Back to basics: Micromax returns to form with perfectly priced Canvas Nitro

Micromax launched the Canvas Nitro today at an event in New Delhi and the Snapdeal-exclusive has already hit retail for a price of Rs 12,990. That seems to be the comfort zone in terms of pricing for smartphone vendors these days, especially those targeting the mid-range segment.

But the Nitro is no mid-range smartphone. In fact, it represents a return to form for Micromax, a company that has made great strides in the last year , but is under threat from new hot shot brands in India such as Xiaomi , Motorola and the soon-to-come OnePlus. The Canvas Nitro is a way for leading Indian mobile brand to say, ‘Hope you’ve enjoyed you stay, now it’s our turn.’

There are a couple of things that could work wonders for Micromax when it comes to the Canvas Nitro. The company has focussed on ideology, not just hardware, and that is always a great card to play in the smartphone market. The Nitro, Micromax will tell you, is a people’s smartphone, bringing a high-performance device for cheaper than the Xiaomi Mi 3 , which seems to have become the benchmark for pricing. Throughout the launch event, Micromax emphasised how they went to the people to ask for feedback about what they want in a phone. The result, the company says is the Canvas Nitro. Even though some of the testimonials sounded canned, we think Micromax has stumbled on to a great formula by striving to become the common man’s brand. And what’s more it has got pricing and the specs balance spot on this time.

The second reason for the Micromax to be optimistic, in our opinion, is the exclusivity badge. Even though the promos for the device suggest that such exclusivity is not to be strived for, Micromax couldn’t help but sign up with Snapdeal to aggressively promote this phone on two fronts. Flipkart’s various exclusives have proven to be a successful sales strategy. While Flipkart is a great partner in terms of creating awareness, Indian smartphone makers such as Intex with the Firefox-running Cloud Fx have preferred Snapdeal due to its stronger presence in tier-II and tier-III cities . This is the big pie that most vendors in India are after, since the growth potential is tremendous.

The Canvas Nitro is not a headturner by any means, but Micromax has given it more character than any of its previous phones through the ideology-driven marketing. And it has the right partner to turn its latest big hope into a big success.