- Telephone
- Charger with USB cable
- microUSB-3.5 mm adapter
- Instructions
Positioning
Alcatel (TCL Mobile) was able to create a number of interesting models that attract attention and have an excellent price/quality ratio. Last year's flagship, Idol X, is still in demand today; this device stands out on the market due to the quality of its body, design, and filling. I really like the models from Alcatel for the quality of their workmanship; they stand out among other small manufacturers.
The Idol Alpha model is a slightly simplified version of the Idol X, where they sacrificed the screen size and resolution, but changed the design and made it brighter. Alcatel tried to position this device at about 15-20 percent more expensive than the original Idol X - about 14,000 rubles at the start, with an average cost of Idol X about 12 thousand. I was interested to see whether Alcatel brand buyers would pay a premium for design; are they ready for such a premium? In a matter of weeks, it turned out that buyers focus more on technical characteristics, on the price/quality ratio, but not on appearance. That is, they are not ready to perceive the Alcatel brand as fashionable. Apparently, most buyers rather view it as economical, which is dictated by the years of work this brand has been doing to create such an image. Alcatel fell into its own trap, trying to go beyond the established boundaries, and faced the fact that its consumers were not willing to pay extra money for the design. The cost of this device is already close to 11 thousand, which is quite adequate compared to the price of Idol X.
You can consider this device as an outwardly unusual and, perhaps, extremely attractive solution, with good body materials and good functionality. A smartphone for those who are looking for a nice device with a large number of functions and a good screen.
Design, dimensions, control elements
The design of this device was clearly based on the iPhone 5, the resemblance is striking - a metal monoblock body, the same bevels, but to prevent the similarity from being complete, sagging of transparent plastic was added at the top and bottom. The result was a mixture of products from Sony Ericsson and Apple are a kind of hybrid.
The size of the device is 138x66.6x7.5 mm, weight is 117 grams. The phone fits well in the hand, it is quite thin, you can feel the side ribs. The color range is not very diverse - there is a dark gray and gold option.
On the right side there is an on/off button and a paired volume key. On the left side there is a microUSB connector, it comes with a 3.5 mm adapter - this solution is not very convenient, but there was no place on the case for a standard connector.
The build quality is excellent, there are no complaints here. The downside is that the key designations on the bottom insert are confusing; you always try to press them, but the sensor is located higher. This is confusing, and at first you have to get used to it.
The backlight can be assigned to different events; it is white and flickers. There is nothing special about this, just a regular indicator that was made a little larger than usual. You may or may not like the design of this device; it is perceived differently.
Display
The phone has a 4.7-inch IPS matrix with an HD resolution of 720x1080 pixels. The screen is covered with DragonTrail glass, and an oleophobic coating is also applied to it; fingerprints are not so noticeable. The screen fades in the sun, but not much, and remains readable. The screen type is capacitive, supports up to 10 simultaneous presses.
Good screen, but it cannot be said that it somehow stands out from its classmates; Idol X has a FullHD screen, and it is a class higher, much better.
Battery
The battery is non-removable, lithium polymer (Li-Pol), capacity – 2000 mAh. According to the manufacturer, the device operates on average 12 hours in talk mode in 3G and 20 hours in 2G, and in standby mode - up to 320 and 240 hours, respectively. Music playback time is 36 hours.
With normal use of the device (an hour of talk, two hours of music, about an hour social networks, a few photos) it is quite enough for daylight hours. With less load - for a day. The time to fully charge the battery is 2.5 hours (up to 90 percent - 1 hour 45 minutes).
Memory
The smartphone is equipped with 1 GB random access memory, on average about half is free after booting the device. 16 GB is allocated for data storage, but about 12.7 GB is available. There is no slot for memory cards.
Performance
It uses a MediaTek MT6589 chipset, quad-core, frequency up to 1.2 GHz. You can run almost any complex toys or applications on your smartphone.
Information from various applications and performance tests:
Camera
The camera interface has been redesigned to simplify it; you can turn on HDR mode, get a panorama, turn off the flash, but that’s all. You can take pictures by pressing the screen, focusing occurs at the point of pressing, then the device takes a picture. Just like in Idol X, the camera is very average in quality, as can be seen in the photos.
