First look at Alcatel One Touch Idol (6030a) and Idol Ultra (6033). Alcatel One Touch Idol X smartphone: description, characteristics, reviews Communications

Most readers probably know that the same ubiquitous Chinese are now hiding under the once European brand of Alcatel smartphones - in this case, it is the TCL company, which bought the trademark several years ago and continues to produce and sell devices under this brand. So when buying mobile equipment with the Alcatel label, you need to understand that you are no longer buying a French device, as it was once before, but a Chinese one. However, this in no way detracts from the advantages of Chinese products of this class - modern factory China is quite ready to oppose itself to HTC, Samsung and Sony, which have established themselves as leaders, and our latest reviews of fresh products of high-quality Chinese production can serve as an example of this (the list of such companies includes , primarily Oppo, Meizu, Xiaomi, as well as the ubiquitous Huawei). However, TCL also sells smartphones under its own name, but usually in its home market. By the way, you can also find an “original” model on it, related to the hero of today’s review, and even with a similar name: TCL One Touch Idol X. However, the devices are not entirely exact copies each other, there are also minor differences between them. However, today we are interested in the European version, which is officially presented on our market, and it is called Alcatel One Touch Idol X.

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

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

	Alcatel OT Idol X	Fly Luminor IQ453	Oppo Mirror R819	LG Optimus G	Google Nexus 4	Sony Xperia ZR
Screen	5″, IPS	5″, IPS	4.7″, IPS	4.7″, IPS	4.7″, IPS	4.55″, IPS
Permission	1920×1080, 440 ppi	1920×1080, 440 ppi	1280×720, 312 ppi	1280×768, 317 ppi	1280×768, 317 ppi	1280×720, 322 ppi
SoC		MediaTek MT6589T (4 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @1.5 GHz	MediaTek MT6589 (4 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @1.2 GHz		Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) @1.5 GHz (4 Krait cores)	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) @1.5 GHz (4 cores, ARMv7 Krait)
GPU	PowerVR SGX 544MP	PowerVR SGX 544MP	PowerVR SGX 544MP	Adreno 320	Adreno 320	Adreno 320
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	1 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB
Flash memory	16 GB	32 GB	16 GB	32 GB	8/16 GB	8 GB
Memory card support	—	—	—	—	—	microSD
operating system	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.1	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.1
Battery	non-removable, 2000 mAh	non-removable, 2000 mAh	non-removable, 2000 mAh	non-removable, 2100 mAh	non-removable, 2100 mAh	removable, 2300 mAh
Cameras	rear (13 MP; video - 1080p), front (2 MP)	rear (13 MP; video - 1080p), front (5 MP)	rear (8 MP; video - 1080p), front (2 MP)	rear (13 MP; video - 1080p), front (1.3 MP)	rear (8 MP; video - 1080p), front (1.3 MP)	rear (13 MP), front (0.3 MP)
Dimensions	140×68×6.9 mm, 120 g	144×69×7.7 mm, 131 g	137×68×7.3 mm, 110 g	132×69×8.5 mm, 145 g	134×69×9.1 mm, 139 g	131×67×10.4 mm, 138 g
average price	T-10467810	T-10533924	T-10470422	T-8461088	T-8490976	T-9383887
Alcatel One Touch Idol X offers	L-10467810-10

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

Contents of delivery

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

The box contained: Charger, Micro-USB cable, a wired headset and some papers. The headphones are equipped with in-ear gel ear pads and a regular, non-noodle-shaped wire that constantly tends to get tangled into a ball. No additional accessories in the form of cases or the like included in the kit flagship smartphone They didn’t invest in it at the factory, but it’s a pity - for a Chinese this device is not so cheap, it would be possible to take care of additional “goodies”.

Appearance and ease of use

In terms of its external data, the smartphone is very good: comfortable sizes, balanced mass, neat appearance, bright but not irritating multi-colored back covers, reliable assembly, high-quality materials - all this is the Alcatel One Touch Idol X. To be honest, I liked the smartphone much more than the recently reviewed Fly Luminor IQ453: it was clearly made with a bias towards the already popular products from brands such as Apple and Sony, and Alcatel One Touch Idol X has no claims to anyone else’s account - the design is simple, cheerful, easy to look at, spontaneous and original, and it is precisely this independence from other people’s opinions that inspires respect.

