Author
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.
You know how it is when a dog-person and a cat-person start arguing? You can bet the one with the louder voice will shut the other up, but that aside, there’s no winning the argument on which is the better species. It’s much the same with the iPhone and the Android brigade. I mostly solve the whole problem by leaving the room, but at present, I have no less than eight giant phones around me and can’t help but look afresh at the stark contrast between two of these — the iPhone 6 Plus and the OnePlus One. But we start with something that’s common between the two: size. They’re both in the 5.5-inch display category. It’s funny, but Steve Jobs wouldn’t have been one bit amused at seeing an iPhone this big, a fact that Samsung is poking fun at in ads that quote Jobs saying no one would buy a big phone. Well, they are, though less than the iPhone 6. But for once, my heart doesn’t skip a beat at the way an Apple device looks. From the front, it looks like Samsung’s phones used to. From the back, it’s still all Apple. On the sides, it’s very rounded, losing the flat glassy look that used to get me every time. The edges are so smooth that it’s phenomenally easy for this expensive device to slip silkily out of your hand and land on the ground where God knows what will happen to it. The phone is a very solid build — a little too solid and unwieldy — but overall, design is not in its favour this time. The OnePlus One is also big, but slim, light, with a curved back made of some interesting soft but tough material. Gripping the phone is very easy and the texture on the back prevents it from slipping out of your hand. It’s a well designed smartphone with good ergonomics. Placing these two smartphones side by side, I think of how they’re at opposite poles with different philosophies. It’s iOS versus Android, of course, but more so in this case because the OnePlus One is a Cyanogen Mod Android phone, more open to customisation than ever. The iPhone 6 Plus may be a phablet but compared with an Android and specially the OnePlus One, you can do little to change the way it looks and behaves. With the OnePlus One you can tinker with just about everything — lock screen, themes, buttons, icons, not to mention many functions and apps that won’t even work on regular Android phones. No two OnePlus One phones will look the same on the inside. By default, this also means simplicity versus complexity. The OnePlus One is full of settings, some of which nestle in unexpected places, replete with capabilities you must figure out how to enable. The OnePlus people have a guide for those whom they’re encouraging to switch from the iOS camp, but that should be a niche group as one of the things Apple users like about their beloved iPhones is the sheer it-just-works simplicity. Apple serves up a predictable, consistent, smooth experience (unless something goes wrong with one of the updates) and that’s something that lets devoted users get on with doing whatever else they want to do. Android users include those who want to max out on their smartphones’ capabilities, use it to the hilt, and make their own experiences irrespective of whether everything is perfect or wanting. They neither mind the complexity nor the involvement the device demands. The OnePlus One doesn’t always work smoothly, but for the most part it does and it gets updates to fix things or add to capabilities. Because things change often, it’s the Apple App Store that really has the better designed and behaved apps. The App Store remains one of the strongest assets of the Apple ecosystem, but the gap is closing. Interestingly, news preceding the OnePlus launch is that the device may not get the biggest updates of them all — the forthcoming versions of Android. Another fascinating philosophical difference between the cat and dog here is the focus on specs. Apple doesn’t even spell out the specs of its phones and tablets. In terms of RAM, camera and screen resolution, most flagship Android phones are ahead, as is the OnePlus One. But intriguingly, the iPhone 6 Plus, as with other iPhones, does great with whatever specs it has and as a user you’re not supposed to bother with them. The camera has consistently produced great pictures and sparked off hundreds of photo apps and “iPhoneography” networks like Instagram. On the hardware front, the iPhone has the fingerprint sensor and barometer and is hearing-aid compatible. Not the OnePlus One. This, on the other hand, has a whole lot of RAM and other high-end specs. Android users want the works; Apple users want it to work. Despite the long queues for an iPhone, all of its variants are staggeringly expensive. Apple doesn’t care and sells with high margins to those willing to pay the amount. OnePlus One is distributed through an invite system. It’s going to have a mid-range price, but nowhere near the iPhone’s. OnePlus’s marketing urges users to stop settling and go instead for the “flagship killer”. I suppose we’ll have to see how that pans out. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 29-12-2014)
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Some people want their smartphones to just get on with the job and not make a nuisance of themselves. Some people want the full Monty, specs and features spilling out everywhere. And still others absolutely must have a phone that looks great. Gorgeous me, gorgeous phone. It’s to this gorgeous-me set that Lenovo is targeting its new Vibe X2, a phone that veers away from the usual boring rectangles that everyone carries around. The Vibe X2 is designed to be colour sandwiches that you won’t want to put away in a case. From the sides, all around, you can see the layers. One of the best of the three combos on offer is black where the screen is, of course, two shades of orange, and a pale gold magnesium alloy back. The buttons are metallic orange and glint at you when you move the phone around. The other two versions include a hot red with orange inside the sandwich and a white, grey and silver model that looks professional and yet beautiful. The layers don’t add much to the weight of the phone which is light and nice to hold and even use one-handed. The backs stay clean as they’re fingerprint resistant. And Lenovo has made sure it’s running with the layers theme through all the branding. From the three-coloured cake invitation to the launch to the carpet at the venue to the décor on the walls to the very lovely matching box for each phone. They’ve gone all out with the campaign for this phone too, using contests on social media and specifically Snapchat. Lenovo hopes to add more to a market share that has now leapt ahead with the completion of the company’s acquisition of Motorola. The Moto phones are meant for their own segments, say Lenovo spokesmen. The Vibe X2 looks very