Review and testing of the ALCATEL ONETOUCH IDOL MINI smartphone. Review and testing of the ALCATEL ONETOUCH IDOL MINI smartphone Alcatel on touch idol mini characteristics

Battery capacity: 1700 mAh Battery: non-removable Talk time: 20 h Standby time: 540 h Operating time while listening to music: 30 h

Additional Information

Contents: phone, power adapter, USB cable, headset

General characteristics

Type: smartphone Weight: 96 g Control: touch buttons Case material: plastic Operating system: Android 4.2 Case type: classic Number of SIM cards: 1 Dimensions (WxHxT): 62x127.1x7.9 mm SAR level: 0.566

Screen

Screen type: color IPS, 16.78 million colors, touch type touch screen: multi-touch, capacitive Diagonal: 4.3 inches. Image size: 854x480 Pixels per inch (PPI): 228

Multimedia capabilities

Camera: 5 million pixels, built-in flash Camera functions: autofocus Video recording: yes Max. video resolution: 1280x720 Front camera: yes, 0.3 million pixels. Audio: MP3, FM radio Max. Video frame rate: 30 fps Recognition: faces

Connection

Interfaces: Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, USB Standard: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G Satellite navigation: GPS A-GPS system: yes

Memory and processor

Processor: 1300 MHz Number of processor cores: 2 Built-in memory: 4 GB Volume random access memory: 512 MB Memory card support: microSD (TransFlash), up to 32 GB Volume accessible to the user memory: 2 GB Memory card slot: yes, up to 32 GB

Other functions

Control: voice dialing, voice control Sensors: light, proximity, compass Flight mode: yes A2DP profile: yes

Alcatel One Touch 6012X Idol Mini- Review... More precisely, a story about why Little Idol should be a single-SIM game

17.12.2013

Lyrical introduction

While spaceships continue to ply the expanses of the Bolshoi, Middle and Small Avenues of theatres, smartphone marketers are quietly carrying out their work, invisible to the general public. And as a result of this work, very strange devices appear from time to time.

Alcatel One Touch Idol Mini comes in two varieties. Single-SIM and dual-SIM. The usual thing. But, unfortunately, the difference between the models is not limited to the number of SIM cards.

A fun little feature. When you take a photo with your smartphone, a small icon usually appears somewhere in the corner of the screen. You click on it and look at the last frame. And here - alas - this icon is not there! At first I cursed for a long time, then I realized that to see the last frame, you just need to swipe from right to left.

We can shoot video with resolutions up to HD (1280x720). Examples in front of you:

The front camera is modest, VGA (640x480). The quality of the pictures is frankly not good.

Alcatel One Touch 6012D Idol Mini as a GPS navigator

In full accordance with the declared performance characteristics. Satellites are caught in a very reasonable time. There is no GLONASS support. It will do well as a pedestrian navigator. Just remember to keep an eye on the battery charge level.

Alcatel One Touch 6012D Idol Mini as a video player

The pre-installed player is no different. He can play a lot. But there are regular problems with audio tracks.

Traditionally installed MX Player. There are no problems when watching videos up to HD size inclusive. The main problem is the small amount of memory where video could be recorded.

Alcatel One Touch 6012D Idol Mini as an audio player

And you know, it’s very nice.

Alcatel One Touch 6012D Idol Mini and Internet

If only you knew how hard it is to switch from a five-inch screen to a 4.3! But, in general, the device copes with tasks such as viewing news and reading Twitter/VKontakte. Just don’t open too many tabs in your browsers.

Alcatel One Touch 6012D Idol Mini as a toy

In general, everything is not bad. Except Pitfall! Traditionally, this chipset is capricious. Well, and some little things. There wasn't enough room for Nova 3 at all.

A game	Problems?
Angry Birds Star Wars	Everything is fine
Angry Birds Go!	Everything is fine
Pitfall!	It slows down too much and is uncomfortable to play.

ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Mini is a compact smartphone from the Idol line. It is not devoid of the company's corporate style, which makes it look great. Unfortunately, there were some simplifications; they affected the processor and RAM. Let's see what this smartphone is capable of.

ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Mini is made in a similar style to other ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol models and that’s good. The design of the smartphone is recognizable and original. The case is non-separable, perfectly assembled and very thin, by the way, the thickness is only 7.9 mm. The length of the smartphone is 127.1 mm, width 62 mm, and weight 97 grams. With these parameters, the smartphone is practically not felt in your pants pocket.

The location of the keys and interfaces is as follows: at the top of the front panel there is a light sensor, proximity sensor, voice speaker, 0.3 MP front camera and an indicator of missed events. At the bottom of the front panel there are three backlit hardware touch keys. At the ends of the smartphone there is a power button and a 3.5 mm jack (top), microUSB and the main microphone (bottom), a slot for micro-SIM and microSD (right) and a volume rocker on the left (left). On the back cover there is a camera lens, it protrudes slightly above the surface of the body and has a silver rim, a flash, a second microphone, a manufacturer’s logo and a multimedia speaker. Back cover made of plastic simulating metal. Fingerprints on the lid are only visible from a certain angle and are easily erased.

In general, there are no critical comments about the ergonomics of the smartphone. The connector plugs fit securely and tightly. It is convenient to use the smartphone with one hand, even despite the location of the power button on the top end. Mechanical keys have a tight, but clearly distinguishable stroke. Thanks to the thin body, low weight and pleasant materials, the device is pleasant to use.

Operating system and shell

The smartphone runs under the operating system Android systems 4.2.2 using its own interface. Branded shell pleasant to look at and is to some extent a symbiosis of MIUI and Android Jelly Bean.

The interface is almost completely the same as that of older models. The lock screen can accommodate up to nine widgets from which you can navigate to full screen mode. In addition to widgets, the lock screen has four icons (dialing, messages, camera and unlock), which are enclosed in a circle. Selecting icons and unlocking the smartphone is done using a small circle. It also changes its location relative to the tilt of the body thanks to the built-in accelerometer. This feature looks interesting and funny. By the way, during charging, the charge level is indicated in the middle of the circle. Without unlocking your smartphone, you can go to the notification panel and mode switches. It is impossible to change or move mode switching icons.

After unlocking, we find ourselves on one of five desktops, where widgets and program icons are located. For older models this is the main menu, but for Idol MINI it is just a desktop with widgets and program shortcuts. You can create folders on your desktop by dragging and dropping application shortcuts. When you long press on a widget, sliders appear that you can use to change the size of the widget.

By clicking on the icon located in the lower right corner, we get to the application menu. The application menu has three tabs: general programs, downloaded programs and widgets. Despite the refusal of some manufacturers more preinstalled ALCATEL programs ONE TOUCH didn't work this path and installed a large number of programs, fortunately, they can be easily removed. Among the preinstalled programs you can find an antivirus, an office application, a large number social services and almost all services from Google. It is possible to block notifications from selected programs, as well as select the memory where applications will be installed.

The interface works well, twitching occurs rarely, but in cases where a heavy application is launched and then exited, the desktop shortcuts are redrawn.

As standard keyboard SwiftKey installed. The browser loads pages quickly and its performance is flawless.

I would like to note that some standard applications redrawn according to the general design style. Among them are a compass, calculator, flashlight and radio.

Hardware platform

It is worth noting that the smartphone can be presented in two versions: 6012X and 6012D. The first version with the index 6012X is distinguished by the presence of one SIM card, a microSD slot, and 4 GB of internal memory. The version with the index 6012D already has two slots for SIM cards, 8 GB of internal memory, but no microSD slot.

ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Mini is powered by the budget SoC MT6572 from MediaTek. This processor built on a 28 nm process technology, has two Cortex A7 cores with a frequency of 1.3 GHz. The well-known Mali 400 MP acts as a video accelerator. Although this SoC is considered budget, it shows good results in synthetic tests. The amount of RAM is modest by the standards of the end of 2013, amounting to 512 MB. During normal use, there was no more than 140MB of RAM remaining. The built-in storage capacity is 4 GB, of which about 2 GB is available to the user.

