Micromax Canvas 4 review

Following the success of its Canvas 2 and Canvas HD smartphones, Micromax has been able to establish itself in the Indian smartphone space as a player that offers the best value for its customers’ money. While the company’s two best selling smartphones brought a large screen and a 720p screen, respectively, at a crowd pleasing price, it now wants to leverage its Canvas sub-brand further by offering niche products while continuing to expand its portfolio of flagship devices. 

For its new flagship, the Micromax Canvas 4 (A210), the company created a lot of buzz, right from the promo teasers on TV during the high profile India vs. Pakistan clash in the ICC Champions Trophy to taking pre-orders for the phone without announcing its specifications. The Canvas 4 promises better build quality and new smart features but essentially builds on the Canvas HD, and includes almost the same hardware, under the hood. Does the phone live up to the hype around it? We try to answer this question in our review.

Build/ Design
The Canvas 4 follows the same design cues that we’ve seen in the Canvas HD and Canvas 2, and from a distance, the phone doesn’t look very different.

On closer inspection you’ll find that the phone looks a bit more polished than its predecessors, though it’s still a little bit plasticky for our taste. The phone is available in White and Grey colour variants and we had a White Canvas 4 as our review unit.

The front of the phone is dominated by the 5-inch display, below which you’ll find the three capacitive touch keys for Menu, Home and Back. A chrome grill that serves as the earpiece, the sensor array and the 5-megapixel front camera are placed above the display. The bezel is wide but it’s not flat as it meets and the edges and there’s some embossing, similar to the Galaxy SIII.

The phone is surrounded by an aluminium frame in the middle, which gives it a premium look and makes it feel sturdy. The company says that it also acts as the cellular antenna. You will also notice that the frame has small white bands at the left side, at the bottom and at the top. 
The Power/ Screen-lock key is located at the right side of the phone, while the Volume rocker key is place at the left side. Both these keys are also made of metal but are a bit rickety as they are not firmly fixed. When you shake the phone, you’ll also hear some sound coming from the same area due to their movement. The Micro-USB port is located at the bottom. The 3.5mm headset jack sits at the top of the phone.

The back features a removable plastic cover that sports a glossy finish but there’s a mild texture effect as well, which you’ll only see when you look closely. There’s some Micromax branding at the lower part, and a silver sticker like m! logo as you go up. The 13-megapixel rear camera is located right at the top in a round chrome ring enclosure, along with an LED flash and a secondary microphone.

Opening the cover reveals the battery compartment. The microSD card slot and two SIM card slots are placed just above the battery compartment.

Display
While everyone was hoping that the Canvas 4 would come with a full-HD display, Micromax has decided to skip the upgrade and has included a 720p display, similar to that of the Canvas HD. The phone’s 5-inch HD IPS screen sports a resolution of 720×1280 pixels and a colour depth of 16.7 million. Thanks to the higher resolution, text, icons and images look much sharper compared to qHD phones. There was no pixelation. However, we felt that the screen’s colour temperature was skewed towards the colder side, with whites carrying a blue tinge.

Under sun visibility was good, though the screen is very reflective. Thanks to the IPS panel, we found that the viewing angles were very good, which essentially means that more than one person can view content playing on the screen properly, even from different angles. We also found the touch response of the screen to be better than most budget phones. Micromax has also included Corning Gorilla glass protection to guard the screen from scratches.

Software/ Interface
The Micromax Canvas 4 runs Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean, the latest iteration of the OS. Micromax has skinned some elements of the user interface, such as the app icons and the Settings menu. 

The phone also offers four themes, namely Mint, Mocha, Raspberry and the default theme that bring minor changes in the phone’s colour scheme.

The notification tray features a settings shortcut and a clear all notifications button, along with expandable notifications (expanded with the two-finger pull gesture). It features the same setting toggles shortcut that’s found in stock Android and adds some of its own as well, for quick access to Airplane Mode, Battery status, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, Data connection, Data usage, User (audio) Profiles, Brightness, Screen backlight timeout and Auto rotation.