In addition, the device, in terms of the technical arrangement of the case, is not without its own “opinion”: I really liked the way the developers implemented the method of installing the SIM card. More precisely, even two SIM cards: the monoblock case of the Alcatel One Touch Idol X 6040D has one slot-like slot embedded on both side faces, but the method of opening their covers is non-standard. There are no annoying secret buttons and keys here, and you don’t even need a paper clip. The covers of both slots open perfectly without special master keys; you just need to press on one of the edges of the cover, which has a magnetic latch, and it immediately opens unhindered access to the SIM card - a very convenient solution, reminiscent of the first Nokia Lumia devices.

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

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

The back cover is non-removable, you cannot access the battery using standard means, and there is no slot for a memory card at all. More precisely, the microSD slot is provided, as we have already said, in the 6040 version of the smartphone, and in this (6040D) it is replaced with an additional slot for a second SIM card. By the way, it would be appropriate to immediately note that one of the slots can only work with SIM cards from the MTS operator - such a slight injustice. But you can insert any card into the second slot.

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

There, at the top, there is also a power button, which is a noticeable disadvantage of the device - the body itself is too big for you to comfortably reach up to the power button with the fingers of the hand that holds the smartphone. Probably, it would still be possible to place the lock key on one of the side faces.

The landscape of the rear surface consists of a camera window that protrudes slightly from the plane, a single-section LED flash and a number of small holes in the lower part that make up the speaker grille.

The front panel is completely covered protective glass, scratch resistant. It is stated that here, as in Oppo smartphones, it uses something that is not familiar to everyone. Corning Gorilla, and a Japanese competing solution called Asahi Glass Dragontrail. Let us repeat that the thickness of the side frames from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body is just under 3 mm, which is a very good indicator. Most users who pick up the Alcatel One Touch Idol X for the first time immediately note this point.

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

There are no rubber pads, protective edges or even a hook for a wrist strap here - we are looking at a typical pampered city dweller, designed for use in “greenhouse” conditions.

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

Screen

The Alcatel One Touch Idol X smartphone is equipped with an IPS touch matrix measuring 62x110 mm with a diagonal of 127 mm (5 inches), a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels (which gives a very high pixel density of 440 ppi).

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

Detailed examination using measuring instruments conducted by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. 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, there is a very effective anti-glare filter, superior in reducing the brightness of reflection to the screen filter of the Google Nexus 7 2013. The ghosting of reflected objects is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, but slightly worse than that of the Google Nexus 7 2013), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass.

When the white field was displayed in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 470 cd/m², the minimum was 80 cd/m². The maximum brightness is quite high, which, given the high efficiency of the anti-glare filter, will ensure excellent readability even on a sunny day outdoors. True, in complete darkness, the minimum brightness may seem excessive. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front camera). IN automatic mode When external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness is reduced to 108 cd/m² (too much), in an artificially lit office, the brightness is set to 206 cd/m² (acceptable), in a brightly lit environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight light) increases to 470 cd/m² (which is to be expected). As a result, this function works adequately, although in the dark the brightness could be lower. At lower brightness, there is some brightness modulation, but its amplitude is small, and the frequency is tens of kilohertz, so the flickering of the screen cannot be visually seen, and the presence of such modulation cannot in any way affect the comfort of working with this smartphone.

IN this smartphone An IPS type matrix is ​​used. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

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

Black and white field:

From this photo we can judge that the Alcatel smartphone maintains color balance and that its brightness drop is slightly less than that of the LG D686.

It can be seen that from this angle the Alcatel colors are better preserved.

When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens quite a bit and acquires a red-violet hue. A photo from the LG D686 shows this for comparison (the set brightness of the white areas on both screens is the same!):

When viewed from a perpendicular perspective, the uniformity of the black field is acceptable. The contrast is high - about 935:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 19 ms (10 ms on + 9 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 27 ms. The gamma curve constructed using 32 points did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is 2.05, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve noticeably deviates from the power-law dependence:

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

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

Color gamut is sRGB:

The spectra show that the matrix filters mix the components with each other to a moderate extent. As a result, visually the colors have a natural saturation.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is not bad, since the color temperature, although higher than the standard 6500 K, but the deviation from the spectrum of a completely black body (delta E) is significantly less than 3, which is considered an excellent indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, color temperature and delta E change little from hue to hue, which has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (Dark 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.)

