I am not sure whether Alcatel new Sribe offering should be compared with phone tablets or smartphones. The Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy comes with a stylus, something more associated with Samsung's Note series which have created the Phablet category. One the other hand, the display is "just" 5-inches in size, which puts it more in the category of a smartphone. Given its wide 78.4 mm girth, which is all of 10% or so more than 5-inch smartphones, I think this will appeal to those looking more for a phablet.
Priced at Php8,990, the Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy looks like it will be facing rough waters. Cherry Mobile Titan and Omega HD are priced lower at, Php6,499 and Php7,990. The Omega HD is also more powerful and has a sharper display than the Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy.
Quick specs:
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- 5-inch WVGA display (480 x 800)
- 4 GB internal storage, expandable via MicroSD card
- 512 MB RAM
- 1.2 GHz dual core Qualcomm S4 Play processor
- Adreno GPU
- 5 MP primary camera, autofocus with LED flash
- VGA front camera
- HSPA
- WiFi
- Bluetooth
- A-GPS
- 2500 mAh battery
All-in-all, this device would have made a decent proposition in late 2012, but is looking a bit dated relatively expensive for a Quarter 2 2013 release.
BEWARE CONSUMERS! READ THIS BEFORE YOU MAKE THE PURCHASE!!!
ReplyDeleteThere is a known incompatibility of Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy with Car Chargers.
It would have been nearly perfect. I made some research before I purchased this unit and it can be considered to have the best bang for the buck until I found this issue. Since it was just recently released, none much information can be found about the Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy. Even the Alcatel website doesn’t say anything about car charging for this unit.
I have two different but standard Chargers in my Car: Elevo USB - Dual Ports and
Pioneer Car Stereo USB Port. More than a dozen of other brands of PDAs and/or
Cellphones have been charged and worked without issues (Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, LG, Sony-Ericsson, Apple, MyPhone, Cherry Mobile, etc.).
I purchased the Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy last May 25, 2013 from MemoExpress SM MegaMall. All else is working excellently except that it won’t charge while in the Car. It charges using the Wall Charger or when just connected to a Computer. In the Car, when connected using the specific USB cable (we have tried several similar USB cables including two provided by Alcatel), the said unit shows the USB icon which indicates that it is connected but the lightning icon which indicates charging is missing (or would just show for few seconds then disappear). The Battery information via Settings also indicates that it’s not charging (it says “Not charging”). This issue has been going on since the unit has been purchased. Due to time constraints because of my busy schedule and the excellent Battery life of this PDA (the Battery lasts for
3days or more without charging), I wasn't able to immediately check further and report the issue. It was only when I got stuck in the traffic jam during one rainy day and was in need of charging the PDA that I was able to fully check and determine that there is really a compatibility issue.
I have my friends and family members who travel with me once in a while. We have used and tried many different PDAs and Cellphones in my Car, using either the Elevo
Charger or Pioneer Car Stereo. All of those worked flawlessly and charged without issues. This includes units from Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, LG, Sony-Ericsson, Apple, MyPhone, Cherry Mobile, etc. This only verifies and confirms that my Car Chargers are working without issues. THUS, YOU CANNOT SAY THAT MY CHARGERS ARE DEFECTIVE.
I was only able to bring the Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy to where I bought it -
MemoExpress Megamall Branch, two weeks after I bought it. Rodel/George of
MemoExpress assisted me and helped verify/confirm the issue. Below are the things done at MemoExpress to isolate the issue:
- Tested the unit using the Wall Charger - It's charging without issues
- Tested the unit using another Car Charger with wires connected to a Power
Adaptor - IT'S NOT CHARGING
- Brought and connected several Alcatel units (different models) to my Car's USB
Chargers for further testing:
- Alcatel One touch Sapphire 2 - It's charging without issues
- Alcatel One touch Glory 2 - It's charging without issues
- Alcatel One touch Scribe Easy (Brand new - this is not the one I bought) -
IT'S NOT CHARGING
* These things concretely verified and confirmed the incompatibility of the Alcatel One
touch Scribe Easy with Car Chargers.
I was later on referred to Cherry and was instructed to bring the unit to their
Technical Team in Robinsons Pioneer.
I brought the unit to their Technical Team in Robinsons Pioneer last Saturday,
June 15, 2013; below are the things they've done:
- Brought and connected the disputed Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy to my Car's
USB Chargers for testing: Confirmed and verified that IT'S NOT CHARGING
- Opened the unit to verify if tampered - they confirmed that it hasn't been
tampered in any way
* They haven't got any other means to test further. They don’t have a good service
ReplyDeleteunit for me to use (they have a non-PDA which has no use for me; I have a spare
Cellphone and I require a PDA).
They said they will send the unit to Alcatel for further evaluation. Yesterday,
Thursday, June 20, 2013, I was told that the unit charges using another charger. What the!?!? They just disregarded the facts we have previously established,
verified and confirmed? THE ALCATEL ONE TOUCH SCRIBE EASY IS NOT DEFECTIVE, MY CAR CHARGERS ARE NOT DEFECTIVE – IT’S AN INCOMPATIBILITY ISSUE OF THE PDA WITH CERTAIN CAR CHARGERS! I WASN’T TOLD THAT THIS PDA IS SO SPECIAL THAT I SHOULD GET AN ALCATEL CAR CHARGER TO MAKE IT CHARGE IN THE CAR! I ASKED FOR IT BEFORE I MADE THE PURCHASE UNTIL THE FIRST TIME I COMPLAINED BUT NOBODY KNEW AND THEY HAVEN’T GOT ANY ALCATEL ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE!
FACTS:
- More than a dozen of other brands of PDAs and/or Cellphones are charging fine using my Car Chargers
- Other models of Alcatel One Touch PDAs are charging fine using my Car Chargers
- Two different units of the Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy are both NOT charging
using my Car Chargers
- All other features/functions of the Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy are working fine
- Mobile Devices should charge while in the Car using standard USB Chargers – IF NOT, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD BEFORE I MADE THE PURCHASE! IT CAN’T EVEN BE FOUND IN THE USER’S MANUAL!
- Alcatel Car Charger is not readily available Metro Manila Malls or the cost would defeat the purpose of buying the inexpensive Alcatel One touch Scribe Easy
Why didn’t anybody knew that the Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy is very special and will need a special Car Charger? What made it worse? There’s no Alcatel Car Charger available!
It’s already the end of the business day today, Friday, June 21, 2013…
PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT I WAS MADE TO WAIT, MY EXPLANATIONS WERE IGNORED, NO RESOLUTION WAS GIVEN, NO GOOD/VALID EXPLANATIONS WERE SAID, THEIR FIX - I WAS PUSHED TO GET A MORE EXPENSIVE UNIT (NO OPTIONS WHATSOEVER WERE GIVEN). SO MUCH MORE THAN TIME HAD BEEN WASTED AND IN THE END? WE HAD TO AGREE TO JUST CANCEL THE
PURCHASE AFTER ALL THE INCONVENIENCES AND WASTE OF RESOURCES. IT TOOK THEM A WEEK TO DETERMINE WHAT TO DO?!? AGAIN, THE UNIT IS NOT DEFECTIVE.
WHAT A REALLY BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!