MWC 2018: Alcatel Press Event Live Blog (6pm GMT, 1pm ET)

01:00PM EST - We're here at our first press event of Mobile World Congress: Alcatel!

01:01PM EST - Your editors at MWC this year are Ian, Andrei and Anton.

01:01PM EST - For a first press event two days before the show starts, this press event is certainly busy

01:02PM EST - We should be starting around about now, according to our invite

01:07PM EST - This event is being held at Poble Espanyol, near the famous Magic Fountain of Montjuic

01:09PM EST - Sometimes there are lush media presentations with each seat wired to Ethernet. Then there are others with stone floors, basic seats, but held in a historic location. This is easily the latter :)

01:10PM EST - OK lights are dimmed, looks like we are about to start?

01:10PM EST - Big countdown from 15

01:10PM EST - 'Explore New Dimensions'

01:11PM EST - Christian Gatti, Global President of Alcatel's Business Division to the stage

01:11PM EST - New lineup of Alcatel Mobility products - tablets, connected objects, and the most exciting Alcatel smartphones 'ever'

01:11PM EST - Renewed Alcatel vision with new opportunities to provide new value for customers

01:12PM EST - This year, Alcatel has built a reputation as a provider for high quality devices

01:12PM EST - One of the leading mobile handset manufacturers worldwide

01:12PM EST - Developing presence in Middle East/Africa and Asia, already everywhere else

01:12PM EST - Time to analyze objectively new products and experiences

01:13PM EST - New product portfolio direction indicates how the company is evolving

01:13PM EST - First smartphone powered by Android Oreo Go Edition

01:13PM EST - Important for emerging markets and people looking for products under 100 euroes

01:14PM EST - Developing on 5G devices as well

01:14PM EST - Using 'Open Air Interface'

01:14PM EST - New 5G devices in 2019

01:14PM EST - First talking about Tablet and Mobile Broadband

01:14PM EST - Enabling customers to stay connected and to access entertainment

01:15PM EST - Stephan Streit, GM of Global Marketing, to the stage

01:15PM EST - Bring the high-end features down to an affordable segment

01:15PM EST - Strongly committed to the tablet business

01:16PM EST - Alcatel believe that users still use tablets

01:16PM EST - 7-inch and 10-inch as part of the affordable family

01:16PM EST - Android Oreo

01:16PM EST - More affordable without compromise in performance

01:16PM EST - Alcatel's best tablets ever

01:17PM EST - 7-inch is quad-core A53, 2580 mAh battery

01:17PM EST - 10-inch HD (720p), another quad-core A53, 4000 mAh

01:17PM EST - 10-inch works with a keyboard case

01:18PM EST - Facial unlock

01:18PM EST - Kids mode with preloaded apps and games for children

01:18PM EST - Eye-care mode, to reduce blue-light and fatigue relief

01:18PM EST - Available Q2, 7-inch for 69 euro, 10-inch for 99 euro

01:19PM EST - Now for Mobile Broadband

01:19PM EST - Two new LinkZone products - Cat 7 and Cat 12

01:19PM EST - Linkzone Cat 12 is Alcatel's fastest ever, up to 600 Mbps, 4200 mAh battery (15 hours)

01:19PM EST - it also doubles as a power bank

01:20PM EST - 179 euro for Linkzone Cat 12

01:20PM EST - Linkzone Cat 7 up to 300 Mbps, 8 hours battery, available for 99 euro in the Summer

01:20PM EST - 'The most affordable Cat 7 product in the market'

01:21PM EST - Christian back to stage

01:21PM EST - 2018 Alcatel Smartphone lineup

01:21PM EST - 'flagship experiences and affordable prices'

01:21PM EST - TCL panel technology coming to smartphones

01:22PM EST - 18:9 displays across the entire portfolio

01:22PM EST - Introducing the all-new Alcatel 5, Alcatel 3 and Alcatel 1 Series devices

01:23PM EST - 5 series is the flagship line, for lifestyle customers

01:24PM EST - Chief Design Officer to the stage, Hagen Fendler

01:24PM EST - 'Translate a design philosophy'

01:24PM EST - SIMGANIC

01:24PM EST - Simplicity + Organic

01:25PM EST - >I'm sorry, that name is TERRIBAD

01:26PM EST - >But you know, I'm not in marketing

01:26PM EST - video on simganic time

01:26PM EST - Simganic is in the design, in the details, in the finishes

01:27PM EST - Evolving from previous designs that were sandwich designs

01:27PM EST - 2018 are unibody designs

01:27PM EST - Moving to 2.5D touch panel design

01:27PM EST - Standardizing the use of 18:9 on all products

01:27PM EST - Better screen ratios

01:28PM EST - Pack a larger TCL display into a smaller form factor

01:28PM EST - Alcatel 5 uses a near bezel-less design

01:28PM EST - OPVM coating on the rear

01:28PM EST - to improve the finish without increasing cost

01:28PM EST - OPVM is being used on some devices

01:29PM EST - Maintaining durability while helping the device look more premium

01:29PM EST - 1 series - Alcatel's best sub 100 Euro smartphone

01:29PM EST - custom developed suede painting finish

01:30PM EST - 3 series - OPVM coating, 2.5D display, spin texture, first Alcatel dual camera