premium and metallic and should appeal to those who like their phones dressed up. You’d expect them to cash in on the carefully designed looks and push the price beyond reason, but in fact, the Vibe X2 costs a “steal” at Rs 19,990, available for now just on Flipkart. Before we leave the layers aside though, there’s another two to peel off. The Vibe X2 has a battery accessory (optional at about Rs 2,000) that clamps securely to the back of the phone, essentially becoming another back and doubling the battery life. You can charge the phone and the second back separately too. Another very interesting accessory, still to be priced and be available, is a back that folds open and becomes a stand in addition to being a JBL speaker —designed, sturdy, and complete with its own metallic dial volume control. Sadly, I wasn’t able to hear how it sounds as the add-on isn’t fully ready yet. Aside from all the design, the Vibe X2 is an Android 4.4.2 device (disappointingly not 4.4.4, though it should upgrade to Lollipop in time) and has an interface that Lenovo has customised with some tricks. The lock screen, for instance, shows a set of circles that represent the apps you use most; more usage means a bigger circle. If you’ve been Facebooking too much, you’ll have a biggish circle for that. Inside, the apps are not in a separate drawer as on regular Android phones but on the home screens as was popularised by Apple. Other soft tricks include a “wide touch” with which you press to call up essential apps, an LG-style knock-to-light to wake the phone up, a V sign held up to take a selfie using its front camera, just by way of a few examples. The Vibe X2 benchmarks startlingly high and performs smoothly enough, at least at this initial stage. HTC M8 EyeIt was HTC that first proved Apple's iPhone wasn't the only beautifully designed phone on the planet, and Samsung's Galaxy flagships weren't the only way to do Android. The HTC M8 with its silky smooth metallic back and chamfered edges exuded class and elegance. Their software didn't fight with Android to plague the phone with lag and slowness. So what was not to like? Well, not everyone was convinced that HTC's "Ultrapixel" experiment was worthwhile. The 4-UltraPixel camera which debuted on the HTC One opted out of the megapixel race and tried to use on larger pixels for low-light photos and quick sharing. The images actually were all lit up even if shot indoors but then they were small and not zoomable enough and didn't contain adequate detail. For those who wanted no compromise on the camera, especially at top end prices, HTC replicated the HTC M8 and Desire with a 13 megapixel camera and an Eye attached to the name. Now, these devices should be better able to compete with their many rivals. Unfortunately, the 13 megapixel camera is still a bit of a disappointment. Low-light pictures really are the opposite of what they were with the Ultrapixel camera; dark and murky, with poor colour balance. There is a whole collection of manual settings, modes, and effects, dual flash and more but the result isn't matching up to the rest of the upper crust. All the same, at Rs38,990 the M8 Eye is still a beautiful phone (too nice to put in a case) that performs well, gives you good battery life and has the most fabulous sound found on any phone. The hardware specs are now getting to be a bit dated compared with other flagships, but it's never all about specs, is it?(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 29-12-2014)
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Six-inch smartphones are no longer a rarity, of course, but even so, one can’t help but re-notice the sheer largeness each time. The Vibe Z2 from Lenovo makes you remark on its size from the moment you hold the device. It’s a hunk of a phone, rather masculine, solid, even heavy. My feminine hands find the smartphone rather chunky, even though I’m accustomed to my own large phone. But then there’s a reason the Vibe Z2 is built like a tank. It is meant to appeal to geeks; those who want a lot of phone and want to do a lot with it. It really contrasts with Lenovo's recently launched Vibe X2, which is more dainty and fashionable, prettily coloured and for those who care very much about a phone's looks The Z2 Pro on the other hand, is all magnesium alloy and well, like the motorcycle of phones. The X2 is really a mid-range Android, but the Z2 is topped up with specs.The X2 isn’t a bad looker though. There's an interesting pattern on the non-removable back, in the metal, and Lenovo's logo glints nicely in the top center. One other little accent breaks the grey sheen on the back -- a red border around the camera lens. I don't know if this does the job of protecting the protruding lens a bit. The sides are somewhat rounded and so smooth that the phone can slip silkily to the floor if you’re not careful.Still, in the weeks it's been with me, I've gotten very fond of the Z2 Pro. It's targeted right at someone like me, letting me do a lot with that roomy Quad-HD screen and I find myself missing a tablet less and less. If it weren't for a handful of specific creativity apps on the iPad, I'd be content with using a phone the size of this one. For one, the screen, an IPS LCD, is comfortable to work with. It has a high pixel density of 490 so everything is good to look at. You can even adjust the colour balance on it to give it a warm yellow tinge and make it easier on the eyes. Both comfort and expanse make it great to watch video on this device. It has a good full sound, really adding to the experience. Calling and Skyping have been satisfyingly clear. Reading, browsing and going through your photos is rather nice too. The colours on this screen are very strong and saturated, but well, I rather like it that way, all vivid and bright. Sunlight legibility is okay.The Vibe Z2 Pro (and yes, I’m fed up of all these confusing Z-something names companies are so fond of) has a top-of-the-line set of specs. There’s the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.5GHz Quad-core processor, working with 3GB of RAM and Adreno 330 graphics processor. There’s 32GB of internal storage with no external card slot. And a big 4,000mAh battery. The camera doesn’t skimp on specs either – it’s a 16MP and a 5MP set.Lenovo has its own interface Vibe UI 2.0 on top of Android 4.4.2 (sadly not the latest version of Android) and one can’t say when and how readily the update to Lollipop will happen, though there were hints that it will, in time. The Lenovo interface has a few bells and whistles such as themes, gestures and tricks on the lock screen, but for the most part anyone who’s tech savvy will want to take up the option of switching to stock Android, which is one of the best things about this phone. Tap seven times on the Android version in Settings and you’ll activate the developer mode from