[Quick Impressions] Who Has Gotten An Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL?

TechFreak1

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May 15, 2013
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Have you just unboxed a Fierce XL? Is it so recent that you haven't stopped fiddling with it yet? Which variant did you get?

Give us some quick thoughts on how you like your new device. What stands out right away as a major draw? What seems to be lacking?

Are you happy you got it? Why? Why not?

Remember, this thread is for quick impressions of the device. Please post your full reviews over here: [Real Users] My Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL Detailed Review We definitely want to see both: the quick blurbs here and in-depth user reviews in the other thread.

Thank you for helping all the curious members and guests to get a glimpse of this device.
 
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Guytronic

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In short...
If this were a hotrod you wouldn't be able to burn rubber.
There is a slight amount of stutter when swiping.
Loading screen is still present off and on :(
(Most likely caused by poor or older apps)

Size is good for the bigger screen phone users like me.
WM10 .63 works for the most part I have had a few crashes.

LTE signal reception is very good!
We've had a lot of trouble with a solid connection here on other phones.

The LED flash is pretty powerful.
I'm having problems with camera apps other than the default cam.
This phones camera is just there as a feature not much to scream about.

This phone also has a compass that locks on very quickly inside structures.
I mention that because Nokia phones had compasses that caused a lot of frowning for me in the past.

Bottom line:
Happy overall...
 
Nov 20, 2012
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In short...
If this were a hotrod you wouldn't be able to burn rubber.
There is a slight amount of stutter when swiping.
Loading screen is still present off and on :(
(Most likely caused by poor or older apps)

Size is good for the bigger screen phone users like me.
WM10 .63 works for the most part I have had a few crashes.

LTE signal reception is very good!
We've had a lot of trouble with a solid connection here on other phones.

The LED flash is pretty powerful.
I'm having problems with camera apps other than the default cam.
This phones camera is just there as a feature not much to scream about.

This phone also has a compass that locks on very quickly inside structures.
I mention that because Nokia phones had compasses that caused a lot of frowning for me in the past.

Bottom line:
Happy overall...

So a recommendation indeed? :)
 

qhendricks

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Re: Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL (T-Mobile)

I got one when it came out. The store near me had it in stock that day, which was very surprising to me. Paid for it outright. So far, I'm very pleased with this. It's a welcome upgrade from my older Samsung ATIV S Neo that I had on Sprint.

Pros:
  • Screen size feels "just right." Any larger and it'd be uncomfortable.
  • Dedicated capacitive buttons
  • Snappy performance. The extra gig of RAM makes up for the lower processor I think
  • Wi-Fi Calling enabled
  • Battery has lasted me all day just fine after the first day. I never count day 1 because I'm eating up a ton of power downloading apps, customizing, etc. Day 2 and 3 seem to be lasting a lot longer now that I'm at "normal" usage
  • Call and audio quality (both speakers and microphone) seem to be good. No complaints here
  • While it's no Lumia camera, sure, the shooter here is just fine. Low light may be a bit lacking, but the pictures I've been able to take have been decent and still better than my older phone, so I'd consider this a plus. The front-facing selfie-cam is 2MP, while the rear cam is 8MP.


Cons:
  • Takes longer to charge than I'm used to, but this isn't a dealbreaker
  • Screen viewing angles when tilted are not the best, but it's rarely ever going to be an issue
  • I miss having physical buttons on my ATIV S Neo for things like Camera and the Windows/home button
  • Some pre-installed T-mobile apps that, unlike my last device, I cannot uninstall. I don't want T-mobile TV out of the box!
  • While it is Win10, there's no support for Continuum or Windows Hello. Also no glance or double-tab to wake, so you have to press the lock button to use it again.

If you're on T-mobile and want a newer device, I'd recommend picking this up. The price is right for what you're getting.
 

Sedp23

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Re: Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL (T-Mobile)

What happens if u go to storage sense and try to remove the tmobile software? That's the first I've heard of uninstallable bloatware on windows

Sent from mTalk
 

qhendricks

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Re: Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL (T-Mobile)

What happens if u go to storage sense and try to remove the tmobile software? That's the first I've heard of uninstallable bloatware on windows

Sent from mTalk

The T-Mobile TV app shows up in the list of installed apps in my Storage, but the Uninstall option is grayed out
 
Nov 20, 2012
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I got mine earlier today. The rep seemed to be really enthusiastic. So far, I mostly like it. The color is brilliant. Everyone has been asking about it and it doesn't seem as loud as my Lumia 640 xl. In orange

My first impressions are good except for the poor front camera. It makes me look like a oil painting.
 

hdtvchris

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I bought the Fierce XL yesterday. Im coming from a Lumia 635 (been a lumia owner for about 4 years). I must also point out that Im not the typical smart phone owner. I only have about 8 "extra" apps, I don't play games, I don't watch movies for tv shows on my phones (occasionally you tube) and Im not a huge photo/ video shooter.
I was hesitant to buy the Fierce XL at first for 2 main reasons- 1) Im not familiar with the Acatel brand & 2) Win10 mobile seems to be a bit of a mess (unstable).
First impressions- the feel of the phone is decent, it doesn't feel cheap like the 950's, but feels similar to all my previous lumias. For me, the larger screen is the best improvement and the 2GB of RAM is so significant I noticed that right away (vs. my 635 Win8.1). So far Win10 mobile (.63) is solid- no lag, no waiting, no long spinning circles (every now and then I get a short one). I liked a few of the lumia apps, so not being able to install those is a little hassle, but I will find something equal. I paired up my BT headset and Band 2 without issues. The speaker is loud and clear, similar to my lumias.
Overall, Im happy with the experience so far.
 

