Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speed.
2 years ago
The screen is best in class. It rings loudly. It’s hard to complain about the speed, after all, it’s Qualcom. Light weight and dimensions. There is an NFC with a full-fledged Pay pass. The included headset is not bad.
3 years ago
Value for money at the time of purchase. Not a shovel - the 4.5" dimensions of the smartphone easily fit in your hand. It works quite quickly and is stable. Pre-installed software from Beeline.
3 years ago
Appearance, size, price,
4 years ago
Beautiful, confused with IPhone. Fast, good camera. 4G.
4 years ago
Price\quality, screen
4 years ago
The advantages are everything that is listed in the description.
4 years ago
Appearance, price, general set of characteristics.
4 years ago
EVERYTHING - screen, 4G, design, size (fits comfortably in the hand)
4 years ago
IPS, 4.5" screen, 2000 battery, LTE, everything works, cameras are ok.
4 years ago
2 years ago
I would like to be able to disable the built-in launcher. The body is very delicate. Within a month it was covered in scratches. A slight blow caused a small light to appear in the corner of the screen - the device is not strong. The quality of the photo drops significantly at the slightest hint of twilight.
3 years ago
The battery seems to be of sufficient size, but sometimes it discharges quickly, the quad-core processor eats up a lot of energy, which can be treated with a charge saving setting. Considering that there are smartphones with much worse batteries, this may not even be considered a disadvantage. It happens very rarely that it goes into reboot (it happened several times), but it’s not critical. Overall it works stably. Firmware from Beeline, initially locked for SIM cards of one operator.
3 years ago
Doesn't hold charge well. But this is the problem with all androids. I surf the Internet a lot))
4 years ago
The case quickly wore out (you need to buy a cover right away). After a couple of months the screen was dented and the display had to be replaced. After another couple of months, it began to glitch, crashing out of applications and turning off randomly. Disappointed!
4 years ago
1. Periodically, but quite often, the screen backlight flickers. Less often, it simply goes out and turns on only after locking and unlocking. And not right away. It is impossible to use applications that require the screen to be always on (for example, Navigator). 2. Lack of updates. So I understand that they will no longer exist. 3. Self-rebounding from its seats back cover. And this is in the absence of falls or any other rough mechanical impacts. 4. Some applications (Sberbank online - for example) do not work. It says that the application has stopped. 5. I don’t want to list the “glitches” in detail. This is more of a series of quibbles at this price of the device. But they exist.
4 years ago
Almost a year later the 5 mm sensor disappeared. stripe on the left of the screen from bottom to top. I managed to change the display under warranty. Always under relatively light load it gets very hot. It’s literally so hot on your hands, after which applications are terribly slow.
4 years ago
battery - but in my opinion this is a problem with all sensors (so it’s kind of a nitpick)))) but in general there are no shortcomings!
4 years ago
Gluttonous processor, the back cover is disposable, not officially updated.
4 years ago
Not working, reboots spontaneously, weak hardware, terrible battery, lack of software updates
4 years ago
At first the battery was consumed in standby mode, no software updates
Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.
Design
Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.
| Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 63.5 mm (millimeters) 6.35 cm (centimeters) 0.21 ft (feet) 2.5 in (inches) |
| Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 129.5 mm (millimeters) 12.95 cm (centimeters) 0.42 ft (feet) 5.1 in (inches) |
| Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units measurements. | 8.5 mm (millimeters) 0.85 cm (centimeters) 0.03 ft (feet) 0.33 in (inches) |
| Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement. | 116 g (grams) 0.26 lbs 4.09 oz (ounces) |
| Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. | 69.9 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 4.24 in³ (cubic inches) |
SIM card
The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.
