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Alcatel unwraps 'reversible' smartphone

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Barcelona, 02 Mar 2015
Alcatel's OneTouch Idol 3 comes with two speakers and its cameras have built-in HDR technology.
Alcatel's OneTouch Idol 3 comes with two speakers and its cameras have built-in HDR technology.

Mobile World Congress 2015: Alcatel OneTouch has used its platform at Mobile World Congress to reveal its Idol 3 smartphone, which it says is "100% reversible".

Hundreds of delegates from around the world have gathered in Barcelona for the four-day show and conference, which several manufacturers are using as a platform to launch new devices. Samsung and HTC have already introduced new flagship devices.

Alcatel claims its new handset is "packed with best-in-class components and software". It has incorporated JBL audio with two front-facing speakers and Clari-Fi technology. This, says Alcatel, "gives users the power of professional hi-fi audio components," which can be played through two front speakers.

The OneTouch mix application allows users to mix tracks, and the phone is encased in a brushed metal frame with a dual-colour diamond-cut effect.

It offers a 13MP rear camera with a "next-generation sensor". The Idol 3 is also "100% reversible, so users can grab their phone upside down and the Idol 3 user interface automatically adjusts".

Tricky design

Global design director CW Park says the idea for the reversible phone "came from a struggle that we all have in our everyday lives".

Park explains: "Whether we're shopping at the supermarket, riding a bike or carrying files in the office, our hands are often full. When the phone rings, we don't usually have much time to answer. By the time we free our hands or search through our bags and find the right way to pick up the phone, it's already too late. That's why I had this idea of a smartphone you can pick up both ways."

Yet, with the upside-down effect, it was necessary to keep the phone perfectly symmetrical. "We put a lot of effort into designing this orientation-free structure with dual front speakers."

Alcatel notes its handset also comes with a front camera with a wide (84-degree) viewing angle, while fast face focus software detects faces in 0.26 seconds. It has built-in HDR technology, and also offers auto scene detection.

The Technicolor Colour Enhance technology eliminated the need to squint at the phone in bright light as it gives users "perfect visibility from all angles".

The ultra-slim smartphone is available in two sizes, 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch. The 4.7-inch model has a quad-core CPU and HD screen; the 5.5-inch has an octa-core CPU and a full HD screen. Both offer 4G LTE connectivity and run on Android.

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