How does one look with an evaluative eye and a level head at a product that started a revolution? Apple’s iPad certainly changed aspects of my life in countless ways as I’m sure it did others’. Reading, news, and art are only some of the wonderful things that took up large welcome spaces in my everyday routine, purely thanks to the iPad. So today, when I look at the fifth avatar of this amazing creation from Apple, I feel almost guilty even at the fleeting thought that the iPad Air isn’t quite the dramatic difference we saw between a MacBook or any other notebook, and the MacBook Air, that sliver-thin work of art that seems impossibly light even years after it’s been around and been compared with ultrabooks that sprouted up in imitation. The iPad Air isn’t a breathtaking difference from its earlier versions. But I’d have to agree with the majority of reviewers when they say it’s the best tablet around. That, it is. I’ve been through all generations of the bigger non-Mini iPad, skipping the 4th gen. I use my iPad 3 to the hilt. I can certainly say that between the iPad and the Samsung Note 2 and 3, I’ve tortured my left hand more than it deserves with one device being too heavy and one being too wide to be held for long hours. So holding the Air feels so much better that I envy those who get their first iPads now. As ever, it’s that seemingly flawless design that only Apple knows how to come up with. The tablet is now narrower and thinner, and the bezels on the sides are down to half their width, giving more screen space to the user. The screen is very nice and somehow lets iOS 7, Apple’s newest operating system for mobile devices, sit comfortably and look as if it fits just right. I wasn’t overjoyed with the change in style from iOS6 to iOS7, but It’s beginning to grow on me on the iPad Air. The design has been tweaked in keeping with the popular iPad Mini of which the new Air looks a larger version. The iPad Air, like its predecessors, is premium and feels it. When you lean back with this device, you never doubt for a moment that you’re holding something of solid value. No hint of plastic here. The iPad Air can’t really be thought of separately from its software and the fact of the massive ecosystem of apps that have practically sparked off the app industry. If you’re wondering Android or Apple, that’s one of the things you should consider. Android tablets get along better with other devices, but on the other hand, there are hundreds of devices and accessories created just for the iPad or iPhone. Android tablets still don’t have a big selection of tablet-specific apps, but yes, they are so customisable. And then there’s Windows, slowly growing in popularity. Also, they seem more work-friendly as many Windows applications aren’t on iOS. With the iPad Air, Pages, Numbers and Keynote, equivalents of Microsoft Office, are now free. As expected, the new iPad works very fast and is great for gaming, movies and heavy visual rendering. Interestingly, the older generation iPads still work well for most people. So, if you’re getting a great deal on an iPad 3 or 4, you’re not disadvantaged though if you have repetitive stress injury, a lighter device is so much better. You may also want to consider the iPad Mini. If budget is not a constraint and you are going in for your first iPad, the iPad Air is the device to go for. mala.bhargava@gmail.com (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 27-01-2014)
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LG is being a little modest by calling this 5.5-inch smartphone “Lite”. True, it has a Mediatek MT6577 processor, a 540 x 960 pixel display with just 200 ppi density and just 1GB of RAM, but the G Pro Lite is otherwise so packed with capabilities and features, that it’s definitely another great option for those who want a mid-level phone without being left envying the top-enders. The G Pro Lite is not in any way a new design – it has the same familiar look and feel and could be any phone at all, from the outside – but if you’ve been hunting for a budget phone, (it costs Rs 22,990 but is available for less), give this device a good look. It’s about the size of a Galaxy Note and quite comfortable to hold. Rounded edges help there. Look closer and you’ll see two things that are different on the G Pro Lite. First, there’s an extra capacitive button on the bottom row. Tap it and you can switch between two SIM cards, one of which supports 3G. While we’re on the subject of taps, you tap twice on the screen to wake the screen up and again to make it go to sleep – an incredibly useful feature. On this phone, it chooses to sometimes not work, even if you tap quite firmly, and you can bet this will happen when you’re trying to show it off. But when the knock-knock feature does work, it beats pressing a button to start up. The phone runs on Android 4.1, a few steps behind, but nevertheless works fast. It’s got all of LG’s favourite software, including the multitasking apps. The display on the G Pro Lite isn’t high on specs but is very workable with strong colours and uncompromised angles. It’s smooth and responsive, as is the rest of the phone. It’ll handle mid-range gaming, for example. And it has a hefty huge battery with a 3,142 mAh rating. There’s also expandable memory. The 8MP camera is middling and just fine for everyday casual shots. But I did mention two things that were different and visible and the second is a surprise thin stylus fitted into a slot on the top of the device. It doesn’t work in the same way as Samsung’s Note does, but it works. mala@pobox.comTwitter: @malabhargava
