canvas – Tech Raman

Micromax Canvas 2 Colors A120 available for Rs 10,299; Specifications & Features

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 12:23:08 +0000

Micromax Canvas 2 Colors A120 Specs

5-inch display
1280 x 720 pixels resolution
1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582 quad-core processor
1GB RAM
4GB internal storage; expandable
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS
8-megapixel rear camera – autofocus, flash, HD recording
2-megapixel front camera
Sensors: light sensor, motion sensor, proximity sensor
Battery: 2000mAh
Connectivity: Dual-SIM, 3G,Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS/AGPS

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Micromax Canvas Doodle 3 launched at Rs. 8,500; Specifications and Features

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 17:57:58 +0000

The camera spec includes a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a VGA front facing camera. There is also a 2,500mAh and Micromax says it will give a 9 hours talk time. The device comes pre-bundled with BigFlix subscription for 6 months offering unlimited movies. Other pre-loaded apps include Kingsoft Office, Opera and games like Rope Cut, Marble and Jelly Jumper. Connectivity options include 3G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EDGE/ GPRS, GPS / A-GPS and micro-USB support. The Canvas Doodle 3 would be available from April 25.

Micromax Canvas Doodle 3 Specifications

6-inch LCD display
854×480 pixel resolution
163 ppi
1.3GHz dual-core MediaTek 6572 processor
512MB RAM
4GB internal storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS
5MP rear camera, 0.3MP front camera
2500mAh battery
Connectivity: 3G,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EDGE/ GPRS, GPS / A-GPS and micro-USB

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Micromax Canvas Turbo launched for Rs 19,990, sports a 5-inch fullHD display

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 18:55:41 +0000

After raising our eyebrows by roping in Hugh Jackman as their new brand ambassador and outing a video teaser with the Wolverine actor and Canvas Turbo, Micromax today unveiled the Canvas Turbo. As expected Micromax Canvas Turbo comes with a 5-inch IPS display touting a 1080×1920 pixels resolution, making it the first device from Micromax with a full-HD display. Micromax also mentions that its display is sourced from Sharp. Powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589T (Turbo) processor and 2GB of RAM, the smartphone runs Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean and the company says it would offer FOTA (Firmware-Over-The-Air) support. There is a 16GB internal storage and Micromax is silent on the expandable memory, so we assume it lacks microSD slot. What might irk the user is the fact that only about 1GB of this storage will be available for installing apps while about 12.5GB will be available for other data storage. On the shooter side, the Canvas Turbo features a 13 megapixel rear camera with autofocus and a 5 mega-pixel front shooter. The camera features include Panorama, Cinemagraph and Object Eraser. A 2000mAh battery sounds underwhelming at least on theory. Like the rest of the company’s phones, Canvas Turbo also is a dual-SIM smartphone but in this case there is one micro-SIM and another regular SIM. On the features list, Canvas Turbo includes some of the Smart features that Samsung made famous. Though how good it works has to be seen on practical tests. The smart gestures includes automatically answering the call by bringing the device close to ears, muting the device by turning it face down, flipping the phone to activate the speaker call, palm gestures like sliding over the screen for unlock, and waving hand to say cheese to camera etc. Oh and you can also blow you phone to unlock. On a lighter note, may be this idea is to rub the phone with a clean cloth after blowing it open. The Micromax A250 Canvas Turbo will be available to buy on October 26 in India for a market operating price of Rs 19,990.]]>

