Micromax is trying to cash into the reputation that its hottest model, the Micromax Canvas 2 generated by launching its successor named Micromax Canvas 2 plus A110Q. Also the Micromax Canvas HD was the most anticipated Micromax smartphone of the Q1 2013 and is now priced online @ INR 13699.
Micromax Canvas 2 plus A110Q
It is worth noting that Micromax Canvas 2 plus has an online asking price of INR 12100 which is too close to the current flagship device, the Canvas HD A116.
Naturally
people get confused when they’re to choose from almost similar phones.
I’ve personally received a lot of requests to do an article on Micromax Canvas HD vs Canvas 2 plus.
But let me be clear, we couldn’t get hands on experience with the
Micromax Canvas 2 plus A110Q so I have decided to do a basic hardware
comparison of the canvas devices.
Micromax Canvas HD A116
If you want the comparison of software features and useless benchmarks of these two smartphones then you better look at some other website.
Micromax Canvas HD vs Canvas 2 plus A110Q: Specifications Comparison
Hardware
|
Micromax Canvas HD A116
|
Micromax Canvas 2 plus A110Q
|
| Chipset | MTK MT6589 | MTK MT6589M |
| Processor (CPU) | 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 | 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 |
| GPU | PowerVR SGX 544 @ 286MHz | PowerVR SGX 544 @ 156MHz |
| RAM | 1 GB LPDDR2 | 1 GB LPDDR2 |
| Display Type | IPS LCD 16M colors | IPS LCD 262k colors |
| Size & Resolution | 5”, 720×1280 px, 293.7 ppi | 5”, 480×854 px, 195.9 ppi |
| Camera PrimarySecondary | 8MP, AF, LED flash, 720p video recording @30fps2MP, VGA video | 8MP, AF, dual LED flash, 720p video recording @30fps2MP, VGA video |
| Android OS | V4.1.2 JB (upgradable to 4.2) | V4.2 JB |
| Battery | Li-Ion 2000mAh | Li-Ion 2000mAh |
| Memory | 4GB internal, upto 32GB via microSD | 4GB internal, upto 32GB via microSD |
| Connectivity USB | Micro USB v2.0 & USB on-the-go | Micro USB v2.0 & USB on-the-go |
| EDGE | Class 12 | Class 12 |
| HSPA+ | Yes | Yes |
| WLAN | 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Hotspot | 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Hotspot |
| Bluetooth | v4.0 with A2DP | v4.0 with A2DP |
| GPS | Supports A-GPS | Supports A-GPS |
| Dimensions | 144x74x10.7mm156gm | 147×76.5×9.7mm164gm |
| Weight | ||
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Proximity, gyro | Accelerometer, Proximity, gyro |
| Dual SIM | Yes | Yes |
| Colors | Black, white | Black, white |
The difference in the hardware specifications include slightly different chipsets having differing GPU clocks, difference in display color depths and screen resolution, different OS versions out of the box (but both devices will receive nearly same updates in future) and a slight variation in dimensions and weight.
Now
let’s start the actual comparison by comparing the most important
factor deciding the firepower of a smartphone i.e. the chipset.
The
Micromax Canvas HD A116 is powered by a MediaTek MT6589 chipset while
the Micromax Canvas 2 plus A110Q uses MediaTek MT6589M chipset.
MediaTek MT6589 vs. MT6589M vs. MT6589T
MediaTek
MT6589 chipsets comes in 3 variants namely MT6589M, MT6589, and
MT6589T. All of these chipsets are more or less the same.
The
MT6589T (T-turbo) is the high performance variant of the MT6589 chipset
and is found in mid-range android smartphones and might power future
Micromax devices.
