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MagyarReview Alcatel One Touch Fire (Firefox OS) Smartphone
For the original German review, see here.
Just 90 Euros (~$123) for a smartphone? Alcatel's One Touch Fire is sold for little money, and the interested user can choose among three different colors. The front and backside is always white; only the bezel's color is white, Firefox Orange or Apple Green. Our review sample is green.
Alcatel's One Touch Fire is not really aimed at markets in the western hemisphere with its very low price. It is more intended for expanding markets like China, India or South America. Nevertheless, the new operating system arouses curiosity in the west. The German provider Congstar already states that there may be a delay in delivery due to high demand.
We will look at what restrictions have to be accepted in a 90 Euros (~$123) smartphone, and naturally take a closer look at the new operating system in this test report. Other phones based on Firefox OS are presently still rare, but LG's Optimus L3 II is a very low-priced Android smartphone and Huawei's Ascend Y300 only costs a bit more. The street price of both Samsung's Galaxy Fame and Galaxy Young are also within this price range. Nokia's Lumia 520 represents an affordable Windows Phone.
Case
A metal casing for 90 Euros (~$123) would be a small sensation, and Alcatel's One Touch Fire does not provide this. Plastic in three different colors is the material of choice, as mentioned above. Since the screen is very small for a smartphone with just 3.5-inches, the casing is accordingly compact: Almost 13 centimeters in height, and 6.7 centimeters in width. Alcatel's One Touch Fire is a very slim device with a thickness of 9 millimeters, at least in the budget sector. Neither LG's Optimus L3 II nor Huawei's Ascend Y300 can compete with that.
The One Touch Fire generally features a rigid build. However, medium pressure on the screen leads to streaks in the liquid crystals. The plastic pane that protects the screen can also be dented to quite an extent. Otherwise, the smartphone is stiff, and also resistant to pressure from the back.
Software
Firefox OS
One of the biggest highlights of Alcatel's One Touch Fire is definitely the brand new Firefox OS, which is entirely based on open web technologies like HTML 5 or JavaScript. The German Telecom and Telefónica were its partners, and they now also sell the devices.
Initial use is relaxing, particularly in times of Big Data, and monitoring through intelligence agencies and advertising companies. Firefox OS does not require creating an account, nor does it demand any personal information in the start up. After the first settings, the user is on a home screen that is quite similar to existing systems. Small icons for apps are arranged in rows of four, and can be moved via drag and drop.
A bar with messages and information about things like network quality and time is at the upper edge. Like in Google's Android, it can be pulled down, enabling quick access to innumerable settings. The settings menu is astonishingly like in Android. Of course, we could say: better well-copied than to improve for the worse.
But what makes Firefox OS special then? Since all apps are also all based on well-known and widely-distributed technologies, such as HTML 5, CSS or JavaScript, it is easy for programmers to create content. However, apps can be installed locally or be executed directly online in the browser. Thus, apps can simply be installed from the market place, or the search box that shows all available online apps in Firefox OS. Apps can also sometimes just be mobile websites so that the home screen turns into a nicely rehashed bookmark list. The boundaries between apps and mobile Internet merge imperceptibly.
Apps directly from the Internet are started without installation by only a click. One disadvantage is that some functions cannot be implemented with the online apps because they cannot access many of the smartphone's features for security reasons (contacts, personal data, telephone function, etc.). The verified apps from the marketplace have more rights, and can for example access the contacts. Another drawback: When offline, logically only the apps that are permanently installed on the device are available, providing they do not need Internet for their content.
The operating system version 1.1.0.0 was installed on our review sample, which had "Pre-release" in its name. Consequently, a few bugs annoyed our routine with the One Touch Fire. For example, Wi-Fi could not be reset after entering the wrong password for quite a time, and it consistently tried to connect.
Our impression of Firefox OS: intuitive in use; Android users will only need a short familiarization period. The idea with the online apps is interesting, but it also has a few drawbacks. These disadvantages sometimes make it recommendable to prefer the app from the marketplace. One advantage is surely that rarely used apps do not have to be installed, and that they do not have access to personal data.
Most apps run adequately fast, and the navigation also works fairly lag-free on the rather performance-weak hardware of our review sample. Firefox OS will very likely be first choice for security geeks, and those who want to protect their data. Future updates could also make Firefox OS a serious competitor for the established operating systems. We can only hope that the funding for the 30 full-time programmers at Mozilla is secured; most ironically coming from a contract with Google.
