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Micromax’s Ccanvas series will be best remembered for triggering the fall in prices of large screen devices. And now the company has tied up with JBL to woo music lovers with its latest Micromax A88 Canvas Music. Is it a marriage made in tech heaven?

Looks: Nothing new  

As far as looks go, the Canvas Music looks like most other smart phones launched by the company.  The front of the phone is dominated by the 4-5 inch display, below which are three touch keys for Settings, Home and Back. On the top are the charging slot and 3.5mm audio jack, while the sides house the volume rocker key and power key.  The dark grey piping on the sides and on the top of the display however, do add an element of smartness to the device. The rubberized back panel distinguishes the phone from others in the market, and also allowed us to grip it firmly. 

Hardware: Above par for the price

The Micromax A88 Canvas Music runs on a I GHz Media Tek MT6577 dual core processor with 512MB RAM, which is not bad at all at this price. It has an internal memory of 4GB which can be expanded further up to 32GB using a microSD card. For connectivity, there are Bluetooth. Wi-Fi and 3G, while handling imaging duties are a 5.0-megapixel rear camera accompanied with a dual LED flash and a VGA front camera. The device is a dual SIM phone with support for GSM+GSM SIMs. The centrestage of course is held by the big 4.5-inch display with 854 X 480 pixels resolution, which is unusual in this price range.

Software: Micromax  has a Jelly Bean

We are beginning to get used to the fact that when it comes to Android, most smartphones in the sub-Rs.15000 segment will come with Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean). The Canvas music does too, although it throws in some tweaks. The homescreen is customisable now and one can choose the number of panel to browse through when the device is unlocked. It also comes with some pre-loaded apps from company – Mi Live, Mi Zone and HookUp as well as some social networking apps. 

 Multimedia : Striking the right notes

On the multimedia front, canvas Music sports a 50-megapixel camera, video player, FM radio and a music player. Although the camera comes with features like touch-to-focus, colour-effect, self timer and scene modes, the results were not too impressive. Music however, sees the phone score heavily, thanks in no small measure to the bundled Tempo headset from JBL. We had no complaints regarding the quality of sound on headphones or speakers. 

User experience: We expected more

Our experience with the Micrmomax Canvas Music falls in the average category. The dual core processor handles most tasks well but was a disappointment when it came to playing games that had rich graphics content. Even the touch sensitivity of the device is disappointing. We tested the device on quadrant and it scored 2,898 which is better than many of its counter in the price range.

Conclusion

The micromax Music is available for  Rs.8499 and comes bundled with the JBL Tempo headest, which really sweeten the deal. Those seeking alternatives can go for the Sony Xperia E which also runs on Android Jelly Bean and offers a decent music experience, for Rs.9,500.