T-Mobile appears to be emerging from its Microsoft-aided Windows 10 Mobile debacle with a new Windows 10 Mobile smartphone offering. While fans of the Lumia 950 and 950 XL may never get a clear understanding of what happened when it came to T-Mobile offering the flagship Lumias, fans of Windows 10 Mobile will, at least, have a chance to acquire a phone from the Uncarrier.
Windows Central has managed to verify that T-Mobile will soon be announcing support for the Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL. Yeah, that’s a mouthful.
Previous Alcatel OneTouch efforts have historically centered around the Android platform, but as of MWC 2015, the company had been hinting at producing phone variants running Windows 10 Mobile. Without a fully testable build until recently, Alcatel has only had renders and leaked screenshots from the likes of @evleaks to offer customers to placate their curiosity. With the Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL passing Bluetooth certification two weeks ago, it appears Windows Mobile users on T-Mobile are possibly just weeks away from snagging a new device.
https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/655311609947009024
Similar to Windows Phone offerings in the past, T-Mobile is sticking to its low to mid-range support of the platform and the Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL is no different. The OneTouch Fierce XL will not be bringing all the bells and whistles of the Lumia 950 and 950 XL such as Windows Hello iris scanning, but will offer a 5.5-inch display sporting a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Other details of the OneTouch Fierce XL include a non-removable 2500mah battery, WiFi Calling and color options that bring back the familiar Windows Phone Cyan nostalgia. The phone is reported to be coming in at around $100.00 (US) for off-contract customers.
Windows Central is also reporting that the Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL may be the beginning of a portfolio of Windows 10 Mobile devices headed for T-Mobile. Based on a lengthy training guide it appears T-Mobile is set to support Windows 10 Mobile and devices running Continuum (which the OneTouch Fierce XL is reported to be missing) in the future. Even though Microsoft has opted to skip T-Mobile for the release of its recent flagship Lumia 950 and 950 XL, users should keep in mind, OEMs such as HP, Acer and possibly LG have all been flirting with Windows 10 Mobile devices. T-Mobile may be set to support devices from other manufacturers beyond Microsoft and at much better prices than the Lumia 950 and 950 XL were set to offer.
Update: T-Mobile has made it official