Similar to most other Android devices, there are five customisable home screens that can be filled with app shortcuts and widgets. The three capacitive buttons, Home, Menu and Back help in navigating through the phone, with the Home button also doubling up as an app switcher on long press.

You also get lock-screen widgets, an Android 4.2 feature. You can choose from the Clock, Camera, Gmail, Google Now and Messaging widgets in addition to widgets offered by third-party apps installed on your phone. These widgets offer glanceable information from the apps and allow users to perform certain app actions even when the phone is locked.

The phone also offers another Android 4.2 feature, Daydream, that displays photo albums or the clock while the phone’s charging. The option to wirelessly mirror the phone’s display with an HDMI enabled device through a wireless display adapter is also present.

Micromax has also added some software tricks to the phone, one of which is a new lock screen mechanism that allows the phone to be unlocked with a blow of air or if the phone is shaken. This can be activated through the M! Unlock app that has been developed in partnership with FoneClay. It works as promised but disables the lock screen widgets, so we just feel it’s too gimmicky.

Micromax has also bundled a new Video Player app with the phone that offers features like ‘Pause on look away’ using the front camera to detect if you’re looking at the screen of the phone, and automatically pausing and resuming videos. We’ve seen this feature in high-end phones like theSamsung Galaxy S4 and the LG Optimus G Pro. You can increase and decrease the volume or brightness while playing a video by just swiping up and down the screen at the left and right hand sides. It also allows you to preview one video while playing another one, and view videos on a floating player window while doing other tasks through its pop-out feature.

The Music player has also been revamped and now features fancier controls in the Now Playing screen and integrates the Micromax Online music store. The Music Store is still a website wrapped into the app and allows you to download music tracks and videos. It only lets you download tracks when you access the site through 3G/ Edge as billing is integrated with the telecom operator. The Music Player app also features Equalizer settings.

Micromax has also included some of its own apps including content stores, M! Live and Game Hub, and services store, M! Zone, in addition to a few ‘try and buy’ games (Fruit Devil, NFS Shift, The DarkMan). There’s also security software powered by NQ Mobile that allows you to backup contacts, and track your mobile in case you lose it. However, even this utility is not free and you need to pay additional charges to get all the functionality.

The handset also offers FM Radio and FM radio recording.

Micromax has also modified the Messages app, adding a Smileys input option next to the text entry prompt, and a button for attaching multimedia, contacts and audio clips, among others, with it. Micromax has also added a file manager app, a NoteBook app, a ToDo app, in addition to a universal search app and a Popup Browser that can be used for browsing the web in a floating window while working on another app. It has also replaced the stock camera app with a different one. 

For the first time Micromax has replaced its own instant messaging app, HookUp with a Micromax branded version of Hike, the mobile messaging app from Bharti Softbank. It has also pre-installed the movie streaming app Spuul, that allows users to watch movies for free.

It’s also worth pointing out that the Canvas 4 is the first Micromax smartphone that supports over the air software updates via a System Software app. Previously one had to take the phone to the service centre to get the latest Android update installed.

The phone also offers gestures like flip to silent, ability to answer the phone by bringing it near to the ear, and dial the number on the screen when the user brings the phone near the face.

Camera
The Micromax Canvas 4 has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front facing camera. Both the camera lenses are an upgrade from the Canvas HD’s 8-megapixel rear shooter and VGA front facing camera.

As we mentioned earlier, Micromax has put its own camera app. The app includes Normal, HDR, Face Beauty, Smile detection, Exposure compensation, Panorama, Photosphere(multi angle view) modes. It also offers a burst mode, letting users click up to 99 shots at once. The photo mode allows users to modify settings like Exposure, colour effect, ISO and white balance, among others. There’s a self timer of up to 10 seconds as well.

We experienced a minor lag when we tried to focus on an object and press the shutter. We also noticed that there is minor delay between two consecutive camera shots in the continuous shot mode. This makes it hard to capture images quickly. The quality of the pictures taken during daylight was decent. However, photos taken indoors under artificial light were a bit grainy and at times looked different than the actual setting. The camera tends to soften the tone to a cooler shade. 

