You've got to feel for the compact point-and-shoot camera. On the one hand, you have entry-level digital SLRs getting cheaper every year, and on the other, smartphones packing in better cameras claw away market share thanks to sheer convenience and better connectivity/sharing options. Is our trusty pocket-friendly companion of all these years finally going to be relegated to the history books? Not if Sony's latest RX100 has anything to say about it. It enters the market dressed to impress. The metal body with an all-black finish looks and feels premium, almost like it were carved right out of a single block of metal, a 'unibody' for those who're familiar with the Macbook Pro reference. This means that the RX100 has next to no options for expansion — no external flash hotshoe, no space for an external viewfinder and no external mic capabilities. Controls on the RX100 are well placed and easy to pick up even if you're moving from another brand. What's neat and really works well is the innovative lens ring that lets you zoom between the modest yet usable 28-100mm focal range in any of the cameras auto modes. Use the same ring say in Program mode instead and you have the ability to manually adjust aperture and shutter speed via the display. Press the function button first and then use this same ring, and there's the additional ability to scroll through effects filters, such as miniature, watercolour, illustration, toy camera and pop art modes. It takes a little getting used to but you'll be thanking yourself for the time you spent on figuring these shortcuts out - they are real time savers when you're using the camera! But the real talking point about the RX100 is what's inside — a sizeable 20.2 megapixel resolution driving off a one-inch CMOS sensor — that's about four times the size of the typical sensor found in most point-and-shoots, and brings it level with Nikon's 1 series of interchangeable lens cameras. Now, since this is a fixed lens camera, it was critical Sony put in a lens that would do this sensor justice, and the Zeiss lens with a bright f/1.8 maximum aperture at its widest 28mm doesn't disappoint. Of course, you only get the f/1.8 aperture at the RX100's widest setting - it drops to f/3.2 already by the time you reach the 50mm range. And while it is a tad soft in the corners, and I'd have much preferred a wider end — 28mm just doesn't cut it for a lot of shooting situations - I think the lens quality is overall commendable. As far as camera features are concerned, Sony usually does a decent job adding in some good software tricks in their compacts, and so you get the familiar Handheld Twilight and Sweep Panorama modes, as well as some neat picture effects such as tilt-shift and high dynamic range. Now, conventional wisdom states that if you combine such a lens and the significantly larger sensor on which the light can be gathered, you should get significant benefits in image quality. Unlike a lot of its peers who bandy about the phrases "DSLR-level images" and "pocket friendly design" without delivering on both counts — the RX100…pulls off just that. It's a rare quality that sets the RX100 apart from other compacts and even the mirrorless variety of interchangeable lens cameras, because let's face it — while they can produce DSLR level images, they're not exactly pocketable once you've got just about any lens attached. Something's gotta give, right? Unfortunately for the RX100, its pricing places it square in the middle of DSLR territory, so it only gets a buy recommendation if portability is paramount, or if you already have a DSLR and need a second piece of kit for the evening out. The price aside, this is best performing compact I've seen in a long while. Rating: 8/10Price: Rs 34,990URL: http://bit.ly/Sc5vEz The Big PictureSmartphones these days pack in all sorts of video out options, but who can argue with the instant accessibility of a built-in pico projector that Samsung has packed in with the Galaxy Beam smartphone? Forget HDMI-out on devices, got a wall close by? Just darken the room and you're ready to share your photos, videos or just about anything that's on the screen. Using the 15-lumen 640 x 360 pixels resolution projector is quite a breeze, courtesy the dedicated projector key on the side that launches the projector no matter what you're doing on the phone. Samsung's added in a Projector app, which lets you tweak a lot of