One of Alcatel’s competitively priced Android offerings is the One Touch Scribe HD. It has a 5-inch HD display, Android Jellybean, a quad-core processor, and a sub-Php14K price tag, to boot. Let’s find out if the Scribe HD is worth every penny by reading our full review.
Design and Construction
One of the best features of the Scribe HD in terms of design is how slim it is for a 5-incher. It’s not as thin as the 6.5mm One Touch Idol Ultra but at 8.5mm the thinness is very noticeable. The body is made of soft-touch plastic with a curved backside that reminds us of the HTC One X. The sides are bevelled which is more pronounced at the bottom.
Surrounded by a metallic frame on the front is the 5-inch display, together with the earpiece and 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera. On the right are the microSIM slot and microUSB port, while on the left are the volume rocker and microSD card slot. Right on top is the power/lock button and the 3.5mm headset jack. Found at the bottom is the microphone. Flip it on its back and you’ll see the protruding 8 megapixel camera with LED flash, a secondary microphone and the speaker located on the lower left.
Overall, the Scribe HD is well-built with a simple yet noticeable design. The bevelled edges and the slim profile feels good in the hands. The only complaint we have are the micro SIM and microSD card slot. The plastic flaps are difficult to pullout if you have short fingernails. The same problem applies when pushing the SIM and microSD card into place.
Display
The Scribe HD is equipped with a 5-inch HD (720 x 1280) IPS LCD screen which equates to a pixel density of 294ppi. Mounted on top if it is a Dragontrail glass for added toughness. We tried scratching and stabbing it with a knife with enough force to scrape paint off a metal and make an ugly dent on a wood. As expected, not even a single scratch.
The result is a relatively crisp display with good viewing angles and color reproduction. The only thing it’s not good at is repelling finger prints and smudges.
OS, UI and Apps
Running under the hood of the Scribe HD is Android 4.2.1 Jellybean with Alcatel’s UI skin on top. Most of the visual tweaks are made on icons which look like bloated squares. It looks a bit toyish but not at all ugly.
Along with basic Google Apps, the Scribe HD comes with Alcatel’s own useful apps like the One Touch Cloud Backup, One Touch Media Share, One Touch Radio, Scribe Calculator and Scribe Note.
The Scribe Note is one of the forefront apps in the Scribe HD. It lets you utilize the stylus that comes with phone’s package to take down notes and do a little scribbling. However, the stylus writing experience is not up to par compared to the Samsung Galaxy Notes. The stylus is not responsive 100% of the time and cannot cope with relatively fast note-taking.
Other preinstalled apps are present as well like AVG, Kingsoft Office, Skitch, Barcode Scanner, Gameloft Live, and Shark Dash. Good thing these apps can be uninstalled which leaves you with a little more than 2GB of usable internal memory.
Camera and Multimedia
The Scribe HD is equipped with an 8 megapixel AF rear camera with LED flash. It comes with a wide range of features such as HDR, Panorama, Continuous shots, Multi-Angle shots and smile detection. Images taken are very clear and sharp with great colors. Although it shoots quick, the focus feels a bit slow. Indoor shots look good as well but noise starts to become evident. Take a look at the sample images below:
[fancygallery id=”15″ album=”15″]
The camera is also capable of shooting videos of up to 1080p at 30fps and are saved in 3GP format. Alcatel also took hints from HTC and allowed the Scribe HD to shoot stills while recording. Watch the sample video below:
As for its multimedia capabilities, the Scribe HD’s display is perfect for watching movies and videos as well as for browsing pictures. However, we discovered that the speaker’s quality is a bit iffy. At first we thought the speaker is just too weak to our liking when suddenly there’s a burst of loudness that lasted for a few seconds then immediately went back to its low-volume state. This occurs every now and then which is a bit annoying.
Performance and Battery Life
The quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and Android Jellybean worked very well in providing a smooth experience when using the Scribe HD. UI navigation is fluid without any noticeable lags and we were able to play Dead Trigger in High settings without any problem.