where you can just tap on the option to switch the interface.For those who want it all, the 16MP camera is really quite good, not a low-light specialist, but definitely good with details in images. It has optical image stabilization, autofocus, and dual LED flash and can do 4k video recording.This big phone isn’t without its problems, though. It used to heat up, but after a software update, I haven’t faced any issues with that. Even while video recording, the phone didn’t heat up as much as some users are reporting. They also report some rebooting, which I didn’t find even once on the device. It’s fast enough, even with many apps on it. The Vibe Z2 Pro does hiccup though, at specific points such as when unlocking the screen. I also faced a few app crashes, frequently fixed with a reboot. The screen also goes unresponsive at times and needs to be tapped or swiped in a specific way. Again, not enough to make me want to stop using the device. Benchmark tests put it close to the Galaxy S5.The battery, despite being a whole 4,000mAh, doesn’t last as long as one would have thought and compares with phones that are a 1,000mAh less. There are power saving options but how often will one want to save battery when one has bought a large phone to use as both phone and tablet?The Vibe Z2 Pro is a dual-SIM but both are not active and one doesn’t support 3G. Call quality was pretty good and in fact, better than my primary phone, the Note 4. It supports 4G networks. For Rs.32,990 on Flipkart, it’s a good buy but of course, it competes with a host of others in this price bracket. mala@businesworld.inmala.bhargava@gmail.com@malabhargava
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First off, a dis- closure: I’ve been a Note user from the very beginning of the series and the unit I’m reviewing is my own. Deviating from the usual review pattern, I thought I would give a personal perspective since I’m intimately familiar with this big smartphone. Reading between the lines, you will be able to see whether the device will suit your needs — or not.To begin with, the flabbergasted reactions when people around me figured out I’d bought the Note 4, first day, first show. “What’s wrong with your Note 3?” or “Why are you spending that hefty amount all over again?” and “Why can’t you wait?”And, of course, “Are you crazy?”Nothing serious was wrong with my Note 3, except for the expected slowness that comes with Samsung’s TouchWiz, my collection of over one hundred apps, and plain ol' passage of time. As for why I couldn’t just continue with it or wait, I can only say in my defence that I use the device my entire waking time, with the laptop being increasingly neglected. And so, any improvements in the experience were desirable to me. If I were just taking calls, occasionally surfing or not using 90 per cent of the features, I may have thought twice.And so, buy it I did, not waiting for the price to drop and not denying myself the special case that goes with the Note 4. What won me over the most was the increased functionality of the S-Pen, and the camera. There was so much else, but these were the deal breakers for me.Others though, are very pleased with the new direction in design that Samsung has taken. Now there’s nothing cheap about the way the Note 4 looks and feels. It’s solid, well-built and has a glinting metal trim around the edges that gives it the high-end look it deserves. As for myself, I admire the design to start with and then put the phone in a case and forget all about its appearance as I’m far too busy using it.That’s the thing about the Note series, and specially the Note 4. It’s a real user’s phone. If you’re intimidated by features and can’t understand why phones should be complicated, give this one a miss. Even though I live with the Note, I am finding the new one less intuitive and filled with endless features to explore, an activity I may well take my time over. If you’ve been a Note 3 user, it’s not like you will find everything where you left it on the previous device. Many tweaks and changes have been made and it takes involvement to get to the things you want. To head instead to the things I like most, the S-Pen really does feel much better than that on the Note 3. It can hardly feel like writing with a real pen on paper, but it’s getting close and the control is hugely enhanced because of increased sensitivity to more pressure levels. So, I got my nice handwriting back. Rather than feeling like slip-sliding all over the glass screen, I actually feel like I’m in command of the thin stylus. Back in my childhood, my father would pass on some of his incredible calligraphy skills to us, and I was delighted to be able to try a bit of amateur calligraphy once again using the two pen styles meant for this. Yes, you get that nice thick-and-thin strokes making the writing look quite arty. There are other pens and pencils and even a highlighter mode.The S-Pen is a bit of a marvel because of the amount of functionality Samsung has put into what could have been just a writing implement. You can now use it as a sort of mouse, selecting text and other items much more easily. You can write on a screen and instantly share; it is very useful with photos and with things you need to explain to people. You can use it to navigate, scroll and clip content. Apps like Samsung’s Note taker, memo app and scrapbooking and sketching applications use the S-Pen to the hilt.The other thing that excited me, being an avid phone photographer, was the camera. Whatever has been done to it, the primary camera now takes detailed and sharp photos, not doing too badly in the low light department either. Shots taken outdoors can be stunning. And they look gorgeous on a screen that’s itself stunning, though it isn’t the only one with that resolution.The Note 4’s camera is, like everything else on the phone, feature filled. You now have optical image stabilisation for better pictures and video. You have manual controls and a realistic HDR mode. The colours are strong, typical of Samsung. Video is smooth and includes several modes such as slow motion (as before) which is currently being fussed over on the iPhone 6. But only a true comparison of the feature will show which one does the job better as some choppiness on slow videos has been reported on the Note 4.Since the selfie can hardly be forgotten, there’s a trick to taking a 16MP self portrait with the main camera by trying to position yourself on the frame meant for this and smiling by the time the auto timer goes off. The rear camera isn’t bad either and allows for wide selfies and has all sorts of air brushing etc., to make people look better. You can take a picture by putting your finger on the heart rate sensor on the back and then lifting your finger away, triggering the shutter.As I’d said, I use the Note to the hilt and that’s because