Micromax A116 Canvas HD: 5 Cut Throat Competitors of The Quad Core Phablet Launched in India Today

| Published: Monday, January 21, 2013, 18:15 [IST]

In the past week, there was a media report suggesting that the leading India based handset vendor Micromax will be launching an high-end phablet. According to the report, the homegrown manufacturer will launch a quad core Android 4.1 Jelly Bean phablet in the sub Rs 15,000 price range in India in days to come.

Though the phablet was not speculated to be launched soon, however, Micromax has announced the rumored phablet today itself. Dubbed as A116 Canvas HD, the latest offering from the Micromax basket is powered by a quad core MediaTek processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and a HD display. Moreover, the handset carries the credit of being the first quad core offering from the native handset manufacturer.

Specifications

Lets take a sneak peak at the key specs of A116 Canvas HD.

Display: A116 Canvas HD houses a 5 inch HD IPS capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.

Processor: The handset is powered by a 1.2GHz quad core MediaTek MT6589 processor.

Operating System: Interestingly, Canvas HD is loaded with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, which makes it superior when compared with other offerings at similar price points.

Camera: A116 Canvas HD sports an 8MP rear camera and a VGA front camera for video calling.

Storage: Canvas HD has 4GB internal storage, 1GB RAM and a micro SD card slot supporting up to 32GB additional storage.

Connectivity: The handset is packed with features including 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth and GPS/A-GPS for data connectivity.

Battery: Canvas HD is loaded with a 2,100 mAh battery of unknown backup.

Other Features

Micromax A116 Canvas HD is loaded with applications including M!Store, M!Buddy, M!SMS, M!Zone and Hook Up.

Price & Availability

Micromax has not disclosed the official pricing of its latest Canvas offering, however, going by earlier reports, the handset is speculated to be priced below Rs 15,000. The handset will hit the retail shelves in the country in February.

A116 Canvas HD - 5 Best Challengers

So far, Microax was launching phablets with single and dual core processors and Android ICS platform. By launching an high-end quad core and Jelly Bean equipped device, the company has stepped into the highly competitive phablet arena, which is occupied by both local and global vendors including the leader of all Samsung Electronics.

Hence, Gizbot has come up with the 5 best challengers to A116 Canvas HD on the day of the phablet's announcement.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Samsung's second generation phablet - Galaxy Note 2 is selling like hot cakes and packs a 5.5 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution, 1.6GHz quad core processor, 16GB/32GB/64GB internal storage, 2GB RAM, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, micro SD card slot supporting 32GB, 8MP rear camera, 1.9MP front camera, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth with A2DP and a 3,100 mAh Li-ion battery.

When it comes to Galaxy Note 2, the phablet is priced at Rs 36,700, which is quite expensive as compared to the sub Rs 15,000 Micromax offering with similar specifications. However, the former with a larger display, faster processor, better battery and improved front camera could be a stiff competitor to A116 Canvas HD.

LG Optimus Vu

Optimus Vu houses a 5-inch 4:3 aspect ratio XGA IPS display with 1280 x 768 pixel resolution, 1.5GHz quad core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, 8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera for video calling, 32GB internal memory, 1GB RAM, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, A-GPS, micro USB 2.0, NFC and a 2,080 mAh Li-ion battery.

Priced at Rs 26,900 and with a faster processor, better front camera performance and NFC connectivity, the LG offering could be a potential rival to A116 Canvas HD. However, it is to be noted that the latter comes with Jelly Bean OS and expandable storage support with a micro SD card slot.

Wickedleak Wammy Titan

On Friday, Wickedleak launched a 5.5 inch phablet with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system dubbed as Wammy Titan. The handset packs a 5 point milti-touch Super qHD capacitive touchscreen display with 960 x 540 pixel resolution, 1.2GHz MTK6577 processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera for video calling, 4GB internal storage capacity, 1GB RAM, micro SD card slot supporting up to 32GB additional storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G and a 2,500 mAh battery offering 8 hours of talk time and 260 hours of stand by.

With a price tag of Rs 13,000, the Android Jelly Bean based phablet with a larger display and better front camera could be a threatening rival to the Micromax offering with a better quad core processor.

Lava Iris 501

Recently, Lava launched Iris 501 to foray into the phablet market in India. The device sports a 5 inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, 1GHz dual core processor, Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, 5MP rear camera, 0.3MP front camera for video calling, 4GB internal storage, micro SD card slot supporting up to 32GB expandable storage support, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, micro USB 2.0 and a 2,300 mAh Li-Po battery of undisclosed backup.

Iris 501 is priced at Rs 9,999 and is based on Android ICS, while Canvas HD comes with a faster quad core processor, better rear camera and slightly improved battery backup.

New Zync Cloud Z5

Zync has refreshed its phablet - Cloud Z5 with a 1GHz dual core processor and improved Android 4.0.3 ICS OS. The device packs a 5 inch 5 point multi-touch LCD capacitive touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution, dual core 1GHz processor, Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, 8MP rear camera, a 0.3MP front camera, 4GB internal storage, 512MB RAM, micro SD card slot supporting up to 32GB expandable storage, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS and 2,500 mAh Li-ion battery.

With a price tag of Rs 11,990 and with an enhanced battery, the new Zync phablet can be a tough challenger for A116 Canvas HD boasting a better processor, Jelly Bean OS ans HD display.