Camera and Storage
You get a 5MP camera with a LED flash at the rear for imaging which gets coupled with a VGA front camera. The smartphone does not get any brownie points in the imaging department as it gets a pretty average camera unit and if you are photography buff, you’d be better off looking elsewhere instead. The internal storage of the Micromax Canvas Power A96 stands at 4GB which can be expanded by another 32GB with the help of a microSD card. This is pretty much what you get in this price range so we can’t really complain in this regard.
Processor and Battery
It features a 1.3 GHz quad core processor which is a Mediatek unit and the same is found in almost every budget quad core device. Micromax has done well to bring a quad core processor to a device which has its battery as its forte. The RAM stands at 512MB which we feel should have been 1GB instead. The Micromax Canvas Power A96 gets a 4,000 mAh battery under the hood which is indeed its strongest point and will be a deal breaker for many. But it isn’t really good seeing the fact that it has a stand by time of 450 hours only and a talk time of just 5.5 hours which is not really good.
Display and Features
It comes with a 5 inch display with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels and we have no complaints from the same in this regard as well. It is not as good as a 720p unit but if you want a 720p unit, you’d have to compromise on battery life and we’d not like to do that. Micromax Canvas Power runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean like the new wave of budget quad core devices. Mediatek has not upgraded its chipsets to run higher versions of Android and if it does not do that soon, it might just start running out of steam. Micromax plans on upgrading a slew of its devices to KitKat in future and the Canvas Power might make it to the list as well in future.
Looks and Connectivity
The smartphone looks like a well built device with a very small amount of gap between the device and the rear panel. You get hardware buttons up front and the rear camera protrudes slightly, thus making it prone to scratches. It will be available in black colour Micromax Canvas Power A96 comes with dual SIM (GSM+GSM) connectivity. 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS add to the connectivity package and make this a well rounded off device in the connectivity department.
Comparison
Its prime competitor will be the Gionee M2 which has a better camera, a better RAM and a bigger battery for a similar price of Rs 10,999. Other devices with good battery backup include Moto G, Lenovo P780 and Nokia Lumia 525.
Key Specs
Conclusion
If you are in the market for a sub Rs 10,000 device with a great battery back up, we are unsure if the Canvas Power A96 is the one you should be looking forward to. However if you can trust Gionee seeing the fact that it is a relatively new company in India, we suggest you go in for the Gionee M2. Nevertheless, the Micromax Canvas Power A96 won’t prove to be a wrong choice as well.