features and do neat stuff like, make the phone display a whiteboard or set an alarm to display images or videos at a predetermined time. Samsung also bundles in an additional battery and portable charger so you can keep going when you hit that low battery warning in the middle of a movie. Despite the extra thickness that the projector demands, the Beam is a sporty looking number, with a liberal dash of yellow and a nice textured back panel. Key specs include a 4-inch screen 480×800 (WVGA) display and a 1 GHz Dual-Core Processor. But in the end, the projection feature is just a gimmick, and the phone feels overpriced for the rest of the hardware, even more given that it runs a very outdated Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform. Rating: 7/10Price: Rs 29,900URL: http://bit.ly/PbBGoP Building Your Blue Prints If you're in the market for a new house, or even if you're just redesigning a room, there's nothing better than seeing what the end result will look like before you call up the architect/contractor. With the Autodesk Homestyler, you can make 2D or 3D visualisations of any space with drag and drop simplicity. Room sizes, wall lengths and windows are a cinch to tweak, and you import different furniture, wall and floor colors and upholstery to see what the final result looks like. Once you're done, you can save it for later (requires signing up for a free account) or export it to a number of social networks. I'd personally have liked some more customisation and furniture options, but it's great place to start if you're toying with a concept. Price: freeURL: http://bit.ly/RIyXa1technocool at kanwar dot nettwitter@2shar
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If television companies can become leading phone manufacturers, then phone makers can move up screen sizes and aspire for a big share of the television market too. Micromax, which took the mobile handset and tablet market by storm over the past few years, on 9 October announced its entry into the competitive TV category. It unveiled a full range of LED, 3D and Smart TVs at a glitzy Bollywood style launch in Delhi, with actress Genelia D'Souza doing the honours. "We wanted to be known as a screen company - not a phone company - and from phones to tablets to television, it's a natural progression," said Rajesh Agarwal, managing director, Micromax. Smartly timing their entry into the segment just before the onset of the festive shopping season, Micromax's officials said they were hoping to grab an 8 per cent market share in the category in two years time. What Micromax is looking to do is create a niche for the TV in a home, where it is not just a device for seeing programmes broadcast, but as a connected device. Says Mukesh Gupta, director, Microamx: “The TV will be a totally networked device.” That could well be the future of TV in the country. Meanwhile, the company has already made a mark in the tablet market. According to Agarwal, Micromax controls 18.4 per cent of the Indian tablet market. The LED TVs range from 24” to 55” (all six models feature HDMI) and are available in the price range of Rs 15,990 and 1,29,990. The TVs support all video resolutions. Micromax has also introduced a new range of home theatre systems with 5.1 surround sound speakers, a 3D Blu Ray Player, which support both 2D and 3D content and an Android dongle-Micromax SMART stick. Micromax SMART Stick — a dongle with Android 4.0.3 (Ice cream Sandwich, priced at Rs 4,990) — will convert a normal TV into an Android TV. It offers of 1.0 GHz offers 3D graphic with OpenGL ES2.0 and OpenVG 1.1. It has a Standard HDMI interface, internal 4 GB Nand Flash, wi-fi direct connection and USB HUB with additional support of RF 2.4 HGz mouse, keyboard and game pad. The company has invested Rs 100 crore and expects revenues of Rs 225 crore from the new LED TV segment in the 2012-2013. Micromax has set up a one-lakh square feet manufacturing facility spread over 5 acres at Rudrapur in Uttrakhand. It has a production capacity of 2,000 LED TV units per day. The company is targeting 8 per cent market share and plans to invest Rs 100 crore in the segment over the next three years. The firm plans to introduce the offerings initially in 9 key states -- Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. It will deploy a two-tier distribution channel to reach out to 170 cities and build a strong consumer connect.