RockStarNinja

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I bought the Fierce XL a few days ago, and so far so good. I've had the 925 since it came out, so I was definitely due for a upgrade. I don't really do a ton of stuff on my phone, aside from a bit of internet surfing and light emails, so I really not what you'd call a heavy user, but here are my 1st impressions so far:

- The much larger screen took a bit of getting used to (my whole 925 is smaller than the screen portion of the phone), but its a great picture and it handles bright light well.
- I feel like it is a little laggy, and I can't tell if its a software issue or just the phone itself. The lag happens both with typing, with internet use, and app use.
- I use swipe a lot for texting and I find that it's not always reading where I'm touching, like it isn't sure what word I mean so it just doesn't want to make a choice, or it just picks the wrong one. Ex. swiping for the word NEW it keeps selecting ME, even though the line is clearly over the letter N then up and across to the other letters.
- When backing out of apps they don't close, you have to hold the back arrow then physically close everything (this could just be my issue using such an old phone for so long, my mom has the newer 650 and hers does the same thing)
- I find my battery drains much more quickly, but it could be because I didn't realize for a few days that the apps weren't closing when backed out of, so it may pick back up now that I know.
- The lack of a physical Camera button is disappointing, but it's not a major issue.
- The camera itself is nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done.
- You can't pin specific files to the start, only the File explorer. (I usually keep an Excel file and a blank Onenote) It's a hassle having to open up the file explorer and hunting for the files, instead of having them right on the screen.
- When going between tabs with the Edge app the tabs can time themselves out in the back, or try to reload themselves completely when accessed again. (I was on a site that needed to email me a verification code, so i opened a new tab, got the code, but had to redo it 8 times before I could input it because the original page kept refreshing itself when the tab was selected, so it kept telling me the code was invalid.)

Overall though, I'm really happy with the phone, nothing I listed is a deal breaker for me, and with it only being $140 I feel like I'm getting my money's worth.
 

OSean

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Upgraded my Lumia 925 to the Fierce XL today and can honestly say it is an upgrade.

Conversely, it is a noticeable downgrade should you be coming from any current flagship Android or iPhone device.

That's not to say it is a bad phone. It has a decent screen (viewing angles are fine), decent volume from the rear facing speaker (Bluetooth headset performance was also better than expected). Call quality is acceptable. Touch responsiveness is accurate to my eye. The problem is that the phone seems unnecessarily slow at times. Sometimes, I feel like it is the apps fault (Hulu is pretty sluggish, but it wouldn't play on my 925 at all) but other times it just seemed as if simple tasks like displaying thumbnails took forever.

Speaking of forever, wifi performance was acceptable given the lack of dual band ac, but it hurts when you're used to downloads speeds north of 100Mbps and I'm only getting about 20Mbps on this phone. Things even out on LTE, but T-Mobile LTE speeds rarely go over 8Mbps near my house.

While I definitely notice the lack of 'snap' when using this phone, it never added up to a dealbreaking experience. One of the the things buying this phone made me realize is how much I missed using Windows as my daily driver.
 

etad putta

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Just picked up one of these new for $50 off eBay. Seems pretty nice. Most of the early reviews were pretty bad, but it seems the later build of win 10 may have helped it. Running nicely on T-Mobile!!
 

etad putta

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Upgraded my Lumia 925 to the Fierce XL today and can honestly say it is an upgrade.

Conversely, it is a noticeable downgrade should you be coming from any current flagship Android or iPhone device.

That's not to say it is a bad phone. It has a decent screen (viewing angles are fine), decent volume from the rear facing speaker (Bluetooth headset performance was also better than expected). Call quality is acceptable. Touch responsiveness is accurate to my eye. The problem is that the phone seems unnecessarily slow at times. Sometimes, I feel like it is the apps fault (Hulu is pretty sluggish, but it wouldn't play on my 925 at all) but other times it just seemed as if simple tasks like displaying thumbnails took forever.

Speaking of forever, wifi performance was acceptable given the lack of dual band ac, but it hurts when you're used to downloads speeds north of 100Mbps and I'm only getting about 20Mbps on this phone. Things even out on LTE, but T-Mobile LTE speeds rarely go over 8Mbps near my house.

While I definitely notice the lack of 'snap' when using this phone, it never added up to a dealbreaking experience. One of the the things buying this phone made me realize is how much I missed using Windows as my daily driver.

Once again, old thread, but using the T-Mobile personal hot spot router , I get 35 mb download cosisitantly. While it ain't ac speeds, it ain't bad.
 

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