My experience of using A116. Review on Micromax Canvas HD A116

I have been using mobile phone for lot of business purpose but my previous mobile(Samsung GTS5570) had a small screen & low internal memory/RAM leading me to buy a new Android Phone. My major use is:-

1. Calls(Hours long)

   
   




2. Whatsapp

   
   




3. Exchange Email

   
   




4. Gmail

   
   




5. Navigation(GPS)

   
   

I am into software testing field since 7 years now & had a close proximity with mobile testing team - who had been into testing of brands like Nokia, Samsung & Motorola.

(I had played around with Samsung Galaxy in 2009 when it was with the testing team:)

I have Nokia X6(https://mouthshut.com/review/Nokia-x6-review-lrrpsstsum) & had used Micromax earlier(https://mouthshut.com/review/Micromax-A60-review-trontspnmn).

I had a very bad experience with Micromax earlier but I still thought of buying it for following reasons:-

1. Improved brand image

   
   




2. Good reviews at major review sites

   
   




3. Very affordable price(I bought it at 14200) - major reason:)

   
   




4. 5" screen - very much required

   
   




5. 1 GB RAM(quite desired as my earlier Samsung mobile had loads of issues due to low RAM)

   
   




6. 1 GB usable internal memory(Required as Google maps require lot of space for updates)

   
   




7. Android(Must)

   
   




8. 3.5 mm audio jack

   
   




9. Quad core Processor(Most important reason)

   
   

Features I compromised on while selecting A116 as I already have Nokia X6:-

1. Camera(Front & Back)

   
   




2. Battery Life(I had a backup)

   
   




3. GPS(Nokia's GPS & navigation is quite smooth)

   
   




4. Touch(My samsung's GTS5570 had far pathetic touch) - I cant expect touch of iPhone @ 14K:)

   
   




5. Brand(wanted to risk Micromax again)

   
   

My Experience:-

My usage(after buying it & using it for few weeks) mainly comprised of:-

1. Phone Calls(Hours long) - conference calls

   
   




2. GPS / Navigation - I usually rely on GPS navigation

   
   




3. Email Clients(Exchange, GMail, Yahoo)

   
   




4. Internet connection is enabled thro Wifi(at home) & 3G(outside home) - Internet for web browsing & at times video streaming thro youtube

   
   




5. WhatsApp & Messaging:)

   
   

Pros that I could gauge:-

1. Touch is at good - Samsung GTS5570 sometimes missed touches(if Brand matters, GTS5570 should not have failed)

   
   




2. Form factor is ergonomic - Atleast for me:)

   
   




3. Voice Clarity(atleast till now)

   
   




4. Youtube video streaming(upto 360p) & Internet Browsing(normal web applications) is smooth

   
   




5. As of now the proximity sensor is working good(My cell phone did fall few times in couple of weeks - total height of fall: 4 to 5 feet)

   
   

Cons that I could make out:-

1. Battery life is severely very low - but at the same time other smartphones too have same issue - I

   
   




2. Colors are not that sharp as advertised

   
   




3. Phone's auto poweron/off feature doesnt work for majority of times(Not sure why) - Even when I'restart' the phone, the phone would not power up - I have to power on manually - but that's still tolerable

   
   




4. Phone has to be put into airplane mode & back to normal atleast once a day if you need continuity of calling/sms facility:) - For some reasons my phone goes to state where it shows online(connected to network) but do not send/receive calls/sms/internet - This is annoying to some extent

   
   




5. Navigation system takes around 10 minutes to lock GPS(Tried using A-GPS, EPO, Wifi) - Nokia X6 locks GPS nearly in 30 seconds using Wifi & nearly 3 mins using A-GPS(It doesnt even have EPO)

   
   




6. Battery takes considerable time to charge

   
   




7. Its not a dual standby phone & hence incoming caller for sim#2 would hear'Phone is switched off' or'Phone is out of range' if you are on call on sim#1

   
   




8. I expected processing to be faster(considering quad core processor) - it takes few seconds to show message threads(greater than 100) - while Temple Run tests(by major reviewers) says something different

   
   




9. Calculator doesn't seem to hold too many of numbers/formula(Beyond 23 to 25 digits/input characters) - This is not what I expected - My Nokia X6 does atleast 5 times better

   
   




10. Camera quality is poor(Both video & still photo) - this might not be a con for me as I didnt choose this phone for camera - I was already aware that camera is not upto marks as per various review comments(Cant really compare it to my Nokia X6's Carl Zeiss lens:)

    
    




11. Camera lens is protruding & hence I fear that it might break if the phone is mishandled - my thoughts

    
    




12. It has only 2 LED color(Red & Green) - other phablets have more:) - not a major con though but LED colors help cover alerts/popups disgustingly

    
    




13. Speaker volume is considerably low(It cant be termed as speaker - its just a 25%-35% increase in volume over normal phone call) - you cant really enjoy videos/songs on its speakers

    
    

Overall Verdict:-

If you are looking for a budget phone with Android, Quad Core Processor(not sure if the processor is really that powerful), 1 GB RAM, 1 GB internal storage with few minor compromises(as per the list of cons above), you can go for it.

If you want everything, go for iPhone.

P.S. Customer service center is comparatively poor(general grounds)

N.B. The above reviews is as per the product I purchased from a genuine dealer(My piece can have some unique features that sets it apart:) - Am talking of manufacturing defect).

=I would be quite happy to receive feedbacks/comments:)=