Playing video files

Codec/Name	FinalDestination5.mp4	Neudergimie.2.mkv	s.t.a.l.k.e.r.avi	Spartacus.mkv	ParallelUniverse.avi
Video	MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920×798 29.99fps	MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920×816 23.98fps	Xvid 712×400 25.00fps 1779kbps	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	MPEG Audio Layer 3 48000Hz stereo 128kbps	Dolby AC3 44100Hz stereo	MPEG Audio Layer 3 44100Hz stereo 256kbps

This smartphone is not positioned as a gaming smartphone, but, nevertheless, the performance will be sufficient for undemanding games.

The volume and sound quality from the speakers is good. Thanks to the thoughtful placement of the speaker, it will be difficult to miss a call, since even when the phone is lying on the table, the speaker is not blocked. The microphone transmits speech qualitatively. The sound in the headphones is good.

During most tasks, the smartphone body did not heat up. Work in Wi-Fi networks did not raise any questions, everything works quickly and without interruptions in the connection. Searching for satellites is slightly faster than on other devices with MediaTek chipsets.

Autonomy

ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Mini shows average battery life results. Hid inside the thin body accumulator battery capacity 1700mAh. Under average loads such as: about an hour of calls, with data transfer always on, the smartphone can last a day. If the device is used more actively, then it is likely that it will not last until the end of the working day. There is an energy saving mode. The results of autonomy tests can be found below.

Operating time indicators
Mode\Model	ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Mini	Samsung Galaxy Ace 3	ALCATEL OT SCRIBE HD	Fly IQ444 Diamond 2
Music	5%	6%	2%	6%
Reading	22%	15%	23%	25%
Navigation	27%	22%	26%	33%
Watch HD video	24%	28%	27%	20%
Watching HD videos from Youtube	25%	30%	30%	21%
Antutu Tester (points)	689	655	644	906

Used to listen to music standard player, volume at 12 out of 15 possible, MP3 files with a bitrate of 320 Kbps. In reading mode, all wireless communications are disabled, including data transfer to mobile network, and the display brightness is set to 50%. Navigation includes plotting a route in Google app Navigation. The brightness is set to 50%, all data communication modules are disabled. When playing a video, the display brightness is set to 50%, the sound volume in the headphones is at level 12 out of a possible 15. The video file format is MKV, resolution 1024x432 pixels, frame rate 24. When playing a video from Youtube, the display brightness is set to 50%, the sound volume in the headphones is at 12 out of 15 possible levels.

Display and cameras

Nowadays, even budget smartphones have begun to be equipped with IPS displays. ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Mini boasts a 4.3-inch IPS display with a resolution of 854x480 pixels and an automatic brightness control sensor. The display accepts up to five simultaneous presses. The viewing angles of the screen are close to maximum, the colors are rich, and the brightness is high. The display fades in the sun, but the information remains readable. The maximum brightness is 394 cd/m², the average brightness is 199 cd/m², and the minimum is 43 cd/m². An overestimated minimum value negatively affects the use of the device at night. The smartphone screen displays shades of gray that are slightly darker than they should be. The color gamut is only slightly larger than sRGB. But if you don’t find fault, the smartphone is equipped with an excellent display for its price category.

ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Mini has two cameras of 5 MP and 0.3 MP. As mentioned above, you can call the camera from the lock screen. The camera interface is simple and intuitive. The video is recorded at 720p resolution.

The camera has HDR, panorama and night modes. In addition, in the settings you can change the flash mode, turn on the timer and select the photo size. Examples of photos can be found below.

Examples of photos taken with the ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Mini smartphone

Examples of HDR photos taken with the ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Mini smartphone

The camcorder settings are even simpler. They only have a choice of quality and flash mode.

Results

ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Mini is a pleasant smartphone, which primarily differs from its competitors in its attractive design, high-quality display, good build and beautiful visual shell. The disadvantages include the small amount of RAM.

