Review and testing of the ALCATEL ONETOUCH IDOL MINI smartphone. Alcatel OneTouch Idol Mini - Technical specifications Alcatel one touch 6012x official
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. The back cover is 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 Android 4.2.2 operating system 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. Working on the Wi-Fi network did not raise any questions; everything worked 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. All are disabled in reading mode wireless communications, 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
Currently even budget smartphones began to equip 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 transfer GPRS, 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
Memory RAM 512 MB + 8 GB ROM
Expansion slot —
Main screen IPS, 4.3″, 854×480, oleophobic coating
Keyboard type screen input
Accumulator battery 1700 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 cards 2
CPU MediaTek MT6572 + GPU Mali 400MP
Number of Cores 2
Frequency, GHz 1,3
Battery 1700 mAh
Diagonal, inches 4,3
Permission 854x480
Matrix type IPS
PPI 228
Dimming sensor +
Display Features oleophobic coating
Main camera, MP 5
Video shooting 720p@30fps
Flash +
Front camera, MP 0,3
Communication standards GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 900/2100
WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, point Wi-Fi access
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS +
IrDA -
FM radio + (RDS)
Audio jack 3.5mm
NFC -
Interface connector USB 2.0 (micro-USB)
Height, mm 127.1x62x7.9
Weight, g 96
Protection from dust and moisture -
Type of shell monoblock
Housing material plastic
Keyboard type screen input
More Contents: charger device, USB cable, headset, user manual
Additional Information
Contents: phone, power adapter, USB cable, headsetGeneral 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: 0.566Screen
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): 228Multimedia 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: facesConnection
Interfaces: Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, USB Standard: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G Satellite navigation: GPS A-GPS system: yesMemory and processor
Processor: 1300 MHz Number of processor cores: 2 Built-in memory volume: 4 GB RAM capacity: 512 MB Memory card support: microSD (TransFlash), up to 32 GB Amount of memory available to the user: 2 GB Memory card slot: yes, up to 32 GBOther features
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 tale about why the Little Idol should be single-SIM
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 like 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 like 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 like an audio player
And you know, it’s very nice.
Alcatel One Touch 6012D Idol Mini and the 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 like 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. |
Inexpensive model with support for 4G networks
When we mentioned the Chinese company TCL and its Alcatel brand, this year we first of all remembered the very noticeable top model of the TCL Idol X+ smartphone, which is based on the latest Mediatek platform with a maximum frequency of eight processor cores. However, the company, naturally, did not limit itself to releasing one flagship model in the new season: at the beginning of the year, during the MWC 2014 exhibition in Barcelona, TCL presented a whole line of new mid-level smartphones, including Alcatel One Touch Idol 2 and OneTouch Idol 2S and their various modifications. In accordance with the tradition that has emerged in the mobile market, the company could not help but release a version of the smartphone with the word “mini” in the name.
Such a device for the company was a reduced-size smartphone from the line mentioned above, which received a rather long and inconvenient name to pronounce: Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S. This small-sized smartphone is not a top-end device in terms of characteristics - it also belongs to the middle price level, like its “full-size” brothers in the line mentioned above. The domestic operator Beeline, for example, a few days ago introduced the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S to the market as an exclusive offer: the smartphone itself is offered in the operator’s showrooms at a “tasty” price of 7,990 rubles, and in addition it comes with three months of free mobile internet. True, in this case, the buyer will have to sacrifice something: the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S model purchased in Beeline stores is “locked” to work only with SIM cards of this operator and will not fully function with any other cards. In addition, the phone is stuffed to the brim with additional proprietary Beeline applications, as is usually the case, but this issue can be completely resolved standard methods. But to make such a device work with SIM cards from other operators, you will have to find unconventional means - if anyone is even interested in such an option. Be that as it may, it is the modification of the smartphone offered by Beeline (6036Y) that is the maximum and best configuration of this model - it even has support for LTE networks, which at such a low price makes Idol 2 mini S one of the most inexpensive devices with 4G to our market. In any case, the described smartphone seemed to us a device quite interesting and worthy of making a full review of it.
