
Stick your 5.5"..
where there is no reception !
That is a slab. We don't want massive slabs, we want a normal-sized phone **LIKE EVERYONE USED TO USE**
The phrase “this now the best smartphone below so-and-so quid” is going to get worn out at this rate. idol3_phones Idol 3 has JBL speakers, music app and earphones. All three are rather good The Mk 3 Motorola Moto G, the Wileyfox Swift and the Huawei Honor 7 have each recently been hailed on these very pages as a best buy …
I must admit I tend to agree. Why they have to make the smaller variant less powerful (and it is not just Alcatel that do this, look across the board at other big names like LG, Samsung and Sony). | suspect it's probably because of less space for the battery.
I don't want a 5.5" phone, but I do want the performance. And that appears to be a combination I can't have.
I'd just like to stick up for Sony by saying they remain one of the only manufacturers that take putting their leading phablet kit into a compact body seriously, and thus also cater for that very market that appreciates a 'normal' sized phone that slips comfortably into a pocket.
"We don't want massive slabs, we want a normal-sized phone "
Strange, I don't remember being polled as to whether I want a 'massive slab' or not. FYI I'm more than happy with my 5.5" OPO thank-you very much, and I can't see myself downgrading to a smaller screen any time soon.
I think the sales numbers indicate otherwise. I'm no fan of "bigger is better" for its own sake but, depending on what you're doing, there can be advantages in making your pockets bulge.
Personally, although I've got small hands and fingers, I find that while a smaller screen fits them well, there are a lot of things which I find too fiddly: using any of the keyboards has to be number one. I don't use maps a lot but when I do I tend to find that you can't have enough screen. Battery life also seems better on the larger devices.
Spoken by someone under the age of 50. I recently started to collect my pension and for years have had trouble using small screens. They only reason for me to buy a 5.5" screen is because I cannot find a bigger one.
Incidentally I was all ready to order the Idol 3 based on this review until I saw the last paragraph. If I wanted a fixed battery I would have tried a iPhone. My wife is never without two spares for her Galaxy S3.
Yup, just what I came here to say, speaking as a man who at least 75% of the time has to invert his phone after taking it out and finding it's being held upside down.
But then again I usually take (at least) two attempts to get a USB plug in on my laptop or phone as well, so perhaps I'm just confused that way (or a reincarnated Australian).
swiftkey isn't bloatware as it is very easily switched off. Having O2/3/vodaphone/EE "store apps" and all the crap that comes with it is bloatware as these are very hard to get rid of (short of rooting and killing etc). Ive seen phones with all sorts of shovelware games, gambling apps, own store apps etc.
I must be the only one who thinks this but:
1) Power/charge sockets SHOULD go at the top - so wires trail away at desk- or tabletop use.
2) Headphone sockets SHOULD go at the bottom - so that wires trail toward you correctly when using, and orientation of your phone is correct in your pocket.
Surely if the headphone socket is at the bottom, then when it's in your pocket the headphone lead needs to go down then up to get to your ears? And the 3.5mm jack gets stressed as it's taking some of the weight? And if the lead gets caught there's little chance of just the plug popping out before the whole phone goes airborne?
Actually, I think they've nailed it - depending on what I'm doing, the headphone jack should be at the top OR bottom. The USB port I don't much care about normally (Qi) but bottom works a little better for me.
The great idea (IMO) is that I can go from portrait to landscape to portrait and not care which way I'm rotating it. With regard to fat fingers on cameras - I'm still partial to physical camera buttons (handy cue to know you're holding it right), so when they add that, I'll consider it.
"Surely if the headphone socket is at the bottom, then when it's in your pocket the headphone lead needs to go down then up to get to your ears? And the 3.5mm jack gets stressed as it's taking some of the weight? And if the lead gets caught there's little chance of just the plug popping out before the whole phone goes airborne?"
Eh? When the phone is in your pocket you want the top facing down so when you pull it out it ends up the right way up in your palm - this seems most natural when it is upside-down. As such headphone sockets should be at the bottom of the phone.
Power is more variable - if recharging via cable then socket should be at the top so that cable is not stressed or gets in the way when you glance at it or use it when sitting down. (I know, what a lazy weakling, having to rest my wrist on my thigh.) But for docks you want it at the bottom. Because of this interface should always be flippable as docks require upside-down use.
What is Alcatel's stance on updates? At least the competing Wileyfox phone is based around CyanogenOS, which does get updates to the latest Android version (albeit quite a bit later than the Nexuses and Motos of this world).
The fact that according to the review this is on Android 5.0.2 and not 5.1 (with the new Android just around the corner) isn't a good sign.