Micromax Canvas 4 A210 launched, priced at Rs 17,999

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 09:07:42 +0000

After teasing us for a month and taking the social media by storm, Micromax Canvas 4 A210 is finally launched in India at Rs. 17,999 and will be available in stores from this weekend. Micromax opened pre-orders for the smartphone on June 28 and the company claims that it has amassed 11,500 pre-bookings by paying Rs. 5000. Though we cannot verify the claim or if it is a PR game, the fact is for Indian manufacturer, Micromax did manage to create a substantial hype for its flagship device. Ultimately, does the hype justify the final product that was unveiled today? Let’s see the surface and hardware internals of the Micromax Canvas 4. Samsung set the trend and now all the manufacturers are scrambling to bundle ‘smart features’ which are mostly gimmicky in their smartphones. Otherwise why would anyone want to blow the screen for unlock? Yes, it is one of the new unlock feature along with shake to unlock in the new Micromax Canvas 4. It has also borrowed few other ‘smart features’ made popular by Samsung like Pop up player, smart stay etc. We will come to those in a moment before we run through the specs of the phone. The 5-inch IPS display brings out a 720 pixel resolution. Micromax would have disappointed here many of its fans who expected a full HD. Strengthened with Corning gorilla glass 2, the screen is also glove-friendly means you can operate it with gloves on. The hardware internals remains almost the same we saw in Canvas HD sharing the same MediaTek ARM Cortex A7 quad-core CPU clocked at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM. Though the specs is pumped up in the shooter end. We have a 13 MP rear camera with LED flash paired with a 5 MP front camera. The rear camera should be satisfying the egos of the selfies. The camera has a burst mode capable of a 99 shots shooting spree. These high burst modes always dizzies me. Why would anyone want so many images and why would they shift through those that bucket load. Anyways, it’s there if you are interested in it. The camera also can shoot on vertical panorama mode. Canvas 4 runs on Android 4.1.2 and the company promises a Over the air update to 4.2.2 somewhere down the lane. Considering their previous update history, I am pessimistic at the moment and would love to be surprised here. Micromax makes much noise over the innovative software features in Canvas 4 though most of the features are those made popular by Samsung and now becoming a standard features. Still, let’s give the company a pat on it’s back for bringing these features to it’s base. So we have smart features like pinning the video to the home screen allowing us to fiddle with other apps while watching, allow the video to pause and play depending on our eye contact with the screen, gesture features like sending the phone to silent when placed upside down, auto dial or answer when it is moved towards ear etc. A 5 inch screen and with all this software gimmicks definitely would take a toll on the battery. A 2000 mAh battery is not exciting affair. Micromax could have done better and should have. Micromax is lavish on internal memory with a 16GB internal memory of which around 12 GB or so is free to use. Further it can be expanded via microSD card upto 32 GB. The company offers a free flip case worth Rs.3000 to sweeten the deal. So are you impressed with the Canvas 4? Do share your thoughts with us.

Key features of Micromax Canvas 4:

Display: 5-inch IPS display with corning gorilla glass protection
Re solution:1280 x 720 pixels
Processor: 1.2 GHz quad-core processor
RAM: 1 GB
Storage: 16 GB (expandable upto 32 GB via microSD card)
SIM: Dual SIM (GSM + GSM)
OS: Android 4.2.1 (Jelly Bean)
Camera: 13MP rear camera with LED Flash, 5MP front camera
Connectivity: 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS/A-GPS
Battery: 2000 mAh battery

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Micromax Canvas Music A88 launched comes with JBL Tempo Headset, MOP of Rs 8499

Lakshmi Rajan — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:54:28 +0000

Micromax goes oh la la la with its latest addition to its Canvas series, the Micromax Canvas Music A88. The phone was first showcased at the MTV Music Awards in Mumbai last month and makes the official debut today. To sweeten the deal for the music buffs, the company has associated with JBL, the American audio electronics company and offering a free JBL Tempo headset with the handset. With a 4.5-inch display and powered by 1 GHz dual-core processor, Canvas Music A88 runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS. Also found is a 5 MP rear camera, 0.3 MP front camera and a 1800 mAh battery.

Canvas Music A88 pricing and availability

The phone arrives at a MOP of Rs.8499/- and will be available across all leading retail outlets in India from 16th May, 2013

Key features of Micromax Canvas Music A88

4.5 inch display
1 GHz dual-core processor
Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS
5 MP rear camera
0.3 MP front camera
1800 mAh battery
Free JBL Tempo headset

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Micromax A116 Canvas HD vs XOLO A1000

Lakshmi Rajan — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 14:39:21 +0000

announcing its first quad-core, 5-inch smartphone Canvas HD A116 for sub-15K price and when it was launched on February it was sold out in minutes. The very next day Lava mobiles announced XOLO A1000 at a similar price. So how does Micromax A116 Canvas HD vs XOLO A1000 scenario looks like? Let’s find out in our specs comparison.

Display

Both the smartphones have a 5-inch display. But it is not just about the size right? The 5 inch screen in Canvas HD A116 is a IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels that reads a 294 ppi pixel density. Xolo A1000 too sports a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution with 295 ppi. Lava calls it display as One Glass Solution (OGS) that incorporates the display, the touch sensor and the glass in one layer, making the phone thinner and improving the image quality We don’t have a hands-on comparison on both the phones yet, but purely based on specs. We give an upper hand to Xolo A1000. Winner: Xolo A1000

Form factor

Though the design is an individual preference. There are still some yardsticks to match. A116 Canvas HD has a dimension of 144 x 74 x 10.7 mm and weighs 156 gms. Xolo A1000 with a dimension of 143.5 x 70.8 x 8.8 mm is the slimmest of the both. It obviously would snug well on your palms. Weighing 146 gms, it scores even on the weigh scale. So you know who wins this round again. Winner: Xolo A1000

Hardware fight-out

A116 Canvas HD is Micromax’s first quad-core processor device. It is powered by a quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 processor with a MediaTek MTK MT6589 chipset and PowerVR Series5XT GPU. On the other hand, Xolo is a dual core 1GHz processor mated to a Mediatek MT6577 chipset and PowerVR SGX 531 GPU. Both the devices has a 1 GB RAM. Micromax with its quad-core processor speeds ahead in this round. Winner: A116 Canvas HD

