User reviews!

[craZDude]

Does anyone who has one want to give a review of the device? I'd really appreciate hearing any thoughts people have!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Tracy Daken]

It is a solid device man. The screen, speakers, battery life is awesome. Camera can take great pictures, but can also take crappy ones. It is light, looks good, and feels good in the hand. Software wise, it feels like a nexus. There are some spots of lag here and there, but not overbearing. GPS is very solid, and actually doesn't completely kill the battery like other phones do. The stock launcher is nice but I wanted stock like android, so use nova.
The front facing camera is actually pretty good. And when on speaker, both mics listen. No HAAC mics though sadly. It will clip if too loud. However, it does record in stereo.

Posted via the Idol 3

 

[bwhick7492]

I have been using this phone for approximately 4 days. So far my impressions are overall very good. The speakers are flat out amazing the battery life is great . The camera is decent at best. The screen looks great and can be viewed and all angles. Overall I am very pleased with the over experience. I will. however say there are noticeable stints of lag. case in point is hitting the Google launcher and having to wait about 3 or 4 seconds for it to open up. I have also noticed that playing music off my SD card it will randomly stop for about half a second and continued playing the song. with that being said for the price of the phone you get far more than you pay for

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[eak1570]

I really love this phone.

 

[seanpr]

My wife and I are both liking ours too.

 

[troysyx]

Is there more benefit of getting this then a used One M8?

 

[TelecasterM]

I have a 2013 Moto X with 5.1 Lag free with only a dual core S4. Wondering if the Idol 3 is a good move? I need external SD for storing music files.

 

[skipatrol]

Is there more benefit of getting this then a used One M8?

I have both... If you're choosing between a brand new idol 3 vs a used m8 I'd go with the idol simply because it's new. That's just me.

Display is nice on both but the idol 3 is noticeably larger. Colors seem to pop more on the m8 though. The m8 is also noticeably smoother /snappier (HTC usually beats any phone here) but idol 3 is no slouch. M8 also has IR if you're into that sort of thing. Idols camera crushes the m8 outdoors. M8 wins for low light. Battery life is slightly better on the idol.

The big one for me is the speaker comparison. I read a lot about the Idols speakers and had lofty expectations. They don't disappoint. The idol is on par with the m8 easily. Possibly very slightly louder. M8 is slightly bassier but it's honestly very tough to tell the difference between the two. I actually asked my fiance to turn her back and listen to both. First time she said they sounded the same and couldn't tell the difference. Second time she said the m8. Third time she chose the idol.

Bottom line is this phone is pretty good and probably underrated. I'll be selling the m8.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[zhelf]

i just recieved mine today so i will follow up when i can test it more, but i have to say for $250 unlocked this phone is amazing so far. Build quality is awesome and feels good in the hand i was worried about the back from pictures but feels very solid like my one plus one. the camera is not great but i didnt expect it to be. noticing a little lag starting off but i am going to load up my apps and switch to nova launcher and see if that helps. but i am pleasantly surprised so far.

and i really have to say thank you to jerry hildenbrand (sorry if i spelled that worng) your recommendation on this over the zenfone 2 pushed me to buy it and i could not be happier.

 

[skipatrol]

Had the phone a few days now. Still love it but it has a few quirks. Double tap to wake is hit or miss. Double tap to turn off always works.. Wake works maybe 50% of the time. Supposedly an update is forthcoming from Alcatel to fix this.

The other issue is when listening to music there is a quick drop in the sound every now and then. This happens regardless of whichever media player and happens over headphones, phone speakers etc. Hoping the update fixes this as well.

Sent from my Lenovo B6000-F using Tapatalk

 

[skipatrol]

Update... The update today appears to have completely fixed double tap to wake. The music issue appears to be fixed as well.. Overall the idol 3 is running like a champ now!

