Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+ is another octa core powered handset that is clocked at 2GHz and sports a 5 inch screen with FHD resolution. Though the handset runs on Android 4.2 it will get the KitKat update within few months. The JBL earphone and a BoomBand is also included in the box pack.
Inside the Box: X+ handset, travel charger, data cable, User guide, warranty certificate, BoomBand manual, JBL earphone and BoomBand. SAR : 1.117 W/kg (head) and 1.43 W/kg (body).
Design, Display and OS
The handset has got a premium look. It is available in Bluish Black and White colour options. The IML (In Module Labelling) technology that the X+ incorporates provides greater resistance to wear and tear and also gives a nice spin finishing touch on the rear. The rear side is with a glossy finish and if you look closely you can see the circular trend starting from the camera module and expanding downwards.
The battery of 2500 mAh capacity comes built in (non-removable). Handset weight with battery is 135 grams. Dimensions are 69.15 x 140.35 x 8.19mm. There are dual speaker vents at the bottom, however there seems to be a single speaker inside.
Since the back cover cannot be removed the SIM slots are placed on either sides. The SIM 1 (Micro SIM) is on the left and SIM 2 (Micro SIM) is on the right. You don’t need a ejector pin, instead press one end of the slot cover to push up the other end and pull it back to unveil the slot.
Power button is placed on the top along with the 3.5mm audio jack, volume rocker are on the right and micro USB port at the bottom. There are dual microphones for noise cancellation.
The Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+ comes with a 5 inch screen with corning gorilla glass 2 protection and finger print resistant oleophobic coating. The screen looks completely black. Build quality and finishing is very good though I found minor gaps on the left screen. The gaps are not easily visible unless you look closely. Probably on the white handset it may be easily visible, but then it is not a very big issue and can be ignored.
The screen supports 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. Viewing angles are very good and touch is smooth and responsive. It feels great to hold the phone, it’s stylish, light weight and gives you are workable area (slim bezel).
There are a good number of sensors – accelerometer, proximity, light, orientation, gyro and magnetic. There is single color LED notification (white color) that blinks when you get a notification. The white light turns on when you put the handset for charging and it will turn off when the handset is fully charged.
This handset runs on Android 4.2 out of the box with customized UI. It does come loaded with a lot of pre-installed apps. Alcatel will roll out Kitkat update (Android 4.4) sometime in August / September 2014.
Memory and Storage
This dual SIM Octa core handset comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. There is no external card support (no Micro SD card slot). On the first boot – free RAM is 1.6GB and 12GB is space for apps. OTG is supported.
Performance and Benchmark
OneTouch Idol X+ houses the MediaTek Octa Core (8 cores) processor clocked at 2GHz. MT6592 cortex A7 coupled with Mali 450 GPU. Performance is lag free and pretty fast.
Benchmark
| App | Result |
| Quadrant | 16017 |
| Antutu | 30063 |
| Vellamo | HTML5 (2132) Metal (761) |
| Nenamark 2 | 54.4fps |
| Multi Touch | 10 point |
Entertainment and Gaming
The handset can easily play FHD videos. I even tried playing 4K video but it was not smooth. I tried playing it using MX player. In H/W mode the screen went blank and in S/W mode there were frame drops and sound went off occasionally.
There is limited space of 12GB that should be good enough for many users. Asphalt 7 game comes preinstalled however you will need to download the data files of about 500 MB. I installed the MC4 and the Asphalt 8 and both the games did very well. The Asphalt 8 was playable, very smooth even in the highest visual mode.
13.1MP camera
There is 13.1 MP auto focus camera with LED flash on the rear and a 2MP on the front. The camera interface is simple and easy to use. In full screen mode images are saved in 4096 x 2304 pixels resolution and in 4:3 mode it saves images in 4224 x 3168 pixels resolution.
The still image quality is very good, close-ups are pretty sharp. Manual focus (Tap to focus) at times are not that sharp, but in most cases it works, probably a small software glitch. Video quality is also very good.
Check the sample images and videos at the end of Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+ review.
BoomBand
The BoomBand is your personnel fitness tracker and it’s splash proof. It is a simple device that comes with a core box, wrist band and charger. The wrist band is hollow and made of good quality rubber. You need to fix the core box into the wrist band (check video review).
BoomBand is in ‘always on’ state, when you open the box pack make sure to charge the band. You will see the 5 LED lights when the band is fully charged. The band needs to be paired with the handset, process is pretty simple. You can tap 6 times on the band to switch between modes.
There is no screen on the BoomBand. Notifications are via LED light and vibrations, you can also check the BoomBand battery status from the BoomBand Life application on the X+ phone. You can use this device as a alarm, anti loss alert (the band will vibrate when the handset goes out of the Bluetooth range), call reminder (when you get a call the band will vibrate and LED will blink) and sleep mode (this will monitor your sleeping patterns).
The band can monitor your steps and keep track of the calories lost. It will also show you how many calories you need to burn per day to maintain / reach your optimal weight.
BoomBand comes with built in battery, can be fully charged in 1.5 hours and standby time is 3 to 5 days.
Others
3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth worked well. I got the first GPS lock in 10 seconds and subsequent locks were almost instant. There is audio share option to share audio on Wi-Fi enabled devices, gesture control, H-Fi (fidelity) option, colour configuration (set the colour temperature and saturation) and battery management. BoomBand Life apps comes pre-installed – you need to use that with the BoomBand.
Sound is clear and loud. The JBL earphone perform exceptionally well.
Battery
There is 2500 mAh non-removable battery. I ran the benchmark apps for about 16 minutes battery dropped by 6%, then I played the high end games for about 21 minutes the battery dropped by 10% and when I played a 1080p video in a loop for about 1 hours 4 minutes the battery dropped by 22%.
In general with moderate to high usage the battery will last for 4 hours to 5 hours. If you are playing heavy games battery backup will be for about 3 to 4 hours. You can watch FHD videos with Wi-Fi on, sound via loudspeaker and with full brightness for over 5 hours.
The maximum temperature was 48 degrees that too when I was outdoor under the sun shooting sample images and videos. Indoor the max temperature was 44 degrees (when playing games).
Verdict
For the price of Rs. 16,999 the Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+ is definitely a very good buy. It is 2GHz octa core, the same that is used on the Micromax Canvas Knight. It is much cheaper than the Knight. The good part is 2GB RAM, Corning Gorilla glass 2 plus finger print resistive coating and excellent 13MP camera. Battery performance is also very good. JBL earphone and the Boomband is icing on the cake. As for Android 4.2 with will get upgraded to 4.4, soon.
Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+ is available for Rs. 16,999 with JBL earphone and BoomBand.
Alcatel Idol X+ Image Gallery
Sample Images shot using the X+ handset
Front Camera