Alcatel’s Hero 2+ phablet is the latest phone to launch with Cyanogen OS

Alcatel might not be the most exciting name in all the mobile lands, but their latest phone gives us reason to pay attention. It’s the Hero 2+, a 6-inch phablet that will find its way onto the market with the following specs:

• 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)


• Dimensions: 160.5mm x 81.6mm x 7.9mm

All of that hardware is used to run Cyanogen OS as this is the latest phone to launch with the grassroots ROM by default. Unfortunately it’ll ship with Cyanogen OS 11S, a KitKat distribution, but we’re sure Cyanogen OS 12 — the one with Lollipop — will be along shortly after release.

“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.”

The device is said to be a North American exclusive, and will be available from Alcatel’s Amazon store starting at 9. It ships Q2 2015 so there won’t be a long wait if you’re interested in something like this over, say, the OnePlus One.

HTC Aero looks to be the company’s new hero device launching later this year

Earlier this month, HTC chairwoman and CEO Cher Wang spoke during with investors during a general shareholder’s meeting about the company’s lackluster performance during the previous quarter. It was there she made mention of a new hero device her company would release at toward the end of the year, but didn’t provide any details. Of course, this sparked our interest as HTC fans who loved last year’s HTC One M8, but felt the recently released HTC One M9 missed the mark.

If recent tweets from former tipster @evleaks (Evan Blass) are any clue, this device could be known internally as the HTC Aero. Blass mentioned the phone — which is allegedly launching in Q4 — earlier this week in a tweet to Android developer LlabTooFeR ‏who provided new launch details on the HTC One M9+ (coming to European markets in Q3). @Upleaks seemed to confirm its existence and possibly that it will carry a Snapdragon 820 SoC.

And that’s where the trail runs cold. With knowledge of this new HTC hero device out there, we imagine it wont be too much longer before the leaks begin to follow. For now we can only sit and wonder what the future holds for HTC and with the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and possibly a pair of Nexus devices set to launch later this year, they’ll certainly have their work cut out for them.