Matching the selfie cam to the rear cam is all the rage these days. This one is on the entry end of the spectrum.
Micromax seems to have its ‘Math’ worked out, with 93 Million selfies being clicked every day there are clearly a lot of vain folks out there who might dig a selfie device. The 93 million number was actually revealed at the 2014 Google IO, so there’s a good chance we are well over the 100 million mark by now. It’s prompted Micromax to follow up the launch of Micromax Selfie (released earlier this year) with two more additions to the Selfie family – Selfie 2 and Selfie 3; we put the Selfie 2 (Q340) under the scanner. This is the least priced (Rs 5,999) of the Selfie siblings and comes with two 5MP shooters. Enough for your moments of self actualisation?
Front facing cams that match the primary cam are no longer a big deal; the HTC Desire Eye did that in 2014 with two 13MP shooters. Almost ever since, the term ‘primary camera’ seems an inaccurate description for the rear cam; there are a lot of mobile devices that have more images in the ‘selfie folder’ than in the camera folder. Yes, even iOS 9 has a selfie folder now! The Micromax Selfie 2 comes with a 5MP primary cam with an LED flash. The results are average and improve slightly in HD Mode – no pictures that will blow your mind (especially in low light) but somewhat in the same league as other devices in the same, sub Rs 6,000 price band. It’s the 5MP selfie cam that is clearly the device’s talking point. Disappointingly there’s no front facing LED flash. It may be a budget device but given that it’s riding heavily on its selfie creds, an LED flash might have been a nice touch with the huge numbers of selfies clicked in abysmal lighting conditions.
There’s a beauty mode once you flip the camera to face you with three levels of enhancement – some of us need more help than the others! There’s also a ‘Custom’ Mode that allows you to tweak a few settings – from smoothening your face to enhancing your eyes. The results are slightly above average - especially in low light, and might not satisfy some serious selfie fiends.
The other headline feature in the Micromax Selfie 2 is the ‘faux’ leather back that we have seen in some of the Samsung devices. It certainly lends the device a distinct build in the budget smartphone space. The camera lens sits in the top right of the back with the LED flash just below. The volume rocker and a small yet elegant power button are located on the right spine. The device features a 5-inch HD screen (480 x 540 pixels). A 1.3GHz Quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM propel this device. There’s 8GB of Internal Memory, extendable by 32GB via Micro SD card support and like many other devices in this segment the device has room for two Micro SIM Cards.
The Micromax Selfie clocked 19767 on our AnTuTu Benchmark test and 2926 on the PC Mark test (Work performance score). The device handles routine tasks without much fuss but struggles a bit when pushed slightly; clearly not the device for intense gaming. The 2000 mAh battery however worked quite well; the device dropped to 30% after a 9 am to 7 pm cycle with some camera, data, 20 minutes of gaming and WhatsApp usage. More than acceptable for the average user. There’s no 4G support on either of the SIM slots.
The device comes pre-loaded with the ‘Firstouch’ launcher; it’s a mixed bag. There are a couple of useful add-ons like the Swiftkey Keyboard out of the box but overall it adds quite a lot of clutter and masks the Android 5.0 (Lollipop) user experience. The Micromax Selfie 2 snaps decent selfies but we won’t recommend it purely on the strength of its selfie capabilities. You’re probably better off with the pricier Selfie 3 that offers a front LED flash and a wide angle Selfie mode.
What we liked: Battery life, faux leather back - nice touch at this price
What we didn’t like: Average results with both cams, no 4G, sluggish
Price: Rs 5,999.
Specifications:
- 1.3 GHz Quad-core processor
- 1GB of RAM
- 8GB of internal memory (Extendable up to 32 GB)
- 5MP primary cam with LED Flash and 5MP front facing camera
- Dual SIM
- Android Lollipop 5.0
- 5-inch HD Screen (480 x 540 pixels)
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