Main characteristics of Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S (model 6036Y)
| Alcatel Idol 2 mini S | Huawei Ascend G6 | Asus Padfone E | LG G2 mini | |
| Screen | 4.5″, IPS | 4.5″, IPS | 4.7″, IPS | 4.7″, IPS |
| Permission | 960×540, 245 ppi | 960×540, 245 ppi | 1280×720, 312 ppi | 960×540, 234 ppi |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 (4 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @1.2 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (4 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @1.4 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (4 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @1.2 GHz | |
| GPU | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 |
| RAM | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Flash memory | 8 GB | 4 GB | 16 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory card support | microSD | microSD | microSD | microSD |
| operating system | Google Android 4.3 | Google Android 4.3 | Google Android 4.3 | Google Android 4.4 |
| Battery | non-removable, 2000 mAh | non-removable, 2000 mAh | non-removable, 1820 mAh | removable, 2440 mAh |
| Cameras | rear (8 MP; video - 1080p), front (2 MP) | rear (8 MP; video - 720p), front (5 MP) | rear (13 MP; video - 1080p), front (1.2 MP) | rear (8 MP; video - 1080p), front (1.3 MP) |
| Dimensions | 130×64×8.5 mm, 116 g | 130×65×7.5 mm, 115 g | 140×70×9.1 mm, 126 g | 130×66×9.9 mm, 121 g |
| average price | T-10724720 | T-10724716 | T-10686990 | T-10833941 |
| Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S offers | L-10724720-10 | |||
- SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8226), 1.2 GHz, 4 ARM Cortex-A7 cores
- GPU Adreno 305
- operating room Android system 4.3
- Touch display IPS, 4.5″, 960×540, 245 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 1 GB, inner memory 8 GB
- Map support microSD memory up to 32 GB
- Communication GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
- Communication 3G 850, 900, 2100 MHz
- Data transfer speed max 4G LTE up to 150 Mbps
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, Wi-Fi hotspot
- GPS/A-GPS, Glonass
- Camera 8 MP, autofocus, LED flash
- Camera 2 MP (front)
- Battery 2000 mAh
- Dimensions 129.5×63.5×8.5 mm
- Weight 116 g
Contents of delivery
In our case, we received a test copy of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S without packaging and, accordingly, a set of accessories, so we can judge the richness of the smartphone’s equipment only by the description on the company’s website. It states that in the box with the smartphone you can find a universal compact charger, a Micro-USB connecting cable, in-ear headphones and a user manual.
Among the additional accessories purchased separately, we can note a book case with a unique built-in event indicator, made in the form of perforated illuminated icons - it looks nice and is probably not too energy-consuming. Without opening the lid, the user can receive information about incoming SMS messages, mail, incoming calls, etc.
Appearance and ease of use
In design and shape, the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S smartphone resembles previous products in the Idol series; most of all, it is similar to the first flagship Idol X, which users liked so much at one time. To a lesser extent, it is similar to the updated Idol X+, although common design features can be traced here.
The smartphone has a rather small-sized, elegant and thin body that fits perfectly into the average hand. The device has rather slippery glossy side edges, but due to the matte non-slip back surface, as well as its small dimensions and weight, the smartphone is comfortably held in the palm of your hand. The size of the device is slightly larger than Apple iPhone- more similar to another compact modern model, Sony Xperia Z1 Compact.
The entire body of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S is made entirely of plastic, there is no metal here. The body has a monoblock structure, back cover has a slight bend and a matte, non-marking surface, which has a beneficial effect on both ergonomics and neatness general view devices. The side edges are made to look like chromed metal, but this is not real metal, but just a coating on the same plastic. The edges of the case have practically no bevels; they are quite wide and slippery to the touch.
