We got the chance to play with the Fire earlier today and while the glossy plastic body -- in either orange or pink -- felt solid enough, the performance wasn't quite there yet: the touch and software response were significantly sluggish.

With its simple and easy software, the Alcatel Fire isn't aiming to compete with high-end smart phones. But there are still few rough edges, even if you're not expecting high-end performance.

...it’s not the most highly-specified phone: a 3.5-inch screen and 1GHz processor. That chip is paired with a meager 256MB of RAM, though Mozilla has argued that Firefox OS is more resource-frugal than other platforms. You’ll probably want a memory card to augment the 512MB of user storage,...

Another positive instant impression comes when the 8-inch screen is first switched on. It is as vibrant as a summer day in a field of daisies...Drawing or writing on the screen is almost like doing so on a pad with a real pen. There's so little lag that sketching feels totally natural.

In terms of a suitable replacement for the feature phone, it looks to be an excellent starting point for anyone who's looking to enter the world of smartphones.