A smartphone fellowship launching a smartwatch is in no agency original . In fact , we saw five of them last twelvemonth — and that ’s only counting the Android Wear crowd . So Alcatel OneTouch , a company best known for budget - well-disposed smartphones , is just another abut band in the uninterrupted wearable parade .
But with the Watch , the newly herald under - cutting smartwatch , Alcatel concentrate on three thing — design , simplicity , and affordability . In some of these category , Watch wins big . In others , well , not so much .
So first , there ’s the design . Alcatel is intelligibly cribbing at least a few design pointer fromMotorola ’s great - looking Moto 360 , including that maddening pitch-dark bottom bezel . The received wristband is a elusive rubber eraser stuff though Alcatel will be debut metallic element version in the future . aim - wise , my complaints are minor . Looking at the WATCH is almost like taking a trip into the preternatural valley . It ’s almost like a Moto 360 , but it just does n’t quite have the industrial design polish and complete under close review . But from a distance , the average gadgeteer could be well fooled .
The really unfortunate design pick is the clasp . It ’s just clunky , not well adjustable , and needlessly perplexing . But the set is n’t all bad news program because Alcatel did squirrel away a USB charging gunpoint in the hint of the band so you may just plug away into a reckoner if you need a bursting charge — no wires need . But Alcatel aver the watch can last around two to five daylight , depending on the user , so hopefully you wo n’t have to burden as much as other wrist wearables out there .
What is move one between the filmdom and the bezel right there ?
But it ’s the Watch ’s simplicity that shows Alcatel diverging from other watch out there . Where Pebble , Android Wear , and ( eventually ) Apple all have dedicate app stores and developer communities , the Watch does n’t have any that . Yeah , you could say that ’s a sorry thing , and if you ’re a smartwatch cognoscente , then it emphatically is , but Alcatel ’s wants the ticker to just simply work out without any hassle . With that goal in mind , they ’ve by all odds succeeded . The Watch apply a dedicated Io or Android app , and from there you could fine tune the configurations , track your seaworthiness , and tweak other option .
The watch also comes with 14 apps . No more . No less . Hit the clit on the right or rotate your wrist to power up . A swipe to the right process up your app drawer and a swipe down brings place out all your notifications . These apps leave all the smartwatch necessary — notifications , heart rate monitor lizard , watchface styles , etc . etc . You may not be able todrive your BMW with it or whatever , but if you just want a notifications window on your radiocarpal joint , which is what most smartwatches basically are , then the Watch is good to go .
But this thing really the under - cut smartwatch that Alcatel make it out to be ? Not really . At $ 150 , there is n’t a big enough terms disconnection between the Watch , and say , theLG G Watchor even themighty fine Asus ZenWatch .
The Alcatel Watch wo n’t win over the smartwatch - devoted , and as companies begin revealing their second - generation horologe with longer battery life and better modernise app ecosystems , first - gen wearables will make for some tough competition for the budget - witting Watch , but Alcatel ’s going to give it a shot all the same .
Welcome to Gizmodo ’s reportage of all thingsCES 2015 ! For our comprehensive rundown of everything new and lustrous at the class ’s giving gadgetorium , check outour start - up site here .
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