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

Sound

In terms of sound, the smartphone is average. Both speakers produce a fairly clean sound, but without noticeable presence. low frequencies a sound mixed with some barely noticeable metallic notes. However, this does not particularly affect the perception of sound during a conversation - the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable. At this point I would like to especially note one point: in their reviews on the forums, users who have already bought an Alcatel One Touch Idol X often complain about some extraneous clicks during telephone conversations. Moreover, it is the interlocutors on the other side of the line who hear them. We carefully checked our copy many times for such clicks: in the end, no extraneous sounds None of the interlocutors listening on the other side could be found. The sound is clear, maybe slightly reminiscent of ringing metal, but completely free of foreign “impurities”. Obviously, this is due to a software flaw: perhaps users who discover such a problem should bother updating the firmware or take the device for repair, because this problem, as it turned out, is not widespread.

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

Camera

Alcatel One Touch Idol X comes standard with two modules digital cameras. Front-camera it has a 2 megapixel sensor, takes photos with a maximum resolution of 1792×1008, and can shoot video at a maximum resolution of 720p (the Fly Luminor IQ453 also has 720p).

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

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

	Lighting ≈1300 lux. The camera does a good job.
	Lighting ≈460 lux. When the lighting deteriorates, everything is still not bad.
	Lighting ≈240 lux. With a further decrease in lighting, the situation worsens significantly.
	Lighting ≈240 lux, flash. The outbreak hardly changes the situation.
	Lighting<1 люкс. В темноте камера не справляется, но контуры различимы.
	Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. В данном случае вспышка работает относительно неплохо.

The image quality of this camera is not flagship, but quite decent. Quite standard shortcomings for cameras on inexpensive smartphones are noticeable: aggressive noise reduction in places, noticeable sharpening, a drop in sharpness towards the edges of the frame. The flash is also not very well adjusted and does not allow you to shorten the shutter speed, but nevertheless, it helps in the absence of lighting. The center sharpness of the camera is very good.

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

The camera can shoot video, does it without visible delays or artifacts in the image, and there is only one shooting mode and resolution to choose from. An example of a test video is presented below. Videos are saved in a 3GP container (video - MPEG-4 Visual (Main@L4), sound - AAC LC, 128 Kbps, 48 ​​kHz, 2 channels).

• Video No. 1 (75.9 MB, 1920×1080)

There are very few settings for controlling shooting - mostly the capabilities are left to automation. Shooting can be done either by clicking on a virtual icon on the screen or by using the hardware volume rocker - at this moment it works as a photo button. You cannot take photos while recording video here.

Telephone and communications

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

There were no freezes or spontaneous reboots/shutdowns observed during testing. The screen is large, so drawing letters and numbers on virtual keyboards is quite comfortable to control. The layout and location of the keys are standard: switching languages ​​here is done by pressing the button with the image of a globe; there is no separate top row with numbers; you need to constantly switch the layout from letters to numbers and back.

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

OS and software

The system uses the Google Android software platform version 4.2.2 and a third-party graphical interface, which significantly changes the appearance and introduces noticeable changes to the internal structure and the entire organization of work with the system as a whole. Here, like many Chinese products, there is no application menu as such, and all the icons of installed applications are simply placed on the desktop, like the unforgettable MIUI. Naturally, it is possible to create folders, and the developer himself, in principle, has already “combed” the appearance of the workspace as best he could: most programs are carefully arranged by topic. There is also a whole set of colorful functional widgets - the interface is full of colors, but now it is already becoming fashionable.

A section for managing gestures has been added to the settings menu. Using familiar manipulations, you can, for example, reduce the ringer volume, turn off the alarm clock, or shuffle tracks in the media player. There are a lot of pre-installed programs, there is a full-fledged office suite, a file manager, an antivirus, and even several pre-installed games. In general, the interface is nice and quite flexible in customization.

Performance

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

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

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

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always.

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.