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Think of the smartphone space as being a tight tug-of-war between Apple and Android. On one side, you have just one super-designed phone but with an ecosystem of usage-defining apps and a cult following that may well have a blind spot for anything else. On the other, you have the anti-Apple, led by the aggressive, undaunted Samsung but followed by others who together have more of the global smartphone share than Apple. Both are mini universes with their own appeal but of course they’re also always busy fighting each other. In this push-and-pull, the room for a third and fourth mega-player to break in is very tough to squeeze into. Unless Apple or the Android faction let the rope slacken or Microsoft and its partners or Research in Motion do something so ground-breaking that the other guys let go of the rope at least for a moment. And if they were to get a toe-hold and pull the rope in a third direction, we don’t know whether the crowd would cheer or jeer. In recent weeks, Nokia, Samsung and HTC have all teased with Windows 8 phones like the Lumia 920, ATIV and 8X — and yet, those phones remain unknown quantities because, one presumes, either the features of the OS or the hardware isn’t quite ready yet. Hardware, of course, isn’t nearly enough today, so we also need to see an ecosystem bursting with choices, like Apple’s is and like Android’s is growing to be, so that there’s something interesting to do on those expensive phones. While it won’t be long before the waiting world does finally see Windows 8 devices, they’d better have enough of a pleasant surprise to justify all the teasing. The ecosystem of apps may get there in time, but it’s the disruptive thing — huge features, enabling interface, never-thought-of innovations — that is more elusive. But since everyone was only allowed a superficial peek at Windows 8 phones, no one knows what they’re hiding. All we know is that in the foreseeable future, a few companies depend on it. But Windows has the advantage of being already present on computers and if we’re moving to an era where our devices will constantly talk to each other, Microsoft is doing all it can to ensure that seamless experience happens. It hasn’t sold many Windows phones yet because everyone knows those are not the final product. Come to think of it, it might have been a good thing if there weren’t a Windows Phone 7 and variations of it — then Windows 8 would have been a whole new well-timed take on mobile devices. As for Research in Motion; they’re also hoping to muscle in on the third place — though many point out that it’s where they already are, though for how long, one can’t say. Recently, RIM posted stronger than expected figures (or rather, losses for the third consecutive quarter, but not so bad) for the quarter ending September 1, surprising everyone, though not necessarily instilling confidence about an assured comeback because some of this is attributed to the number of jobs they have cut. It’s from strong sales in India, and the Philippines, Nigeria and other emerging countries. RIM has a bigger problem on its hands. Its BlackBerry 10 devices will only come early next year, provided they’re not delayed as they have been before. Every so often, RIM holds developer events and peels back a few more of the layers to let everyone see what their upcoming products will have — or at least what the interface and OS will be like. What’s been seen so far on the hardware front has been described as nothing particularly interesting — but that’s only the hardware and may not be the final devices we’ll see. On the software front the reactions are that there do seem to be impressive features such as the way all kinds of sharing is immediately accessible with an intuitive swipe of the finger, no matter where you are on the phone. And the overall Flow interface, as it’s called, is also interesting, but many features are known from other operating systems, specially WebOS. It’s also said to be a little complex and requiring a bit of getting used to — but that can be said for the new Windows as well. And Android is a constant learning process. But again, no one knows what the reception for BB10 devices will be like until they come and by which time there may well changes to the overall smartphone landscape. While choices apart from Apple and Android would be rather welcome, other players can’t afford to come in with anything less. Today consumers pay a lot. And expect solid value in return. mala(at)pobox(dot)com, (at)malabhargava on Twitter (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 15-10-2012)
