Back at the Mobile World Congress in February, Alcatel unveiled the Idol 4S, and in July, it followed up with a preorder announcement. At $349.99, the smartphone came bundled with a virtual reality headset alongside a number of accessories.
Months later, we've arrived at an unusual time. BlackBerry is set to release its latest flagship phone named the DTEK60, which is actually a redressed Alcatel Idol 4S, meaning that there will be three Alcatel Idol 4S smartphones to be released: the BlackBerry variant, a "proper" Android Alcatel variant and yet another Alcatel variant, which will come with Windows 10 and will be available exclusively on T-Mobile, according to a leak.
Roland Quandt from WinFuture published a photo of what looks to be the Alcatel Idol 4S packaging with T-Mobile's logo residing on the box. The bundle still includes the VR headset that came with the original preorders back in July. It will be called "Alcatel Idol 4S with Windows 10."
Alcatel Idol 4 Pro will indeed be marketed by T-Mobile US as Alcatel Idol 4S with Windows 10. VR headset included. Here's the packaging. pic.twitter.com/UlFsAJMrbV
— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) October 3, 2016
The Windows 10 variant of the Idol 4S is virtually the same device as the proper Idol 4S, but if rumors are true, the Windows 10 version could see a more jacked-up RAM at 4 GB than the 3 GB loaded on the proper Idol 4S.
Some other rumored specifications of the device purport it to have a 5.5-inch full HD display, 64 GB of internal storage, a 21-megapixel rear-facing camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing shooter, and it will likely be powered by Qualcomm snapdragon 820 alongside a 3,000 mAh battery to keep the juice up.
There's still no official word from either Alcatel or T-Mobile on pricing and availability of the bundle, but now that the photo has surfaced, it seems that a proper unveiling is in the pipeline.
The Windows 10 Mobile operating system hasn't made any significant leaps in the smartphone industry, struggling consistently to corner a considerable market share among its more formidable foes such as Android and iOS. That said, a new OEM is a welcome addition to the list of smartphones that support the Windows 10 Mobile OS. Windows 10 phones have arguably been flailing, with Samsung and HTC giving up after both phone companies failed to get traction for their flagship Windows 8 devices.
It's unclear how Microsoft will define its mobile operating system in a market largely populated by Android and iOS. Many manufacturers have already pulled out from supporting Windows 10 mobile OS. Too add insult to injury, the makers behind Polyphone expressed its apprehension to resume its Windows phone development, citing Windows phone's shrinking global market share as the primary reason for its lack of confidence.
We've yet to witness how the Alcatel Idol 4S will fit in the grand scheme of things, but with a VR headset bundled with the phone, it could attract an existing market who wants to jump in the VR bandwagon.
