Alcatel 356 Reviews

This phone is an ideal emergency or back-up phone. I had only one problem. There is not a note as how to set the VOLUME, neither in the user's manual nor on internet. I had to play with the phone to find it out: navigation key (up-down) works while talking during a call and in FM radio and player.
I had Nexus 5 and got spoiled by it. This phone will help me to bridge the gap while I will get a new smart phone.
I paid $24.00 for the phone and $50.00 worth of air time (Petro-Canada Mobility). Sweet deal. To set-up the service was an easy process. They use same network as Rogers. So I expect to have a good reception.

I selected 'calls' from the menu but the screen doesn't actually accept any input. It just seems to be a log of either outgoing, missed, or incoming calls. Also, upon online activation, I received a msg, but the message screen only allows for sending a msg, not viewing. User guide is no help - just a short pamphlet.
Probably my stupidity anyway - back to payphones!

The description lies. There is no "Speaker Phone".

Bought this phone from Kijiji for 30$.It came with a sim/sd card,charger,head phones brand new in the box.Put it together n activated it.So far so good.Figured out most of the functions in a few minutes.Since I mostly txt with making few calls,the phone seems ok.Ive txted with this cell n its not the fastest but the keyboard's ok.For basic txt n talk it's passable.Dont expect great features!Btw,the camera isnt very good and the speaker sounds tinny n hollow.Still it's adequate.For a cheap smart phone 3/5 stars.

$0 is what I paid for it. No contracts. Nothing. Mind you, I did get it as a "Christmas special" when I topped up my 7/11 Speakout credit for $100 for my iPhone.

Anyway, fired it up out of curiosity (it was free in every sense of the word) and it's not bad. It's definitely not great and if you're looking for your only phone I'd say spend at least $100. Speaker quality is ho hum and the LCD is 2009 low res (it reminds me of my LG Rumor). But, it works. Battery life is decent (compared to my iPhone ;-).

And, all the complaints in this forum. Frankly, mostly they're due to operator error. Once you figure out the interface (not entirely intuitive but a few hours spent fiddling will suffice) and you'll be able to change volume, turn on and off speaker, set ring tones and more.

I'd certainly recommend it as a decent 'back up' phone. You can SMS, call and do WAP browsing if you're truly desperate. It even has a qwerty keyboard that works. But, if it's your only phone, don't. Save your money and get more unless you're on a truly tight budget.

PS It's also not for people with reduced vision or dexterity. The buttons are small. Not too small that a normal male can't use them but small enough that I'd say a person of advanced years wouldn't appreciate it.

The very best phone around for the money. Cost fifty dollars, and six dollars a month with a petro-Can contract.

Best keyboard I've used on a cell phone. I've got big fingers and typing on an iphone is a nightmare compared to this Acatel 356. However, there are a few quirks on the phone, but I guess all phones have their quirks. One major quirk is the non-standard earphone socket. Weird. Otherwise, not a bad phone for the money. I used one for 9 months. Works great for basic voice and text. Also, not a big loss if one drops it.

Possibly the cheapest quality phone I've ever seen. Lightweight plastic with a screen the size of a dumbphone. Alcatel is in part owned by the Chinese government, which isn't cool at all. I saw it at 7 Eleven. I wouldn't recommend it.

My issue is when I use FM Radio with the headset plugged in, the speak phone also sounds. Make it very loud and I cannot use it in any public pleaces. An yet, I went through everything, and could not find a place to disable the speak phone. Even stranger, when I call, I can NEVER use the speak phone!!!

i can not find anyone able to give me a part number for a mini usb headset for this phone.i can not use the fm radio because i get install headset.. i purchased several usb mini headsets and none of them work on this phone..i still get install headset when a headset is installed.i have contacted puretalk about the phone and they all say the phone does not have a headset function. i have the set up set screen on the phone, set for phone and headset.i tried to contact alcatel and i get a web sight in france, but no contact information..all i can do with this phone is talk and text..if i take or receive pictures i get you have 9 days to look at the pictures on a web sight that does not exist..

A great phone for the price when purchased through 7 Eleven Speakout.

Does all it says just fine.
A big item for me: it doesn't connect to a PC to move contacts, appointments or anything else between PC and the phone!
This is true even though it has a mini-USB plug and the Micro-SD card. Mini-USB seems only for charging and headset.
Result: must add contacts manually when you move over to this cell, can't sync appointments.
Lastly it can't move data files between PC and the Cell for reading on the cell (not .txt, not .pdf, ...), even though it can take .mp3 and pics & video files from your PC and play them on the cell. Like - WOW, what a small software extra is missing from this one depriving it of so much potential functionality !!!
My issue (yeah! just but the Alcatel model 355), is there was no explicit info available in the sales data mentioning this before purchase !!