Mobile networks
A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.
| GSM GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is designed to replace the analogue mobile network (1G). For this reason, GSM is often called a 2G mobile network. It is improved by the addition of GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), and later EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) technologies. | GSM 850 MHz GSM 900 MHz GSM 1800 MHz GSM 1900 MHz |
| UMTS UMTS is an abbreviation for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. It is based on GSM standard and applies to 3G mobile networks. Developed by 3GPP and its biggest advantage is providing greater speed and spectral efficiency thanks to W-CDMA technology. | UMTS 1900 MHz UMTS 850 MHz (6036A; 6036X; 6036Y) UMTS 900 MHz (6036A; 6036X; 6036Y) UMTS 2100 MHz (6036A; 6036X; 6036Y) |
| LTE LTE (Long Term Evolution) is defined as a fourth generation (4G) technology. It is developed by 3GPP based on GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA to increase the capacity and speed of wireless mobile networks. The subsequent technology development is called LTE Advanced. | LTE 2100 MHz LTE 2600 MHz LTE 800 MHz (6036X; 6036Y) LTE 900 MHz (6036X; 6036Y) LTE 1800 MHz(6036X; 6036Y) LTE 1700/2100 MHz (6036A) LTE 700 MHz Class 17 (6036A) LTE 1900 MHz (6036A) |
Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds
Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.
Operating system
An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.
SoC (System on Chip)
A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.
| Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Availability more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel. | 4 |
| CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). | 1200 MHz (megahertz) |
| Volume random access memory(RAM) Random Access Memory (RAM) in use operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted. | 1 GB (gigabytes) |
Built-in memory
Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.
Memory cards
Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.
Screen
The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.
| Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends. | IPS |
| Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches. | 4.5 in (inches) 114.3 mm (millimeters) 11.43 cm (centimeters) |
| Width Approximate screen width | 2.21 in (inches) 56.04 mm (millimeters) 5.6 cm (centimeters) |
| Height Approximate screen height | 3.92 in (inches) 99.62 mm (millimeters) 9.96 cm (centimeters) |
| Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side | 1.778:1 16:9 |
| Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. More a high resolution means sharper detail in the image. | 540 x 960 pixels |
| Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. More high density Allows you to display information on the screen with clearer details. | 245 ppi (pixels per inch) 96 ppcm (pixels per centimeter) |
| Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors the screen can display. | 24 bit 16777216 flowers |
| Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device. | 68.11% (percentage) |
| Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics. | Capacitive Multi-touch Scratch resistance |
| Oleophobic (lipophobic) coating |
Sensors
Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.
Rear camera
The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on its back panel and may be combined with one or more secondary cameras.
| Flash type The rear (rear) cameras of mobile devices mainly use LED flashes. They can be configured with one, two or more light sources and vary in shape. | LED |
| Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of cameras is resolution. It represents the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in an image. For convenience, smartphone manufacturers often list resolution in megapixels, indicating the approximate number of pixels in millions. | 3264 x 2448 pixels 7.99 MP (megapixels) |
| Video resolution Information about the maximum video resolution that the camera can record. | 1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels) |
| Video recording speed (frame rate) Information about maximum speed recording (frames per second, fps) supported by the camera at maximum resolution. Some of the most basic video recording speeds are 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps. | 30fps (frames per second) |
| Characteristics Information about additional software and hardware features of the rear (rear) camera. | Autofocus Continuous shooting Digital zoom Geographical tags Panoramic photography HDR shooting Touch Focus Face recognition Self-timer |
Front-camera
Smartphones have one or more front cameras of various designs - a pop-up camera, a rotating camera, a cutout or hole in the display, an under-display camera.
Radio
The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.
Location determination
Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.
WiFi
Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.
USB
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.
Headphone jack
This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Connecting devices
Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.
Browser
A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.
Video file formats/codecs
Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.
Battery
Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.
| Capacity A battery's capacity indicates the maximum charge it can hold, measured in milliamp-hours. | 2000 mAh (milliamp-hours) |
| Type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, the chemicals used. Exist different types batteries, most often in mobile devices lithium-ion and lithium-ion-polymer batteries are used. | Li-Ion (Lithium-ion) |
| 2G talk time 2G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 2G network. | 9 h (hours) 540 min (minutes) 0.4 days |
| 2G latency 2G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 2G network. | 400 h (hours) 24000 min (minutes) 16.7 days |
| 3G talk time 3G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network. | 13 h (hours) 780 min (minutes) 0.5 days |
| 3G latency 3G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 3G network. | 400 h (hours) 24000 min (minutes) 16.7 days |
| 4G latency 4G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 4G network. | 400 h (hours) 24000 min (minutes) 16.7 days |
| Characteristics Information about some additional characteristics of the device's battery. | Removable |
The quality of a smartphone is determined primarily by its parameters. Based on them, you can talk about how long the device will last you and whether it is worth purchasing such a smartphone at all. But what do they say about idol 2? mini specifications?