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Lately, Nokia has been extra big on maps and location and directions. In fact, its chief, Stephen Elop, said he wanted Nokia to be the “where” company, sensing things nearby to give inputs to the user all the time. Using a Lumia phone’s accelerometer, GPS and camera, and combining that with maps, could give Windows phones a differentiating edge in a world where Android phones are beginning to look alarmingly alike and the iPhone is the iPhone. With an experimental app called the City Lens, Nokia has added a layer of augmented reality to the mix. Download the app free from betalabs.nokia.com/trials/nokia-city-lens-for-windows-phone, start it up, and go out into town. When you find yourself thinking you want to visit an interesting place or go eat somewhere, aim your phone at the places around you. The camera view will immediately acquire an overlay of tappable names and labels of places. You can tap to see stacks of information and checkout say, restaurants right where you are. You get distance, direction and star rating. You can tilt the phone to get a map view which you can touch-navigate to find more information, including how long it will take to get to a destination, each of which has an associated page with detailed information. The lot is shareable on social media, mail or SMS — just in case your friends are joining you. You can also save your searches for later use. There’s also a list view, if you want to avoid the augmented reality, but it’s more interesting to see AR making it to everyday use. The City Lens should be particularly nice for when you visit new cities and when you want to explore without feeling quite so lost. The News, Beautifully TrappedHow many ways can you do news? Many, it would seem, if you go by the number of news apps,specially for the iPad. Surprisingly, each one adds a new dimension or nuance to the way you can consume content. Trapit, which admittedly has a strange name for a news app, works by getting you to feed in an interest area by keyword or phrase and then trapping content based on that. In many ways, this has been done before. News-reading app Zite lets you build a magazine when you enter keywords representing your interests. Trapit just does it differently and just as beautifully. When you enter a keyword, the trapping begins and you soon have a row of tiles of pictures for the articles. Touch a tile and the screen opens to a full screen of the tiles for a particular trap. You can send to Instapaper, email or share on social networks for later reading —but scanning through what you want to read is the thing here. Trapit also learns your reading preferences. If you thumbs-up an article, the input goes into getting you similar stuff in the future. If you thumbs-down it, you are asked why — did you find it irrelevant, for example. At the time of writing, Trapit is quite happily free. If you get it free or in a sale, it’s worth a look.(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 15-10-2012)
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The P510 from Nikon fits into that category that is nowhere near the casual point-and-shoot camera, far from the advanced look-and-shoot compacts with some settings to fiddle with, and not quite the proper D-SLR. It’s at the highest end of the compact camera bracket, even though it’s still a “Coolpix” where you have various photo-enthusiast devices, often with one strong distinguishing feature. It’s a category that professionals will not outright pooh-pooh and may even tap into for a second more portable device for some situations. The P510’s One Great Thing is its zoom — all 42x of it. If you plan to do some outdoor shooting without carrying heavy artillery, this is a camera to consider. It has a comfortable grip and rounded edges and comes in black and in red — which I personally dislike. Cameras just shouldn’t try to be red unless they’re housed in smartphones. This is a 16 megapixel camera with a focal range of 24-1000mm (equivalent). It isn’t portable in the throw-into-your-bag sense — in fact, it has to be treated with as much care as you would a D-SLR — but at 1.2 lb, it isn’t cumbersome to strap around you. There’s an extruding lens and its LCD screen slips out to tilt up or down but doesn’t swivel. There’s a pop-up flash. Controls are easy to get to and use but the menu, as almost all reviewers agree, needs to be smartened up. HUAWEI ASCEND G300: A stylish and capable budget Android phone that is slightly heavier than its peers; KOBIAN MERCURY MAGIQ: The smartphone tablet hybrid has a lot of features for its priceTo use this camera and its zoom, you have to have a pretty good idea about what you’re doing — it isn’t for the absolute novice though there are presets to use. Still focusing isn’t always easy. There are good noise reduction filters but that doesn’t mean it’s good for indoor or low-light shots. The price of the P510 is Rs 23,950 — pretty good value for money if you do the type of shooting it’s good for. Solid And Fast In India, Huawei recently launched the Ascend G300 (also called U8815), for Rs 13,490 (you may be able to get it for less) and it’s more than worth a look. It’s heavier than most 4-inch-sized phones. So it isn’t for those who want a slim sliver of a phone but for those who like to feel some reassuring weight in a gadget. The G300 has a silver back and white edges and some attempt has been made to make it stand out from the crowd of standard black slabs you see everywhere. In an Android world dominated by Samsung, HTC, Sony and LG phones, it’s a challenge for Huawei to enter