Prettier Than Pink

What comes to your mind when you hear the word ALCATEL? Cheap phones comes with a cheap prices ? And seems a china phone too, yeah? Well, you got it all wrong because Alcatel is a french brand from Paris and 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 an android phone. But that's not what this blog is all about. Today let's going to look at ALCATEL ONE TOUCH 995 SAPPHIRE HD. The Alcatel OT995 Sapphire HD is a mid-level smartphone that offers some great features, and of course for lesser price compare to other smartphones.

I was hoping Alcatel Kiosk would be kind enough to lend me the unit first to check the phone before I will purchase it but their sales clerk would not lend me one. Luckily, one customer bought the Alcatel Sapphire 995D so I borrowed it for a few minutes (thanks that she's so kind to lend me her unit) for me to satisfy my curiosity on a platter about the specification and features of this phone. I was surprised what this smartphone can do considering its price. First let's take a look at its specification.

Alcatel One Touch Kiosk at SM

ALCATEL ONE TOUCH 995 SAPPHIRE HD SPECIFICATION:

Dimensions: 127mm x 68mm

Weight: 124 grams

Display: 4.3 inch TFT, LPS 16M colour capacitive touchscreen at 480x800 pixels with 217ppi (WoW!)

Operating system: Android 2.3 Gingebread (Alcatel Customized UI)

CPU: 4.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255T Snapdragon (a double WoW!)

GPU: Andreno 205

Memory: 512 RAM with 2GB Internal Storage

External Memory: MicroSD up to 32GB

Rear Camera: 5 Megapixel at 2592x1944 pixels, Auto Focus, LED flash

Front Camera: VGA

Video: 720p at 30fps

Data: GPRS, EDGE. HSDPA 14.4mbps, HSUPA 5.76mbps

WLAN: WiFi 802.11b/g/n, WiFi hotspot, DLNA

Bluetooth: v3.0 with A2DP

Connectivity: microUSB 2.0, microHDMI

Sensors: G-sensor, Accelerometer, proximity, compass

Other Features: A-GPS, FM Radio, Task

Battery: Li-Ion 1500 mAh

Alcatel One Touch Sapphire 995D

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 tracker and power plug (micro USB), and at the bottom is the micro HDMI plug. The back of the One Touch 995 has a rubber coating finish for the better grip and to avoid accidental slip.

unboxing Alcatel OT995D

Specs and Features right at back of the box

At the back-top portion of the Alcate 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.

back of Alcatel Sapphire 995D

Moving on, it has a nice 3D UI (user interface). Too bad, it runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, it would be better if it was running on Ice cream sandwich out of the box but of course, you can upgrade it to Android 4 Ice cream sandwich and hopefully, Alcatel would release an ICS update with this phone.

Operating System upgraded to ICS

I was not able to fully test the phone since the customer was waiting. 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 the 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.

Screen of OT 995D

Customized UI (User Interface) of Alcatel Sapphire 995D

Would I buy Alcatel One Thouch 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 smartphones 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 Samung, 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 tight budget and prefer to get more for a lesser price then try One Touch 995D.