The Canvas 4’s camera also struggled when trying to capture images in low-light.

The camera is capable of recording full-HD video and takes good quality videos depending on the ambient light. However, it saves video clips in .3GP file format, which is an older file format.

The 5-megapixel front camera takes above average pictures, and can be used for video conferencing. We wish the phone had a dedicated camera button to help click a quick picture.

Performance
The Micromax A210 Canvas 4 is powered by a 1.2GHz MediaTek MT6589 quad-core processor with 1GB RAM onboard, and PowerVR SGX544MP GPU. There is 16GB of internal storage, 10GB of which is available to the user.
 
With Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the overall experience of navigation through the interface was impressive, thanks to Project Butter and the phone’s quad-core processor. We did not experience any lag while launching apps, playing games, scrolling web pages or switching between apps. It is safe to say that performance wise, the Canvas 4 scores well. We were able to play games like Jetpack Joyride, Chimpact, Asphalt 7 and Shadow Gun without encountering any lag.

We were also able to play full-HD clips, with the phone supporting formats like .AVI, natively, though we experienced some issues with audio while playing an MKV format video. This was easily fixed by downloading a third-party video player. The speaker on the phone delivers average quality sound at high volume levels, but there’s some muffle when the phone lies on its back, as the speaker grill is located on that side. The headphones that come with the phone offer average quality sound output. Call quality was good, during our testing process.

The phone comes with a 2,000mAh battery, and based on our experience, it will just about last you a full day. We charged the phone in the morning (at around 10am), and with medium to heavy usage, including 1-1.5 hours of phone calls, two e-mail accounts with push notifications, screen at maximum brightness, playing some music and video clips (about an hour), casual web browsing, Twitter notifications and WhatsApp chats, the phone lasted 8-9 hours. We had put the phone on Wi-Fi for about an hour or two while the rest of the day it was connected to data via 3G. We had turned off auto-brightness, and the phone was on the highest level of brightness. Altering these settings might help in running the phone for a longer duration, depending on your usage pattern.

Verdict
The Canvas 4 is at best an incremental upgrade to the Canvas HD. Apart from the ‘better camera’ which we didn’t find any better and slightly improved build quality, it doesn’t bring anything extra ordinary to the table. The software features that it offers are gimmicky and can be added with the help of some third party apps available on the Google Play Store. You are unlikely to use them on a regular basis. The only thing we’re happy about is the increased internal storage capacity, which will allow users to install more apps.

The asking price of around Rs. 18,000 is on the higher side when you compare it to the Canvas HD or to phones like the Zen Ultrafone 701HD and Gionee Elife E3. We’d recommend waiting for a price cut or buying the Canvas HD if you’re in the market for a good value for money Android smartphone.

 
Micromax Canvas 4 

Price: Rs. 17,990

Pros

• Good screen
• Decent performance

Cons

• Questionable value for money
• Underwhelming build quality
• Camera performance could be better

Ratings (Out of 5)
Design: 3.5
Display: 4
Performance: 4
Software: 4
Battery Life: 3.5
Value for Money: 3
Camera: 3
Overall: 3.5

Samsung Galaxy Golden Android flip phone with dual-screens launched

Not too long ago, Samsung launched its first Android-based dual screen flip phone, the Samsung W789 in the Chinese market. Now, we get to hear that Samsung’s second flip phone, the Galaxy Golden SHV-E400 has also been officially unveiled in Korea. Like the Samsung W789, the Samsung Galaxy Golden also features a dual screen with dual-touch display.

The Samsung Galaxy Golden sports two 3.7-inch Super AMOLED displays, on the inside and the outside. The phone is powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM and runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The phone also includes FM Radio and will come in Champagne Gold colour. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. It comes with a 8-megapixel camera. The onboard storage and other specifications of the phone are not clear at this stage.

The Galaxy Golden comes with plethora of apps like S Health, Business card app which recognises contact details when clicking a photo of a business card, WatchOn app which offers TV program guide, and S Translator App that can translate 12 languages, either spoken or in text, including emails or sign boards as well.

