Micromax Canvas A1: The most value-for-money Google phone

India's largest selling smartphone company Micromax, recently outpaced South Korean giant Samsung in the numbers game. The Indian company has developed several smartphones that have outclassed most of its competition.

At Rs 6,499, the Micromax Canvas A1 is a magical phone that runs on Android One platform.

We got a chance to review the Canvas A1 and share feedback about this device.

Design

The build quality of this device is just phenomenal for its price tag. The weight of the Micromax Canvas A1 along with the battery is a mere 141.5 grams.

The 3.5mm jack for audio output is located on the top, the power and volume rocker on the right side and the micro-USB port is at the bottom. The speaker of the phone is at the back and there is also Micromax's chrome logo. Android One too has a mention on the device.

There are two micro-SIM slots and one micro-SD card slot.

Micromax has pulled up its socks with this device as this is one of the most value-for-money products from the company, thanks to the backing by Google. There is no denying that this device is stylish and the quality is very good especially when one sees the price tag.

Display

The Canvas A1 has a 4.5-inch screen with a resolution of FWVGA 854x480 pixels.

The display quality is bit grainy yet it is manageable. The colours are fine too and they don't create an artificial experience like many of the AMOLED screens. There is some amount of pixelation, however its sun legibility, viewing angles and brightness levels are good. The colours are vivid and for the price, they are just perfect. This phone is good if you want to read or write text messages or emails but isn't built for ultimate gaming experience.

Precaution: The screen is susceptible to scratches as it isn't Gorilla or Dragon Glass. So, buyers do not forget to use scratch guard for your screen. You do get one scratch guard in the box along with the device.

Performance

The Micromax Canvas A1 has a 1.3-GHz quad-core Mediatek processor, which comes with 1 GB of RAM and an internal storage of 4 GB. The storage space can be expanded with an external micro SD card with a maximum capacity of 32 GB.

The device comes with a 1700mAh battery. This has a talk time of about six hours with 2G. With 3G it's about 5 hours. If you play lots of games, then you will have to carry a portable charger with you. This phone doesn't have a long battery back up and hence you might be required to recharge the Canvas A1 often.

On an average, the battery should last you between 3 to 5 hours.

The processor is smooth and there is no issue with the speed and majority of the games function smoothly. This is unless, you multi-task and play heavy games.

For normal use, the phone functions well and there are no issue when it comes to usability and multi-tasking. The Android One is easy to operate and as this uses stock Android, it is much faster and efficient too.

Camera and experience

The rear camera of the Micromax Canvas A1 is 5 megapixel with LED flash, while the front facing camera is 2 megapixel. The image quality is decent; you might find the image to be just fine on your screen as the resolution of the screen isn't very high. This screen is perfect for reading and texting. It is after all a budget phone and you cannot get everything with this. So it won't be as sharp and even the focal point radius is limited.

With a 480p display, the gaming experience isn't phenomenal. The device runs fine and there are no issues with the manner the games perform. Asphalt 8 is a bit slow, but the main spoiling factor is the display.

The device runs well and these games work fine too. However, there is one more factor that affects the device, which is the battery life. The device lasts for 3 hours when you are gaming on it.

Verdict

As a budget phone for Rs 6,499, Android One has outclassed its ability. Technology is now made available at such a low cost, which makes it unbelievable. We will highly recommend this device to anyone who has strictly, a small budget. Android One devices are extremely easy to use and are a great value for your money.

Android One devices will get the advantage of being the first set of devices to get Android software updates on priority.

Pros: Price, Software and Efficiency

Cons: Battery size

Photograph Courtesy: MicromaxInfo