Near to the TCL stand was the Alcatel Onetouch area. This is a subsidiary of the Chinese company, focusing on mobile devices.
Two products intended to be used together are the Go Watch smartwatch and Go Play smartphone. The Go Watch is unlike other smartwatches on the market today – it’s not sleek and unobtrusive like the Apple Watch or Samsung’s Gear S2, but chunky, bright and unapologetically plastic.
The reason for this design becomes apparent when you know the use case for the smartwatch: it is intended for active users, and is shock-, dust- and waterproof (IP67). Of course, it looks cheap – but that’s okay, because it is cheap: it will cost “less than £100” ($155) when it is launched in November.
The usual sensors are bundled, such as an accelerometer, heart-rate monitor, gyroscope and pedometer. A full colour touchscreen is built in, which will show notifications from a linked smartphone. A proprietary OS is used, and the unit will work with both Android and iOS phones. One odd (built-in) app is a ‘mood ring’ of sorts; by measuring your pulse, the watch can show how you are feeling (the ‘Go Love’ icon is particularly disturbing and not one that you should share on social media).
Also built for active users, the Go Play smartphone is a perfect companion to the Go Watch, also with IP67 protection. It can be dropped from 1.5m, and is dirt-proof – it can be dropped on a beach without sand getting into its sensitive parts. It’s also waterproof, and – a nice feature – can take photos while submerged. The phone has a 5″ display, and will be released in November. Alcatel claims 20 days of standby time, 8.3 hours of talk time and 55 hours of music playback on a single charge.
