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10 reasons why Micromax BEAT Samsung
How did Micromax achieve this feat though? It wasn't simply a matter of better marketing but a combination of pricing, timing and offering that did the trick for the desi brand.
Samsung has always been touted as a mobile phone juggernaut but it's recently been bested in the most unlikely of places -- places where it assumed its market share was strong. After it was reported that Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi beat out Samsung in China, Counterpoint Research recently revealed that Micromax had the highest share in India with regards to mobile phone shipments at 17 per cent (with Samsung in second at 14 per cent).
Nonetheless, that Micromax, which is five years old, could dethrone Samsung -- despite its superior features, build quality and OS -- is simply incredible.
How did Micromax achieve this feat though?
It wasn't simply a matter of better marketing but a combination of pricing, timing and offering that did the trick for the desi brand.
Take a look at the 10 Micromax smartphones that are giving tough competition to Samsung in India (and helped it become the tenth largest handset brand worldwide).
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Micromax Canvas Unite 2 A106 (Price: Rs 6,889)
Perhaps Micromax's current most successful Android device, the Canvas Unite 2 A106 was marketed as featuring 21 pre-loaded languages for users in India.
This meant that consumers who spoke Marathi, Bengali, Urdu, Hindi or English among other languages could finally operate a phone in their local tongue. Many plug-ins and apps exist on Android for this purpose but this meant you wouldn't have to scrounge around online and experiment to find the best possible solution.
While Samsung features S Translate for consumers in its devices, it's never really tried to appeal to the Indian market on such a level before.
The Micromax Canvas Unite 2 A106 also included a quad core MediaTek 6592M clocked at 1.3 GHz with 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB internal storage and a microSD slot.
The 4.7-inch display included IPS technology and an 800x480 resolution while the 5 megapixel camera is equipped with auto focus, LED flash and HDR.
Though it lacks the most cutting edge hardware, this helped Micromax Canvas Unite 2 A106 to stay affordable and even compete with Motorola’s Moto E in a unique way.
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Micromax Canvas Doodle 3 A102 (Price: Rs 8,325)
To be fair, the Micromax Canvas Doodle 3 A102 isn't exactly the best possible budget phablet in the market. However, it trumps Samsung's Galaxy Mega series by being the most affordable, featuring a MediaTek MT6572 dual core SoC clocked at 1.3 GHz with 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB storage and a microSD slot for up to 32 GB extra.
The 6-inch display sports 854x480 resolution, and while this doesn't seem like a big deal, the Samsung Galaxy Mega offers only a slightly better 5.8-inch display with a 960x540 resolution at three times the price.
It's not Micromax's best work but in terms of catering to a market that wants cheap phablets, the Canvas Doodle 3 A102 does its job well.
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Micromax Canvas HD Plus A190 (Price: Rs 12,500)
The Micromax Canvas HD Plus A190 is meant to pay homage to the original Canvas HD while also providing a moderate increase in speed.
After the Canvas Knight's octa-core CPU failed to pan out, Micromax opted for a six core or hexacore MediaTek CPU clocked at 1.5 GHz with the Canvas HD Plus.
The Micromax Canvas HD Plus A190 includes 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB internal storage and a microSD slot along with a 5-inch, 1280x720 resolution display.
Micromax also included an 8 megapixel camera and Android 4.4 KitKat to round out the overall package, which isn't a bad deal for its price.
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Micromax Canvas XL A119 (Price: Rs 12,849)
Rather than immediately release a successor to the Canvas HD, Micromax decided to go with some unorthodox budget offerings instead. Before the Canvas Doodle series really took off, there was the Micromax Canvas XL A119 which featured a quad core MediaTek 6582M clocked at 1.3 GHz with 1 GB RAM and 4 GB internal storage (microSD slot included).
It's priced slightly higher than the Canvas Doodle 3 but this allowed for a 6-inch, 960x540 resolution screen which looked sharper and more vibrant. It may be older but the Micromax Canvas XL A119 did help the company gain a standing among phablet users on a budget.
