Smartphone Alcatel One Touch - reviews and review. Smartphone Alcatel One Touch - reviews and review Alcatel van touch touch

Most readers probably know that under the once European brand of smartphones Alcatel are now hiding all the same ubiquitous Chinese - in this case, it is TCL, which bought the trademark a few years ago and continues to produce and sell devices under this brand. So when buying mobile equipment with an Alcatel tag, you need to understand that you are now buying not a French device, as it was once before, but a Chinese one. However, this does not detract from the dignity of Chinese products of this class - modern factory China is quite ready to oppose itself to the established leaders of HTC, Samsung and Sony, and an example of this is our recent reviews of fresh products of high-quality Chinese production (in the list of such companies we can mention , first of all, Oppo, Meizu, Xiaomi, as well as the ubiquitous Huawei). However, TCL also sells smartphones under its own name, but usually in its own home market. By the way, you can find on it the "original" model, akin to the hero of today's review, and even with a similar name: TCL One Touch Idol X. However, the devices are not quite exact copies of each other, there are also minor differences between them. However, we are interested today in the European version, which is officially presented on our market, and it is called Alcatel One Touch Idol X.

If we talk about the prerequisites for writing this review, then it is worth recalling that recently we have repeatedly turned to the topic of high-quality Chinese mobile products of a high level of performance (Oppo Mirror, Oppo Find 5, Jiayu G4, Meizu MX2, Meizu MX3 and others). Quite recently, we reviewed another advanced Chinese smartphone sold under the Fly brand (Fly Luminor IQ453), which turned out to be quite high-quality, interesting, but for the "Chinese" - an expensive smartphone. The users themselves on numerous forums compare this model primarily with the Alcatel One Touch Idol X - the devices have very similar characteristics, so the comparison of these two models on the pages of this review will be quite natural and not accidental. It is also worth noticing right away that a model with support for two SIM cards - 6040D is taking part in today's testing (in nature there is still exactly the same device, with only one SIM card - OT Idol X 6040, but it supports microSD memory cards) ...

Key Features of Alcatel One Touch Idol X (Model 6040D)

• SoC MediaTek MT6589T, 1.5 GHz, 4 cores, ARM Cortex-A7
• GPU PowerVR SGX 544MP
• Operating system Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• Touch IPS-display, 5 ″, 1920 × 1080, 440 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, internal memory 16 GB
• Communication GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Communication 3G WCDMA 850/1900/2100 MHz
• SIM card format: micro
• Bluetooth 4.0 A2DP
• Wi-Fi 802.11b / g / n, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Dispay
• GPS, A-GPS
• Dual SIM support
• Position sensors, proximity, lighting, electronic compass
• 13 MP camera, automatic and manual focus
• Camera 2 MP (front), video recording 720p
• Li-ion battery 2000 mAh
• Dimensions 140.4 x 67.5 x 6.9 mm
• Weight 120 g

Contents of delivery

The smartphone goes on sale in a small cardboard box. A rectangular box made of simple, unvarnished cardboard cannot be called chic, but it does not cause rejection either. There is no lurid color, there is no overload of information either, everything is quite neat and concise.

The box contained: a charger, a Micro-USB cable, a wired headset and some papers. The headphones are equipped with in-ear gel ear pads and a regular, non-noodle-like wire that constantly tends to get tangled. The factory did not put any additional accessories in the form of covers and the like in the flagship smartphone set, which is a pity - for a Chinese, this device is not so cheap, one could take care of additional "goodies".

Appearance and usability

In terms of its external data, the smartphone is very good: comfortable dimensions, balanced weight, neat appearance, bright but non-irritating multi-colored back covers, reliable assembly, high-quality materials - all this is Alcatel One Touch Idol X. Honestly, I liked the smartphone much more. rather than the recently reviewed Fly Luminor IQ453: it was clearly made with a veneer under the already popular products of brands such as Apple and Sony, while Alcatel One Touch Idol X has no claims to someone else's account - the design is simple, cheerful, light-looking, spontaneous and distinctive, and it is precisely by this independence of others' opinions that he commands respect.

In addition, the device is not devoid of its own "opinion" in terms of the technical arrangement of the case: I really liked how the developers implemented the method of installing the SIM card. More precisely, even two SIM cards: the monoblock case of Alcatel One Touch Idol X 6040D has one slotted slot on both side faces, but the way of opening their covers is non-standard. There are no hidden buttons and keys that have set the teeth on edge, and a paper clip is not needed. The covers of both slots can be easily opened without special picks, you just need to press on one of the edges of the cover with a magnetic latch, and it immediately opens up unhindered access to the SIM-card - a very convenient solution, reminiscent of the first Nokia Lumia devices.

The smartphone lies comfortably in the hand: due to the small width of the case, achieved by thin frames around the screen (no more than 3 mm), very small thickness (7.7 mm) and, most importantly, the non-glossy, matte, rough back cover, the device fits well in the palm and it holds well there. If we take into account the recently increased standards for the dimensions of mobile devices, which have become the norm, then the Alcatel One Touch Idol X model can even be called neat and not too large. For a woman's hand, it is definitely also quite suitable, and the design of this line of smartphones can definitely be attributed to the unisex category.

The materials of manufacture are plastic, there is no metal here. There are two types of plastic: matte, but hard (without soft-touch effect) on the back cover and glossy lacquered on the sides. The plastic on the sides has the texture of a roughly sanded material, but it still feels smooth to the touch and looks shiny due to the varnish layer.

The back cover is non-removable, it is impossible to access the battery by standard means, and there is no memory card slot at all. More precisely, the microSD slot is provided, as we have already said, in the 6040 version of the smartphone, and in this (6040D) it is replaced by an additional slot for a second SIM card. By the way, it would be appropriate to immediately notice that one of the slots can only work with SIM-cards of the MTS operator - such is a small injustice. But in the second slot, you can insert any card.

In addition to the two SIM-card slots covered with magnetic covers on the side faces, there is also a paired volume key, as well as connectors: Micro-USB at the bottom, and a 3.5 mm audio output at the top.

