TCL-owned device vendor Alcatel unveiled a number of new products across a range of categories, against a backdrop of tough competition for the China-based vendor.

The company is among the handset makers to have identified VR as a possible growth opportunity.

Smartphones and tablets
Alcatel’s Shine Lite smartphone is intended to “meet the needs of price-conscious twentysomethings with an eye for style and a need for functionality that’s secure and fun”.

The device features a rear mounted fingerprint scanner, 13MP rear camera with dual-tone flash, and the front facing camera also has a flash – which Alcatel said is “unusual at this price point” – $200. It has a 5-inch HD display.

Shine Lite is available in a range of colours, including white, black, gold and silver.

Alcatel has also updated its tablet line with Pop 4, including a 6-inch device billed as an “extra-large smartphone” (skipping the phablet label). Other tablet sizes are 7-inch and 10-inch.

Interestingly, the 6-inch and 10-inch screens are full HD, while the 7-inch is only billed as HD. The 10-inch model also includes dual front-facing speakers.

The line also sees a split among the processors: the 6-inch is octacore MediaTek; the 7-inch is quadcore MediaTek; and the 10-inch is octacore Qualcomm.  The tablets also include category 4 LTE support, while the phablet is category 6.

The Pop 4 devices will be available in MEA and Europe, starting from mid-October.

Move wearables
In the wearable category, the company announced a set of products including Moveband, its first fitness band which will be sold in a bundle package with smartphones. In addition to tracking physical activity (distance travelled, pace, time, calories and so on), it also enables text messages, emails and calls to be tracked from the wrist.

Movetime Wi-Fi Watch also provides a full range of fitness tracking features, as well as enabling users to “make and receive calls directly from their wrists”. It also supports a gesture control to enable users to control smartphones.

MovetrackAlso announced was Movetrack, a portable GPS tracker which can be used for applications including luggage or pet tracking. Using an application called Virtual Fence, alerts can also be sent when an item enters or leaves a pre-programmed area.

And following the launch of its Go Watch last year, Alcatel announced its Move Track&Talk, to connect children with parents. It can store five speed dial and 10 pre-set contacts in case of emergency, with a combination of GPS, GSM and Wi-Fi used to deliver accurate location tracking.

The Move series will be available from the end of September.

Virtual reality
Alcatel said its Vision headset is “the world’s first all-in-one mobile home entertainment virtual reality device to be offered with entry-level pricing that is really affordable”.

Alcatel VRIt is not tethered to a smartphone or computer, enabling users to move naturally. The company said it can be worn comfortably for “2-3 hours” with or without glasses, with a wide, 120-degree field of vision, and 17-millisecond latency.

Also unveiled was its 360 Camera, which is available in two models, both of which have a dual 210-degree fisheye lens: rectangular and ball shaped. It can be plugged into the microUSB port of Alcatel Idol 4, Idol 4S and Pop 4S phones.