Micromax A121 Canvas Elanza 2 review – with LED flash on the front too

The Micromax Canvas Elanza 2 (A121) is quad core handset running Android 4.3 over a 5 inch screen with HD resolution. The handset is available for a price of under Rs. 9,500. The Elanza 2 comes loaded with better specifications but there are limitations, check the review to and find out.

Inside the Box: Micromax A121, 2000 mAh battery, warranty card, user guide, Micromax download goodies, SAR compliance, screen guard and earphone. The SAR values are 0.55W/kg @ 1g head and 0.76W/kg @ 1g body.

Design and Display
Micromax has done an excellent job when it comes to the design. Taking a whole lot of clues from the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 the A121 also get somewhat similar treatment. The handset back is with leather finishing that feels good and is comfortable to hold. There are textures on the back and artificial threading style on the edges. It is 8.70mm thick and weight with battery is 159 grams.

The sides are silver colored with matte finishing that complements the leather finishing. Overall very good build quality with premium looks. Power buttons are placed on the right, volume rockers on left, micro USB port and 3.5mm audio jack on the top.

This is a dual band handset that comes with dual SIM slots (you need 2 normal SIM’s).

There is a mic on the front facing bottom and other on the rear just below the LED flash (noise cancellation). Interestingly Micromax has added the LED flash on the front too. This is the first time I have seen a smartphone with a front LED flash. The front flash is yellow colored – looks odd as it is easily visible on the black front – seems like a yellow LED that is always switched on.

The Micromax Canvas Elanza 2 comes with a 5 inch TFT IPS screen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution. Viewing angles are okay and touch is smooth and responsive. There are 3 sensors accelerometer, proximity and light. There is no LED notification.

OS, Memory and Storage
The Micromax A121 runs on Android 4.3,  not sure if Micromax will provide the KitKat update for the same.

There is 1GB RAM, 4GB storage and 32GB external card support. Of the 1GB RAM, 471MB is available on the first boot and of 4GB storage, 1.2GB is allocated for apps (1.1GB free) and 1GB as internal phone storage. You cannot install apps on the external storage and the internal storage free space is just 1GB, which means you cannot install high end games that are over 1GB.

OTG is not supported.

Performance
Official website stats that the handset is using the MSM8212 hardware but benchmark apps are showing it as MSM8610 the same that we have seen on MOTO E, Lava Iris 406q. Probably Qualcomm is using the same board but has modified the hardware (using a different CPU chipset) – named it MSM8212.

Though the handset is clocked at 1.19GHz coupled with Adreno 305GPU, the performance is good, lag free but because of higher screen resolution the FPS is low.

Benchmark Scores

Camera and Entertainment
There is 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 2MP front camera with LED flash (on the front). By default the camera images will be saved on the internal storage, but there is an option to change the location to external storage.

The camera quality is good and sharp. Long shots and mid shots look good, really sharp. Closeup’s are also pretty good but after some shots the auto starts to get blurry, you need to restart the camera app to fix that. The rear camera can record 720p video but the quality is not so good (looks good on mobile screen but not so good on desktop). LED flash is no good for both rear as well as front cameras. Check the sample images at the end.

Micromax A121 can play Full HD videos in both H/W and S/W modes.

Gaming
You cannot install apps on external storage and there is just 1GB free space available on the internal storage. I could not install MC4 and Asphalt 8 as each of these games required over 1.2GB space. I downloaded Captain America and Dead Trigger 2 game which played well. Dead Trigger 2 was playable (pretty smooth) even on high visual quality mode.

Others
I was not able to connect with the PC for transferring images that I shot using this handset. When I selected the USB connect option it went into an endless loop connecting and disconnecting. No issues found with 3G, Wi-Fi (Hotspot supported / Wi-Fi direct not supported), GPS and Bluetooth. USB and Bluetooth tethering is supported. Sound is loud and clear.

2000 mAh battery performance
As per the official website the 2000 mAh battery should last for about 7 hours with 2G. I used the handset for 27 minutes running benchmark apps, the battery dropped by 7 percent. I then played some games for 9 minutes, the battery dropped by 3 percent and finally I played a HD video in a loop for about 1 hour 48 minutes, the battery dropped by 33%. The max temperature was 38 degrees.

The battery backup (continuous) is up to 5 hours with moderate to heavy usage.

Verdict
The Elanza 2 is using the MSM8212 quad core chipset clocked at a 1.19 GHz. It runs on Android 4.3 over a 5 inch screen with HD resolution. The build quality is very good, got a premium look with leather finish. There is 8MP camera with decent quality and the front camera is also with LED flash (though it’s no good in complete dark environment).

Though the handset performance is good the FPS is low because of 720p resolution moreover with limited storage space you will not be able to download many games. There was also some issue with the screen (check the video review).

It would be wise to look for some other models as there are issues / limitations on this handset, the Micromax Canvas 2 colours I believe is a better option.

Micromax Canvas Elanza 2 current price is Rs. 8,999.

Elanza 2 Image Gallery

Sample images shot using the Micromax A121 handset

Sample images shot using Front camera

Micromax A121 Canvas elanza 2 handset and gaming review