In the same place, at the top, the power button is also installed, which is a noticeable disadvantage of the device - the body itself is too big to comfortably reach the power button with the fingers of the hand that holds the smartphone. Probably, you could still fit the lock key on one of the side faces.

The landscape of the rear surface is made up of a camera window slightly protruding from the plane, a single-section LED flash and a row of small holes in the lower part that makes up the speaker grill.

The front panel is completely covered with a scratch-resistant protective glass. It is stated that here, as in Oppo smartphones, not the usual Corning Gorilla is used, but a Japanese competing solution called Asahi Glass Dragontrail. Let us repeat that the thickness of the side frames from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body is a little less than 3 mm, which is a very good indicator. The majority of users who first take Alcatel One Touch Idol X in their hands immediately note this moment.

Below the screen is a block of buttons for controlling the system and applications. The buttons, of course, are touch-sensitive, have a bright whitish backlight, the duration of which cannot be changed in any way.

There are no rubber pads, protective bumpers or at least a hook for a strap on the hand here - we have in front of us a typical pampered city dweller, designed for operation in "greenhouse" conditions.

And finally, traditionally, about the color options: this smartphone, unlike the Fly Luminor IQ453, which is presented in only one black color, has a much more diverse range of body colors. At foreign exhibitions there are samples of almost all colors of the rainbow, but in our market, apparently, only three main ones are officially represented: red, black and yellow. There are no functional differences between models of different colors, and the front panel under the glass is equally black.

Screen

The Alcatel One Touch Idol X smartphone is equipped with a 62 × 110 mm IPS touch matrix with a diagonal of 127 mm (5 inches), a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels (which gives a very high pixel density - 440 ppi).

The display brightness has both manual and automatic adjustment, the latter based on the operation of the light sensor. The multitouch technology here allows you to simultaneously process up to 10 simultaneous touches - seemingly not very much in demand, but, nevertheless, a noticeable difference from the Fly Luminor IQ453, which, for some reason, has only five-finger control. The smartphone also has a proximity sensor that locks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear.

Alexey Kudryavtsev, editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, conducted a detailed examination using measuring instruments. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, there is a very effective antiglare filter, surpassing the Google Nexus 7 2013 in reducing the brightness of reflection. The doubling of the reflected objects is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, but slightly worse than the Google Nexus 7 2013), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a slower rate than in the case of regular glass.

When the white field was displayed on the whole screen, the maximum brightness value was about 470 cd / m², the minimum - 80 cd / m². The maximum brightness is quite high, which, given the high efficiency of the anti-reflective filter, will provide excellent readability even on a sunny day outdoors. However, in complete darkness, the minimum brightness may seem excessive. There is an automatic brightness control by the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front camera). In automatic mode, when the ambient light conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness is reduced to 108 cd / m2 (too much), in an office lit with artificial light, the brightness is set at 206 cd / m2 (acceptable), in a brightly lit environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight light) rises to 470 cd / m² (which is to be expected). As a result, this function works adequately, although in the dark the brightness could be lower. At low brightness, there is some modulation of brightness, but its amplitude is small, and the frequency is tens of kilohertz, so it is impossible to see the screen flickering visually, and the presence of such modulation can in no way affect the comfort of working with this smartphone.

This smartphone uses an IPS-type matrix. The micrographs show the typical IPS sub-pixel structure:

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting tints and without significant color shift, even with large gaze deviations from the perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, we present photographs at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen, on which the same images are displayed on the screens of Alcatel One Touch Idol X and LG G Pro Lite Dual D686 (it is larger), while the brightness of both screens is set to about 200 cd / m².

Black and white field:

From this photo, we can judge about the preservation of color balance in the Alcatel smartphone and that it has a slightly lower brightness drop than the LG D686.

It can be seen that Alcatel's colors are better preserved at this angle.

The black field, when deviated along the diagonal, lightens very little and acquires a red-violet tint. A photo from LG D686 for comparison shows this (the set brightness of the white areas is the same for both screens!):

From a perpendicular view, the uniformity of the black field is acceptable. The contrast is high - about 935: 1. The response time for the transition black-white-black is 19 ms (10 ms on + 9 ms off). The transition between gray tones of 25% and 75% (by the numerical value of the color) and vice versa takes 27 ms in total. The gamma curve plotted at 32 points did not reveal any blockage in highlights or shadows, and the exponent of the approximating power-law function is 2.05, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve significantly deviates from the power-law dependence:

Due to the aggressive dynamic adjustment of the brightness of the backlight in accordance with the nature of the displayed image (on light images, the brightness increases, on dark images, it decreases), the obtained dependence of brightness on the hue (gamma curve) does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential full-screen grayscale output. For this reason, we carried out a number of tests - determining the contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates, and not single-color fields in full screen. For example, we will give a graph of the transition from black to white and vice versa for the case of displaying fields in full screen (100%) and with alternating display of black and white fields on half of the screen (line 50/50%, average brightness does not change and dynamic adjustment does not work ):

You can see how the brightness is adjusted stepwise and that in 0.5 s it does not reach its maximum value.

The color gamut is sRGB:

The spectra show that the matrix filters moderately mix the components together. As a result, colors visually have natural saturation.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is not bad, since the color temperature is even higher than the standard 6500 K, but the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) is significantly less than 3, which is considered an excellent indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the color temperature and delta E change little from shade to shade, which has a positive effect on the visual assessment of the color balance. (The dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance is not very important there, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

The screen has a high maximum brightness and an effective anti-glare filter, so you can use your smartphone without any problems even on a clear sunny day. But in complete darkness, the minimum brightness may seem excessive, for example, for comfortable reading from the screen. Also, the automatic brightness adjustment, although it changes the brightness in accordance with the external conditions, however, in a not very bright environment, it sets the brightness slightly higher than a sufficient level, which will lead to a certain waste of energy for the screen backlight. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating, no flickering and no air gap in the layers of the screen, high contrast, excellent black stability to deviation of the gaze from the perpendicular to the screen, sRGB coverage and a fairly good color balance. In sum, and at the moment, this gives a top-level screen.