According to TCT Mobile, in Ukraine the smartphone will be sold in a version with two SIM cards. The recommended retail price will be 1399 UAH, and the start of sales is scheduled for December 2013.

Liked
+ Assembly
+ Design
+ Screen

Did not like
- Small amount of RAM

The product was provided for testing by TCT Mobile Europe S.A.S. in Ukraine, www.alcatelonetouch.com.ua Standard High speed data transferGPRS, EDGE, HSDPA/HSUPA Dimensions (mm)127.1x62x7.9 Weight (g)96 Processor (for smartphones)MediaTek MT6572 (2 Cortex-A7 cores, 1.3 GHz) + GPU Mali 400MP MemoryRAM 512 MB + 8 GB ROM Expansion slot— Main screenIPS, 4.3″, 854×480, oleophobic coating Keyboard typescreen input Accumulator battery1700 mAh Operating time (manufacturer's data)up to 20/9h talk time (2G/3G), up to 540/450h standby time (2G/3G) Micro-SIMNumber of SIM cards2 CPUMediaTek MT6572 + GPU Mali 400MP Number of Cores2 Frequency, GHz1,3 Battery1700 mAh Diagonal, inches4,3 Permission854x480 Matrix typeIPS PPI228 Dimming sensor+ Display Featuresoleophobic coating Main camera, MP5 Video shooting720p@30fps Flash+ Front camera, MP0,3 Communication standardsGSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 900/2100 WiFi802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot Bluetooth4.0 GPS+ IrDA- FM radio+ (RDS) Audio jack3.5mm NFC- Interface connectorUSB 2.0 (micro-USB) Height, mm127.1x62x7.9 Weight, g96 Protection from dust and moisture- Type of shellmonoblock Housing materialplastic Keyboard typescreen input MoreContents: charger device,USB cable, headset, user manual

“Does Idol mini look similar to its big brother Idol X?” - you ask. I will answer: “Yes, but not in everything.” And here it’s not even a matter of the size of the case. The manufacturer took a radically different look at the “baby”, leaving it with only a similar number and arrangement of functional elements from the flagship “X”. However, some changes were noticed in this regard as well. But more on that later!

When I first looked at the Idol mini, my attention was drawn to the back panel. The manufacturer has so successfully used plastic that imitates metal in it that you can only tactilely feel what material you are dealing with.

The stylish design of the smartphone is given by the front panel with protective glass, as well as the metal power and volume buttons, the earpiece slot and the rim of the main camera eye.

What certainly will not go unnoticed in the appearance of Idol mini is its compact size. Due to them, the device looks very neat. Moreover, with such dimensions (127.1x62x7.9 mm, weight - 96 grams), it will be convenient for absolutely everyone to control it with their fingers, regardless of the size of their palms.

The body is assembled very well, all elements fit tightly - nothing creaks, crunches or plays.

The smartphone is available in three colors - black, silver, and for the fairer sex there is also a pink version.

Ergonomics of functional elements

The right side edge is given over to slots for micro-SIM cards and , and the left one is under the volume rocker.

At the top end there is a 3.5 mm audio jack and a power button, and at the bottom there is a microphone and a micro-connector.

The rear panel was “divided” between the speaker speakerphone in the lower right corner, the inscription “Onetouch” in the center, as well as the peephole of the main 5MP camera at the top.

I note that, like all previously tested Alcatel smartphones, it protrudes slightly above the body. On the right side of it there is a microphone for noise reduction, and on the left there is an LED flash.

On the front panel above the 4.3-inch display there is a slot for a speaker, a peephole front camera, as well as proximity/light sensors. Under the screen, when you turn on the smartphone and touch it, the touch control buttons are illuminated.

Brief technical specifications

Communication standard	850/900/1800/1900 MHz; 900/2100 MHz
Dimensions	127.1x62x7.9 mm
Weight	96 g
operating system	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

Display

The 4.3-inch IPS screen of Idol mini with a resolution of 480x854 pixels and color rendering of 16 million shades, in my opinion, best solutions among smartphones in this price segment.
A high-quality IPS matrix provided large viewing angles both vertically and horizontally. Its merit is also in the bright and saturated colors of the picture reproduced on the screen. At the same time, in bright sunny weather, you still cannot do without a certain extinction of the displayed data on the display.

