TCL's Foray into Foldable Technology

We've seen Samsung's Galaxy fold and now we're gonna see a whole lot more foldable devices this season, thanks to TCL's foray into this technology. As one of the top display manufacturers, they're also behind the BlackBerry van brand and the Alcatel brand, so it's no surprise that they'd be showcasing their new Dragon Hinge Technology in concept devices. This tech enables phones to be folded, opening up a world of possibilities beyond just smartphones. TCL is trying to use this technology for anything and everything that they think it would make a difference or an impact.

TCL's Concept Devices

Over here, we have one type of display essentially if nothing on the back, it sort of just kind of acts like a wallet that you can open up and it's pretty compact. Gives you a huge screen when you open it up, perfect for watching movies or multitasking. They also have another one in the middle that is a little more unique because it actually acts as something that you can put on a wrist like a band and then you can sort of just take it out and it'll sort of double that in terms of usability. So, you can snap it on your hand whatever you don't want to use it as a phone. There's another clip piece sort of thing that essentially is a tiny phone that you can then fold that to then mimic a more traditional smartphone look.

While there are no major specs or anything like that in these concept devices because this is a purely conceptual idea right now, TCL did say they plan to come out with a foldable phone by 2020 mid-year and they're currently working with Google on the software aspect of making it basically usable as a foldable phone running Android. This is just a quick look at TCL's foray into technology and there are also some additional devices under the TCL brand, including one that is essentially a separate tablet accessory.

The BlackBerry Device

Under the TCL branding, we have a device that is actually the same device as last year's Blackberry. The only difference here is that it comes in this beautiful red finish that gleams in the sunlight and the only specification change that is that it has 128 gigs of storage rather than 64 gigs of storage from last year's model. The price also does jack up to $750 for that extra storage space, and pre-orders are available right now in Europe with the phone coming to the US market in the second quarter of the year.

This device is essentially just a showpiece for TCL's new technology rather than a fully functional product. However, it does give us an idea of what we can expect from foldable devices in the future. The Alcatel 3t t also falls under this category and is essentially a separate tablet accessory that comes with a 10-inch HD display and an Android operating system.

The Alcatel 3t

This device is a 10-inch tablet with an HD resolution, running on a pretty standard Android interface. It's powered by a 40,000mAh battery, which is quite impressive for a tablet of its size. What makes this device stand out is the separate multifunctional audio station dock that comes with it. This dock uses pogo pins at the bottom to snap onto the back of the tablet, and it enables you to connect external speakers or headphones for a more immersive audio experience.

This dock is what sets the Alcatel 3t apart from other tablets on the market, and it's definitely a feature that will appeal to music lovers. The device itself also comes with a beautiful design and a dual camera system in the back. There are different variants of this device available, some with a fingerprint sensor and others without.

The Alcatel 3l

This is the more flagship of the three budget phones under TCL's brand, and it has similar specs to the previous models. It features a 5.9-inch HD+ display with a teardrop notch at the top, and comes with a dual camera system in the back. The design of the back is also quite beautiful, with a radiant finish that gives off a premium feel.

However, this device does have some drawbacks. For example, its design can be very fingerprint magnet, which may be a concern for users who want to keep their phone clean and dust-free. Despite these drawbacks, the Alcatel 3l is still a solid option for those looking for a budget-friendly smartphone with good specs.

The Alcatel 3L's Variants

There are different variants of this device available, including one that comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, and another that comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The price for these devices varies accordingly, ranging from $159 to $189.

While the Alcatel 3l is a solid option for those looking for a budget-friendly smartphone, it's worth noting that it does come with Android 8.1 Oreo at launch, but will receive an update to Android Pie in the future. The same applies to the other devices under TCL's brand, which will also receive updates to newer operating systems over time.

The Alcatel 3X and 3Y

There are two more devices that fall under the Alcatel brand, the 3X and the 3Y. These devices have similar specs to the previous models, including a 5.9-inch HD+ display with a teardrop notch at the top, and come with a dual camera system in the back.

The design of the back is also quite beautiful on these devices, with a radiant finish that gives off a premium feel. However, like the Alcatel 3l, they do have some drawbacks, such as being fingerprint magnets and having limited battery capacity. Despite these drawbacks, these devices are still solid options for those looking for budget-friendly smartphones with good specs.

