatel intros four One Touch Pop C-series smartphones, keeps them cheap

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/06/alcatel-one-touch-pop-c-series/

Not everyone needs a giant, higher-end smartphone like the One Touch Hero -- many can get by with just the basics. For those users, Alcatel has unveiled four One Touch Pop models with smaller screens and entry-level performance. The Android 4.2-based range begins with the Pop C1, a starter phone with a 3.5-inch screen, a dual-core 1GHz processor and sprightly color options like neon green and pink. Need more? The Pop C3 jumps to a 4-inch screen and a dual-core 1.3GHz chip; the Pop C5 steps up to a 4.5-inch screen, and the Pop C7 carries both a 5-inch display as well as a quad-core 1.3GHz processor. If you're interested, you can pick up the C1 or C3 as soon as October. The C5 ships in November, while the C7 arrives sometime during the last quarter of the year. %Gallery-slideshow79376%

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: Alcatel

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Leaked Verizon doc prices Galaxy Note 3 at $699 retail, $299 with contract, $599 if you bundle the watch

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/06/verizon-galaxy-note-3-prices/

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AT&T and T-Mobile customers already know what they will have to cough up if they want to squeeze Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 into their pockets. Verizon customers, however, are currently in the dark -- despite big red encouraging you commit in advance all the same. A reportedly leaked document received by AndroidSPIN pegs the phone at $699 sans-contract, or $299 if you sign on the dotted line for a two-year fling. Verizon seems keen to bundle in the Galaxy Gear, too, offering a joint package for $599 should you want to go all in. The pricing-curtain officially lifts at 9am ET, but here's a head start if you need to count those beans. Take a squint at the image yourself past the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Via: Sammobile

Source: AndroidSPIN

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