Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 review: As good as it gets

Micromax wants to beat Samsung to become the top smartphone company in India.

NEW DELHI: Micromax is on a roll. According to latest figures by IDC, a research firm, the Indian phone vendor is number two in our smartphone market. And it is growing. Micromax wants to beat Samsung to become the top smartphone company in India. So, how is it going to do that? 

The company believes that devices like Canvas 4 or Canvas Doodle 2 are going to help it beat the market leader. Only future will reveal whether Micromax succeeds or not in its lofty goal. But today we can tell you more about Doodle 2, its capabilities, its strengths, its flaws and whether you should buy it or not. 

Better than expected build quality
Doodle 2 - or Micromax A240 Canvas Doodle 2 as it is known more formally - continues the trend that Micromax started with Canvas 4. While it is not a truly global brand, Micromax is trying to act like one. It is improving the build quality, looks, finishing and feel of its high-end phones to make sure they don't look out of place when placed next to the smartphones made by companies like Samsung or LG. 

Doodle 2 is a well-designed phone. It looks and feels similar to a high-end Samsung device. The phone still has lots of glossy plastic but finishing is good. Just like we saw on Canvas 4, Micromax has used a bit of aluminum in Doodle 2. It's not a phone with aluminum body, something that Micromax claims proudly in its press releases, but a portion of the back cover is made of aluminum. Though, to put it perspective, even this much of metal is enough to make Doodle 2 better looking and sturdier compared to similarly-priced Android phones. 

Doodle 2 uses a candy bar design, with rounded corners. In fact, it is very similar to a Samsung phone like Galaxy Grand in terms of looks and people in TOI office often mistook it for a Samsung phone. The back cover of the device has three portions. The top portion, which can be removed to access sim slots, is made of plastic that has a faux aluminum finish. The same material is used to make the bottom cover where the device has a few sensors. The middle portion, which cannot be removed, is covered with aluminum. The back cover has a matte finish and feels soft to touch, which is better than how Samsung phones, which use glossy plastic, feel. 

The volume rocker on the left side and the power button on the right are made of plastic but have chamfered edges. They feel good but also just a bit loose in their sockets. 

On the front of the device, tough glass covers the huge 5.7-inch screen as well as three - home, menu and back - touch-sensitive buttons. The buttons have backlight that makes then easy to use in dark. 

The overall finish of the device is impressive. Contours that gently slop and rounded edges mean it fits well in hand despite its big size. Our only complain is the sheer weight of the device. Doodle 2 weighs 220 grams without a cover and even with a good design, you can feel this weight while using it. 

In terms of internal hardware, Doodle 2 doesn't bring anything new to the market. It is powered by MT6589, a quad-core MediaTek processor running at 1.2GHz. This is the same chip that powers almost all budget Android phones, including Canvas 4, that have a quad-core processor. Doodle 2 packs in 1GB RAM (2GB would have been really nice, Micromax), 16GB internal storage (around 13GB can be accessed by users), and a screen that has 720P resolution. Doodle 2 doesn't have a microSD card slot. The primary camera can shoot images in 12MP while the front camera can take images in 5MP. 

Flawless performance (mostly)
Most of the phones powered by MT6589 and Android 4.2 have decent performance with virtually no lag. Doodle 2 is no exception. In fact, Micromax or MediaTek seems to have fine-tuned the performance of the device. The user interface, which is mostly stock Android, is smooth. There is no noticeable lag while web browsing, multitasking, opening apps and scrolling through the list of installed apps. FullHD videos can be played in most of the popular formats like MKV or MP4 by using a third-party app like MX Player. Casual games like Subway Surfer or Rayman Jungle Run work well on the device though more demanding titles like Dead Trigger occasionally show the limitation of the graphics chip inside Doodle 2. 

Some of the hardware issues that usually plague budget Android phones are not present on Doodle 2. The 5.7-inch screen, which has an IPS panel, shows very good colours and is very responsive. The 720P resolution may not look as good as 1080P, but in our use we found that screen is sharp and displays crisp text. 

The screen also has decent viewing angles and lots of brightness and contrast, which help during the outdoor use. Though, there is one minor issue. The sensor that controls brightness automatically is too finicky and changes brightness too often. But it can be it fixed by switching to manual brightness control. 

The primary camera, which comes with a 12MP tag, is above average. This means, if conditions are right and light is optimum, you can shoot good images from Doodle 2. But it could have been better. Doodle doesn't live up to its 12MP credentials and images shot with it don't have as much details as better cameras can manage. The colour contrast too is lacking somewhat. Fortunately, noise is kept in in check and in our use we found that most of the images we shot with Doodle 2 in good light were usable on websites like Facebook and Twitter. 

In low light, the camera performance takes a beating. There is more noise in images, although this is a problem that affects all budget smartphones. We also found that shutter speed and focus performance of Doodle 2 camera were noticeably slower in low light. When it comes to video capture, Doodle 2 performs very well. It can shoot FullHD videos that have bright colours and clear focus. We would have liked to see the device capturing videos in MP4 instead of 3GP but the video performance of Doodle is definitely above average. 

Doodle 2 also fixes the GPS performance. Most budget Android phones are very poor at getting a GPS lock. Not Doodle 2. We found that it usually acquired GPS lock within seconds and maintained it. Result: very good experience in apps like Google Navigation and RunKeeper. Baterry life is below average though not poor. When used with a 3G connection for calls, web browsing, emails, social media use, some gaming and video playback, the battery in the device lasts around 11 to 12 hours. 

One fatal flaw
We can confidently say that except the weight part, Doodle 2 is one of the finest smartphones that an Indian company has introduced in the market. It is definitely better than Samsung's Grand and Mega devices. It looks good and works well. It also comes with a stylus, though it doesn't have the capabilities or software support to match the utility provided by the stylus bundled with Galaxy Note devices. 

Doodle 2 is priced at Rs 19,999, which is neither good nor bad. But in the market the device is available for a lower price, which enhances its appeal. 

So, what is the problem? Well, the problem is after-sales support. 

Micromax may be the number 2 company in India but if we go by the rants posted by its customers on the web, it still offers third-rate after-sales service. This is one area where the company is yet to match global companies even though its products have improved. Doodle 2 is a very good device. We love it but we can only recommend it with a word of caution. If you get this device, you will most probably like it. But if something goes wrong with it, you may not get a good after-sales support. 

Pros: Very good screen, fantastic build quality, fast performance, GPS that works, clean user interface 

Cons: Weight, no slot for microSD card 

Specs *5.7-inch capacitive touchscreen (1280 x720 pixels resolution)
*1.2GHz MediaTek 6589 quad-core processor
*PowerVR SGX 544 graphics chip
*1GB RAM
*16GB internal storage
*12-megapixel camera, 1080P video recording
*5MP front-facing camera
*3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS *dual sim support
*2600 mAh battery
*Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean
*220gms