Component
|
MT6589
|
MT6589M
|
MT6589T
|
| CPU | 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 | 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 | 1.5 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 |
| L1 cacheL2 cache | 32KB1MB | 32KB1MB | 32KB1MB |
| GPU | PowerVR SGX 544 @286MHz | PowerVR SGX 544 @156MHz | PowerVR SGX 544 @357MHz |
| RAM | LPDDR2 @ 533MHz | LPDDR2 @ 533MHz | LPDDR2 @ 533MHz |
| Camera | 13 MP ISP | 8 MP ISP | 13 MP ISP |
| Video Encode/Decode | 1080p @30fps | 720p @30fps | 1080p @30fps |
| Max Display Resolution | Full HD 1080p1920x1080 pixels | qHD 960×540 pixels | Full HD 1080p1920x1080 pixels |
| Modem | HSPA+ Rel.8,TD-SCDMA | HSPA+ Rel.8,TD-SCDMA | HSPA+ Rel.8,TD-SCDMA |
Having
seen the above specifications it can be easily understood that the
chipset found in Micromax Canvas HD A116 (MT6589) is more powerful than
that in Micromax Canvas 2 plus A110Q (MT6589M). The GPU performance
differs by up to 18% on paper and the same can be observed in the
results of the benchmark tests run at same resolution.
Gaming Comparison: Micromax Canvas HD A116 vs Canvas 2 plus
Gaming
performance of Canvas HD should also be better than that of Canvas 2
plus but it is difficult to determine it accurately as the GPU in Canvas
HD A116 has to feed data to 921600 (1280×720) pixels while the GPU in
Canvas 2 plus A110Q has to fill only 409920 (854×480) pixels.
A fair comparison would be to run the same game at same resolution in both the devices and then compare the results.
But
if we run some game at let us say HD resolution(720p) in Micromax
Canvas HD and at 480p in Canvas 2 plus then difference in the GPU
performance of the Canvas HD (18% more) would be compensated by the
number of pixels to render (which are 22.4% more).
Game played at same resolution
If
the same game is played at same resolution in both the devices than the
Canvas HD A116 will come out to be the undisputed winner.
Display
1. Color depth
The
display of Micromax Canvas HD A116 supports true colors i.e.16 million
colors (24 bits/pixel) while the Canvas 2 plus A110Q’s screen can only
display 262k colors (18bits/pixel). You might not be able to notice this
difference on small screens but on large displays it makes a huge
difference to watch a movie on a true color display.
2. Resolution
Display Resolution and ppi (pixel per inch)
are the highly hyped by marketers these days but in my honest opinion
pixel densities over 300 ppi don’t make much of a difference to the
human eyes. For deciding the clarity of the display lets break down this
ppi into some understandable ranges.
| PPI Range | Quality Perceived |
| 100-150 | Poor |
| 150-200 | Acceptable |
| 200-250 | Good |
| 250-300 | Very good |
| 300-350 | Excellent |
| 350+ | Eye popping |
Android OS version
All
new versions bring tons of stability, performance improvements and some
new features to the operating systems. Micromax Canvas HD A116 comes
installed with slightly stale version of Android v4.1.2 JB and the
Micromax Canvas 2 Plus A110Q comes pre-installed with android v4.2 JB.
However, the good news is that OTA (over the air) update for Canvas HD
A116 is available which updates the firmware to android v4.2
Dimensions and Weight
| Canvas HD A116 | Canvas 2 plus A110Q |
| 144x74x10.7mm156gm | 147×76.5×9.7mm164gm |
As
you can see the Micromax Canvas devices under consideration have almost
similar dimensions but if were a marketer than I would say that the
Canvas HD is 5% lighter than the Canvas 2 plus while the Canvas 2 plus
is 10% slimmer than the Canvas HD.
The point is, you should use your head before some buy some marketer’s words literally.
The
Micromax Canvas HD A116 costs INR 1599 more than the Canvas 2 plus
A110Q but it packs a gorgeous if not excellent display. So if you’re a
movie buff or a gaming addict then you know which phone suits your needs
and style. And for the consumers who have a budget close to 10k INR,
the Micromax Canvas 2 plus is an excellent choice and offers the best
bang for the buck.