Software

Both the devices runs on Android 4.1 JellyBean OS. Winnner: Draw

Internal Storage

A116 Canvas HD and Xolo A116 both has a 4 GB internal storage that can be expanded upto 32 GB through microSD card. Winner: Draw

Camera

Both the devices boasts of a 8 MP camera, but what about the rest of the details? Canvas HD features a 8 MP camera with a dual-LED, autofocus, touchfocus, face detection. The rear camera is a 2 MP one to get your video calling on track. Now let’s see what Xolo A116 has to offer. It too has a 8 MP rear camera but with a single LED and with autofocus, touch focus. Lagging a bit on the front camera specs, it offers a 1.2 MP shooter for your video calling needs. Winner: A116 Canvas HD

Connectivity options

Both the devices has 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, A-GPS and a microUSB v2.0 port. Good. Even fight? Nah, we digged the info a bit in-depth and stumbled upon few notes. A116 has high-speed 3G (HSDPA) of 21 Mbps against 7.2Mbps in A1000. Further strengthening Canvas HD’s cause is WiFi hotspot tathering and its Bluetooth has A2DP features. It’s always pay for those extra brownie points right? Winner: A116 Canvas HD

Battery

Most of us always are short of battery aren’t we ? Blame it on apps or your midnight calls. A good battery is always well, just good. A116 packs a Li-Ion 2000 mAh standard battery with a talk time of 5 hours and standby of 174 hours. Oh dear! only 5 hours talk time? Come on Micromax, you can do better. Xolo A1000 grins here with a 2100 mAH battery Li-Ion battery and a 14 hours talk time. Holy Xolo! Winner: Xolo A1000

Brand name and service

Agreed both are up-coming brand but… Micromax has really raced ahead recently amongst the Indian mobile manufacturers. It is successfully managing its brand and positioning it well for wider acceptance and brand recall. It also has a better service support in comparison to Lava mobiles. Lava mobile’s Xolo is still catching up in the heated mobile war, where Micromax has already been battle-hardened among the low-cost mobile manufacturers. So its advantage Micromax here. Winner: A116 Canvas HD

Final note…

Both the A116 Canvas HD and Xolo A1000 has been similarly priced at Rs. 13,999 (US $ 259) Micromax has a clear advantage with a better branding and service support compared to Xolo. Though Xolo A1000 has a few winning points, Micromax A116 Canvas HD has its own brownie points to counter it. We have pitted both the phones against various parameters and at the end of the day, it’s you who going to choose and do let us know, what you choose or would go for! ]]>

Micromax Canvas HD A116 Launched and Sold Out

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:35:10 +0000

In case, you are not aware of Micromax Canvas HD A116, here is a quick dressing down. Canvas HD A116 is the first quad core smartphone from the company. It features a 5 inch display with a resolution of 1280 * 720 pixel resolution. The device is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad core MediaTek MT6589 processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and 1 GB of RAM.5 It has a 4 GB internal storage which can be expanded up to 32 GB through a micro SD card. The device has a dual camera that includes a 8 MP rear camera and a 2 MP front facing camera. It pack a 2000 mAh battery. Connectivity options include 3G, WiFi 802.11 (b/g/n), bluetooth, GPA/ A-GPS.]]>

Samsung Galaxy Grand vs Micromax A116 Canvas HD

Lakshmi Rajan — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:58:29 +0000

Anything Can Happen and it happened now. So here we are comparing models. While the last two years saw Samsung’s ascendancy to the top of Smartphone world and becoming undisputed king of mobile world in terms of sales, desi-bred Micromax slowly inched to rival Samsung in India with its low-cost Android smartphones. The Indian mobile-sphere was abuzz last two days with back to back announcement of two phablets sporting 5 inch screens. While Micromax stole the initial thunder, almost sending a shock-and-awe moment by announcing its first quad core processor powered Smartphone running on JellyBean Android OS and specs that could rival any other premium devices at a tempting sub-15K price, Samsung announced the next day its ‘Grand’ galaxy with the best of the premium galaxy features but priced a little over 20K. Let’s see how the two models fare against each other spec-wise and feature-wise when pitted against each other.

Display – It’s not just about the 5, Sammy!

The talking point or rather say the comparing point between both the phones begins with the 5-inch screen. Galaxy Grand and Micromax Canvas HD both screams a big Hi-5! But there is more to the display than the expansive screen and we are talking about the screen resolution here. Though Galaxy Grand is generously inspired by the smartphone of the last year by every accounts and the hugely popular Galaxy S3 and in fact has outgrown it at least on size, Samsung has chosen to pack it with only a 800 x 480 screen resolution and also refuse the super Amoled display. Rather, Galaxy Grand has to settle with a WVGA TFT LCD screen. Not so grand appearance at least on this round. Though Samsung claims its mDNIe technology would deliver a clear and vivid imagery. On the other hand, Micromax sizzles with a IPS resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. A HD resolution and colour depth of 16.7 million means we got a clear winner here for this round. Winner: A big round of applause to Micromax.