Sound

In terms of sound, the smartphone is average. Both speakers emit a fairly clear sound, but without a noticeable presence of low frequencies, mixed with some barely noticeable metallic notes. However, this does not really affect the perception of sound during a conversation - the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable. At this point, I would like to especially note one point: in their reviews on the forums, users who have already bought an Alcatel One Touch Idol X often complain about some extraneous clicks during telephone conversations. Moreover, it is the interlocutors on the other side of the wire that hear them. We diligently checked our copy many times for such clicks: as a result, none of the interlocutors listening on the other side could find any extraneous sounds. The sound is clear, maybe a little ringing metal, but completely free of extraneous "impurities". Obviously, here we are talking about a software flaw: perhaps users who have discovered such a problem should attend to updating the firmware or take the device for repair, because this problem, as it turned out, is not widespread.

By the way, the Alcatel smartphone offers the ability to record a conversation from the line with standard built-in means, which is extremely rare now. Both parties are recorded, the conversation can be listened to by clicking on the icon with a magnetic tape right in the call list opposite a specific call with time and date - everything is organized extremely conveniently, really worthy of praise. Actually, such functionality should be an integral part of any intercom, and even more so a modern smartphone. Surprisingly, such rich functionality is found in Chinese flagship solutions much more often than in generally recognized A-class brands. To be fair, it should be noted that Fly Luminor IQ453 can also record telephone conversations of both parties. Alcatel One Touch Idol X also has a separate ordinary voice recorder, which serves only for creating sound notes, and also found an FM radio.

Camera

Alcatel One Touch Idol X is equipped with two digital camera modules as standard. The front camera here has a 2 megapixel sensor, takes photos with a maximum resolution of 1792 × 1008, video can be captured at a maximum resolution of 720p (the Fly Luminor IQ453 also has 720p).

The main rear camera is equipped with a 13-megapixel module. By default, the camera shoots with a wide aspect ratio, and in the maximum resolution (13 megapixels) you must switch manually, then the images are obtained with a resolution of 4224 × 3168. Examples of photos taken in automatic mode "out of the box" are shown below with comments.

	Sharpness is generally good, falling slightly towards the left edge of the frame.
	The grass and leaves are worked out well enough. The number of the nearest car is clearly distinguishable.
	The branches are quite clear, albeit due to sharping.
	In the center of the frame, small details are worked out well, although sharpness decreases towards the edges.
	The number of the car that is not the closest is clearly distinguishable. Noises are processed fairly moderately.
	Macro photography is fine if you know where the focus is.

	Illumination ≈1300 lux. The camera is doing well.
	Illumination ≈460 lux. When the lighting deteriorates, everything is still good.
	Illumination ≈240 lux. With a further decrease in lighting, the situation deteriorates significantly.
	Illumination ≈240 lux, flash. The flash barely changes the situation.
	Lighting<1 люкс. В темноте камера не справляется, но контуры различимы.
	Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. В данном случае вспышка работает относительно неплохо.

The picture quality of this camera is not flagship, but quite decent. The flaws that are quite standard for cameras of inexpensive smartphones are noticeable: aggressive noise reduction in places, noticeable sharping, drop in sharpness to the edges of the frame. The flash is also not very fine-tuned and does not allow you to shorten the shutter speed, but nevertheless, in the absence of lighting, it helps. The center sharpness of the camera is very good.

Perhaps one of the obvious and few advantages of this camera allows us to record it as documentary. I would like to note that the camera shoots quite well, has good sharpness and moderate noise - but only in the central part of the frame, towards the edges all these advantages are gradually lost.

The camera can shoot video, it does it without visible delays or artifacts in the image, there is only one mode and resolution for shooting to choose from. An example of a test video is shown below. Videos are saved in a 3GP container (video - MPEG-4 Visual ( [email protected]), sound - AAC LC, 128 kbps, 48 \u200b\u200bkHz, 2 channels).

• Movie # 1 (75.9 MB, 1920 × 1080)

There are very few settings for shooting control - basically, the possibilities are at the mercy of automation. Shooting can be done both by clicking on the virtual icon on the screen, and by using the hardware volume control swing - at this moment it works as a photo button. You cannot take photos while filming here.

Telephone part and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks; there is no support for fourth generation (LTE) networks. In general, the network capabilities of a smartphone are currently minimal: the 5 GHz Wi-Fi range is not supported, and there is no support for NFC technology either. You can organize a wireless point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels, there is a Wi-Fi Direct mode.

No freezes or spontaneous reboots / shutdowns were observed during testing. The screen is large, so the drawing of letters and numbers of virtual keyboards is quite comfortable to operate. The layout and arrangement of the keys are standard: here you can switch languages \u200b\u200bby clicking on the button with the image of a globe, there is no separate top row with numbers, you need to switch the layout from letters to numbers and back all the time.

The implementation of work with two SIM-cards is standard for the platform: there can be only one active conversation, any of the cards can work in both 3G and 2G modes. In a separate section of the settings, you can assign default conditions to each of the SIM cards, so that, for example, voice communication is always carried out using the first one, and data transfer - through the second SIM card. In the case of the device officially sold on the Russian market, the first slot is locked for working only with MTS SIM cards, but users have already learned to bypass this limitation at the software level, it is enough to google the topic.

OS and software

As a system, the software platform Google Android version 4.2.2 and a third-party user graphical interface are used, which significantly changes the appearance of video and brings noticeable changes to the internal structure and the entire organization of work with the system as a whole. Here, like many Chinese products, there is no application menu as such, and all installed application icons are simply placed on the desktops, like the unforgettable MIUI. Naturally, there is a possibility of creating folders, and the developer himself, in principle, has already "combed" the appearance of the workspace as best he could: most programs are carefully arranged according to topics. There is also a whole set of colorful functional widgets - the interface is full of colors, but now it is already becoming fashionable.