Protects it from scratches and other types of damage protective glass The manufacturer does not specify which product we are talking about. In any case, its presence is already a big plus, and in practice it has confirmed its value. As well as the oleophobic coating applied to it, which significantly reduced the number of fingerprints that could be left every time you interact with a smartphone.

The display brightness can be adjusted either manually or automatically. The sensor recognizes up to 5 simultaneous clicks, it is sensitive and reacts quickly to touches.

Equipment performance

The “driving force” of Idol mini is the 2-core MediaTek MT6572 processor with clock frequency 1.3 GHz and Mali 400 graphics. RAM capacity - 512 MB.

The smartphone is running operating system Android 4.2.2 out of the box.

According to the benchmark results, it turned out to be quite a worthy “average” in terms of performance.

In practice, it had no problems with video playback and not very demanding games. But in the case of the first one, you will need to acquire
microSD card, since the stated 4 GB for downloading video internal memory, of which only about 2 GB is available to the user, will clearly not be enough. Maximum volume external storage 32 GB.

But the dual-SIM version of the smartphone has twice as much user memory - 8 GB. But there is no way to expand it. The amount of RAM is the same as in the single-SIM model.

Wireless modules

Idol mini “has” such wireless communications, like 802.11 b/g/n with access point function, Wi-Fi technology Direct, as well as 4.0, with the VPN function.

Autonomy

The battery capacity of the smartphone is 1700 mAh. This is what the statistics on 100% battery charge show: playing video - 2 hours, listening to audio - 3.5 hours, plus 3 hours of surfing the Internet.

And this is taking into account the fact that during the test I received, although a well-modified, sample, and not a commercial version of the tube.

You can reduce energy consumption using the provided energy saving mode.

Camera

Idol mini has two cameras. The main module has a resolution of 5MP, and the front one has a resolution of 0.3MP.

Despite the lack of a dedicated button quick launch camera on the smartphone, you can activate it quickly enough from the lock screen.

The quality of the picture displayed on the front was quite sufficient for comfortable communication.

The quality of photos taken by the main camera, supplemented with autofocus and LED flash, frankly speaking, did not cause delight. Although, in good lighting conditions and using the settings provided for photography, although there were few of them, I was able to take fairly good shots.

Test photos

The video is recorded in a maximum resolution of 720p. Apart from selecting the shooting quality and turning the flash on/off in recording mode, the camera settings do not provide anything. With such a poor arsenal, the video, shot even in the dark, in my opinion, came out worthy for a 5MP module. Of course, there was some noise, and you can clearly see how the picture twitches in the case of autofocus.

Test video

Speakers

There are two speakers - conversational and speakerphone.
Communication, even in a noisy street near the road, provided me with quite comfortable communication with the interlocutor at the other end of the tube.

Although the smartphone is “mini”, in terms of the power of the speakerphone, it, as they say, can “give heat” to many larger devices. It is especially pleasant that even at maximum volume levels it does not produce any extraneous noise that is unpleasant to the ear.

But its location can hardly be called too successful, but getting used to it so as not to cover it with your hand is quite possible.

The sound reproduced through headphones is good.

Software

Out of the box, Idol mini runs Android 4.2.2 operating system. The software is similar to that previously discussed in. Therefore, what follows are only visual illustrations.

The unlock screen provides quick access to the camera app and phone app.

You can control some smartphone functions using gestures. So, for example, to switch the music track, just shake the device and turn off the sound incoming call, you can turn the device over.

conclusions

As a result, I will say that the Alcatel Onetouch Idol mini smartphone, as a mini version of the flagship Idol X, turned out to be very interesting. In addition to its compact size, it is attractive due to its attractive design, bright IPS display with good viewing angles, high-quality speakers and camera capabilities that are good for its price of 1,399 UAH.

