Who is eyeing an Alcatel Idol 4S

[nate0]

This kind of commentary is what I meant, thanks so much for this!

Battery life, speed, camera, etc.

Sure thing. It is on the way and should have it on Monday.

 

[darrell reimer]

IDOL 4S first impressions:
Just got my new (and first) Alcatel phone (took only 3 days to get to me from ordering online from Microsoft store; I live in Vancouver; well done Microsoft!).
Pros:
Super thin and light! (thinner and lighter than iPhone 6s plus and iPhone 7s plus); much lighter and thinner than HP Elite x3!
High quality solid metallic 'feel' (not plastic Lumia feel)
Great screen; 5.5 inch is perfect size for me; not quite as warm as my Lumia 650 OLED screen, but still very bright and clean (same 401 ppi as iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone 7S Plus)
Excellent reception; i'm getting more bars and much stronger signal than with my 650
Call clarity is excellent; says 'HD' up in the top corner when i'm calling; i'll have to look into what that means.
Finger print reader/Windows Hello works excellent
Love the dedicated camera button! (but not completely used to the location: half way up the right side of the phone...)
Speakers sound great!
Super quick charge! Went from 10% to 100% in 30 minutes. Can't make a proper call on battery drain/use; i'm still setting things up; need more time for it to settle down into regular use to make the call...
Camera seems good; need more use to make a proper call; it's noticeably much better than my 650, but not sure if it's better than my ATIV SE....; much higher resolution than iPhones....
Double tap to unlock.
64 GB build in storage, plus Micro SD card slot: awesome!

Cons:
Can't remove battery; this my first phone where I don't have that option; not sold on this...
Super slippery feel; if you have dry hands, you better get a case (I ordered one of off dBay for $6.99; i'll let you know the verdict when I get it)
Only 3.5 GB RAM; my 3 year old ATIV SE has 2 GB RAM; for the price i just paid, i'm thinking I should be getting more RAM....
The camera lens sticks out on the back a bit farther than I thought it would; I hope I don't damage it....
No Glance Screen...
USB 3 connector means none of my other charger cables at work or school will work with this phone....have to get new extra cables.


So far: love this phone! Have not tried any of the VR stuff yet. By the way: don't 'restore from back up' when setting this phone up for the firs time; i restored from my Lumia 650 cause i wanted my start screen to look the same, and was too lazy to start from scratch; but...when none of the VR stuff showed up, i reset the phone and started new, and i got all the Alcatel VR stuff; not sure if i'll use it, but i'll give it a try.
Very solid Hardware; hope the software and apps keep up....

 

[editguy]

Only 3.5 GB RAM; my 3 year old ATIV SE has 2 GB RAM; for the price i just paid, i'm thinking I should be getting more RAM....
..

It actually has 4 gigs of ram. The OS limits it to 3.5

 

[darrell reimer]

It actually has 4 gigs of ram. The OS limits it to 3.5

 

[Matty]

This is unarguably the highest end Windows device we've seen from T-Mobile in a long time. And it's certainly the highest spec Windows device we've ever seen out of Alcatel. And as an added bonus, it's got that intriguing VR package going on. Who's thinking of grabbing one? What are your thoughts? We're only 9 days away from release!

I wouldn't mind picking one up. The design is very nice and as you said "its certainly the highest spec we have seen". I've even entered the WindowsCentral competition every single day to possibly win one It's that worth it haha. One of the additional draw cards is the VR headset. You often have to purchase one separately but this comes with one which is pretty cool.

 

[Matty]

IDOL 4S first impressions:

Thanks for the detailed Pros and Cons @darrell reimer!

Always love it when i see more pros than cons. The non-removable battery and camera sticking out isn't really a con for me. I rather have a better camera with a bulge than a worse camera thats flush with the device. I kinda wish it was able to utilise the full 4GB but honestly, i think 3.5GB is enough to run the device smoothly

 

[MrockNroll]

Thanks Derrell, we are using the clear Insipio case available at the T-Mobile store and really like the thinness and grip, plus is shows off the great look op the phone & protects the camera lens/hump.

 

[RumoredNow]

Thanks for the great post. I enjoyed reading it...

Super slippery feel; if you have dry hands, you better get a case (I ordered one of off dBay for $6.99; i'll let you know the verdict when I get it)

You might want to check this review... I was always a case guy, but now I can show off the beauty of the Idol 4S and still be protected. http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...2-[review]-qmadix-liquid-glass-get-naked.html

...I restored from my Lumia 650 cause i wanted my start screen to look the same, and was too lazy to start from scratch; but...when none of the VR stuff showed up, i reset the phone and started new, and i got all the Alcatel VR stuff; not sure if i'll use it, but i'll give it a try....

Interesting is an understatement. There are users trying to delete the VR Apps. I'll pass this nugget of found wisdom along to them.

 

[editguy]

View attachment 133838

That's because the OS is only capable of accessing 3.5 gigs. From Alcatel's website:

 

[editguy]

Interesting is an understatement. There are users trying to delete the VR Apps. I'll pass this nugget of found wisdom along to them.

It's interesting, but it may just be a quirk. When I received mine I did a restore from my L925 and all of the VR apps were (and are) there.