A section on gesture control has been added to the settings menu. With the help of familiar manipulations, you can, for example, turn down the ringer volume, turn off the alarm, or shuffle tracks in the media player. There are a lot of pre-installed programs, there is a full-fledged office suite, a file manager, an antivirus, and even several pre-installed games. In general, the interface is nice and flexible enough to customize for yourself.

Performance

The Alcatel One Touch Idol X hardware platform is based on the MediaTek MT6589T SoC. The central processor here has 4 Cortex-A7 cores operating at a frequency of 1.5 GHz. It is assisted in graphics processing by the PowerVR SGX 544MP video processor. The device has 2 GB of RAM, which is quite modern. With built-in memory, the smartphone is not a lot - 16 GB of internal memory is nominally and only about 12.7 GB of free flash array in reality. The smartphone does not support expanding memory using microSD cards (the 6040 has this support). The problem is partly solved by the ability to connect external devices to the USB port (USB Host, USB OTG). This, by the way, is the essential difference between Alcatel One Touch Idol X and its main competitor: Fly Luminor IQ453 does not have the ability to connect external devices.

Based on the results of the data obtained during the testing, the Alcatel OT Idol X system showed quite expected average performance indicators, at the level of other devices we previously tested, which are organized on the same platform. In nature, there is also a regular version of MediaTek MT6589 with an operating frequency of cores not 1.5 but 1.2 GHz (for example, the Oppo Mirror R819 is based on it), and a comparison of the results of these platforms showed the natural advantage of the MT6589T version. Well, a comparison with the closest competitor, Fly Luminor IQ453, revealed almost absolute coincidence of the results, which is logical, since both devices are built on the same platform.

Test results in MobileXPRT, as well as the latest versions of AnTuTu 4.x and GeekBench 3:

As for benchmarks for evaluating the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can be truly correct only on the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always.

Video playback

To test the "omnivorous" video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, do not expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.

¹ the audio in MX Video Player was only played after switching to software decoding or to Hardware +; the standard player does not have such a setting

We did not find the MHL interface, like Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Testing technique for video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the frame output of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and the frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 frames / with). In our tests we used the MX Player video player in the Hardware... The test results are summarized in the table:

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Skips If "green" ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and skipping of frames will either not be seen at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. "Red" marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the corresponding files.

The intervals between frames (or groups of frames) alternate slightly unevenly, and in the case of files with 50 and 60 fps, some frames are skipped. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p), the image of the video file itself is displayed one-to-one, exactly at the edge of the screen. The luminance range displayed on the screen corresponds to the extended range (that is, the range 0-255). And since most video files are encoded in the 16-235 luminance range of video, the white color of such video files on the screen of this smartphone appears as light light gray, and black as dark dark gray, which clearly does not improve the image quality.

Battery life

The capacity of the lithium-ion battery installed in the Alcatel OT Idol X is 2000 mAh, which is small by today's standards. However, all the ultra-thin Chinese models we have tested lately are equipped with the same energy reserve - this applies to both the Fly Luminor IQ453 and the Oppo Mirror. The battery here, as already mentioned, is non-removable, so it cannot be removed, replaced, or taken on the road with a spare.

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m2) lasted about 10 hours until the battery was fully discharged, and when continuously watching YouTube videos in high quality (HQ) with the device lasted less than 7 hours with the same brightness level through the home Wi-Fi network - these are average indicators. The smartphone lasted a little over 4 hours in 3D games mode.

Outcome

At the moment, the official cost of Alcatel OT Idol X is set in our market within 14 thousand rubles. The competitor's price is a little higher: Fly Luminor IQ453 costs 15 thousand rubles now, but at the same time it is difficult to find anything that would make it more preferable in comparison with the hero of today's review. Is that a larger amount of internal memory. Otherwise, it turns out that Alcatel OT Idol X looks better in all respects, and is even cheaper. Of course, the list of competitors is not limited to these two models, however, most of them are characterized by either much worse characteristics (most often the screen is not Full HD), or a significantly higher price - 20 thousand or more.

• nice design
• comfortable dimensions
• great screen
• oTG support

• average productivity
• weak graphics subsystem
• low indicators of battery life
• lack of expandable memory
• inconvenient location of the power button

Salon consultants have a great trick to sell Alcatel smartphones like hotcakes: they just tell customers that Alcatel is a French company, and therefore their gadgets are French. This argument works very well with those clients who frown in disgust at the word “ China».

In fact, there is nothing French in Alcatel smartphones. Back in 2004, the division of Alcatel, which was engaged in the production of mobile equipment, merged with the Chinese company TCL - all and "smart" devices that came out after that moment, come from the Middle Kingdom. TCL turned out to be the main one in the pair, and only the trade mark remained from Alcatel - well-known and successful from the marketing point of view.

The fact that Alcatel smartphones are made in China should not confuse the buyer - on the contrary, it is precisely because of this that the gadgets have reasonable prices. This article will tell you about the current Alcatel lines and the most remarkable of the company's smartphones.

What are Alcatel's smartphone lines in 2017?

Alcatel is a real record holder for the number of smartphone lines, the company already has 6:

• A... This is the freshest line - the first A-series devices appeared only in 2017. Now the line includes completely dissimilar smartphones, but most of them still have one thing in common - huge displays with a diagonal of 5.5-6 inches.
• U - a line for people who can't imagine life without.
• Shine... There is only one Shine smartphone so far - this is the Lite model. The key feature is the premium glass-metal design at a low price.
• Idol - the most advanced and functional Alcatel smartphones. This line should be considered the flagship. Alcatel Idol devices, as a rule, have very thin cases and contrast stunning quality.
• Pop - intended mainly for a teenage audience. A characteristic feature of the line's design is rounded corners.
• Pixi - a line of ultra-budget devices with functionality corresponding to the price. Note that the border between the Pop and Pixi lines began to blur: the most expensive Pixi now costs almost 6 thousand rubles, while the Pop-smartphone can be bought for 4 thousand.

