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e’ve been impressed with what Alcatel

OneTouch is trying to do with its

smartphones as of late, so we had high

hopes when we got our hands on the new Idol 2 S.

We’re glad to see that the Idol 2 S continues the

manufacturer’s recent preference for premium

form factor. Its rim is brushed with metal, with the

plastic backplate having a nice rough fi nish to it and

only minimal fl ex. As well as the standard volume

and power buttons, there are ports for both a

microSD card and SIM on the left side of the

phone, as well as a micro-USB port and dual

speakers at the bottom. The speakers are

powerful, but the location of them on the bottom of

the handset means you’ll cover them up with the

palm of your hand more often than not.

Although Alcatel OneTouch uses its own custom

skin for the OS, there are a lot of similarities

between it and Android Lollipop. There are some

clever gestures to move around the interface, as

well as a colourful array of icons and menus. Let’s

not forget that it’s one of the few devices in this

price range to also offer 4G connectivity. The 5-inch

display is another positive, with everything looking

crystal clear, although some of the colours can look

a little oversaturated at times. We’ve certainly seen

better quality displays, but they usually have a

much higher price tag than a £130.

You’ve got a fairly standard quad-core processor

confi guration here, but being clocked at 1.2GHz

means everything runs nicely. Setup seemed to

take a while and the processor struggled initially,

but from there on the device ran without any faults.

Alcatel OneTouch has included a plethora of built-in

games with the 2 S, but all can be uninstalled to

free up some of the 8GB of internal storage.

One area that we’ve often been disappointed by

with Alcatel OneTouch is the camera it uses, but it

seems the company has listened to feedback as

the Idol 2 S takes great images. The dedicated

camera app has an array of different shooting

modes and we highly recommend checking each

one of them out to see what works for you. Video

recording seemed to lag a little at fi rst, but the

issue seemed to fi x itself during our testing.

We’re pleased to say that Alcatel OneTouch is

fast becoming a manufacturer to really consider

when making your next Android purchase. The

mid-range Idol 2 S isn’t perfect by any means, and

there’s still work to be done by Alcatel OneTouch,

but a slick design, good camera and 4G make the

Idol 2 S a handset certainly worth considering.

ial lag

we fi rst started up the

e, or any of the core apps,

d fi nd some initial lag. This

be down to a simple

ssor app, but there was no

ter this initial phase

Brushed me

Although predominantly p

the metal-brushed rim

Idol 2 S offers a nice pre

feel to the handset. Bo

volume rocker and powe

also have had the meta

applied to

ng gestures

her it’s generally moving

d the interface or using the

ra app, a large part of what

s the Idol 2 S so great to

that there are a variety of

ent gesture controls you

se to do so

Links to Lollip

There are a lot of simil

between Alcatel OneTo

custom skin and Android 5.

bright colours and block w

aren’t quite up to Material D

standards, but it’s s

noneth

Alca h

Idol 2 S

The Alcatel OneTouch range is growing at an alarming

rate, but is the Idol 2 S a worthwhile addition?

This is a seriously good phone

from Alcatel, with just a few

issues that need to be fixed

»Verdict

Value for money

You’re getting a lot of quality for a low to

mid-range price tag

Features

The Idol 2 S offers nothing spectacular, but a

solid camera will please most people

Design

Poor speaker placement is the only

downside to the stylish design used here

Performance

Slight bit of lag in some areas, but not

noticeable with everyday use

Price£129

»More informationwww.alcatelonetouch.com

»Supplied bywww.alcatelonetou

information

Alcatel OneTouch

Idol 2 S

Battery life

The 2150mAh

battery isn’t that big,

but Alcatel

OneTouch’s custom

skin uses it wisely

»Operating system...............Android

»Processor...................................1.2GHz quad-core

»Memory.......................................1GB RAM, 8GB storage

»Dimensions..............................136.5x69.7x7.5mm

»Weight..........................................126g

»Display size...............................5-inch

»Display resolution...............720 x 1280 pixels

»Connectivity.............................4G,Wi-Fi,Bluetooth

»Expansion slot.......................microSD

technical specs

better than worse than

Alcatel OneTouch Idol 2 S

Samsung MotoG4G

GalaxyAce3

issue 034 issue 042

Reviews