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Alcatel intros the One Touch Idol Ultra, the 'world's slimmest phone' at 6.45mm (hands-on video)
Yes, there's a bit of a contest going on among smartphone manufacturers to determine which one has the thinnest device. As proof that Alcatel can play that game, too, the company has just jumped into the circle with its One Touch Idol Ultra, which measures 6.45mm at its thinnest point and ekes by the previous champ, the 6.55mm BBK Vivo X1. Alongside the One Touch Scribe HD, the device stands as Alcatel's flagship smartphone reveal at CES. Beyond thinness, the Idol Ultra boasts a 4.7-inch HD (1,280 x 720) Super AMOLED (read: PenTile) display, a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM and Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Users will also find an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing counterpart, both of which record video at 720p. In its push to make the Idol Ultra as thin as possible, Alcatel omitted expandable storage from the unit, and with only 8GB built-in, media hungry individuals will need to rely on cloud services. In terms of connectivity, the phone supports quad-band GSM and offers dual-band HSPA (7.2Mbps) in two different configurations: 900MHz / 2100MHz or 850MHz / 2100MHz. The phone is scheduled for availability this month in China for 2,799 RMB ($449). Sadly, the phone isn't destined to hit the US anytime soon -- Alcatel told us that the device couldn't get approved by the FCC due to its thin profile. So what did we think about this record-breaking handset? Hands-on photos are below, and after the break you'll find our impressions, a video and a full press release. %Gallery-174934%
Alcatel prepping One Touch Scribe HD phone with quad-core MediaTek chipset
If you remember the MediaTek MT6589 that we recently took for a spin, you might recall that it holds the curious designation as containing the world's first quad-core Cortex A7 1GHz+ CPU. Interestingly, we've just learned that this snappy, efficient chip will be included in Alcatel's upcoming One Touch Scribe HD smartphone. Alongside that announcement, the company has confirmed to us that it'll soon debut the One Touch Idol Ultra, which counts as its thinnest smartphone to date, along with a modular tablet that's dubbed the One Touch Evo7 HD. Not to stop there, Alcatel also promises that a mobile hotspot known as the One Touch Link W800. Other details remain elusive, but we're hopeful that we'll learn more in a few days time.
