Alcatel Smarwatch first look

At CES 2015 Alcatel has announced its plans for a smartwatch, simply dubbed the Alcatel OneTouch Watch. While this isn’t an Android Wear device, Alcatel is hoping that its own unique UI and operating system — paired with an affordable price of $149 — will be enough to intrigue the “everyday consumer”. We managed to get a little time with Alcatel over the weekend, and so let’s take a quick look.

One of the first things you notice about the device is its circular design, which is still pretty uncommon with smartwatches with the G Watch R and Moto 360 being the two best known examples of this form factor. Like the 360, but unlike the R, Alcatel’s Watch manages to keep the display size as small as possible but with a sacrifice: it has a “flat tire”, meaning a portion of the glass doesn’t actually display anything. The Alcatel OneTouch Watch is noticeably smaller than the Moto 360, offering a 1.22-inch LCD display with a 240 x 204 resolution.

As for the Watch’s construction, it is made of metal and its watchband will come in a few different varieties such as metal and different band colors. That said, the band inside isn’t actually removable due to the fact that the band actually has its charging cable integrated, allowing you to remove a cap at the end of the band that then can plug into a standard size USB port.

Turning to the software, it does about what you’d expect: displays notifications, tells time, lets you control basic functions like music, change watches, track steps and calories, and so forth. There’s even a heart rate monitor and other similar functions. It is worth noting that outside of Android support, the watch also offers support for those multi-platform users that happen to also have Apple devices.

For those interested in the Watch, it’s expected to arrive in March, again at the price point of $149.