Review: Alcatel OneTouch Idol X

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

I have been surprised and impressed by the Alcatel OneTouch Idol X. This smartphone is one of the lighter devices in its class but it offers a great feature set for the price and is a superb first salvo from Alcatel.

The plain and rather blocky shape of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol X is similar to the Nexus 5. The Idol X is taller but feels just a tiny bit lighter than Google’s current flagship. The matte red plastic finish of our review unit had just the right amount of texture for good grip.

The SIM card and microSD card slots are hidden under latches that can easily be lifted. The volume rocker actually hides the card. This is really convenient since you don’t need to pry open the rear case and you don’t need those silly SIM removal tool which everybody loses.

Despite being a lightweight device, the Idol X is sturdy. My review unit fell out of my pants pocket and fell screen-first into a slush-covered stone floor. I panicked as I’ve been around smartphones enough to know that a screen-first fall from that height results in a shattered display.

Aside from some grit getting into the speaker grill, the Alcatel OneTouch Idol X survived unscathed which was lucky but also speaks to this device’s build quality. 

I carried the Alcatel OneTouch Idol X as a secondary smartphone and discovered some things about it in my day-to-day usage.

 

The 13-megapixel camera isn’t very fast but it can take amazing photos. I tend to take spontaneous street shots and the one above made quite an impression on Flickr. This is a great camera for taking landscapes or grabbing shots with detail and depth of field. I was really surprised by the detail, contrast and quality. 

The Alcatel OneTouch Idol X’s 5” Full HD IPS 1080 x 1920 pixel display offers 16M colours and It is well balanced, has great viewing angles plus reproduces colours and textures quite accurately.

I also used Bell’s TV Anywhere App to catch up on the Winter Olympics action as well as some Toronto Raptors games and the Idol X’s long battery life and great screen delivered a superb mobile viewing experience specially in areas where I had WiFi access.

Alcatel has managed to leverage some premium smartphone features and focuses on the aspects that are most important in battery life, screen size and quality, camera performance and a solid yet lightweight device.

 

What you don't get is 4G-LTE connectivity as the Idol X is limited to HSPA+, this may not be a big deal for many users who will find HSPA+ speeds acceptable for their needs. Users that are coming from 4G LTE devices will feel the difference and this step down may be a deal breaker.

 

Aside from this, the Alcatel OneTouch Idol X is a very likeable smartphone. It is practical, relatively powerful and features all the great multimedia features users have come to expect from their premium phones. What’s impressive is the OneTouch Idol X’s $245 no contract price ($0 for a two-year signup) and that it ships with a relatively clutter free version of Android OS 4.2 Jelly Bean. 

Rating: 4 out of 5