Head to Head: Lava Iris 506Q v/s Micromax Canvas Doodle A111

Lava Iris 506Q is the sequel to Lava's flagship handset Lava Iris 504Q. Iris 504Q has been the best performer in the 10k-15k range. At a first look, you'll notice some similarities in both handsets, but Iris 506Q is priced lesser and the features and performance have been much improved. It features a number of sensors like, magnification, proximity, and G- sensor. Lava mobiles also claim that they are FOTA i.e. Firmware over the Air upgradable.

Micromax, which has been trying to keep its feet firm in the smartphone arena by launching budget Android devices, has launched yet another handset in an attempt to grab the attention of consumers who seek a reasonable smartphone. With the new Micromax A111, also known as Micromax Canvas Doodle, Micromax Mobile is trying to carve a niche in the territory of budget Note.

Does Micromax excel in accomplishing its task of making a budget friendly note series smartphone? Does Lava Iris 506Q prove to be a success after its Iris 504Q? Let's find out.

The Design

As soon as you have the first look of Lava Iris 506Q, the first thing that you'll notice is its large display and that its been made very beautifully. In designing, a special care has been taken and it is a lot better looking than its sibling 504Q. It is super- slim with a back panel that has a matte finish and you can be sure that it won't take fingerprints easily.
But sometimes, the quality of the plastic back panel appears flimsy. The Micromax Canvas Doodle A111 is not extraordinarily well- built, but it has a right combination of materials that make it a durable device. Lava Iris is 8% slimmer than the Doodle. Slimmer devices look very fashionable these days and they are relatively easier to carry around.

The Display Size and Quality

The Lava Iris 506Q has a 5- inch qHD display with OGS technology with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. The screen is crispier and sharper. Thanks to the OGS technology, the colors appear rich and quite natural. It has an auto- brightness feature and you won't need to squint your eyes to view it in bright sunlight.
On the other hand, the huge display of Micromax A111, which measures 5.3 inches, disappoints on this front. The display resolution is poor so the texts and pictures do not appear crisp. They start to look hazy after sometime. Iris 506Q has 26% more pixels which means, its screen appears way sharper and crispier than Doodle.

The Processors

The inside of A111 is laced with a layer of QUALCOMM grease that is the Qualcomm MSM8225Q Snapdragon chipset. It is powered by 1.2 GHz quad core processor. The RAM has been kept at a very low 512MB. Iris 506Q boasts of a MediaTek MT6589 chipset powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor along with PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU. Just like Micromax A111, this too has a RAM of 512MB, which is kind of a disappointment.

Interface and Performance

The Micromax A11 runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS. The interface is pretty much stocked up, but a lot of features such as Day dream, lock screen widgets and a lot of other features are lost. Micromax has brought a change in the shortcuts and the app icons in this handset, and it differs from the other Micromax smartphones. Iris 506Q gives Android v4.2 JellyBean OS. It has no custom UI but the overall interface is smooth to operate.

The Camera Quality

The Micromax A111 has an 8 megapixels camera which takes decent shots and the UI is uncomplicated. It features a dual LED flash, which helps you a little more in taking fair shots in low lighting conditions. However, the videos are not that good and it won't let you take videos in full HD resolution.
The 2 megapixels front facing camera can come handy when taking selfies and making video calls, whereas, the Iris 506Q has a 5 megapixels rear camera with up to 4x zoom. But expect decent images at only 2x zoom. The 0.3 megapixel front camera is all right for video calls but an awful choice for taking pictures.

Verdict

Both the handsets have their share of hits and misses. The Micromax Canvas Doodle is a huge handset with a good built quality. The only disappointing things are the screen resolution, the price and the QUALCOMM chipset. On paying a little extra bucks, why not get the HD one? On the other hand, the Lava Iris 506Q definitely scores more on the design front but fails miserably when it comes to its camera quality and internal storage.