Tag Archives: tech

Alcatel One Touch Idol X Review

Here is our review on the latest addition to the Alcatel One Touch family, the Alcatel One Touch Idol X!

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For the specifications of the Alcatel One Touch Idol X, you can visit: bit.ly/1bDsZ16

Alcatel One Touch Scribe HD

The Alcatel One Touch Scribe HD is currently Alcatel’s highest-end smartphone. Despite saying that, it is pretty obvious that they are not trying to compete for the best specs or the best design n or the best camera. No. If it did, we personally think it would lose. It could put up a fight, but would lose in the end. What we believe to be not just this phone’s, but Alcatel’s main asset is their value for money phones. Their phones are usually quite affordable, and paired together with good specs, Alcatel’s phones are definitely value-for-money. But what about the Scribe HD? What makes it their highest-end smartphone? Is this their most value-for-money high-end smartphone? Let’s find out.

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Hardware – 3/5

The Scribe HD’s built and size are what you would expect out of a smartphone, it is rectangular. As for the size, it is 5 inches. Our first impressions on the hardware were actually quite good. We thought it was rather solid, not that heavy, and it fit nicely in our hands. However upon using it for more than a week, we felt that that the phone was actually quite bulky. The matte padding on the back makes the phone feel bulky when you use it on a daily basis, which pretty much ruins the ‘comfortable’ experience of the exterior. Despite its bulkiness though, the weight is fine and not at all heavy. Other than that, the back panel heats up after continuous usage, which is expected from most if not, all quad-core smartphones out here. Yes this phone packs a 1.2Ghz, quad-core processor and also runs on the Android 4.2.1 Jellybean. The heat does disappear rather quickly, at least quicker than the HTC One. We found out that gaming for more than 20 minutes would always make the back panel hot. How hot? Hot enough for your thighs to feel when you slide it into your pocket. Another thing that we didn’t like besides the bulkiness is the camera. The 8MP rear camera protrudes a little too much on the back, making it look awkward or broken. It does not make a difference when the phone is inside your pocket, but it is quite annoying when you are using the phone. The protruding camera could become an obstacle to some people. You won’t feel it poking you or anything like that. It just blocks you from your common comfort zone. The Scribe HD comes with a rather thick stylus, and oddly enough with no space or hole for it to nest in. As redundant as the stylus is, it would actually be nice if they had a space for it to slide in. The phone also comes with a magnetic, front flip cover that blends in with the phone really well, making it look more slick and sexy. Unfortunately, the cover is annoying for two reasons. One, it blocks the charging port, meaning you can’t close it when you’re charging the phone. You can still attach it though, you just can’t close it. And number two, the cover’s quality is pretty bad, and it sticks to the screen, making it annoying to try and flip the cover open. Nonetheless, we thought it was a good attempt from Alcatel to include these 2 features (the Stylus and the front cover). One of the best things that we like about this phone is its dual-sim availability. Overall, we thought that the hardware built could have been better. For a high-end phone, the hardware does not feel like it. It does not feel cheap, but it does not feel exclusive or expensive either.

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Screen/Display – 4/5

We were really surprised with how vivid the screen was. When we first got look at it, we really thought that the display could actually be one of the best out there. Upon using it for more than a week, our initial impression didn’t change much. The display really is one of the best out there, especially if you love vivid, striking displays. It is not as sharp as the HTC One or the Samsung S4, but we would say that the Scribe HD’s display comes really close. The 5-inch, 720×1280 screen is made of the Dragon Trail Glass. Yes, sadly there it is not Gorilla Glass 2 or 3. The touch sensitivity on this phone is above average. There is no problem whatsoever with the screen’s touch sensitivity, however it is very noticeable that it is not as ‘smooth’ and sensitive as some of the high-end phones like the iPhone 5. One thing we found that was a bit weird or rather, a waste, is the gap in the lower part of the front. There is ample, empty space below it which we thought was a waste as the screen’s size could have been stretched more to fill out that space and ultimately have a bigger screen. Whether or not it was done on purpose to make the screen look sharper and clearer, we don’t know. The stylus that comes with the phone works rather perfectly. The sensitivity is good, there is no delay or lag whatsoever. Overall we find that the display is absolutely amazing, as we did not expect for it to be this clear. As for the screen, there isn’t any noticeable problems, however we thought that the sensitivity and the touch detection could be smoother.