the mix. That doesn’t mean it can’t make a good phone. Not just that, recently at the IFA show, it launched five Android devices and introduced an interface, Emotion, for its own take on how users should interact with apps on a phone. The phone works fine. You can’t expect blazing fast and slick, but it delivers value for money. It’s running Gingerbread and has a 1GHz Qualcomm processor. I found that the device charged pretty fast and had rather good battery life and standby on its 1350 mAh battery. The screen is very nice, specially for a budget phone. The interface is nice and stylised. I found browsing lightning fast. Surprisingly so. It comes with its own cloud service as well. If you’re okay with a phone that isn’t feather-light, this one is impressive.Now, A Dual-Sim TabThis is not a tablet you’d want to drop on your foot. Of course, there’s no tablet you’d be keen to drop anywhere, but in this case, while I can vouch for the tablet, I can’t answer for your foot. To put it more politely, Kobian’s Mercury MagiQ is heavy for a “phablet” if I may use a perfectly odious but increasingly common term. It’s a 5-inch device, smaller than the Samsung Notes and about the size of the Dell Streak. At Rs 12,700, the MagiQ sits in the low-cost tablets category. It’s a dual-SIM tablet — two neat slots for two SIMs underneath the plastic easily-openable back flap. It runs on a 1GHz single core processor with 512MB RAM and 4GB of expandable storage. It browses fast, handles videos just fine, doesn’t heat up, and behaves nicely. It has something going for it. There are other ways this little homegrown tablet is making a brave stand. It runs Android 4.0.3, has a nice non-annoying skin, (Geek for user interface) and importantly, a comfortable keyboard (virtual, please) which isn’t cramped. The MagiQ has both a primary and secondary camera, but I wouldn’t recommend either indoors or the front-facing in low light unless you don’t mind starring in a horror film. The rear camera claims to be a 5MP but “support” up to 12MP, but I could only coax blurry images out of it. (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 15-10-2012)
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It may seem strange, but the iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Note have one peculiar thing in common — both were received with mixed responses worldwide, with most folks balking at the difficult-to-slot category-creating hardware. Both ended up doing swimmingly well, as you probably know. Does the Note's spiritual successor, the Android 4.0-based Note 800 10.1-inch tablet, make a note-able impression? Read on… Visually, the Note 800 has a lot in common with a previous 10.1-inch tablet from Samsung, the Tab 750, and the unchanged plasticky exterior makes an expensive tablet feel cheap and flimsy. Much like the Tab 750, it suffers when you compare the exteriors to the Nexus 7 and the iPad. But that's about where the similarities to the 750 end. Not only do the internals get a major boost by way of a 1.4GHz quad core processor, 2GB of RAM and a HD-capable 1280 x 800 pixels display. If you're a specs maven, you'd notice that the display doesn't even come close to the iPad's 2048 x 1536-pixel display. But by virtue of this being a Note, the S Pen stylus and Samsung's suite of stylus-compatible apps take center stage and continues to deliver on a trick the iPad still doesn't have. The stylus uses Wacom's conductive stylus technology and is pressure-sensitive. It's comfortable to hold and easy to master, and has some neat tricks up its sleeve. For instance, if you hold the S Pen just above the display, you'll see a small cursor floating around the screen, just like you're moving a mouse, and a raised button near the tip brings up contextual menus, just like the right-click of a mouse. What really helps is that the screen can actually tell the difference between the S Pen and your palm, so you can rest your hand on the screen while writing, just like you would do so when writing on a pad. Or you could flip the pen around to erase. Bear in mind, it only works with certain apps, but Samsung's done well in making it compatible with big apps like Polaris Office, Photoshop Touch and their own real-time-handwriting-recognition-enabled S Note note-taking app. Keep in mind that while the standard web browser has some built in stylus interactions, you're probably going to install a better browser, such as Opera Mobile or Chrome, so these functions will go unused. Now, having used professional grade drawing tablets a while back, I figured one might as well pit the Note 800 against them, since the creative types are a major audience for this device. I let some friends in the business try out the Note 800, and the feedback was generally that while the Note 800 was nice for list making and quick drawings, it was nowhere near as accurate as Wacom or Intuos tablets that are the staple for graphics designers and illustrators. That's also why they cost a fair bit more than the Note too! The same goes for Photoshop Touch — while it is great for quick edits, it isn't a viable replacement for