Four years ago, Micromax was India’s top selling smartphone brand. However, the company lost all its charm after Xiaomi and other Chinese brands invaded the country’s smartphone market.
After a quiet 2015 and 2016, Micromax started the year 2017 with a bang by releasing the Micromax Dual 5, which impressed masses out there with its performance. But, at Rs. 24,999 the hefty price tag it carried was pretty underwhelming.
Micromax said that the Dual 5 is just a beginning and the company has a lot under its sleeves lined up for rest of the year during Dual 5’s launch event. Meanwhile, the brand has announced a couple of smartphones under the Evok series aimed to take on the Xiaomi’s budget phones.
Nonetheless, the major announcement from the vendor was yesterday’s Micromax Canvas 2 (2017). Yes, the firm has announced a device with the same moniker which was launched five years ago, believing that it would replicate the same success it achieved during its time. The Canvas 2 was a great device with mid-range hardware back then. This time around, Micromax is banking on two main things - offline market and providing more data to customers via Airtel.
The Canvas 2 (2017) has mediocre hardware on board, but one has to agree the fact that the device is exclusive to the offline market. To give you a brief idea, the 2017 edition Canvas 2 has a 5-inch HD display and is powered by the 64-bit MediaTek MT6737 SoC, 3GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage.
It rocks a 13MP camera at the back along with a 5MP front-facing camera. The device comes laden with Android 7.0 Nougat and a 3050mAh battery fuels the device.
Micromax claims that the device’s display is unbreakable as the screen is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 technology. Also, it’s the cheapest smartphone currently to come with Gorilla Glass 5. Furthermore, Micromax will replace the device’s screen for free if the customer breaks it (valid only for the first year).
On paper the device seems to be underwhelming and to accompany these mediocre specs, the company has collaborated with Bharti Airtel. Micromax is offering 1GB data per day along with 1500 minutes per week for one complete year. For me, this offer seems to be quite luring. Also, the device comes bundled with an Airtel SIM card.
Micromax is looking to catch the ongoing data trend, and there are no frills with the offer. No additional recharges will be levied as well. Just purchase the device and enjoy free 4G data services from India’s leading telecom operator.
And coming to Micromax’s goal with the Canvas 2 (2017)- the company is looking to sell one million units in the next six to eight months. Going by the current ongoing craze for the mobile internet in the country, Micromax could reach its target. But again, they road will not be easy as Xiaomi and Nokia will be entering the offline market in coming days who offer devices with better specs at competitive prices.