Video recording is supported in 1080p resolution, up to 30 frames per second.
The final conclusion about the camera is that it is typical for budget devices; there are not enough stars in the sky. Many second-tier manufacturers offer high-quality 8-megapixel modules, which shoot very well, but in pursuit of digital they risked installing another module, which resulted in not very good photographs.
Communication capabilities
The phone operates in 2G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and 3G (850/900/2100 MHz) cellular networks. Available Bluetooth version 4.0 for file and voice transfer. Wireless available Wi-Fi connection IEEE 802.11 b/g/n. The devices, of course, can be used as an access point ( Wi-Fi Hotspot) or modem. USB 2.0 (High-Speed) is used for file transfer and data synchronization. There is a not very popular Wi-Fi Display function, when you can transmit a signal from your phone to another device via Wi-Fi. Traditionally, there is a Wi-Fi Direct function.
Software features – Android 4.2.2
Many standard functions have been heavily redesigned; Alcatel has added a number of programs that can be downloaded for free anyway, but the fact that they are pre-installed makes the device more interesting for inexperienced users. Let's start talking about the shell with the lock screen.
Without unlocking the device, you can view the weather forecast for the current day; by pulling down, you will see the forecast for three days. The icons are quite nice. Let's scroll the screen to the right, there will be a calendar and a to-do list for the current day (entering to-dos or viewing another day will not work). You can also view the status bar; it is also available when the screen is locked, if there is no security key or digital code.
The fundamental difference between Alcatel's approach and other shells is that they decided to abandon a separate menu for all applications. On the main screen there is a weather widget and several icons. This is the starting point. We flip the screens to the left, and there will be widgets that you install. Let's go to the right, and these will be program icons, also some programs have already been put into folders, this was done by the manufacturer. You get used to such an organization instantly; it is somewhat logical and definitely has a right to life.
The settings menu now has its own settings, for example, a super saving mode for the battery. The menu itself has also been redesigned in white colors, which is quite nice. In our video, I talk about most of the applications that are in the device, and I don’t want to repeat what has changed compared to previous models.
Next, I could dwell on each program and describe it, but I don’t see much point in this. This is a smartphone, and this software, is generally known, or I touched on it in the video. So see the screenshots below.
Another part that I want to describe separately is multimedia capabilities. The device has support for unconverted video, but the chipset does not handle 1080p well, the sound is often out of sync, or there is no sound at all. In terms of music formats, there is support for FLAC in addition to the usual MP3 and a number of others.
A good screen, but the shortcomings of the chipset make it impossible to watch any files; in this aspect, the Galaxy S4 is more omnivorous and can digest a larger number of formats and files. On the other hand, these are still models of different price ranges.
Trends in modern smartphone manufacturing come down to increasing technical characteristics and improvement software. At the same time, less and less attention is paid to appearance. Statements by some vendors that their smartphone has the thinnest frames or that the display of the new product occupies 85% of the front panel area hint that in the future we will simply see “screens in rectangular cases.” In such conditions, I want to get to know each smartphone that has its own face. ALCATEL ONETOUCH Idol Alpha is exactly such a device.
Let's make a few clarifications right away. We received an engineering sample with firmware intended for Russia, where this smartphone has been on sale for some time. Its appearance on the shelves of Ukrainian stores is expected in late May early June at an estimated cost of $450-470.
Most of the front panel is occupied by the screen, located exactly in the center. Above it are: a front camera lens, a small earpiece slot, and a set of sensors. Below the screen: three touch keys, the location of which is identified by small silver dots. Below and above the protective glass are inserts made of transparent plastic. The bottom insert contains icons that explain the functionality of the touch keys. Holding the Home button is responsible for calling the assistant Google Now, “Menu” – list of recent running applications. The microphone is hidden between protective glass screen and transparent insert. The ends are empty. On the left side there is a tray for Micro-SIM cards and a Micro-USB connector, on the right there is a volume key and a power key. On the back we see a small camera lens, a flash, a second microphone hole, a ringing speaker grid and some service information.