Photoshop on a PC with a mouse or a drawing tablet. There's another Note feature which I quite liked on the 800 - Multiscreen. With a limited set of apps — Polaris Office, Internet, S Note, Video Player, Gallery and Email — you can actually have two of them running simultaneously, side by side on the screen. Want to take notes while you browse the Internet? Or watch a video while typing an email. Yes, you can! No third-party app support for now, though. In the end, the Note 800 does a few things that the iPad cant, and does them fairly well, but winning the skirmishes doesn't win it the war. For some, the S Pen and touch apps may be reason to buy this tablet, but taken alone, it isn't a compelling tablet to recommend over the iPad or the Nexus 7. Rating: 7/10Price: Rs. 39,990URL: http://bit.ly/QoNohj Hong Kong DangerousBeen to Hong Kong? If you haven't, you're going to get a crash course in the island city's sights and sounds in Sleeping Dogs. You play Wei Shen, an officer from the San Francisco Police Department who is loaned to the Hong Kong Police Department to infiltrate a Triad gang and help take them down. The conflicts that you face leading a double life give your character and the game play some purpose amidst all that mindless killing. It also gives you a choice of game play - brutal acts will earn the respect of your gang members (and unlock valuable Triad points), while doing the same tasks with some degree of finesse and professionalism (such as reducing collateral damage) will unlock powerful Cop points and abilities. There are also Face points to be earned if you help keep the streets clean and help answer anonymous requests for help. What I really liked about the game was the in-your-face hand-to-hand combat and the rich cast of characters deeply embedded within a realistic Hong Kong setting. A great game that takes a while to wrap up, one where you get so engrossed in the game play that you happily overlook the minor graphics deficiencies every now and then. Rating: 8/10Price: Rs 2,799URL: http://bit.ly/OYszWP Time To Stay ConnectedGot an Android phone and want to play Bond? Check out the Sony SmartWatch, which connects to your Android phone over Bluetooth so you can discreetly view Facebook updates, tweets, emails, text messages, incoming calls and more on its 1.3-inch screen, without needing to pull out your phone. All you need to do is download the SmartWatch app from the Play Store onto the phone, connect the phone to the watch and choose the apps you'd like to see on the watch. In daily use, I had mixed feelings about this product. While it's darn near impossible to read Facebook/emails on this screen, the call-handling app is handy, displaying who is calling on the watch face along with mute/reject options (no answer function, though). Or dial out address book contacts on your phone. I can't say the watch looked classy enough to be used for all occasions, and while it does have some flaunt value, it's crippled without the phone. Maybe an independent watch-phone next Sony? Rating: 7/10Price: Rs 6,299URL: http://bit.ly/RQxv0a technocool at kanwar dot nettwitter@2shar
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Apple's latest iPhone — thinner, lighter and with a 4-inch screen — went on sale in India on Friday with a starting price of Rs 45,500.The iPhone 5, which Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook said was the "fastest-selling" phone in history, sports a 4-inch "retina" display and is 20 per cent lighter than the iPhone 4S.The 16 GB model of the new iPhone will sell for Rs 45,500, with the 32 GB version priced at Rs 52,500 and the 64 GB model available for Rs 59,500.The iPhone 5 is being launched in India more than a month after hitting store shelves in the United States. The gadget will be launched in 100 countries by the year's end in the fastest global rollout for an iPhone.Despite the phone's premium pricing compared to other high-end smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X, dealers in New Delhi said they were fielding more queries for this iPhone than for previous versions.Two Apple resellers in New Delhi said all their existing stocks had been sold out in advance bookings."Response is very good. Our first stock is already booked, still we are getting bookings," said Vikas Malhotra, store manager at iWorld.Although Apple's products are not as popular in India compared to western countries, the brand is steadily gaining traction among affluent professionals who don't mind paying a premium for the iconic products.In a change from previous years, the iPhone will be available in retail stores and not just through Apple's carrier partners.(Reuters)