We will present the most noteworthy Alcatel smartphones in more detail.

The most affordable

Alcatel Pixi 4 4034D

• Chipset:4-core MediaTek MT6580M, 1300 MHz.
• Screen:4 inches, resolution 800 × 480.
• Battery: 1500 mAh
• RAM: 512 MB
• Built-in storage: 4 GB

Price: from 2 368 rubles

There are few smartphones on the market that cost up to 2,500 rubles - and there are only a few models that can boast Android version 6.0 out of the box. One of them is the Alcatel Pixi 4 4034D.

There is no need to talk about the advantages of Pixi for a long time - it is clear that the most fastidious users can pass by. In addition to the minimum price, the gadget's advantages include an unexpectedly powerful processor. MTK's 4-core Pixi gem is capable of overclocking up to 1300 MHz. Exactly the same clock speed is included in the characteristics of most Alcatel devices - even those that cost 10 thousand rubles.

Advantages:

• Many color options.
• Minimum cost.
• Support for 2 SIM cards.
• Not a bad chipset for a super budget device.

disadvantages:

• A small screen with a ridiculous resolution today.
• Boring and banal design.

Other inexpensive smartphones: One Touch Pop (5070D), Pixi 4 (5) (5045D), U5 (4047D), U3, Pixi 3 (4) (4013D).

For selfie lovers

Alcatel U5 HD

• Chipset:4-core MediaTek MT6737M, 1300 MHz.
• Screen:5 inches, HD resolution.
• Battery: 2200 mAh
• RAM: 1 GB
• Built-in storage:

Price: from 4 690 rubles

Alcatel has awarded the budget U5 HD model with excellent cameras - 13-megapixel rear and 8-megapixel front. The front camera is provided with a flash - "selfies" can be done even in low light conditions. Young users will surely appreciate the many photo effects, such as the popular “ Mask", Allowing you to transform into a pirate, a bear, a zombie.

Alas, with the exception of the U5 HD cameras, there is really nothing to brag about - for all other characteristics, this is a rather primitive budget gadget.

It is worth buying the HD model. A simple U5, although a little cheaper, but its screen is no good.

Advantages:

• Decent selfie camera with lots of filters and effects.
• 4G support.
• Support for 2 SIM cards.

disadvantages:

• Mediocre autonomy.
• Small amount of user memory.
• Overpriced - for the same money, you can buy a gadget with better performance.

Other selfie smartphones: A7, A3, A3 XL, Idol 4S.

Modest "handsome"

Alcatel Shine Lite

• Chipset:4-core MediaTek MT6737, 1300 MHz.
• Screen:5 inches, HD resolution.
• Battery: 2460 mAh
• RAM: 2 GB
• Built-in storage: 16 GB

Price: from 7 990 rubles

Alcatel Shine Lite was presented at IFA 2016, where it was definitely a success. The smartphone fully corresponds to the epithet assigned by the manufacturer (“shining”) and looks absolutely fantastic. Visitors to the exhibition opened their mouths in amazement when they were informed that this gadget - budgetary.

The Shine Lite design secret lies in the fact that the body of the smartphone does not contain a single gram of plastic. Both the front and back sides of the device are covered with durable 2.5D Dragontrail glass - there is also an oleophobic coating on the front. The body frame is made of metal.

Due to the fact that the smartphone is made exclusively from premium materials, it has a significant weight - over 150 grams. However, you must agree: this sacrifice was worth making for such a stunning design!

Advantages:

disadvantages:

• The chipset is not the most productive - in terms of processor characteristics, the gadget is not far from Pixi 4.
• The device only supports 1 SIM.

The largest

Alcatel A7 XL

• Chipset:8-core MediaTek MT6750S, 1500 MHz.
• Screen:6 inches, FullHD resolution.
• Battery: 4000 mAh
• RAM: 3 GB
• Built-in storage: 32 GB

Price: from 13,000 rubles

If the Shine Lite model became an IFA 2016 exhibit, then Alcatel presented the A7 gadgets at the same exhibition a year later. The simple A7 didn't really remember anything, but the A7 XL impressed - it's really huge!

The smartphone is provided with a laminated 6-inch IPS-display covered with Dragontrail glass. The screen resolution is 1920 × 1080 pixels (FullHD), which is a big improvement over the A3 XL - a device that has been dubbed the "eye killer" for its display of the same diagonal with HD resolution. Despite its large dimensions, the A7 XL is very easy to use - and besides, it is cute and pleasant to the touch. The handset has a classic metal design that will obviously never go out of style.

Advantages:

disadvantages:

• An impressive weight of 175 grams.
• Significant thickness - 9 mm. An even more capacious battery could fit into such a case.
• Mediocre rear camera. The 12 megapixel resolution will not help if a budget sensor is used - as is the case with the A7 XL.

Other smartphones with large screens: A2 XL, A3 XL, POP 4 (6), Pixi 4 (6).

The most musical

Alcatel Idol 4S 6070K

• Chipset:8-core
• Screen:5.5 inches, QuadHD resolution
• Battery: 3000 mAh
• RAM: 3 GB
• Built-in storage: 32 GB

Price: from 14 489 rubles

Such "luminaries" as JBL and Waves worked on the sound of Idol 4S - so it is quite logical that this smartphone is one of the most "musical" on the modern market. The device from Alcatel is equipped with two speakers, as well as professional audio technology Waves, making it sound much louder and clearer than most other mobile devices.

A curious feature of the device is the so-called reversibility; Whichever side the device is turned over, the right audio channel will remain on the right, and the left - on the left. Everything here is for the glory of symmetry. For example, the speakers are located both on the front and on the back, so if you put the Idol 4S on the screen, the music will not sound muffled. Microphones are located in the upper and lower parts of the case - as a result, you can talk on the Alcatel smartphone, even holding it upside down.

