A few weeks ago Micromax added one more feather to their Canvas line of smartphones. The Canvas Spark is an ultra-affordable smartphone that costs just Rs 4,999. It raised quite a few eyebrows, clearly for the price point and of course for sporting the latest version of Android OS.
On April 30, the device went on sale and according to Micromax, the response was as overwhelming as it could get. A good 20,000 units were sold in first flash sale on e-commerce portal Snapdeal.
So, let’s see how the Micromax Canvas Spark fares.
What’s Good?
Two things stand out when it comes to this new Micromax offering. First the price, which is below Rs 5000 and second is the OS. Canvas Spark is the first smartphone under 5K to run on the Android lollipop 5.0. It’s a great plus for people who don’t want to splurge and yet want a phone with the latest specifications.
The build quality is fairly decent considering the price point. Micromax has added a metallic looking frame on the side which gives it a good look. It’s a plastic rim though, but remember it’s a budget smartphone. The rear panel of the phone has a sandstone like color and finish as pioneered by the OnePlus One. It’s non glossy and smudge free. The phone feels comfortable in the hand, doesn’t slip off.
The 8 MP rear camera is great for the budget range. It captures good photographs under normal light conditions. The display comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for enhanced protection.
In terms of performance, the phone runs smoothly so far as you run a handful of apps and a few games.
What strikes out in terms of OS is the floating and off-screen notifications in Android 5.0. It lets you easily swipe any notification to the left if you don’t want to look at it.
There’s a also a battery saver mode which Micromax has added. It limits the background data use and doesn’t let e-mail apps to sync frequently, thereby saving the power.
Overall a good budget smartphone with decent build quality, good rear camera and an average battery performance.
What’s Bad?
What let’s you down is the display. The qHD resolution doesn’t impress. Resolution isn’t good as you would expect these days. YouTube videos look dull on this and the screen is prone to fingerprint smudges.
As mentioned earlier, the phone tends to lag when you run multiple apps and the touch becomes unresponsive at times.
The 2MP front camera is disappointing. The details are faded with lots of noise registered on image.
The lack of space (this is only an 8 GB smartphone) doesn’t help and in addition to this some of the extra apps that come pre-installed just aggravate the space crunch.
Canvas Spark is surely an under-performer. But given its cost, it a decent buy. If your usage requirements are minimal then you’ll probably get along the sluggish performance.
Why Buy It?
Micromax Canvas Spark has got a decent build quality, good rear camera, runs on Android Lollipop 5.0 and of course for the price that gets as low as Rs 4,999. All these things are worth considering while buying a budget smartphone. However if you’re willing to shell out a few thousand more, we would suggest either a Xiaomi Redmi 2 or Moto E (Gen 2) .
Key Specifications: Mircomax Canvas Spark
Processor: MediaTek 1.3GHz quad-core
RAM: 1GB
Display: 4.7-inch qHD screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Operating System: Android Lollipop 5.0
Rear Camera: 8-megapixel
Front Camera: 2-megapixel
Connectivity: Dual SIM,3G,WiFi, Bluetooth, FM Radio
Battery: 2000 mAh
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