When searching for a cheap Android smartphone, it can be difficult to find a decent gadget among the new products, so you should not shun gadgets that came out a couple of years ago, such as the Alcatel OT 918D (Alcatel One Touch).
Market positioning
The Chinese brand Alcatel can hardly be found in any of the top market leaders, as well as rank the company as profitable and promising. Alcatel quietly stands apart, taking its place, making shy attempts to evolve into something more than “another manufacturer of gadgets.” This brand is widely known in the post-Soviet space, actively acquires advertising on Russian television, offers affordable devices, makes contact with mobile operators and network stores.
The smartphone is focused on the budget segment, therefore, it does not find powerful “hardware” and modern software. Alcatel One Touch 918D is a phone that everyone can afford. The question arises: if it is so simple, why bother looking in its direction? The fact is that Alcatel has always paid a little more attention to their devices than the rest. One always feels a certain style, a special, more thorough approach to development than other state employees who are not shy about creating a frankly bad device with the thought: “They will cost for this price”.
Equipment
In a translucent plastic case, in addition to the smartphone itself, you can find:
- Separate battery
- Micro-USB cable for connecting to a charger and synchronizing with a computer.
- Charger for power from the mains.
- 2 gigabyte micro-SD memory card;
- Instructions for working with the device.
In a number of versions you can also find:
- Poor-quality headset for communication (hardly suitable for listening to music).
- Replaceable panels in white.
Case design
The very concept of “design” is rarely friendly with budget devices, but this time the Chinese have shown themselves to be great aesthetes and have not missed such an important element as the exterior design, the exterior of the smartphone. The case of the gadget is made in the classical style - this is a block consisting of two parts. All parts are made of high-quality soft-touch plastic, pleasant to the touch, not too brand. The compact size (slightly larger than a credit card) of the phone allows him to confidently lie in his hand without a single chance to slip out of it. Ergonomics of the smartphone at a height, dimensions and arrangement of elements leave extremely positive emotions.
Dimensions: 112 by 58 by 12 millimeters.
Weight: 123 grams.
On the front panel of the Alcatel One Touch 918D, in addition to the display, there is a speaker, a manufacturer’s logo, three touch buttons for controlling the system (multitasking menu, "Search" and "Back") and one physical one. On the back of the smartphone is a camera and another speaker with a microphone. On the left side there is a port for connecting a USB cable. On the right side is the volume control panel (integrated) and a button to lock / turn on the device. In the lower right corner, the manufacturer has provided a small recess for convenient removal of the back cover.
Display
The screen, unfortunately, is not the strongest side of the Alcatel 918D. This model uses a TFT matrix that is not of high quality. The display size reached only 3.2 inches (takes up about half the space). The capacitive screen of the smartphone has a resolution of 480 by 320 dpi (PPI value is 180), which, of course, affects the quality of the picture. It turns out grainy, pixels are easily noticeable even at a great distance, breaking the image into pieces.
The color rendition and display saturation suffer, the image is faded, unrealistic, dull. There is also not enough margin of brightness: even on a sunny day (not to mention the direct hit of light), the display fades. No glare protection, which clogs the last nail in the coffin of the Alcatel 918D display. The touchscreen, being capacitive, distinguishes touches quite clearly when it comes to large display elements, but when typing on the keyboard, the touch panel is poorly calibrated.
Performance
For the speed of the work of the crumbs from China, the MediaTek chip is responsible, which is extremely popular among both budget smartphones and mid-range smartphones. MediaTek processors have become the ideal solution for the majority, combining sufficient energy efficiency and performance (the keyword is sufficient).
The processor has one core - Cortex A9, with a frequency acceleration of up to 650 megahertz, which is enough for the Alcatel 918D to cope with the basic set of tasks and not make its owner nervous because of constant freezes and “lags”.
PowerVR SGX video subsystem is responsible for graphic performance, which has already established itself as the best solution for smartphones. Video chips are even used on the iPhone, which is famous for its unprecedented smoothness in games. In the case of the Alcatel 918D, the situation is not so rosy. Hoping to launch top-end games is not worth it, but simple 2D games will be his strength, you can kill time.
Memory
Under the hood of the Alcatel-owned budget, 256 megabytes of RAM were ramped up, which is clearly not enough for comfortable work with Android. First of all, low RAM will adversely affect multitasking: the device simply will not be able to simultaneously support several programs. Also, the speed of downloading applications and processing data in them depends on how modern the RAM module is.
As for the main memory, the picture here is no less dull: only 512 megabytes. But, unlike operational, the main memory can be expanded; for this, the phone has a slot for installing microSD memory cards. Moreover, the manufacturer, as mentioned above, even shared one such one, with a memory capacity of 2 gigabytes. On the memory card, you can store documents, photos, music, but you can not install applications on it, therefore, it should be borne in mind that about 200 megabytes remains under the software.
Camera
The device is equipped with only one camera. It is located on the back of the device, so fans of “selfie” will have to adapt to take pictures blindly. The camera lens has a resolution of 3 megapixels, which makes it almost useless when shooting any kind of landscape: the picture will not be attractive. The image turns out to be noisy, poorly conveys the color palette, captures quite a bit of light, and distant objects completely disintegrate into artifacts, which does not fit into the idea of a good photo. On the other hand, in a budget smartphone, the camera is far from the main element, it is enough that it performs a utilitarian function (you can always take photos of any documents or an important note).
