Music on Canvas rings a low note

Like a Savile Row suit doesn't make a gentleman, JBL headphones don't make a music phone. Micromax's Canvas Music, a smartphone supposedly dedicated to music, comes with a pair of JBL headphones. Perhaps, the company believes this JBL offer and an unlimited music download offering from M!Live (a Micromax website) are enough to persuade you that this is an especial music phone. Sorry, Micromax.

The phone offers nothing to support its claim. You can buy the headphones for about Rs 1,500 anywhere. The phone speaker is okay. In fact, its own headphones are not bad. But for this spiel, it would have been a good phone. The dual-SIM (GSM) Canvas Music has a sleek upmarket finish. The TFT screen is okay for the price. The phone comes with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean and supports 3G.

A likeable feature is the LED on the top that glows red when the phone is being charged and green when you get a notification like an SMS or email. The phone by default opens to the keypad and not the home screen, which I found a little irritating.

MICROMAX CANVAS MUSIC A88

Price: Rs 10,499/-
Processor: 1 GHz dual core
OS: Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean   
Display: 4.5-inch 480 x 854 TFT
Camera (rear/front): 5MP with dual LED flash/ 0.3MP
Memory: 4GB, expandable up to 32GB with microSD card
RAM: 512MB
Battery: 1,800 mAh Li-ion

The phone comes with a USB charger. The home, back and settings keys are at the bottom; the volume rocker on the top left; a 3.5-mm earphone jack on the top; and the power key on the top right. A dock at the bottom lets you create shortcuts to frequently used apps. Touch and hold the home key to see what all apps are running. It has nine home screens and comes with the Google voice search and proximity and gravity sensors.

The phone has 4GB internal memory and takes a microSD card of up to 32GB. The SD card cannot be mounted without switching off the phone. The 512MB RAM and its average screen won't let you use the 1Ghz dual-core processor to the hilt. For instance, memory-intensive and graphic-intensive games are difficult to play on the phone.

After a full charge, the 1,800mAh Li-ion battery lasts for about half a day with the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, internet and the music or video player on.

Alarm sounds are loud enough. The 5MP rear camera with dual LED flash and the 0.3MP front one give grainy photos, though it doesn't take too long to focus. The phone display is not for use outdoors.

So, would you pay Rs 10,499 for a sub-five-inch screen smartphone from an Indian company just for a pair of headphones? I don't think I would.