From this structure of the case comes the corresponding method of installing a SIM card: the card, in the same way as in previous models of the Idol series, is inserted into the side slot, which is covered on top with an unusual cover. This cover does not need to be removed with a special needle-clip; it opens like a door on hinges. To open it, you need to press one end of the lid and push it inward. In principle, this method of opening was quite convenient for the full-size representatives of the Idol series, but in the smaller model all these elements also turned out to be reduced in size, making it not very convenient to manipulate these miniature lids. In this case, you have to use something sharp to press one end of the lid. You have to do the same with the card itself - the usual length of the nail is not enough to sink the SIM card to the depth required for capture.
The adjacent slot for installing a memory card has exactly the same structure - microSD cards up to 32 GB are supported. Both lids have short leads; they can be pulled out quite a bit so that they do not interfere with the installation of cards. In general, the whole process is quite uncomfortable; the method of installing cards in the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S is far from the most convenient.
On the back of the smartphone, all the elements are familiar and arranged in the traditional order: on top there are the eyes of the camera and LED flash, on the bottom there is a row of holes for sound output from the ringing speaker.
The speaker grille overlaps the surface of the table, which partially muffles the sound of a lying smartphone. The single-section LED flash has pre-installed software to control it as a flashlight.
On the front surface, almost the entire front panel is covered with a flat protective glass without sides, a hole has been cut in it for a large shiny chrome grille for the auditory speaker, with little eyes visible nearby front camera and sensors.
Below the screen there is space left for hardware buttons to control the system and applications. These buttons are touch sensitive and have a white backlight of medium brightness, for which there was no item in the menu to adjust it.
There are only two mechanical hardware keys on the sides of the device, and both of them are located on the right side, one next to the other. The volume and lock keys have a fairly short travel, are small in size and protrude quite a bit beyond the body. In general, the implementation of controls is not the best, but you can get used to it.
The Micro-USB connector is placed at the bottom end - next to the microphone hole. The headphone output is implemented at the top end; nearby you can see the hole for the second, auxiliary microphone.
The smartphone connectors are not covered with any plugs or covers, because the device is not protected from water and dust. There was no hook on the case to attach the strap.
The product traditionally goes on sale in several color options: there are options in light gray and dark gray shades, and there are also pink and chocolate options. In different versions, the front panel under the glass of the smartphone also appears different color: for example, the chocolate version is black, while the others are white.
Screen
The Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S smartphone is equipped with an IPS touch matrix. The physical dimensions of the display are 56x99 mm, diagonal - 4.5 inches. The screen resolution in pixels is 960×540, the dots per inch density reaches 245 ppi.
The display brightness has both manual and automatic adjustment, the latter based on the operation of the light sensor. The smartphone also has a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. Multi-touch technology allows you to process 5 simultaneous touches.
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Detailed examination using measuring instruments conducted by Alexey Kudryavtsev, editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Alcatel Idol 2 Mini S, then they can be distinguished by size):
The screen of the Alcatel Idol 2 Mini S is even a little darker (brightness according to photographs is 84 versus 92 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the Alcatel Idol 2 Mini S screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass-air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, much like the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass.
When manually controlling the brightness and displaying the white field in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 500 cd/m², the minimum was 42 cd/m². The maximum brightness is very high and, given the excellent anti-glare properties, readability even on a sunny day outdoors will be high level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (located in the left top corner on the front panel). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness is reduced to 42 cd/m² (acceptable), in an artificially lit office (approximately 400 lux) the brightness is set to approximately 500 cd/m² (this is the maximum and excessively bright), in a brightly lit environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) - increases to the same 500 cd/m². As a result, the auto-brightness function does not work adequately for external conditions, and the whole point is software implementation, since the light sensor itself shows quite plausible results. At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering.
IN this smartphone An IPS type matrix is used. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.
