Micromax has garnered a lot of success with its Canvas series of smartphones. To cash in on the same, the Indian handset manufacturer turned its attention to the tablet segment, and launched its first Canvas series tablet last month. The tablet, called Micromax Canvas Tab P650, was launched in September for Rs 16,500. The tablet is now available for around Rs 15,000.
The tablet has tough competitors including the Google Nexus 7 (16 GB at Rs 9,999,) Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, Galaxy Tab 3, Asus Fonepad, iBerry Auxus tablets etc. So why should you buy this Micromax Canvas Tab P650?
For answers we tested the tablet from all possible angles and here is what we found.
The Micromax Canvas Tab comes with an 8 inch display. The IPS technology based display has good viewing angles and colour reproduction. The display also has decent 1024 x 768 pixel (high definition) resolution.
The device measures 204 x 154 x 9.6 mm and despite having a 4800 mAh Li-Ion battery it feels quite lightweight. The power button and micro USB port are located at the top while the volume rocker lies on the top right hand side alongside the micro SD card and SIM slots, both of which are well covered. The tablet has a non-removable battery, as is the case with most tablets, and thus there is a reset port placed alongside the rear camera.
The display is a fingerprint magnet and thus you have to wipe it clean every now and then. The back panel is a bit slippery but its shining finish gives it a very rich look. With the review unit, we also got a nice carry case with a very tough plastic rear panel for protection while the front cover protects the display equally well. The cover though is sturdy and gives good protection to the tablet but also increases its weight quite significantly.
The Micromax Canvas Tab has a huge 16 GB ROM, of which 11.07 GB is available for users. There is a 32 GB micro SD card slot as well. Plus, it has 1 GB DDR3 RAM, which gives it immense power for gaming and multitasking.
The Micromax Canvas tablet has Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean operating system and a 1.2 GHz quad core processor. It has a healthy 1 GB RAM as well. The combination, as it sounds, works well for the tablet. We did not face any issue while multitasking, which included playing two games side by side and reading an e-book. It was easy to switch from one task to another without any issues.
However, do keep in mind that its Mediatek processor is not made for high end games. For instance, Modern Combat 3 failed to start in this tablet, which works against the device as Nexus 7 with its Tegra 3 processor at around Rs 10,000 is much more appealing than this tablet when it comes to gaming.
The eye-catching aspect of this tablet is undoubtedly its connectivity options. It has single SIM connectivity, which you can use to make calls for 3G internet access (42 Mbps download, 21 Mbps upload). Besides, the tablet has WiFi connectivity, with WiFi hotspot facility, for internet connectivity.
The Canvas tablet also comes with Bluetooth 3.0 and a micro USB port for file sharing and GPSnavigation. We faced no problem vis-Ã -vis connectivity.
Micromax has wisely armed the Canvas tablet with a 4800 mAh Li-Ion battery. As per Micromax, the tablet provides 10 hours of talktime, 5 hours of internet browsing, and 400 hours of standby.
True to its claim, the tablet can hold on to the charge for two days if you use it for about an hour of gaming and half an hour of internet browsing each day, along with another hour of e-book reading. As far as movie playback is concerned, with full charge you can watch two full movies, each of 120 minutes, back to back, with auto brightness.
Unlike other tablets, Micromax Canvas Tab comes well armed with two cameras -a 5 megapixel camera in the back, and a 2 megapixel camera in the front. The rear auto focus camera has 4x zoom and can record videos at 30 frames per second. Another good point here is that you can use all the settings, like controlling exposure, colour effect, scene mode etc, while using the front camera, which can also be used for video shooting.
However, the front 2 megapixel camera should strictly be used in dire situations. The rear camera is okay and not a decent 5 megapixel one.
The tablet comes with a lot of apps, most of which may not be useful. Also, Micromax has preloaded a few games like NFS Shift, Fruit Devil and The Dark Man. But don't get excited as these games are trial versions and if you want more, you have to purchase their full versions-this was done by Micromax to show the prowess of the tablet. To rub salt into consumers' wound, the games cannot be uninstalled.
Micromax Canvas Tab P650 is a well-packaged tablet. It has all the features that a tablet buyer would expect. For instance, it has a big battery, huge storage capacity, quad core processor, 1 GB RAM, latest Android operating system, front and rear cameras, and, of course, a not-so-heavy profile.
However, I would not recommend it if you are planning to buy it for heavy games; if that is the case go for Nexus 7 (2012), which is available for around Rs 10,000. Also, it seems highly over-priced considering its competitors, as stated above. In a nutshell, it is a good tablet if you want to spend Rs 15,000 ignoring the likes of Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.
| Micromax Canvas Tab review Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Network | 3G, Single SIM |
| Operating System | Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean |
| Dimensions | 204 x 154 x 9.6 mm |
| Display | 8 inch with IPS technology, 1024 x 768 pixels |
| Input Method | Touchscreen |
| Processor | 1.2 GHz Mediatek quad core processor |
| Memory | 16 GB ROM ( 11.07 GB is available for users), 1 GB DDR3 RAM, 2 GB micro SD card slot |
| Connectivity | Single SIM, WiFi connectivity, with WiFi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0 and a micro USB port |
| Multimedia | Multi format audio video player |
| Camera | 5 megapixel camera in the back, and a 2 megapixel camera in the front |
| GPS | Yes |
| Additional features | |
| Battery | 4800 mAh Li-Ion, non-removable battery |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Price | Around Rs 15,000 |
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