 

[gpstrucker]

I ordered one from T-Mobile and it arrived at my office in Wisconsin today. I'm currently in Florida so I won't be able to get my hands on it until Friday or Saturday.

I'm looking forward to it, I haven't used a Windows phone since WP8 and am curious to give 10 a try.

 

[anon(50597)]

I ordered one from T-Mobile and it arrived at my office in Wisconsin today. I'm currently in Florida so I won't be able to get my hands on it until Friday or Saturday.

I'm looking forward to it, I haven't used a Windows phone since WP8 and am curious to give 10 a try.

That's awesome, but would drive me crazy knowing it was waiting for me but I couldn't play with it yet. Enjoy!

Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S

 

[nate0]

I ordered one from T-Mobile and it arrived at my office in Wisconsin today. I'm currently in Florida so I won't be able to get my hands on it until Friday or Saturday.

I'm looking forward to it, I haven't used a Windows phone since WP8 and am curious to give 10 a try.

I am curious, what are you using now?

 

[gpstrucker]

I am curious, what are you using now?

I'm using a Galaxy S7 Edge I got after having to return my recalled Note 7. I like it a lot, but am always open to trying new devices.

I use Android, iOS, Windows 10, and Linux. My watches range from Android Wear to Samsung, to my favorite Garmin Fenix 3 HR.

I guess I'm pretty open minded about devices and operating systems.

Ok, I admit it, I'm a tech geek LOL

 

[nate0]

Not sure if anyone has checked out the full specs of what the hardware on this device could or is capable of. It is here. You will need to translate from Chinese. The thing I found good was the 500 nits capable brightness of the screen. I was wondering what it was capable of...

 

[BadWolf1724]

1st post here.
I’m planning on getting these for my wife and I on Friday. Got to admit that I am a little nervous. I had a Windows phone back in 2009 but it was mostly a joke. Had a good camera though. I have used android ever since. While I was comfortable with android (was going to get a Pixel originally) I am bored with it. I also hated having my stuff spread across the universe. I really wanted integration. I am a big Microsoft fan from Xbox #1 to Xbox One. Beta tested every OS from Vista on. Big MS fan, especially recently.
I love the idea of all my docs, music, etc being available across all my devices. Plus the 4S is gorgeous.
My only concern is Microsoft's commitment to the platform. Every sales person or article points out the 1/2 percent market share and crickets chirping in the app store. So I hope I am making the right decision.
It is going to be nice to get a phone that feels like something new. Plus I do enjoy being different.
Thanks for listening. I look forward to getting to know you.

 

[editguy]

My only concern is Microsoft's commitment to the platform. Every sales person or article points out the 1/2 percent market share and crickets chirping in the app store. So I hope I am making the right decision.
It is going to be nice to get a phone that feels like something new. Plus I do enjoy being different.
Thanks for listening. I look forward to getting to know you.

Welcome aboard! The phone itself is a fantastic device. It's the nicest phone I've ever owned. The camera is average and the phone is missing NFC, if that matters to you. You should probably make sure that the apps you want and need are available before you move forward. It meets my needs, but others find it too limiting. As to MS's commitment to the the platform, the naysayers have been suggesting that it's over for years. The reality is that the OS is still being developed.

 

[BadWolf1724]

I really don't think I will need many apps on it. I think most of what I use apps for on android is native to either windows or office. I just need to transition over. As long as we have YouTube I think Windows can cover the rest.

How does Edge hold up on mobile? Android browsers always got on my nerves. Is there any integration between Win 10 mobile and Xbox?
Being on T-Mobile are Windows Insiders able to install the preview builds?

Thanks. I really can't wait to get it. I went to T-Mobile the other day but couldn't really even hold because of the security lock and it had no account or internet on it so all I could do was look at it. Very pretty.

My last 2 phones were the HTC One m7 and Galaxy S6 Edge, so I like new pretty phones. I would probably still be using the HTC if the camera hadn't crapped.
This will be my first large phone.

 

[nate0]

I really don't think I will need many apps on it. I think most of what I use apps for on android is native to either windows or office. I just need to transition over. As long as we have YouTube I think Windows can cover the rest.

myTube (YouTube client) is probably going to be your best bet for YouTube, and since the dev is releasing an xbox version UWP app you should be set up there.

My only concern is Microsoft's commitment to the platform. Every sales person or article points out the 1/2 percent market share and crickets chirping in the app store. So I hope I am making the right decision.
It is going to be nice to get a phone that feels like something new. Plus I do enjoy being different.
Thanks for listening. I look forward to getting to know you.

There are more than several articles here on Windows Central that explain the other side of Microsoft's commitment to mobile. Though Windows 10 Mobile as an OS and its life expectancy is still a mystery, we can count on Microsoft's commitment to mobile. As Microsoft approaches their goal with Windows and it's ecosystems across all platforms, we are only able to speculate what they will do or use with Windows 10 mobile in the future. From the looks of it for now we can count on it being around into 2018 since there are two more major updates to come, one slated for the coming months...

 

[BadWolf1724]

That would be the creators edition. I have it on my laptop. Do you know if carrier phones can get the insider builds?

I appreciate all the information. I'm not second guessing, I just like to be informed. Very excited actually.