The screen has good viewing angles without a significant color shift even with large deviations of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting (except for the very darkest when the gaze is deviated to the right) shades. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of Alcatel Idol 2 Mini S and Nexus 7, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m² (across the white field in full screen), and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K. White field perpendicular to the screens:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:
Color reproduction is good and colors are rich on both screens. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:
It can be seen that the image quality at this angle on the Alcatel Idol 2 Mini S screen has noticeably deteriorated. And a white field:
The brightness of the screens at an angle has decreased (by at least 6 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the Alcatel Idol 2 Mini S has a noticeably darker screen. When deviated diagonally, the black field is lightened to a medium degree and acquires a purple tint. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is approximately the same!):
And from another angle:
When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is average, since there are areas with increased black brightness along the edge of the screen:
The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is not the highest - about 680:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 24 ms (13 ms on + 11 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 38.5 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 1.86, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve strongly deviates from the power-law dependence:
Such a deviation is usually a sign of the presence of dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness in accordance with the nature of the output image (since the measurements were carried out with sequential output of shades of gray almost to the entire screen), but we did not receive additional evidence of its existence. But just in case, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates with a consistently average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in the entire screen.
Color gamut is close to sRGB:
The spectra show that the matrix filters moderately mix the components with each other:
As a result, visually the colors have a natural saturation. The balance of shades on the gray scale does not cause any particular delight, since the color temperature is noticeably higher than the standard 6500 K, the deviation from the spectrum of an absolutely black body (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, however, ΔE varies significantly from shade to shade - this negatively affects the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
To summarize: the screen has a high maximum brightness and has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day without any problems. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. The mode with automatic brightness adjustment is practically useless, since already in a lit room it increases the brightness to the maximum, which, of course, leads to unnecessary energy consumption. Significant advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, the absence of air gaps in the layers of the screen and flicker, as well as the sRGB color gamut. The remaining characteristics are not outstanding, but not disastrous either. In general, taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices, the screen quality can be considered high.
Sound
In terms of sound, the smartphone is nothing special. Both speakers produce a fairly clean sound, but without noticeable presence. low frequencies The sound is also not loud enough. However, this does not particularly affect the perception of sound during a conversation - the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable. The settings include standard equalizer capabilities with preset values and some additional effects.
The device can use built-in tools to record a conversation from the line, both talking parties are recorded, and the recorded files are automatically stored in the appropriate folder. The smartphone is equipped with a built-in FM radio, which traditionally only works with headphones connected as an external antenna.
The main rear camera here has an 8-megapixel module and shoots with a maximum resolution of 3264 × 1836. The quality of the images is average, most often the photos come out overexposed and slightly blurry. The settings are quite clearly laid out and conveniently arranged, but the capabilities contained here are quite modest.
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The camera can shoot video at a maximum resolution of 1080p (30 fps), examples of test videos are presented below.
- Video No. 1 (35 MB, 1920×1080, with daylight)
- Video #2 (33 MB, 1920×1080, indoors)
- Video No. 3 (18 MB, 1920×1080, at night)
Examples of photographs with our comments are presented below.
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The sharpness in distant shots is quite good. |
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The camera cannot fully resolve foliage, but overall it does a good job. |
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Sharpness across the frame is fairly uniform. |
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In the background, the foliage hardly blends together. |
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Noise in the shadows is not so strong, and, apparently, well processed. |
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The camera performs relatively well indoors. |
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Even when shooting at night, the camera does not show such bad results. |
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The camera also copes well with macro photography. |
What we have in front of us is exactly what can be safely called a balanced camera. Let's start with the fact that the camera simply does not have any significant shortcomings. It copes with its 8 megapixels, perhaps not perfectly, but very well. The camera has a good sensor, good optics and moderate software processing. It is all these three parameters in symbiosis that give the camera that very balance. The sensor copes well in the shadows, so the noise reduction does not need to be reworked. The optics process the image well across the field of the frame and across the plans, so there is virtually no sharpening in the images. Oddly enough, the camera’s merits are not limited to this: it works quite well in low light. The camera resorts to sensitivity values above ISO 100 only when absolutely necessary, but even a night shot (ISO 232, 1/17 second) demonstrates relatively good performance.
As already mentioned, the camera turned out to be good and balanced and is quite suitable for most scenes.