We placed the Scribe HD under a series of benchmark tests and here are the results:
* AnTuTu – 13,003
* Quadrant Standard – 3,944
* Vellamo HTML5 – 1,441
* Vellamo Metal – 433
* NenaMark 2 – 45.4fps
As for battery life, we loaded the Scribe HD with a 1080p movie file and continuously played it on airplane mode with volume set to 0% and brightness on 50%. The result is 7 hours and 36 minutes of continuous playback. Regular usage consisiting of light texting and calling, constant WiFi connectivity and heavy SNS, the Scribe HD can last for a day and a half. With heavy media consumption such as movies with speakers on and heavy gaming, the battery can last 5 to 6 hours.
Conclusion
The Alcatel One Touch Scribe HD is a great offering and even beats the One Touch Idol Ultra in some aspects. It has a good display with large real estate, great performance thanks to the quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM, great battery life, and its cheaper too at Php13,490USD 230INR 19,488EUR 219CNY 1,674.
The only real concern here is the speaker quality. We hope that this is just an isolated case with the review unit we received. Square that away and the Scribe HD becomes an almost perfect candidate for those looking for a budget-friendly 5-incher.
Alcatel One Touch Scribe HD specs:
5″ IPS HD (720 x 1280) display, 294ppi
MTK 6589 Quad-core 1.2 GHz
1GB RAM
4GB internal memory (2GB usable)
microSD up to 32GB
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP
GPS w/ A-GPS support
8MP camera w/ LED flash, 1080p@30fps
1.3MP front-facing camera, 720p
Android 4.2.1 Jellybean
2,500mAh non-removable battery
144 x 75 x 8.5 mm (dimensions)
135g (weight)
Package includes: stylus and magnetic cover
What we liked about it:
* Great HD display
* Good performance
* Good camera
* Slim profile
* Great battery life
* Affordable price tag
What we didn’t like about it:
* Speaker volume issues
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luther says:
which is better spec’d? this vs myphone 919i vs CM flare2/omega HD????
pfb says:
specs-wise, i think the scribe is a little better than the a919i owing to it’s dragon glass tail screen.
the battery too is a major plus; too bad this isn’t dual sim capable.
if you’re on a budget (like me)the a919i isn’t a bad choice after all with some tweaks I can squeeze out every penny of my hard-earned P7990 (intro price).
weryou@ says:
Looks like a winner. I hope you guys come out with a review of the Sapphire 2 soon.
evollove says:
Hope you can make a review squaring this off against the MyPhone A919i, the O+ 8.15 and the Cherry Mobile Skyfire 2.0 (might be unfair for the Skyfire 2.0, so this stands only until CM gets their own 720p, MT6589 5-incher).
Aside from the usual benchmark comparisons (especially battery life), compare how the preinstalled apps are against each other and the possibility of the phones to receive updates.
Just some suggestions, don’t sweat it.
Ron says:
Been waiting for this review for days.
I was hoping you’d tackle some features or optimised apps (if there are any) made with for the stylus in mind. Their note taking app seems like any other note taking app. Nothing special. So I guess it’s wiser to get any other 5in phone lower than 14k and get a 100pesos stylus to match this phone.
A919i seems like a better choice. I think.
Louie says:
Hi Ron,
Thanks for pointing that out. It’s just the Scribe Calculator and the Scribe Note. For a smartphone with a “Scribe” for a name it looks like it fell a little short in that feature. I installed the Bamboo Paper app though which looks and feels better. Still, the stylus is just not that good.
abuzalzal says:
The stylus isn’t even a precision stylus, but rather a soft-tip rounded one … it’s something that you can get for Php 150 at CDR-KING
It’s really hard to recommend the Alcatel over the MyPhone A919i or even the Omega HD
Paul says:
Sulit! When will this be available to the public?
Questionaire? says:
Excuse me, is it true that u can save apps in the external sd card? beacause I read it in GADGET PILIPINAS.net? and also does it supports USB OTG?
default write disk says:
true po buh na mai default write disk xa ? and can save apps in SD card ? hope you can answer it po ..
wewet says:
Sir louie, san ka nakabili ng Scribe HD? been looking for this for weeks now.. thanks
Abe Olandres says:
This is a review unit from Alcatel.
