Anuj Sharma
As mobile penetration increases and smartphones gain popularity among the youth, laptops are still the preferred devices for the masses -- be in office or at home. For those who are looking for a budget device, domestic player Micromax has launched an affordable laptop.
Priced at Rs 26,990, the Alpha LI351568W runs on the Windows 10 operating system with Intel architecture and weighs 2.1 kg.
Here is what works for the device.
Encased in a quality plastic body all around, the laptop features brushed metal finish on the top, giving it a subtle look. Although packing a large 15.6-inch screen, the device is sleek and not too heavy to hold.
For those who seek entertainment, HD display (maximum resolution of 1366X768 pixels) reproduced decent shades of colours during movie-watching and web-browsing and text was sharp and easy to read.
The panel comes with matte screen that reduces glare and improves visibility when viewing in areas with a direct light source.
The Intel Core i3-5005U processor integrated with 6GB of RAM is due to give decent (but not extraordinary) performance owing to entry-level components -- be it surfing the web, composing documents, viewing photos and running basic photo-editing software like Adobe Photoshop.
Affordable laptops generally do not offer a keyboard that is comfortable, however, the full-size keyboard of Micromax Alpha offers good tactile feedback, with each press of the key giving you an easy typing experience.
The trackpad also undertook the task of guiding the cursor around the screen well.
Connecting other display devices, accessories won't be a problem as the laptop houses two USB 3.0, two USB 2.0 1 and one HDMI port.
The 4-cell battery lasted for approximately three hours and 10 minutes before shutting down wherein we looped a video at full brightness and at 50 per cent volume.
If you are working in office/home and just using Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint, etc., along with video or music, the device will be able to last longer.
The two speakers housed at the bottom of the laptop delivered loud audio good enough for everyday multimedia use.
What does not work?
Considering the size, an optical disc drive on the Micromax Alpha would have been appreciated. The device struggles with graphic intensive tasks.
There is also shift in brightness and colours when viewing from the sides.
If you want to work on something that requires more computational power, the Alpha is not made for that.
Conclusion: The laptop delivers good performance and is more than adequate for everyday e-mail use, surfing the internet and productivity tasks, without burning a hole in your pocket.
(Anuj Sharma can be contacted at anuj.s@ians.in)