The Samsung Galaxy Golden has been launched through Korean telecoms SKT and KT. For now it seems the handset will be available only in Korea and there is no word about it being launched in other markets.

Mobiles launched in August 2013

Samsung Galaxy Golden key specifications

• 2 x 3.7-inch Super AMOLED displays
• 1.7GHz dual-core processor
• 2GB RAM
• 8-megapixel camera
• Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)

Facebook leads an effort to deliver data to the developing world

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a campaign Wednesday with global technology giants to connect billions of people worldwide who lack access to the Internet.

The project is entitled Internet.org and its goal is to extend Internet access to five billion people by cutting the cost of smartphone-based Internet services in developing countries.

“There is no guarantee that most people will ever have access to the Internet. It isn’t going to happen by itself,” Zuckerberg, the 29-year-old billionaire founder of the popular social network said in a statement.

“But I believe connectivity is a human right, and that if we work together we can make it a reality.”

Other partners in the project are Finland-based Nokia, Sweden’s Ericsson, Samsung of South Korea, US-based Qualcomm, MediaTek of Taiwan and Norway’s Opera. US-based social networks Twitter and LinkedIn are also due to sign up.

Today some 2.7 billion people, just over a third of the world’s population, have access to the Internet, and the number of new users is growing only slowly each year, organizers said.

“The goal of Internet.org is to make Internet access available to the two-thirds of the world who are not yet connected, and to bring the same opportunities to everyone that the connected third of the world has today,” they said in a statement.

The seven founding partners are going to develop joint projects, share knowledge and mobilize governments and industry to bring the world online.

Specifically, they want to simplify mobile apps to make them more efficient and improve telephone components and networks so they perform better while consuming less energy.

They also want to develop lower-cost, higher-quality smartphones and partnerships to more broadly deploy Internet access in underserved communities.

Zuckerberg insisted in an interview with CNN that the project was not simply aimed at generating more customers.

“If we were just focused on making money, the first billion people we’ve connected have way more money than the rest of the next six billion combined. It’s not fair but it’s the way that it is,” he said.

The partnership resembles one launched by Facebook in 2011 called Open Compute Project, which aims to improve the materials used in call centers and make them less energy-hungry.

That project was originally met with skepticism but has gradually won over the major players in the computer industry.

The latest plan marks an expansion in Zuckerberg’s interest in public policy, months after he launched the advocacy group Fwd.us to lobby for US immigration and education reform along with support for scientific research.

The new thrust comes at a key time for tech groups. Mature markets are saturated, while poor regions have vast and growing reservoirs of potential new customers.

“The Internet not only connects us to our friends, families and communities, but it is also the foundation of the global knowledge economy,” Zuckerberg said.

“By bringing everyone online, we’ll not only improve billions of lives, but we’ll also improve our own as we benefit from the ideas and productivity they contribute to the world.”

His comments were echoed by heads of other companies taking part in the initiative.

“We are committed to shaping the Networked Society where everyone and everything will be connected in real time; creating the freedom, empowerment and opportunity to transform society,”Hans Vestberg, president and chief executive of Ericsson, said

MK Tsai, chairman of MediaTek, said: “Global Internet and social media access represent the biggest shift since the industrial revolution, and we want to make it all inclusive.”

Leawo Blu-ray Ripper – Review [GIVEAWAY]

Leawo Blu-ray Ripper is a useful tool that assists users in converting Blu-ray movies to various formats.  Download Leawo Blu-ray Ripper  Features: Convert Blu-ray and DVD so as to let you watch Blu-ray/DVD movies in video in over 180 formats Enjoy Blu-ray/DVD movies on more than Blu-ray/DVD player: computer, phone, tablet, game console, etc. Create 3D movies output 2D Blu-ray/DVD sources in 6 different 3D effects Practical and simple to use video editing features to help customize Blu-ray/DVD movies Watch Blu-ray/DVD movies in subtitles and audio tracks familiar with

Creating backup copies for content stored on Blu-ray discs is no longer expensive and more and more users turn to video ripping software to extract the favorite clips or just to create backup copies of the movies.

