Micromax Canvas 5 First Impressions
Micromax Canvas 5 detailed specifications
GENERAL
|
Alternate names
|
E481
|
|
Release date
|
November 2015
|
|
Form factor
|
Touchscreen
|
|
Dimensions (mm)
|
148.00 x 73.60 x 8.30
|
|
Weight (g)
|
143.00
|
|
Battery capacity
(mAh)
|
2900
|
|
Removable battery
|
No
|
|
Colours
|
Slate Gray
|
|
SAR value
|
0.00
|
DISPLAY
|
Screen size (inches)
|
5.20
|
|
Touchscreen
|
Yes
|
|
Resolution
|
1080x1920 pixels
|
HARDWARE
|
Processor
|
1.3GHz
octa-core
|
|
Processor make
|
MediaTek MT6753
|
|
RAM
|
3GB
|
|
Internal storage
|
16GB
|
|
Expandable storage
|
Yes
|
|
Expandable storage
type
|
microSD
|
|
Expandable storage
up to (GB)
|
64
|
CAMERA
|
Rear camera
|
13-megapixel
|
|
Flash
|
Yes
|
|
Front camera
|
5-megapixel
|
SOFTWARE
|
Operating System
|
Android 5.1
|
CONNECTIVITY
|
Wi-Fi
|
Yes
|
|
Wi-Fi standards
supported
|
802.11 b/ g/ n
|
|
GPS
|
Yes
|
|
Bluetooth
|
Yes, v 4.00
|
|
NFC
|
No
|
|
Infrared
|
No
|
|
Wi-Fi Direct
|
No
|
|
MHL Out
|
No
|
|
HDMI
|
No
|
|
Headphones
|
3.5mm
|
|
FM
|
Yes
|
|
Number of SIMs
|
2
|
|
SIM 1
|
|
|
SIM Type
|
Micro-SIM
|
|
GSM/ CDMA
|
GSM
|
|
3G
|
Yes
|
|
4G/ LTE
|
Yes
|
|
Supports 4G in India
(Band 40)
|
Yes
|
|
SIM 2
|
|
|
SIM Type
|
Micro-SIM
|
|
GSM/ CDMA
|
GSM
|
|
3G
|
Yes
|
|
4G/ LTE
|
No
|
SENSORS
|
Compass/
Magnetometer
|
Yes
|
|
Proximity sensor
|
Yes
|
|
Accelerometer
|
Yes
|
|
Ambient light sensor
|
Yes
|
|
Gyroscope
|
No
|
|
Barometer
|
No
|
|
Temperature sensor
|
No
|
As expected, Micromax on Wednesday took the wraps off its
much-awaited "Canvas flagship" smartphone, the Canvas 5. The company
has this time priced its premium new smartphone at Rs. 11,999, which is
interestingly Rs. 6,000 less than the price its predecessor, the Canvas
4, was launched at. Buyers will also receive free
double data on 4G for six months from Airtelon
the purchase of the handset.
Arriving more than two years after the launch
of its predecessor in 2013, the Canvas 5 is a definite upgrade. However, the
specifications are not that ground-breaking by today's standards. The device is
likely to appeal to media users more than power users, or those who wish for a
superior smartphone camera at this budget level.
The Canvas 5 has its own pros and cons in each department, most
of which we will discuss here. The 4G LTE-enabled Micromax Canvas 5 sports a
5.2-inch display. Above the screen, you have a speaker grille along with the
front-facing camera on one side and the front-facing flash on the other. The
volume buttons and the power button sit on the right side of the handset, while
the headphone jack and the micro-USB port are placed the at top and bottom
respectively. In our short time with the Slate Gray version of this phone, we
found the volume and power buttons a bit uncomfortable to use as they are stiff
and don't have much travel. We found ourselves looking at the display each time
to confirm if the phone was locked or not.
The Canvas 5 has a removable textured plastic rear panel, which
gives a good grip but doesn't feel premium in hand. It hides the two Micro-SIM
slots and the MicroSD card slot. The 2900mAh battery however, stays in place
and is non-removable.
The Micromax
Canvas 5 runs near-stock Android5.1 Lollipop out-of-the-box with minor changes to the
native apps and interface, none of which should be a problem for most users.
The lack of a custom UI skin on top of Android makes the handset interface
clean and bloat-free. The company has also promised to bring out an Marshmallow update for this phone.
As compared to the 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) resolution
display of the Canvas 4, the Canvas 5 has a slightly larger 5.2-inch full-HD
(1080x1920 pixels) display with a 2.5D curve and Gorilla Glass 3 coating. The
display is crisp and bright and we were able to reach most parts of it with one
thumb without changing our hand position. Typing with one hand is also
possible. Since the screen delivers a pixel density of 423ppi, it was crisp
even when looked at from different angles. Smart Wake gestures worked just
about right.
Firing up several apps and switching between them was lag-free
and quick. However, there was some stuttering in minor tasks such as changing
the homepage scrolling effect. Under the hood, the Canvas 5 features an
octa-core Mediatek MT6753 processor clocked at 1.3GHz with integrated Mali-T720
MP2 graphics, clubbed with 3GB of DDR3 RAM. Out of 3GB RAM, we noted around
1.8GB free, while the system and the pre-loaded apps used the rest. Our review
unit had 16GB of inbuilt storage, of which roughly 9.5GB was available to use.
However, this shouldn't be an issue as you have the option to add up to 32GB of
space using a microSD card.
The Micromax Canvas 5 features a 13-megapixel rear camera with
LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera; common features for smartphones
nowadays. While the cameras managed to capture decent images in daylight, they
failed to impress us when used in a low-light environment. The camera not only
relied on high ISO levels but sometimes even struggled to focus a subject for
almost 2 seconds after pressing the shutter button before the shot was actually
captured. HDR mode also took a couple of seconds to capture and process shots.
While the colours were not that accurate in daylight images, the Canvas 5's
camera is likely to satisfy most users at this price level.
A feature called 'Zero Shutter Delay' can be used to lock focus
on subjects and take photos without wasting much time. However, there was a
minor downgrade in image quality, which the majority of the users might not
notice. The feature is deactivated by default. Other modes included are
Panorama, Night, Professional, Dual View, Face Beauty and Sports. The interface
is like that of many other handsets we've seen. The screen has controls for all
the modes including the flash and front-facing camera on one side, while the
video mode, shutter button and a shortcut to gallery are on the other. The
front-facing 5-megapixel camera was satisfying except it has fewer available
modes and settings. The Canvas 5 can capture videos in HD resolution at the
most.
We were not able to test the life of the Micromax Canvas 5's
2900mAh battery during our limited time with it, but we will do so when we get
our hands on a sample to conduct our full review.
The successor to the Micromax Canvas 4 seems like a fair deal at
Rs. 11,999. However, it will be competing against some of the most popular
devices in market, including the Moto G (Gen 3), XiaomiMi
4i, and Samsung
Galaxy J5. Our initial impression of the Canvas 5
is a mix of both good and bad. On one hand you have the near-stock Android
experience, octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM to handle multi-tasking, but on
the other the camera is not up to the mark and the build is not very impressive
either. So should you buy this phone? We will reserve that decision until the
review is out. Stay tuned.
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