What are your thoughts!? Is the Alcatel Idol 4S the best Windows Phone of all time? If not, what is?
Hmmm... I've used (not in chronological order)
And now I'm driving the Idol 4S Windows daily...
- Lumia 520
- Lumia 521
- Lumia 635
- Lumia 640
- Lumia 650
- Lumia 830
- Lumia 925
- Lumia 928
- Lumia 1020
- Lumia 1520
- BLU Win HD
- BLU Win HD LTE
- Moly W5
It is an amazingly well built and aesthetically pleasing handset. I like the candy colors of Lumia, but I also like this sleek, contemporary design. Possibly my all time favorite to look at would be the Lumia 830 with the black frame and different colored backs. I liked to switch mine between orange and green quite often.
The build quality seem to be top shelf. For a large screen phone it has plenty of torsional rigidity and that's important. I did have some minor flex issues with my 1520, and even though I solved them by straightening the phone it is a lesson learned.
So all in, the Idol 4S strikes a cord with me there... A large screen with a solid build and very nice to look at. I'll give it the design category as a win.
I'm solidly convinced that built for W10M runs the OS better than Upgraded to W10M hardware. Not sure why that is, but it seems to be the case for me. Sad to say, but I think that even the Moly W5 and Lumia 650 ran the OS better than my 1520 did on upgrade and of course the W5 and 650 cannot hold a candle to the Idol 4S. 1520 on 8.1 was always smooth and pleasurable, you never had to think about the hardware as it lept to the task at hand. But I feel it even more so about the Idol 4S on W10M... It just does what I ask. Moar storage, RAM, SoC, faster charging, Hello, Continuum... I miss Qi, but the thing charges so fast via cable I feel like it is a better trade off. I miss PureView camera, but the shooter on the Idol 4S is very decent and I enjoy doing digital darkroom tweaks anyway. It's very competent for day to day shooting.
Overall, for hardware I have to say, yes. Another win for Alcatel. Particularly for the built for W10M arena. Not having used the Elite X3, I'm sure many of those users might disagree with the Idol 4 being better, but for me I like the VR and the consumer facing aspects. I have to give it the edge on paper over the X3.
Features missing from Lumia that I would have loved to see include: Glance, ClearBlack, Brightness & Color Profiles, EQ and the aforementioned PureView... It could have been perfect. *sigh*
As a whole package... Some devices do better in certain categories. But as an All-Around? Yep. New Champion. It is definitely a "hero" phone.
The Idol 4S also has Windows Hello and Continuum. It has a better processor, more RAM and double the mass storage. And it also has speakers and battery life that the 950XL doesn't hold a candle to. To top it off, It was released at a considerably lower retail price than the 950XL.I wouldn't even say it's the best Windows phone now never mind all time. Lumia 950xl or HP Elite x3 are the best just now and I'd give that to the Lumia as it has Glance, Hello, Continuum and an awesome camera. Best of all time I'd go for Lumia 920 for the same reasons someone stated above. It was a game changer for Windows Phone. Then Lumia 1020 and 1520 a close joint 2nd. The 1020 camera was and still is phenomenal and the 1520 was a beautiful slab of a phone that covered all based ans still holds up today many years later.
It's been the best windows device for me so far.
Lumia 521 (my very first smartphone)
Lumia 925
Lumia 635
HTC One M8
Lumia 830
Lumia 735
Lumia 950
Lumia 950 XL
Alcatel Idol 4s
Why the Alcatel?
First Windows device I've had that has not had any hiccups by now (I've had the phone since T-mobile release --- been using it 90% of the time since) ... no random restarts or freezes ... ever. Most fluid and reliable running this w10m this phone has been.
Best battery life for my usage of any Windows device I've owned.
One of the best displays I've seen. Great color balance/contrast.
Among the best (if not THE best) radios/cell reception I've experienced on any phone I've had ... next to that, the Moto X Pure Edition (I just bought another one) lol
Great call/voice quality.
The best sounding speakers from any phone I've had ... edges out the One m8 and the Moto X Pure
Camera is more than acceptable ... I personally don't base a kickbutt camera as THE top priority when I buy these things.
It's comforting for me knowing that when I'm using the Alcatel ... and at times rather heavy usage ... I can make it all day with no worries my battery is going to go kaput.
First Windows phone I've had that hits the sweet spot for everything I use a phone for.
Good enough that i sold all my other phones, including Android. Well, except for my 920, I kept that one for nostalgic reasons.
Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S
Good enough that i sold all my other phones, including Android. Well, except for my 920, I kept that one for nostalgic reasons.
Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S
I like how we "dedicated Windows Mobile users" keep other phones lying around that are non-windows phones...
As a whole package... Some devices do better in certain categories. But as an All-Around? Yep. New Champion. It is definitely a "hero" phone.
I'm still holding onto my 1520.3... and I've added a 1020. Just to use as cameras. And that's really part of the point I made earlier, this Idol 4S thing is great as an all-around. I don't think about un-retiring the 1520 any more like I did when I was driving a 650 daily.
There was an article around here on the blog (I think they overwrote it) that at one time said the Lumia 925 was the best all-around Windows Phone. Others were better for specific reasons, like 1020 was best camera phone. Then the 1520 moved into the all-around winner's circle.
So, like I said earlier, best of all time may not be true... But I think in the all-around it is the best we have now.
I had a 925 and I agree that it was a great all around performer, then I had a 1520 and ditto. It did everything to some degree between good and great. Now the Idol 4S has surpassed that one for me. The strengths and weaknesses are different between the two, but I feel the Alcatel is an upgrade from the 1520 in enough ways to take the all-around title.
I like how we "dedicated Windows Mobile users" keep other phones lying around that are non-windows phones...