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TCL launches 5-inch 1080p Idol X (S950) smartphone with 6.99mm thickness, ultra-thin bezel
In a world obsessed with body image, we knew it wouldn't be long before our smartphones would start embarking on fad diets. The latest to show off its lack of curves is TCL's China-centric Idol X (S950), which can squeeze into a 6.99mm-thin pair of jeans. Just like the Alcatel version we saw at MWC, this handset comes with a 1080p display, which is bordered by an equally svelte 1.7mm bezel. Internals-wise, Android 4.2 is running on a quad-core, 1.5GHz MediaTek MT6589T chip, 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. On the imagine front, the phone has a hefty 13.1-megapixel primary camera and a two-megapixel front-facing lens. Despite those heavyweight specs, the unit is marked up for a reasonably cheap 1,699 yuan -- $280 to you and me.
Panasonic P51 breaks into the Indian phone market with a 5-inch screen and stylus (updated)
Although Panasonic's cellphones have traveled far from Japan, the company has left the hot Indian market relatively untapped -- until today, that is. The company is staking its first proper claim in the country with the launch of the P51. The Android 4.2-toting smartphone reflects the local market's taste for big-screened yet modest phones between its 5-inch, 720p LCD and quad-core 1.2GHz MediaTek processor, but comes across as a sort of Galaxy Note lite: Panasonic bundles both a capacitive stylus and a magnetic flip cover in the box. The remaining hardware is a slightly unusual mix of budget and premium components, with the so-so 1GB of RAM and 4GB of expandable storage buffered by an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front camera and support for both HSPA+ and dual SIM cards. The P51 will be comparatively expensive for India at 26,900 rupees ($517) contract-free when it's available next week, but it should be a bargain next to its pen-packing Samsung counterpart. Update: Panasonic is being a bit clever with its Indian foray -- we now know that the P51 shares a TCL-built design template with the Alcatel Scribe Easy, keeping the French phone's basic formula while upgrading the processor, camera and screen resolution. However, the P51 is definitely identical to the TCL Y900 in China.
TCL announces MoVo UD 4K television with Google TV coming later this year
Google just announced it will be upgrading Google TV units to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and China's TCL has announced it will have the first 4K TV built on the platform. We got a look at TCL's custom-skinned MoVo Google TV platform and 4K TVs separately at CES (pictured above, and in the gallery) so it only makes sense they'll be combining the two. Part of TCL's MoVo customizations include a motion sensor to recognize each user and personalize offerings based on their habits. Called Personal Box Office (PBO) or "Lazy TV" searches the available content and makes a recommendation without the need for a remote or even voice command. The press release indicates it will be available "later this year" although whether that includes a US release like Seiki's 50-inch Ultra HD set remains to be seen. According to the company it's being demonstrated at Google I/O this week, we'll see if we can get some hands-on time tomorrow.
Alcatel One Touch Fire joins the Firefox OS cuddle party, we go hands-on (video)
ZTE may have had a head start in the Firefox OS race ahead of MWC, but Alcatel's also got something similar to ride on the waves of some "500 million Mozilla users." Suitably dubbed the One Touch Fire, this entry-level phone is basically a rehash of the budget One Touch T'Pop announced back at CES, packing a 3.5-inch HVGA TN display, a 1GHz processor, 256MB RAM, 512MB storage and a 3.2-megapixel camera. There are also the usual bunch of radios: WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, FM radio and UMTS 900/2100 and 850/1900/2100 (up to 7.2Mbps for download and 5.76Mbps for upload). Underneath the removable 1,400mAh battery you'll find a microSD slot that'll take anything up to 32GB (a 2GB card is included), as well as a slot for an old-school Mini-SIM card. We got the chance to play with the Fire earlier today and while the glossy plastic body -- in either orange or pink -- felt solid enough, the performance wasn't quite there yet: the touch and software response were significantly sluggish, as you'll see in our hands-on video after the break. On the brighter side of things, the surprisingly large loudspeaker on the back produced some punchy bass, but don't expect too much from its audio quality. Alcatel has a few more months to grease up the phone before its June launch across Latin America and Europe, so we'll be able to give it a proper score then. Press release after the break.
