Alcatel OneTouch slips out a Windows 10 prototype at MWC 2015

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Here's something we didn't expect to see at Mobile World Congress, a Windows Phone running the Windows 10 Technical Preview from Alcatel OneTouch. The phone is the Pixi 3, one of its range of low cost devices that can be had in a variety of screen sizes and running either Android, Firefox OS or Windows Phone. Only this version of the Windows Phone has the Technical Preview on it.

There's no sneaky look at a future build to be had here, though, as it looks like this Pixi 3 is actually running an older build of the Technical Preview than the one Microsoft pushed out publicly. It's 100% a development prototype, too, as it's filled with custom apps for interacting with different parts of the internal hardware.

The Pixi 3 was announced back at CES and is available in different sizes, with identical hardware regardless of the platform. There's nothing we can really learn about the device from this one, but it's still pretty cool (read: nerdy cool) to see something like this slip out at a big event such as MWC. It also shows that Alcatel is at least experimenting with Windows 10 already, which has to be a good sign for the future.

Alcatel Onetouch Pixi 3

Richard Devine
Richard Devine

Richard Devine is an Editor at Windows Central. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently you'll find him covering all manner of PC hardware and gaming, and you can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
120 Comments
  • That Windowsphone 7 button.....
  • Well - the french are a bit slow with development :)
  • But they are faster with Windows 10
  • Alcatel phones aren't french anymore ^^, it was a chinesse product.
  • German
  • Lol. I did not notice that. And now, can't stop noticing it.
  • Maybe they had left over shells?
  • I remeber Alcatel produced WP7 phones for some markets like Russia way back then. Maybe the casing is recycled from their unsold WP7 phones.
  • Was the first thing I saw! :D
  • LOL
  • Yeah! The flowing windows!
  • They must have been experimenting from quite some time!  Reminds me how HP bought Palm to pump out their stock of aging tablet hardware using WebOS. Is Alcatel doing the same?  (Using Palm's branding for a poor/old/etc product) :(
  • That's odd seeing the old button from seven
  • even your windows phone has that...remove some apps from the start screen you will notice that "windowsphone 7"
  • @no_android This comment makes no sense.
  • Which one do you mean? I think you are thinking about the right arrow at the bottom. But we are talking about that home button with Windows logo. The alcatel one use the wavy old WP7 logo instead of boxy new WP8 logo.
  • I don't think that removing apps will somehow change the physical capacitive button....
  • Pff you don't? It's new haha
  • So many prototypes these days!
  • Let them keep coming.....
  • These days.... Prototypes reign
  • Otherwise known as beta™ phones
  • Is this the upside down answer phone?
  • Windows 10 mobile with Windowsphone 7 button
  • i notice.. is that an LED notification light?
  • Maybe just for charging. 
  • I doubt it. There are no notifications on screen, so it looks just to be a charging light.
    It would be great if Microsoft finally gave us a notification light though. Oh, and I hope they FINALLY give us charging whilst the phone is off. It's the strangest of omissions.
  • HTC 8xt charged while off. After it's first update that is. It's not a Microsoft decision, it's a manufacturer decision to allow or disallow "power off charge". The older blackberries handled "power off" the best of any phone before, or since. If you had an alarm or calander event, it would power itself back on so you didn't miss any important meetings.
  • Also the older Nokia phones using Symbian OS were able to give alarm and wake you, even if the phone was turned off. It's a feature I'd like to have in modern phones.
  • No Windows PC can wake you up when it's off.
    Since WP is based on PC, that feature will never happen. It was raised by OEMs of TV cards who wanted the record function to activate when off and Microsoft couldn't do find a solution.
  • Yes, and no... My understanding of how the blackberry did it (and the Nokia Symbian most likely the same way), wasn't so much the OS turning the phone on, but rather the "power on alarm" in the RTC being set to turn it back on at a set time (some business class computers have this feature).  In other words, the OS is completely shut down, but it knew you had a calandar or alarm set to go off at a certain time, it passed this information to the RTC on shutdown (or even kept it updated as each alarm point passed). Device now set to power on at set time. Phone now on, and playing alarm and you don't miss that very important meeting. Where this doesn't work, is when the bios and RTC don't support this power on feature. Most consumer class computers don't. And the ones that did, would stil need to have a simple way (API) to tell the RTC when to set the power on  notification to work. So no way for the OS to force a bios level feature, if it's not supported by the bios.
  • Yes, i miss that feature a lot !
  • That's is an awesome feature. Sort if thing you would expect Cortana to do, if enabled.
