The Micromax Canvas Fun A74 sports a 4.5 inch screen running Android 4.2 OS with 512MB RAM. This low budget handset is powered by 1.3GHz dual core processor and priced at Rs. 7,700. It competes with the XOLO A500S that also comes with the same hardware with minor (specs) changes.
Box Pack
Inside the box there is the handset, screen guard, data cable, power adapter, quality earphone, warranty booklet, 1500 mAh battery and user guide. SAR value as mentioned on the box: 0.87 W/kg@1g (head) and 1.04W/kg@1g (Body).
Design, Display and OS
The Micromax A74 weight is 144 with battery, thickness is 10.25mm, breadth is 69.32mm and length is 134.63mm. The Micromax Canvas Fun A74 is available in 3 different colors Black, Red and Blue. Handset looks great and has a curvy design. It does look like a Nokia phone on the first instance. The rear side is matte finish that makes it even more comfortable to hold.
The volume rockers are placed on the left, power button on the right and 3.5mm audio jack and micro USB port on the top side. The touchscreen is 4.5 inches with resolution 854×480 pixels (16M colors). Touch is smooth and viewing angles is okay (not really that good). There are light, accelerometer and proximity sensors. This handset sails on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS.
Memory and Storage
The Micromax A74 comes with 512MB RAM of which 220 MB is free and of the 4GB internal storage 1.27GB is assigned for apps and 1.25 for Phone Storage. There is micro SD card slot and you can install apps on external storage. I tried connecting external pendrive using OTG cable, it doesn’t work. OTG is not supported.
Performance and Benchmark
The Dual SIM (Dual Standby) A74 comes with MT6572 dual core processor (Cortex A7) coupled with Mali 400 MP GPU. The same hardware that powers the XOLO A500S.
Benchmark scores
- Quadrant Benchmark : 3364.
- Antutu Benchmark : 10973.
- Vellamo Benchmark : HTML5 – 1681, Metal – 492.
- Nenamark2 : 40.3fps.
- Multi Touch : 3 point Multi Touch.
Camera and Entertainment
The Camera output isn’t really that good. You can check the sample images. The rear camera is 5MP fixed focus with LED flash support there is a front camera too with video call support. You can record videos in 720p resolution @ 14fps the video quality is not at all impressive.
You can play full HD videos in hardware mode only using MX player, in software mode audio video is out of sync.
Gaming
I tried the Asphalt 7 and the MC4 (Modern Combat 4). Both of these games worked pretty well. The MC4 game play was smoother as compared to what we have seen on the Xolo A500S. The games got installed on the external storage card.
Others
3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS worked without any issues. In call / Loud Speaker is loud and clear. Got the GPS lock with 40 seconds.
1500 mAh battery
The removable Li-ion battery of 1500 mAh capacity gives talktime of up to 5 hours. I used the handset for benchmark / games for approx 30 to 35 minutes and the battery level dropped to 6% and temp rose from 32 to 37 degrees.
Micromax A74 Verdict
A good handset for the price, it also gives a premium feel – in fact some might mistaken it to be a Nokia handset. This handset competes with the XOLO A500S, hardware is the same but little difference like A74 is with 4.5 inch screen and A500S with 4 inch. A74 comes with 1500 mAh battery and A500S with 1400 mAh. MC4 game play is better on A74. If you look at the price the XOLO is a little cheaper.
Overall Canvas Fun A74 is very good budget smartphone with a comfortable price tag (ignore the camera). It is definitely better than the Micromax A113 and much cheaper.
Canvas Fun A74 image gallery
Micromax A74 sample images
Micromax A74 unboxing and review video
720p video shot using the Micromax A74 handset
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