Advantages:

• Quality headset from JBL included.
• The presence of the Waves MaxxAudio music manager, which allows you to customize the sound for specific headphones.
• VR headset support.
• Large amount of memory. According to this parameter, Idol 4S compares favorably with the Idol 4 model, which has half the ROM volume.

disadvantages:

• There is no fingerprint sensor.
• The autonomy of the smartphone leaves much to be desired.

The best of the best

Alcatel Idol 5

• Chipset:8-core MediaTek MT6753, 1300 MHz.
• Screen:5.2 inches, FullHD resolution.
• Battery: 2800 mAh
• RAM: 3 GB
• Built-in storage: 16 GB

Price: from 11 693 rubles

Paradoxically, we recognize the Idol 5 as the best smartphone from Alcatel - a gadget that balances on the line dividing the budget and mid-price segments. The device does not contain any sensational technologies, but it can boast of a very high-quality assembly and an attractive design. The body is cast, made of aluminum, the battery is not removed. Thanks to its minimal thickness (only 7.5 mm) and 2.5D Dragontrail glass with an oleophobic coating, the smartphone looks modern and will not be "lost" even if it is on the same shelf with the dazzlingly bright Shine Lite.

Advantages:

• Premium appearance.
• The presence of a fingerprint sensor.
• Supports Dirac digital sound optimization technology.
• The presence of a unique Now key, the function of which the user can define himself.
• Support for the " Duplicate applications", Thanks to which the user can" login "in and messengers on the device under two accounts at the same time.

disadvantages:

• Autonomy is mediocre.
• The camera, despite the resolution of 16 megapixels, does not shoot in the best way.
• The slot for SIM cards is combined - you have to choose between SIM 2 and a flash drive.

The Idol 5S smartphone deserves to be called the best, which both sounds better and has more user memory. However, at the end of 2017, this device is not sold either in Russian retail or in the official Alcatel online store.

Conclusion

In the 2017 Alcatel smartphone catalog, there is not a single expensive device at all - apparently, the manufacturer is desperate to fight for a "place in the sun" in the premium segment. But Alcatel's position in the budget segment is very strong - the Pop and Pixi lines will surely become legendary soon.

Alcatel has a good chance of success in the mid-range segment as well. The company offers users at low prices bright smartphones with a distinctive design - which is what distinguishes it from many Chinese manufacturers, which can only churn out boring and trivial.

The area of \u200b\u200bactivity of the French company Alcatel is the production of software, computer and telecommunication equipment, and the development of communication networks. For a long time, the company was not engaged in the production of phones. Only in 2004, the division of this brand merged with the division of the well-known Chinese company TCL, producing this product, This is how an enterprise called TCL & Alcatel Mobile Phone appeared, and the production of these devices in China began with it.
Since 2005, all Alcatel smartphones have been TCT Mobile products. Their products are of excellent quality among devices of a similar price category. They have a stylish design, fairly good performance, and with each new model they apply more and more advanced new technologies. For example, the Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra phone is presented as the world's thinnest smartphone at the moment.
In our online store you can buy inexpensive phone Alcatel in Moscow. The lineup of this brand in the catalog on the site starts with a ridiculous price - 590 rubles. Due to the fact that there are discounts in the store for a special bonus program, you have the opportunity to purchase a device with the necessary characteristics at a very low price. Also, quite often we have a variety of promotions, and a sale from the warehouse of various models is carried out.

Contents of delivery:

• Telephone
• Battery
• Charger
• Stereo headset
• USB cable
• User manual and warranty card

Positioning

At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Alcatel unveiled a line of bright, lightweight and inexpensive devices under the general name POP. The older model was named x'POP and boasts multi-colored covers, a large 4.5-inch screen and a relatively high qHD resolution. The average s'POP is quite tiny and unpretentious, it stands out among the gray mass of smartphones, perhaps also with multi-colored panels and the presence of a fresh version of Android 4.1. There is also t'POP - an analogue of s'POP, but it has no front camera, only 256 MB of RAM, and the OS version is ancient - 2.3.

So far only s'POP and x'POP have reached Russia. They will be sold only in MegaFon's communication shops. The price for the older model is 7,000 rubles, for the younger model - 4,000 rubles. I will review s'POP - one of the most affordable smartphones based on Android 4.1 OS.

Design, dimensions, controls

The appearance of the device is very simple, but at the same time, the design is quite ergonomic. The shape is rectangular, the upper and lower ends are slightly convex and slightly rounded. Dimensions (115x61x12 mm) and weight (122 grams) allow the phone to fit in any pocket, including a breast pocket, s'POP can easily find a place even in small handbags (clutches). The device is comfortable, fits well in the hand thanks to the sloping edges and diminutive size of the case.

A thin border around the perimeter is made of glossy black plastic. The back covers come in several color options: black, white and red. At least these "colors" are available in Russia. In all cases, the plastic coating is "soft-touch" - a velvety material, on which there are practically no traces of fingerprints.

The screen is not protected by glass, therefore, if necessary, take care of purchasing a special protective film, as scratches and scuffs quickly appear on the display.

The smartphone is assembled well: it does not creak, does not play, but when you press on the central area of \u200b\u200bthe back side, it bends slightly to the battery. With a strong grip in the hand, the body does not crunch.

There is an indicator of missed events on the top of the front panel, next to it is the front camera. There is also a light and proximity sensor, a speech speaker. It has an average volume, the interlocutor can be heard clearly, mainly mid and high frequencies are heard. At maximum volume, it does not wheeze, there is no echo. The only thing I didn't like is how the volume is automatically adjusted: if the person on the other end says something loudly, you will hear a very harsh sound in the speaker.

Below the screen are "Back", "Home" and "Menu". They are made with translucent white paint, there is a backlight, but very dim. Under the "Back" button is a microphone.

On the left is a thin, slightly elevating volume rocker key (chrome-plated plastic), and on the right is the same type of camera activation button. Unfortunately, it won't launch the Camera app if the screen is locked.

