Indian smartphone maker Micromax has proved time and again that it has a firm understanding of the market here. So, when Micromax says that 4G phones are catching up, you believe them. The company launched its 13th 4G smartphone today, called the Micromax Canvas Xpress 4G, and it also happens to be the cheapest phone to have 2GB of RAM. Point in fact, the phone costs Rs. 6,599. This one's still quite baffling though, and it's a little difficult to understand Micromax's strategy.
The phone has metal trims on the sides, but is made of plastic overall. It reminds you a lot of those low-end Android phones of yore. The phone has a rectangular bar design with really sharp corners that dig into your hand, but it feels solid enough for a budget device. That said, it is also quite big for a 5 inch smartphone. The display is accompanied by big bezels that make the phone quite large, when compared to phones like the Xiaomi Redmi 1S.
It has a 2000mAh battery, accompanied by a 1GHz quad-core MediaTek smartphone – one of the many reasons why it feels like a really old-school, low end device. The 5-inch HD display has almost zero sunlight visibility, but is passable under the halogens in the demo area, and the 16GB of storage and 8MP rear camera are really the only things that are current gen here. Oh wait, there's also Android Lollipop, which remains current generation, till anything other than a Nexus comes with Marshmallow out of the box in India.
Despite all of this, the Canvas Xpress 4G would have inspired confidence had it been selling at brick-and-mortar retail stores. In fact, with the strong retail channels that Micromax boasts, it's not unimaginable either. But no, this phone will sell exclusively on Flipkart, albeit on open sales, today onwards.
This puts it within reach of a particular type of user, one that doesn't reside in tier III cities. But Micromax is betting that it will still work. I could sit here and write it off saying it won't, but the fact is that the Indian market isn't the mature market we all want it to be – not yet, at least. So hey, it just might.
A 4G-enabled device that also happens to be the cheapest one to have 2GB of RAM is a lucrative option for many, and that might just sell this phone online. You're meant to focus on those two aspects and nothing else. Also, with the barrage of smartphones that are being launched, this one's a real reminder of where this market started.