Specs and Features
Manufacturer: MicromaxWe Like ! :
Hardware Specifications, 720p Display, Full HD Video, PriceWhat we Don't Like !:
In-Stability, Non Refined UI
The Bottom Line
If you can get over the minor flaws the Micromax A116 Canvas HD is the phone you might have been searching for
Micromax has been the leader of the budget smartphone market in India, and there is a real reason for that. The company is truly the first one to bring a series of features to the end user, before anyone else can. The Micromax Canvas HD or the A116, is one such device from the company, with a quad core chipset and a 720p display, Micromax has really stretched the limits of budget smartphones, no wonder everyone is interested. But, does all the hype around the product really tie up to the end experience? We unravel the mystery of this budget “Jesus Phone” and see where all the magic lies.
Build Quality and Design
Micromax A116 Canvas HD is no marvel of design, but it is one genius design. You take the best elements form the top smartphones (S3 and One X) and fuse them together to make the Budget Smartphone of the year. Predominantly identical to the One X in design the Micromax A116 Canvas HD holds its own in the design sector.
The new clean glossy back panel has a stronger and sturdier build, and looks pleasing to the eye. The glass in front houses an HD display, that makes the phone look a lot more than it is worth. The design is a little bulky and may cause worries in a small hand, that being said however, It is not over the top and is easily manageable.
Hardware
Micromax has really taken the leap with this one, stuffing the best possible hardware numbers into the Micromax A116 Canvas HD. Starting with the 720p HD IPS LCD, a Quad Core processor, 1 GB of RAM and a bigger 2000 mAh battery. You also have an 8 MP camera which has Full HD shooting capabilities and a a Front camera which is 2.1 MP.
However these are all numbers, and numbers honestly don’t mean anything in the real world. Mediatek is the real juice behind Micromax’s Smartphone lineup and the latest Mediatek MT 6589 is what powers the Micromax A116 Canvas HD. In a real world scenario the quad-core chipset to the quad core found in bigger brands is like comparing a 2 Liter TATA Engine to a 2 Liter Engine from Audi / BMW (or something similar to get the idea). There is no denying that the Chipset is a really capable one and features a lot of grunt under the hood, but serious compatibility issues arise with untamed hardware. The specs really put Micromax in the Spot and major companies have started to take notice of the Brand and feel the need to combat the marketshare that is currently owned by Micromax.
Display
The 720p display on the Micromax Canvas HD is a starting benchmark for the company and many others to follow. Although many of the so called “Indian Manufacturers” have launched competition products, no one has done what Micromax has with the A116 Canvas HD and launched a 720p equipped device. A truly gorgeous display that livens the usage of the device tenfold, and the sheer experience is enough to want us to recommend this phone over any other in the same price bracket.
The colors are vivid, black levels are extremely deep and the phone has impressive viewing angles. Apart from that the touch screen is fast and extremely responsive and coated with some pseudo “Gorilla Glass” called Layer Protect, that is an alternative to the real Gorilla Glass. The Micromax A116 Canvas HD display also manages to hold its strength outdoors and impressively in a brightly lit environment. Owners will love watching movies and playing games on the device simply because of the experience that they will get from a 720p crisp display on the Micromax A116 Canvas HD.
Camera
Up until last years companies were not really focusing on the quality of the cameras in their devices. The new range of Smartphones come from companies that have understood the need for good photography and video capability on their devices. The Micromax A116 Canvas HD shoots impressively clean and vivid 1080p HD video that is for the most part of it Lag Free and accurate.
The Camera autofocuses surprisingly well, and it seems that the optics on the smartphone are undersold, images are crisp and almost always in focus. The focus field is vast, and close up shots make available a good amount of Bookeh or Background Blur making the subjects of the images stand out. The camera experience on the Micromax A116 Canvas HD has not only been improved from the previous version, but has been overhauled, and is truly amazing.
Performance and Gaming
Many companies will regret the launch of the Micromax A116 Canvas HD, because, the availability of this smartphone will make others rethink their options. Not only does the Canvas HD perform well in day to day actions and usage, it breaks the bank when it comes to multitasking and high level usage. Running scripts, low level under-processing and high level programs run smoothly well on the phone. Many viewers have asked us whether the Micromax A116 Canvas HD is capable of document processing or not, and to them we answer, it is more than equipped an capable to handle all sorts of word and number processing, do calculations and even run load testing softwares which were incompatible on the Micromax A110 Canvas 2.
