Micromax Canvas 4 A210 Review

The model no. of Micromax Canvas 4 is A210. Here is my initial impression review after getting it on hand just 4 days ago, on 6th Aug. I shall insert more review comments within this posting after a few weeks of experience.

The Goods
+ Weight is not too bad, just 158 g.
+ The screen is big and nice with a diagonal length of 5".
+ Pixel size 720 x 1280 (~294 ppi pixel density).
+ Micromax has built a nice premium look with the aluminum frame to the Pristine White body.
+ Comes in a nice plastic box holder for packing, it adds further to the rich outlook.
+ IPS-LCD (In Plane Switching LCD), capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, better viewing angles.
+ 1.2 GHz quad core Cortex-A7 processor.
+ Android Jelly Bean 4.2.1 OS is looking great with nice user interface.
+ Dual SIM and 3G connectivity.
+ Google Maps with voice navigation.
+ 13 MP Primary Camera with Sony Sensor, auto-focus, LED flash, 1080p video.
+ 5 MP Secondary Camera with 720p, is very good, probably a first for a 5" phone at this price.
+ 5 configurable home screens for apps and widgets flips through pretty nicely.
+ Internal 16 GB NAND Flash memory is good; external card expansion up to 32 GB by MicroSD.
+ Wi-Fi hotspot enables internet to other gadgets.
+ Comes with a nice and unique "flat tape" type USB charger cable, again of very good quality.
+ Unique "blow to unlock" app, and "shake to unlock" app, I am sure just for fun.
+ Unique aluminum flip cover with Surface Touch technology, worth Rs 2999 they say, comes free.
+ Smart Gestures to put phone on silent by flipping, and to put on speaker by flipping the phone.
+ Smart Gestures to auto dial a contact or to auto answer a call just by taking phone close to the ear.
+ Pop-up browser pinning allows working on other applications while browser is re-sized on top.
+ Play video pinned on screen and work on other applications in parallel.
+ Auto Pause for videos when you look away from the screen and Auto Play when you look again.
+ Very useful Red LED to indicate charging, Green LED to indicate unread SMS; GT-I9070 did not have.

The Not so Goods
– The quality of freebie Surface Touch flip cover is tacky; the metal edges rough and sub-standard.
   [15-Aug-13: Within 1.5 weeks the flip joint made of Rexine fabric snapped. I had to remove the flip cover off] 
– There is no physical button for Camera Shutter; has only onscreen button; same as GT-I9070.
– Incoming phone ring loudness seems to be a bit low even at max volume.
[Nothing more for now. Looks good so far...]

Background
This is my second Android phone. Overall I like it, I will insert more +s and –s after sometime, with dates, inside this posting itself.

Since June itself, my just-eleven-months old Samsung S Advance GT-I9070 had been giving problems like 'Not Registered on Network', sudden freeze of contacts screen, abrupt re-start of phone on its own sometime, etc. The Not Registered on Network was the most serious problem: The screen will look normal with network signal level looking good etc., but callers who try to reach me heard 'switched off' message, and only when I try to make an outgoing call I figured out the error status. And only by restarting the phone I could come out of the problem. So I had been looking to move out of my S Advance.

I was checking around a lot of phones for 1-2 months. I was particular about a 5" screen, a quad core, and Samsung or Sony or HTC branded phone. But when it came to price, of all of them only braked my decision making act. I am always sure we will lose a lot of value of money when spending a lot on these expensive phones and gadgets within a few months. Moan. My 4" dual core GT-I9070 Samsung S Advance that I bought exactly 12 months ago, that was selling at Rs 22.5k at that time, is now selling for just Rs 12.5k! At least, it is still in the market, and selling, is the only saving grace. My previous Nokia X6 before this S Advance was never even seen in the market within 2-3 months, while I had purchased it as soon as it was released to market!

In June this year, during the telecast of the entire Champions Trophy tournament, Micromax advertised extensively on TV, though cryptically and hype-intended, with their "Can Life Be Endless?" commercial for the new Canvas 4 -- without revealing any Specs. And at the same time they were also taking pre-book orders online in June, again, without giving out the Specs! Some 11,000 pre-book orders they received in June, I heard.

Finally when it was launched on 8th July and the Specs came out online, I was impressed with this Pristine White version that had a good premium look and feel, and it also claimed some good Specs for that price of Rs 17.99k, plus, they threw in the the freebie of Surface Touch flip cover. The only issue was that it was sold online only, through Mobile Store online and Infibeam online. So I had no way to physically checkout the phone before buying. Also the reliability of Micromax products has always been a question mark as far as I have heard (includes Micromax Funbook we have already had reliability problems), and availability of quick / customer-friendly service support could be a problem. So that was a concern too. But due to the impressive looks and the claimed attractive Specs of Canvas 4, it seemed a good value for money to me when compared to others brands like a Samsung S3 or S4. So I took a bet at this. I ordered it on Infibeam online on 11th July, barely within 3 days of launch. I received the product finally, after a long wait and multiple follow-ups, on 6th Aug.

Check out some very nice pictures and interesting comparison tables below!


Specifications
You can find the manufacturer's specifications here.

Pictures and Info

The following comparison with Samsung S4 I9500 on GSM Arena can be seen here as well.

The following comparison with Samsung S Advance GT-I9070 on GSM Arena can be seen here as well.

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