Processor/memory – 3/5

The display is probably the Scribe HD’s strongest element, but the processor does not fall that far behind. The 1.2 GHz Quad-Core processor handles modern living’s workload and entertainment quite well. Gaming on this phone is an exquisite experience. Combined with the vivid, eye-striking display and the clear, loud audio, the Scribe HD will not disappoint hardcore gamers. Heavy apps like video/music editing run rather smoothly and web browsing on the phone is really smooth and swift. Running numerous apps and browsing multiple pages at the same time is stable, with the most noticeable setback being the heat you feel seeping into the fingers. However it is not all rainbows and butterfies. There are two more setbacks that might annoy some enthusiasts. Firstly is the dialling. Despite packing a 1.2 quad-core processor, the phone does not dial numbers smoothly, which is pretty ironic considering dialling is one of the basic functions of a phone. It is not that bad, however the delay of the numbers popping out when you dial is pretty clear. Secondly is the default camera app. Without even turning HDR mode on, the default camera app is not as ‘fluent’ as you would expect. The camera detects its surroundings rather slowly. However we realised that using third-party camera apps is actually smoother. It is a bit laggy, but not as bad as the default camera app. The Scribe HD has a 4GB internal memory and a Micro-SD card slot, which we really liked. To sum the processor and memory up, it runs ‘modern’ functions like multi-tasking with apps and web browsing really well, handles high-graphic games like Iron Man without any lag, but disappointingly lags in basic functions like dialling and using the camera. Do note however that we feel that the dialling delay is not that bad and won’t ruin your experience with the phone.

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Example of Picture taken with the Scribe HD

Camera/Pic quality – 3/5

The 8MP rear camera is not something that can be bragged about. The pictures are clear and not very pixelated, however the focus is a little weak. It does not handle the details very well. We felt that the camera could have been improved to take pictures with more detail and focus. As mentioned the default camera app is slightly laggy and might prove to be slightly annoying when you want to take a quick snap of something. Do note however that it does not affect the picture quality or the experience of using the camera. It just might prove annoying to certain people. The camera has the HDR option which works quite well. The difference is quite significant. The default camera app does not have any advance editing tools, only the usual settings like ISO, timer, exposure and white balance. Recording videos on the other hand is actually unexpectedly good. The recording is quite smooth both with and without HDR on, and video playbacks are quite fluent. Overall, the camera is not exactly a disappointment. It takes above average pictures and great videos. We personally feel that if the camera was even slightly improved, this could attract much more attention, considering the affordable price.

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Sound and Video Quality – 4/5

The Scribe HD’s sound quality is very satisfying. The loudness is there with a decent amount of clarity. The setback is that the speaker is located on the rear end of the phone, which is common for most smartphones out there. Using the headphones is another setback, as the sound gets quite distorted when listening to music loudly. Watching movies is a pretty good experience. The phone handles movie playbacks quite stably. Toggling through different scenes and frames might have a tiny, slight lag but we still consider it quite smooth. Combine the before mentioned, brilliant display with the phone’s good audio quality, watching movies on this phone is very delightful.

Battery – 4/5

Another impressive aspect of the Scribe HD, besides smooth gaming and good sound quality, is the battery. For a 5 inches, quad-core smartphone the Scribe HD’s battery lasts for quite a while. It takes about a common 3-4 hours of charging to get it to 100% from below 10%, and lasts about 2-3days depending on the usage, which is slightly better than the HTC One. It can definitely last a full 24-hours even with heavy usage. Unless you treat the phone like a video player and play movies all day long, the phone will last you through the day. Unfortunately like many high-end smartphones, the 2500mAh is not removable, so it is important to take care of the battery. Overall the battery is very satisfying, our only hope is that it is consistent.

Verdict – 3.5/5

Overall, if you are looking for an affordable phone that handles hardcore gaming, sound and video quality well, then this is the phone for you. The Scribe HD’s Quad-Core processor is able to handle multi-tasking, hardcore gaming, movie and song playbacks very fluently. If you are looking for a phone that is very comfortable coupled with very sexy and slick built, then this phone might disappoint you. Personally, we feel that the phone is a good deal considering the price and its capabilities.