The Samsung Gear S2 definitely stands out among the smartwatch crowd, both in terms of design, controls and an alternative software approach. Straying away from the pack – what looks like a surefire recipe for failure on the surface, has actually proven a pretty viable strategy on the still developing wearable scene, as the Korean giant definitely got many things right with the Gear S2.

However, despite all the well-deserved praise, no product is perfect and just like its Android Wear siblings or the Apple Watch, the Gear S2 faces challenges of its own. Undoubtedly one of the bigger calamities of the Tizen-powered watch is the relative lack of software, when compared to Android Wear. However, eager developers seem to have taken a liking to Samsung’s versatile and powerful OS implementation and have been shrinking the app gap quite rapidly as of late. One interesting fresh addition to the Gear S2 is a full QWERTY keyboard.

The app in question is called Agile Keyboard and is available through Galaxy apps for $0.90. It is a Samsung-style keyboard, even complete with a T9 predictive engine, much like on the company’s handsets.

The Gear S2’s Tizen-powered OS allows for easy implementation of third-party keyboards. These are easily switchable through the Settings » Input menu on the watch. It is this kind of development-friendly design that really make Tizen stand-out – a plus we described in more detail within our review of the Gear S2.

And for optimizing the IM experience on your wrist, another interesting app is currently under development for the Gear S2. It aims to solve a problem common to both Android Wear and the Tizen-based Samsung wearable OS, namely that currently you can only reply to instant messages from the notification interface. That is, you can only send a single response after someone writes to you and can’t otherwise start or manage conversation. The app, showcased in the video below, acts as a message hub that simply allows you to manage active chats and write to people as you please. It currently supports multiple apps: WhatsApp, FB Messenger, Google Hangout, Line, KakaoTalk, Skype and Viber, with the possibility of more to come.

It the clip, we can see both apps working together beautifully on the Gear S2, as the ultimate testament that Samsung’s latest smartwatch is definitely growing in popularity and drawing more and more developer attention.

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Alcatel is bringing five new mobile devices to this year’s CES – two smartphones, a phablet, and two tablets. They will be available for checkup on January 6 in Las Vegas for anyone who’s interested.

Alcatel Pixi 3 (8)

The Alcatel Pixi 3 (8) is an 8″ slate running on the latest Windows 10 Mobile. It packs an IPS display of 1280 x 800 pixels, and is powered by the Snapdragon 210 chip with a quad-core 1.3GHz processor, Adreno 304 GPU, and 1GB of RAM. The Pixi 3 (8) supports SIM cards and can tap into GSM, 3G, and 4G LTE networks.

The rest of the specs include 32GB expandable storage, a 5MP rear and a 2MP front camera, and a 4,060 mAh battery.

Alcatel Pixi 4 (3.5)

Alcatel Pixi 4 (3.5) is the smallest of the new Pixi 4 series – it’s a smartphone with a 3.5″ HVGA display. The little fella runs on a MT6572M chip with a dual-core 1.1GHz Cortex-A7 processor with 512MB RAM, packs a 2MP rear and a 0.3MP front snapper, and there is 4GB expandable storage. Android 5.1 Lollipop is in charge of the Pixi 4 (3.5).

Alcatel Pixi 4 (4)

Alcatel Pixi 4 (4) has a 4″ WVGA display and ticks on the MT6580M chip with a quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 processor and 512MB/1GB RAM depending on the choice of storage – either 4GB or 8GB, both expandable. The camera department is also different – 2MP rear and 0.3MP front or 5MP rear and 2MP front lens depending on the model.

All Pixi 4 (4) run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Alcatel Pixi 4 (6)

The Alcatel Pixi 4 (6) is a 6″ phablet with a 720p IPS display and Snapdragon 210 chip (4x Cortex-A7 at 1.1GHz, 1GB RAM). It offers 8GB expandable storage, 8MP rear camera, a 5MP selfie snapper, LTe connectivity, and a 2,580 mAh battery.

The Pixi 4 (6) opens on Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.

Alcatel Pixi 4 (7)

Finally, the Alcatel Pixi (7) offers a 7″ display of 1024 x 600 pixels and runs on MT8321 chip with a quad-core 1.1GHz Cortex-A7 processor and 1GB of RAM. The slate comes with 8GB expandable storage, a 2,580 mAh battery, supports GSM and 3G networks, and can snap 2MP stills with its rear camera or 0.3MP selfies. Android 6.0 Marshmallow loads right out the box.

Alcatel CareTime Watch

Alcatel is bringing one more gadget to the CES expo – the CareTime Children’s Watch. It’s a kid’s watch with a small 0.95″ OLED display (96×64) and its main purpose is GPS tracking. The kids would also be able to make calls or send messages to a list of predefined contacts. Alcatel promises 4 days of battery life on standby.

All of these devices will be available to the public on January 6. We’ll try to give you a sneak peek during our time in Las…

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