The Alcatel OneTouch Idol X is a giant Android phone

(Credit: Rich Trenholm/CNET)

BARCELONA, Spain--The Alcatel OneTouch Idol X is a 5-inch smart phone that pulls off a neat trick: it doesn't feel massive. Thanks to an incredibly slim bezel and a big colorful case, it doesn't feel oversize -- but is the Idol X worthy of idol worship?

By phone standards, 5 inches is enormous, yet the Idol X doesn't feel huge at all. That's partly because it's so slim, and partly because the screen completely dominates the face of the phone. The bezel is incredibly thin, giving the feeling that not a millimeter is wasted.

The huge screen is bright and colorful, giving you loads of space to enjoy games and videos. The phone is powered by a quad-core MediaTek processor to keep things ticking along at speed.

(Credit: Rich Trenholm/CNET)

The space above and below the screen are also minimal. There's no physical home button -- instead, light-up Android home keys are set flush into the face. While it looks great when the keys disappear into the glossy black face and light up when needed, it's annoying that you can't see them when you pick up the phone to do something. You have to press once to light up the keys before pressing again on the button you want, which defeats the purpose of one-touch shortcut keys. The alternative is to press on the darkened glossy face in roughly the right area, which most will probably get used to, ... [Read more]