Price and specifications of alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra advantages, disadvantages, and a comprehensive explanation

Overview and Introduction

The Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra is a smartphone that made its debut in early 2013. As one of the slimmest smartphones at the time, it was notable for its sleek design and competitive features. With a focus on delivering a premium feel within a mid-range price bracket, the Idol Ultra aimed to appeal to users who valued aesthetics as much as functionality.

Design and Build

The Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra boasts an impressive design, measuring just 6.5mm in thickness, making it one of the thinnest smartphones available on the market. This sleek profile, combined with a weight of 115 grams, makes the phone extremely portable and easy to handle. The body of the device is well-crafted, providing a solid and premium feel despite its slim silhouette. The choice of colors—Black, Red, Yellow, Green, and Turquoise—gives consumers a variety of options to match personal style preferences.

Display

One of the key highlights of the Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra is its 4.65-inch AMOLED display. With a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels and a density of approximately 316 ppi, the screen offers vibrant colors and sharp details. The screen-to-body ratio is around 64.7%, which was quite impressive for its time. Additionally, the display is protected by Asahi Dragontrail Glass, ensuring durability against scratches and impacts.

Performance and Hardware

Under the hood, the Idol Ultra is powered by a Mediatek MT6577 chipset with a dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 processor. This setup is paired with 1 GB of RAM, which was standard for mid-range devices of that era. The phone handles everyday tasks such as web browsing, social media, and moderate gaming efficiently. The PowerVR SGX531T GPU complements the CPU well, offering decent graphics performance.

Operating System and User Interface

The Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which was known for its smooth and user-friendly interface. This version of Android introduced features like Google Now and Project Butter, which enhance the overall user experience with smoother animations and quicker responses.

Camera Capabilities

For photography enthusiasts, the Idol Ultra comes equipped with an 8 MP autofocus main camera with LED flash. It can record videos at 1080p@30fps, allowing for high-definition video capture. The camera app is intuitive, enabling users to easily toggle between various shooting modes and settings to capture those special moments with clarity. On the front, there's a 1.3 MP camera suitable for basic selfies and video calls.

Storage Options

The device offers 16 GB of internal storage, but does not support expandable storage via microSD cards. This may limit users who require extensive storage for apps, media, and files, highlighting the importance of cloud storage solutions for data management.

Battery Life

The Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra is powered by a non-removable Li-Ion 1800 mAh battery. It provides up to 12 hours of talk time on 2G networks and up to 7 hours on 3G networks. Standby time is estimated at up to 400 hours. While these specs were relatively standard at the time, heavy users may find the need for frequent charging.

Network and Connectivity

The Idol Ultra supports GSM/HSPA networks with 2G bands (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) and 3G bands (HSDPA 900/2100). Data speeds are capped at HSPA 7.2/0.384 Mbps. For connectivity, the device includes Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot capabilities, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, and GPS for navigation. Notably, the phone does not support NFC, which may be a limitation for users looking to utilize mobile payment services.

Additional Features

The Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra lacks a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack, though it does provide an adaptor for those who prefer using standard headphones. It does, however, come with a stereo FM radio with RDS, providing access to music and news on the go. The sensory suite includes an accelerometer, proximity sensor, and compass, though it's worth noting that higher-end sensors like gyroscopes are absent.

Price and Market Position

At launch, the Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra was priced at approximately 270 EUR, making it a competitive choice in the mid-range smartphone market. Its combination of sleek design, decent performance, and vibrant display gave it a unique position, appealing particularly to those who prioritized aesthetics and brand variety over high-segment performance specifications.

Conclusion

The Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra stands out primarily for its design and display quality. While it excels in portability and visual appeal, it may fall short for users seeking extensive performance capabilities and storage expansion. That said, for its time, the Idol Ultra represented a balanced offering for users seeking a stylish, reliable device for everyday tasks.