MysteryGuy007 says:
May paraan ba sir louie para ma upgrade to into KitKat ? May custom roms ba na available?
Grace says:
Actually the Scribe HD is dual sim :)
Aradia says:
When is this phone going to be in local stores??? im planning to buy one actually
'em says:
I read in one blog that the release date of this is on May 27. I’m not sure if that’s accurate.
'em says:
Sir – I read this on your previous post…
http://www.yugatech.com/mobile/alcatel-launches-7-smartphones-a-tablet-for-the-ph/
“The Glory 2, Sapphire 2 and Inspire 2 will be available on April 29. The Scribe Easy and the Idol Ultra on April 27. The Idol on May 20 and the Scribe HD on May 26.”
Can you confirm?
White Knight says:
I think the Scribe easy is already available in the market since April. Its SRP pegged at P8,990.00 according to their kiosk. Truly this unit is a hot cake. The 5 inch screen makes it too big for me, that’s why i bought the Sapphire 2 and I didn’t regret.
pastilan says:
Too late. Omega HD 2.0 has arrived. Torn between two lovers? Scribe HD or O+ 8.15? OHD 2.0 is wins. same specs but with all toppings like BSI 12MP and a Dragon Trail glass.
Swsweeewee says:
“OHD 2.0 is wins” ba?
jols says:
grammar check please? try harder.
magic5 says:
Wawa nmn alcatel, ndi pa nga naddisplay unit nla sa shelves andme na kgad lumabas na pang tapat sknla specialy 4 d scribe hd. Sna babaan pa nla ng konti price nla pra mbura na sa market yng mga siraan na unit ng mga rebranded phones na yan!
Imbes kc na babaan nla ung price eh lalo png tinaasan, d2 sa mga reviews n blogs eh p13,490 ang srp, pro nung nag ask ako sa kiosk nla sa southmall eh p14,990 daw tpos wla png demo unit, ayaw pa ptignan n pa open kung ndi ka bbili on d spot.. tsk2..
Carlo says:
Is it already available nationwide?
ybbot says:
sa sm fairview 15k sya for 6 months installment eh, pag cash daw may bawas yung 15k pero d ko na natanong kung magkano nalang. :-) dun ok naman yung staff nila pinagamit sakin. kaya lang napansin ko parang madilim yung front cam nya maliwanag naman sa loob ng mall? mas ok kaya kung bsi like o+? nkakahiya kc i check ng matagal wala p naman ako pambili.haha sir yuga ok ba yung front cam malinaw naman b pang skype or pics? tnx
ybbot says:
saka di ko rin natanong at for sure hindi rin nila alam kung pede mag install sa external sd card ng apps and games na hindi na i root. may idea ka kung pede? tnx
anubis says:
search mu yung review ng gadget pilipinas.. mai default write disk nman daw xa .. mkkapili ka kung san mu iinstall yung apps ..
ybbot says:
oo boss kita ko narin yung halos lahat ng review sa net pati yung sa gadgetpilipinas. sakanila ko lang kasi nakita na sinabi yun. gusto ko lang makasigurado. tnx sa reply btw :-)
anubis says:
.. available nadin xa dito sa SM davao . tinanong ko yung salesman sa memoxpress . sabi ko kung nkkpag save ba xa ng app directly sa sd card . ang reply nya “lahat nman daw ng smartphone mkkpag save ng apps sa sd -_- di nlng aku umapila kasi wla pdn akung pambili haha .
Carlo says:
Which is better the Lenovo that cost 14k or this? My budget is 11-15k. Options are Alcatel Scribe HD, Samsung Grand, Lenovo that cost 14k (sorry forgot the name). I’m actually considerinhg he meizu mx.4 too but widget city hub does not allow walk-in buyers. I’d like to try it first before I buy it. do you have other suggestions? affordable quad core phones I prefer.
