From a challenger to a leader, in a short span of just 2-3 years homegrown handset maker Micromax has come a long way. But as it made this journey, new troubles have arisen in a segment that has since become highly competitive. When Micromax launched the Canvas 2, its USP was superior features at a price easily R5,000 lower than rivals. Today, everybody is playing the same game, from Google?s Android One range, to Xiaomi and Motorola. So what does Micromax do? Changing perspective and thinking like a leader is clearly not as easy as you would think, but that is exactly the plan.
The new Micromax Nitro A310 ?Nitro?, one of its newest products which we reviewed recently, hopes to keep it on top of the game at a time when rivals are biting close at its heels. The company has clearly paid attention to critics; the phone is faster, comes with nifty features that actually work, is free of small snags and overall feels better built. This is not to say it is perfect, but definitely a strong step as it looks to make a shift in loyalties from the mass to the more profitable premium customer. Price, however, remains competitive at R13,000.
The Nitro sports a 5-inch 720p display, with an oleophobic coating to keep the finger-print smudges off the screen. Screen size is similar to a Google Nexus 5, Moto G or the Xiaomi Mi3, but screen quality still feels just a notch lower. The built is similar to a Samsung Note 3, especially the plastic removable back that has been designed to look and feel like leather, while buttons on either side have good tactile feel and no gaps, a big improvement over previous Micromax models like the Turbo. Below the screen there are three capacitive touch buttons for home screen, return and menu options.
In terms of hardware, the Nitro sports a 1.7 Ghz octa-core Mediatek MT6592 processor and an integrated Mali-450 GPU. It also features 2 GB of RAM, and 8 GB of internal storage space, expandable to 32 GB with a microSD card. As with most Micromax models, the phone also offers dual-SIM functionality, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
The Nitro sports a 2,500 mAh battery, more powerful than the 2,070 mAh battery in the Moto G, but lower than the 3,050 mAh battery on the Xiaomi Mi3. In front there is a 5 MP lens, while the 13 MP back camera is great for still shots, but lacks the quality needed in videos?it also misses the HDR (High Dynamic Range) function that most rivals have leading to loss in quality in bright sunlight or night time. The Nitro runs on Android KitKat v4.4.2, with minor OEM modifications.
However, the Nitro packs in several interesting features mostly seen in more expensive Samsung models. This includes a ?look away to pause? function that automatically pauses a video when the phone detects the user is looking away, and ?Smart Gestures? where you can customise finger movements on the screen for different commands.
We used the phone for a week, and faced no problems seen with previous Micromax models like a hung screen or no response to commands. Clearly, testing is far more stringent now. However, the brand still needs to come a long way to
attract buyers at the upper end. While the Nitro may be equal on most counts with rivals, but where it edges out rivals is the great price. Question is, will that advantage stay for long?
Estimated street price: R13,000