The surge in homegrown brands has led to a wide variety of very similar Android devices in the market. As manufacturers struggle to differentiate their products from the competition, we’ve seen an uptick in hardware quality and software optimization. Micromax however has decided to bank on a gimmick to market their new device. Is 3D compatibility reason enough to go in for the Micromax A115 Canvas 3D ? Read on to find out.
Video Review
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn6jDD-Jr_g
Design
The Micromax Canvas 3D doesn’t break any boundaries with its design. You’ve seen this design both within the Micromax line of devices as well as from competitors however it isn’t an eyesore by any means. What you get is a very utilitarian look that focuses on not getting in the way of you and the phone.
On the front of the phone you’ll spot a large 5 inch display with a not so amazing WVGA resolution but more on that later. You can spot a front facing camera over at the top.
Further down below the screen are the capacitive buttons. Fairly responsive in nature, they are equipped with backlighting so it should not be a problem using them in the dark as well.
We were quite impressed by the build quality of the handset. While on the heavier side, it feels rather nice in the hand. The heft is evenly distributed and you never find the phone cumbersome to hold. A metallic band runs around the screen and to the top you can see the 3.5mm audio jack and the microUSB port. The power key is placed on the right while the volume rocker is on the left side and both provide suitable feedback.
The back of the phone has a removable battery cover with the Micromax name and logo silkscreened on. You can also spot the dual LED flash, 5MP camera module here. The use of soft touch plastics here is appreciated and it feels great when held though tends to attract fingerprints.
Display
The Canvas 3D is equipped with a 5 inch WVGA display as we mentioned earlier. The resolution is on the lower end of the spectrum considering the competition but has a trick up its sleeve.
The Micromax Canvas 3D as the name suggests has a 3D display. Does it work ? Yes. Is it worth the hype ? No, not by a long shot. Lack of 3D content apart, the screen tends to be a gimmick for the most part with the user having to constantly shift the distance between the screen and the eye to try and get a properly focussed image. In 2D mode, the colors tend to be well saturated and viewing angles are wide enough to not be an issue.
Software
The phone runs a near stock build of Android 4.1.2 which helps keep things smooth all around. Micromax has made a number of additions that you may or may not appreciate. The biggest of these of course is the dedicated 3D Space launcher that will allow you to switch a carousel based interface which has been optimized for 3D consumption. The launcher provides quick access to a 3D Gallery, YouTube and video player. Other than that you find the usual suspects like games and the company’s own application store.
The customizations extend to the lockscreen that allows you to jump straight into the 3D carousel. The notifications hub too sports a few quick access toggles which are much appreciated.
Over all Micromax has stuck to the formula and has’t made too many changes to the interface which is something we definitely prefer.
Performance
Day to day performance on the Canvas 3D is acceptable but it is not uncommon to see lags in the interface. Powered by the 1.2 Ghz Dual Core MTK6577 chipset, the phone is provided with 512MB of RAM that proves to be limiting when multitasking. We’ve included a range of benchmark scores below that should help you gauge performance.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xFo-_aaskI
In the Quadrant benchmark, the Micromax Canvas 3D scores 2979 which is about par for the budget segment of devices.
The AnTuTu scores for the Canvas 3D are particularly poor at just 4293. The poor scores back up our experience with the device wherein the handset exhibits occasional and stutters even while navigating the interface.
We also tested some games. Here is the gaming performance review
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmgjvTO0n2k
Camera
The camera on the Canvas 3D is disappointing to say the least. Rated at 5MP, it takes some of the worst images we’ve seen in a while. Photos were consistently full of noise and suffered from chromatic aberrations.
As can be seen below, the camera struggles to focus and macro shots are practically impossible to take. Colors tend to be muted and the image is a bit underexposed over all. The level of noise seen even in images shot in bright lighting conditions is very surprising.
Most phones in the budget range are unable to take decent low light shots but the Micromax Canvas 3D is possible the worst of lot. In addition to the same focussing issues as before, the level of noise and random speckles seen in the image was shocking. We’d recommend that you refrain from shooting night time images with this device.
Video recording maxes out at VGA resolution and the camera can also shoot ‘3D’ images. Since the phone lacks stereoscopic cameras, the 3D image is captured by combining two shots taken from two slightly separated areas. The end result is useless for the most part with almost no depth in the image. The earlier mentioned camera related quirks still apply so you probably want to stay away from this feature. Unfortunately there is no way to share the results here so you’ll have to take our word for it.
Battery Life & Connectivity
The Micromax Canvas 3D is equipped with a 2000 mAh battery pack which lasts about a day under moderate usage. Extensive web browsing particularly takes a toll on the device and runs through battery life just that much quicker.
The phone has dual SIM card slots that take two full size SIM cards. Other connectivity options include the standard bluetooth, WiFi. The phone is also equipped with a microSD card slot that you can use to expand the built in 4GB of space.
Conclusion
The Micromax Canvas 3D is a mediocre phone that tries to sell a gimmick that is the 3D screen. The performance is strictly mid range and specifications are rather outdated.
The camera in particular was unusable. Considering that it is possible to get competing devices like the excellent Zen Ultra 701HD for just a little more, we cannot recommend the Micromax Canvas 3D unless you insist on getting a device capable of displaying 3D content.
Pros
Can display 3D content
Cons
Poor camera
3D is a gimmick
Average specifications