The Micromax Canvas A114 or the Micromax Canvas 2.2 is powered by a new breed of quad core chipset the MediaTek MT6582 clocked at 1.3GHz. This handset sports a 5 inch screen with qHD resolution and comes for a price tag of under Rs. 12,000.
A114 Box Pack
Inside the box you will find the handset, earphone, charger, data cable, some download goodies from Micromax, User Guide, 2000 mAh battery and warranty statement.
Design, Display and OS
Look wise there is nothing new with the Micromax A114, in fact most of the canvas series follow the same design pattern. The A114 weighs about 153 grams with battery, thickness is 9.74mm, breadth is 72.71mm and length is 145.23mm.
Handset has got curvy edges. Power button is placed on the right, volume rockers on left, micro USB and 3.5mm audio jack on the top. MMX A114 Sar value is 0.21 W/kg @ 1g (head) and 0.39 W/kg @ 1g (body).
The 5 inch IPS screen supports 960×540 pixels resolution with 16M colors ~ 220.29ppi. Viewing angles are okay. Touch is smooth and responsive. There is LED notification. This dual SIM (Normal SIM slot) handset runs on Android 4.2.2 OS. There are accelerometer, light and proximity sensors.
Memory and Storage
Of the 4GB internal storage 1.42GB is allocated as phone storage (1.2GB free) and 1GB as internal storage. And of the 1GB RAM 768MB is available. You can install and move apps on external storage. OTG is also supported.
Performance
The Micromax Canvas 2.2 comes powered by 1.3GHz MT6582 quad core processor with Mali 400 GPU. The performance is pretty smooth and the benchmark scores are quite impressive. This quad core chipset is different from the MT6589 that we have seen on many other handsets like the Micromax A116 and the Lava Iris 504q. In fact the benchmark scores are even better than the Micromax Magnus A117 that comes with 1.5GHz MT6589T processor (though screen resolution and camera output is better on A117).
Benchmark scores
- Quadrant Standard – 5932.
- AnTuTu – 17114; 2nd time – 17332.
- Vellamo – HTML5 2018, Metal 512.
- Nenamark 2 – 56.2 fps
- Multi touch : 5 points.
Camera and Entertainment
The camera quality is good enough but I still like the Magnus A117 quality. I shot some images in auto mode. On some images there is too much of the yellow tint. The rear 8MP auto focus camera with LED flash can record videos in full HD resolution. Video quality is good. This handset can easily play full HD videos with ease. There is 2MP front camera that can be used for video chats.
When recording videos the auto focus does not work you need to tap the screen (subject) to focus.
Gaming
I could install MC4 (Modern combat 4) and Asphalt 8 on the external SD card. Game play was extremely smooth and could play Asphalt 8 in highest graphics mode with ease.
Others
I did not find any issues with 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Sound is loud and clear. GPS on the Micromax A114 is just awesome. I am not sure if it is on the handset that I reviewed but would want to get a confirmation from other users too, those using the A114. I got the first GPS lock in… well almost instantly.
Battery
The 2000 mAh battery as per the company will give talk time of up to 7 hours on 2G networks. I ran the benchmark apps for about 19 minutes, the battery dropped by 13% and 8% drop in battery when playing high end games for approx 10 minutes.
Verdict
The qHD resolution is kind of disappointing; however, in general the handset seems quite powerful. The benchmark scores say a lot and gaming experience is also pretty smooth. Performance wise the Micromax canvas A114 seems better than the Magnus A117.
For the price of under Rs. 12,000 the Micromax Canvas 2.2 A114 is definitely worthy. Watch out for more 1.3GHz MT6582 powered handsets.
Image Gallery
Sample Images
Micromax Canvas A114 unboxing and review
MC4 and Asphalt8 game play on Micromax Canvas 2.2
1080p video shot using Micromax A114
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