Battery
The autonomy of devices running on Android has never been their strong point, especially if it is equipped with a modest battery capacity of 1300 milliamps / hours. This battery size is due to the extremely compact size of the Alcatel 918D.
The battery, according to the manufacturer, is able to maintain the smartphone in working condition:
- up to 4 hours of talk time;
- up to 3 hours in Internet mode;
- up to 200 hours standby time.
The already low autonomy is undermined by an outdated version of the software. Only the processor’s low frequency and TFT display matrix keep the balance, saving the phone from premature discharge.
Communications
The smartphone is equipped with a basic Wi-Fi module operating at b / g / n frequencies. It is possible to distribute an Internet connection to nearby gadgets. The device also has Bluetooth support, however, only the third generation (without saving mode), so you should not risk it and connect wireless gadgets for a long time. There is full support for GPS, which means that the phone can be used as a navigator.
As for the wired interfaces, nothing can be found except for the second-generation micro-USB port. This connector is used to power the gadget from the mains, as well as to synchronize data from the computer.
Software
The smartphone is running Android version 2.3.5 (can be updated to 2.3.6). Actually, it was with this release that the boom of Android gadgets began. The system does not work very stable, does not have even half of those functions that can be seen in newer versions.
Unfortunately, this version does not support modern software, including Google services, Chrome's proprietary browser, and others.
To hack work with this operating system can hack it. Despite the fact that obtaining superuser rights on older devices does not give special advantages, this procedure is still popular among Alcatel 918D owners. Root rights allow you to install applications that fundamentally change the system. Thus, you can completely modify the external design of the system or “kill” unnecessary processes.
Alcatel One Touch 918D, root-rights: instructions for obtaining
Before you begin the hacking procedure, you need to understand that in this way the owner of the smartphone deprives himself of the guarantee and assumes full responsibility for the performance of the gadget. You should also duplicate and keep in a safe place all the important data.
To complete the procedure, you will need:
- Alcatel Android Manager 2.2.
- SuperOneClick 2 ShortFuse.
- PDA Net A350.
Hacking Process:
- First you need to install / extract all three of the above utilities.
- Then you need to put the device into debug mode. To do this, go to “Settings> Applications> Settings for developers” and select “Debug mode”.
- Next you need to connect the gadget to the computer and run the SuperOneClick utility.
That's all, the reverse process is identical.
Features of the device
The device is equipped with a full set of sensors, including an accelerometer and a compass. There is support for SMS and email clients. It is possible to work with Java content using the appropriate emulator. Also, the device has a radio in the manner of old players, you can connect to FM frequencies and enjoy the radio without additional devices. Another distinctive feature of the phone is the support of two SIM cards operating in alternate mode (when working with one SIM card, it is impossible to accept a call from another).
Similar devices
The Alcatel 918D is not the only phone that meets the needs of those who prefer cheaper devices. Together with this gadget, smartphones of the main competitors entered the market.
One of these is the Samsung Galaxy Y Duos, which has similar technical specifications, works on the basis of the same operating system (except for the presence of a proprietary shell), also equipped with two SIM cards. A serious drawback of this phone, in comparison with the hero of this review, is just the disgusting shell, which significantly reduces overall performance.
Also for example, consider the ZTE Nova 4, which has not gained much popularity, but nevertheless is a worthy replacement for the Alcatel 918D. ZTE took care of high-quality assembly, and also equipped the phone with enough memory to install applications.
In the same price category, you can find more advanced smartphones, for example, Acer Liquid E2. The phone is a little more expensive, but it is much larger, more productive and runs on the fourth-generation Android.
Reviews
Alcatel OneTouch 918D received a lot of positive reviews at the time of release. Users and technological publications noted the high build quality of the device, the absence of extra slots, squeaking. A good, attractive design caught many, but a beautiful wrapper hid a lot of flaws that were highlighted by the real owners of the smartphone.
Summed up the performance of a standard MP3-player, which does not recognize many formats, refusing to play audio files from a flash card. You can solve the problem by replacing the standard player with a more advanced application from the Play Market.
The battery also disappointed (which is not surprising), the phone does not survive until the evening, no matter how economically it is used. Background processes in Android are completely merciless to the battery. The problem is solved by buying an external battery.
Android 2.3.6 itself is also not sugar. The system is not stable enough. Heavy applications that require a large amount of RAM often “hang up” the phone tightly, and all Alcatel 918D owners face this problem. “Hard Reset” (forced reboot of the gadget) allows you to get the phone out of “trance”, but the constant need for it is pretty boring.
Instead of a conclusion
With all its pluses and minuses, Alcatel 918D is a typical representative of smartphones from 2010-2012: moderately beautiful, moderately technological, rather weak, but reliable and strong. Supports all major standards, works with two SIM-cards. The phone is perfect for undemanding (maybe elderly people or children) users who are looking for a means of communication and information search in a modern gadget.