Gadgetory

right now we're looking at what can quite possibly be one of the best budget phones we've ever seen hey it's Josh regard from Android Authority what's going on everybody and this is my full review of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 though the idol 3 comes in a couple of different sizes we're dealing with the larger 5.5 inch Edition which brings a lot to the table without looking too showy from first glance it's kind of hard not to think of a larger Nexus 4 because of the pebble design complete with a subtle silver lining and no buttons but look at the edge as a top and below the screen and you'll see small speaker grilles yes there are front-facing dual speakers powered by JBL audio enhancements the screen itself has a pretty respectable bezel around it so even with this larger form factor you won't have too much trouble handling what is actually a pretty light device and then it becomes obvious this is actually a very symmetrical device as well and if you accidentally picked it up upside down you actually wouldn't really notice this is actually one of the features of the phone that you can use in either orientation because the screen will flip over for easy usage so you don't have to worry in that situation even calls can be taken upside down as a microphone and speaker combo are found on either end the button layout on the sides is a little bit high for the typical user at least in my opinion and is constantly something that will require hand gymnastics the power button is up top on the left opposite the volume rocker and below that power button is a dual tray that can house both microSD and SIM cards the silver lining sandwiches more sleek black colors and the typical ports on the top and bottom are found head over to the back and you'd be surprised as we were to find a brushed hard plastic finish that feels more premium than the price LEDs on it's pretty simplistic in branding - with the idol and Alcatel logos hitting the top and bottom third squarely and of course the Sony sensor is nestled right up top on the corner as I mentioned before this larger device actually feels quite light handling is where you'd expect it to be for a 5.5 inch device without it being any easier or harder than needs to be though the smaller version might be more accessible to the masses the price of this one makes it one of the easiest entry points for a larger display out there ultimately the simplicity of the idol 3 fits its price point but look closer and all of the subtle touches add much more value to what is already a pretty accessible and attractive body a 5.5 inch screen dictates the overall size of this device but as mentioned earlier it isn't any worse or better and handling than any other larger form factor phone but the power underneath keeps - smartphone standards of quality with 1080p resolution and 401 pixels per inch as an IPS display you'd get what you'd expect pretty good brightness even in daylight though it isn't an overachiever by any means the same can be said for its color production which is about as standard as you can get this is not a quantum display or a Super AMOLED display after all contrast can use a little bit of a boost and colors can turn out to be a little bit bland but there are certainly worse performers out there and plenty of them don't even come in full HD resolution text looks just fine though it is helped by the size of the display so anyone whose eyes need a little extra help will get it here media was also still enjoyable only further enhanced with the front-facing speakers oh and double tapping the screen wakes the phone but I did notice that it isn't particularly reliable and requires just the right kind of tabbing cadence especially considering the larger size of the display the idol 3 is still an enjoyable experience perhaps particularly average but perfect for the common user there's no mistaking this phone for a mid-range performer when the processing package falls under our usual main buzz number but the Snapdragon 615 is far from the worst performer in the market it's just a few steps back including the adrenal 405 and 2 gigabytes of RAM now we've seen a LOF snappy and smooth Android experiences in the high-end market this year and perhaps the best way to put it here is that the idol 3 doesn't fall incredibly far behind as a daily driver this mostly stock version of Android doesn't get bogged down by a lot of Alcatel additions and even then the ones that they put in remain pretty smooth loading applications takes a noticeably longer amount of time compared to hiring competitors but the auto 3 isn't a very severe offender in this department and moving along applications in the recent apps screen is still reliable if not the fastest experience as a result and the same can be said for gaming as Studdard was observed in plenty crowded moments what is most important to remember however is that in the number of days that I've used this phone quite a few to be exact all of these nuances were easy to look past if you really need the fastest possible phone you won't get it here especially if you're very spec hungry but you'll still be able to appreciate how much lighter this phone is come to the wait you get to keep in your wallet now you wouldn't expect hardware to be especially robust in a mid-range or budget device like this one but idle 3 is actually quite an overachiever here connectivity options are complete but a version that uses dual sims is also available if you so need it speaking of phone calls and those speakers that can be taken in either the normal orientation or upside-down so pick up the phone any which way and you can take that call almost one important disclaimer that