Micromax Funbook accessories now available from nCarry

Micromax Funbook accessories such as HD Shield Screen Protector, Leather Case and Car Charger are now available from their official estore nCarry. The Anti-Glare screen protector is made of a special micro thin polymer that reduces glare. It also protects the screen from fingerprints, dirt, scratches, smudges and grease. The Leather Case has dust resistant durable leather exterior and the interior is made of scratch proof micro-fibre. Continue reading “Micromax Funbook accessories now available from nCarry”

Micromax A45 Superfone Punk Music Phone launched for Rs. 5,499

Micromax has launched A45, Music Phone in the Superfone range. It has 3.5-inch (480 x 320 Pixels) Capacitive touch screen display and is powered by 650 MHz processor. pre-loaded AISHA, a voice recognition app which made its debut with A50 Ninja. It runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Continue reading “Micromax A45 Superfone Punk Music Phone launched for Rs. 5,499”

Micromax A85 price drops to Rs. 11,990

Micromax A85 gets a price cut and is now available for just Rs. 11,990 from online retailer nCarry. It was launched in India last November for Rs.18,990 and got a price cut recently to 15,290. Micromax Superfone A85 and it is powered by a 1 GHz Dual Core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo) that is upgradable to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Continue reading “Micromax A85 price drops to Rs. 11,990”

Micromax A50 Superphone Ninja with voice assistant ‘AISHA’ launched for Rs. 4,999

Micromax just launched its latest entrant in the low end Android smartphone segment , the A50 Superphone Ninja. Keeping aside the rather pedestrian specifications , the focus seems to be on the handset’s voice control capabilities. Dubbed AISHA , the voice assistant lets users initiate a Google search, view stock market details,  know phone status, movie reviews, make calls, read news of desired locations, know horoscopes, make language translations and also view recipes. According to Micromax , AISHA helps you to inquire your missed calls, send message, inquire date and time, weather conditions.

Continue reading “Micromax A50 Superphone Ninja with voice assistant ‘AISHA’ launched for Rs. 4,999”

Review : Micromax Funbook

Every once in a while comes a product which shatters the barriers of price and expectations. The Micromax Funbook might not be perfect but it might be the one which helps bring tablet computing to the masses.

On the face of it , you might think that the Micromax Funbook is yet another low priced , low quality Chinese tablet owing to the ridiculously low price point. However a closer look reveals that the company has made some smart decision to create a platform which packs in a potent mix of content and hardware while offering just enough power for a good experience without going overboard and pushing up prices. Continue reading “Review : Micromax Funbook”

Hands On : Micromax Funbook Tablet

Micromax today took off the veil from its first entrant into the tablet segment with the Funbook. The diminutive 7″ tablet comes with mid range specifications for a price which makes tablets accessible to people on a budget. Before you dismiss the tablet as a low end affair for those looking for a budget offering , you will be surprised to know that Micromax has made immense efforts on content partnerships to make the tablet a worthwhile option for everyone from students to those looking for entertainment , media on the go.

Continue reading “Hands On : Micromax Funbook Tablet”

Micromax Funbook 7-inch tablet running Android 4.0 launched in India for Rs. 6,499

Micromax has launched Funbook, their first Android tablet running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It has 7-inch capacitive touch screen display and is powered by 1.2ghz processor. It has 0.3MP VGA front facing camera, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory  that is expandable up to 32GB with MicroSD. This offers interactive study materials for students from class 1 to 12. It also has entertainment features such as Apps, Games, Live TV, Movies, Songs and much more. Continue reading “Micromax Funbook 7-inch tablet running Android 4.0 launched in India for Rs. 6,499”

Micromax Booklet running Android ICS gets priced

Micromax Booklet running Android ICS has surfaced in online store, Homeshop18 priced at Rs. 7,999. This tablet has 7-inch capacitive multi-touch display and runs on Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3. Continue reading “Micromax Booklet running Android ICS gets priced”

Micromax A73 Dual SIM Android phone now available in India for Rs. 7,490

Micromax A73, new Dual SIM Android phone branded as Superfone Buzz is now available in India from online retailer LetsBuy. It has a 3.5-inch Capacitive Touchscreen display and runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). It is powered by 650 MHz processor and has 2 MP Primary Camera with LED flash, 0.3 MP Secondary Camera. The Micromax A78 Dual SIM phone in the Superfone series popped up last week with similar features but it has a QWERTY keyboard. Continue reading “Micromax A73 Dual SIM Android phone now available in India for Rs. 7,490”

Micromax A78 Dual SIM Touch Screen QWERTY Android phone now available in India for Rs 7990

Micromax A78, a new Dual SIM Android phone branded as Superfone Gossip in their Superfone series is now available in India from online retailer LetsBuy. This is a Touch and Type phone that comes with 3.5-inch Capacitive Touchscreen display, Full QWERTY keyboard and runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). It is powered by 650 MHz processor and has 3 MP Primary Camera with LED flash, 0.3 MP Secondary Camera. Continue reading “Micromax A78 Dual SIM Touch Screen QWERTY Android phone now available in India for Rs 7990”

Micromax Q22 Dual SIM QWERTY phone launched on Snapdeal for Rs. 1999

Micromax in partnership with Snapdeal has launched Micromax Q22, Dual SIM QWERTY phone in India. It has 2-inch (176 x 220 Pixels) display and full QWERTY keypad. It has VGA (0.3 MP) camera and Dual LED Torch. Continue reading “Micromax Q22 Dual SIM QWERTY phone launched on Snapdeal for Rs. 1999”

Micromax A85 Superfone Review

Micromax as a brand is synonymous with low end , cheap phones which appeal to the masses. However the brand has been trying to break into the mid range segment with its line of Android phones packing higher end features at mass market prices.