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 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: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 frames/ With). In tests we used the MX Player video player in Hardware. The test results are summarized in the table:

File	Uniformity	Passes
Screen
watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4	Fine	a lot of
watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4	Fine	a lot of
watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280x720-60p.mp4	Fine	a lot of
watch-1280x720-50p.mp4	Fine	a lot of
watch-1280x720-30p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280x720-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280x720-24p.mp4	Fine	No

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 associated with the playback of the corresponding files.

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

Battery life

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

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 about 10 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching videos from YouTube in high quality (HQ) with The device lasted less than 7 hours at the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network - these are average figures. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone lasted just over 4 hours.

Bottom line

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

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

• average performance
• weak graphics subsystem
• low battery life
• lack of memory expandability
• inconvenient location of the power button

Contents of delivery:

• Telephone
• Charger with USB cable
• Instructions
• Wired stereo headset

Positioning

In the summer of 2013, Alcatel made a small breakthrough - they created a model that was almost ideal in terms of price/quality ratio, but at the same time offered maximum performance among all second-tier companies. Idol X combined a thin body with a high-quality screen, a 13-megapixel camera, and a fairly capacious battery. The device was released at a price of about 14,000 rubles, which became the most affordable offer in its class. An amazing situation arose, companies with large sales volumes, for example, Fly, were forced to adjust prices down and take Idol X into account.

Within six months, the cost of Idol X dropped to 12,000 rubles, which made it even more attractive. But the company decided that it was time to update the flagship, and carried out a number of cosmetic works - the new phone received an eight-core processor, a number of software changes and a price similar to its predecessor at launch. In my opinion, this device is suitable for those who are looking for productive solutions and understand why they are needed, and most importantly, how they plan to use this power. But there is no big difference with just Idol X; the average consumer should look at the old model - it is cheaper, more profitable and works almost the same. The company, realizing this, added quite a lot of additional functions to the software. But you can notice this only by deeply studying the device and delving into its settings. Currently this device is the flagship of Alcatel.

Design, dimensions, control elements

It has become a tradition for Alcatel to release several versions of the phone - for example, there is a single-SIM device with a memory card. A model with 32 GB of internal memory and two SIM cards will be supplied to Russia; there is no slot for memory cards. There is also a 16 GB version for this device, but they refused to launch it in Russia. This was the one in the review, but this device does not have any fundamental difference with what will be supplied. The difference in memory capacity does not in any way affect the performance of the device in use.

The first thing that catches your eye is the refusal to use matte and multi-colored plastic, as in Idol X. Here we see ordinary, glossy plastic, which is incredibly reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Of course, it was necessary to make the design a little different, but it was definitely not worth giving up the successful discovery of the previous device, which consisted of good, wear-resistant plastic. This is what the device and its back looked like.

Phone size – 140.4x69.1x7.9 mm, weight – 130 grams. The slim body fits well in the hand. The case is monolithic, and as a result, the battery cannot be replaced. On the left side there is a slot for SIM card number one; it has a microSIM form factor, just like the second one. I like the way the connector cover flips up, it's hinged and made of alloy. The design gives the impression of being reliable and durable, but the main thing is that it is convenient in everyday life.

On the right side there is a paired volume key. The bottom end is occupied by a microUSB connector, but at the top we see a 3.5 headset jack, as well as an on/off button.

On the front surface above the screen there is a light sensor, and a proximity indicator right there. There are no mechanical buttons, as on previous devices, these are three touch keys. For those who have used Samsung devices in recent years, it will be unusual that the return key is moved to the left, that is, the location is mirrored.

On the back surface there is a 13.1-megapixel camera lens, and there is also an LED flash that can be used as a flashlight. You can also see the speaker hole at the bottom.

Display

The phone has a 5-inch IPS matrix with FullHD resolution of 1080x1920 pixels, which is still atypical for most second-tier manufacturers. The screen is covered with DragonTrail glass, and an oleophobic coating is also applied to it; fingerprints are not so noticeable.

The viewing angles are maximum, the brightness is excessive, which forces you to turn it up to half, otherwise the white color will be overexposed. There is a light sensor that can adjust the backlight automatically. In the screen settings, you can select the color scheme, this is a fine adjustment of colors.

