Micromax Canvas Nitro first look: Camera and Smart gestures stand out

Micromax has launched the new Canvas Nitro smartphone for Rs 12,990 , an attempt clearly to compete with the newly launched Moto G (second generation) and the Xiaomi range of smartphones. In fact during Micromax’s launch event, the company’s CEO Vineet Taneja, also mentioned how the media was enamoured by a Chinese company that claimed to have sold out devices within seconds. While he didn’t mention Xiaomi by name, the reference was hard to miss.   Xiaomi worries aside, what does the Micromax Canvas Nitro offer? In terms of specs, it has a 1.7 GHz octa-core processor, 2 GB RAM, 8GB total memory space which is expandable to 32 GB, a 13 megapixel camera at the back and a 5 MP front-facing shooter.   We got to spend some time with the smartphone during the launch event and here’s our first impression of the device. [caption id=“attachment_232935” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Micromax Canvas Nitro has a faux leather back. Tech2[/caption]   Design, Screen: As far as design goes, this looks like any other Micromax device, except the back where the faux-leather back cover reduces the aesthetic value by a few points. Samsung phones had this and it was reviled by many and now the Micromax Canvas Nitro with its faux leather in black and white colours doesn’t feel any better. Compared to this, the Moto X (Second generation) had done a much better job with the real leather back cover. While that felt good to touch and really smooth, this just makes you wonder why it’s there.   We also felt that the smartphone was fairly bulky, although for users who want to show-off their big-screen smartphone this would definitely be a worthy option.     As far as the screen is concerned it’s got a 5-inch HD screen and once again the question is why Micromax didn’t go for a full HD screen. The IPS display is however sharp and honestly unless you’re really picky about your pixels, 720p won’t make a huge difference. The good bit on the screen is the oleophobic coating, which will be keep the phone smudge-proof and Micromax even demonstrated this by pouring some oil on the screen. The fact that we didn’t see too many smudges on the screens in the demo zone was proof that this wasn’t just all talk. [caption id=“attachment_232936” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Micromax Canvas Nitro has a 13 megapixel camera. Tech2[/caption]   Processor, RAM, Memory space: Micromax has opted for a Mediatek octa-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz and coupled with 2GB of RAM. While Micromax chose to compare itself against the Sony M3 and HTC Desire 616, the truth is that a lot of customers will be comparing it to Xiaomi and Motorola. Both of them are offering Snapdragon processors. Sure Micromax Canvas Nitro has eight-cores, but unless customers are hell-bent on getting maximum cores, this won’t really be their first key thing when considering a smartphone. The smartphone also has 2GB RAM and comes with 8 GB memory space on board which is disappointing, even with the 32 GB extendable memory. Overall Micromax’s choice of processor isn’t really the standout factor anymore.     Camera: Micromax Canvas Nitro comes with a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. The Indian smartphone maker has introduced a lot of widgets on the front screen which are Photos (takes you directly to the rear camera), Videos (takes you directly to videos modes) Selfies (automatically switches on the front camera) Front and Back mode (let’s you click one picture with both the front and rear camera on). Before you scream innovation, you need to remember that all of this can be done by a number of apps off the Play Store.   [caption id=“attachment_232937” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The front and back camera mode on the Nitro. Tech2[/caption]   The weird bit with the cameras is that the rear camera doesn’t come with tap to click option and you have to click the little camera aperture symbol on the bottom to take pictures. There are also a lot of modes in the camera app such as Live Photos (photos with sounds), photos that you can slide around (sort of like what 360 degree pictures offer but this is only at 180 degrees). As far as camera quality is concerned, it was quite impressive given the lighting in the room.   Overall we felt that the front camera and the range of options provided was by far the most impressive feature of the Canvas Nitro. This five megapixel camera is one of the better ones we’ve seen when it comes to taking selfies. If you are selfie-obsessed and don’t want to spend too much, look up the Canvas Nitro.   Software features: Clearly for Micromax this smartphone wasn’t just about giving specs, but also to showcase some of their software features. Let’s start with the BlinkFeed/Flipboard copy which they’ve called QuickLook.  According to Micromax, it lets users collects news from all over and they can choose the categories as well.   [caption id=“attachment_232938” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] In terms of design, the Quick Look just doesn’t cut it. Tech2[/caption] One look at it and it is pretty clear that this is one of the ugliest executions we’ve seen in any news aggregating app. The fact that the Home page app icons were also visible in the QuickLook, just makes it look even worse.   Gesture-enabled features seem to have matured and the ones on the Canvas Nitro worked fairly well when we tried them out. Users can choose gestures like Pinch in or Pinch out, Flick two fingers down or up and set them for specific actions like increase volume, decrease volume, etc. It’s fairly neat and to get gestures, you have to click on the button on the left hand side of the home screen button.     Canvas Nitro also comes with Smart Alerts which allows the users to view notifications on the lock screen. By default when there are no notifications, there will be a white digital clock on black background. In case of a notification, a band appears on the screen with individual icons for each notification. This is handy feature to have added on a device that costs Rs 12,990.   In Conclusion: The Micromax Canvas Nitro is clearly a smartphone aimed at Xiaomi , whether Micromax wants to name the Chinese company or not. Despite the leather back and terrible Flipboard rip-off, what we felt was the smartphone’s biggest strength is the camera. With a strong camera for selfies and a 13 megapixel rear camera, Micromax is keen to show to the users, that they are back in the game, offering something that the new guy isn’t.