Installed Apps
Besides standard functions, such as telephone and SMS, many apps are installed on Alcatel's One Touch Fire: Here Maps from Nokia, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Wikipedia as well as the Firefox browser. A few games were also installed on our model, just like the app from the mobile network provider Congstar.
Many of these installed apps are in fact only links to the mobile version of the corresponding website. Telephone, radio, news, email client, camera, an app about data usage, as well as the Firefox browser and address book are actually installed on the device.
Connectivity
Powered by a single-core SoC with a clock of 1 GHz, Alcatel's One Touch Fire will no longer win any performance prizes these days. The storage capacity of just 512 MB is also tight. However, it can be expanded up to 32 GB via the micro SD reader.
Communication & GPS
We naturally do not expect LTE from a 90 Euros (~$123) smartphone. Alcatel's One Touch Fire includes HSPA, which enables browsing the Internet with up to 7.2 MBit per second. Besides that, the phone can be used anywhere in the world owing to quad-band in the GSM network, and dual-band in the UMTS network.
Wi-Fi provides the current 802.11 b/g/n standards, and its reception strength is on the usual level. Half the signal strength was displayed at a distance of 10 meters and through 2 walls. Another wall between the phone and the router results in a quarter.
The aGPS module fortunately finds enough satellites quite fast for determining the position fairly accurately. An accuracy of approx. 14 meters was achieved in the area of houses, and it was clearly below 10 meters in open terrain.
Telephony & Speech Quality
The telephone app also sticks to Google's operating system: Large keys, green dial button, two tabs for contacts and call history. Everything is clearly arranged, but not with much obvious ambition to differ from existing systems.
The called person is well-audible, but critical users might be annoyed about the slightly muffled sound, and a very quiet buzzing noise in high volumes. The hands-free feature via the speaker works well; the speech quality is good, and the maximum volume is satisfactory.
Cameras & Multimedia
Alcatel's One Touch Fire sports a 3.2 megapixel camera. The pictures are saved in a size of 2048x1536 pixels. The comparison of our pictures shows that the camera cannot compete with the units in premium smartphones. The pictures exhibit a bluish cast, bright areas are overexposed, and the details are not ideal either. Intense color noise is noticed in poor lighting conditions. The camera might satisfy users who only want to take snapshots with their phone. However, another device should be selected for any higher ambitions or party photos because there is no LED flash.
Accessories
Since the One Touch is presently not even found on Alcatel's official website, it is difficult to buy suitable accessories. There is at least a headset besides a USB cable and charger in the box, which is not a matter of course for all affordable phones. The phone also comes with a 2 GB memory card; Alcatel likely knows that 512 MB is not a very voluminous data storage capacity.
Warranty
Alcatel includes a 12 month warranty on its smartphones. Upgrades can be purchased depending on the local retailer or by an insurance provider.
Input Devices & Controls
The virtual keyboard also follows known patterns, and strongly resembles the Android keyboard. Its use is quick, and quite intuitive. However, the small screen also involves a small keyboard. Word recognition facilitates faster inputting; there presently are no alternative input methods, such as handwriting detection or voice dictation.
A shortcut button enables switching among all installed languages, which is actually unnecessary. It gets annoying because it does not open a menu when accidentally hit; instead the keyboard automatically switches to the next language. Longer pressure first opens a menu to change back again.
Display
The small TFT screen has a diagonal size of 3.5-inches and a resolution of 480x320 pixels. Other screens in this price range offer similar rates. Compared with higher-quality smartphone screens, the screen in Alcatel's One Touch Fire looks dark, and a bit unfocused due to the low resolution. Particularly websites that are not optimized for mobile use, and which have larger texts are difficult to read.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 89 %
Center on Battery: 319 cd/m²
Contrast: 862:1 (Black: 0.37 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 15.84 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.2
ΔE Greyscale 14.74 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
Gamma: 2.25
At first glance, the colors look pale; white and black are, however, quite rich and dark. In fact, the One Touch Fire has a good black level of 0.37 cd/m², and the contrast of 862:1 is also higher than in some other budget smartphones.
We use the program CalMAN and a colorimeter for a more accurate image assessment. We noticed that the screen highly overemphasizes blue hues, and almost all grayscale rates deviate strongly from the sRGB color space reference value, and that they are also shifted toward blue.
The screen is not extremely reflective when used outdoors, and the brightness rates are quite acceptable for a device from this price range. Nevertheless, it will not be possible to work with the phone in bright sunlight.
The viewing angles are quite good from left to right in portrait mode. However, the contrast decreases quickly from above and below. Overall, the viewing angles are good, particularly in view of the price range.
