Micromax rules the roost when it comes to the low end Smart Phones in the market. They kept coming with Canvases, Ninjas, Blings and X-series to entice the customers in all age and income groups. Micromax indeed is the only competitor to Samsung Phones in India and is the second highest seller of Smart Phones after Samsung. Micromax Bolt A35 looks to be another product in continuation of the same effort from MMX to compete with low end Samsung Y series and Neo which are in the fray.
Design
It’s the old school design with rounded edges and wide black bezel when seen from front. There are 3 Capacitative touch sensitive buttons at the bottom. Micromax kept it low on the physical buttons and the 2 that you see on the edges of the phone are the volume at the left and power at the top. It indeed is a low spec phone on camera hence there was no reason to provide an extra button to click. However the back of the phone is an utter delight, the rubberised back makes it scratch proof and gives a nice gripping feel when in hand.
Display
Display is 4” super reflective capacitative touch screen. It was an exercise for me to take the snap of the screen in day light (as you can see in the photos), the screen is a touch magnet however the screen resolution at 480×800 WVGA is best in class when compared to the competitors in Karbonn A3, A1+ and Celkon A87, A95 at 320×480 HVGA. The display in full brightness was pretty much visible yet reflective in the broad daylight, and then you can’t expect S4 with the Bolt.
Memory and Storage
Micromax Bolt A35 comes with 160 MB internal memory expandable up to 16 GB on microSD Card. The device has 256 MB RAM with Mali 300 GPU and 512 MB ROM which is certainly not a gamer’s delight as an Android phone. The RAM supports the usage of Gingerbread 2.3.5 well and functions smooth in normal operations, however shows some lag when processor is forced to work more with a download on and the applications running. 160 MB of internal memory is pretty much loaded with the bloatware by Micromax and starts showing Low Memory notification if you install any extra application or upgrade an existing application on the internal memory. Though, you do have the option to port few of the applications to external memory and install all the new applications on the extended memory. The only concern is that looking at the phone specification the target consumers could be the first timers only who may not be that much hands on with porting applications and installing new on an extended memory. 16 GB extension is good enough keeping into mind the low end spec of the phone which will go sluggish for any more memory installed.
Camera
Micromax has provided a 2MP sensor at the rear and 0.3 MP VGA in the front. The phone doesn’t have a 3G facility hence your front camera may only be used through WiFi connectivity. The photo enthusiasts will give a thumb down to this phone, however having both front and rear camera in a low end phone is a precedence that Micromax has taken. The camera zooms in to 8x but looking at its capacity at 2MP it is not recommended. The camera did fairly well in daylight but the photos in low light conditions will be a challenge.
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Connectivity
Micromax seems to have researched on the market well before launching this phone. The major portion of the mobile users in India are yet to start using 3G services though they still look for Face to Face calling feature on their mobile phones to use VoIP services like Skype and Viber. Micromax Bolt series bridges that gap fairly well by providing WiFi connectivity on this non 3G phone which supports GPRS and EDGE as a data connection. The phone has a Dual SIM standby packed under the hood. Surprisingly, Micromax has provided Internet Tethering on the phone that people seldom use for a slow 2G connections though having a facility certainly doesn’t bite. USB 2.0 is good as always to transfer data and Bluetooth V2.1 is the expected version to be seen on a low end phone.
Media and Entertainment
Micromax Bolt A35 has the ability to play WAV, MP3, MIDI audio through its ES Player and MP4 and 3GP formats for videos. It’ll be recommended to download or buy a better player to play other file formats. The speaker has nothing to boast about but it does have enough and clear volume to listen to in a closed room. Headphones are of low quality and may not be fun to listen to the music. Videos run fair enough but look a bit odd at this resolution. Not to miss, the new Flash Feature by Micromax to swipe and share the photos with other Bolt siblings without the use of BT, NFC or USB is the USP for this phone.
Overall
Micromax remains the undisputed Robinhood for the users looking for low end Smart Phones. Offering a handsome looking phone at Rs 4250 is an achievement. The look and feel of the phone is good, however it can only attract the first timers, starters or the aged non-tech users who don’t want to spend much but want to have a Smart Phone at their service. The USP of the phone remains the swipe and share and may excite the younger lot in the colleges. A great and brave precedence by Micromax looking at the competition from the mere mortal rivals like Karbon and Celkon as well as the low end phones of the mighty behemoth in Samsung.
GENERAL FEATURES | |
| In Sales Package | User Guide, Warranty Card, Handset, Headset, USB Cable, Charger, Battery |
| Form | Bar |
| SIM | Dual SIM, GSM + GSM |
| Touch Screen | Yes, Capacitive |
| Call Features | Loudspeaker |
| Handset Color | Black |
Platform | |
| Operating Freq | GSM – 900, 1800 |
| OS | Android v2.3.5 (Gingerbread) |
| Processor | 1 GHz Cortex-A5 |
| Graphics | Mali-300 |
Display | |
| Type | TFT |
| Size | 4 Inches |
| Resolution | WVGA, 480 x 800 Pixels |
| Color | 65 K |
Camera | |
| Primary Camera | Yes, 2 Megapixel |
| Secondary Camera | Yes, 0.3 Megapixel |
| Video Recording | Yes |
| Other Camera Features | Zoom Level – 8, Brightness Level – 6, Multi-shot, Night Mode |
Dimensions | |
| Size | 64x124x11.6 mm |
| Weight | 89 g |
Battery | |
| Type | Li-Ion, 1500 mAh |
| Talk Time | 4 hrs (2G) |
| Standby Time | 175 hrs (2G) |
Memory and Storage | |
| Internal | 160 MB |
| Expandable Memory | microSD, upto 16 GB |
| Memory | 256 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM |
Internet & Connectivity | |
| Internet Features | |
| Preinstalled Browser | Android |
| GPRS | Yes, Class 12 |
| EDGE | Yes |
| Wifi | Yes, 802.11 b/g/n |
| USB Connectivity | Yes, micro USB, v2 |
| Tethering | Wi-fi Hotspot |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v2.1, Supported Profiles (A2DP, HSP, HFP) |
| Audio Jack | 3.5 mm |
Multimedia | |
| Music Player | Yes, Supports WAV, MP3, MIDI |
| Video Player | Yes, Supports MP4, 3GP |
| FM | Yes |
Other Features | |
| Call Memory | Yes |
| SMS Memory | Yes |
| Phone Book Memory | Yes |
| Additional Features | Games, Swipe, World Clock, Multiple Alarm, Calculator, Calendar, Auto Power On or Off, Incoming Call Guard |
| Important Apps | M! Live, Google Play Store, M! Store, M! Zone+, Facebook |
Warranty | |
| 1 year manufacturer warranty for Phone and 6 months warranty for in the box accessories | |
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