Telephone and communications
The smartphone works as standard in modern networks 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA, and there is also support for fourth generation networks (4G) used in Russia. With a SIM card from the domestic operator Megafon, the smartphone in practice confidently finds and works with LTE network. The data transfer speed, accordingly, in theory can reach up to 150 Mbit/s of incoming traffic. Among additional network capabilities, support is available. Connection mode external devices To USB port(USB Host, OTG) is, unfortunately, not supported here, so flash drives connected via an OTG adapter will not be recognized. The navigation module supports both GPS and domestic Glonass and works very clearly and quickly, there are no problems with this.
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There were no spontaneous reboots/shutdowns observed during testing, as well as system slowdowns or freezes. The LED notification sensor here modestly shines as a small whitish dot in the upper left corner of the front panel, unobtrusively signaling various incoming events. The light sensor adjusts the brightness level automatically, but does not do it entirely correctly.
The drawing of letters and numbers on virtual keyboards is quite small and not very comfortable to operate. The layout and location of the keys is standard: switching languages here is done by pressing a special button with a globe image; there is no separate row with numbers - you need to switch the layout each time. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing phone number A search in contacts is also carried out immediately.
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OS and software
Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S works in this moment on the Google Android software platform, not the latest version 4.3. The proprietary shell, stretched over the standard Android interface, here has a fairly heavily redesigned and expanded functionality: sections have been added to the settings menu, there are rudiments of gesture support, and even the ability to unlock the screen by tapping has appeared. In general, everything is very familiar from previous models of the Idol series. There is an application menu in this user interface; most of the already pre-installed applications are carefully arranged in thematic folders by the developers themselves. Creation of folders/groups is supported on desktops.
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As mentioned above, our test laboratory included a modification of the smartphone, branded specifically for the Beeline operator, with all the ensuing consequences. The smartphone interface not only has special themes with the familiar black and yellow coloring, but is also crammed with a mass of all kinds of proprietary applications, which in general are not of particular interest. However, it is not difficult to return appearance The interface has an original, more relaxed look. In our case, to test all the capabilities of the device, it was also unlocked, and after that it worked perfectly with SIM cards from other operators, and even registered in LTE networks.
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Performance
The Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S hardware platform is based on a single-chip system (SoC) Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8226). The central processor here has 4 ARM Cortex-A7 cores operating at a frequency of 1.2 GHz, although the maximum possible frequency here is up to 1.6 GHz (SoC production technology is 28 nm). Random access memory The device has 1 GB, and the storage accessible to the user For loading own files, is about 5 GB of the nominally designated 8 GB - the rest went to the system itself and applications. Memory can be expanded using microSD cards up to 32 GB. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to connect a flash drive via an OTG adapter - the device this mode do not support.
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To get an idea of the performance of the platform of the smartphone under test, we will conduct a standard set of tests. We have already tested devices based on the MSM8226 SoC: a recent and very recent example is the LG G2 mini, which operates on exactly the same platform. For comparison, let's take the results of the same platform, but with a slightly faster core frequency (1.4 GHz, Asus Padfone E model), and also add the results of another similar platform from Qualcomm - Snapdragon 200, which has exactly the same cores and their number the same, but the SoC itself is made using 45 nm technology. This relatively new budget platform is called Snapdragon 200 (MSM8212), and we tested it using an example Huawei smartphone Ascend G6, which is currently being heavily advertised on television, and a review of which is also being prepared for release.
For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed their “obstacle courses” on previous versions test programs.
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Based on the test results, it is clear that the Snapdragon 400 MSM8226 SoC, made using a 28 nm process technology, turned out to be slightly faster in all respects than the Snapdragon 200 MSM8212 SoC, manipulating the same cores, but made using a 45 nm process technology (Huawei G6 platform). The results of the LG G2 mini turned out to be identical, which is logical, because they have the same platforms, and the slightly faster cores of the Asus Padfone E showed a slight superiority, which is also quite logical and meets our expectations.