The materials used are of interest. For example, the sidewalls are metal, strongly reminiscent of those in recent generations Apple iPhone. The edges are not painted and allow you to see the natural color of the metal. The chamfer is smooth and does not cut the palm, allowing the smartphone to fit comfortably in the hand. If the ends evoke one specific product, then the clear plastic inserts may evoke more memories. The oldest is LG GD900 Crystal, a slider with a transparent keyboard, the latest is Sony smartphones. Three white LEDs are built into the opaque part of the body at the top and bottom. The three lower ones light up when you touch any touch key; if there are missed notifications, the upper ones slowly pulsate; during charging, the central upper diode lights up. This backlight looks especially impressive in the dark, and it does not hurt the eyes. In the daytime, its glow is clearly visible. If the phone is in silent mode lies on the table in front of you, you will not miss the notification.
The build quality is commendable. The metal sides completely encircle the body of the smartphone and eliminate squeaks or backlashes. A bending test revealed that the smartphone cannot be deformed under such influence. The only thing I can find fault with is the imperfect fit of the backrest to the transparent inserts. If you run your finger over it, you feel a slight difference in height.
The Idol Alpha smartphone fits comfortably in your hand; the side keys are always under your thumb. Although they do not protrude very much above the body and have a short stroke, they are convenient to use. This is facilitated by the fact that any of them can turn on the screen, so in the end it doesn’t matter which one you press when you take your smartphone out of your pocket.
But you have to pay for everything. In particular, you had to pay for the impressive 7.5 mm thickness with a 3.5 mm connector. A special adapter from Micro-USB to mini-jack will be supplied with the smartphone, which will allow you to connect your own headphones. Given the location of the interface connector, this will most likely force users to take a closer look at wireless headphones or give up personal listening to music from a smartphone.
Summing up the appearance of the ALCATEL ONETOUCH Idol Alpha, I would like to say that most people who held a smartphone noted the unusual and attractive appearance of its appearance, although there were those who called it an “imitation of an iPhone.”
Screen
The smartphone has a 4.7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels. Its minimum brightness is 40 cd/m2, average – 230 cd/m2, maximum – 325 cd/m2. Judging by the quality of the factory calibration, the matrix is used sufficiently High Quality, most parameters are close to the reference values.
Speaking of subjective impressions, it is worth noting large viewing angles and some oversaturation of shades, vaguely reminiscent of the color rendition of AMOLED screens. In particular, green looks unnatural, acidic and light green. There is a small air gap; when viewed from the side, you can notice minimal flare. The automatic brightness control sensor is working correctly. The manufacturer's website says there is an oleophobic coating, but we didn't notice it. The screen quickly becomes covered with fingerprints. They are easily removed, but literally after a minute of use there is not a trace left of the clean surface, which does not add any advantages to the appearance of the smartphone. Also, when working with the Fleksy keyboard in our sample, occasional false alarms were observed from the sensor, which can be attributed to the characteristics of the sample.
Not the highest minimum brightness does not interfere with the readability of the display in sunny weather. In the conditions of the relatively warm Kyiv spring, the information remains distinguishable; we can say that in this parameter the display is similar to most of its classmates. In general, the screen looks high-quality, not least thanks to the “screaming” colors; because of this same feature, it may not appeal to those who prefer more natural color reproduction.
Interface
The smartphone runs under the operating system Android systems 4.2.2 with a proprietary interface. Its appearance and capabilities almost completely replicate the smartphone interface Alcatel Idol X, we invite you to remember the corresponding one, and we will focus only on the identified differences. The first is the presence of a menu installed applications, which was not there before. The second is an unusual mechanism for dragging icons from one desktop to another. By dragging the icon to the edge of the screen, you first get into a thumbnail preview of all desktops and only then can you place the application icon on the selected one.
Calls and multimedia
We did not have the opportunity to fully evaluate the multimedia capabilities due to the lack of an adapter for headphones; we will tell you only about some of them. In terms of support for various video codecs, Idol Alpha does not present any surprises, doing an excellent job of playing a set of test files, but not reproducing AC3 sound, like most other smartphones.