ybbot says:
@anubis
kahit yung sales man di rin ata alam. hahaha maliit kasi yung 2 gb na user available para sa apps and games eh gusto kahit man lang 6 gb eh. sana may reliable na pedeng magpatunay na pede ngang mag install sa external sdcard ng apps khit d na i root. ano pala tingin m boss sa unit pag hawak mo? feeling ko kc nung hawak ko sa sobrang gaan parang madali masira pag bumagsak. haha nadiliman pa ko sa front cam nya d ko alam kung dahil sa plastic lang na nakakabit sa screen o tlagang madilim lang tlaga, maliwanag naman kc sa sm. sana ginawa na nilang bsi. hehe
anubis says:
uu nga eh .. sana nman sagotin tayo ng admin sa tanong natin .. wla silang review unit kai scribe eh .review/buy ang drama dito kaya di ko siya nahawakan , tsaka di gaano maingay si scribe hd sa net. wla pang gumagawa ng FULL review tlga . duda na tuloy ako sa review nung GP . kasi review unit lng yung scribe nila db? . solid na choice ko to buy cguro yung 8.15 nlng or OHD 2.0 kasi confirmed tlga na nakakapag save sila ng apps sa SD .
boxingfan24 says:
any info if this will be available through a postpaid plan from sun cellular?
wenzel dashington says:
Kindly clarify what OS does this phone carry. 4.1 or 4.2 jellybean? This review says 4.2.1 while other reviews would state that OS is 4.1.
Syed says:
Hi every one plz let me know where can i buy this mobile… iam frm india(chennai)…
zhonghua says:
Hi does this supports usb otg? Admin pls confirm.. and also, apps can be save to sd card? Thanks
ijvm says:
yes, you can save apps on your SD
Shadow says:
What movie file support nitong alcatel scribe hd?
momen says:
what about compass application like Swiss army knife .
what about the sensors inside??
waiting the replay as soon
ssora says:
meron ba tong notification lights?
James says:
Bought this phone last May 26. The phone performed very good. It handled 3d games without any lag. Gameplay with frontline commando d-day was very smooth. Battery life was excellent. Browsing experience was smooth and fast.
I enjoyed my phone until it died on me the other day. I sent it to the local service center and they told me it will take 1-2 months to repair the phone. I am am not sure if this is only in the Philippines but 1-2 months to repair a phone is too slow. Someone from the service center also informed me that this was a common problem with Alcatel phones.
This wasn’t my first Alcatel phone, but I guess buying a phone from a not so popular brand has its risks. I’ve bought numerous phones from other brands before and this is the first time I experienced buying a phone that only lasted a less than 6 months.
The only time I bought a phone that lasted only 2 months was when I bought a Cherry mobile phone. I didn’t expect this from a brand like Alcatel. I guess I should have stuck with Samsung, LG, Apple, or Nokia.
Alcatel should learn that after sales and quality of your product is very important if you want to stay competitive in the market.
After this unpleasant experience, I won’t be buying any Alcatel phones anymore. I am very disappointed with this brand and I regret even recommending it to my friends and family. I am still waiting for my phone to be returned to me 2 months from now.
Grammar_Bitch says:
1. Bought this phone last May 26 – When you use “last” before a month, it actually means last year. Bought my phone on May 26.
2. I enjoyed my phone until it died on me the other day. – It died ON you? I enjoyed my phone until it died the other day.
3. I regret even recommending it to my friends and family. – No need for “even”. I regret recommending it to my friends and family.
4. I am still waiting for my phone to be returned to me 2 months from now. – Will YOUR phone be returned to someone other than you? I am still waiting for my phone to be returned 2 months from now.
Forgave all your other grammar errors.
Markus says:
Hi James,
Have you check with Alcatel on their feedback on the real cause of the issue? Please give a feedback since i am using the same model and been using for 2 months now.
buratsky says:
super ganda nito khit kelan d nag log yun games,, ngamit ko pa taking picture abroad europe super linaw at flawlessng kuha!!! best sa bluetooth specialy wearing wireless bluetooth,,, panalo 101 star ka sa kin!
Www.Vihtocaatodos. says:
I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it
up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come
back later on. Many thanks
Starr says:
I just got this phone. Coming from a Nexus 4 is kind of sad but this is not a bad phone. I was just curious if This phone was capable to update to Kitkat 4.4?