Micromax A96 also called the Canvas power is another handset with a massive battery of 4000 mAh capacity. This is a MT6582 quad core powered handset with low end features. The Micromax Canvas Power A96 is available for a price of under Rs. 9,000.
A96 Box Pack
Box Contents: A96 handset, battery of 4000 mAh, OTG cable, data cable, travel charger, earphone, screen guard, warranty card and user guide.
Design, Display and OS
All smartphones that come with big battery capacity are bulky. The Micromax A96 too weighs about 195 grams with battery and dimensions are 73.34 x 143.70 x 11.47mm. It is 11.47mm thick. The handset looks attractive with matte finish and silver strip on the sides.
There are 3 touch sensitive back-lit buttons on the front bottom, volume rocker and power button on the right, micro USB port and 3.5mm audio jack on the top. On the rear side next to the camera there is the speaker out vent. SAR values as mentioned inside the battery compartment are : 0.56W/kg@ 1g (Head) and 0.56W/kg@ 1g(Body).
The built quality and finishing is good. It is a dual SIM handset with 3G + 2G support. SIM 1 supports 3G and SIM 2 supports 2G. There is micro SD card slot too. The SIM slots are overlapping.
The screen is not that great it is a 5 inch TFT screen with 854 x 480 pixels resolution. The viewing angles are just okay, the contents is not clearly visible from many angles. Touch however is smooth and responsive. There are 3 sensors accelerometer, proximity and light sensors.
This handset runs on Android 4.2.2.
Memory and Storage
Of the 4GB internal storage 1.14GB is assigned as phone storage and 1.44 GB as storage for apps. Of the 512MB RAM 291 MB is available on the first boot. You can install apps on the external storage and OTG is also supported.
Performance and Benchmark
This handset houses the well known 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582 quad core chipset with Mali 400 GPU. The performance is good but when playing heavy games you can feel it lagging at times.
Benchmark scores
- Quadrant Standard – 5845.
- AnTuTu – 17218.
- Vellamo – HTML5 1920, Metal 560.
- Nenamark 2 – 57.5fps
- Multi touch : 2 points.
Camera and Entertainment
On the box pack its mentioned that the Micromax Canvas Power A96 can shoot videos in 720p resolution, however it can actually record in 1080p resolution. The rear camera is 5MP with LED flash and front camera is VGA. This is a fixed focus camera and picture / video quality is just okay not so great.
The handset can play full HD videos with ease in H/W mode. 720p videos can play in both H/w and S/w modes.
Gaming
I did not get time to test the MC4 (no time to download), I tried the Asphalt 8 that played well but lagged at times even with default medium-visual graphics details. At very low graphics the game play was better. 1GB RAM could have made the gaming experience more smoother.
Others
Sound is good, 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth worked well. Got the first GPS lock in 10 seconds.
4000 mAh Battery
After using the handset for about 28 minutes running benchmark apps and playing the Asphalt 8 game the battery dropped by 7%. Max temperature was 37 degrees. You can continuously play heavy games / run heavy apps for almost 6 hours. Expected talk time is up to 13 hours on 3G.
Verdict
The Micromax Canvas Power A96 is all about more battery backup. The price is good at under Rs. 9000. However 512MB RAM is less specially if you are more into gaming. Another disappointment is the 5MP fixed focus camera that could have been better. Spend some more money and get the Gionee M2 which has slightly better specs.
Micromax A96 is available for approx Rs. 7,800.
Image Gallery
Sample Images
Micromax A96 handset and gaming review
Sample 1080p video shot using the A96 Power handset
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