Micromax Canvas A1 Android One Smartphone Launched: Features, Price & Comparision Spec Sheet

Today was a momentous day for Indian smartphone market as three regional players Spice, Karbonn and Micromax unveiled their Android One smartphones. Micromax’s offering has been named as Canvas A1 and it is on sale exclusively at Amazon India website. As an introductory offer Amazon and Micromax are throwing in a couple of goodies. With every Micromax Canvas A1 smartphone you get a Strontium 8GB MicroSDHC memory card. If you use your State Bank of India credit or debit card to buy the Android One smartphone you are entitled 10% cash back and if you get lucky you could win Amazon Gift Cards for free shopping on the website. If you choose avail services of Airtel as your cellular service provider, it shall allow you to get free software upgrades and app downloads (200MB every month) for the first 6 months. While the offers are alluring let’s get a closer look at the smartphone itself in the next paragraph.

Micromax Canvas A1 1

The Micromax Canvas A1 sports a 4.5inch FWVGA (480 x 854 pixels) resolution IPS panel display. Inside we find a MediaTek MT 6582 chipset that houses a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. The innards are given the task of running stock Android KitKat 4.4.4 and in the future will be running Android L. The internal memory of the Micromax Canvas A1 is a paltry 4GB and after the OS and native apps you are left with about 2.5 GB of storage and that is why Amazon is throwing in a free 8GB microSD card. In case you want more storage you can pop in microSD cards of up to 32GB. The 3G enabled Micromax Canvas A1 is also a dual-SIM smartphone.

Micromax Canvas A1 2

In terms of photography, the Micromax Canvas A1 sports a 5MP camera with LED flash on the rear that is capable of recording Full HD videos. The front 2MP sensor can take average selfies and help you make video calls. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and micro USB and GPS navigation. On the sensor list we find G-sensor, proximity sensor and a light sensor. The Micromax Canvas A1 is being sold at #-Link-Snipped-# in #-Link-Snipped-# and White colour variants for Rs. 6,499.

Micromax Canvas A1 3

Finally we answer the big question, how does the Micromax Canvas A1 stand up to other Android One smartphones and to its biggest competitors Moto E and Xiaomi Redmi 1S? The answer is right below.

Comparision Demo

Replies

  • Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran
    Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran
    its really awesome to hear about the fact that 3 regional mobile manufacturers unveiling android one phones. eager to read reviews of it
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Thanks for the detailed cover #-Link-Snipped-#
    Even though from the spec sheet, it feels that Xiaomi Redmi 1S offers a lot more than the others at a lower price, there are many Indian buyers who trust Micromax a lot and therefore it is hard to comment if this phone will work for Indian market or not.
    Is it just more or going by the look and feel of the phone, the Canvas A1 seems to resemble a lot with Moto E?
    I just wish they could offer a better display on that phone. 480 x 854 pixels resolution should soon become history, right?
    I don't think the difference between the megapixels make a lot of difference. So, another of my major concerns is the battery life. 6 hours is not enough when browsing Internet & using heavy apps.

    PS: Some people seem to bad mouthing the Xiaomi Redmi 1S for its heating problems, but I do feel that it is going a bit overboard. Let's have a 1 month review of the phone after some days.

    Looks like, Micromax Canvas A1 should be bought only if you want to have an hands-on experience with Android One.
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    +1 for the specs comparison. My opinion is that a few bits plus or minus shouldn't alter the buying decision. A few more MHz in the CPU shouldn't make a difference if you are an average phone user (phone+whatsapp+facebook+email+gaming+music). The experience is going to be all the same on all the devices. The only deal breaker or maker is going to be the camera quality. I've seen few devices that take really bad photos and few that take impressive shots. In the recent times, I've been impressed by the quality of photos taken by Moto G and Redmi 1s.

    I hope we get to review the Android One smartphone so that we can speak with more authenticity.
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Another concern - Amazon folks shouldn't allow people who haven't bought the phone to post the reviews. Too many reviews on their site already, just that they don't look legitimate.
  • Abhishek Rawal
    Abhishek Rawal
    I don't care about camera. All I care is that Google will provide 2 years of updates, which means after Android L three more iterations to come in Android one devices, which is super awesome.
    Plus, I need to give a try to Indian company, So I just purchased it. 😁

    Now my Moto E will be for development & Micromax A1 as normal use. 😀

    snapshot15
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    #-Link-Snipped-# Awesome! 😁 We need a detailed review. With screenshots, benchmark test, camera samples and everything! ☕ 👍
  • Abhishek Rawal
    Abhishek Rawal
    This time for sure, Ankita 😀
  • Abhishek Rawal
    Abhishek Rawal
    Update :
    Kernel Source code for Android one devices pushed by Google today.
    Code : android-4.4.4_r3 - kernel/mediatek - Git at Google

    Source : Redirecting to Google Groups
  • Abhishek Rawal
    Abhishek Rawal
    IMG_20140918_150104422

    Brief review coming as soon as I get free time 😀

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