The screen fades in the sun, but not much, and remains readable. The screen type is capacitive, supports up to 5 simultaneous presses.

Alcatel emphasizes that this model has a very thin frame around the screen (zero frame). In fact, the distance is 2.4 mm, which is extremely small, and visually it seems that the screen occupies the entire space from edge to edge.

The screen is completely identical to that in Idol X, where there could be no complaints about it; it is a very high-quality matrix, and it remains one of the best in its segment.

Battery

The battery is non-removable, lithium polymer (Li-Pol), capacity – 2500 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 calls, two hours of music, about an hour of social networks, several photos), it is quite enough for daylight hours. With less load per day. In the most difficult scenario, it will work with two SIM cards until 5-6 pm. This is quite good, since the Galaxy S4 with a more capacious battery runs out much faster due to the gluttony of the processor; here it is not so powerful, but it lasts longer. The time to fully charge the battery is 2.5 hours (up to 90 percent - 1 hour 45 minutes).

Interestingly, the battery capacity has increased from 2000 to 2500 mAh, but this is impossible to notice. In all modes, the operating time remains the same.

Memory and memory card

The smartphone is equipped with 2 GB of RAM, on average about 1 GB is free after booting the device. The system occupies 3.3 GB of memory. The single-SIM model has a slot for a microSD memory card. The maximum volume is 32 GB.

Performance

It uses the MediaTek MT6592 chipset, eight-core processor, 2 GHz, ARM Cortex-A7. The graphics accelerator is Mali 450. This is a fairly powerful system, but by no means a record holder, even in synthetic tests.

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. Second-tier manufacturers do not yet have such camera modules, so it was interesting to compare it with the Galaxy S4. Unfortunately, no miracle happened - the quality of the matrix in Idol X+ is much worse, which can be seen in the detail of the photographs; they often turn out blurry even during the day. But when shooting indoors, the camera of this device completely floats, noise appears, when shooting with flash, the picture is illuminated, and the focus is mercilessly wrong, turning the picture into soap. In a word, 13 megapixels here is more of a marketing ploy than a reality in comparison with the Galaxy S4 or Sony Xperia Z – the camera is much weaker. However, look for yourself at examples of pictures from this device.

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. There is a wireless connection Wi-Fi 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. There is also a remote Wi-Fi display option.

Software features – Android 4.2.2

In Idol X+, just like in its predecessor, Alcatel uses its own software shell, which can be perceived ambiguously by many, since people often prefer “bare” Android and are quite satisfied with its capabilities.

Many 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. 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 usually known, or I touched on it in the video. So see the screenshots below.

Another part that I want to describe separately is the multimedia capabilities. The device has support for unconverted video; the chipset plays 1080p perfectly, unlike its predecessor. In terms of music formats, there is support for FLAC, in addition to the usual MP3 and a number of others.

The HiFi Sound mode has appeared, it makes the sound in the headphones more voluminous. I liked him.

Impression

In terms of call quality, there are no complaints about the device, the call volume is excellent, you can hear it even from your bag. Due to the thickness of the case, the vibration alert feels unusual and you often don’t notice it. There are no complaints about the quality of speech transmission.

In March, the device will appear in Russia at a price of 14,990 rubles, it does not look extremely low, especially compared to the cost of the original Idol X, for which they are asking 12,000 rubles. Initially it was assumed that the cost would be 13,990 rubles, but the rise in the dollar exchange rate mixed up all the cards. The device is interesting because it corrects shortcomings in multimedia, plays 1080p video well, and plays music more pleasantly. But other than that, you won't notice any significant differences.

I didn’t like the abandonment of matte plastic in favor of glossy one at all, and the initial choice of white and black cases was also not encouraging. The disadvantages that may make you think is the lack of a memory card; many may need it, unlike the slot for a second SIM card. Good, high-quality screen, balanced functionality. In terms of price/quality ratio, this device does not stand out that much, unlike its predecessor. I would advise you to look at it, and keep this model in mind - it is not so interesting for the vast majority, rather, an object of adoration for geeks.