Visual component
In Alcatel one touch idol 2 mini, the characteristics depend on visual data. Based on them, the developers assembled all the other components of the device. Its weight is only 110 grams, taking into account the thickness of less than 8 mm. Impressive, isn't it?
Before you is a standard candy bar with three touch-sensitive keys on the bottom. Its unique feature is the metallic silver frame, which adds elegance to the phone. The case is made quite well. It is simply unrealistic to find fault with any backlash or other problems. The device gives the impression of a premium class although, in fact, it is a budget device.
There is a power button on the right, and a volume rocker above. It is also used to block the device’s sensor. On the left is the SIM card slot, covered with a plug. At the bottom there is a USB connector and a microphone. The charger and headset connectors are very well separated. Many users noted this as one of the bright advantages of this device.
On the back plastic cover there is a main camera, a LED flash and an additional microphone for high-quality sound in videos. The front part of the device, in addition to touch keys and a screen with an oleophobic coating, has a speaker grille and a front camera.
Camera
If we talk about cameras, then the characteristics of idol 2 mini are more than acceptable. The main camera takes pictures in a resolution of 5 megapixels, and videos in 1280x720. All this is complemented by fairly high-quality autofocus and an elegantly integrated flash. At the same time, the quality of the pictures is noticeably higher than that of smartphones from other brands, the cameras of which, according to statements, reach eight and even 13 megapixels.
The front camera in such a smartphone is a disadvantage for a modern person, since it is not intended for selfies, but only for communication, and by modern standards it has a very modest resolution - only 0.3 megapixels. If you are not a fan of taking pictures of yourself, then this device is just right.
Battery
The battery in the smartphone is lithium-ion and non-removable. Its capacity is 1700 mAh. The manufacturer promises that the battery is capable of autonomously spending at least 400 hours in standby and 5 in active use. Great result for budget smartphone. Considering one SIM card and a minimal set of applications, battery consumption is really low. And not very productive hardware contributes to even greater savings.
Memory and performance
We can safely say that the memory characteristics of idol 2 mini are not encouraging, but they are not disappointing either. These are standard 1 gigabyte of RAM and 4 gigabytes of non-volatile or random access memory. Based on the latest technical innovations, these are not the best indicators. Although if you remember that the device was released in 2014, there is nothing to be surprised about.
Regarding the “iron” component, one should also not expect any special miracles. The device has a processor capable of overclocking each of its four cores to a frequency of 1.2 GHz. These indicators are sufficient to work with simple programs, like instant messengers, but nothing more. Do not forget that the device is primarily positioned as a fashion device and at the same time a budget one. And in the case of an attractive appearance at a low price, it is rare to find more or less productive hardware.
To improve performance, you can root the device and remove some built-in applications. This will allow, in addition to reducing the load on the processor, to unload a certain amount of non-volatile memory, of which there is not too much here anyway.
conclusions
The Alcatel one touch idol 2 mini smartphone is a 4.5-inch reliable touchscreen phone with IPS matrix. This is a smartphone with a low price, 4 nuclear processor and Android 4.4 has made thousands of people fall in love with it. It will be a suitable option for those who value light weight and the disadvantages include a slot for only one SIM card, which may not be enough in today’s conditions of fierce competition among operators, and not the most productive hardware, which reduces the comfort of use. He'll fit the role perfectly additional gadget for use in rare cases, as a main smartphone it will not be able to provide the full range of capabilities provided by the modern electronic world.
Announced several new models of smartphones from the line Alcatel Idol 2. Among them was new phone, located on the border of the middle and budget price segments - Alcatel One Touch Idol 2 Mini.
Judge for yourself: the starting price of $230 is a little high for a budget smartphone, and a number of things prevent the device from being called a full-fledged mid-level device technical features. Definitely, a quad-core processor, good performance, and a nice design hint that the smartphone is a middle-class device, but the display, whose pixel density is somewhat low, spoils it a little general impression. The fact that some versions of the device are equipped with only 512 MB of RAM cannot be encouraging.
In terms of design- Idol 2 Mini cannot boast of any innovations: it is a typical modern touchscreen smartphone, the appearance of which combines straight lines and rounded corners. The same Lenovo or Samsung produce devices that are not much different from this one in external form. And there is nothing to say about the countless products from “eastern friends” that copy all fashion trends. I was pleased with the build quality of the device.