appears in the Idol 3 is that the orientation of the screen dictates which speaker and microphone combo is used just make sure you're not reading the screen upside down and then you'll be able to take the call in that orientation and media is pretty incredible here despite the standard quality display it's still fun to watch videos and play games especially with the dual front-facing speakers bringing full body JBL enhanced audio loud and clear it is actually close to rivaling HTC boomsound speakers which is really quite a feat oh you are so on that things have now become very much like donkey kong we're gonna kick dust but thank you storage options depends on your version of the phone as 32 gigabytes come in the dual sim edition but even with the 16 gigabytes the memory is still expandable and finally in battery the combination of lower end processing package and a standard full HD display keep the idol 3 in pretty normal daily longevity my experience easily got through a full day of work and play with three hours of screen on time before activating the power saving mode at 15% for normal usage this phone gives enough to power through and I never needed to use an external battery for an extra boost even near the end of the day which is important for an affordable but reliable daily driver and in camera a Sony made sensor powers a 13 megapixel camera in the Idol 3 and it's actually a pretty solid performer with a nice eight megapixel front facing camera to back it up the front facing camera brings some larger pictures to the selfie game though it isn't an overachiever in the quality departments pictures have a noticeable grain to them in the ankle isn't quite as wide as other iterations in the same market segment to the app first though it keeps things pretty simple with button elements simply on the sides of the viewfinder hitting the Menu button brings up a number of modes including even time-lapse which takes a bunch of photos for every second of what ends up becoming a video file HDR does a pretty decent job lightening up the subject if it's blown out but otherwise its effect isn't really all that strong pictures from the idol 3 are actually quite good wood details capture quite well and a slight amount of post-processing working to smooth out the grain while pictures managed to keep from being too bland the colors can use a bit of punch most of the time and very latina the mark in terms of contrast lorelei shots get the typical amount of grain and loss of detail but not to an extreme degree usable photos are definitely possible in these darker situations this isn't a camera that under performs especially if you consider the devices of the same price or even some that are more expensive and that's a great thing and another feather in the cap of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 and finally in software we have a mostly stock Android version with Alcatel additions which manage not to be too overbearing for example icons are a bit more bubbly almost to the extent that you would think there's no app drawer but there is folders in the homescreen fold open which is a nice animation that actually is quite smooth as is the twisting animation the phone mix when flipped over and this animation can be changed as well otherwise this is a pretty lollipop esque Android iteration with all the bells and whistles baked in like the new notification drop-down with quick settings and even the animations getting to and from applications as mentioned before this isn't a slow version of Android by any means which makes this a good ride on the daily and without too much Alcatel getting all up in your face any android veteran will feel right at home with the idol 3 and be able to use it reliably on the daily which brings us to price there really isn't much keeping this phone from being a reliable performer which is why the price of $250 is nothing short of incredible even comparing so-called budget releases from plenty of top-tier manufacturers this can be considered one hell of a steal and with that we might be looking at one of the best affordable devices this year possibly ever with plenty of mid range to lower end offerings coming out all the time it's great to see Alcatel remaining unique from the rest and not through any crazy features or gimmicks a larger screen with dual front-facing speakers JBL enhancements a solid camera and a spartan operating system in an attractive body make this one of the easiest entry points to android available yet and one of the easiest on the wallet as well it's hard not to look at value for the cost and thus we are able to wait this as an obvious editor's choice as always thank you guys very much for watching and hope you enjoyed this review of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 this is a really great device especially at $250 and you'll actually get some very reliable performance without having to break the bank even gaming with a game like Dragon Quest 8 which is usually pretty pretty taxing on the processor worked pretty well along here even though it might be a little bit slower than the high-end competitors it actually was still an enjoyable experience so keep it tuned to andrew authority for even more we have plenty of videos coming up and plenty of events are happening pretty soon as well including Google i/o so make sure you stay tuned for all of that and drop us some likes on our video subscribe to our channel if you haven't already listen to the FDP every single week and enjoy the podcast by Android Authority and remember once you're done with all of that you can head on over to Android authority comm for even more in-depth coverage because we are your source for all things Android