Micromax Canvas Knight A350: First impressions

New Delhi: Homegrown handset maker Micromax has surprised the tech press with the launch of its Octa-core processor equipped Canvas Knight A350 smartphone in India. It's the most powerful Micromax smartphone that we've come across and going by the specs, it is sure to create a huge buzz in the sub Rs 20,000 smartphone market in India. Going by its looks, it leaves no room for doubt that the Canvas Knight has been developed by keeping an iPhone in mind. Micromax has crammed the new device with such an impressive specs sheet and a price tag that can even given the iPhone a run for its money. Let us take a look at some notable first impressions:Design and buildWith Canvas Knight Micromax has made its intentions clear that it is determined to change the perception of India-made smartphones among global audience. It truly reflects when it comes to the design and build part. It is a unibody device that is pretty slim and reminds you of an iPhone when looked upon from a distance. The Canvas Knight comes with a brushed metal styling with champagne gold bezels. A notable difference when it comes to keys placement is that the powerkey is now placed along with the volume keys on the right. On the rear you'll find a 16 MP snapper with a cover to sort of protect it. The phone is pretty comfortable to hold and is easily pocketable. The device is available in three colours – black, white and gold and black and gold.Display The Canvas Knight comes with a 5-inch display size offering a full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, with a pixel count of 442 ppi. It has the full HD CGS (Continuous Grain Silicon) IPS display built by SHARP. Thus you can expect dynamic contrast and color clarity for sharper images.ProcessorThe device is an Octa-core phone and yes those extra cores really matters. So be sure that you get an amazing power be it hardcore gaming, web browsing, app switching, high-quality premium video viewing or other types of rigourous multitasking activities without any lag or excessive battery consumption. Storage capacityThe Knight comes with a whopping 32GB built-in storage. It doesn't offer other online storage support or a memory card slot. The 32GB storage option can easily fulfill your daily storage needs.CameraOn the imaging front, the Knight comes with a 16-megapxiel sensor on the rear side with support for auto-focus and flash. The primary camera is paired with OmniVision's CameraChip sensor and a new generation M8 Largan Lens, thus letting users capture 1080p video recording at 30 frames per second. The rear shooter offers voice command capabilities wherein a user can say ‘Cheese' or ‘Capture' to click images while on-the-move. Moreover, there's also a full-HD 1080p video recording and playback functionalities. The OmniVision CameraChip sensors of the camera can also capture high resolution images in rapid succession, fulfilling image processing functions, image size, frame rate, exposure, gain, cropping and orientation are programmable through the Serial Camera Control Bus (SCCB). The device also offers functions including 360 Degree Panorama, Cinemagraph and Object Eraser.Moreover, the phone is also equipped with a 8MP front camera which is better than most phones.ConnectivityThe Canvas Knight is a dual SIM smartphone that supports GSM and 3G networks. The device supports Wi-Fi, but so far there has been no mention of the connectivity options. It also offers support for GPS and A-GPS.SensorsThe device sports sensors such as accelerometer, light, gravity, gyroscope, proximity and compass.Battery The device gets its juice from a 2350 mAh battery which can easily last a full day with use and on low brightness. With full brightness and regular use with video and gaming, you can get 10 hours out of this battery. Operating SystemThe device runs Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) with pre -loaded apps such as BBM, Hike, GetIt, Truecaller, Spuul, Kingsoft Office Suite, Opera Mini, M!Live, M!Vault, M!Security and Games (RealSteel WRB, Where's My Perry and Where's My Water).Notable featuresMicromax Canvas Knight A350 also comes with a Yamaha Amplifier. The Knight A350 is priced at Rs 19,999 and will be available in three colors Black, Black & Gold and White & Gold.VerdictThe Knight A350 is a good pick if you want a stylish, powerful, performance-packed, and affordable smartphone.