Sent from my 6045I using Tapatalk

 

[SactoKingsFan]

Just got the Idol 3 from Amazon. So far I'm really impressed. Screen looks nice and is very bright, front facing speakers are pretty good and overall performance is fast with minimal lag. After using the phone for ~ half a day it reminds me a lot of the nexus 4, but with much better battery life, camera and speakers, plus a bigger higher resolution display. I also like that it's running near stock Android.

Edit: The FM radio is a nice feature. A lot of phones that cost 2-3x as much as the Idol 3 don't have FM radio.

 

[matt3166]

Can take some awesome photos

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[SactoKingsFan]

Battery life has been very good so far. At 47% after 4+ hrs SOT.

 

[Andy Adler]

Mine arrived this morning. I've only had a couple of hours to play with it, but I'm favorably impressed. Yes, there is some lag/stuttering, but not terribly much, and the positives are many. I'd been eyeing an S6, but on T-Mobile that would run close to $700 with tax (I'm not a big fan of financing phones), and I wasn't a fan of that phone's speaker.

The Idol's front-facing speakers are at least as good -- and probably better -- than those on my HTC M7. The display is clear and crisp. The phone updated instantly upon initial boot-up once connected to my home Wi-Fi. Google apps installed without issues. For $200 (I got in on Alcatel's Prime Day sale), I think it's a keeper. I have it in the Jelly TPU case, which provides much needed grip without undue bulk. A tempered glass screen protector will likely be next.

Sent from my 6045I using Tapatalk

 

[SactoKingsFan]

Only issue I've encountered so far is the screen being way too bright at night. Used Lux lite for a couple days but it was causing significant battery drain. Now I'm using screen filter to reduce brightness at night. Works well and doesn't drain battery much.

Sent from my 6045I using Tapatalk

 

[AndyinNola]

+1 for Screen Filter. Been using it for years. Great little app.

Sent from my 6045I using Tapatalk

 

[jazman_777]

Pros: Good screen, good battery life, great speakers, has new T-Mobile bands, cheap, can add SD card, double tap to wake/sleep (working much better with recent update), near-stock Android experience. Looks OK, doesn't look/feel cheap. Light. Unlocked. Many of the pre-loaded apps can be uninstalled.

Cons: Occasional lag (not such a big deal to me, nothing like my old Galaxy S3), sound a little muddled on phone calls, replacing stock launcher (I've tried Nova and a couple of others) removes double tap to wake / sleep. Might be a little too big for some, but bezels aren't huge. Photos not so good in anything but bright light. Idol 3 logo on back might be a little goofy for some. No T-mobile wi-fi calling. Only 16 GB onboard storage (can move apps to SD card).

TBD: durability

The cons, to me, are nit-picks. The solid "con" to me is the camera, it really needs good light. It's a great phone for me, and if I break it / it gets stolen, it's not such a huge loss.

 

[SactoKingsFan]

Cons: Occasional lag (not such a big deal to me, nothing like my old Galaxy S3), sound a little muddled on phone calls, replacing stock launcher (I've tried Nova and a couple of others) removes double tap to wake / sleep.

Double tap to wake still works with Nova and you can enable double tap to sleep by assigning a screen off app to double tap gesture in Nova Prime settings.

Sent from my 6045I using Tapatalk

 

[convert]

Two questions: Anyone using the dual sim? how is it? I have two lines now as I have a small business and would prefer to consolidate now but not sure since I like my main phone.

Also, how is the volume while on a call. I switched from a Note 3 as my main phone because I couldn't hear callers well during a call. Just wasn't/still am not satisfied with the volume during a call. I use it in very quiet places hence it's okay for now but it is not great like if I am outside somewhere. I switched to a Windows phone that I got a deal on and it has been great. (I know go ahead and laugh). It's technically still the flagship I think. Point is I still might consider going with an Android phone as my dual sim option. Windows offers one right now but I'd pick the zenfone or Alcatel first I think if I go dual sim.
Thoughts?