Thinking about this phone (idol 4S)

BattleHammer

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Aug 15, 2013
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Hello,

I would like to know more about this phone:

-Have you guys had any bad issues? (construction, failures, etc)
-Is battery life good enough? (read some bad reviews)
-Update "Schedule"
-Have the updates improved the phone
-Any useful comment

I had the 950xl and felt kind of bad, coming from previous great phones (HTC One M8, 920, 1520, 930).

Thanks :smile:
 

libra89

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Feb 6, 2015
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Hello,

I would like to know more about this phone:

-Have you guys had any bad issues? (construction, failures, etc)
-Is battery life good enough? (read some bad reviews)
-Update "Schedule"
-Have the updates improved the phone
-Any useful comment

I had the 950xl and felt kind of bad, coming from previous great phones (HTC One M8, 920, 1520, 930).

Thanks :smile:
I can't answer most of your questions but I can say that updates do come monthly. I haven't heard bad things when it comes to battery life.

Hopefully someone can come by and address your other concerns.
 

RumoredNow

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Nov 12, 2012
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Hello,

I would like to know more about this phone:

-Have you guys had any bad issues? (construction, failures, etc)
-Is battery life good enough? (read some bad reviews)
-Update "Schedule"
-Have the updates improved the phone
-Any useful comment

I had the 950xl and felt kind of bad, coming from previous great phones (HTC One M8, 920, 1520, 930).

Thanks :smile:

A common issue seems to be SD card disconnect. Annoying. The tray may be a bit sloppy. Haven't bothered to try putting a paper shim on top of my card as I'm really not using it ATM. Reboot always reconnects the SD. Another issue is that WDRT will not work on the unlocked model. Alcatel needs to solve that and have not yet.

Battery is good. Moderate users see 2 days more or less.

Firmware, nope. WaaS, yep.

Camera saw a bump in quality all due to Microsoft Camera updates.

Want VR and are loyal to Windows 10 Mobile? The headset is way ahead of buying a generic to use with a Lumia. Powerful SoC, most RAM you can get on 32 bit OS. Looks and feels great in the hand.
 

nate0

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There is only one other phone in this class along with the Idol 4s and that is the Elite X3. For the money spent on the Idol 4s it's worth what you get. Mechanically I've had no issues with mine except for a speaker issue that occurred and had to use Alcatel support RMA service. Alcatel support was not a good experience for me. Speakers are outstanding. Screen is bright. The fingerprint reader is so so but it does the trick.

The other comparable device SoC-wise I owned too, and recently bought another for nostalgia reasons I guess...:) the Elite X3 is definitely a quality phone and support is top notch but you pay the difference.

If your not looking to spend high dollars it's worth it. It's a decent phone and build. If you like larger phones and have the cash the elite x3 would provide a better overall experience IMO. Unless your on T-Mobile as the Idol4s comes in two variants. The elite x3 is an international phone too but only Verizon is planning to sell it at some point.
 

mark233

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Dec 26, 2013
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Hello,

I would like to know more about this phone:

-Have you guys had any bad issues? (construction, failures, etc)
-Is battery life good enough? (read some bad reviews)
-Update "Schedule"
-Have the updates improved the phone
-Any useful comment

I had the 950xl and felt kind of bad, coming from previous great phones (HTC One M8, 920, 1520, 930).

Thanks :smile:

I have the T-Mobile version of the 4S. I've been very pleased with my device.

-Haven't experienced any bad issues. It is well built and feels solid. It is glass front/back so a good case is suggested if you have a tendency to drop things.
-Battery life is very good -- but I don't know your kind of usage. I can start a 100% charge at 7am ... with fairly heavy usage (based on my usage) it will have approx. 70% charge at 4pm. This is reading a lot of news via the Monument browser, a few texts, surfing Reddit via a very well designed app called ReddPlanet. Maybe watching a YouTube video or 3 (3-4 min. in length) via myTube!.
-you mentioned having had an HTC One M8 (as did I) so you will certainly appreciate the front (and rear) speakers.
-the display (even tho it's a 1080) is outstanding. Very rich with contrast and color. Visually more pleasing (to me) over my 950/950XL
-the idol also has very good cell radio. At my work inside, the idol will hang on to a 4G LTE signal (showing 2-3 bar LTE connection) in an area whereas the 950/XL will drop to 2G.

-I have (and use) both the 950/XL. While they are good, the idol 4S has been my go to Windows mobile device. Mainly for the battery life, cell reception, and those speakers.
-I don't use the fingerprint sensor on the back so I can't say anything.
-it does have double tap to wake -- but is not quite as responsive as on the 950's. No glance.
 

aj173

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On one hand, it has great specs, and the build quality has a premium feel to it. As was previously mentioned, the phone has stronger reception than any phone I've ever owned by a great margin. My house is in a black hole for cellular reception, and this phone is usable there, which says a lot.

On the other hand, Alcatel's poor support is actually worse than having no support in some instances. You have no recovery options if you have the unlocked open-market variant. And the phone just doesn't feel like it's as fast as it should be for packing an SD820 with 4GB of RAM. This could probably be fixed with some firmware and OS tweaking, but at this point, I'm not too sure we're going to see much of either. I also just tested my speakers after reading about Nate's experience and realized mine are blown also, so that's obviously a common issue to be aware of. This phone is a fitting symbol for Windows Phone itself in that it's a great idea that was poorly executed.

In short, the phone is cheap enough that you don't have to feel bad about buying it, but I can't recommend it with any conviction or enthusiasm. It's basically a stopgap to replace your aging Lumia while you cling to desperate hope for the mythical Surface Phone or plan your exit strategy for a new platform.
 

fatclue_98

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Apr 1, 2012
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All the previous posts are spot on. I've owned the Idol and currently have the x3. For the money, there is no better Windows handset right now. Some will point to the Lumia 950 series and having owned those as well, I can say that the camera is the only feature that's truly better than the Idol. The x3 performs a bit better but as @Nate W mentioned above, you will pay for that improvement.
 

BattleHammer

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Thanks to everyone, really useful info. The only downside i see rightnow on the phone may be firmware support, still nearly half the Price of the Elite x3.
 

aj173

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If you have the patience to deal with Alcatel's (lack of) support, then go for it. Just be advised that if (when) you have to deal with them, it's about as painful as taking a blowtorch to your balls. So make sure you keep a backup phone just in case things go south, and accept the fact that they might have to try two or three times before they get you the correct phone in a usable state. They'll get you squared away eventually, but the process might take a month.
 

fatclue_98

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If you have the patience to deal with Alcatel's (lack of) support, then go for it. Just be advised that if (when) you have to deal with them, it's about as painful as taking a blowtorch to your balls. So make sure you keep a backup phone just in case things go south, and accept the fact that they might have to try two or three times before they get you the correct phone in a usable state. They'll get you squared away eventually, but the process might take a month.
Ouch, I felt that all the way over here.

Sent from my Elite x3 on mTalk
 

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