Alcatel 5V smartphone - advantages and disadvantages

TCL Communication in July Of 2018 announced the launch of its new cell phone Alcatel5. According to the manufacturer, its advantage is manifested in the availability of a wide range of updated options, including an NFC module, a dual main camera using artificial intelligence (AI) innovations and a coordinated Google Lens application. Positioned as a budget option with improved parameters.

Completion and dimensions

The package includes:

1. Alcatel 5V Smartphone;
2. Built-in 4000mAh Battery;
3. Battery adapter;
4. Type-C USB data cable;
5. Type-C to 3.5mm adapter;
6. USB Type-C Headset;
7. SIM card adapter;
8. Wired headphones;
9. Warranty card;
10. Protective back cover made of soft plastic;
11. Guide to work with the phone.

Number of SIM cards: dual sim. Alternating work. You can insert both SIM cards or one SIM card and a memory card.

Dimensions: 153.7 x 74.55 x 8.5mm.

Unit weight: 158 g.

Design

Aluminum alloy and plastic body. The metal frame and the back surface are made of smooth plastic, nice to the touch. Plastic imitates mirror polished glass.

Slim phone with narrow bezel. The screen occupies over 84% of the area.

Available in blue and black. Colors with a soft tint, not bright. There are no fashionable overflows, but given the ergonomics, they would be inappropriate.

Austere design with rounded edges. The black version looks like bezel-less.

At the top is a rather large notch where the speakers and camera are located.

The design is quite simple, it attracts with its laconic elegance.

Main technical characteristics

The technical characteristics of the smartphone are summarized in the table.

Screen

The screen occupies 84.7% of the front surface. The 6.2 '' IPS capacitive touchscreen with 720 x 1500 pixels has good sensitivity. FullView 19: 9 screen.

The display is 6.2 inches large and bright. The resolution is not high, but quite decent for a state employee. Indoors the image is clear, outdoors it is a little worse, but there is no big difference. The colors are not annoying, they are completely natural. The display is equipped with oleophobic metallized glass to protect it from scratches.

There are pre-installed applications on the screen - Google Mail, Google Play Store, Google Maps, Clock, Calendar, Calculator, Google Lens - a modern application.

CPU

An 8-core processor unit that has 4x 2.0Ghz ARM Cortex-A53 cores and 4x 1.5Ghz ARM Cortex-A53 cores. The phone is powered by Mediatek Helio P22 MT6762 chipset, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. According to the research conducted by the company, the internal memory is equal to 5818 songs, 12800 photos and 107 videos. The RAM is fast, the option is improved over the previous models in the line.

The powerful processor provides high performance indicators, which allows you to play active games, watch movies and videos. Moreover, you can open a movie and a game without any problems, the smartphone will not freeze. This is a smart phone, faster than all the previous ones in the line.

Software and autonomy

The Alcatel 5V runs on Android OS v8.1 (Oreo), but the 5V firmware can be upgraded to a newer OS version.

The smartphone has a powerful 4000 mAh lithium-ion battery, non-removable battery.

There are different power saving modes. The battery will allow the smartphone to work for a day without recharging, provided that you are quite active. If you call it only occasionally, then the battery will last for three days. It takes three hours to fully charge your phone. Unfortunately, the smartphone is not equipped with a fast charging option.

Cameras and sensors

Main camera resolution 12 Mpx (2,400 x 5,000) Secondary resolution of the main camera 2 Mpx (980 x 2,041) Sensor type CMOS aperture F / 2.2. The second camera is 8 MP.

Cameras have the following capabilities:

• continuous shooting;
• LED flash;
• autofocusing on the subject;
• digital zoom;
• dual rear camera;
• digital image stabilization;
• geo targeting;
• touch focus HDR;
• ISO settings;
• panoramic shooting;
• self-timer;
• white balance settings;
• bokeh effect;
• beauty mode that enhances video and photo shooting, faces look more natural;
• macro shooting.

Cameras allow you to take decent quality photos. You can shoot with equally good color reproduction at dusk and during the day. For this class, the pictures are quite decent. In the sun, shooting takes place without problems. But at night, the pictures are not very good. The dual camera has an interesting feature - the option to change the depth of field makes it possible to change the focusing angle after the photo is taken.