  • Notifications light would be a brilliant addition to WP. With Hey Cortana, Bluetooth hands free sometimes I only need to check the phone for notifications, in case I've missed one. So a notifications light would be a perfect addition to the current functions.
  • Glance is great, a wave of the hand...but from a distance...a flashing light could do wonders...I like spinzys idea about the home key flashing, see below.
  • No glance on my 930 :'(
  • I never really understood the point of glance screen. I get it now though having forced myself to use it. A wave of the hand, and I can see if anything needs attending to. I now wouldn't buy a phone without it :)
  • @Spinzy,
    Many things Ms does to WP are strange or omitted. Idk why. We both have written about OTG, BT stack, and this is jus one more thing. If only, Ms would heed our pleas, perhaps one day. Sure we have user voice to vote for stuff, but MS should have some sense of direction, or if not the direction forward, at least the ability to look behind at what others include as mainstays of mobile phones in this/last year.
  • Very true. The strange thing is, although I miss these features, I get so much more enjoyment from using a Windows Phone versus the other two platforms...so I guess I am ok with putting up with these shortcomings.
    I just wish Microsoft would do as you say - and look back to the Symbian days when all of these features were just standard!
    (It's amazing how far ahead of its time Symbian really was. Just such a shame they didn't deliver Meego/Sailfish a few years earlier!)
  • I agree with you. I still use my Symbian phone from Nokia. And it as all the features any modern smart phone has except the big touch screens and apps. I hope MS will start using their patents effectively for Lumia series.
  • I would like them to start using the Windows button as the notification icon. It clearly has the ability, as the light pulses when the phone is completely out of battery and plugged into the charger.
    Would suit the classy minimalism of Windows Phone - and be a nice visual reminder for anyone curious that this is a Windows powered phone.
  • @Spinzy,
    That's a great idea...I like it. Moreover, I have a Sony android tablet with all the fun things, so I understand.....I never messed with ios much...just don't care for it.
  • Yes to the Windows logo button lighting to show notifications.
  • No it is not! It started making sense just when I had an android. When in the morning you start up, android takes about 5-10 min to start up. But windowsphone is already up and running because this feature or omission! Put in the pin codes and you're good to go!! So that's a smart move of msft!
  • As with everything, what is good for one person is bad for another.
    I do lots of cycle touring with my 1020. I often get to the end of the day with low battery. Since I am trying to get the most longevity out of my Anker reserve battery, I would greatly appreciate being able to leave the phone switched off and charging as it is much more efficient.
    Also, given that we are placing so much emphasis on selling devices to the developing world, using power sparingly should be a big focus!!
  • That's a proximity sensor
  • Nice
  • Beautiful phone!!
  • Nice try, push MS in the meanwhile.
  • Cool!
  • Windows Phone 7 button = Windows 10 for Lumia 900 confirmed.
  • I wish too, My Lumia 920 twin Lumia 900 was let obsolete, this maybe shows it could have had windows 10 haha
  • Except this device never ran Windows phone 7.
  • pls MS release win10 for the other phone. im fvcking jealous to those who can use it aldy.
  • Don't be. I rolled back to 8.1. It's way too early to use on your main phone.
  • So you don't like to send input on how to improve the OS to your liking? You'll probably be one of the first to complain when something you wanted gets left out..... Hey its your choice
  • He didn't say that lol, he just said it wasn't stable enough to use on his main phone, which may be his only phone...
  • That's not really a fair comment. He said it's too early, not that he won't go to it a little later in the preview program. He also said he did it on him main phone. He could have a secondary phone he uses it on.
  • Definitely not ready for prime time. I sprung for the $50 635 on Amazon, and so glad I didn't try to put it on my 920. I would gave been very un happy. As it is you can play with the other one as new stuff is added and the new windows 10 mobile takes shape. The added benefit is I now I have a backup in a pinch.
  • Best option is to get a L630, it's far to early of build to be used as daily driver for alot of people. Plus if you brick the 630 rolling back, your main phone is still safe and sound.
  • Can You took a vidéo please
  • Yay 2015 the year of low spec.
  • 2015 is the year of Windows 10 and the promise of a new flagship too.
  • Dat windows 10 tho
  • Really hate the start screen of windows 10, the one on windows phone 8.1 is way cooler, with transparent tiles and not having images in the background, hope Ms makes it an option to switch between the looks
  • Rest assured. It has already been confirmed you can select parallax or transparent tiles in Windows 10 for phones.
  • Yup, they did confirm. Imagine the backlash if they didn't confirm so early on... Lol..