larger screens like the one on this device have meant one can do much more. It’s very much a computer, in a sense. The processing chops on the Note 4 are currently the most powerful on a phone and so, of course, it works fast. But Samsung’s own interface, TouchWiz, the differentiating look and features the software offers, has always been a bit clunky and lag and slowness tend to show over time. Even though it’s a lot better than before, I’m encountering the odd problem. Implementation of the Flipboard-based magazine app, Briefing, for instance, is stutter filled and far from smooth. Other software features are quite clever and innovate. For instance, you can pull from the corner of the screen to reduce the size of supported apps, making them usable with one hand and also turning them into multi tasking windows. There are a number of these tricks.In terms of hardware, however, it’s tough to argue with the Note 4 as it handles heavy tasks easily. I didn’t notice any significant heating up and I do use it for long hours. The battery, a 3220mAh, isn’t a significant step-up from before but I find the consumption considerably improved over the Note 3, which I was draining out at a rapid clip from day one. The ultra power saving mode included on the Note 4 is truly useful, not only to get the most from the last bit of battery juice but to enable the mode for some hours when you expect not to be using the device much. A fast charging feature tops it back up to full in an hour and a half.The Note 4 is a powerful device meant for the power user and I’d say it’s more of a Samsung ‘flagship’ than the S5 or any of its other devices. Because of this label, it competes with the iPhone 6 Plus, the Sony Z3, HTC M8 and the LG G3, but in terms of uniqueness, it has enough to stand out from the rest. Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2It's unusual to see any tablet looking different from the others. You can play with the size of the edges, button positions, back panels and, of course, the material used, but in the end it's tough to tell them apart. The iPad, sales for which have been less than stellar recently, does stand out from the crowd that essentially followed it. We've seen Lenovo's Yoga trick on hybrid laptops before and also on tablets, but now they're building on that design — and the results are pretty neat.The big thing about the Yoga tablet is a clever metal kickstand. It's based on a cylindrical mechanism at the base of the tablet and lets you use the tablet in many positions including standing up, lying down at various angles and even hung up on a wall because it now has a nice big aperture on the stand for this purpose. The stand makes it more difficult to hold and carry, in my opinion, but then other flexibility options make up for that. I've been checking out the 8-inch variant, but there is also a 10-inch and 13-inch, all using the same form factor with the stand taking on a different functionality depending on the size. Covers with keyboards are also available, making the Yoga tablets a flexible option for business users. There's a Pro version to be available which even has a projector built into the stand's cylinder, a great idea both for some entertainment and as an instantly available presentation tool. Variants with Windows are also there. Specs on the.Yoga tablet have been bumped up compared with the first version giving users a very nice high res screen and long lasting battery. The 8-inch version costs Rs 20,990. break-page-breakHarmon Kardon EsquireThis time around we’re looking at a portable speaker that would fit on your office table as much as it would in your bedroom, on the go, or anywhere for that matter. The Harmon Kardon Esquire looks like high-end gadgetry — and going by the price, Rs 19,990, I suppose it is. Does everything about this speaker match up to the price? Well, yes, I would say so, but I don’t think it would have hurt to bring the price down to around Rs 15,000.The Esquire, which has been around for a few months, does look premium, and that’s from the very first glance as you lift it out of its box. The back is leather finished but strangely, that part gets hidden when you put the speaker down for use. The top has the speaker grill, and all around, there’s a nice high-tech metallic trim. It’s got substantial weight to it, which I find rather reassuring. It’s surprisingly loud for a device that size. There’s no distortion at high volumes and my bass-loving fellow countrymen will be pleased at the base — not so much as to be pounding, but just enough to give the sound some fullness and heft. The base isn’t at the cost of higher frequency sounds either, so you get a nice mix. Predominantly though, it’s loud. The speaker, which is an “executive portable wireless” going by the label, is optimised for voice. The Esquire is a Bluetooth and pairs with your phone or tablet instantly. Also via NFC. But other than music, it has also got another trick up its sleeve. It has two microphones and can be used for a nice conference call. A small room and a small group can use the device for this purpose easily. You can also use it to take calls if you’re playing your music through a phone and a caller interrupts. It’s nice and clear. Compared with the Bose SoundLink, which is considerably cheaper, the Esquire is worthwhile for anyone who plans to do a lot of conference calling, justifying the price difference. Buttons on the Esquire are simple enough. Bluetooth, volume, power on, pause, mute, go to phone. You can spread your palm over it when it’s lying down — that’s about the size of it. It’s got a great multi-USB charger and plugs, perfect for travel. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 01-12-2014)
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There's an immed-iate“Oh!” from anyone to whom I hand over the Sony Z3 Compact for a look. It’s very premium looking, with its all-glass front and back look, but it isn’t just that: the handset is a very nice size that allows for a good grip. It’s large enough for its display to look large, and small enough to use one-handed, which is a happy medium for those who still can’t get used to the idea of the really large phones that make up the top-tier category these days. I can see people thinking, ‘Yep, I could use that’, as they check it out. Sony has stuck to a design they call Omnibalance for its recent Xperia phones. Everyone else just calls it a rectangle, which it particularly is because of very straight lines and sharp cut edges. But with the Z3 and Z3 Compact, Sony has put in some effort into making the phone much more comfortable to hold and use. The edges have been rounded off, using a high quality synthetic material, making it feel ever so much better without taking away from the signature look. The Z3 Compact has all the rest — round power button, a dedicated