Playing video files
| Codec/Name | FinalDestination5.mp4 | Neudergimie.2.mkv | Gran Turismo 6.mp4 | Spartacus.mkv | ParallelUniverse.avi |
| Video | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920×798 29.99fps | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920×816 23.98fps | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920×1080 60fps, 19.7Mbit/s | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1280×720 29.97fps | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1280×536 24.00fps 2726kbps |
| Audio | AAC 48000Hz stereo 96kbps | MPEG Audio Layer 3 44100Hz stereo | AAC 48000Hz stereo 48kbps | Dolby AC3 44100Hz stereo | MPEG Audio Layer 3 44100Hz stereo 256kbps |
The volume of the ringing speaker is at an average level, it is of sufficient quality, there are no wheezes. Its location is such that in a pocket the sound can be significantly muffled. The vibration alert is average in strength. The earpiece is loud, its volume is noticeably higher than many modern smartphones. There were no complaints about voice quality during testing.
Performance and memory
ALCATEL ONETOUCH Idol Alpha is built on the familiar Mediatek MT6589 platform, which includes four Cortex-A7 cores operating at 1.2 GHz and a Power SGX 544MP video core. The amount of RAM is 1 GB, built-in memory is 16 GB, not expandable. Of this volume, 12.64 GB is available to the user.
In general, the performance of the smartphone can be described as sufficient for a device of this class. By these words we mean that desktops are scrolled smoothly, heavy games run normally, the overall performance and responsiveness to user actions are at the good level. We can say that the combination of this SoC with an HD screen and 1 GB of RAM still allows you to create smartphones that are comfortable to use.
The operation of the Wi-Fi and GPS modules is flawless, and the device quickly finds satellites.
Below you can see the results of some benchmarks
Cameras
The smartphone has two cameras: a 13 MP main camera with autofocus and a 1.3 MP front camera. Front-camera It’s quite high quality, and if there is good lighting, it’s suitable not only for communicating on Skype, but also for taking selfies. The main camera also allows you to take good pictures. Based on the photo examples presented below, you can independently draw your own conclusions about his photographic abilities.
Examples of photographs taken in automatic mode shooting
Examples of HDR photos
Example of Full HD video shot ALCATEL smartphone ONETOUCH Idol Alpha
The camera app features a minimalist interface with quick access to several shooting modes. Taking, focusing, and saving a photo is quick, unlike taking HDR photos. This will take three to four seconds, and moving objects will be blurred.
Autonomy
The built-in 2000 mAh battery lasts for about a day and a half with data transfer modules, geolocation, synchronization of one Google account, reading news and social network feeds, listening to music via a Bluetooth headset and a minimum number of voice calls turned on. Like other MediaTek chipset-powered smartphones, the Idol Alpha has low battery drain in standby mode, so battery life may vary depending on your specific usage profile.
| Operating time indicators | ||||
| Mode\Device | ALCATEL OT Idol Alpha | Fly IQ4412 Coral (economy mode) | Nokia Lumia 925 | Huawei Ascend P6 |
| Music | 4% | 3% | 9% | 6% |
| Reading | 22% | 19% | 25% | 16% |
| Navigation | 29% | 24% | 35% | 46% |
| Watch HD video | 22% | 30% | 20% | 23% |
| Watching HD videos from Youtube | 34% | 29% | 37% | 41% |
| Antutu Tester (points) | 605 | 820 | — | 450 |
| GFXBench (minutes) | 353 | — | — | — |
| GFXBench (scores) | 259 (4.6 fps) | — | — | — |
The % value displays the percentage of battery discharge during 2 hours of testing. In mode reading all wireless communications are disabled, including data transfer to mobile network, and the display brightness is set to 50%. When listening music automatic data synchronization and data transfer worked. The sound volume in the headphones is at 12 out of 15 possible levels. All music files are in MP3 format, bitrate 320 Kbps. Navigation includes route planning in Google app Navigation. The brightness is set to 50%, all data communication modules are disabled. WP smartphones use the Nokia HERE application. During playback video Data transmission on the mobile network is active, display brightness is set to 50%, sound volume in headphones is at level 12 out of a possible 15. Video file format is MKV, resolution 1024x432 pixels, frame rate 24. Play video from Youtube was accompanied not only by work in Wi-Fi networks, but also active data transmission. The display brightness is set to 50%, the sound volume in the headphones is set to 12 out of 15 possible levels. For WP smartphones it is used Metro app Tube, and the sound is set to 24 out of 30 possible levels.