  • Oh, that's a relief, I really like the windows phone 8.1 feel, I always boast about it how the tiles breaks the image and at the same time slides across them when you scroll
  • Well I'm just the opposite, I like W8.1 start, but I love W10 start much more. :)
  • Omg guys...as written in the article...its a prototype phone...dont be so rude when it comes to the start button (WP7)
  • *looks around*
    I dont see anybody being rude o_O
  • Lol
  • Sorry for all lumia owners who didnt get W10TP :P
  • The majority do not want or need it! This is a technical preview that probably 99% would not use.
  • +929
  • Why? It's way to early to be used on a main phone. Not saying it's not going to be great, just that it's a rough work in progress as it is today.
  • But seriously how's it feels to own a premium cell and not getting the latest update, and an entry level phone comes from no where and gets it :D
  • It feels like two swift kicks to the balls by a couple of scared horses.
  • Lol
  • It's not an update. At this time is basically experimental software. Given a choice as things are today, I'll stick with WP 8.1 until 10 cooks a little longer.
  • Then my friend we have to wait a bit loooooonger ! Bcz microsoft is slow in cooking OS :D LOL
  • Good to see them at least experimenting. The old windows phone button, is making me feel nostalgic lol.
  • Old windows phone 7 button :D, wondering maybe in Windows 10 mobile OEMs will have the new stylish button logo
  • msft, please give us the option to keep the parallax effect on the start screen! i dun liek ze windows 10 luk! :(
  • It has already been confirmed.
  • Both start screens will be an option, according to reports. I love that Windows 10 will give us so many options, good move by Microsoft, yes!
  • Oddly tom, they give us those options, but no rotten OTG. Plus a rumor (I won't believe it till I see it on an upgraded [1520] phone, not the ones that originally got 10) of a proper BT stack.
  • OTG not od interest to me but rumour is that Windows 10 Phones will support USB Type-C and USB Dual Role/ USB OTG.
  • I hope so.
  • Is that a LED notification light ?
  • Yes, but chances are it only lights up when charged or plugged in.
  • looks likeit is 
  • Maybe wp10 has support for this also
  • Hope they come up with a new windows button design for w10
  • No they wont...windows 10(pc) too has the same button design...if they wanted to they would have done it before the preview came out
  • Even the old W7 button experienced W10 before my M8 xC xC
  • There is funny
  • The tile transparancy and background images should have been implemented like this in 8.1.1. Its so much better.
  • Then what should have been done on Windows 10?
  • that Windows logo
  • It looks like I'll win my bet of which Pixi will see an update first lol
  • As much as I hate Alcatel (I has the unfortunate experience of using one of their BB knockoffs a while back), this is really interesting. How neat would it be to have phones be more like the PC industry where you buy a device, and put whatever software environment you want on it. How many people would take the new high-end WP devices and throw WP on there? How many would take a Nokia Lumia device and put Android on it. If this is the wave of the future then the future would look great.
  • You can't install another OS on it (well, you could maybe go back and forth between FFOS and Android), it comes preinstalled.
  • Those tiles on that background is a terrible combination.
  • That windows 7 key lol on Windows 10
  • Windows 7 button is more beautifully than windows 8 button
  • As long as its capacitive....IDC, they both look like flags to me. I understand that they are a representation of a window, but 7's really looked like a flag to me.
  • Wasn't that weaving logo was Microsoft's OUIAT?
  • All the phones look the same from the front..
  • Sounds terrific as far as specs go. HOWEVER part of the way that this device achieves WATERPROOFING is by having rubber or silicone plugs which have to be uncapped when installing your USB charger or when connecting your headset. Mmm a trifle INCONVENIENT I would have thought? Cheers from Australia.
  • OneTouch sounds like a blood sugar meter...
  • Correction: This is a real device not a prototype (although it comes with 8.1). See the official listing here. http://www.alcatelonetouch.com/global-en/products/smartphones/pixi_3_5.html#.VPckzjgcSM8 Also, is there any word on the Polaroid Windows Phone?
  • I know its a real device. I said what device it is. But with Windows 10 it's just a prototype. Alcatel is different to a Windows Insider. They make phones.
  • I can imagine that plenty of apps will be uninstall from my 1520 if Windows 10 arrived.
  • Why the WP7 logo for the start button?
  • What are the screen dimensions? Looks pretty wide.
  • we need a Surface Pro PHONE with some killer specs that never seen on any phones to date. With detachable Keyboard/cover, stylus, Quad HD screen, kickstand, Taitinium Body, Waterproof, 30pix camera with 10x digital zoom, 4000+ mAh battery with solar and wireless charging,...............problem solved. :-) 
  • With a price tag just under 900 kidneys...
  • Reminds me of the HTC Titan...
  • Nice Posted via the Windows Central App for Android