Alcatel Idol X hands-on (video)
Alcatel converted its One Touch Idol line from a duo to a trio with today's launch of yet another set at Mobile World Congress: the Idol X. While not quite as thin as its 6.45mm-thin Idol Ultra sibling, at 7mm thick with a tiny 2.4mm bezel, it is definitely about as small as a 5-inch set can get. The Idol X's giant 1080p IPS display is fantastic to look at and Jelly Bean is snappy driven by a quad-core MediaTek MT6589 1.2GHz CPU. Like many of Alcatel's other sets, the range of configurations varies by market as we'll see both 13- and 8-megapixel variants -- both with 1080p front-facing cameras -- and dual- or single-SIM options, with the single variety getting a bonus microSD slot. While the Idol X is not equipped with LTE it does have 42 Mbps HSPA+ connectivity, quad-band GSM and offers dual-band UMTS in both 900MHz/2100MHz or 850MHz/2100MHz frequencies. Alcatel's all about mass market; it isn't chasing the likes of Apple or Samsung, but rather is quite happy to simply make "devices for people." So while 2012 marked its first foray into smartphones, judging by what we've seen so far in 2013 from them it seems they've nailed affordability while maintaining a surprising amount of quality -- a great combination. Pricing and availability remain a mystery, but until we find out more, go ahead and join Myriam after the break for a quick video tour.
TCL shows off MoVo Google TV box, 'China Star' 110-inch 4K TV
Chinese manufacturer TCL has a rather significant showing at CES 2013, with a number of TVs and TV-related products. We're not sure if we'll be seeing any of these debut in the US, but among them were a 110-inch "China Star" 3D 4K TV that's got a brand tie-in with Iron Man 3, and its MoVo Google TV product. Its Google TV set-top box is powered by the same Marvell Armada 1500 SoC as many others, but features a custom skin and uses facial recognition to provide personalized experiences for every family member. It seemed to run equally to other Google TVs, although we wonder if that custom skin may slow down the pace of future updates. Also on display in the booth are TCL's iCE Screen that debuted last year, and its super thin V101 Blade TV. There's more details on the products in the press release after the break, as well as some in person pics (including the 36+ sq ft China Star and accompanying costumed Iron Man) in the gallery.
ZTE, European carrier teaming up on a Firefox OS phone for 2013
As much as we've heard about Firefox OS, there hasn't been a lot of talk about actual devices. We can put at least one major manufacturer on the list, however. ZTE's US chief Cheng Lixin tells Bloomberg that his company is working with an unspecified European carrier to ship a Mozilla-friendly phone sometime in 2013. It's a modest beginning, but Cheng notes that the OS could cross the Atlantic and reach the US this year if ZTE decides the platform is viable enough for the trip. Just what that that European phone involves is another matter -- it's unlikely that the mystery device we saw at CES represents ZTE's future hardware. Between this and TCL's commitment earlier this week, though, it's evident that Mozilla's platform is becoming a tangible reality.
Tencent and TCL unveil Ice Screen: a 26-inch Android-based smart TV
Chinese web titan Tencent and TCL Multimedia have torn the wraps off the Ice Screen, a jointly developed 26-inch smart TV with a 1,366 x 768 display that allows users to browse the web, access videos, music and games through QQ services. Under the hood, the Android-powered television houses a dual-core Cortex A9 1GHz processor, a Mali 400 GPU, 4GB of RAM and support for a memory card of up to 32GB in size. An IR remote and an app for devices sporting version 2.2 or higher of Google's OS can be used to control the tube, which can sit horizontally or vertically in its stand. On the connectivity front, the panel packs Wi-Fi, a pair of USB ports, HDMI and a 3.5mm headphone jack. You can plunk down ¥1,999 (roughly $315) for an online pre-order before its September 3rd launch. More details await in the press release after the jump.
Alcatel outs 4.5-inch, 720p OT986 smartphone with Ice Cream Sandwich in China
Alcatel is relatively a newcomer to the world of smartphone manufacturing, but the company's latest handset is certainly bound to turn some heads. Dubbed "OT986," this 4.5-inch device packs a hefty amount of all-around power (unlike that Venture), starting with its 1280 x 720 HD, IPS display, which is paired nicely alongside a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU (TI OMAP 4460), one gig of RAM and 8GB of internal storage -- and, there's also a lower-end model sporting a 1.2GHz processor and a mere 4GB of built-in storage. Furthermore, Alcatel's new Ice Cream Sandwich slab is said to hit the Chinese market under the TCL S900 moniker for 1,999 yuan (about $314), but deets are still cloudy on whether it'll be stuffed with the same juicy specs as the aforementioned OT986. While we wait to hear which other countries the device will make its way into, though, you can hit the source link below to gander at some extra eye candy.