Performance
Compared with current smartphones, the 1 GHz single-core processor that powers the smartphone is, of course, a slow operator. This may also be due to the comparatively small RAM. Although navigating in menus is smooth, and the optimized apps load and run quickly, slight lags are occasionally noticed. Also, when an app is not quite as well-optimized, like the Settings app, these stutters are sometimes more intense. Nevertheless, routine use with Alcatel's One Touch Fire is quite pleasant, and its performance is still just enough for most tasks.
It is still quite difficult to assess the performance of Firefox OS objectively because none of the normally used benchmarks are (yet) available for the operating system. We only receive objective rates from the browser benchmarks, and Alcatel's One Touch Fire scores quite well here. It naturally is defeated by current premium-range phones, such as Google's Nexus 5, but other low-budget devices like Sony's Xperia E or Huawei's Ascend Y300 fall behind. However, it must also be said that a few browser benchmarks (Peacekeeper, Octane) crash in the mobile Firefox; its stability does not seem optimal.
It is also subjectively evident that Firefox OS has been optimized for the Internet. The Firefox browser is very clearly arranged, and swift in the context of the hardware's capabilities. However, heavy Internet users should consider whether websites are really fun on the small and low-resolution screen. Scrolling is also quite fidgety sometimes.
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Alcatel One Touch Fire (Firefox OS) | |
| Google Nexus 5 | |
| Google Nexus 5 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Acer Liquid Z3 Duo | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Alcatel One Touch Fire (Firefox OS) | |
| Google Nexus 5 | |
| Acer Liquid Z3 Duo | |
| Browsermark - --- (sort by value) | |
| Alcatel One Touch Fire (Firefox OS) | |
| Huawei Ascend Y300 | |
| Google Nexus 5 | |
| Sony Xperia E dual | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Acer Liquid Z3 Duo | |
* ... smaller is better
Games
Although it may seem ridiculous to ascribe gaming qualities to such a low-performance device, Firefox OS is currently made for weak hardware, and thus the available games exactly match that. A few well-known titles like Cut the Rope are among the games playable.
In terms of graphics, none can compete with the current top games on mobile devices by any means, but many are fun to play and the majority are free of charge. In fact, all tested games from the marketplace ran absolutely lag-free on Alcaltel's One Touch Fire. The user should just not expect 3D gaming in cutting-edge graphics, but rather retro-graphics in 2D.
Emissions
Temperature
High casing temperatures are not an issue owing to the SoC's low performance. The maximum temperature during full load was 31.8 °C, which is barely noticed.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 31.8 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 34.9 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 52.9 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 29.5 °C / 85 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.2 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
Speakers
The small speaker on the back is louder than one would presume. The sound is a bit thin when the phone is held in the hand. However, when it is placed on a table, even basses are audible. The mids are too weak in every situation so that only an overall middling sound is achieved. Nevertheless, that is more than satisfactory for this price range.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
A small screen, and low performance - the power consumption of Alcatel's One Touch Fire should be moderate. In fact, the device consumes considerably less than one watt in most application scenarios. A still low 1.4 watts is consumed when the device is fully loaded.
| Off / Standby |   0.01 / 0.1 Watt |
| Idle |  0.2 / 0.5 / 0.6 Watt |
| Load |
0.8 / 1.4 Watt |
    
| |
Battery Runtime
Low performance = low consumption = long battery runtimes. This equation works out precisely in Alcatel's One Touch Fire. The phone lasted up to 25 hours when it was not in standby, but not used either. Browsing the Internet is possible for almost a whole workday, and users who max out the system performance can do so until the lunch break.
Thus, the device is definitely long-lasting. But since the battery is not the biggest of its kind with 5.81 watt hours, the One Touch Fire does not stand out exceptionally from other models. Nevertheless, this proves the energy management of Firefox OS is well programmed.
Verdict
Alcatel's One Touch Fire is certainly not a technical highlight. It is actually a step back into the smartphone-stone age in some areas: Small screen, low resolution, occasional lags during use, and plastic no matter where the hands are placed. Then again, certain restrictions can be accepted for a price of only just 90 Euros (~$123), and the excitement of trying out a completely new system is virtually priceless. However, Firefox OS can also be tested via a plug-in in the Firefox browser; more information can be found here.
Users who want to immediately try out Firefox OS on a phone, and who can live with some restrictions in terms of software and hardware, will find a quite elegantly designed, very handy, and intuitive to use device in Alcatel's One Touch Fire. Everyone else should perhaps be patient. The availability of devices will surely grow in a few months, Firefox OS will certainly be better developed after a few updates, and the marketplace will likely have more to offer. We are looking forward to the future!
