By Anirban Ghoshal
Mumbai, Oct 31 (IANS): Domestic handset-maker Micromax Informatics recently released a flurry of lower mid-segment smartphones to keep climbing ranks in the Indian smartphone market. The company had launched the Micromax Canvas Nitro 4G for Rs.12,499 and here is what we think of it:

What is good?
The phone has a good look and feel and is not very heavy. The curved edges add to the design aesthetics of the device.

The combo of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 octa-core processor and a 2 GB DDR 3 RAM can take on any application with ease except for heavy games or switching between them. The use of DDR3 generation is the difference maker. Switching between several apps was not a problem on the device.

The phone's cameras are the real deal. Although there is no professional mode, Micromax has included several modes to make clicking pictures easier and fun. Modes like Sunset, Landscape, Snow, Candlelight, Night, Action, Party, Night portrait and Steady photo and Backlight among others makes it an all purpose camera. Shots taken in the night mode were compared to the competition. The front camera is a decent performer.

The headphones that come out of the box is also better so users don't have to spend more in getting new headphones to enjoy music.

Interestingly, the phone comes with lot of pre-installed apps like Chaatz, Scandid, Hotstar, Housing, Newshunt, Clean Master, Quikr, Saavn and Snapdeal. Hence, the user can start off immediately without having to download many apps.

What doesn't work for the phone?
This phone really does heat up on playing heavy games and constantly loses charge. Heavy games lag on the device. Also the phone loses charge while downloading heavy files on Wi-Fi.

Verdict: The phone loses out on competition as it was released just before the smartphone industry moved to 3 GB RAMs in the same price bracket and all other rivals started including fingerprint sensors at tad higher prices. Standalone, the Nitro 4G is a good all-round performer except for its battery which definitely needs to improve.

Full specifications: 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor | 2 GB DDR3 RAM | 5-inch display with Gorilla Glass 3 | 16 GB storage (expandable) | 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with dual-LED flash | 5-megapixel front camera | 4G LTE | Wi-Fi | Bluetooth | GPS | 2,500 mAH battery