CES 2016: Hands On With the OneTouch Pixi 3, An 8in Windows Phone

When you think of a device that has an 8 inch display, typically you think of a small tablet. What Alcatel has built with the OneTouch Pixi 3 is a device that you would think should be running Windows 10 but instead it is using is Windows 10 Mobile.

The massive phone has an 8in IPS display running at 1280×800 with a 2MP front facing camera and a 5MP shooter on the back. Powering the device is a1.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 210 and 1GB of RAM, onboard storage is only 8GB but can be expanded up to 32GB with a microSD card; there is a 4060 mAh battery behind the glass.

The body is all plastic and the display is clearly not the best on the market with shallow blacks and off-angle viewing is poor. This is a low-end device and none of its features try to hide this fact but at least its massive size is a differentiator.

The device is a bit interesting, despite being low end, it is an 8 in tablet that is running a mobile OS but I’m a bit mixed if this is a good idea or not. On one hand, it makes apps easy to use and there is a lot of space but on the other hand, a lot of space is wasted inside of apps and there is no split-screen app possibilities.

It also looks like you do not need to use this device with a SIM and while Alcatel did not share how it planned to sell the device, it may simply offer it as an unlocked tablet/phone.

Frankly, this phone/tablet feels like the over-sized remote controller you buy for your grandparents so they can operate their TV without needing to put on their glasses.

When the device does hit the street, it will carry a $199 price point.