Alcatel has confirmed that its upcoming Windows smartphone flagship will be an update of its Android toting Idol 4S, called the Idol 4S with Windows 10.
While Microsoft would love genuine smartphone heavyweights to support the Windows 10 Mobile platforms, the more OEM’s the merrier and the more chance the company has of growing the platform.
With that in mind, Alcatel’s decision early in the year to “commit” to Windows 10 Mobile with several smartphones this year was good news.
We have already seen some budget movement from the company, including a handset and a tablet, but all eyes are really on Alcatel’s upcoming Windows 10 flagship smartphone.
We reported about this device before, under the presumption that it would be called the Idol Pro 4, but it seems that Alcatel has decided to call the device the Idol 4S with Windows 10.
The Windows 10 moniker on the end may seem a bit much, but it is important because Alcatel already sells the Idol 4S on the Android platform (image below).
That tells us a few things. Firstly, this is not a device built from the ground up for Windows 10 and is instead a variant of a handset that already exists, which is a shame. The name confirmation also means that we know exactly what to expect from the Idol 4S with Windows 10, from its design to its hardware.
The handset will sport Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 processor, the current premier CPU in the mobile space. Other high end specs will include at least 3GB of RAM and a Full HD 1080p screen, although don’t be surprised if the Idol Pro 4 arrives with a Quad HD resolution display.
According to the report, Alcatel is also adding Continuum support, meaning the Idol Pro 4 can be docked to a monitor to act as a portable PC. It’s a fantastic feature of course, and one Microsoft should really be pushing as a differentiator between Windows 10 Mobile and rival platforms such as iOS and Android.
We reported before that the new Alcatel Windows flagship could be the “hero device that Windows 10 Mobile needs,” but if it is just a reworked Android smartphone it is hard to see how it can be. It will still be a high end device for sure, and one that is loaded with excellent hardware and boasting a price tag that will likely appeal.
However, it is not a smartphone that will say “You need to adopt Windows 10 Mobile for this”.
SOURCE: MsPoweruser
