We're
seeing new budget smartphone launches almost every week with smartphone
players getting increasingly aggressive in a bid to capture their share
of the market.
This week is no different with Micromax unveiling its new Canvas Xpress 2 budget smartphone that features an octa-core processor and a 720p display at a price less than Rs 5,999.
We've been using the smartphone and here is a brief look at its strengths and weaknesses...
We have to say the Micromax Xpress 2 is a pleasant looking budget smartphone with its champagne golden frame, narrow bezel and its subtly rounded back panel that sports a matte finish. The build quality exudes a feeling of durability and we did not notice any squeaks or wobbles even though the back panel is removable.
The front is dominated by a 5-inch HD (720x1280p) IPS display which comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection to guard against minor scratches. It's one of the cheapest phones to come with Gorilla Glass. The display looks crisp and bright but viewing angles were a little off as we noticed some colour distortion while viewing the screen from a different angle. Sunlight legibility was decent and touch response was good.
The phone doesn't come with hardware capacitive keys as the software features on-screen navigation and home keys. The volume rocker and power keys are made of plastic and sit at the right edge. These offer decent tactile feedback but feel slightly cheap. The 3.5mm headset jack is placed at the top while the micro-USB port is at the bottom along with rows of holes that act as speaker grille.
The phone's champagne gold frame also has a matte finish and doesn't look gaudy at all.
At the back you'll find the 13MP camera enclosed within a metal ring of concentric circles and a dual-LED flash. At the cost of sounding repetitive, we're surprised to see high-end camera hardware on a budget phone. The front camera is 2MP though. We'll have a close look at the camera in our full review.
The removable back panel hides two micro-sim card slots and a microSD card slot along with a removable 2500mAh battery.
Coming to the hardware specifications, the Canvas Express 2 is powered by a 1.4GHz MediaTek MT6592 octa-core processor with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage (almost 5GB is usable). The phone supports 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS but doesn't include a 4G radio.
The Canvas Xpress 2 runs Android 4.4 KitKat and comes with a slightly customised UI but there's no support for themes. It follows the the homes screen plus app launcher navigation system unlike the UI of Chinese smartphones that feature an integrated home screen. While navigating the interface was smooth, we encountered a slight lag while switching between apps perhaps due to the low RAM. The company has promised an upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop in the coming month.
At this price, the Canvas Xpress 2 will compete with the likes of the CoolPad Dazen 1 and Xiaomi Redmi 2. The phone features much superior camera hardware though. However, the lack of 4G support is a dampener. We'll have a final verdict in our full review soon.
This week is no different with Micromax unveiling its new Canvas Xpress 2 budget smartphone that features an octa-core processor and a 720p display at a price less than Rs 5,999.
We've been using the smartphone and here is a brief look at its strengths and weaknesses...
We have to say the Micromax Xpress 2 is a pleasant looking budget smartphone with its champagne golden frame, narrow bezel and its subtly rounded back panel that sports a matte finish. The build quality exudes a feeling of durability and we did not notice any squeaks or wobbles even though the back panel is removable.
The front is dominated by a 5-inch HD (720x1280p) IPS display which comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection to guard against minor scratches. It's one of the cheapest phones to come with Gorilla Glass. The display looks crisp and bright but viewing angles were a little off as we noticed some colour distortion while viewing the screen from a different angle. Sunlight legibility was decent and touch response was good.
The phone doesn't come with hardware capacitive keys as the software features on-screen navigation and home keys. The volume rocker and power keys are made of plastic and sit at the right edge. These offer decent tactile feedback but feel slightly cheap. The 3.5mm headset jack is placed at the top while the micro-USB port is at the bottom along with rows of holes that act as speaker grille.
The phone's champagne gold frame also has a matte finish and doesn't look gaudy at all.
At the back you'll find the 13MP camera enclosed within a metal ring of concentric circles and a dual-LED flash. At the cost of sounding repetitive, we're surprised to see high-end camera hardware on a budget phone. The front camera is 2MP though. We'll have a close look at the camera in our full review.
The removable back panel hides two micro-sim card slots and a microSD card slot along with a removable 2500mAh battery.
Coming to the hardware specifications, the Canvas Express 2 is powered by a 1.4GHz MediaTek MT6592 octa-core processor with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage (almost 5GB is usable). The phone supports 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS but doesn't include a 4G radio.
The Canvas Xpress 2 runs Android 4.4 KitKat and comes with a slightly customised UI but there's no support for themes. It follows the the homes screen plus app launcher navigation system unlike the UI of Chinese smartphones that feature an integrated home screen. While navigating the interface was smooth, we encountered a slight lag while switching between apps perhaps due to the low RAM. The company has promised an upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop in the coming month.
At this price, the Canvas Xpress 2 will compete with the likes of the CoolPad Dazen 1 and Xiaomi Redmi 2. The phone features much superior camera hardware though. However, the lack of 4G support is a dampener. We'll have a final verdict in our full review soon.
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