Specifications

• Android 7.1.1
• Display 5.2 inches, 1920x1080 pixels, LTPS IPS, 423 ppi, full lamination, automatic brightness adjustment, Dragontrail 2.5D protective glass
• MediaTek MT6753 chipset, 8 cores with a frequency of up to 1.3 GHz, MALI T720-MP3 GPU
• 3 GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory (8 GB available), memory cards up to 128 GB
• Battery Li-Ion 2800 mAh, charging time up to 3.5 hours with a complete device
• Rear fingerprint sensor
• Front camera 8 megapixels (physical resolution 5 megapixels), fixed focus, f/2.4, 1/5 inch sensor, 1.12 micron pixel size, LED flash, 84 degree angle
• Main camera 16-megapixel (physical resolution 13-megapixel), phase detection autofocus, continuous autofocus (CAF), f/2.0, 1/3-inch sensor, 1.12 micron dot size, 76.3 degree angle, LED flash - video recording up to 1080p ( 30 fps)
• FM radio
• Equalizer Dirac
• Two nanoSIM cards, combined slot
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz), bluetooth 4.2, USB 2.0, USB OTG
• LTE cat.4, band 3/7/8/20/28A
• Light sensor, gyroscope, electronic compass, proximity sensor, G-sensor,/
• Size 148x73x7.5 mm, weight 155 grams

Contents of delivery

• Telephone
• Charger with USB cable (5V/1A)
• Wired stereo headset
• Instructions
• SIM Card Clip

Positioning

In past years, Alcatel positioned the IDOL line models as flagships, but starting in 2017 this is no longer the case. The A-series is coming to the fore, while IDOL has become a secondary offering that looks like it will be temporary and it is possible that the line will be abandoned.

Alcatel produces two similar models, the regular IDOL 5 and IDOL 5s, the second device is positioned higher and costs more, but like the IDOL 4 it has stereo speakers, a larger amount of internal memory (32 GB versus 16 GB in the younger model), dedicated Now key, both front and main cameras are better and all this at a cost of 300 Euros. In Russia, this price would quickly turn into 20 thousand rubles or even higher, which would put an end to the model, since the competition in this segment is enormous and the IDOL 5s has no advantages. Therefore, the company chose a junior device, which, by coincidence, is very similar in its characteristics to IDOL 4, in some ways even inferior to it, and in some ways slightly superior.

What's interesting is that both IDOL 4 and IDOL 5 will be on the market at the same time and the choice between them is not as clear as we would like. At a similar price, in my opinion, the old device has all the advantages, but we’ll talk about this at the end of the review.

The internal positioning of IDOL 5 follows from its position in the line; it is a direct replacement for IDOL 4, a slightly updated device, but many characteristics have been formally changed. For example, the main camera in IDOL 4 is 13-megapixel, in the new product it is a 16-megapixel camera, but the sensor itself is 13-megapixel and identical to the previous one, that is, greater resolution is achieved by extrapolation. We can say that Alcatel tried to create a solution without special costs.

The real continuation of IDOL 4 is IDOL 5s, this device will not appear in Russia, but we see a transition to USB Type C, two stereo speakers, more built-in memory and a different chipset - in fact, it is this device that becomes a continuation of the IDOL line. In the photos, the dark graphite phone is IDOL 5s.

For the buyer, the choice of IDOL 5 in Russia is far from optimal; in terms of price/quality ratio, the model is not the most interesting, it has many competitors, including among models from Alcatel. The choice of this device will be influenced by the advice of the seller, as well as based on its availability on the shelf. However, let's understand everything in order.

Design, dimensions, control elements

I have a strong association of smartphones in metal cases with a fingerprint sensor on the back with models from Huawei; they popularized such devices and this design became widespread. If the previous IDOLs had their own recognition, now the devices are similar to Huawei, as well as a large number of models from other companies, and this has a certain problem, they do not have their own face.

The model is available in two colors, black and silver.

At the upper and lower ends of the antenna inserts, in the aluminum case they are clearly visible, especially in silver. It somehow reminded me of the unfortunate gray color in Nokia 8, and it’s about the same thing here. Some will not be touched by this, but others will scream because the little esthete inside will suffer from this color mismatch.

The size of the device is 148x73x7.5 mm, weight is 155 grams. Fits well in the hand, not slippery, great in the pocket. In some descriptions I came across the fact that there are supposedly two speakers, but this is a mistake, there are really two holes on the bottom, on both sides of the microUSB connector (why not USB Type C? Yes, because this is an old friend IDOL 4 ), but the speaker is hidden only behind the right grille.