In general, according to the results of all tests, the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S smartphone can be safely classified as a device with average, or even slightly above average performance. At the moment, the hardware performance of this smartphone should be enough to perform most tasks that can be performed by any games or other applications from Google Play Store.
Test results in MobileXPRT, as well as the latest AnTuTu versions 4.x and GeekBench 3:
When testing the graphics subsystem in the cross-platform 3DMark test for the most powerful smartphones, it is now possible to run 3DMark in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).
Results of testing the graphics subsystem in the Epic Citadel gaming test, as well as Basemark X and Bonsai Benchmark:
| Alcatel Idol 2 mini S |
Huawei G6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 200, 4 cores ARM [email protected] GHz) |
Asus Padfone E (Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, 4 cores ARM [email protected] GHz) |
LG G2 mini (Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, 4 cores ARM [email protected] GHz) |
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| Epic Citadel, High Quality | 57.7 fps | 54.4 fps | 56.8 fps | 57.1 fps |
| Epic Citadel, Ultra High Quality | 47.3 fps | 34.8 fps | 33.0 fps | 48.7 fps |
| Bonsai Benchmark | 30 fps/2139 | 16 fps/1115 | 25 fps/1779 | 31 fps/2197 |
| Basemark X, Medium Quality | 4561 | 3488 | 4579 | 4323 |
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Playing video
To test the omnivorous nature of 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 Internet. Note that for mobile devices It is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.
According to the results Alcatel testing OneTouch Idol 2 mini S was not equipped with all the necessary decoders, in this case audio, which are necessary for full playback of most of the most common files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, even in it you will first have to change the settings, switching from hardware decoding to software or to a new mode called Hardware+(not supported by all smartphones), only then will sound appear. All results are summarized in a single table.
| Format | Container, video, sound | MX Video Player | Standard video player |
| DVDRip | AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL SD | AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL HD | MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3 | Hardware+ | |
| BDRip 720p | MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3 | plays fine with decoder Hardware+ | The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ |
| BDRip 1080p | MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3 | plays fine with decoder Hardware+ | The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ |
¹ MX Video Player only played sound after switching to software decoding or a new mode Hardware+; The standard player does not have this 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 “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: Resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In the tests, we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware+” mode. The test results are summarized in the table:
Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.
In general, according to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and, with rare exceptions, without skipping frames. When playing 720p and 1080p video files with an aspect ratio of 16:9, the image of the actual video file is displayed exactly along the edge of the screen. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - all gradations of shades are displayed in shadows and highlights.
Battery life
The capacity of the lithium-ion battery installed in the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S is 2000 mAh, small for a modern smartphone. However, according to the test results, the test subject did not lose face, demonstrating a very respectable time battery life in a variety of standard use cases. The device even outperformed most of its direct competitors in this regard, except for mini-models from Samsung and LG - modern Korean smartphones have recently demonstrated the best optimization performance in terms of energy consumption.
Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted almost 16 hours until the battery was completely discharged. When continuously watching YouTube videos in high quality(HQ) with the same brightness level via home Wi-Fi network The device lasted about 9 hours, and in 3D gaming mode - about 4 hours. The smartphone charges quite quickly: a full charge takes less than 2 hours.
Bottom line
As for the cost of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S - or rather, the best configuration of this device (6036Y), with support for LTE and NFC, which we tested, it is offered on the domestic market only as a branded device of the domestic operator Beeline. Such a smartphone costs 7,990 rubles - this is a couple of thousand more than the previous mini-model of the Alcatel Idol series, which was recently advertised on television by actor Konstantin Khabensky. And yet, even this price seems quite acceptable for such a nice, compact, but quite powerful and technically advanced device of a solid mid-level. For small money by the standards of the domestic market, the user receives a very high-quality product with high-quality materials, unquestionable assembly, efficient hardware, and a well-designed screen for its level, which allows the device itself to remain within a comfortable frame for the hand. Finally, we can state that not only among the “shovels”, very high-quality mobile devices that meet most modern technical requirements have begun to appear, such as the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact or the even more affordable hero of today’s review - the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 mini S smartphone.