Hillcrest Labs takes its TV motion control system to China, becomes TCL's new best friend
It's only been a few days since Hillcrest Labs open sourced its Kylo web browser for TVs, and now the company's back with yet another announcement. Well, this time it's more about TCL who's just declared its top TV market share in China. Much like the Roku 2 and LG TVs with Magic Motion remote, Hillcrest's Freespace engine has been outted as the enabling technology behind TCL's recently announced V7500, a 3D smart TV series featuring a heavily customized Android 4.0.3 and a 7.9mm-thick bezel. This means users can interact with and play games on this slim TV via motion and cursor control on the remote (there's also voice control here but it doesn't look like Hillcrest has anything to do with it). There are no dates or prices just yet, but TCL better be quick as Lenovo's got something very similar ready to ship soon.
IKEA Uppleva HDTV to retail for $960 in Europe beginning next month, US launch in 2013
Details continue to emerge as we approach the IKEA Uppleva's June launch. GigaOM has discovered that the set will be available in sizes ranging from 24 to 46 inches and will be priced "around $960" -- with a scale relative to the display size, we presume. The TV will feature a built-in Blu-ray player and a wireless subwoofer, and is being assembled by TCL Multimedia a manufacturer in China. Uppleva is expected to roll out to France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden beginning next month, then to other European countries later in the year, followed by the US in 2013. There will also be a handful of applications that will vary based on region, including Dailymotion, Vimeo and YouTube, along with games, music playback and video-on-demand apps, and the Opera for TV web browser. There's a familiar sneak-peek vid awaiting you just past the break. Update: Due to an error at the source article, we originally identified the manufacturer as TLC, rather than TCL Multimedia. The text above has been updated to reflect the correction.
More images and details emerge about Ikea's Uppleva
Did you not get enough Swedish furniture pr0n yesterday with the announcement of Ikea's Uppleva? Well, we've got a slew of new images and some new details for you. As far as specs, it seems that the sets will be available in 24, 36, 40 and 46 inches and all are LED backlit. They'll also all sport WiFi and "smart TV" features including the Opera browser -- except for the 24-incher, which must accept its role as the runt of the litter. The TVs will also come attached to three different TV bench designs in six different finishes. While we weren't able to score our own units yet, M3 did and you can check out their hands-on out at the source link.
AUO's 71-inch ultra-wide 3D LCD panel eyes-on
While strolling around Shenzhen earlier today, we decided to stop by at the China Optoelectronics Display Expo to feast our eyes on AUO's "world's largest" 71-inch 21:9 3D LCD panel. Phew, what a mouthful, but this 240Hz ultrawidescreen is indeed larger than the sub-60-inch offerings from Vizio, JVC, and Philips. But is it any good? We put on our passive 3D glasses and found the experience to be surprisingly comfortable and effective (even at about 40 degrees from the center before we hit the wall), though the glossy screen's reflection of the neighboring booth was slightly off-putting. This would probably be less of a problem at your humble abode, anyhow. In terms of availability, AUO told us that China-based TCL will be the first to pick up this beast of a panel, and the final product should be out in August. Apart from that, we couldn't squeeze out further info about other brands, so you best be writing to your nearest dealership to import this exotic cinema TV. More eyes-on pics in the gallery below. %Gallery-123065%
Apple's mobile partner in China announces its own iPhone rival
The parent company of China Unicom, Apple's sole partner for carrying the iPhone in China, revealed plans on Monday to release its own mobile computing platform. Dubbed "Wophone," the platform will compete directly with Apple's iOS and Google's Android. Last year, Apple partnered with China Unicom, the nation's second largest mobile carrier, to release the iPhone 4 in China. The exclusive availability of the iPhone on China Unicom's network helped the carrier compete with rivals China Mobile and China Telecom for new customers in China's nascent 3G wireless services market. In a statement, China Unicom said it hopes Wophone will help the company and its manufacturing partners develop a broader variety of more affordable 3G devices and introduce them to market more quickly. The rapid introduction of new 3G devices could help woo new customers away from market-leading China Mobile who released its own mobile platform, "Ophone," in 2009. China Mobile leads the wireless market in China with about 589 million total subscribers, but has only 22.6 million customers for its higher revenue 3G services. China Unicom said 15.5 million of its 170 million subscribers were on 3G at the end of January.
