Micromax Canvas Tab P690

The Canvas Tab P690 low-cost Android tablets are fairly common, but with 5-inch and 5.5-inch smartphones becoming increasingly common, the case for having yet another device in your life has become somewhat less clear. Devices like this are great for reading and browsing the Web on if you have one lying around, but chances are if you have a smartphone, tablet and laptop, the tablet is the most likely to be left behind.

Micromax has a new offering, the Canvas Tab P690, which is trying to find a space in users’ lives. It has an 8-inch screen and offers cellular voice calling for those who might use such a feature. The cost is low enough to be tempting, and the company advertises loads of freebies in the form of physical accessories as well as software. Let’s see what you might have to gain by owning one of these.

The Micro-USB charging and data port is on top, right next to the 3.5mm audio socket. Across from these two, you’ll find a small speaker grille. The power and volume buttons are just around the corner on the upper right. Beneath them, there are the slots for a Micro-SIM and a microSD card. Micromax could have left the microSD card exposed for easy access, but instead chose to protect it with the SIM tray. This is a nice touch, but it does mean you’ll have to eject the SIM if ever you want to swap microSD cards.

The left is entirely blank and there’s only a tiny dot on the bottom for the mic. The rear camera is in one corner, with no flash or secondary mic nearby. Grip is not too bad, though we would have preferred a more natural contour to fit in the hand. The Canvas Tab P690 is easy to use as a tablet, but as with all devices of its kind, it’s obviously not the most comfortable when held up to the ear like a phone

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