Smartphones today have a variety of sensors to facilitate the user experience.

The Alcatel 5V comes with Near Field Communications (NFC) functionality for transferring content with other NFC-enabled devices.

An accelerometer is a sensor that measures the deflection movement and orientation of a phone. The 5V phone has a fingerprint scanner. This sensor identifies and authenticates a person's fingerprints to grant or deny access to a smartphone. Located on the back cover. Easily found and pressed with your finger if you hold the gadget with the front surface towards you.

There is a face unlock sensor. Recognizes the owner by 106 points in half a second.

These Alcatel phones come with a proximity sensor. This sensor detects how close the phone is to an external object, such as your ear. The touch sensor detects when the user holds the phone near their face during a call and turns off the display to prevent pressing the keypad and consuming unnecessary battery.

The 5V comes with NFC (Near Field Communication) functionality. Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless communication technology that simplifies transactions and is convenient for consumers around the world. Allows you to share digital content and reads electronic devices by touch. This is the first budget Alcatel with NFC, which sets it apart from competitors in the same price segment.

Sound and communication

Alcatel 5V supports 2G, 3G and 4G / LTE networks. This phone has built-in GPS. GPS is a highly accurate navigation system that uses signals from satellites to determine your location on the surface of the earth, regardless of weather conditions.

There is a 3.5 mm audio jack. Wired vacuum stereo headphones.

The 5 V phone has a built-in radio. The built-in FM radio is great for listening to your favorite radio station. The radio is loud with clear sound. The interlocutor on the phone is also perfectly audible. The volume of the call and vibration alert are average. The sound in headphones is better than without them, there is little bass.

Loud alarm clock and good quality dictaphone recording.

The video is recorded in HD format.

Connectivity on the Alcatel 5V has the following features: Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetoothv4.0, GPS, and A-GPS.

Service life and warranty

Users do not have much operating experience yet, and the manufacturer provides a standard year of warranty.

Features:

The Alcatel 5V has an interesting built-in app. A relatively new and impressive feature built into Google Assistant called Google Lens. This is the next level of virtual assistant. Google Lens is integrated with Google Photos. This allows you to find out additional information about it when you point your phone at an object. For example, if you point your smartphone at a restaurant, the assistant will show its website, reviews, menus, and nearby similar objects.

Now the camera will not just see things and provide modest information (using Goggles), with the help of artificial intelligence (Google Lens), it will present detailed and useful information.

Suppose there is a billboard for an upcoming concert on the way home. When you point the camera at a billboard, the phone will show the details of the concert, information about the band, the ability to buy tickets.

Where can I buy?

You can buy at any retail network in Russia or on the Internet. It is not for sale on Ali Express, it may be later. The estimated price is $ 200, but it is likely to decline, since the main peak in sales has already passed.

Advantages and disadvantages of the model

• updated Android;
• high quality photo in the daytime. The main camera on the device uses a 12MP + 2MP lens, which is capable of taking photos at 4032 x 3024 resolution;
• thin;
• large display with non-annoying colors;
• Asahi Dragontrail Glass - powerful protective glass;
• there are all the necessary sensors;
• NFC option;
• smart processor;
• nice design in two soft color variations;
• you can open two games at the same time without freezing the phone;
• a powerful battery will allow you to use the gadget for at least a day without recharging.

• no fast and wireless charging option;
• glossy plastic quickly gets dirty and scratched, apparently that's why the manufacturer included a protective transparent cover in the kit;
• for such a large display, the screen resolution is small, there is little grain;
• the speaker is located inconveniently and is covered with a hand during games;
• the sound lacks low frequencies;
• for some users, the smartphone may seem too light, despite its large size;
• the notch at the top of the phone feels too big;
• good pictures at night do not come out;
• no water protection.

The Alcatel 5V was launched in July 2018 as a budget smartphone, but close to the high end in terms of options. This is an option for people who want maximum performance. Its main advantages are a strong battery, an eight-core processor and a large screen. A powerful processor and battery will allow you to safely play active games, without any problems viewing any content. For a toy lover, this is just a find for relatively little money, since popular games do not hang.