Device manufacturer Alcatel made the news at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona back in March that it was teaming up with software developer Cyanogen for the Alcatel OneTouch Hero 2+ phablet. It was supposed to be a next gen phablet with Cyanogen software running the show. We’ve just received news that both Alcatel and Cyanogen have announced the termination of this project in favor of a future product.
Both companies have released a statement saying that they will not put to market the previously announced Hero 2+ phablet product because it “does not have a clear Android 5.1 upgrade path.” The announcement stated thus:
“ALCATEL ONETOUCH and Cyanogen, Inc. have made a mutual decision to forgo the release of the HERO 2+. At its announcement, the goal of bringing this device to market was to offer the most advanced hardware and software at an affordable price. The bar was set high and unfortunately the device does not have a clear Android 5.1 upgrade path. We therefore are committing to refocus our joint efforts on a next-generation product that can exceed the expectations of end users. Our teams remain dedicated to releasing an ALCATEL ONETOUCH device powered by Cyanogen OS, and are looking to share an update when we have more details to share.”
While this might seem like bad news to most people, we do not think so. Whether current technology caught up with Alacatel and the product was just too behind in hardware terms, we do not know. This we do know – we do not need another middling kind of product in a market dense with such mediocre devices. This would probably benefit Alcatel and Cyanogen in the long term, as they promise to work on a next-gen product that is worthy of the name.
VIA: Android Central