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Micromax Canvas Turbo A250 (Price: Rs 14,949)
This is the device users were waiting for when the Canvas 4 released.
The Micromax Canvas Turbo A250 trumped most big budget premium smartphones by offering a 5-inch, full HD IPS display at a cheap price.
The rest of the device isn't too shabby either with a MediaTek MT6589T quad core CPU clocked at 1.5 GHz, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB internal storage.
A 13 megapixel rear camera with support for full HD recording, LED flash and auto focus was also included.
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Micromax Canvas HD A116 (Price: Rs 14,999)
The Micromax Canvas HD A116 is undoubtedly the device that got the ball rolling for Micromax's success in the Indian smartphone market. Not only did it release before Samsung's much hyped Galaxy Grand but it was priced more affordably and boasted better features.
The Canvas HD A116 features a quad core CPU clocked at 1.2 GHz with 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB internal storage and a microSD slot.
The 5-inch IPS display features a 1280x720 resolution and there is even an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash and HD video recording on board. It may not be the best possible device in today's budget smartphone market but when it first released, you'd have a hard time finding a better deal.
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Micromax Canvas 4 A210 (Price: Rs 16,577)
As the follow-up to the smash success of the Canvas HD, the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 was tasked with carrying things forward.
While it didn't innovate as much as its predecessor, Micromax equipped the Canvas 4 with an anodised aluminum body. This was unheard of among budget smartphones at the time and helped prove that even the smaller brands could achieve stellar build quality.
Other features included a 1.2 GHz quad core CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB internal storage (with microSD slot), a 5-inch display with 720p resolution and a 13 megapixel rear camera capable of full HD video recording and HDR.
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Micromax Canvas Knight A350 (Price: Rs 18,257)
Micromax has always shown a desire to take risks, which could be seen in its low-cost smartphones that boasted premium range specifications.
The Micromax Canvas Knight A350 was another gamble as it became one of the first budget smartphone to sport an octa-core CPU. This was radically different from Samsung's Exynos processors though as MediaTek's 1.7 GHz True Octa-Core MT6592T meant all eight cores would run in unison.
It wasn't a bad idea in theory but it didn't quite deliver the performance boost one expected. Thankfully, users could still look forward to a 5-inch, 1920x1080 resolution display, 32 GB internal storage, 2 GB of RAM, a 16 megapixel camera with BSI 2 sensor and Android 4.4.2 KitKat.
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Micromax Canvas Gold A300 (Price: Rs 20,100)
Mixing strong and sleek build quality with some powerful hardware, the Micromax Canvas Gold A300 edges close to being the company's first real mid-tier smartphone offering. Some of its features include an octa-core MediaTek 6592T clocked at 2 GHz, 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage and a 5.5-inch display with a 1920x1080 resolution.
There's no denying that sleek looking back panel either which is sturdy and holds up well in every day usage.
The 16 megapixel rear camera includes your usual range of features like LED flash, auto focus, full HD recording and image stabilisation.
Android 4.4.2 KitKat is the default interface and features a healthy bundle of apps such as SwiftKey, Facebook, Twitter, etc. When compared to Samsung's Galaxy Grand devices, it's hard to not opt for the Micromax Canvas Gold A300 instead.
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Micromax Canvas Win W121 (Price: To be announced)
Set to release in the coming weeks, the Micromax Canvas Win W121 is another example of the company one-upping Samsung, this time in the Windows Phone 8.1 segment.
While Samsung has never really been able to find many takers for its Windows Phones, the Micromax Canvas Win W121 will be one of the few Windows Phone 8.1 devices in the Indian market.
It will offer a Snapdragon 200 clocked at 1.2 GHz, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB internal storage and a microSD slot.
There will also be a 5-inch IPS display with a 720p resolution, an 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and auto focus, and a 2000 mAh capacity battery.