Fresh off the news that it’s acquired the Palm brand, Alcatel has a new Pixi for us. It’s not actually the first Pixi from the budget phone maker, but it is pretty unique in its own right: the phone is compatible with three operating systems, being able to run Windows Phone, Android, or Firefox OS. The OS-agnostic Pixi 3 comes in four variants, with a 3.5-inch display 3G model, and three larger versions adding LTE and coming in at 4, 4.5, and 5 inches in size.
alcatel is also releasing a round smartwatch which actually looks kind of nice, but appears to be running some custom software instead of Wear.
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Love the idea of a multi-OS phone, even more if it is fully open and can be made to multi-boot – a more hackable Nexus 4, if you will.
But already on the Verge, commenters are complaining that it can’t run iOS. And my very first thought was, “No Ubuntu Touch?”
While my debit card remains poised awaiting the unveiling, I suspect they will find it difficult to create a compelling experience for 3 different OSes on the same hardware. They also may face the problem that, given too many choices, consumers tend to look for a different and more limited brand to simplify their decision.
But I very much hope I’m wrong.
I don’t recall any multi-boot/multi-OS devices being successful in the market place.
The only story I remember is that of the boot-loader legal fight between Be and Microsoft.
This could be a niche product – mostly for app developers wishing to test across platforms on the same physical device.
It’s not clear if the Pixi 3 phones will be able to multi-boot between any of the 3 OS’es. Also, if you buy it with one OS, can you easily wipe it and put one of the other two OS’es on it? Will the phone’s bootloader be unlockable/rootable out of the box (opening up the chance of CyanogenMod, Ubuntu Touch etc.)?
The watch looks nice, but no Android Wear probably means a no-go in my books – apart from the surprisingly fugly Apple smartwatch (do any rectangular smatchwatches look any good?), I suspect very few non-Android Wear watches will gain traction (possibly only the Pebble has so far).
Could have sworn i read an article where Alcatel had clarified that there would not be multi-boot. It was just a matter of them keeping cost down by using one hardware platform for all 3 OSs. Meaning you are looking at 3 SKUs were only the OS is the difference.
This plan would make the most sense.
The important things are whether users can change the OS themselves, and whether the parts they chose are open-source-friendly (i.e. have documentation). Technology has advanced enough that I don’t need the latest / fastest chips, and I would gladly trade some speed for the ability to tinker.
Welcome to the Jolla community.
The Pixi isn’t designed to multiboot. It is designed to make money. Alcatel will probably approach MS, Mozilla and Google seeking a share of search or store revenue in exchange for installing their OS on the phone. [Mint Linux already does this with search engines.]
Nice lineup of products, especially the choice of screensize. Having one hardware platform that can be sold with different OS’s isn’t a new idea though. HTC M8 can be bought with Windows Phone or Android for example.
If it would be multi-boot or easily user-changeable this would be extra interesting for a select group of users. Now it is just a nice way for Alcatel to cater to different markets easily