Alcatel A30 TABLET Doubles As An 8-Inch TV Remote

Because of Apple's tight grip on everything, there are a few things that iPads can never be or do. They can never cost below $200 brand new, and they can never have IR blasters. Coincidentally, both of those happen to be the two key features of the Alcatel A30 TABLET. An Android slate, it can be whatever Alcatel wants, limited only by the capabilities of its hardware, which isn't much, to be honest. And Alcatel wants it to be your entertainment device, be it on the tablet's screen or on a bigger screen.

Alcatel is intentionally being coy about the specs, but it should immediately be clear that this is no high-end slate. Powered by an unspecified Qualcomm quad-core processor, the 8-inch tablet is no powerhouse. The 5 megapixel camera, both on the front and on the back, is probably going to be laughable Though the 4,000 mAh battery is no joking matter.

Alcatel is positioning the A30 TABLET as a TV partner instead. Sure, you can watch your own videos on it directly, if you have enough storage space, but thanks to its IR blaster and the CloserTV app, it also becomes your portal to your TV.

The app lumps together all your cable, satellite, and streaming content under one roof. It even allows you to skip commercials by switching to some other program automatically. The app has also been testes tl work on major cable and set-top boxes.

Starting this Friday, the Alcatel A30 Tablet can be purchased from T-Mobile stores across the country for only $125. And being an Android tablet, you also have access to the wealth and breadth of Google Play apps, games, and digital content.