Results
ALCATEL ONETOUCH Idol Alpha is a smartphone in which its appearance plays a major role. Even if some solutions were borrowed from other manufacturers, here we see their qualitative rethinking. If you are not bothered by the lack of a 3.5 mm audio jack, support for memory cards or two SIM cards, the design and materials of the case, normal battery life, are important to you. good camera– this smartphone is worth paying attention to. Taking into account the available data on the expected cost and timing of entering the Ukrainian market, it seems a little overvalued, but it is better to check these promises in practice.
At the time of purchase I was interested in the design, the only one +
3 years ago
Beautiful design Good screen resolution, you can watch movies in high quality. I really liked the backlight in the glass inserts, it’s convenient to determine, without turning on the screen, the presence of missed notifications, notifications from social networks, etc.
3 years ago
Stylish, slim.
3 years ago
1. Quite a nice design. 2. Many people write that the battery is small. I had enough for the whole day. Perhaps because the screen was used at minimum brightness and was turned off mobile transmission data.
3 years ago
Very nice design. Gold color looks gorgeous
4 years ago
The juiciest photos with the right lighting during the day, at night are not an option at all. Great camera- Look for another one like this from budget models. The screen is bright for HD.
4 years ago
Original appearance, display, thin
4 years ago
Transparent inserts
5 years ago
Cute design, fast, doesn’t freeze, doesn’t glitch, doesn’t lag, excellent price/quality ratio, bright display.
5 years ago
1) Lightweight 2) Good cameras 3) Bright display 4) Excellent touch screen 5) Good body, with a metal rim 6) Very good hardware
Lags, the speaker broke terribly quickly and the screen went dead. The charge lasts for 3 hours.Purchase=error
3 years ago
The speaker died very quickly, literally after a month I could no longer hear calls. They did repairs under warranty, but a week later everything returned as it was. After 1.5 years of use, the speaker did not work at all. Freezes occasionally Gets very hot when used for a long time
3 years ago
It discharges quickly, gets very hot, the OS has a lot of unnecessary stuff. Weak speaker, weak antenna. The camera is not the best.
3 years ago
1. There is no 3.5 mini jack connector. If you are a fan of listening to music, but you don’t have a player, then I think this will be a critical point for you, because... for headphones you need to use an adapter (from mini jack to micro-usb), which is not only difficult to find, but also this adapter will often break. 2. I didn’t like the design of the launcher and icons. For this reason, I had to install the Yandex shell, and therefore I had to sacrifice the performance of the phone. In general, 1 GB of RAM for a phone (and for a tablet) is very little. (This point is my subjective opinion). 3. Every time you turn on wifi phone It starts to slow down terribly. And in general it slows down periodically.
3 years ago
The battery is very weak, it doesn’t last until the evening and the processor is very weak
4 years ago
The battery drains quickly. Slow and dull.
4 years ago
No 3.5 jack (headphone output)
4 years ago
1. Battery for 4-6 hours of operation 2. After a week, the screen stopped going dark during a conversation, that is, if you bring it to your ear, the buttons are pressed randomly. You can only talk in speaker mode. 3. It slows down the wasps. 4. The notebook is buggy, the interface leaves much to be desired. To remove the contact you will have to strain your brains. 5. Literally everything is buggy.
5 years ago
The speaker is not loud, the headset is of low quality, the charge lasts about 2 days, for a new phone I expected a little more, the camera, in my opinion, does not justify the stated 13.1, the settings display 10 mpc, in my opinion no more than 8 mpc, but this is purely subjective those who don’t care so much about the photo can safely take it, because for the money it costs, you simply won’t find a better one, again IMHO. Yes, I almost forgot there is no 3.5 mm jack, the headset is connected via an adapter to micro USB, + I’m used to the lock button on top and it’s on the side (it’s not right there) but these are all minor things)
5 years ago
1) Sound, quiet rear speaker 2) Battery, with active use, half a day.
