[rwp-review id=”0″]
When it comes to choosing phones, there is always compromise between what you pay for and what you get. Rarely does a phone come by that is both reasonably powerful yet very affordable – and Alcatel’s Idol 3 is just that. The Idol 3 boasts impressive specs: it an octa-core processor, a 13MP camera, near-stock Android 5, a Technicolor IPS screen (yes, Technicolor), and two front-facing JBL speakers. It’s also reversible. And it only costs AED 1099 ($300).
Design & Screen
For its price point, one is to expect a sacrifice in quality, but Alcatel showed little compromise when building the phone; it genuinely feels premium. In fact, it feels better in the hand and is better looking than many premium phones available now on the market. The shell is made of very high quality plastic with grey metallic brushing and a chrome rim, which I personally liked. The Idol 3 is incredibly thin at 7.4mm and weighing 141g – for a 5.5″ phone, it’s quite a feat.
The screen is the star of the phone, though. The 5.5″ IPS panel is just stunning with great viewing angles. In fact, it’s one of the best screens I have seen. Sure, there are screens more than 1080p, but the colours and brightness feel so natural that I did not miss the extra sharpness that comes with more premium phones. Blacks are deep without compromising contrast, and the white balance is just right (cooler than the Nexus 5 and much closer to the iPhone 6), and colours are vivid without being over-saturated. The IPS panel certainly helps and I prefer it over AMOLED screens, but the Technicolor technology that is rendering the display is definitely impressive.
Equally impressive are the front-facing speakers that rest above and below the screen. Tiny that they are, they don’t give the good first impression as HTC’s BoomSound, but once I’ve fired up Spotify and YouTube, I was blown away. The sound quality is terrific, and those tiny speakers pack a punch in blasting high volume without compromise in quality.
The phone is also “reversible”; with speakers and microphones on both ends, you can pick up the phone in any direction and answer calls or use the phone. The OS will automatically flip to whatever orientation you are on, and it’s fun to show it off to people. It’s very unlikely that one is so clumsy that the phone will never be in the correct orientation, but a useful function is whether you want to have the audio jack at the top or bottom while you’re in the car, so you’re no limited to a specific orientation by the phone.
Performance
All that is great, but how about performance? If there is anything about the device that would remind you it isn’t a top-of-the-line, it’s the performance. But is it truly bad? Not at all. In fact, for the bulk of my use, I didn’t experience much trouble. Sometimes, the keyboard wouldn’t respond as quick to my taps when I was typing long posts and replies on Facebook. At other times, there is a noticeable stutter when navigating the apps, and when switching between apps. The OS animations are not smooth all the time (unless you close all applications to free up memory), which is a shame because Android 5 animations are my zen.
I used the Idol 3 concurrently with the Nexus 5 and found that the latter has a more consistent performance, although the Idol 3 is bigger with a more attractive screen. Games run ok, but don’t expect to play graphics-intensive games smoothly on the device.
What helps with the performance is that the OS is an almost uncostomoised version of Android 5. Some icons and animations are different, and there is a calendar app (with atrocious colours) as well as an independent app store. The phone came installed with a large number of games and apps, all of which can be thankfully removed although having them is unnecessary in the first place.
Camera
The 13MP camera is very good (although far from perfect) and so is the wide-angle 8MP front camera. It doesn’t focus as quick as I would like it to, and the low-light performance is not very good – but then again, this isn’t a high-end phone. Photos have very good detail and the macro mode puts most phones I have used to shame. As an all-around shooter, it’s quite impressive, despite it not being the sharpest.
Conclusion
The Idol 3 is a great phone that is a victim of its own greatness. It has a premium design, screen, speakers, and overall quality but reminds you every now and then that this is a very affordable mid-ranged phone that is disguised as a high-end one. The Idol 3 has made premium available for the masses, and that’s quite a feat.