Look and feel – Who got the better style?

A smartphone has to be not just smart but also look good on your hands. After all, the phones has become an extension of your personality. Though the good old saying would like to believe beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, when it comes to mobiles there are few tell-tale signs to declare who got the better form factor. Both the phones have curved edges and looks neat but Galaxy Grand inspired by Galaxy S3’s form factor edges out Canvas HD due to its slim body and overall sleekness and appeal. Winner: Good looks round goes to – Galaxy Grand

Processor – Who got the extra power?

We can’t talk about performance till we get hands-on the devices and review them, so let’s talk on the processors based on pure specs. Galaxy Grand is powered by 1.2 GHz dual-core processor. With Samsung, I would tend to believe the processor should be pretty decent enough for multi-tasking and other tasks without lag. Micromax on other hand released its first quad core processor smartphone with its Canvas HD. It sports a MediaTek MT6589 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 processor. Both the phones has a 2100 mAh battery. Winner: Purely based on specs, Micromax wins this round. Though we can only ascertain if Galaxy Grand can muster enough fire to compare with only after reviewing both the devices.

OS and Custom UI toppings

Both the phones run on the Android’s current flavour of the season – Jelly Bean. Samsung tops the Android OS with its proprietary custom made TouchWiz UI, in all its Galaxy series. TouchWiz UI has been skimmed, improved and refined through every versions and is very intuitive and easy to use. TouchWiz adds charm to the Galaxy series and Galaxy Grand is no exception. Micromax Canvas HD is knocked down outright when it comes to customization of UI. It packs stock Android Jelly Bean, with a bit of customization. The UI might not boast the easiness and intuitiveness of TouchWiz and gets bit sluggish at times. Winner: Galaxy Grand‘s TouchWiz UI makes for a grand usability

Premium Features – The extra edge

How do you spot a brilliance amidst a crowd? The one who flaunts the extra edge, extra smartness, extra capabilities to differ himself from others. Galaxy Grand retains the smartness that we have recently seen in the premium Galaxy devices like S3 and Note 2 like Smart stay, Direct call, Smart Alerts, Pop up play, S-voice, All share etc. More importantly, Galaxy Grand allows for multiple windows and multi-tasking wherein you can run two apps at the same time

More about the Premium features of Galaxy Grand read HERE

Micromax Canvas HD looses out on the extra ‘smartness’.

Winner: Galaxy Grand winds hand down

Storage: Show me the extra space dude!

You never know when you want that extra storage. Samsung never shies away from bequeathing you with extra storage options. Though Galaxy Grand comes with only 8 GB internal storage, it packs in an expandable memory option upto 64 GB with microSD card. Micromax Canvas HD fits in only 4 GB internal storage which can be expandable up to 32 GB. Winner: Galaxy Grand it is for your extra luggage.

Camera – Say Cheese!

Smartphones has become the de facto pocket cameras on the move. So a good camera features and functionality becomes an important factor in comparing phones. Galaxy Grand’s shooter is made up of a 8-megapixel primary rear facing one with LED flash and a secondary front facing 2-megapixel one. It also boasts of zero shutter lag, backside illumination sensor and quick start up. Additionally it also features Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization and smart features like buddy share, face tag etc Micromax Canvas HD also comes with an 8 MP rear camera with LED flash but on the front just fits in a VGA camera. Winner: Galaxy Grand gets the extra brownies

Dual SIM – The additional advantage

Both the phones has dual SIM but does one of the phone holds the extra ace? Yes. Galaxy Grand has a smart auto forward feature. It enables an incoming call to a busy SIM to be auto-forwarded to other phone, thus keeping both SIMs active at once. Micromax Canvas HD is only single SIM active. Winner: Galaxy Grand for keeping us extra active.

Price – how much it burns our pocket?

Price is a crucial factor especially in markets like India. Few thousands can influence the buyer’s decision. Galaxy Grand is priced at Rs. 21,500. Micromax Canvas HD is temptingly priced at Rs. 14,999. So the figure says it all. The difference of 6.5K can be a decisive influential factor for many. Winner: Micromax Canvas HD can bring smiles to the budget-conscious!

On the concluding notes…

If what you look for is extra ‘smartness’, additional features, intuitive UI and better and easy social networking and sharing experience plus a sleek and slimmer phone, Galaxy Grand would appeal to you. If you are fine with the almost stock Jelly Bean OS combined with some powerful tech specs, Canvas HD could be your choice. Finally, it also boils down to the price and affordability. The price difference between the two phones would prove to be the ultimate deciding factor.]]>