Categories Android

Micromax A100 Review – Superfone Canvas, Spice Mi-425 or Karbonn A9?

There are two things that will attract more users towards the Micromax A100 Superfone Canvas, the 5 inch screen and the price of under Rs. 10,000. The A100 seems to be the best option as compared with Spice Mi-425 and Karbonn A9.

A big screen of 5 inches gives you more work space and is more comfortable to work, especially if you spend a lot of time surfing, playing games, on social networking or watching videos. The Micromax A100 runs on the ICS OS (Android 4.0) with life like clarity (16.8 million colours).

Inside the hood
Its a 1GHz (single core) Qualcomm Scorpion chipset ARM V7 processor with Adreno 200 GPU. A 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM, internal storage is 1.5GB, dual SIM support with dual Standby, so far these features seems similar to the Spice and Karbonn models which are slightly cheaper than the Micromax A100. But once you look at the A100 specifications the extra price really does not matter.

Display Screen / Looks
Micromax A100 is not only super slim but also has got that display advantage. The screen is at 5 inches (4.92 inches to be precise) multi-touch capacitive with amazing 16.8 million colours for life like clarity. This is too good when compared with 4 inch screen on Spice Mi-425 (read the full spice Stellar Mi-425 review) and 3.8 inches on Karbonn A9.

The screen resolution is similar as on the other two models at 800×480 pixels resolution (728×480). However it’s with 16m colour support.  Advantage MM A100.

Operating System
The MM A100 comes with ICS OS (no word if it can be upgraded to Jelly Bean – though the hardware is capable). As for the Karbonn A9 it runs on 2.3 and probably will not get an upgraded to ICS. The Spice handset on the other hand also comes with Android 2.3 with ICS upgradable – ‘mentioned’ but it’s been a long time and there haven’t been any updates.  Clearly the A100 wins again.

Memory, internal storage, Connectivity
Already mentioned before the RAM is 512 similar to what Spice and Karbonn A9 handsets house. Internal storage on Spice is 203MB, Karbonn is 1GB and on A100 its 1.5GB. All the 3 handsets support dual SIM and microSD card up to 32GB. As far as connectivity is concerned the A100 supports 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0 and micro USB port.  The Bluetooth on A9 and Mi-425 is version 2.1 – advantage A100.

Micromax Superfone canvas Camera
Again the camera is of similar resolution found on Spice / Karbonn i.e. of 5 megapixel resolution auto focus camera with LED flash. The 0.3MP front camera is also included. Homeshop18 first listed this handset few days before the official launch with some incorrect specifications. But yes it does have a front camera. The quality is similar to as seen on A9 / Mi-425 models.

Gaming
The A100 can play the popular Angry birds, Agneepath and Temple Run games flawlessly and even many HD games.

Micromax A100 Benchmark / Performance
The Quadrant Benchmark tool gave it a score of 2075 and on Antutu it scored 2733. This when compared with Spice Mi-425’s Quadrant score of around 1414 is just too good. The loudspeaker and in call speaker quality is really good. It has G-Sensors, proximity and light sensors.

ICS OS (Android 4.0) runs pretty smooth. You can play HD videos at 720p – full HD at 1080p is not supported – you will need to convert the videos to supported format. The back side has got the soft satin finish which gives a solid grip and comfortable to hold in spite of it’s big size. Noise cancellation is supported via dual microphones.

Battery
A battery of similar capacity as on the Spice Mi-425 (2000 mAh li-ion) powers the Micromax A100 with up to 5 hours of talktime and about a week in standby mode. The handset should easily last for more than a day for heavy users.

Micromax A100 review (Superfone canvas)
If you have gone though the comparison between Micromax A100 v/s Spice mi-425 v/s Karbonn A9, you will agree that the A100 is the winner. The A100 is priced at Rs. 9,999 and you get a little more that what the other two models are offering.

The best model of the three?  A100 > Spice Mi-425 = Karbonn A9.

The Micromax A100 is big, good performance, fantastic screen with 480 x 782 pixel resolution 189.62 ppi and refresh rate of 60. It may not be as good as the Samsung Galaxy Note but it will definitely turn heads. And for a price of under Rs. 10K it will not hurt much even if you accidentally drop it.

“With inputs from Deepak Navangule”

Micromax A100 Key features and Specifications

  • Qualcomm Scorpion chipset with ARM V7 1GHz + Adreno 200 GPU.
  • Android ICS – 4.0.
  • 5 inch (4.92”) 800×480 pixels with 16M colours (189.62 ppi).
  • 512MB RAM, 1.5GB internal storage free of 2GB 4GB total space and microSD support (32GB max).
  • Sensors: Proximity, G-Sensor and light.
  • 3G (HSDPA 7.2Mbps / HSUPA 5.76Mbps), GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi, microUSB and 3.5mm jack.
  • Wi-Fi tethering and Hotspot supported.
  • Rear 5.0 MP camera (Auto focus) with LED flash and front VGA camera.
  • 2000 mAh Li-ion battery with 180 hours standby and up to 5 hours of talktime.

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