This year, Alcatel made a major come back with their all new One Touch Android Smartphones. They have a wide range of Android smartphones for you to choose from. One example is the Alcatel One Touch Glory 918N which is an entry level smartphone targeting budget conscious people who wants to own an android phone. But that’s not what this article is all about. Today let’s going to look at Alcatel One Touch 995 Sapphire HD. The Alcatel OT 995 Sapphire HD is a mid level smartphone that offers some great features, and of course for a lesser price compared to other smartphones.
Alcatel OT 995 Sapphire HD Review
I was hoping Alcatel or their PR team would lend me a unit for a review, but their PR team would not send one. Luckily my officemate recently purchased an Alcatel One Touch 995 Sapphire HD. I borrowed it for a few minutes for this review. I was surprised what this smartphone can do considering its price. First let’s take a look at its specifications.
Alcatel One Touch 995 Sapphire HD Specifications
Dimensions: 127mm x 68mm
Weight: 124 grams
Display: 4.3 inch TFT,LPS 16M colour capacitive touchscreen at 480×800 pixels with 217ppi
Operating System: Android 2.3 Gingerbread (Alcatel Customized UI)
CPU: 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255T Snapdragon
GPU: Andreno 205
Memory: 512M RAM with 2GB Internal Storage
External Storage: microSD up to 32GB
Rear Camera: 5 Megapixel at 2592×1944 pixels, AutoFocus, LED Flash
Front Camera: VGA
Video: 720p at 30fps
Data: GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA 14.4Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps
WLAN: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
Bluetooth: v3.0 with A2DP
Connectivity: microUSB 2.0, microHDMI
Sensors: G-Sensor, Accelerometer, proximity, compass
Other Features: A-GPS, FM Radio,
Battery: Li-Ion 1500 mAh
The One Touch 995
The Alcatel One Touch 995 Sapphire HD has a nice body build. It’s sturdy and doesn’t feel like it’s made of plastic. It’s not too light and its not to heavy either. The power button is located at the top of the phone, at the left side is the volume racker and power plug (micro USB), and at the button is the micro HDMI plug. The back of One Touch 995 has a rubber coating finish for better grip and to avoid accidental slip.
At the back-top portion of the Alcatel OT 995 Sapphire HD is the 5 megapixel camera and the silver line you see is where the speaker is placed. If you look at it, the OT 995’s design is similar to that of an HTC smartphone.
Moving on, it has a nice 3D UI (user interface). Too bad, it runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread only. It would be better if it was running on Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box. Or better yet, Alcatel would release an ICS update.
I was not able to fully test the phone since my officemate is using this phone. I tried to play some games and the Alcatel One Touch 995 could play HD games. It could play popular games like Temple Run, Asphalt HD and more without any difficulty since this phone’s GPU is powered by Andreno 205 GPU processor. It’s not the fastest GPU out there but it can do the job. Since this is an Android phone (with enough processing power) you can do what other android smartphones can do. Example, surfing net, video calls, chatting, gaming, installing custom roms (although I am not sure if a custom ROM is available already for OT 995) and many more.
Alcatel One Touch 995 Camera and Video Samples
Next I have taken some photos and videos to see how good the quality is. You can see samples below. Click the thumbnails for a larger view.
Alcatel One Touch 995 Sapphire HD Video Sample 720p
Conclusion
The Alcatel One Touch 995 Sapphire HD is generally a great phone. If One Touch Glory 918N is not enough for you, then is your next choice. At the time of the creation of this review, the One Touch 995 is currently priced at 13,999 (actual price might be lesser depending on the store or dealer). I checked other smartphones with the same price, but those smartphones has lesser specifications and features compared to Alcatel One Touch Sapphire HD.
Would I buy Alcatel One Touch 995?
-If I consider its price and the specifications/features it is offering, my answer would be yes. This is assuming that I do not have a mid level smartphone yet and that I am in a tight budget, or a budget conscious type of people.
Would I recommend it to people who are looking for mid-level smartphone but with a lesser price?
-Yes. Alcatel One Touch 995 Sapphire HD has good specifications built with it.
Would I recommend it to brand conscious people?
-Maybe. Most people would prefer popular brands like Samsung, HTC, Sony Xperia or even iPhone. Samsung and HTC has also their own mid-level smartphones at a higher price. If you are willing to spend more, then go for the brand that you prefer. But if you are in a tight budget and prefer to get more for a lesser price than try One Touch 995.
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