Monday, January 27, 2014

Specs battle: Micromax Canvas Turbo mini A200 vs Lava Iris Pro 30

Specs battle: Micromax Canvas Turbo mini A200 vs Lava Iris Pro 30
Let the face off begin
/Not far behind international brands, the leading Indian smartphone maker Micromax has delivered a mini version of its popular Canvas Turbo. Though the company hasn’t announced the Canvas Turbo mini A200 officially yet, it has quietly slipped in the device on the popular retailer site Flipkart. The phone sports a price tag of Rs 14,490 and has a not-so lucrative specs sheet. However, take a closer look and the specs are almost similar to the newly launched Lava Iris Pro 30. We’ve put both devices in the ring for a quick specs comparison, on paper.

Micromax Canvas Turbo mini A200
Stripped down version of the Canvas Turbo
Stripped down version of the Canvas Turbo
The Turbo mini is clearly a stripped down version of the popular Canvas Turbo. Sporting a smaller 4.7-inch display with lower 720p resolution, its pixel density limits to 312 ppi, similar to the Iris Pro 30. The similarities don’t end here; the Turbo mini supports 4GB onboard storage, microSD card slot up to 32GB, 8MP rear snapper and most of the connectivity options. It is slightly lighter than the Iris Pro 30 at 111 grams, but slightly thicker at 7.9 grams. There’s a better-sounding 5MP front camera.

The mini is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor that clock at 1.3GHz, coupled with 1GB of RAM. All of this is fuelled by an 1800 mAh battery that promises to deliver up to 6.5 hours of talk time, but sounds slightly small to us. However, we can confirm this only when we’ve tested the device in our loop test.

Lava Iris Pro 30

Light and sleek

Light and sleek
Strikingly similar to the Turbo mini, the Lava Iris Pro 30 falls shy of the phablet category with its 4.7-inch HD display. To make the 720p display more attractive, Lava has added in some improvements such an OGS technology and Content Adaptive Backlight Control (CABC) along with Gorilla Glass protection. The device is light at 114 grams and a mere 7.5mm thick and the soft powder-coated body is a delight to hold and feels nothing like the cheap plastic phones we have become used to seeing from Indian companies.
On the camera front, we are a little disappointed with the 8MP BSI rear snapper, especially considering the price, but as you can see in our first look at the phone, it’s more than passable. It also includes with dual LED flash and a 3MP front-facing camera.  Under the hood, it is powered by the ubiquitous 1.2GHz Mediatek MT6589 quad-core CPU and 1GB RAM, along with a PowerVR SGX544 GPU. The device comes with a disappointing 4GB onboard storage that can be expanded further up to 32GB via microSD card slot, something we also find in sub-Rs 10,000 smartphones these days. The connectivity options include 3G, Bluetooth v4.0 and GPS.

Take a look at the comparison table below:
Not much separates these two
Not much separates these two
The bottom line
A glance at the above sheet and you will instantly notice that both phones have almost similar specs. But we don’t know what panel has been used for the display by Micromax and whether it has any screen protection.  Both devices are incredibly light and sleek, though, which seems to be the flavour of the season for Indian phone makers. While the Turbo mini is lighter at 111 grams, the Iris Pro 30 is thinner, so it’s all square in this regard.

The Iris Pro gets a slightly better battery and processor, which could be its biggest advantage. The Canvas Turbo mini has a 20 percent smaller battery, which would be a huge factor in the buying decision. On the other hand, it does have a better sounding front-facing camera, which always works with youngsters. Though launched at Rs 15,999, the Iris Pro is selling online for as low as Rs 15,499, and we expect it will have a lower price tag in the market. The Canvas Turbo mini is listed online at Rs 14,490 and its final price will also vary depending on which retailer or store you buy it from.

The Iris Pro 30 is a big deal for Lava as it’s their first premium phone, which has been designed by the in-house team. On the other hand, the Canvas Turbo mini is a heavily toned-down version of the Canvas Turbo, which might have gone through just a little more liposuction than was needed, especially in the battery department. There’s not much to separate these two; the Canvas Turbo mini might have a better chance because of its lower price, but the Iris Pro has great look and feel, something that’s rare to see among Indian phones.

No comments:

Post a Comment