Smartphone review Alcatel One Touch Idol 2 Mini will allow you to become more familiar with the functionality of the device and its capabilities.
Specifications Alcatel One Touch Idol 2 Mini
Of course, the device’s processor is one of its main advantages. Still, the smartphone does not use a budget processor from MTK, but a quad-core one Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8226 operating at frequencies up to 1.2 GHz.
In three-dimensional games, as well as when playing heavy videos, the Adreno 305 graphics accelerator comes to its aid.
Random access memory There is 1 GB, which is not much by modern standards, but quite enough for most tasks. But versions with model numbers 6016A and 6016E have half the RAM - only 512 MB.
Together, this digital “team” allows the smartphone to show pretty good results: 18 thousand “parrots” in AnTuTu - although this is far from the current flagship Galaxy S6 (which scores almost 70 thousand), it is quite acceptable for most gaming applications. 
You can store content in either internal memory
, about 6 GB or 2.5 of which are available to the user (total volume - 4 and 8 GB, respectively), and on a removable memory card. 
The latter is not supported in all models (only 6016X, 6016A can have a capacity of up to 32 GB (SDXC standard, unfortunately, is not supported).
Responsible for the autonomy of the device lithium ion battery, whose capacity is 1700 mAh. It is enough for 3 days of standby time, a day of listening to music on headphones and only 4-5 hours of gaming and watching videos.
The touchscreen of the smartphone has a glass coating, the display module itself is made using OGS technology (the sensor and matrix form a single whole). Its use allows you to improve picture quality and achieve a thinner device, but be careful: if you break the glass, you will have to replace the entire module, even if the sensor responds perfectly to touch. This cannot be called a minus - rather, a call for caution, given the design features.
equipped with IPS display, the diagonal of which is 4.5 inches. The picture resolution is 960x540 pixels, which is quite passable, but not enough (especially for those who were tempted to hold any flagship with Full-HD). The screen brightness is good, the picture is quite visible under sunlight. Viewing angles are also excellent.
The device has the main camera 8 MP and front, with VGA matrix resolution. The rear lens is equipped with both autofocus and flash. There are face detection and swing focusing functions. There are no complaints about the quality of pictures in good lighting. However, in the twilight the photos don’t come out very well: there’s a lot of noise, and the light sensitivity is frankly insufficient. There is a front camera for selfies. 
Multimedia capabilities of the device
The sound quality of the speaker (located at the bottom of the rear panel) is quite acceptable, just let us down a little high frequencies. In combination with good headphones Alcatel One Touch Idol 2 Mini generally sounds great. There should be no problems with format support: Android OS has wide possibilities for installing third-party players.
Alcatel One Touch Idol 2 Mini is running under system control Android versions 4.3. Not the latest, but still relevant. The graphical interface of the system has been slightly modified by the manufacturer; it also contains some applications that are not present in “pure” Android.
Pros and cons of Alcatel One Touch Idol 2 Mini
Definitely, the device is not without its advantages. The main ones are:
- Productive iron;
- High-quality display;
- High-quality case;
- Not a bad sound.
But you shouldn’t miss the disadvantages of the smartphone:
- Mediocre battery;
- Small amount of RAM and lack of support for memory cards (applies to certain versions).
Conclusion
As the review showed, Alcatel smartphone One Touch Idol 2 Mini deserves to live. The model turned out to be quite good, quite productive. And there are no complaints about the quality of execution. The only disappointments were the weak battery and the presence of models on the market with reduced functionality. Therefore, when purchasing, pay attention to the model number so as not to make a mistake!
Official video of the model
You will also like:
Alcatel OT-8030Y OneTouch Hero 2 phablet smartphone review
Review of the “long-lasting” Lenovo smartphone p780
Review of the Windows flagship 2012 – Nokia Lumia 920
Photos in the interior
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
Contents of delivery:
- Telephone
- Charger with USB cable
- Headset
- Instructions
Positioning
The Idol line was a kind of breakthrough for Alcatel - interesting design, good functionality, reasonable price. Appearance Mini versions with a low price made these devices even more popular, they entered the mass segment. In fact, we can say that Alcatel has created an excellent offer in terms of price/quality ratio, materials and appearance– these models are strikingly different from what we see from most Chinese manufacturers. And at the same time the cost is at the same level.