camera button, and flaps covering the ports and SIM tray, etc. The flaps spell water resistant and dust proof. It’s also scratch proof. The Z3 Compact doesn’t look like it should be dropped, but luckily it’s tougher than it looks. I’d recommend a case, to be on the safe side. The phablet-sized Z3 and Z3 Compact were launched at the same time. You’d think the Compact would be the scaled down budget version, the wannabe that the rest of us have to settle for because we can’t afford the flagship offering. That’s not so. There’s very little price difference between the two. The Z3 is at an MRP of Rs 47,799 and the Compact is Rs 44,990. This is because the Compact is almost identical to the Z3 except for a few specs such as the amount of RAM and the screen resolution. What seems to be cutting back on software, however, actually helps the phone. The display looks every bit as nice, with its natural vibrant colours and its brightness, and it takes up less power. The Z3 Compact actually ends up doing better on some benchmark tests and is considered the better value of the two phones. The Z3 Compact is super snappy fast and smooth. Sony’s interface doesn’t interfere very much with Android and you’re unlikely to see lag and slowness on this phone as you use it over the months. It would help if Sony didn’t put a lot of apps on it that you can’t remove, but I don’t know when companies will get that users would rather choose their own and use their onboard storage as they please. Two exceptional aspects on this smartphone are its battery life, and the camera. The battery really lasts. Whatever they’ve done to prolong usage is working and you can easily go through with it for two days on average use. Its standby life is also great. Connected to Wi-Fi but not in active use, it would barely lose a couple of percentage points of battery juice even after days. There are different levels of power management to make this happen, but it’s clear Sony’s got it right on this count. The camera, which quickly comes up with its own two-stage button on the side, is fast and one of the best. There’s an occasional burning out of colours though. The software is packed with features and should have been a bit more intuitive to use, but despite that its great at both images and video, which is 4k. Another plus for gamers is that it connects to the PS4 and can be used as its screen. The Z3 Compact is a well-rounded smartphone and good value for money. Check out all its nice colour options. Bose Soundlink On-Ear HeadphonesYou know how a great pair of headphones can sit on your head like a rock, making your ears sweat inside giant tight earcups? Well, the Bose SoundLink On-ear headphones do nothing of the sort. Instead, I find them just the right weight — not so light as to feel tiring but weighty enough to be well-built. The heabband is softened on the inner side so you don't feel it digging into your skull and the articulating ear cups are cotton-soft. I don't like wearing headphones for very long, but with these I didn't mind as they are really comfortable. At the same time, they're minimalistic with not much effort having been put into making them look like a fashion statement. Clearly, the focus is on shutting the world out for some quality time with music you love. The headset is light and easy to carry because the cups fold inward, making the footprint smaller. Smaller heads should test them out for fit though. On mine, they slip off if I look down.The SoundLink headphones are Bluetooth wireless and pair instantly with devices, even switching easily if you decide to use another paired playback source. On the headphones you can control play/pause, track selection, power, and call answering from the buttons on the earcup. There's a great pouch to protect the set when you're not using it.Getting down to the meat and potatoes, the sound on these headphones is full, clear, and loud. It's entirely balanced as well. Thankfully, you should not be able to damage your God given auditory apparatus with this amount of base. It's music, full-on, though. You can also take calls and there's optimisation of ambient noise for that.It has a good long playing battery and for a quick burst, charges enough in fifteen minutes. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 17-11-2014)
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Looking as if it just stepped out of the boardroom, the BlackBerry Passport may be all businessy, but it’s also a startlingly unusual device. It’s what you would get if you took an old style BlackBerry and turned it into a phablet, giving it a big fat screen and keeping the clicky keys — all in an almost-square passport-sized form factor, merging both worlds into a device that’s really one of a kind.The keyboard, for those who will never get over their love for physical keys, is very interesting. It’s made up of those familiar BB buttons that you have to press down on quite firmly and at the same time, it’s touch-sensitive because of a capacitive layer. That means you can swipe and scroll by lightly touching the keyboard; but can also use the keys to input text. The keyboard has the full alphabet, but numbers and symbols appear on a context sensitive touch row on top. The odd thing is you have to keep switching from screen-touch to physical key-press. Die hard BB users will be happy to see the physical keyboard but will have some relearning to do as this isn’t quite the typical BB keyboard any more, including inter-key spacing and shortcuts. Incidentally, there are about 200 useful shortcuts built into the system.When typing on the Passport, which you have to do two-handed as the device is exceptionally wide, the device feels a little top heavy as it’s quite chunky and solid. The ergonomics of this phone are quite tricky and will take getting used to. It may be a bit too wide and large for women and will tire out smaller hands like my own. It also has a masculine look about it. I did test it out with the pockets of many men around and they didn’t have a problem with its fit. I also took the Passport around to show it to people. Reactions were clearly divided between enthusiastic, admiring BlackBerry users, and users of other phones who couldn’t quite get their heads around it.To get to the upper part of this phone, the screen is really very nice: comfortable, easy to read on, specially through its reading mode. The width helps see more of a webpage. It’ll also bring more of a spreadsheet into view, which should be nice for the professional at whom the Passport is targeted. The camera on the Passport is one of the best on smartphones, especially in low-light conditions. The front camera does well for all the video chats you might want to do in the course of your work.The modernised version of BB’s operating system is all about swipes to get to different functions. There’s