Hot on the heels of a new partnership with Qualcomm, the Cyanogen team have announced a device with Alcatel OneTouch. The Hero 2+ is a North American remix on the original Hero 2, which we took a look at back in September. This new version swaps out the MT8392 found in its predecessor for the MT6592 octa-core processor clocked at 2.0GHz, and that's just about where the hardware changes end. All the changes that earn this device that extra "+" lie in software, as Alcatel OneTouch will be shipping this new version of the Hero 2 with Cyanogen OS.
Alcatel OneTouch is moving from its own custom version of Android, which includes no shortage of unique software and hardware experiences, for Cyanogen OS 11. The Hero 2 may only be upgrading from Android 4.4.2 to Android 4.4.4 with this bump to Hero 2+, but Alcatel OneTouch is betting on the Cyanogen privacy and security features and theming platform for the North American launch. This 6-inch, 1080p giant will be the first official Cyanogen OS device to support a stylus, but there's been no mention yet of support for the other Alcatel OneTouch accessories, like the LED flip cover or the e-ink accessory that was sold alongside the original Hero 2.
The Hero 2+ will be available unlocked for $299 on the Alcatel OneTouch Amazon store starting in Q2 of this year. Check out the full press release below for more details.
INTRODUCING THE HERO 2+. THE FIRST UNLOCKED PHABLET FOR NORTH AMERICA FROM ALCATEL ONETOUCH FEATURING CYANOGEN OS.
As part of a new partnership between ALCATEL ONETOUCH and Cyanogen, Inc., the HERO 2+ will be available unlocked in the U.S. and Canada with Cyanogen OS pre-loaded
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS – BARCELONA, SPAIN – 2 MARCH, 2015 - ALCATEL
ONETOUCH today announced an exciting new software partnership with Cyanogen, Inc., which includes an unlocked phablet for North America featuring Cyanogen OS – the HERO 2+. The HERO 2+ LTE phablet will be available unlocked via the ALCATEL ONETOUCH store powered by Amazon for $299 beginning in Q2 2015.
"We promised big things for ALCATEL ONETOUCH in North America for 2015, and with our partnership with Cyanogen and the launch of the HERO 2+, we're delivering on our promise," said Steve Cistulli, Senior Vice President of North America for ALCATEL ONETOUCH. "We will continue to invest in strategic partnerships – like we have with Cyanogen – which not only helps build our brand here in North America, but also helps us challenge expectations when it comes to the devices we bring to market here."
The HERO 2+ is a refreshed concept of the 2015 iF Design Award winning HERO 2 phablet, featuring Cyanogen OS, with enhanced customization, security, and photo and video capture features. The HERO 2+ with Cyanogen has a 6-inch Full HD edge-to-edge display and LTE octa-core processor, designed for an unprecedented user experience for speed, graphics and data processing. This is also the first phablet with an octa-core processor with Cyanogen OS natively available on the device, brought exclusively to the North American market by ALCATEL ONETOUCH.
ABOUT HERO 2+:
- Display: 6-inch Full HD (1080 x 1920) TFT 16M color display + built in stylus
- Processor: MT6592 2.0 GHz octa-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor
- Camera: 13MP main camera + 5MP front camera for the perfect selfie
- Video Capture: Full HD 1080p 30 frame per second video capture so you never miss any of life's moments
- Memory/Storage: 2GB RAM / 16GB of storage (Expandable to 32GB via MicroSD)
- Operating System: Cyanogen OS 11 on Android KitKat 4.4.4 ( Dimensions: 160.5mm x 81.6mm x 7.9mm
"We've joined forces with ALCATEL ONETOUCH to push the limits of what a great user experience looks like, beginning with their latest phablet for North America - HERO 2+," said Vikram Natarajan, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships and Distribution for Cyanogen. "Our partnership is reflective of our deep commitment to driving innovation and meaningful differentiation for users; with enhanced privacy and security features."
Cyanogen OS 11 delivers a fast operating system with advanced features, allowing users to customize their UI through the powerful Themes app, including wallpapers, fonts, icons, settings, and boot animations. The camera comes with multiple filters and features for ease of taking selfies, pictures and videos. Cyanogen's Privacy Guard gives users granular control of personal data, and there is a host of security features – data encryption, find and wipe device, pin scramble password protection, and protected apps features.
The launch of the HERO 2+ is the first device brought to North America as part of the strategic partnership between ALCATEL ONETOUCH and Cyanogen, with plans to bring more devices to market in 2015 and beyond.
