NEW DELHI: Micromax was first to market with a 5-inch, budget phablet — the A100 Canvas smartphone.
The A110 Canvas 2 is its successor and features several hardware and design upgrades. The phone is overall slimmer (9.7mm vs 11.9mm), even though the weight remains unchanged at 168 grams. It now has a dual core processor instead of the single core on the A100 and the camera is upgraded to 8MP with dual LED flash (compared to 5MP with single LED flash).
The display size and resolution remains the same (5-inch, 854 x 480 pixels). However, it has improved viewing angles and improved outdoor visibility becuase Micromax now uses an IPS panel.
Overall build quality is impressive with curved edges and a textured back panel. We did feel that the edges of the front panel were unnecessarily sharp.
The camera module sticks out from the back of the device — this could lead to scratches on the camera lens over a period of time.
Performance from the phablet was average. Even though it has a dual core processor, the 512MB RAM makes the phone feel sluggish if more than five apps are running in the background. You only get 2GB internal storage, so an 8GB (or more) microSD card becomes a necessity. The 8MP camera takes good pictures in daylight, but indoors there is visible noise — it’s good enough to share on social networks.
You can consider the Intex Aqua 5.0 (Rs 9,990) or the Spice Stellar Horizon (Rs 11,999). Both offer a 5-inch display with similar hardware specifications, but the Spice offers a larger 2,400 mAh battery comapred to 2,000 mAh on the Micromax.
Price: Indian Rs 9,990
Specifications: 5-inch (854 x 480 pixels), dual core 1Ghz processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB + microSD storage, 8MP/VGA camera, Android 4.0, 168 grams
Positives: Well built, large display with rich colors and improved viewing angles, good battery life
Negatives: Average camera, becomes sluggish with multiple apps, camera lens prone to scratches.