01:30PM EST - aiming for under 200 euro

01:30PM EST - 5 series - Alcatel's most ambitious design

01:30PM EST - dual front facing camera

01:31PM EST - bezel-less designs

01:31PM EST - 'Extremely positive consumer feedback'

01:32PM EST - Virginia Strickland to the stage, Exec Director of Marketing

01:32PM EST - 'Key Smartphone Experiences'

01:32PM EST - Fullview 18:9 displays, face recognition technology

01:33PM EST - First 18:9 smartphone available globally for under 100 euros

01:33PM EST - Face Key - facial recognition unlocking technology

01:33PM EST - Quick glance to unlock

01:34PM EST - Detects 100 points in a face to generate a match

01:34PM EST - Fingerprint sensor on the back on all devices

01:34PM EST - Fingerprint shortcuts - each finger can be customized to open a different app

01:35PM EST - Fingerprint mode unlocked only by specific fingerprint

01:35PM EST - Dual rear cameras on Alcatel 3 with specific social media add-ons

01:35PM EST - Second camera is wide-angle

01:36PM EST - 'Social Mode' is an app for these phones

01:36PM EST - Social Square: see a photo while also seeing what the camera is seeing at the same time for the best photo

01:36PM EST - Photo booth - to capture a photo booth style experience

01:37PM EST - All the new smartphones will have Google Assistant

01:38PM EST - The 1 series is the entry tier

01:38PM EST - Suede finish, 18:9 display

01:38PM EST - Two variants: single SIM, dual SIM

01:38PM EST - Rear fingerprint sensor, Social Mode

01:39PM EST - Satin Gold and Satin Rose Gold, Suede Dark Grey and Suede Blue

01:39PM EST - Starting at under 100 euro

01:39PM EST - Now Charlotte Will to the stage, Global Head Product Marketing, Android

01:39PM EST - Android Oreo Go on the 1-series

01:39PM EST - 'Needs to work great all of the time'

01:40PM EST - In India - low storage on phones is a big pain point

01:40PM EST - 'Entry level devices need to be fully functioning'

01:40PM EST - Go edition is optimized for low-memory devices

01:41PM EST - Alcatel 1-X comes with Go built in

01:41PM EST - OS is optimized for performance and storage

01:41PM EST - Apps start 15% faster

01:41PM EST - Minimizing the footprint of the OS in the storage

01:41PM EST - pre-installed apps are half the size

01:42PM EST - Now download 1000 more photos than before

01:42PM EST - Google Play highlights apps best suited for Go devices

01:42PM EST - Google Play Protect built-in

01:43PM EST - Preinstalled apps are rebuilt, such as Youtube Go, Google Go, Maps Go

01:43PM EST - eg Youtube Go is optimized for limited data bandwidth

01:44PM EST - Back to the marketing exec

01:44PM EST - Talking 3 series

01:44PM EST - 3 devices: the 3, 3v and 3x

01:44PM EST - Start at under 150 euros

01:44PM EST - All the features of 1-series, plus more

01:44PM EST - 6-inch 2K display

01:45PM EST - for the 3x

01:45PM EST - the 3 is 5.5-inch FHD

01:45PM EST - curved back

01:45PM EST - dual rear cameras on 3v and 3x

01:45PM EST - 3V has secondary depth camera. 3X will have wide angle

01:46PM EST - Various colors

01:46PM EST - Now to the 5 series

01:46PM EST - Start at under 230 euro

01:46PM EST - 5.7-inch FHD+ display

01:46PM EST - Face Key

01:46PM EST - Dual front facing camera

01:46PM EST - 13MP + 5MP

01:47PM EST - 5MP is wide-angle

01:47PM EST - 120-degree wide angle

01:47PM EST - The camera automatically changes over to the wide angle

01:47PM EST - Alcatel's thinnest bezel ever

01:47PM EST - Metallic Gold and Metallic Black

01:48PM EST - Now for pricing and availability

01:49PM EST - 1X single sim for 99 euro, dual sim at 109 euro, available april

01:49PM EST - Alcatel 3 at 149 euro in March, 3x at 179 euro in April, 3V at 189 euro, available now

01:49PM EST - Alcatel 5 at 229 euro, available in specific markets today

01:50PM EST - Hands-on time