On the left side there is a slot for nanoSIM cards and right there a slot for a memory card; they are combined, that is, either one SIM card and a memory card, or two SIM cards.

But on the right side there is a paired volume key, as well as an on/off button. The 3.5 mm jack is located on the top end, you can also see a second microphone there, the noise reduction system works well.

In terms of build quality, there is not a single complaint about the device; everything is excellent and usual for this price range. An excellent level, but that's what you expect from such models.

Display

The technical characteristics of the screen are as follows: - 5.2 inches, 1920x1080 pixels, LTPS IPS, 423 ppi, full lamination, automatic brightness adjustment, Dragontrail 2.5D protective glass. On paper everything is fine, in real life the screen lacks brightness and viewing angles. Comparing the screen with the same Alcatel A7, you will see differences in everything, dim and featureless in IDOL 5 and bright, clear in A7.

In my opinion, it is the screen in IDOL 5 that becomes the biggest disadvantage of the device; it does not correspond to its price group and this is sad. There is nothing special to talk about here, other characteristics are secondary, in the sun it becomes very blind, especially in the camera.

Battery

The battery capacity is 2800 mAh, it is Li-Ion, charging is included 5V/1A, but even replacing it with fast charging will not help, it is not supported. Charging time 3.5 hours! They obviously saved on the battery, since when replacing the charger one could expect that the charging speed would increase, but this happens only slightly, since at 5V/2A the charging time is about 3 hours. Which is infinitely large considering the battery capacity.

The video playback time at maximum brightness in MX Player (HD video, AVI container) is a little more than 6 hours, which is not much.

In a normal usage scenario (an hour of talking, up to two hours in the browser, social networks, 4G, minimal music), the device lasts until 7-8 pm from 9 am. This is not much, but given its filling this is typical behavior.

Memory, chipset, performance

The device has 3 GB of RAM, built-in 16 GB (the system and applications take up about 8 GB), plus you can install memory cards up to 128 GB. Chispet MediaTek MT6753, 8 cores with a frequency of up to 1.3 GHz, MALI T720-MP3 graphics processor. This is not the most productive solution, but you won’t notice it in the interface; synthetic tests give such results.

To understand the difference with last year's IDOL 4, which is built on the Snapdragon 617, I will give the test results on it. The new model is inferior to last year, this is, of course, nonsense.

Camera

The front camera has a flash for selfies and its resolution is 8 megapixels. Standard for the latest generations of devices there are skin improvers, facial contour improvers and similar little things. They can be disabled. The quality of the photos is good.

The main camera has phase detection autofocus, a resolution of 16 megapixels (actual 13 megapixels as in IDOL 4). The quality of the images has seriously deteriorated due to extrapolation; any movement causes blurring; the camera does not take good pictures in the dark. If we compare it with its classmates, then the Alcatel A7 takes better pictures, as does the Motorola G5s.

Here are some more photos and an example video.

Communication capabilities

The model supports 4G (LTE FDD 3/7/8/20/28A), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, BT 4.2, USB & BT Modem Tethering - in a word, a standard set of technologies, without any special features.

Software features

Inside there is Android 7.1.1, Alcatel refused any add-ons and this is the right decision. You can read about standard Android features in a separate article.

The device has a built-in FM radio, you need to connect headphones for it to work, there is a broadcast recording, everything is standard and works as it should.

For music, it is possible to use Dirac equalizers, they change the sound, but there is nothing radically better, the device sounds normal. The player, unlike many models, here is its own.

Traditionally, Alcatel has an electronic compass, as well as the ability to enable augmented reality (a picture from the camera is superimposed on the compass).

In the album you can make collages from several photographs, including using animation when creating them.

Since the IDOL line had a hardware Now button, but here it was abandoned, it was replaced with a virtual analogue, you can configure the button to call different applications and functions. But the fact that the translucent key constantly hangs on the screen irritates me somewhat, so I turned it off immediately.

In the settings, similar to devices from Samsung, a number of service functions are combined into one utility, including checking the memory, the condition of the battery and other components of the device.

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.