the BlackBerry Hub, the home of all communication, where email, messages, and social networking all collect. That’s a convenience that remains the same and one of the primary reasons BB users like BlackBerry devices so much. Swiping right to left gets you apps, including two app stores —BlackBerry’s and Amazon’s, where you can get many Android apps. Another feature meant specifically for professionals is BlackBerry Blend, which lets you connect to other devices and use their screens without compromising any data on the Passport. The specs on this smartphone are all top notch. Couple that with solid hardware and many unique features, and BlackBerry feels entirely justified in setting an MRP of Rs 49,990, with about Rs 10,000 worth of freebies on Amazon and Jet privileges. Bose Sound Link ColourSmall size, big sound. Bose has long perfected that formula. And they do it again with an addition to the SoundLink portable Bluetooth series of speakers. This time, it's in colour, and much more affordable at Rs 11,138. The SoundLink's footprint actually fits across your palm. Standing up, it's well... shorter than the TataSky remote and an average tall glass on my table. The size is perfect for traveling about with, and is especially nice for personal listening — not when you want to make a room's walls vibrate with sound, but when you want just enough to tone down the outside world a bit and lose yourself in music without annoying your neighbours. Setting up the SoundLink is a matter of minutes. A voice guides you as soon as you switch on the speaker. In the box, you'll find various varieties of plugs. Why so many, and no 3.5mm cable, I don't know. Connect it to power to top up the battery, and pair with your device. My fussy iPad Bluetooth connected in a second and before you knew it, I had music flowing. All the controls for these speakers are in a row on top. It couldn't be simpler — power on/off Bluetooth connect, Aux, Play/Pause and Volume up/down. No treble or bass or any other adjustments. All that will have to be from the playback device. Sound is wide spectrum, clean, balanced and full. This isn't for our fellow countrymen who stop next to you at traffic lights with cars practically bouncing off the road with thumping sound. This little speaker gives you quieter but higher quality sound. It charges via micro-USB and battery lasts you upto eight hours. Bose has obviously launched this one in a variety of colours, mint and red being particularly pretty, to make for a good Diwali gift. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 03-11-2014)
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Micromax Canvas NitroRs 12,900just look at the sheer number of new phones in the budget class suddenly. Would Micromax sit by and watch someone eat its lunch? Unlikely. So it came up with a competitor to the Moto G and whatever else costs Rs 12,900 or so. The Canvas Nitro has a faux leather look as is found on the Note 3, and has a solid if slightly heavy feel to it. Definitely nicer than the older Micromax phones. The back opens up to show two SIM slots, micro-SD slot and a 2500mAh battery that lasts through the day. Specs include a 720x1280 LCD screen which is good enough, a 1.7GHz Mediatek MT6592 processor with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. It performs well and isn't rough and glitchy. But it's the software that's annoying. First, there's a bunch of apps like Truecaller that you're forced to keep. You can't offload them. Then there's a rip-off of HTC's Blinkfeed (which Samsung also helped itself to) and that's less than stellar. It's a magazine app in which you can get content from multiple sources including social networks. But open up an article and there's a noticeable unpleasant blueness over the bottom half. I'm not sure where that comes from. Otherwise, there's no heavy interface on top of the Android 4.4.2 that it's running on. The cameras are 13MP and 5MP, but both photos and video on this device is not much fun at all.Overall, the Canvas Nitro is a middling smartphone that has quite a bit of competition.Xiaomi Redmi 1S Rs 6,999With the redmi 1s in your hand, you'll invariably feel you have something of unquestionable value for money. It's solid and well built. There's a happy mismatch between the way it looks and feels, and the fantastic price of Rs 5,999. Now if only it was possible to buy it the good old way. But Xiaomi seems to be continuing with its flash sales on Flipkart. 40,000 units were sold out in 4.2 seconds, according to Xiaomi's charismatic Hugo Barra. It has a 4.7-inch IPS HD screen with 1280x720 pixels, and 312ppi density. It's not Gorilla Glass but Dragontrail Scratch-resistant Glass. There's a 1.6GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with just about 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory. The camera is a not-bad 8MP with LED flash and 1080p FullHD video recording and 1.6MP front camera with 720p HD video recording. The back panel can be opened and hides a 2000mAh battery, two SIM slots, and a micro SD card slot. It runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and Xiaomi's MIUI interface which is easy and a bit Apple-like. The Redmi 1S's benchmark performance is not bad but don't expect top-end gaming. You may encounter the occasional crash. It has good external sound, an adequate screen but it is very reflective. Sony Xperia T3 Rs 27,990the one thing that the Sony Xperia T3 has going for it is that it’s really really slim. It wears the totally familiar look of Sony’s design for phones — everything straight. It’s a large phone at 5.3 inches but it’s so light that it doesn’t feel it. It’ll stick out of a pocket but won’t cause too much pocket-sag. The T3 is like many other phones from Sony, but it’s a mid-range offering, if you call Rs 27,990 mid-range today. Be that as it may, the Xperia T3 might have fared better if it had any big differentiators, other than sheer thinness. The phone has a steely metal strip all around, which doesn’t look bad at all, and a soft back that will stay pretty neat and clean, provided you don’t oil it up too much. This model isn’t waterproof, so please don’t take her into the shower.The display is a 720p, but a nice one. It’s bright, has no big problem with angles, and doesn’t do at all badly with colours. The device runs on a 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400 quad-core and though it’s okay for the most part, it did freeze on me a few times. Don’t expect heavy gaming abilities. It’s got 1GB of RAM, an expansion slot for an SD card, and an average 8MP camera. The front camera is a 1.1MP so no selfie craziness. The battery is 2,500mAh and does fine, especially with the power saving mode on.Check for freebies along with the T3 if you’re buying as Sony is offering the Smartband and a case worth a lot.Moto G Rs 12,999A short