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Sizzling hot startup, Uber, is now in Delhi to offer its point-to-point car service - with a tap on an app. Download the Uber app on Android, iOS or BlackBerry, and sign up, completing your brief profile. You can also use m.uber.com if you don't use these phones.Once in, you can just move a pin on a map to choose your pick up and drop point. The fare will show up and your car will turn up in 15 minutes. But this isn't your everyday rattletrap. You get to ride in luxury in an Audi, Accord, Camry or other cool cars at only a little more than the price of ordinary cabs. The car in no way looks like a cab or has any branding on it, so it's like your own. The Uber app also shows up the driver's photograph, name, and contact. You can track the car real time as it makes its way to you and when you're on your way, they can send your ETA to someone who's expecting you or keeping an eye on you. Particularly nice for women who need a safe ride someplace or for anyone who plans on going for a party and doesn't want to drive. The base fare in Delhi (Uber is also available in Bangalore and will make its way to other cities) The fare is based on both distance and time. Rs 70 is the base fare, and then it's Rs 20/km and Rs 2 per minute. Uber happens to be powered by Google - it funds the service which is now in 50 cities around the world.mala@pobox.comTwitter: @malabhargava
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Many people look for a tablet that can be carried around easily and used for all the things others seem to enjoy so much on tablets –reading, gaming, browsing, communicating. At the same time, they want to be able to put that tablet to some productive work. It seems a bit much to find that one has to buy a laptop and a tablet, and lug them both around through the day or lace them in different spaces in everyday life. Is the Lenovo IdeaPad Lynx the perfect work plus fun device? As ever, it’s a mixed bag. A tablet is enjoyable to use because it’s a form that is comfortable to use. When you want to read, it should mimic a book. When you want to play games, it should give you the screen space go at it. The Lynx is in a landscapey format, just as most Windows 8 tablets are to fit in the tiles and the desktop screens without distorting them. It’s wide when you hold it straight side up, long and narrow when held in portrait mode. That makes it less than ideal as a book reader. You certainly won’t feel like curling up with it. Browsing through a magazine also doesn’t work out, as it’s too broad or too long. Browsing through a website however, fits more naturally on this form. You have less scrolling to do in its portrait mode. Gaming isn’t quite its forte as it isn’t meant for high-end games that need processing power, but it’s ok for watching videos or a movie, though the sound is a bit thin. As a tablet, it isn’t like the iPad, Galaxy Tabs, or any of the 7-inch and mini formats users love to carry around. SPECIFICATIONS11.6-inch IPS display with 1366x768 resolution, ten-point touchKeyboard dock (optional) Intel Atom Z7260 1.8GHz dual-core processor2GB RAM and 64GB internal storageWindows 8 ProBut the Lenovo IdeaPad Lynx does better as a notebook in two parts. The first is an 11.6 inch screen, mid-range in terms of resolution, not the best in terms of viewing angles, but adequate with brightness and colors. The screen was, in my experience, not as responsive as others I’ve come across and tended to stutter when I swiped. On the top, you have the power button and n the sides the screen rotate and slot for SD card. The back of this screen –or the tablet part – is textured, which is a good measure against it slipping out of your hands, but let me give you fair warning about its plastickiness. The tablet has a 2MP front facing camera, so you can video chat or conference. It doesn’t have a camera otherwise, as most tablets do, but then it’s width really doesn’t make it suited to taking photographs comfortably. The second part is the keyboard dock. The tablet fits into it and the screen can then lean back about 45 degrees from the center point. There’s no Yoga style gymnastics for which Lenovo is known. The keyboard section hosts more ports making it look and feel quite like a laptop. The keyboard is a full one and not cramped, but doesn’t have the legendary comfort of the ThinkPad series. Key travel is a little less to keep the whole device thin – and that’s exactly what it is: thin and light. The duo gives you 16 hours of battery life, 8 on the tablet and 8 with the dock. So now, you can put the two parts together when you want a laptop, and detach the tablet when you want to lean back and consume content rather than create it. It works with the full Windows 8, which means you can use Microsoft Office and other applications that you are accustomed to. The IdeaPad Lynx (and don’t confuse it with the other IdeaTabs and ThinkPad tablets etc that are also worth considering) costs Rs 39,990.mala@pobox.comTwitter: @malabhargava