TFT IPS- High quality liquid crystal matrix. It has wide viewing angles, one of the best indicators of color rendering quality and contrast among all those used in the production of displays for portable equipment.
Super AMOLED
- if a regular AMOLED screen uses several layers, between which there is an air gap, then in Super AMOLED there is only one such touch layer without air gaps. This allows you to achieve greater screen brightness with the same power consumption.
Super AMOLED HD- differs from Super AMOLED in its higher resolution, thanks to which you can achieve 1280x720 pixels on a mobile phone screen.
Super AMOLED plus- this is a new generation of Super AMOLED displays, different from the previous use more subpixels in a regular RGB matrix. The new displays are 18% thinner and brighter than displays made using the old PenTile technology.
AMOLED- an improved version of OLED technology. The main advantages of the technology are significantly reduced power consumption, the ability to display a larger color gamut, reduced thickness and the ability of the display to bend slightly without the risk of breaking.
Retina-high pixel density display designed specifically for Apple technology. Pixel density per Retina displays such that individual pixels are indistinguishable to the eye at a normal distance from the screen. This ensures the highest image detail and significantly improves the overall viewing experience.
Super Retina HD- the display is made using OLED technology. The pixel density is 458 PPI, the contrast reaches 1,000,000:1. The display has a wide color gamut and unsurpassed color accuracy. Pixels in the corners of the display are smoothed at the sub-pixel level, so edges are not distorted and appear smooth. The Super Retina HD reinforcing layer is 50% thicker. It will be harder to break the screen.
Super LCD is the next generation of LCD technology, it is characterized by improved characteristics compared to earlier LCD displays. Screens not only have wide viewing angles and better color rendering, but also reduced energy consumption.
TFT- A common type of liquid crystal display. Using an active matrix controlled by thin-film transistors, it is possible to significantly increase the performance of the display, as well as the contrast and clarity of the image.
OLED- organic electroluminescent display. It consists of a special thin-film polymer that emits light when exposed to an electric field. This type of display has a large reserve of brightness and consumes very little energy.
TFT IPS- High quality liquid crystal matrix. It has wide viewing angles, one of the best indicators of color rendering quality and contrast among all those used in the production of displays for portable equipment.
Super AMOLED- if a regular AMOLED screen uses several layers, between which there is an air gap, then in Super AMOLED there is only one such touch layer without air gaps. This allows you to achieve greater screen brightness with the same power consumption.
Super AMOLED HD- differs from Super AMOLED in its higher resolution, thanks to which you can achieve 1280x720 pixels on a mobile phone screen.
Super AMOLED plus- this is a new generation of Super AMOLED displays, differs from the previous one by using a larger number of subpixels in a conventional RGB matrix. The new displays are 18% thinner and brighter than displays made using the old PenTile technology.
AMOLED- an improved version of OLED technology. The main advantages of the technology are significantly reduced power consumption, the ability to display a larger color gamut, reduced thickness and the ability of the display to bend slightly without the risk of breaking.
Retina-high pixel density display designed specifically for Apple technology. The pixel density of Retina displays is such that individual pixels are indistinguishable to the eye at a normal distance from the screen. This ensures the highest image detail and significantly improves the overall viewing experience.
Super Retina HD- the display is made using OLED technology. The pixel density is 458 PPI, the contrast reaches 1,000,000:1. The display has a wide color gamut and unsurpassed color accuracy. Pixels in the corners of the display are smoothed at the sub-pixel level, so edges are not distorted and appear smooth. The Super Retina HD reinforcing layer is 50% thicker. It will be harder to break the screen.
Super LCD is the next generation of LCD technology, it is characterized by improved characteristics compared to earlier LCD displays. The screens not only have wide viewing angles and better color reproduction, but also lower power consumption.
TFT- A common type of liquid crystal display. Using an active matrix controlled by thin-film transistors, it is possible to significantly increase the performance of the display, as well as the contrast and clarity of the image.
OLED- organic electroluminescent display. It consists of a special thin-film polymer that emits light when exposed to an electric field. This type of display has a large reserve of brightness and consumes very little energy.