Micromax takes a whack at Samsung’s Note with a phablet and stylus
There’s a long standing joke that what Samsung did to Apple, Micromax will do to Samsung. In a sense, companies like Micromax, Karbonn and others are certainly gobbling up what could have been Samsung’s share, if they had had more affordable phones. IDC recently reported that their data shows homegrown vendors shipped more than Samsung in Q2 of this year, if you leave out Japan. And on the heels of that piece of news, Micromax comes up with another large smartphone, the Canvas Doodle 2, the company’s closest answer to Samsung’s Note series, a new version of which is to launch on 4 September.
If you can close your eyes and visualise a Samsung phone, you can do the same for a Micromax phablet. They follow exactly the same design “language” or whatever else you would like to call round-shouldered large phones encased in no end of plastic. The Doodle 2 looks the same as all those as well, but claims to have an aluminum body. Honestly, I am not sure that does very much to counter the tackiness of plastic in this particular design, but well, there you have it. The aluminum certainly feels very plasticky. Now the funny thing is, the Doodle 2 comes with a flip cover, the back of which is transparent plastic. This does an effective job of making the aluminum, if it is that, look like plastic anyway. But it’s an interesting case, protective of the screen but not thick enough to be of much help if you decide to drop the device. The white flip cover, which hopefully can be cleaned with a wet cloth when needed, has an interesting design with foldable segments so you can make a little pyramid of it and use it as a stand.
Two problems I need to mention with the flip cover is that it makes the power button a little difficult to get to by feel and then it overshoots the bottom edge of the phone spot that it sticks out a bit and is sharp to the touch. These things should have been finessed. I was also a bit unhappy with its power cable which while flat and tangle free, is a tight unpolished fit into the micro USB slot – you have to struggle with it to get it in or out.
A Specs Bump
If you are a specs junkie, you may be disappointed that the Doodle 2 (the model is A240) isn’t running on an octa-core processor. Now, that would have been a jump over previous models and variants. But well, it works fast enough on its quad-core 1.2GHz MediaTek MT6589 processor which is adequate unless you are a heavy gamer and need the maximum available for processor-hungry games. There is 1GB RAM and 16GB storage, 11 of which is available. The screen is a 5.7 inch 1280x720 HD with a density of 320 dpi. I found the display a little glare filled and burning out on whites, but otherwise the colours are good and so are the viewing angles. The battery to power all this is a 2600 mAh. The Doodle 2 is on Android 4.2.1, which is about the best it can do for now. The Doodle 2 is a dual sim but can run only one 3G connection.
Doodling On The Doodle
Taking a good whack at Samsung’s Note series, Mcromax has put added a stylus to the Doodle package. It’s a double tipped (thick and thin) metallic little accessory, thankfully not called the M-Pen, though a few apps follow the Samsung naming convention. The stylus has no place to slip into on the smartphone, so its owner will have to be ultra careful. It doesn’t work too badly, though it doesn’t have the sophistication of the Note’s S-Pen which works with a digitizer layer on the screen and also has a lot of non writing or drawing related gimmicks such as bringing up information on a hover or scrolling, taking a screen shot, etc. The Note’s S-pen doesn’t use a rubber tip which is on the Doodle and which sticks to the screen a bit. The Doodle’s stylus is basically for doodling, which you can do in a doodling app, any other appropriate app you find on the
Play Store, or even in messages to friends. Overall, it doesn’t work too badly but you have to be careful of the angle of the tip if you want to get an unbroken drawing or text.
Camera And Multimedia
The cameras are 12MP and 5MP and these run a stock Android interface. The cameras are really average, doing okay in daylight but coming up with grainy noisy pictures in low light. Browsing is not exceptionally smooth but I didn’t encounter stutters as such. It’s neither remarkable for speed nor for the lack of it. Videos played fine, but sound is terribly tinny, a bit low, and not full-blooded.
The cost: Rs 19,990
The Doodle 2 A240 is an upgrade of Micromax’s previous Doodle A111, also a 1.2GHz quad core device. Other specs such as the camera, space, etc., are bumped up. The stylus and the cover is also different. So is the aluminum. The same apps are on both devices too. The A111 came in at a Rs 15,990 price point. I wouldn’t say that old Doodle users need to upgrade to the Doodle 2 because it’s a specs bump not a big change. The Doodle 2 mostly beats the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 on specs though the Mega has expandable storage, removable battery and more sensors. If you are getting a deal on the Note 2 (as the Note 3 becomes available) and you anticipate a lot of stylus work, you may want to consider that. If however there is a considerable price difference and you are on a budget, think of the Doodle 2 for a stylus toting large smartphone.