while ago, I found myself recommending the Moto G pretty often to those who asked for budget phone suggestions. The value for money formula was compelling and the phone worked well. However, Motorola can't afford to rest on its laurels as new players barge in with rather good phones, so it's launched new versions of the Moto G and Moto X — the Moto X, coming soon, and the Moto G available now on Flipkart for Rs 12,999. Both these will be able to work with the Moto 360 smartwatch, also coming soon.The new Moto G is now a bigger phone. The screen is 5 inches and the 0.5 change from earlier makes a difference. It's narrow, though, so not awkward to hold. The Moto G's design and general look and feel and its build stay much the same. Sturdy and comfortable. The customisable back cover option isn't offered in India but the default back is the soft type, helping the grip. The back is removable for access to SIM and micro-SD slots, but the 2070mAh battery can't be removed. Pity, as that's one of the weak points on this phone.The 720p screen is really comfortable enough, bright, good colours and angles. One welcome difference is that there are two front speakers, so you get louder, clearer sound. The Moto G runs on a 1.2-GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with 1GB of RAM. It has the very latest Android, and will always update early. The Moto G also comes with software improvements. It has a front camera and its 8MP shooter is rather nice. It's also a dual SIM. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 20-10-2014)
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A Note Near YouAdd places to notes, and you suddenly have something useful on your hands. Free Android app NearNotes is a sort-of geo fencing of notes and checklists. Let's say you are stopping at the super market on your way home. Enter the location and a list of things you typically need to pick up. Now when you actually go to that supermarket, the app will surface the list for the supermarket. Obviously, you need to have your location services enabled -- you can use network location or GPS as well. All your notes are saved with their attached locations and the nice thing about this is that when you make a new note the options auto fill and you can then choose what to retain. You can make checklists or regular notes. It's a neat and well-designed app too. Just Wynk For MusicThere's a surfeit of music apps. There are radio apps, including the FM app, that stream music anytime. All the same, Airtel has come up with a new music streaming app that joins Gaana and Saavn to offer an alternative. It's available free on iOS and Android. Wynk has a library of over 1.5 million Indian and western songs, and is ad free. You can browse for music or tap into curated playlists. There are three flavours of Wynk. The free Wynk lets you stream music online. A Wynk Plus, gives access to downloads for offline use for Rs 99 on Android and Rs 60 on iOS. Airtel customers get a discount. A third option is a subscription for Rs 129 available to Airtel 3G users on Android giving access to unlimited streaming and downloads with no additional charges. Take A Qwicknotekeeping pace with more current interface trends, Qwicknote for Android is gesture enabled. Slide-outs on both sides of the screen hold the buttons to add new notes, folders, change settings, share, etc. When you start a fresh note, it doesn't take up the whole screen, but expands as you type. You can change text size and paper colour and opt for a checklist format or a regular note. Qwicknote syncs with Dropbox. You swipe away notes you don't want and swipe them back in if you've made a mistake. It's a slickly designed app. But there are a few annoyances. Big ones. Selecting, cutting and pasting text isn't particularly working. And while you can bring in photos, no handwriting is supported. The Android app is free but to get rid of a few minor ads, it's Rs 153. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 20-10-2014)
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Mark the day. The 9th of September, 2014. It’s the day that the line, made famous by Steve Jobs, was brought out of cold storage and proudly called out by Tim Cook, CEO, Apple, at a special event at the Flint Center for Performing Arts, Cupertino, California, where he took the stage with the confidence that he wasn’t going to disappoint Apple fans. As leaked out earlier, Apple did launch two iPhone 6s, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. Probably wisely, Apple has stayed with the design that has been so wildly successful for the company, seeing it through sustained profitability for the past few years when everyone was clamouring for a new product or product category from Apple. Time after time, people would refer to the iconic Apple leader, Steve Jobs and insist that the post-Jobs company really couldn’t be the same, after all. And today when Tim Cook said “And one more thing…” to tumultuous applause, it was quite as if he had just taken over the mantle from Steve Jobs.The iPhones are bound to be expensive, when they arrive, but at least they’ve moved with the times to cater to users’ demands for larger phones. Remarkably, they’re thinner still and will have new features with the launch of the new iOS 8 operating system. Tim Cook, CEO, AppleOf course, the specs are all up, specially the resolution of the screen. 1334 x 720 for the iPhone 6 with 326ppi density, and 1920 x 1080 with 401ppi density for the iPhone 6 Plus. There are already phones with that level of resolution, but one can be confident that the iPhone screens will look superbly finessed and will please fans no end. The camera is still an 8 megapixel but has enhanced optics of all sorts including Optical Image Stabilization on one of the models. Tim Cook and Phil Schiller repeated their favourite line about these being the best iPhones they’ve made yet – which is obvious since they cannot possibly make worse ones anyway.In the course of the two-hour long event, Apple didn’t exactly start any new categories, but it certainly gave a shot in the arm to two technologies. The first of these is mobile payments. The iPhone’s fingerprint scanner, as always intended, will do away with the ritual of pulling out your credit card, risking sales staff seeing your security number, and will need just a tap of the finger to make a payment. Apple has partnered with many businesses to kickstart this. Of course, when it happens in India, remains to be seen, but once it’s got going, mobile payment will gather momentum everywhere. America basically does what Apple tells to; the rest of the world does what America does, and with that, the technology will take off. Apple WatchAwaited for years, a smartwatch finally became part of Apple’s portfolio. Predictably, the company will position it as if it were their