In 2014, there were no major changes in the design; the entire line received an update to the filling, but at the same time retained the design, which still looks just as fresh. In my opinion, Alcatel devices can be recommended as youthful, bright solutions - they will be chosen by those who prioritize not only functionality, but also the way the device looks. This is a rare case when the form complements the content very well. I like latest line devices from Alcatel, they are very pleasant to use Everyday life, but at the same time there are not enough stars from heaven. A sort of pragmatic choice is a phone that you can use for several years, and then change it to another. Actually, that says it all.
Design, dimensions, control elements
The Idol Mini 2 line includes several models; for reasons of simplicity, we can combine them into one review, since, by and large, they are the same in the eyes of the consumer. Let's list all the modifications:
- Idol Mini 2 6016X – one SIM card, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of internal memory, microSD, UMTS 900/2100
- Idol Mini 2 6016D – two SIM cards, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal memory, UMTS 900/2100
- Idol Mini 2 6016A – one SIM card, 512 MB RAM, 4GB built-in, microSD, UMTS 900/2100
- Idol Mini 2 6016E – two SIM cards, 512 MB of RAM, 8 GB of internal memory, UMTS 850/1900/2100
- Idol Mini 2 S 6036A – one SIM card, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of internal memory, LTE Bands 1,2,4,7,17, no NFC
- Idol Mini 2 S 6036X – one SIM card, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of internal memory, LTE Bands 1,3,7,8,20,28, no NFC
- Idol Mini 2 S 6036Y – one SIM card, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal memory, LTE Bands 1,3,7,8,20, NFC available
The review is written based on version 6036Y, this is the best configuration of this device. All versions use a chipset from Qualcomm. In Russia, version 6036Y is sold by the Beeline operator and is partially branded by it (screensavers in the menu and the like).
Externally, we see a typical Alcatel - this means a nice plastic case, monoblock design. The manufacturer offers the model in different colors, but as a rule, you can find a dark silver device in retail.
Phone size – 129.5x63.5x8.5 mm, weight – 116 grams. Compact, fits well in the hand. Front panel single-color (depending on the color of the case, for example, in the white version it is also white). The front side of this device is difficult to distinguish from other models; it starts playing if you turn it over - the body has a slight bend, pleasant plastic, which is resistant to abrasion. On the back surface you can see a large speaker, at the top there is an LED flash, as well as an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus.
On the left side there is a slot for a SIM card, as well as for microSD memory cards, on the right there is a paired volume key and an on/off button. The 3.5 mm connector is placed on the top end, but the microUSB is on the bottom. At the ends you can also see microphone holes, there are two of them.
There is a light indicator above the screen, front-camera, as well as an LED, it can be configured to work when there are missed calls or events. In general, the build quality is not in question, but the back panel crackles when pressed hard. Some people may not like this - this does not affect the reliability of the device in any way, but the design is such that it creaks. Inaccuracy in the design of the device, which gives such an effect. In real life, you won't pay attention to this and are unlikely to squeeze your phone like that.
Display
The device has a 4.5-inch IPS matrix with a resolution of 540x960 pixels (245 ppi). Multi-touch supports up to 5 touches, brightness adjustment in automatic mode works well. The brightness reserve is excellent, and the model turned out to be pleasant in terms of how the screen works - good colors, excellent viewing angles, no complaints. You may find the default fonts a little lacy, but you can always change them to larger ones. The screen fades in the sun, but remains readable.
Battery
The device has a battery with a capacity of 2000 mAh (in versions without LTE – 1700 mAh). According to the manufacturer, it is capable of providing up to 400 hours of standby time and up to 13 hours of talk time in 3G. In practice, the device with quiet use - 20 minutes of calls a day, a couple of dozen SMS, an hour of listening to music and a little mobile internet– lives about 2 full days. At the same time, we can say that with very active use it will be able to live until the evening of the first day, but this is not a typical use of such a device for target audience. Such smartphones are bought mainly for calls, SMS, mail and the like. That is, this is not a machine for constantly being online; there is not enough screen diagonal for comfort. Full battery charging time is about 2 hours.
Memory, memory card, performance
The phone has 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal memory, of which 5.3 GB is available to the user for programs and their data. Memory cards up to 32 GB are supported.