The latest entrant is the A85 dubbed as the A85 Superfone. With higher end features like a Tegra 2 processor and large capacitive touch screen , the company is trying to gain  a foothold in the upper range Android smartphone segment. Read on to find out if the phone is worthy of the title !

Unboxing

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbzP7DONBGw

Specifications of the Micromax A85 Superfone

  • 3.8″ WVGA (800×480) resolution screen
  • 1Ghz Dual Core Tegra 2 processor
  • Dimensions – 118.7 x 60.1 x 13.8 mm
  • Android 2.2 (Froyo)
  • 5 MP camera with 720p HD video recording, VGA secondary camera
  • 3.5 mm audio jack
  • 3G HSDPA , HSUPA , Bluetooth v2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b,g, n (2.4GHz and 5.0GHz), aGPS (assisted)
  • 8 GB internal internal memory with expandable memory up to 32GB
  • 1500 mAh Li Ion battery

 Hardware

The first time you glance at the Micromax A85 you might be pleasantly surprised to see a device which looks fairly upmarket. Gone are the cheap plastics which were associated with the brand. Make no mistake , this is still not in the same league as devices from Nokia and HTC but it is nice to see a solid aluminum back and high quality plastics. Micromax has made a conscious effort to keep the branding at a minimum and left it only to a small mention on the backpanel.



The front is dominated by a fairly bright WVGA resolution 3.8″ screen. A front facing camera , ambient light sensor and proximity sensor are located above the screen.

The screen itself is fairly bright and has decent sunlight visibility. It is easy to see that Micromax shaved off costs here by using a lower quality panel. Color rendition was definitely off and viewing angles were abysmal.

Four capacitive buttons at the bottom of the screen round off the front of the device. The buttons are not backlit and sensitivity levels are quite low. We found ourselves jabbing the buttons to make them respond far too often.

The back of the phone is made of an aluminum panel. Very strong and does not flex under pressure , definite plus point to Micromax for this. The rear cover can be easily lifted by pressing two buttons located on the side which ensure that it does not accidentally slide off.

The 5MP camera can be seen towards the top of the phone and it unfortunately does not come with a flash. This makes night time photographs a definite no-go. More on the camera below.

The micro SD card can be hot swapped while the SIM card cannot. The USB slot is present at the top of the phone hidden under a slot flanked by a 3.5mm jack on the left , strap eyelet on the right.

The phone is quite heavy and is not particularly thin either. Those seeking the thinnest or lightest phone possible should steer clear as this chubby phone is better suited for male hands than for someone from the fairer sex.

Software

Straight out of the box you are met with disappointed at the fact that the phone runs Froyo. Yep , thats right. Android 2.2  with not much hope for a Gingerbread update let alone Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The phone comes with two launchers onboard which lets you decide the kind of experience you want. Both the launchers work as expected and were very smooth. In fact it is worth noting that the phone hardly ever slowed down. Kudos to Micromax for providing a very optimized and smooth experience though we do wish this was on Gingerbread instead.

One of the several launchers bundled with the phone

Micromax has definitely taken cues from other manufacturers while developing its ROM. The drop down notification shade includes toggles for bluetooth , wifi , data and other often used settings similar to what Samsung does. The lock screen takes cues from the latest version of HTC Sense by letting users jump directly into an application from the lockscreen. The operation works as expected through out the testing period.

Micromax has been touting gesture control as a differentiating feature of the A85. In our testing we really couldn’t get it to work. While theoretically it is possible to enable it for calls , e-mail, gallery, music and the phone , it never worked for us.  According to Micromax it should be possible to browse through your albums or photos by swiping your hand to your left or right. If gesture control is one of your main reasons for buying this phone , you might want to rethink. The phone is compatible with Tegra Zone and comes with Riptide GT installed on the phone.

Camera

The Micromax A85 comes equipped with a 5MP camera capable of capturing 720p video. There were severe white balance issues with the camera. 720p video is captured in the 3GP format resulting in extremely high compression. White balance was off again and frames were skipped while turning the camera around which resulted in very choppy video. Suffice it to say that you might as well not use the video camera. Click bellow to check out the photo samples.

Battery Life

Calling the battery life on the Micromax A85 poor would be an understatement. A fully charged battery dies in half a day with hardly any usage. Not good at all. The battery is a 1500 mAh unit so we think it might be a software issue with battery management.

Conclusion

We wanted to like the Micromax A85 , we really did but there are some glaring shortcomings here which prevent us from giving this a recommendation. It is tempting to see a device with a Tegra 2 processor , large screen and most of the bells and whistles of higher end phones at an irresistible price point of about Rs. 15,000 but the quality of components here leaves a lot to be desired.  A borderline unusable camera , ancient software build and above all woeful battery life makes this hard to sell.

Rating : 6/10

Pros

  • Tegra 2 processor
  • Smooth performance
  • Price point

Cons

  • Short battery life
  • Poor camera
  • Gesture control is gimmicky at best

 

 

 

Micromax X261 – Dual SIM Music Phone

Micromax has unveiled another Dual SIM phone, Micromax X261. It comes with 2.2-inch (176 x 220 Pixels) display and sports 1.3 megapixel camera. It comes with large loud speaker at the back, LED torchlight, Music player, Stereo FM radio and has expandable memory up to 8GB. Continue reading “Micromax X261 – Dual SIM Music Phone”

Micromax A75 Dual SIM Android phone launched in India for Rs. 8999

Micromax has launched A75, another phone in the Superfone range after their high-end phone Micromax A85 that was launched last month. The Micromax A75 Superfone Lite is a Dual SIM phone that is powered by 650 MHz processor and runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Continue reading “Micromax A75 Dual SIM Android phone launched in India for Rs. 8999”