At the bottom there is a microUSB without a cap, on the top there is a standard 3.5 mm jack for connecting headphones or a headset, an on / off button. The pressure is soft, the stroke is small.

The camera module, framed by a chrome-plated plastic insert, a second microphone for noise cancellation during a call and a speakerphone are located on the back side at the top.

To open the cover, you must pry it off by the notch in the lower left corner. There is a battery under it, and even lower there are two slots for installing SIM cards (3G / 2G on the left, 2G on the right) and microSD memory cards.

Comparative sizes:

Display

It has a diagonal of 3.5 inches and a resolution of 320x480 pixels, i.e. the standard minimum for Android devices. The physical size of the matrix is \u200b\u200b49x73 mm, the density is 164 pixels per inch. The type of the screen is made using TFT-LCD (TN) technology, supports displaying 262 thousand color shades. Sensor type - capacitive, with up to 2 simultaneous touches ("multitouch"). The sensitivity is good.

The viewing angles are small: tilting the screen away from you, the contrast drops, towards yourself - the image is inverted, when you tilt to the left or right, the brightness is lost. The displays of Fly Wizard, Whiz, Aclatel OneTouch 983 and others behave approximately the same way.

The device has a three-axis accelerometer (BMA222).

In the "Screen settings" are set auto-off and auto-rotate screen, font size, wallpaper. The brightness is adjusted either manually or automatically by a light sensor. Its maximum value is sufficient for the information to be readable in the sun.

Battery

The s'POP smartphone uses a removable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery with a capacity of 1400 mAh, 3.7V, 5.18 Wh. Model TLi014A1. The manufacturer indicates the following data on the battery life: in the talk mode it will work up to 5 hours, in the standby mode - up to 254 hours, in the music player mode - up to 35 hours.

If you use the phone for about seven to eight hours, then the battery will be completely discharged provided: 15-20 minutes of talks a day, two hours of using Wi-Fi Internet (Twitter, mail, downloading applications and installing them), about 3 hours of mobile Internet, a couple of hours of listening to music. When playing music, the battery ran out after 16 hours, video - 4.5 hours.

The device takes about two and a half hours to charge from the mains or USB.

Communication capabilities

The phone operates in 2G (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and 3G (900/2100 MHz) cellular networks. Thanks to the new chipset from MediaTek MT6575 for the third generation connection.

The highest SAR values \u200b\u200btested for this phone model are:

• Head use (GSM 900 + Wi-Fi + Bluetooth): 0.856 W / kg
• Body-Worn (GSM 900 + Wi-Fi + Bluetooth): 0.993 W / kg

HSDPA speed - up to 7.2 Mbit / s - download and upload - 5.76 Mbit / s. Available Bluetooth version 4.0 (with A2DP stereo profile) for file and voice transmission. There were no problems with the connection of headsets: it does not connect very quickly, but the speech is transmitted relatively cleanly.

There is a wireless connection Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n. The device, of course, can be used as an access point (Wi-Fi Hotspot). There is even Wi-Fi-Direct. USB 2.0 (HighSpeed) is used for file transfer and data synchronization.

Memory and memory card

The Alcatel 4030D uses 512 MB of RAM. On average, about 200 MB are free.

Despite the manufacturer specifying 4 GB of internal Flash memory, 2.3 GB is actually available. There is a slot for installing a microSD memory card up to 32 GB.

Camera

The s'POP device has a 3.2 megapixel camera module without autofocus. There is no flash. The maximum photo resolution is 2048x1536 pixels, the video resolution is 640x480 pixels at 30 frames per second, regardless of the lighting level.

I got the impression that the device uses the same camera module as in the Alcatel 983. I came to similar conclusions comparing the photos: about the same quality and the same reduced dynamic range.

The camera is launched through the menu using a shortcut or a separate button on the right side of the device.

I will not give the settings, since they are no different from the settings of the "bare" Android 4.x. Below are screenshots.

Video characteristics:

• Format: 3GP
• Video codec: MPEG-4 Visual, 5800 Kbps
• Resolution: 640 x 480, 30 fps
• Audio codec: AAC, 16 Kbps
• Channels: 1 channel, 16 kHz

Performance

Unlike most modern devices operating on a dual-core chipset from MediaTek, this device runs on a single-core MTK6575. The processor (Cortex-A9) "works" at a clock frequency of 1 GHz and is manufactured using 40 nm CMOS technology. PowerVR SGX 531 graphics accelerator from Imagination Technologies.

The hardware and software are perfectly optimized here: nothing slows down or freezes. In short, the model is nimble. Almost all toys are available, except for the likes of NOVA3.

Below is a brief technical specification and performance tests:

Quadrant Standart

Software platform

Despite the budget of the device, this smartphone has a relatively fresh version of the operating system Google Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean. There is no big sense from this (weak processor, poor screen quality, very simple camera), but it's nice.

The shell interface is slightly modified (icons in the style of Symbian Anna OS) "naked" Android.

Calls and messages

There is nothing new in this model that would make it stand out in these sections. I refer to the system overview - /review/google-android-41.shtml.

And the "two-symbol" is implemented very simply: after sending a call or pressing a button to send a message, a menu pops up with the choice of the necessary SIM-card.

The Russian buyer has long been familiar with Alcatel products. The market offers a wide range of mobile devices from this company. Unfortunately, they are not sales leaders, but they have their own audience. Within the framework of this article, an overview of the Alcatel One Touch Hero phone will be presented. Let's take a closer look at its features and specifications. We will also provide customer reviews about this device.

Equipment

This phone model is packed in a small white box. The name of the device is presented on its front panel. Under the cover there is a plastic backing, in which the smartphone itself lies. The manufacturer, choosing a laconic design, wanted to show that this model does not need bright advertising. Note that this solution is currently used by most manufacturers.

What else is in the box besides the Alcatel One Touch Hero? As mentioned above, there is a plastic backing at the top. It ensures safe transport of the device. Directly below it is the charger. It is of a modern format, consists of a power supply (adapter) and a detachable USB cable. Also, the manufacturer provided the buyer with a branded book cover and a stereo headset. However, the latter is entry-level. In addition to these accessories, the box contains instructions, a certificate and a warranty card.

