The much awaited Micromax A90s is now available in India. The handset is an upgraded version of its predecessor the A90. The only difference between the two models is that the A90s comes with a dual core processor and Bluetooth 4.0. Interestingly even the price tags are the same, well almost.
A90s box pack
The box pack clearly mentions super AMOLED screen and also mentions the same on the rear side in the specification list. Inside the box you will find the handset, earphone, charger, USB to micro USB cable, user guide and warrant card.
Design
Nothing much to talk about, cause it’s the same as the Micromax A90. No difference at all. Keep the handsets together and no one can tell which is the dual core or the single core.
Inside the Hood
It’s dual SIM phone with 3G supported. The processor is MT7577 clocked at 1GHz with PowerVR SGX 531 GPU. Well it’s the same as the Micromax A110. You can say the hardware is as powerful as the A110.
The screen is super AMOLED with scratch resistant glass. Screen size is 4.3 inches with 728×480 pixels, (cause of some space taken by dedicated onscreen buttons).
The handset has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. Sensors present are Gsensor, Magnetic, proximity and light. The handset runs on Android 4.0.4 ICS OS.
SAR value : 1.55 W/kg @ 1g (head) and 0.92 W/kg @ 1g (body).
Performance
The handset comes with 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage. You get 228 MB RAM free and internal storage for app is around 1GB free. Apart from that there is another storage of 1.9GB which remains untouched and you don’t have an option to save new apps on the internal storage by default.
The benchmark scores are as follows.
- Quadrant= 1st test 2331, 2nd test 2401.
- Antutu=5128.
- NenaMark2=23.6 fps.
- LinPack= Single 31, Multi 44.
As you can see the benchmark scores of A90s are not so impressive as on the A110 on Antutu A90s does better but on others A110 does well.
Camera
Camera is 8MP with LED flash. The quality is as good as on the A90 and A110. The camera interface has changed on the Micromax A90s, they have made it simpler and easy to use/understand with less options. Many of the options found on the A90 are missing thought.
You can check the sample images here http://www.flickr.com/photos/gogirana/sets/72157631922975541/
GPS
GPS did work on the A90s and I got the first lock in 15 seconds. There were issues with GPS not working on Google maps on some of the earlier A90 phones but on this phone it worked flawlessly.
Battery
I will not be able to check the battery but it should easily last for over a day, I have experienced that on the A90. May be the battery usage will be a little less than A90 cause of dual core processor but should be fair enough.
Games on A90s
When it comes to gaming it will be a little disappointing. The MC3 (Modern Combat 3) game that worked on the A110 is not compatible on A90s and cannot install. The reason I believe could be the 3 point multi touch support, A110 supports 5 point multi touch.
Entertainment
You can watch 720p movies but 1080p movies do not work as in the case of A110.
Others
- When viewing the menu option you now get the background wallpaper instead of a pure black background.
- The swipe to unlock now has a small animation with new icons. You can also view the notifications listed on the same swipe to unlock screen.
- Some of the apps are completely revamped with new interface.
- The handset supports 3 point multi touch which could be a problem with some high end games.
- When recording videos the mic volume is quite loud not as low as found on the A90. You can check the sample video at the end of the article.
- In call volume / speaker volume is loud.
- Over all there are no issues especially like the ones found on the A90. (At least not on this handset that I used for review).
Micromax A90s review
The A90s though powerful does not really appeal as compared with the Micromax A110.
When the Micromax A100 was launched with the Micromax A90, there was a price difference of around 3K, but the hardware was also different. The A90 performed better than the A100 with over 300 benchmark points and A90 came with 8MP camera as compared with 5MP on the A100. It did make sense to go in for the A90, then, for the AMOLED screen, camera and a powerful processor.
But here in this case the A110 and the A90s have the same hardware with some minor changes. However with 3 point multi touch some high-end games do not work that clearly gives an advantage to the A110. In fact with addition of 8MP camera on A110 it is at par with the A90s along with a 5 inch screen that too at under Rs. 10,000.
Which is a better buy A110 or A90s?
You pay Rs. 3000 extra for A90s and what you get is the AMOLED screen which no doubt is much, much better than the A110, Bluetooth 4.0 and 3 point multi touch (which is disappointing), rest features are the same. A110 is 5 inch with 5 point multi touch and can play games that A90s can’t and is cheaper by Rs. 3K. You make the choice.
Image Gallery
Micromax A90s unboxing and review video
Sample video at 720p shot using the MMX A90s
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