Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 (5.5-inch) Review

Introduction

Even though we’re quite familiar with Alcatel’s line of mobile phones, most consumers are still widely in the dark regarding the actual existence of the company – more so when they’ve yet to deliver a compelling phone worthy enough to compete with the big names in the industry. Everyone is vying for that piece of the pie, and Alcatel wants to ensure that it’ll have some sort of presence amidst the fierce competition. During Mobile World Congress 2015, which was held just a little close to a couple months ago, we were pleasantly delighted by what the pre-production model of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 had to offer; the company’s first global flagship phone. Now that it’s in final form, we’re itching to find out what this $250 outright-priced smartphone can bring to the table.

The package contains:

• Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3
• Wall charger
• microUSB cable
• Stereo headphones
• SIM removal tool

Design

Seriously, this is quality stuff from a budget phone. It’s simple, lightweight, and incredibly thin!

While it’s not flaunting the premium aesthetics we find in some high-end smartphones, the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 surely has several appealing qualities for something budget-oriented. For one, it’s incredibly skinny and lightweight for something packing a 5.5-inch sized screen. Secondly, the dark gray colored matte plastic rear casing bears a hair line brushed effect to mimic the look of something metal – while the chrome accents outlining the phone complement its charming looks. All told, it’s a simple design that works.

In looking around the sides of the handset, it features your typical set of ports and buttons – such as a microUSB port, microphone, microSIM slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, noise-cancelling mic, volume controls, and power button. With the latter, it’s positioned towards the upper left corner of the phone, which makes for an awkward placement for something so wide and tall. A special treat, since it’s an ideal implementation, the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 is graced with dual front-facing JBL speakers.

Display

Hands down, this is one of the most astounding displays in a budget-priced phone we’ve come across; plenty of solid qualities.

Out of everything, the most surprising part about the phone is its display – a 5.5-inch 1080 x 1920 Technicolor Color Enhance Display. Essentially, it’s an IPS-based panel with OGS (One Glass System) full lamination. No doubt, it’s sharp and highly detailed, but we’re equally impressed by its superb brightness and reasonable color reproduction.

Case in point, the display has a color temperature of 7280K, which makes things a look a bit colder than they are, but while there's certainly some room for improvement as far as color accuracy goes, the 665 nit brightness it achieves means that it remains easily visible even in outdoor, sunny conditions. Seriously, if this is the kind of results we can expect from a budget-conscious phone, everyone else better be up to snuff because this is commendable on so many levels