We recently reviewed the yet to be launched InFocus M370 and found it to be a pretty decent device for Rs 5,999. Another device that has been doing really well in this segment is the Micromax Canvas Xpress 2. You could say that this is a battle between the current champ, and the title contender. Read on to find out more.
Design
The design is one of the fortes of the Micromax Canvas Xpress 2. With jet black finish and golden colour rim, the smartphone looks stunning. Even the logo, pasted on the back, is in golden colour. The circular rear camera panel also has a golden colour thread around it, that glitters under the light. Overall, Micromax’s decision to keep it in black and golden colour was spot on. Also, it did the right thing by sticking to the rubberised back panel that not only provides a smooth feeling but helps gripping the phone better. The thick side panels further make it easy to hold the device which is certainly not the slimmest but feels light.
InFocus M370 is a cute little smartphone. It has a totally different look than any other smartphone available in India. To start with it has a black and white colour combination which looks really classy. The back panel has got an altogether different kind of pattern design which again is quite fancy and feels great in hand. The phone has a plastic body but due to rubberised finishing, it doesn’t look cheap. On top of that the phone is quite light and compact.
To conclude, both the phones look good but if compared, the Xpress 2 has a slightly upper hand.
Display
The InFocus M370 and the Micromax Canvas Xpress both have HD IPS display with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. However, the Micromax Canvas Xpress 2 has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and an oleophobic coating for fingerprint resistance.
Regardless of the protection the screen provides, we strongly urge you to invest a fraction of the price of these phones in a tempered glass screen guard, which can be easily replaced in case you drop the phone.
Processor and Memory
The Micromax Canvas Xpress2 has a MediaTek MTK6592M octa-core processor clocked at 1.4 GHz, which runs with 1 GB of RAM. The internal storage stands at 8 GB, to which you can add another 32 GB via a microSD card. Meanwhile, the InFocus M370 runs a quad-core Snapdragon 210 processor clocked at 1.1 GHz with 1 GB of RAM. The Internal Memory stands at 8 GB to which you can add another 64 GB via a microSD card.
In the unlikely event that you need more than 40 GB of storage, consider the InFocus M370, but for the rest of you, please look at the Micromax Canvas Xpress 2.
Software
The InFocus M370 is armed with Android Lollipop, with InFocus’ InLife UI. The Micromax Canvas Xpress 2 however comes with the older Android version, KitKat, the update to which is still pending.
Battery
The InFocus M370 has a 2230 mAh battery, while the Micromax has a 2500 mAh battery which can provide up to 9 hours of Talk time and 393 hours of standby. InFocus hasn’t revealed how long the battery lasts, but it will be at least as much, if not more thanks to the newer OS (Android Lollipop has a dedicated project for battery optimisation called Project Volta).
Camera
The InFocus M370 is equipped with an 8 Megapixel primary camera with autofocus, face detection, HDR, face beauty, gesture shot, flash, and video recording. The front has a 2 megapixel selfie shooter.
The Micromax Canvas Xpress 2 has a 13 megapixel primary camera with autofocus, dual-LED flash, video recording at 1080p, and PurCel technology (while other details of the camera remain unavailable). The front of the Micromax Canvas Xpress 2 has a 2 megapixel OmniPixel sensor for selfies and video calls.
The Micromax Canvas Xpress 2 wins this round; this time thanks to its superior camera and associated features.
You can check out our camera test of the Micromax Canvas Xpress 2 here and to check out InFocus M370’s camera samples click here.
Connectivity
The Micromax Canvas Xpress 2 is a Dual-SIM phone with 3G, GPS (A-GPS), Bluetooth 4.0, and WiFi.
The InFocus M370 is a dual-SIM phone with 4G, GPS (A-GPS), Bluetooth 4.0, and WiFi. However, the second SIM card slot doubles as a Memory card slot too. So you can only have expandable storage, or 2 SIM cards, not both.
Wrapping up
If the Canvas Xpress 2 had Android Lollipop and 4G, it would find really have been a brilliant package under Rs 7,999, let alone 2,000 less than that. We will have to admit that the InFocus M370 is a really good looking phone, and it even has Android Lollipop. We hope that Micromax works hard to give the Canvas Xpress 2 Android Lollipop, so that it makes it an easier choice. Having said all that, 4G is not yet all that great in our country, and keeping in mind that by the time 4G becomes available completely (easily 1 year from now), you will be shopping around for a new phone. Taking into account all these factors, and the fact that the Xpress 2 has a better camera, better display, and better processing ability, it does not make sense to be considering the InFocus M370.