At the BUILD conference back in April this year, Microsoft had announced new OEM partners for Windows Phones and Micromax was one of them. Micromax also announced its new devices in India in June namely the Canvas Win W121 and Canvas Win W092. The Canvas Win W121 is a mid range phone and comes with a 5.0inch HD display and runs on a Snapdragon 200 Quad core processor with 1GB of RAM. The device also has a 8MP camera with LED flash and a 2MP front facing camera.
The phone also comes with 8GB internal storage which is expandable via microSD card. The battery capacity of the device is at 200mAh.
Here is the detailed review of the device with respect to design, build, display, software, performance, camera and the battery life.
Here is the video review of the device.
Design, Build and Display:
Micromax Canvas Win W121 comes with quite a unique design not found on Micromax’s Android portfolio. The design is pretty good and even though the device is 5 inch, it is pretty easy to hold, thanks for the slim design. The back panel is removable and comes with a leather kind of finish giving it a premium feel. Around the bezel, you have the metallic finish. Overall, we were quite impressed with the build quality of the device.
The 8MP camera along with LED flash house the rear panel which is removable. Below the camera you have the Micromax logo and at the bottom you have the speakers. The micro USB slot and the 3.5mm audio jack are located at the top. Above the display you have the 2MP front camera, earpiece and the sensors. The power button is located on the right side, while the volume keys are on the left side.
Three backlit capacitive touch button are located below the display along with the microphone.
The display on the device is a 5.0 inch IPS LCD HD display which is pretty impressive. Not too many devices offer HD display below Rs 10000 price point. The display on the device is pretty sharp and vibrant and the viewing angles are also decent. But the disappointing aspect of the display is the touch response which is poor. For the first time we are seeing such a poor touch response from Micromax phones. But once you get used to it, you wont really feel the difference too much.
Software and Performance:
Canvas Win W121 runs the latest OS from Microsoft, the Windows Phone 8.1 which was officially announced at the BUILD conference. The OS adds quite a lot of new features including notifications center, start screen customizations, support for VPN, apps like Storage sense, Wi-Fi sense, Data Sense and also ability to install apps directly on to SD card.
The device has the same features just like any Lumia phone and OEMs don’t have too many options to customize the UI. Windows Phone allows you to run apps in the background and you can easily multitask using the interface.
The storage sense apps shows the detailed storage options available and also you can select how to manage files between internal storage and SD card.
The phone comes with dual SIM card support and Microsoft has a dedicated section to manage the dual SIM and also select the default SIM card for calls and 3G. The start menu offers different tiles for the two SIM card which you can merge in case you want all the calls in one place. The notification center is also customizable with the 5 quick access icons. You can install Cortana on this device if you have the developer preview loaded on this.
The phone runs on a Quad core Snapdragon 200 processor with 1GB of RAM. The performance on the device is pretty snappy and there is no lag anywhere as Windows Phone 8.1 is smooth even on 512MB RAM. The gaming performance is also pretty good since it has an HD display and 1GB of RAM. You can play even highly graphic rich games without any issues.
The call quality on the device was really good and the speaker loudness was average. The device cannot play HD videos and the max resolution possible in 480p which is disappointing for a device in 9k price range. Out of the 8GB storage, you get just above 5GB of usable space in the first boot. You can always install apps on SD card, so you don’t really have to bother about low storage.
On the software side, one of the main issues with the device is that you cannot install any apps from the Nokia collection which has a huge set of popular apps like Nokia Camera, Selfie and more.
Overall in the software and performance is very good on the device.
Camera:
The device comes with a 8MP auto focus camera with LED flash, there is also a 2MP front camera for video calls and selfies. One of the biggest issues in using a non Lumia Windows phone if you are a camera enthusiast is that Nokia Camera app is not available for this device. So you have the depend on the default camera app on Windows Phone.
While the interface does offer basic set of features, there is no customizations from Micromax. The 8MP shooter on the device is pretty average. While the day light shots are pretty decent and comparable with the competition. But the macro shots are not able to produce real colors and they look dull and washed out at times. The low light photos had quite a lot of noise and the flash was not too bright to get the real colors of the objects.
Here are some of the samples taken using the 8MP camera.
The phone comes with video recording, but the resolution is only at 480p. While the chipset supports video recording of 720p, we are not sure why the company chose for such a low video performance. The video recorded using the camera is really poor and not comparable to the competition. Click here to check out the video sample recorded using the phone. Lumia 630 and Lumia 525 can record videos in 720p.
Battery Life:
The device comes with a 2000mAh battery and we tested the battery for various conditions with 3G, apps running in the background, gaming and also playing music. Overall, the battery performance was pretty decent and we could easily manage a day of usage. Overall, the Windows Phone’s battery performance is better when compared to Android.
Verdict:
Priced at Rs 9300 (now available for Rs 8500), the Micromax Canvas Win W121 is a good buy if you are in the market for a mid range Windows Phone. The phone has a good display along with a great build and better camera than the Lumia phones in this price point. But, you will also have to sacrifice on Nokia’s huge collection of apps exclusive to Lumia phones.
Having said that if you are just looking for a new smartphone, then there are better alternatives with latest Android available for almost same price point.
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