Alcatel OneTouch Idol X hands on -CES2014

Alcatel OneTouch Idol X hands on -CES2014

The company's target with the Idol X+ Is not the iPhone, or the Samsung Galaxy S4, but devices like the Moto G which have been amazingly popular in recent months, particularly unlocked and unsubsidized. Put Alcatel and Motorola side-by-side at the point of sale, and in a game of "specification sheet bingo" the Moto G begins to look a little underwhelming.

The Alcatel One Touch Idol X manages to pack many features into a slender body. In terms of screen size it's comparable the Samsung Galaxy S4, is slightly larger than the HTC One, but smaller than the LG G2. The Idol X also admits an impressive 13.1 Mega-Paxel camera, and you maybe able to pick up the One Touch Idol X around $350, AU$280, which comes through cheaper than its direct rivals at Samsung, LG and HTC.

Video Alcatel OneTouch Idol X hands on -CES2014

Specification Alcatel OneTouch Idol X

The Alcatel One Touch (OT) Idol X is a different beastly smartphone from Alcatel. The OT Idol X features a 5-inch 1080p display and runs on the latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Alcatel takes pride in a colorful advance to design, much like the latest Nokia devices, and has also managed to cram everything into a razor thin 7.1mm body. It has too achieved an edge-to-edge design for the display and has pre-loaded what seems like almost stock Android. Under the hood, the Alcatel One Touch Idol X is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, sporting 16 GB of internal storage and a 2,000 mAh battery. The camera is a 13-megapixel one.

There's no micro SD card slot on the dual-SIM version of the Alcatel One Touch Idol X, so you are limited to the 16GB of internal storage, and after all the vital hardware is installed on the device; out of the box you'll only be able to access 12.7 GB. Whenever you manage to find the single-SIM variant then you do get a microSD slot, but you'll have to make do with just 8GB of internal storage, of while just 5.5GB is actually available.

We are hoping the battery life increases too. Alcatel told us the Fitbit-like dongle - which slots into a particularly Fitbit-esque wristband - should last for around 36 hours of heavy use, although did not say exactly what combination of movement tracking, along with call and message notifications, would comprise "heavy use."

All the same, even with rough edges, there's many thing to like about the OneTouch Idol X+, and not least its price. If the company get get it in front of enough people, or even better tie its message of unsubsidized value into a significant carrier push like that of T-Mobile, 2014 might end up being Alcatel's year.