invention – and fans will lap it up. But undoubtedly, the Apple Watch (not the iWatch as everyone thought) will help open up the market, by dint of the very fact that Apple is validating the presence and potential of the wearables industry.The Apple Watch may or may not be the best looking device in the world, but it’s got the Jony Ive stamp and has a few innovative design elements, one of which is the “crown” or a dial which is reminiscent of the classic iPod’’s “clickwheel”. This dial helps interact with the watch without having to obscure the surface with podgy fingers. Siri also lives in there somewhere, so the user can voice-interact as well.The Apple Watch got a standing ovation from the attendees at the Apple event. A lot of time was spent describing the features and a visibly pleased Tim Cook thanked the Apple team specifically for their work on the watch. The Apple Watch will also be able to make payments, but apart from that, has many of the capabilities that some smartwatches already do. Notifications, social networking, calendars and reminders, maps and navigation, music and music control, are all in its repertoire. Most important is that it is a fitness and health device that will measure and track various parameters and even feature a shareable heartbeat.Whether Apple will be at the very center of the wearales industry with its watch, only to be available next year is not easy to predict at this point, but the Apple Watch certainly is a good One More Thing for now.Mala@businesworld.inmala.bhargava@gmail.com
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Charlie Tritschler, Senior Vice President Product Management at Motorola, is delighted with his company’s success in India. Barely a year after Motorola launched its Moto series smartphones in India, sales have notched up to 1.6 million devices. So when it was time for upgrades all around, Motorola had no hesitation launching the new versions of the Moto G and Moto X in the country, with the Moto 360 smartwatch accompanying the phones.The Moto G, Motorola claims, is the best selling phone the company has ever had and they peg it down to the price-performance equation. The most significant upgrade to the Moto G is the display, a 5.0-inch 720p IPS HD display. It certainly looks good and the larger phone is still very nice to hold. The white version has a clean matt finish back and this time around, supports an SD card slot. Other specs are also bumped up. There’s now an 8MP main camera and a 2MP front camera. Sound is much better because of two stereo speakers on the front. There’s 16GB of internal storage and a 2070mAh battery – that part is not an upgrade. The processor is also still the Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz. Charlie TritschlerThe Moto G runs on pure Android and gets upgrades “faster than Google,” sometimes.The Moto G is of course, the middle of the series so far, the Moto E being the absolute entry level (and not included in the new upgrades so far) with the Moto X at the top end of the food chain. The good news for Indian consumers is the price which is Rs 12,999. Charlie Tritschler spoke of how Motorola knew well that consumers in India expected a certain pricing and said that Motorola was not about to disappoint in a market which has become increasingly important to the company. As for threats from Chinese companies like Xiaomi which recently entered the Indian market with dramatic flair, he said that Motorola was going to continue to execute its strategy regardless and that it was confident of delivering value and not running out of stock. The Moto G is available already on Flipkart, and includes promotional offers such as 100 per cent cash back for 100 customers through a lucky draw.The Moto X is not yet available and nor is there a price announced, although it will be on sale later this month on Flipkart. Did Motorola not want to move beyond Flipkart and get to target segments who were not online, specially in smaller towns and cities? Charlie Tritschler said that Flipkart was growing rapidly and that using other distribution channels would only prove costly. In time, customers would manage to buy online.The Moto X, an interesting phone to begin with, doesn’t skimp on new specs. The display is now up from 4.7 to 5.2 inches of 1080p resolution with 423 ppi density and looks bright and vivid with vibrant colour representation. It runs on a Snapdragon 801 quad core processor clocked at 2.5GHz and has 2GB of RAM. While there are smartphones with higher specs than these, the clean and unfettered use of Android on the device makes it perform smoothly – visibly so. Android 4.4.4 will upgrade readily to future versions.Charlie Tritschler says that Motorola studied in detail what customers wanted further in the Moto X and just went on to put in those features. The camera is now a 13MP with a fast shutter speed, tap to shoot, and features like best shot which is suggested when the camera takes additional information from before and after the shutter release. An easy selection in the gallery lets users make collages with photos and videos and set them to music. On top of all that, the camera can shoot 4k video.The Moto X is slim and svelte and easy to hold. It looks premium with its metallic skirting. There’s a bamboo backed version for those who want real wood on their phone.But Motorola has done more than just bump up the specs and fine tune the design. The Moto X original was the first to include the responsiveness to an OK Google, waking up from total sleep, ready to take a command even when elsewhere in the room. Now, in the new Moto X this has been taken to the next level. There are four microphones to catch the sound better and you can interact with the device much more via voice. With Google enhancing work with Indian accents, this is now easier, including commands to call contacts with Indian names. There are other commands such as “take a selfie” which will wake up the phone and go to the front camera to do just that.The Moto X is also taking in some features that are contextual, perhaps a cue from Google Glass and smarwatches. The phone will sense or figure out what you’re doing such as driving, about to sleep etc and do things like read out text or shut off sounds. Other than Moto Voice and Moto Assist, as these features are called, you also have Moto Display and Moto Actions, which presents all sorts of information and tasks on the lock screen such as when you move your hand over the screen, so that you can save battery. These tasks are actionable. Notifications show up in this way too and you can actually see them without a full wake-up of the phone.The Moto X also has a fast charger, and that should be welcome considering the battery is only a 2300mAh. Mala@businessworld.inmala.bhargava@gmail.com
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