Hands on: Alcatel One Touch Idol review

The world's lightest smartphone… apparently

What is a hands on review?
Alcatel One Touch Idol review
It's not our idol

Early Verdict

The One Touch Idol doesn't blow us away, nor does it completely disappoint - it's a middle of the road smartphone which will struggle to stand out in the crowded mobile market, even with its array of nine colour options.

Pros

  • +

    Decent screen

  • +

    Jelly Bean

  • +

    Lightweight

Cons

  • -

    Feels cheap

  • -

    Slow at times

  • -

    Little storage

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

The Alcatel One Touch Idol is one of a trio of new smartphones from the once-French firm which are pushing towards the top end of the mobile market.

A less powerful understudy to the One Touch Idol Ultra, the Idol slides in with a 4.7-inch IPS LCD display, 1GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, 8MP camera and Android Jelly Bean.

This is all squeezed into a slender 7.9mm chassis and Alcatel is claiming the One Touch Idol is the lightest smartphone in the world in its category, tipping the scales at 110g.

Alcatel One Touch Idol review

We're not too sure what category Alcatel is referring to, but we can confirm that the handset does feel very light – shocker.

It also feels pretty cheap thanks to the low quality plastic which has been used to keep the weight down, and that detracts from the experience. It's like having a toy in your hand.

Alcatel One Touch Idol review

On the right side there's a volume rocker switch and a microSIM port, while on the flip side there's a slot for a microSD card to build on the lack lustre 4GB inside the One Touch Idol.

Up top you'll find a headphone jack and the power/lock key which required quite a bit of pressure to register our prod, meaning we had to grip the One Touch Idol tightly to stop it popping out of our hand.

Alcatel One Touch Idol review

Android 4.1.1 looks good on the 4.7-inch, 540 x 900 display and while it's not HD it is bright and colourful - although Alcatel has tweaked the icons to its own design which we're not big fans of.

The Alcatel One Touch Idol couldn't make up its mind if it wanted to offer a fluid or laggy user experience with Android running smoothly most of the time, but broken up by short periods of unexplained slow down - making it all a bit jarring.

Alcatel One Touch Idol review

Thankfully Alcatel hasn't stuck its own keyboard on the One Touch Idol, opting to stick with the default Android offering. It's a decent input method, especially with the responsive touchscreen on the phone.

Round the back of the Idol you'll find the raised 8MP camera with single LED flash which will allow you to record full HD video.

Alcatel One Touch Idol review

The One Touch Idol sports the stock Android Jelly Bean camera app complete with panorama and photo sphere modes, allowing you to have some fun.

Shutter speed is good and we were able to snap photos in quick succession without issue. Image quality is acceptable, but the results won't blow you away.

Alcatel One Touch Idol review

There's a non-removable 1,820mAh battery inside the One Touch Idol which should offer a reasonable amount of life, but we reckon heavy users will still be reaching for the charger before the day is out – we'll find out in our full review.

Alcatel was not forthcoming on the One Touch Idol release date or price, but we were told that it would be available worldwide when it does finally launch sometime this year.

Alcatel One Touch Idol review

Early Verdict

It's difficult to tell how much exposure the Alcatel One Touch Idol will get in various regions and it could well fall under many people's radar.

The One Touch Idol doesn't blow us away, nor does it completely disappoint - it's a middle of the road smartphone which will struggle to stand out in the crowded mobile market, even with its array of nine colour options.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site. 

What is a hands on review?

Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.