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Platform Agnostic Alcatel Pixi 3 Runs WP, Android or Firefox OS

Posted: 02 Jan 2015 11:07 AM PST

Two days after teasing the world with the resurrection of the Palm trademark as an Android smartphone, Alcatel makes the news again with the newest member of the Pixi family, a smartphone capable of running Windows Phone, Android or Firefox OS.

The days when our smartphones are locked to a single operating system seem to be over. The Pixi 3 will pack the necessary hardware for running Microsoft’s WP, Google’s Android or Mozilla’s Firefox OS, the users being able to pick any of these either when buying the phone or at a later point in time. Right now, it is not known how Alcatel plans to implement this, but the new Pixi 3 line will be showcased at CES 2015 in the next few days, so we’ll learn more about it then.

There is a Pixi 3 line, as the OS-agnostic smartphone will not be offered in a single version. Instead, there’s a 3.5″ 3G model, as well as 4-inch, 4.5-inch and 5-inch versions, with the mention that the last three are LTE-compatible. Don’t expect the Pixi 3 phones to have high-end specs, as that’s not going to happen. Alcatel has a specific target audience in mind, and I would say that it is represented by young people, judging by the design of the phones and the available color options.

Alcatel has experience with all of these three mobile operating systems, and the smartphones in its portfolio emphasize this fact. However, offering all three platforms on a single device might turn tricky, and the users might not have the same experience as when using a smartphone built specifically for a single OS.

“Our users do not want complicated systems — they want something familiar from their work environment in the office, but also on a smartphone,” explained Alcatel OneTouch CMO Dan Dery. That makes sense if people are using particular operating systems on their desktops or notebooks that ensure increased compatibility or functionality with specific mobile OS.

Along with the new Pixi 3 smartphones, the company also plans to launch an affordable smartwatch, simply known as the Alcatel OneTouch Watch (now that’s a tongue-twister!). According to the press release, Alcatel intends to make its smartwatch elegant and versatile, at a fraction of the cost of what popular wearables cost today. A demo of the watch and of the proprietary apps will be made at Alcatel’s booth at CES.

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Twitter’s new feature: “While you were away”

Posted: 02 Jan 2015 09:05 AM PST

Twitter is playing with a new facebook-like feature, meant to increase user engagement: “While you were away” recaps relevant tweets you might have missed.

Twitter’s new features are starting to roll out, amongst those 'While you were away'. This is a recap of tweets an algorithm considers relevant to the user, and the user might have missed. This new featured is already being tried and enjoyed by several users around the world, especially on mobile platforms. Everything seems to suggest this feature will roll out soon for all users.

The way this feature works is similar to Facebook’s highlights, where an algorithm chooses the best or most relevant posts from a time period the user was away: that is, they pick the “best” tweets (based on engagement and the users’ own Tweets, we suppose), and stick them to the top of their timeline. "Every time you open the Twitter app, you'll see something great," was how they explained it when they announced the feature coming now on early 2015.

Now we’ll have to wait and see just how good this algorythm is, but we’re sure there’s going to be many, many detractors if previous changes to what’s already known and tested are any indication.

Via TechCrunch

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