There are plenty of solutions to choose from and Leawo’s Blu-ray Ripper might just cut it for you. The price of the application is $44.95 / 41.25 EUR for one license eligible for free updates for one year. Alternatively, there is a more expensive license ($99.95 / 82.54 EUR) that entitles you for lifetime free updates.

Currently, we’re running a giveaway campaign for Leawo Blu-ray Ripper and you can get a free license of the application, no strings attached.

Getting the product on the system is nothing complicated as you go through a regular installation routine that does not attempt to push third-party software.

Just like in the case of other products from the company we’veanalyzed, the interface is plain and simple, with clear instructions that have to be followed in order to reach the desired result.

Blu-ray Ripper from Leawo can extract video content with the desired audio and subtitle track from DVDs and Blu-ray discs and convert it to a lower-quality file that can be rendered on various devices, especially mobile ones, based on preset configuration settings.

The list of profiles is quite extensive and covers the most popular devices currently on the market: smartphones (iOS, Android and Windows), tablets (iOS, Android and Windows) as well as game consoles (PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox).

There is also the possibility to convert the video content to HD or standard formats. Additionally, the application is perfectly capable to extract only the sound of the file, either in a lossy (MP3, OGG, MKA, WMA) or lossless (FLAC, WAV) format.

Since the rendering device you prepare the video for may not be among the list of presets, the developer also makes available customization options for the selected profile. These allow modifying the codec used for audio and video processing, quality of the output, resolution, bitrate (audio and video), aspect ratio and frame rate (FPS).

Moreover, if you plan to use custom configurations on a frequent basis, you can save it as a standalone profile, accessible under the User Defined section.

All the tweaking may appear a bit daunting for the beginner user, but there is nothing complicated about it, and the minimum knowledge required to carry out the operation can be easily achieved.

Leawo Blu-ray Ripper automatically detects the subtitle and audio tracks available on the disc and lists all the titles available, allowing you to select only the relevant pieces. A preview screen helps decide on the entries you want to extract.

On the downside, we noticed that the playing of a video is not achieved properly at all times, even on a system that has absolutely no problems playing Blu-ray content.

We experienced a choppy preview for both audio and video, and at times the media file was quite unintelligible despite system resources being within normal parameters (~30% CPU and with almost 2GB of RAM still available).

Our test system was not equipped with a supported graphics card (check the list here), but disabling the feature improved the preview, although it still did not make the experience flawless.

Editing the selected movie piece is also on the list of features for Blu-ray Ripper from Leawo. Basic options like trimming and cropping as well as applying a watermark to protect the result are present in the panel.

Both the original and the output preview are displayed, so you can clearly see the modifications, especially when adjusting the brightness, contrast and saturation levels.

The panel for converting 2D video to 3D is the same as in the case of Leawo Blu-ray Creator.

The results obtained through conversion of Blu-Ray content were quite good, although there is plenty of room for improvements. However, given the high quality of the video processed, noting the difference is pretty much unavoidable.

During the conversion process, you get to see the duration of the video as well as the estimated size of the resulting file. Also available is time estimation for completing the entire operation. Additional options include pausing the processing and cancelling altogether.

Post-conversion options can open the output folder or initiate the shutdown procedure for the computer.

The Good

It comes with an easy installation process and simple instructions for carrying out the conversion job.

The conversion profiles make it easy for a beginner user to ready videos for their devices and more advanced users have the possibility to create their own presets by modifying existing ones.

Some basic editing options permit adjusting brightness, contrast and saturation levels, and a preview screen shows the changes immediately.

The Bad

Video may not be rendered flawlessly when previewed. The quality of the resulting file may not rise to expectations.

The Truth

Leawo Blu-ray Ripper is not the perfect tool on the market, but it has ease of use on its side. It does not take long to learn the ropes and it packs the necessary flexibility to create your own conversion profiles or adjust the existing ones to your needs.