The Micromax A116 Canvas HD comes out of the box with Jelly Bean Android 4.1 and the mix of Software and hardware truly make the user experience great. We do however wish that Micromax would get into UI and build something like Touchwiz or Sense, which would truly improve the Brand Image.
The Micromax A116 Canvas HD is also fully equipped to run extremely graphic and processor intensive games, the Hardware on the device is quite capable, But it seems that Micromax underestimated the users requirements and loaded the wonderful phone with only 1.7 GB of free usable storage, which truly limits the usage of the device when it comes to mighty games. NOVA 3, ASPHALT 7 and MC4 don’t install due to storage limitations(we are looking to work out a fix). A huge under sight from the company when it comes to gaming. Hopefully Micromax can stuff the next generation of their phones with at least 8GB of flash storage available to the user, even if they have to charge us Rs. 500 (US $ 10 ) extra. Check out our gaming video below.
Phone Calls and Connectivity
The Micromax A116 Canvas HD has Dual Sim Standby, even though the Mediatek chipset in the device supports Dual Sim Active. The company was unsure of the usage capabilities, so has left it to research and release this feature on a future smartphone.
The Phone has GSM 900 / 1800 bands on 2G and HSDPA 2100 on 3G, which should work in most countries. The Micromax A116 Canvas HD works with all carriers in India, and will work with some internationally, including T-Mobile in the US and UK and Optus and Vodafone in Australia and it also works with Bell in Canada to name a few.
The phone networks are consistent and of good strength, no issues with connectivity to data and voice services. Overall network performance is impressive and voice handling good thanks to decent microphones and speakers in the Canvas A116 . The Audio did seem to be slightly distorted at times, but only when the network bars were low.
The A-GPS on the Micromax A116 Canvas HD works well and will triangulate you on a map, unlike previous generation units that had a ton of issues with the same.
Battery Life
The Battery on the Canvas HD is slightly larger than the Canvas 2 but somehow lasts much longer than the previous generation. The Micromax A116 Canvas HD will go through with a day of normal usage with ease, even with both sim card in there. A lot of people have complained about poor battery life, which we did face initially when we were truly exploiting the phone. But a week in to the review and we calmed down with how much we used the phone, so we were truly able to understand the battery life of the Canvas HD.
The Micromax A116 Canvas HD will deliver about 6 hours of talk time, 8-10 hours of music, 2-3 hours of video playback and a good 5-8 hours of internet browsing depending on how you access- 3G or WiFi.
Please take into notice that these are separate times and usage will decrease with a mix of things, in an average day we calculated 3.25 hours of Talktime, one hour of internet including access to Facebook, twitter, etc. along with about 30 minutes of Gaming and an hour of Video and Music combined. In this type of usage we were typically left with about 18-20% battery life at the end of the day.
Conclusion
The Micromax A116 Canvas HD has been the highlight of the 1st Quarter of 2013 and there is good reason for that, the phone brings a lot more to the table for the price its worth. Simply put:
Cost of Phone < Value of Phone Today!
We are genuinely appreciative of a company like Micromax has been able to achieve with the Micromax A116 Canvas HD. A Great Android smartphone with Good Hardware at an excellent price. All that being said the Micromax A116 Canvas HD still is a long time away from the refinement and stability that many other companies offer. The phone also lacks internal storage to fully exploit the hardware, and many users complain of crashes and boot-loader issues with the Canvas HD. The Micromax A116 Canvas HD according to us is the best bet under the Rs. 15,000 price bracket as of today, with a good mix of hardware and software and impressive looks and build quality.
There are tradeoffs, the brand name is still synonymous and associated with the “cheap” image (although it is changing fast), and there is lack of refinement in the UI and experience when compared to a Touchwiz, Sense UI or even Sony Timescape. If you can get over these minor flaws the Micromax A116 Canvas HD is the phone you might have been searching for.
Read more: Micromax A116 Canvas HD Review, Specs, Price, Details, Video - iGyaan http://igyaan.in/Mobile_Phones-detail/micromax-a116-canvas-hd-review/#ixzz2M5mOwgS1 - See more at: http://igyaan.in/Mobile_Phones-detail/micromax-a116-canvas-hd-review/#sthash.hvxjV9lM.dpuf
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