Alcatel has always been known for its budget phones, but now it is heading into Android smartphone territory while still managing to keep its prices down. Introducing the Alcatel OT-990 - its latest release and arguably the best Alcatel handset we have seen to date.

First impressions

When we first saw the OT-990, what we first noticed is that it's the nicest looking Alcatel handset we've ever seen. Sure, it can't compete with the top-of-the-range smartphones, but neither does it feel cheap and plasticky as its predecessors have. In some ways it is reminiscent of the HTC Desire S, thanks to its wide and curvy body. It also comes in a host of colour choices.

Key points

The OT-990 only features one hard key and that's the Home key at the base of the handset. Above it are three touch-sensitive keys - the Menu, Back and Search keys. On other handsets you might expect them to light up, but here they don't, although they're still easy enough to see.

Screen test

The touch-display measures 3.5 inches and although it's of the more expensive capacitive type, its performance is a tad disappointing.  It was sluggish and failed to quickly respond to key presses and finger swipes. We were also unimpressed by the phone's virtual keyboard, although when the handset gets the Gingerbread update next year (it currently runs on Android 2.2) that may well improve.

However, it does at this moment offer you a choice of three different kinds of keyboard - an alphanumeric one, a QWERTY keyboard and a larger QWERTY keyboard where you'll find the buttons each share two characters.

Each of the keyboards was a bit squashed, particularly because the toolbar above the keyboard takes up a lot of area. The typing process is not helped by the fact that should you want to enter one of the secondary characters, you'll have to hold your finger down until you are asked which one you want to choose.

However, the screen itself looks really clear; icons appear to have sharp edges and backgrounds are vibrant and full of colour. It's a shame that, while wallpaper or your own images look clear, when you surf the net, images are pixelated - we found Facebook profile pics and Twitter avatars were nigh-on impossible to recognise.

Camera

Android phones are not known for their hugely impressive snappers and at this price we wouldn't expect Alcatel to have broken the mould. Having said that, the onboard camera is fine for taking the odd picture to upload to your social network site. We didn't like the fact that zooming in requires using virtual controls - we'd have far rather used the volume keys - however our resulting images were true in colour and in low light the LED flash did a decent job.

Navigation

While the camera is not going to set the world on fire, we were impressed by the A-GPS - it had pinpointed our location right to the nearest door - and really speedily too. It is good enough to be used in place of a separate sat-nav device - to get full voice instructions just download a free app.

Internet

Browsing the web proved quite speedy, thanks to the Wi-Fi and HSDPA connections. You'll be able to open web pages pretty quickly, but be aware that if you leave too many open the phone's 600MHz chip won't be able to cope! There is no support for viewing Flash video either, thanks to that Android 2.2 OS. However, it does support pinch and pull zoom, and you can realign a page by double tapping. If you want to copy and paste, you'll have to do so through the settings menu.

The verdict

Early adopters won't be interested in the likes of the Alcatel OT-990, and even those on the lookout for a value Android smartphone have other handsets with better features (and even some with the Gingerbread OS) to choose from. Having said that, it offers good value for money at £99.99, and anyone on a tight budget should certainly consider it.