Alcatel One Touch Idol S review

Alcatel One Touch Idol S Camera

The Idol S’s eight-megapixel camera is another enticing prospect for those that were disappointed with the Moto G’s rather average five-megapixel sensor. It’s unusual to see a sensor this large on a £130 smartphone, and we were generally pleased with the quality of with our outdoor test shots, taken on an overcast day.

Colours were perhaps a little washed out for our liking, but there was plenty of detail present and there was very little noise, even in wide expanses of sky. Pixels didn’t clump together in blurry patches too often either, but the phone did struggle to expose the sky. This is a problem we’ve seen with many smartphones, though, and it doesn’t detract from what is otherwise a good camera for an inexpensive phone. The Idol S can also shoot video in Full HD at 30fps, which is much better than the Moto G’s maximum quality of 720p.

Alcatel One Touch Idol S Storage

Our only major concern is the Idol S’s small amount of storage. It comes with 4GB of internal space, but only 1.96GB is available to the user. This doesn’t leave much space for photos or video files, but the phone does have a microSD card slot that can take up to 32GB cards. You’ll definitely need to fit a memory card if you intend to install games or carry your music collection around with you. At least Android’s storage settings make it easy to switch between onboard and external storage when downloading and installing apps.

Alcatel One Touch Idol S Conclusion

The Alcatel One Touch Idol S is a seriously impressive phone for the price. It’s a shame there’s not more storage space, but its excellent battery life and smart design make it a joy to use. It’s very hard to choose between this handset and the Moto G. The G is very slightly faster and has 8GB of internal storage, but there’s no microSD card slot, while the Idol S has stingy internal memory but expandable storage, and is available on a £19-per-month 4G contract from EE. The One Touch Idol S’s slimline proportions and 4G connectivity just push the G into second place, though – it’s our new budget champion and a Best Buy.