Meet the Alcatel One Touch Soleil
A good friend just got her new Alcatel One Touch Soleil. We were able to borrow it for a few hours so we can share with you guys a quick review! To those who are not familiar with the name, the One Touch Soleil is one of Alcatel’s recently launched entry level smartphones to further compete with the local brands who offer smartphones at very low prices. You can actually get this device at zero cash out under Sun’s Postpaid Plan 350.
Note from Editor: It’s amazing that there are postpaid plans for 350, hehe.
Here’s a quick rundown of the specs:
Alcatel One Touch Soleil Spec Sheet
- 1GHz Dual Core processor
- 512MB RAM
- 4GB internal memory expandable via MicroSD up to 32GB
- 4 inch IPS LCD display (480 x 800 pixels)
- 5 megapixel rear facing camera
- VGA front facing camera
- 3G/HSDPA, WiFi, WiFi hotspot, Bluetooth
- Dual Sim, Dual Standby
- 1,400 mAh battery
- Android 4.1 Jellybean
Initial Impression: It Gets All The Basics Done
The chassis is your usual glossy plastic and just like other devices sporting this kind of material, it tends to be a bit slippery and a fingerprint and smudge magnet. Up front we have the 4-inch screen which is bright and is capable of producing vibrant colors. 800×480 pixels isn’t the best resolution to have but this is a budget phone so one can’t complain, hehe.
When it comes to performance it was fairly good. The dual-core processor combined with Project Butter from Android Jelly Bean was enough to deliver a relatively smooth user experience for basic and core functions like calls, texts, social networking, and even light casual games like everyone’s favorite Candy Crush.
We were’t able to do a full battery test but as expected the 1,400mAh battery ran out quite fast especially since we had 3G on and we were playing games. We started with around 90% but after 2-3 hours it was already down to 50%.
Overall it is a respectable budget smartphone that gets the job done. This is perfect for people on a tight budget who need a smartphone. However keep in mind the battery so always bring a charger with you or a power bank.
By the way, here are other smartphones in the price level that you might want to check out:
