Had this Alcatel One Touch 501 mobile phone for a few days. I have not experienced any of the complaints I have read by similar users. I postponed buying this model last year because of said complaints. But today, because of a special sale promo, I decided to buy it. Best value for the money. I never regretted my decision. The main feature I liked best is the PDA feature. Now I leave my PDA behind. All I need to bring along is my 501.

I'm very fed up with this Alcatel One Touch 501 mobile phone, it just switches off automatically & the spreaker voice is too low that it can't be heared. The imp. thing is that there is no service centre in India (Mumbai), i searched a lot but not yet got. I request u if there is any service centre in India(Mumbai) where i can get repair, plz let me know.

When I took this Alcatel One Touch 501 mobile phone to be repaired, before i could even explain what the problem was, the lady in the shop said "Don't tell me...it keeps switching itself off and the joystick doesn't work...every model we've sold has been brought back with the same problems", which really begs the question why is this model STILL being sold?

From day one the battery was extremely loose fitting and inevitably became looser 'til the phone began switching itself off (even when I was holding it in my hands sometimes) if the battery was moved even slightly. Within a month of purchase the phone developed a fault whereby whenever I received a call, 50% of the time I couldn't hear what the other person was saying, or even if it was a man or a woman.

Worse still after a while if i pressed the red, green or clear buttons the phone had a tendency to switch itself off.Fortunately the joystick always worked perfectly(!) but rest assured I'll be changing ASAP and it won't be for another Alcatel. AVOID

List of problems:
The battery sucked! It seems that Alcatel implemented a bad NiMH battery, I still had some hours of stand-by, but it died the instant you tried to place a call. After keeping it off for 15 minutes, I was able to speak for a couple of minutes. Anyway, the baterry life degraded day by day. As far as I know, the original Nokia NiMH batteries work much better (don't know about other companies).
The battery wasn't rigid, so it moved relative to the phone. This meant that the phone switched off now and then (a few times a day), in the middle of calls or in my pocket.
The joystick wasn't reliable, in about a couple of months it broke. Sometimes it worked well, sometimes not. The cursor could not be moved up (or it moved several positions at once).
Software bugs: (just one here) when a call was received, if the phone died out (see above), it wasn't placed in the missed calls list, so I had no clue who was calling.
In a beautiful afternoon, the phone died out and it's internal memory was reset, so I lost all the numbers... :(
In the week-end, my operator is using HR (Half-Rate) since the calls in the network cost only 1c/min. This phone was terrible then, the other party could not understand me. It seems that the middle of the words was not transmitted at all! Reception was ok though.
I have now a Panasonic GD93 and I am really satisfied with it!

My Alcatel One Touch 501 has never worked properly from day one

Can be upgraded to have 3 games and a ringtone composer at any authorised Alcatel centre. Lovely reception and clarity of speach. Speakerphone a good and handy feature. Had a Nokia 8250 but I feel this phone is a more handy one. Only the flimsy build dissapoints

Just a few words... I used my 3210 for three years and I was happy. Now I use my new Alcatel One Touch 501 phone for three days and I think that I've fallen in love!!!

This phone is great^1024.

After using Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, Sagem & Siemens mobile phones, the is the first time I'm using an Alcatel. I enjoy using the phone with its excellent reception and clarity (despite its irritating beeps and no games). After talking for long periods using the phone, the phone didn't heat up and I suffered NO ear-ache. The menu is easy to use and easy to understand.(No braincracking needed). Small phone which u can be sure to appreciate. No regrets buying this hot little baby. I'll recommend this to anyone and please check it out. Buy this model soon before it goes out of the market.

I've used phones from all the top brands like Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola, Philips and Siemens... And until now, Nokia has been my personal favourite. Having owned several models such as the 6150, 3310, 8210 and 9110i, I never thought I'd change to any other brand.

However, I've had a change of heart since the 501 has become an indispensable part of my life. The first word that comes to mind is "Wow!" Unlike Alcatels of the past, the One Touch 501 is extremely user friendly. With an innovative 'Beginner/Expert' setting, anyone can master the use of this phone very quickly.

It's features and functions are similar to, and in some cases better than, most phones on the market. I've come to think of the '501' as a great tool, rather than just a phone. It's the one phone that has surpassed all my expectations, allowing me to praise it without reservation! If, like me, you're tired of seeing the same familiar display, as functional/nice as it may be, on every single Nokia out there, and you want a change... Well, look no further than the Alcatel One Touch 501.

I have had the Alcatel One Touch 501 for few days and it is pretty cool, it's very useful, handy and smart. Writing SMS messages is easy as never before, wapping is great.

It has a memory for 1 200 (!) notes in diary, 90 SMS messages and 500 numbers in a phone book, to every phone number you can add persons name, full address, five other numbers (like home, work, fax), two emails, company, it's address etc. in total 24 items!!

Battery lives for 270 hours with 1,5 hour of talking. Handsfree built in the phone is also very practical!

Also joypad is very useful because it's the only key you need to touch (one touch) to move in all menus! You can move in five dirrections with it - left, right, down, up and push!

I like it's large display the most, which can show 24 letters on 8 lines! You can read most SMS's without scrolling!

Generally speaking, it's the best phone in it's category!