The chipset in this model is Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8226, 4 cores with a frequency of up to 1.1 GHz. Graphics coprocessor – Adreno 305. In my opinion, the performance is quite excellent, there are no complaints, for lovers of virtual parrots I will provide data from benchmarks.
Communication capabilities
The phone works in cellular networks 2G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and 3G (850/900/2100 MHz), as well as LTE (for Idol 2 Mini S). Bluetooth version 4.0 available for file and voice transfer. Present wireless connection Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n. The devices, of course, can be used as an access point (Wi-Fi Hotspot) or modem. USB 2.0 (High-Speed) is used for file transfer and data synchronization. There is a not very popular Wi-Fi Display function, when you can transmit a signal from your phone to another device via Wi-Fi. Traditionally, there is a Wi-Fi Direct function. There is also a remote Wi-Fi display option.
The device in question also has NFC, it can be used to read tags, there is trial version Triger Pro program, which allows you to configure with using NFC various events. The tags themselves are not included in the kit, but they can be purchased from any manufacturer, for example, Samsung.
Camera
An ordinary 8-megapixel camera with autofocus, not enough stars in the sky, gives acceptable image quality in bright light, but in the dark the result is noticeably worse. The photographic part is not strong point Alcatel phones, however, look at the examples below. Video recording is supported in 1080p resolution, up to 30 frames per second.
Software features – Android 4.3
In Idol 2 Mini, just like in its predecessor, Alcatel uses its own software shell, which can be perceived ambiguously by many, since people often prefer “bare” Android and are quite satisfied with its capabilities.
Many functions have been heavily redesigned; Alcatel has added a number of programs that can be downloaded for free anyway, but the fact that they are pre-installed makes the device more interesting for inexperienced users.
Without unlocking the device, you can view the weather forecast for the current day. Let's scroll the screen to the right, there will be a calendar and a to-do list for the current day (entering to-dos or viewing another day will not work). You can also view the status bar; it is also available when the screen is locked, if there is no security key or digital code.
The fundamental difference between Alcatel's approach and other shells is that they decided to abandon a separate menu for all applications. On the main screen there is a weather widget and several icons. This is the starting point. We flip the screens to the left, and there will be widgets that you install. Let's go to the right, and these will be program icons, also some programs have already been put into folders, this was done by the manufacturer. You get used to such an organization instantly; it is somewhat logical and definitely has a right to life.
The settings menu now has its own settings, for example, a super saving mode for the battery. The menu itself has also been redesigned in white colors, which is quite nice. In our video, I talk about most of the applications that are in the device, and I don’t want to repeat what has changed compared to previous models.
Next, I could dwell on each program and describe it, but I don’t see much point in this. This is a smartphone, and this software is usually known, or I touched on it in the video. So see the screenshots below.
Another part that I want to describe separately is multimedia capabilities. The device has support for unconverted video; the chipset plays 1080p perfectly, unlike its predecessor. In terms of music formats, there is support for FLAC, in addition to the usual MP3 and a number of others.
Impression
The sound transmission quality is excellent, your interlocutor can hear you well in all conditions. The call is loud and clearly audible. The vibration alert is quite weak, closer to average, you can skip it.
The cost of the LTE version of this device in Beeline is 7,990 rubles, the difference is NFC support, as well as 8 GB of internal memory and memory card support. In the version without LTE the price is lower – 6,990 rubles. In my opinion, the target audience would be interested in a device without LTE; after all, this technology requires active use of the network, and with a small screen by today’s standards, this is not so convenient. I will say differently, you will be able to surf the Internet, there will be no problems with this - but it is unlikely that there will be any long hours, rather take a look required pages from time to time, chat in in social networks, use Whatsapp. For this purpose, the device is very comfortable, but you shouldn’t assume that it will allow you to stay online all the time - the screen size plays a role, and there is no way to get around this limitation.
The device turned out to be very pleasant, just like the first Idol Mini, this good smartphone for calls, balanced, there is nothing superfluous in it. I would like to better camera, but this is a weak point in almost all models in this price segment. As an alternative, you can consider last year's Idol Mini, which, taking into account new price looks very interesting - it can be found for 5,000 rubles. In large retail chains its cost is 5,990 rubles, which makes it not so interesting compared to the second version.