<div>There's nothing remarkable about the looks of the LG G Pro 2 — and yet it looks premium enough. It’s actually a little larger than Samsung’s Note 3, but looks about the same size. On the removable back panel, is plastic done right. It's textured and adds a little to the grip and thankfully doesn’t collect fingerprints as a hobby.<br /><br />But turn the screen on to make this smartphone come alive and you come across a gorgeous screen. Even though many others sport the same specs, it’s bright and vibrant and has superb viewing angles and handles colours really well. You can bet that gaming and watching videos and otherwise consuming content are some of the things this phone lets you do best. There’s a touch of grey-blueness to the screen, but on the whole it’s a pleasure to use.<br /><br />The sound on this device doesn’t quite live up to the screen though. It’s loud enough, but not well-rounded enough — and not stereo. The sound actually gets a little bit muffled when you put it down on a flat surface.<br /><br />You could quite easily pit the G Pro 2 against the Note 3. Many features are similar. There’s a one-handed use mode, for example. Gestures like lifting the phone to your ear to answer a call and flipping it over to silence it are on both phones. The Note 3 is, however, a little ahead in this department and most of all, it has the stylus or S-Pen which makes it useful for various professionals. Multitasking also exists on both phones. On the G Pro 2, you have the usual Q=Slide apps feature with which you can put two apps on the screen. You can also split the screen in two.<br /><br />A feature that LG is especially proud of is the Knock Code which lets you tap a certain pattern to unlock the device. In any case you tap twice to wake up the phone and put it back to sleep, but the Knock Code goes further to offer you a layer of security — as long as no one looks over your shoulder and figures out your pattern of taps.<br /><br />Performance on this phone is smooth, smooth, smooth. I’d say LG’s software must be very well optimised on the hardware because there’s just no lag or stutter to be seen. The phone does get a little heated up on heavy use though. <br />The large battery, which amazingly fits into the thin body of this phone, lasts about 7 to 8 hours of heavy use. Lighter use will see you through the day.<br /><br />The 13MP primary camera has optical image stabilisation and pushes the light up hugely if you’re shooting indoors. Photos are sometimes a surprise when you see nice colours and tones — but images will often be too lit up and also soft on zooming in. That’s, of course, a problem that small sensor cameras haven’t licked yet. <br /><br />Images shot outdoors are detailed enough and there are tonnes of filters for the type of photos people like to share these days. Video recording is also great and includes some nice dual camera and zoom tracking modes. There are some fun live effects to fool around with. The front camera is a wide angle one making it nice to video chat with. There’s also a ‘selfie flash’ which turns the screen bright and leaves a window for you to fit your face into. Tricks like that.<br />But ultimately, at Rs 51,500, the G Pro 2 is a bit expensive. It’s got a lot of competition as everyone around has a phablet including all the players who work with much lower prices. <br /> </div><table width="600" border="2" cellspacing="6" cellpadding="6"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Creative Aurvana Live 2</strong></td></tr><tr><td><img width="200" height="200" align="right" src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=39d0a16d-2fda-45b2-96d4-8ee1395dff74&groupId=222861&t=1404807945017" alt="" />Creative has been in the audio business for a long time. My very first MP3 player was a smart looking little Creative with more features than the iPod, which followed soon after, wiping out all such players.<br /><br />But this time we’re looking at a pair of over-the-ears headphones, the Aurvana Live 2, called that presumably because they promise you audio nirvana. It features a 40mm Neodymium driver with a bio cellulose diaphragm.<br /><br />The headphones, I’ll say straight away, are very comfortable to wear. So many high-end headphones weigh down on your head, clamping it in a vice like grip but not this one. The set is light and the cushioning on the ear-cups is soft and just fine for long listening sessions. They also isolate out a bit of noise. The band is covered in a soft material and doesn’t end up pinching your hair. <br /><br />While the Aurvana headphones are not meant for hardcore audiophiles, they’re good enough for mainstream users, especially in India where people like a lot of bass. So yes, the bass is a little boosted here. The mid tones and treble should have been stronger though it was good enough for me to notice all sorts of instruments I hadn’t realised were there on the tracks I heard. Often, I found vocals sounded a bit in the background. But overall, the experience is pretty good for pop, rock and lighter music.<br /><br />There’s a basic volume control on the flat long detachable cable that comes with the headset. And a microphone to switch to calls. The Aurvana is also quite nice to look at. </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 28-07-2014)</div>
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
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