The Price and Availability

All of these devices will be available in the second quarter of this year, but it's unclear whether they'll make it to the US market just yet. The prices for these devices vary accordingly, ranging from $159 to $189.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwe've seen Samsung's Galaxy fold and now we're gonna see a whole lot more foldable devices this is TCL's TCL if you don't know makes TVs are one of the top display manufacturers they're also only blackberry van brand and the Alcatel brand so this may be a TCL branded phone but it's all purely concept devices essentially they're just showing off the new dragon hinge technology which enables phones to be able to fold and of course this doesn't just imply this technology that'll only be used for phones it could be for you know TVs or wearables or essentially they're trying to use it for anything and everything that they think it would make a difference or an impact so for over here we have one type of display essentially if nothing on the back it sort of just kind of acts like a wallet that you can open up and it's pretty compact gives you a huge screen when you open it up that you can work with whether if you want to use it for watching movies or multitasking they also have another one in the middle that is a little more unique because it actually acts as a something that you can put on a wrist like a band and then you can sort of just take it out and it'll sort of double that in terms of usability so you can snap it on your hand whatever you don't want to use it as a phone and there's another clip piece sort of thing that essentially is a tiny phone that you can then fold that to then mimic a more traditional smartphone look so there's just a few little devices you know there's no real major specs or anything like that that because this is a you know purely concept idea right now but they did say they plan to come out with a foldable phone by 2020 mid year and they are currently working with Google on the software aspect of making it basically usable as a foldable phone running Android so that's a quick look at TCL's for both on technology and there's also a blackberry device in blackberries under the TCL brand and this is actually the same device as last year's blackberries the only difference here is that there comes in this beautiful red to finish that gleams in the sunlight and the only specification change that is that it has 128 gigs of storage rather than be starting 64 gigs of storage from last year's key - other than that the price also does jack up to 750 dollars for that extra storage space and pre-orders are available right now in Europe with the phone coming to the US market in the second quarter of the year then there's also the Alcatel 3t t it's basically a separate tablet accessories that this is a 10-inch tablet with an HD resolution so a pretty standard Android tablet interface is running Android Pi there's a 40 80 million powered battery but also interestingly there's 4G LTE support but the more interesting thing is this separate multifunctional audio station dock basically all you need to do is use these pogo pins at the bottom to snap it on here and now you get audio playing through this dock which is obviously going to give you a way better sound that speakers on the tablet itself so just as a quick test let's just play this song that's not even anywhere close to the highest volume and of course this will basically enable things like better assistant integration obviously since you'll be able to hear assistant a little more so you can sort of make it into a smart display ask type interface and other than that the the dock this also it can be sold bought separately and there's some play/pause functions here with volume control and blue to your airing as well the tablet itself is gonna cost one hundred and eighty nine euros and of course there's more Alcatel phones as well Alcatel is under the TCL branding and this is the Alcatel 1s so they are meant to be budget phones this is expected to retail around 109 and euros we're not sure if it's coming to the u.s. at the moment but just to go over some quick specs this is a 5.5 inch HD plus resolution screen there are dual cameras on the back with a fingerprint sensor just nice to see in a phone that costs so little and it is using a unique processor that we haven't really heard much about it's called a spread Trump processor which is spread rim is basically the third phane smartphone chip manufacturer after welcome and media attack so the spread trim processor so we don't really we don't think we've ever used a phone with this processor so will be interesting to see how this performs on such a budget device then there's the Alcatel through yell which is not only a vigorous 5.94 HD plus screen but it also beefs up the specs a little there getting a Qualcomm processor here along with 35 billion powered battery 16 gigs of internal storage and two bigs of RAM but there is also a dual camera system in the back and there's a variant that comes with a fingerprint sensor and one that doesn't so these are gonna run Android or EO at launch but they roll come with Android Pi in the second quarter of the year so it's a the Alcatel 3l and this one's gonna cost 139 euros and this is the more a flagship of the three budget phones this is the Alcatel three similar specs is the 3l for example similar 5.9 four inch HD plus in screen which is teardrop notch at the top and you're also getting that dual camera design with a thirty five hundred million power battery of course the design of the back is a little more different there's this beautiful radiant finish although it is very much a fingerprint magnet so these phones run the Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 processor there is a three gig of ram version with 32 gigs of storage but also a 4 gig ram version with 64 gigs of storage the 3 Giga ram one will cost 159 euros while the four gig one will cost 189 euros and this phone also is running Android 8.1 Oreo but again we'll get an update to Android Pi at some point in the future all these alpha telephones will be coming in the second quarter of the year but again we don't know if it'll be coming to the u.s. just yet\n"