Alcatel announces new phones and tablets, all called PIXI 3

02 March, 2015

Alcatel has definitely brought a lot of new devices to this year's MWC. Yesterday we reported on two new devices, bearing the name OneTouch IDOL 3 and it appear we only skimmed the surface. And if thought those two differently sized namesake phones were very confusing wait until you see the next badge.

A total of three tablets and two phones will all share the model - PIXI 3. And the difference across the lineup isn't only in the screen size. First up there are the two new smartphones. Both are named PIXI 3 (5.5), which signifies their screen size. The most obvious difference is that one of them supports 4G LTE, while the other one doesen't. But the differences don't stop there. The lower-end model comes with a 540 x 960 pixel panel, while its bigger brother boats an HD resolution of 720p. Chipsets are also quite different - a MediaTek MT6580 in the low-end and a QCT 8909 in the other device. Both phones will have 1GB of RAM and will run Android L out of the box, but the differences are abundant. Below is a full list of the specs of each one.

Pixie 3 (5.5) 3G

2G NETWORK	GSM 850/900/1800/1900
3G NETWORK	UMTS 900/2100 UMTS 850/900/1900/2100
DISPLAY	IPS, 5.5" qHD (540x960); HD compatible
INTERNAL MEMORY	8GB ROM+1GB RAM; 4GB eMMC +512MB LPDDR3 compatible
EXTERNAL MEMORY	Card slot support up to 32GB
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wifi Hotspot, Wifi Display
BLUE TOOTH	V4.0 with A2DP, EDR
USB	Micro USB, 2.0 high speed
PRIMARY CAMERA	8MP AF(5M AF compatible);
SECONDARY CAMERA	2MP (5MP compatible)
OS	Android L
CHIPSET	MT6580
SENSOR	G-sensor (Accelerometer) (proximity, light , e-compass , Gyro compatible)
GPS	Yes, with A-GPS.
BATTERY	2910 mAh battery

Pixie 3 (5.5) 4G

2G NETWORK	GSM 850/900/1800/1900
3G NETWORK	UMTS 2/4/5 (TMO) / UMTS 1/2/5 (ATT) / UMTS 1/2/5/8 (Global)
4G NETWORK	B2/4/12 (TMO) / B2/4/5/7/12/17 (MFBI B17 to B12) (ATT) B1/3/7/8/20 (EMEA) / B1/3/8/20 /40 (APAC) / B1/2/4/7/28 (LATAM)
DISPLAY	TFT, 5.5" HD (720X1280)
INTERNAL MEMORY	8GB+1GB; (4GB +1GB compatible)
EXTERNAL MEMORY	Card slot support up to 32GB (North America ) & 128GB (global)
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display
BLUE TOOTH	V4.0
USB	Micro USB, 2.0 high speed
PRIMARY CAMERA	5 and 8 MP AF camera,
SECONDARY CAMERA	2 and 5 MP camera
OS	Android L
CHIPSET	QCT 8909
SENSOR	G-sensor, P/L sensor, E compass, Hall sensor
GPS	Yes
BATTERY	2800 mAh battery

The situation is actually even more confusing with the tablets. All three of them bear the name PIXI3(7) with either Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G LTE appended at the end. This definitely clears up the question of connectivity, but hardware-wise the three models have little in common, besides the 7-inch 1024x600-inch screen.

Chipsets are different, RAM as well. Even the preinstalled Android version, with only the top of the line model offering Android Lollipop. Once again here are the specs on the three devices so you can judge for yourself.

PIXI3 (7) Wi-Fi

CHIPSET	QUAD CORE 1.3 GHz, MT8127
MODELS	Wi-Fi
WIRELESS	802.11 B/G/N, BLUETOOTH 4.0
OS	ANDROID 4.4 KK
DISPLAY	7-INCH 1024x600, TFT DISPLAY
MEMORY	512MB RAM
STORAGE	4GB ROM
BATTERY	2820 mAh
SIZE AND WEIGHT	189 x 111 x 9,1 mm, 260 GRAMS
INPUT/OUTPUT	MICRO USB, MICRO SD
CAMERAS	2.0 MP REAR, VGA FRONT
OTHER	G-SENSOR

PIXI3 (7) 3G

CHIPSET	DUAL CORE 1.3 GHz, MT8312
MODELS	3G
WIRELESS	802.11 B/G/N, BLUETOOTH 4.0
OS	ANDROID 4.4 KK
DISPLAY	7-INCH 1024x600, TFT DISPLAY
MEMORY	512MB RAM
STORAGE	4GB ROM
BATTERY	2820 mAh
SIZE AND WEIGHT	189 x 111 x 9,1 mm, 260 GRAMS
INPUT/OUTPUT	MICRO USB, MICRO SD
CAMERAS	2.0 MP REAR, VGA FRONT
OTHERS	G-SENSOR, OTG, GPS VOICE CALL (HANDSET MODE)

PIXI3 (7) 4G LTE

CHIPSET	QUAD CORE 1.1 GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 210
MODELS	4G LTE
WIRELESS	802.11 B/G/N, BLUETOOTH 4.1
OS	ANDROID 5.0 L
DISPLAY	7-INCH 1024x600, TFT DISPLAY
MEMORY	1 GB RAM
STORAGE	4GB ROM
BATTERY	2820 mAh
SIZE AND WEIGHT	191x109x9.2 mm, 260 GRAMS
INPUT/OUTPUT	MICRO USB, MICRO SD
CAMERAS	2MP REAR VGA FRONT
OTHERS	OTG, GPS, G-SENSOR, VOICE CALL (HANDSET MODE)

Alcatel's current naming scheme is a true nightmare, especially for end-users in market for a new device. What is even stranger, though, is the fact that these devices seem to have strikingly little in common in terms of hardware component. It almost seems like Alcatel has put together whatever they had in store and then decided to confuse everybody by economizing on names.

In any case is the devices are reasonable priced there could be a nice value model hidden away among the crowd, if you manage to point it out and track it down in retail that is.

Source 1 | Source 2