Appearance

The Alcatel One Touch Hero smartphone is a typical mobile device. Considering that it has a 6-inch screen, the dimensions of the device are rather big. With regard to the body height, it is almost 159 mm. Due to its 80.6 mm width, the device looks proportional. This model received most of the positive reviews due to its small thickness. The case is quite narrow - only 8.5 mm. As for the mass of the smartphone, it is in the middle range (150 g). The designers of this company, despite the rather large size, were able to create a convenient device, therefore, according to many buyers, they can be proud of it. When interacting with the phone, the user does not feel discomfort. The device lies well in the hand. It is convenient to use it.

The layout of the controls is standard. On the front panel, at the top, there is a front camera, a sensor, a speaker hole. Three touch keys are displayed under the screen. On the back, the engineers placed the main camera lens, flash and noise canceling microphone. All three of these elements are at the top. The name of the One Touch line flaunts under them. There is a large speaker output hole at the bottom. There is also a magnet for attaching the cover-cover. At the bottom of the case is a small indentation used for the stylus. On the right side there is a connector for installing micro SIM cards. Below it is the lock key. There is also a swing for adjusting the volume. Many users paid attention to its location. Due to the fact that it is located under the lock key, from habit, it is constantly touched.

On the left side there is a slot for memory cards. The standard port for connecting audio devices is located at the top of the case. The microUSB connector is brought out on the opposite side.

Please note that the manufacturer used matte plastic. Thanks to him, the case turned out to be non-marking. It does not slip in your hands, so the risk of an accidental fall is minimized.

Screen characteristics

Most of the positive reviews were for the screen characteristics of the Alcatel One Touch Hero. It is ideal for those users who prefer smartphones with large displays. This model has a 6-inch screen with a fairly high Full HD resolution. It is based on a high-quality IPS-matrix. It is worth noting that the manufacturer in this model has bypassed rival firms, since such characteristics were still a novelty for the average device level.

The designers were also worried about the protection of the display. It is covered with DragonTrail glass. Due to the fact that it is covered with a special oleophobic coating, users will not have problems with the accumulation of fingerprints.

IPS-matrix provides wide viewing angles. There are no problems with brightness. The smartphone is convenient to use both in a dark room and outdoors in bright sun. If necessary, in the settings, you can choose to adjust the brightness in automatic mode. There is a multi-touch function, which is designed for 5 touches made at the same time.

A huge advantage for this phone model is the thin bezel. Its width is about 2 mm. This gives the impression that the screen completely occupies the entire front panel space.

Autonomy

The Alcatel One Touch Hero phone also has decent results in terms of battery life. The manufacturer used a lithium polymer battery with a capacity of 3400 milliamps per hour. It should be noted that such a battery provides at least 18 hours of talk time. For those who like to listen to music, this device is perfect, as the battery in this state will work for 24 hours. If you put your smartphone in standby mode, you can expect about 500 hours of operation.

In their reviews, users 100% agree with the characteristics presented by the manufacturer. If the device is used in a combined mode, then it will need to be charged no more than once every two days. If you reduce the load, you can achieve an increase in the period of 24 hours or even more. It will take about 3.5 hours to restore the battery life.

Performance

The "heart" of the "Alcatel One Touch Hero" is the Chinese processor MediaTek. Model MT6589 operates at 1500 megahertz. Thanks to this indicator, this chipset deserves the Turbo title. It is based on four computational modules. Each type is Cortex-A7. The main processor is paired with the PowerVR SGX544 MP graphics accelerator.

Users noticed that there are no impossible tasks for this smartphone. It copes well with all resource-intensive applications, and also easily launches "heavy" games. This result was achieved due to the fact that the manufacturer has integrated 2 GB of RAM. The system takes about half. The rest is tailored to the needs of the user. Considering that there are two modifications on sale, the amount of integrated memory will be different. The device, which works with only one SIM, has 8 GB installed. But in a two-SIM device, there is twice as much memory.

Camera

The manufacturer used a 13-megapixel sensor as the main optics module for the Alcatel One Touch Hero. There is a flash and autofocus. However, as users have noticed, the quality of the images does not reach the declared one. This is displayed in low detail. It is impossible to achieve the best quality even during the day, in good lighting.

The front module also did not please users. Unfortunately, a 2 megapixel sensor is used as a selfie camera. There is no need to talk about the quality of these images. Naturally, noise, blur and weak color rendition are clearly visible in the frame.

Software and basic settings

Android version 4.2 is installed on board this device. Naturally, this operating system is now considered very obsolete. But do not forget that this model went on sale in Russia at the end of 2013. At that time, such equipment was considered relevant. The main advantage of this device is that the manufacturer used its own software shell on top of the operating system. It is quite user-friendly and has a beautiful interface.

When you turn on Alcatel One Touch for the first time, settings can be made through a special application. It's called "Setup Wizard". Here it is proposed to select a language, activate the keyboard, set the current date and time, and, if desired, set up a Google account. After that, a window appears on the main screen in which “Done!” Will be written in large letters. After confirmation, the device is completely ready for use. Those who have already dealt with the new skin from Alcatel can skip this step and configure the phone manually.

"Alcatel One Touch": reviews

What conclusions suggest themselves after studying the characteristics of this phone model? Note that users did not have any serious comments about this device. The following features were noted with positive feedback:

• excellent call quality;
• high speaker volume;
• excellent vibration alert;
• transmission of speech without distortion.

As for the performance, it also did not disappoint. The device perfectly copes with all modern tasks. A lot of laudatory comments were made to the screen. Its performance is undeniably impressive.

However, not only the benefits have been found by users. Like many other models, the One Touch Hero is not without its drawbacks. These include:

• rather high cost (at the start of sales, about 16,000 rubles);
• low resolution cameras.

Perhaps these are the most significant disadvantages of this model.