I remember the device for its good autonomy indicators, and as for its performance, it is not indicative, but at the same time the price tag of the device is completely justified.

pros

Compact dimensions
- IPS display with good viewing angles
- Good speakers
- Good performance for its price segment
- Android 4.2.2 out of the box
- Ability to control movements
- Good autonomy indicators
- Adequate price

Minuses

Not very convenient location of the loudspeaker

Estimated cost: 1399 UAH
Product provided by TCT Mobile Europe S.A.S.
Alena Lazauskas

The quality of a smartphone is determined primarily by its parameters. Based on them, you can talk about how long the device will last you and whether it is worth purchasing such a smartphone at all. But what do they say about idol 2? mini specifications?

Visual component

IN Alcatel one touch idol 2 mini characteristics rest on visual data. Based on them, the developers assembled all the other components of the device. Its weight is only 110 grams, taking into account the thickness of less than 8 mm. Impressive, isn't it?

Before you is a standard candy bar with three touch-sensitive keys on the bottom. Its unique feature is the metallic silver frame, which adds elegance to the phone. The case is made quite well. It is simply unrealistic to find fault with any backlash or other problems. The device gives the impression of a premium class although, in fact, it is a budget device.

There is a power button on the right, and a volume rocker above. It is also used to block the device’s sensor. On the left is the SIM card slot, covered with a plug. At the bottom there is a USB connector and a microphone. The charger and headset connectors are very well separated. Many users noted this as one of the bright advantages of this device.

On the back plastic cover there is a main camera, a LED flash and an additional microphone for high-quality sound in videos. The front part of the device, in addition to touch keys and a screen with an oleophobic coating, has a speaker grille and a front camera.

Camera

If we talk about cameras, then the characteristics of idol 2 mini are more than acceptable. The main camera takes pictures at a resolution of 5 megapixels, and videos at 1280x720. All this is complemented by fairly high-quality autofocus and an elegantly integrated flash. At the same time, the quality of the pictures is noticeably higher than that of smartphones from other brands, the cameras of which, according to statements, reach eight and even 13 megapixels.

The front camera in such a smartphone is a disadvantage for modern man, since it is not intended for selfies, but only for communication and has, by modern standards, a very modest resolution - only 0.3 megapixels. If you are not a fan of taking pictures of yourself, then this device is just right.

Battery

The battery in the smartphone is lithium-ion and non-removable. Its capacity is 1700 mAh. The manufacturer promises that the battery is capable of autonomously spending at least 400 hours in standby and 5 in active use. Excellent result for budget smartphone. Considering one SIM card and a minimal set of applications, battery consumption is really low. And not very productive hardware contributes to even greater savings.

Memory and performance

We can safely say that the memory characteristics of idol 2 mini are not encouraging, but they are not disappointing either. These are standard 1 gigabyte of RAM and 4 gigabytes of non-volatile or random access memory. Based on the latest technical innovations, these are not the best indicators. Although if you remember that the device was released in 2014, there is nothing to be surprised about.

Regarding the “iron” component, one should also not expect any special miracles. The device has a processor capable of overclocking each of its four cores to a frequency of 1.2 GHz. These indicators are sufficient to work with simple programs, like instant messengers, but nothing more. Do not forget that the device is primarily positioned as a fashion device and at the same time a budget one. And in the case of attractive appearance You can rarely find more or less productive hardware at a low price.

To improve performance, you can root the device and remove some built-in applications. This will allow, in addition to reducing the load on the processor, to unload a certain amount of non-volatile memory, of which there is not too much here anyway.

conclusions

Alcatel smartphone one touch idol 2 mini is a 4.5-inch rugged touchscreen phone with IPS matrix. This smartphone with a low price, a 4-core processor and Android 4.4 has made thousands of people fall in love with it. It will be a suitable option for those who value light weight and the disadvantages include a slot for only one SIM card, which may not be enough in today’s conditions of fierce competition among operators, and not the most productive hardware, which reduces the comfort of use. It will ideally fit into the role of an additional gadget for use in rare cases; as a main smartphone, it will not be able to provide the full range of capabilities provided by the modern electronic world.