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Dual-Sim DelightI was pleasantly surprised to see that the HTC Desire VC was a dual-sim smartphone. Seeing how popular they are in India, there’s been a need for more options in this category, especially in the upper range. A GSM-CDMA active dual, this phone has an absolutely wonderful feel to it. Its 4-inch screen fits in a body that feels just right when you hold it, narrow enough to curl your fingersCourtesy: Nokiaaround and wide enough to give you some essential screen real estate. If touch phones were friendly with one-thumb operation, the user would be in luck — but they aren’t. The build is weighty enough to feel like you’re getting a device of value and yet doesn’t cross that point where you begin to think it’s heavier than it should be. The back of the phone, which comes off real easy, is a ribbed plastic material which feels soft and smooth, yet non-slippery. Neither side attracts fingerprints and scratches. All in all, it seems to have hit a sweet spot where build is concerned. For a GSM-GSM option from HTC, look at the Desire V.Small In Size, Big On FeaturesAfter an initial grand struggle to open the back cover of the Nokia Asha 311 and pop in the Li-Ion 1110 mAh battery, I settled down to check out this feature-smart phone. It’s based on the S40 platform, meant for feature phones, but Nokia has brought it closer to a touchscreen smartphone and packed in many capabilities. With Asha, size matters. Small, that is. It’s nice to hold in your hand with its 3-inch display — TFT capacitive, 240 x 400 pixels. Nowhere near the bigger touchscreens, but then neither is it as intimidating to those who are scared of touch (and there are many) and who want a ‘budget’ phone. I would stop the comparison between this and higher-end smartphones right here if this one wasn’t so feature-filled. The 311 has a 1GHz processor, 128MB RAM, 140MB internal memory but with an SD card slot, and a 3.5 MP camera. But what’s nice about this phone is that it does all this for just Rs 7,139. Swipe through lots of apps (Java), browse the net fast, play games, and download lots of songs free, thanks to a bonus offered by Nokia. You can access the Nokia store and pick up apps, some of them free. You get Nokia maps, though no GPS. You have full connectivity options. For such a little phone, the text is quite nicely visible and the keys on its keyboard are spaced apart to reduce accidental touches. The nice thing is the battery life is longer than all the Android phones floating around. It’s value for money. LG’s Powerhouse Ah, another Android slab, is what you may find yourself saying when you see the LG Optimus 4X HD. It isn’t a charismatic phone, but has some nice design touches such as metallic high-tech-looking lines along the sides and a leathery back that makes the phone somewhat slip-proof. It’s an understated look and possibly even business-like. But LG has put everything it’s got into this understated yet premium device. It’s a huge phone. The 4.7 inch HD-IPS screen packs 720x1280 pixel with 312 ppi density. It’s just the phone to have been running Jelly Bean but instead it’s on Android’s pre-latest, Ice Cream Sandwich. The 4X HD runs on a quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A9 Tegra 3 processor and chipset. It has 16GB of internal storage (micro SD slot available) and 1 GB of RAM. There’s a 2150mAh battery. I like LG’s screen unlock animation with which you press anywhere on the screen to open in a rolling circle, and have no issues with its customisedCourtesy: Nikon/INCinterface except that it could do with better themes, colours and consistency. I found the keyboard a little small; there’s the danger of tapping the adjacent key to the one intended. The primary camera is an 8 megapixel and the big thing is the video, which is 1080p at 30fps and has additional touches like playback speed control and zoom. Overall, it’s a powerful phone, but would have done much better if it had appeared before the Galaxy SIII and the HTC One X. Specially, priced as it is at Rs 34,990.Field Of VisionNikon just unleashed an army of sports binoculars and other optical gadgets like fieldscopes and laser rangefinders in the Indian market. Nature lovers, and particularly bird watchers, have lots to choose from, with costs varying from Rs 3,750 to Rs 1,49,750 and size varying from the small and pocketable to serious heavyweights you’d want to carry as carefully as you would a camera. The binoculars also obviously differ in the amount of magnification and type of glass on offer. This optics range comes to India for the first time. Nikon has been launching new products regularly in India and is obviously confident it has a growing market in the country, were it not for our gloomy economy. Birding has recently seen a real popularity surge in India and it isn’t just about photography but getting to observe close up the habits of the thousands of bird species you can find without even having to go very far. It’s important, especially for prolonged watching, to have a good set of binoculars as poor ones can be damaging and straining on the eyes. Look at options in the EDG range for bright clear images right up to the periphery of the lens. Look at the Standard Action series for versatile binoculars suitable for tracking athletes heading for the finish line or the flitting movements of a bird. Or check out lightweights for mountaineering and nature watching.(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 10-09-2012)
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