China Unicom launches WoPhone Linux platform, because the world can't get enough of Tux
Another day, another Linux mobile platform launched. The latest flavor hails all the way from China Unicom -- Apple's sole iPhone partner in China thanks to its WCDMA network -- who's just announced the WoPhone platform to, ironically, "break up the foreign smartphone platform monopoly." Of course, this isn't the first time that a Chinese carrier has pushed out its own OS -- TD-SCDMA operator China Mobile already has OPhone, though it's really just a bastardized Android; whereas China Unicom claims that WoPhone's an entirely new OS built around the Linux core. That said, some of WoPhone's UI elements do look awfully familiar. While we don't expect to see this new OS trickling out to the rest of the world any time soon, a big handful of manufacturers -- namely Motorola, Samsung, HTC, TCL, K-Touch, ZTE, Huawei, etc. -- and cloud service partners were present at yesterday's launch event to show off the first batch of devices, including the K-Touch U2 pictured above. Head over to ifeng for more hands-on pics.
3D stole the show at CES 2010
Not sure why we've been putting this off, but we'll just come right out and say it: there's no doubt that this was the year for 3D at CES. We walked the show floor for countless hours and can tell you that just about everyone was showing something related to 3D at their booths. Most of these demos required a bit of a wait to experience them (thanks, hype), and everywhere you went people were talking about 3D. Granted, not all of that talk was positive, but it was talk nonetheless. Whether or not the technology will be seen in history as a success in the market place is obviously still up in the air, and much like a finely crafted episode of Lost, 3D at CES this year was littered with more questions than answers. %Gallery-82768%
HD DVD rides again: TCL brings China Blue HD & Blu-ray together for a CES face-off
Ah, HD DVD, our old friend - we thought we'd never see you again. But there was no mistaking it, here's the logo tucked away in Chinese manufacturer TCL's booth on a China Blue HD deck next to a similar Blu-ray player. The Blu-ray demo appeared to be down when we stopped by making this not much of a fight -- although with recent gains by CBHD like adding studio support from Paramount, it may want to take this challenger more seriously. We'll move the threat level on this conflict to yellow. %Gallery-82741%
TCL completes the no-glasses 3D trifecta at CES
Add one more piece of tech to your glasses vs. glassless 3D display battlemap, as TCL was showing off this autostereoscopic display in an odd reflective frame at its CES booth. Around the corner from a conventional RealD shutter glasses setup, it whipped through several animated 3D renderings similar to those from Alioscopy and Magnetic3D. The frame made it hard to tell but it seemed to have a little less pop than the competition, with slightly better clarity. All the glassless displays we saw this year used similar lenticular lens technology applied to 1080p HDTV screens to achieve their affect, with mostly similar results, with so many players, there should be plenty of billboards and in-store opportunities for you to get a look yourself soon enough. %Gallery-82710%
China Blue HD crosses over to the UK, third Opium War inevitable
We've given HD DVD's bastard child China Blue HD its due for a good start in its native land, but now that U.K. Importer GBAX has made a few units available it's time for English language buyers to at least consider this Blu-ray alternative. Of course, with a £259.99 ($413.22 U.S.) pricetag for this plain TCL player, AV and HD cables, plus 14 CBHD movies (The Aviator, Blood Diamond, The Invasion, The Island, Flood, Poseidon & 8 Chinese-only flicks) to get you started the barrier to entry is high, but as shown in the unboxing / preview video -- embedded after the break, watch for ninjas -- the experience is very familiar. As Format War Central points out, the 220/240Hz power cord makes things complicated for the U.S. and other places outside Europe, but hardcore HD DVD holdouts are used to a world filled with only Warner and Universal movies already, so why not give the other blue laser flavor a try? [Via Format War Central]
China Blue HD players revealed, second stage of the format war is officially on
China's alternative to Blu-ray finally has some hardware to show off, with players from TCL and Shinco making their debut this week. Priced at less than 2,000 yuan ($292) they're reportedly 40% cheaper than the competition, and while the promised support from Warner Bros. has yet to materialize it plans to release 100 movies on the CBHD format by the end of the year. That's about all the machine translation could help us make out beyond the usual promise of lower licensing fees for Chinese manufacturers, but a better look at the latest (and by far most legit, although that's not saying much) Blu-ray fighter is beyond the read link.[Via CDR Info]
