The Micromax A102 is the new handset recently launched in the Doodle series. Unfortunately the A102 also called the Canvas Doodle 3 is a downgraded version (dual core) when compared with its predecessors the quad core Doodle and the Doodle 2. Doodle 3 is price at under Rs. 8,500.
Doodle 3 Packing
The box pack does look attractive, different from the usual box packing. Inside the box you will find the handset attached with flip cover – in fact there are no extra back cover without the flip; you will need to use this handset with the flip cover (It seems the extra cover was missing on the unit I got, users have confirmed that there is an extra cover without the flip), also included is 2500 mAh battery (Li-ion), user guide, warranty card, screen guard, travel charger, data cable and good quality earphone (the call button and the mic looks a little weird (check video). SAR values : 1.26 W/Kg Head and 0.21 W/kg Body.
Design and Display
It’s a big handset following the Doodle tradition, in fact the biggest in the family with a 6 inch screen. The built quality is good and the magnetic flip cover also enhances the overall look with added functionality. A102 is bulky its weight with battery and the flip cover is 229 grams. The thickness is 9.71mm. The back side is with matte finish.
The handset is a big difficult to hold for a longer time because of the size and the weight. The flip cover comes pre-attached and there is no option to remove that. There is only one back cover and it’s with the flip. The power button and the volume rockers are placed on the right side and micro USB port plus 3.5mm audio jack on the top.
Screen is big – 6 inches unfortunately supporting 854 x 480 pixels resolution. Touch is smooth. Viewing angles are good but from certain angles the screen is not visible. There are accelerometer, light and proximity sensors. There is LED notification that turns green when you get a notification and turns red when charging.
Memory / Storage and OS
There is 512MB RAM and 4GB storage. 280MB is the free RAM on the first boot and 1.1GB is the free space for apps. The space allocated for phone storage is 704MB. You can use micro SD card of up to 32GB and can also install / move most of the apps onto the external storage. The Doodle 3 runs on Android 4.2.2. I did not check the OTG option so not sure if OTG is supported or not.
Performance
The A102 is powered by dual core processor, however when you start the phone (for the first time) the live Lotus 3D wallpaper will impress you. The performance is smooth and I did not find any lag for normal operation, however the heavy wallpaper will have an impact and it would be better to switch to simple (non-animated) wallpaper. Benchmark scores aren’t that impressive.
The handset houses MT6572 dual core processor clocked at 1.3GHz with Mali 400 GPU.
Benchmark scores
| App | Result |
| Quadrant | 3140 |
| Antutu | 11075 |
| Vellamo | HTML5 (1677) Metal (511) |
| Nenamark 2 | 39.6fps |
| Multi Touch | 2 point |
Camera and entertainment
There is rear camera of 5MP resolution it’s auto focus with LED flash and front camera is VGA. Rear camera can record 720p videos at 30fps. The quality is good considering the hardware. Check the sample images and videos at the end.
The A102 can play 720p videos and probably 1080p too in H/W mode.
Gaming
I could install the Asphalt 8 and the MC4 on the external storage. The game is playable however sometimes there is a good lag. Check the gaming part in the review video you can clearly see it lagging there.
Others
Sound is loud and did not find any issues with Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS and Bluetooth. GPS is with A-GPS and EPO support. The magnetic flip cover comes with a window that will show the time and some notifications (messages / missed calls) when the flip is closed and when open the display will switch on but you will still need to unlock the phone (if you have enabled that option).
Battery
This dual SIM (3G+2G) device comes with 2500 mAh battery. I used the handset for 35 minutes running benchmark apps and playing some high end games battery dropped by 6% and the max temperature was 38 degrees. The battery backup looks too good up to 7 to 8 hours with heavy usage.
Verdict
After the Doodle 2 users were expecting something better or something similar with enhanced features. The Doodle 3 came as a disappointment, especially for its screen resolution and more because of the dual core processing power.
The handset does lag specially when playing high end games, camera quality is decent. It would have been better if Micromax had named it something else and reduced the screen size to 5 or smaller keeping the same resolution. This would have improved performance and possibly helped reduce the price further.
Micromax Canvas Doodle 3 A102 current price is under Rs. 8600.
A102 Image Gallery
Sample Images
