The affordable-smartphones battle is set to continue. Lenovo’s A6000 is compatible with the faster 4G mobile networks—useful if you live in one of the cities that has a 4G network.
Micromax Canvas Hue’s screen is the real highlight of this phone, and works well for reading as well as watching videos.
Lenovo A6000
Rs.6,999
The 5-inch in-plane switching screen (1,280x720 pixels) renders text well and the vivid colours look good. The only drawback is the reflective glass layer above the screen, which makes it difficult to use the phone in sunlight.
The Vibe UI (user interface) is similar to the one seen in the A6000’s more expensive sibling, the Vibe X2 (Rs.19,999)—all the app icons are spread across the home screens. This iOS-style layout means you get to the app icons quicker, but there is slightly less space for widgets.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor is clocking at 1.2 GHz and has adequate power for most apps and games to load and run smoothly. But with just 1 GB of RAM to support it, multitasking is out of the question.
A lot of the affordable Android phones have a limited amount of internal storage, which allows you to install only a handful of apps. Many of these apps cannot be moved to the memory card (because of Android’s restrictions) and that restricts usability. The A6000 has 8 GB internal storage; 4.24 GB of this is available to the user. Even though you can slot in a memory card, many Android apps cannot actually be transferred to it.
The 8-megapixel (MP) camera clicks crisp photographs in good light but stumbles in low-light shots. But the quality is good enough for sharing on Facebook, and that does the job for most users.
Battery life is a big surprise. The 2,300 mAh battery lasts a day and a half on a single charge, if you use the device as a primary phone. The A6000 is a good option for someone looking for a budget Android smartphone.
Micromax Canvas Hue
Rs.10,999
The clean look seems inspired from the Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy Alpha. But Micromax hasn’t gone all the way in replicating the build quality, and this becomes evident when you are opening the cheap plastic battery cover.
The phone packs in a quad-core MediaTek processor clocking at 1.3 GHz, paired with 1 GB of RAM. This is not a multitasking powerhouse, but if you don’t leave apps open in the background, it offers lag-free performance. There is 8 GB internal storage, of which the user has access to 5.21 GB space—enough for basic users who will download a handful of apps.
The 8-MP camera clicks vivid photographs in good light, and if you focus carefully, even some low-light photographs are quite crisp.
The Hue has a 3,000 mAh battery which, fully charged at 7am, is down to 30% by 7pm. If you are careful with the screen brightness and close unused apps, it could easily carry you to lunchtime the next day.
Micromax, seemingly inspired by the Chinese smartphone makers (Xiaomi, Gionee, etc.), has redone the user interface. All the app icons are spread across multiple home screens—there is no app drawer any more. While there is no steep learning curve here, the icons themselves don’t look very good. Yes, they are bright and a lot of colour has been used, but some of the icons are confusing—the settings icon looks more like a music player’s graphic equalizer.
The Canvas Hue isn’t 4G capable, which is the biggest indication that the smartphone manufacturer isn’t putting its best foot forward. It’s tough to recommend the Hue over its sibling, the Yu Yureka, as well as the Motorola Moto G (second generation).