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When it comes to buying a car, consumers usually enquire about mileage, road safety and maintenance cost etc. Nowadays, more and more cars come with new features and hi-tech gadgets for the customers. But the best of cars, can't make driving in congested roads easy. A group of researchers from Australia were recently in India to hold talks with IT firms like Tech Mahindra, TCS, Infosys, HCL and Cognizant for developing a system to address traffic problems.Professor Jugdutt Singh, Director of the Centre for Technology Infusion at the La Trobe University, Australia, who was a member of the research delegation, during a recent visit to New Delhi informed the media that the researchers at the university have already built a patented system for automobiles using sensor technology to enable vehicle-to-vehicle communication.The pilot phase of implementing the technology has already started in Victoria, Australia. By using this technology, cars can signal to each other to align in such a way that congestion is avoided.Some firms have already shown interest in collaborating for developing advanced transportation software, which help ease off the traffic especially in regions where huge numbers of vehicles ply on less road space, leading to congestions.While planning to implement the technology in India, the first thing that came to his mind was the traffic in Delhi and Mumbai, said Professor Singh.A sensor with Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) technology embedded in the vehicles convey information about the traffic scenario while on-the-drive display and voice messages help the driver avoid heading towards traffic jams. Also, this information can be shared amongst vehicles within a radius of 500 meters to 1 km. This technology will also keep a check on errant drivers as a warning will be sent to the rashly driven vehicle by the other car near it using the same technology. However, this will only be possible if all cars come embedded with the sensor.The privacy settings have been designed in a way that information regarding only traffic congestion, accidents on the road, rash driving and related matters could be exchanged and couldn’t be misused.Ccording to the researchers, this could be the next big thing after the mileage and maintaining cost in encouraging prospective buyers.Singh mentioned that the cars with this new technology will start rolling out by 2015.In the long run, the researchers can look at further upgrading the solution by connecting with the emergency help-lines such as fire brigade, police control room, ambulance services, women help-lines etc which will come as a handy help to anyone and everyone driving on the road. Technology is a tool which has a large scope for improvement with each passing day and with the kind of resources available these days it’s even easier to implement it.
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Get It Done SoonerGetting things done becomes so much easier when the planning is enjoyable. And the iPhone app Sooner makes it so. This rather expensive app(Rs 350) uses gestures in a most unusual interface. It’s like a clock face. You drag a plus sign to the edge of the clock to add a task or list of tasks under a category. So you can make lists within broader lists. But its main idea is to lay out tasks and goals to span the clock, which is when you can actually get them done, one by one, in priority. Sooner has much-needed tips that come up contextually as you try to do something. Calendars, reminders, notes, etc., all pop up when needed and can be accessed with a swipe or tap. It’s very much a personal use app but you can edit the categories given and include professional work out tasks and goals to span the clock. A Network Of Wallpaper UsersFor the easily bored, here's a free app that changes your wallpaper every time you unlock your Android phone. If that's too much of a good thing, you can tune it down and change every once in a while. The wallpapers in Bitmado come from users. When you submit a photo to the wallpaper collection, Bitmado checks out the resolution and rejects the picture if it doesn't make the cut. So no one gets to see low-quality images. The context is up to the users and fortunately is mostly very nice. Users vote up or down an image and the selections show up on screen. It's addictive especially when you put in your own images. The app is like a social network of wallpaper users and could be more interesting. It would also be nice if the app didn't register users with their Google or Facebook logins. Change The LookLaunchers, or applications that can change the interface of your Android phone, have tended to be complicated to use. Sometimes, in fact, they only work with a ‘rooted’ phone. But they’re getting easier and mainstream. Find on the Google Play Store, an app called Themer. It’s still in beta, so you have to ask for an invite. Once you do, open it and allow it to be your main launcher temporarily. With the new themes from Themer, you can set widgets and apps afresh, in a new look, changing the look of your phone completely. Be prepared to find things that you’ve put in familiar places to have disappeared. They’re all in the app drawer and the widgets section, of course, and you can get back to them by selecting your smartphone’s own interface again. Themer is free. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 30-12-2013)
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It is called the game of survival, that which makes species like “In-Car Navigation Systems” reinvent themselves against the assault by alternate devices. In the mid 2000s, it was the advent of PNDs (Personal Navigation Devices) - which were available for less than $100,clung on to the wind shield and seemed to offer everything that a $500-$2000 in-car navi could offer. There were predictions of the entire infotainment systems market getting wiped out, but what looked like an explosive new product saturated and now shows significant decline. The in-car navi survived. In the recent past, it is the invasion of the all pervasive smart phones. With the smart phone market growing by 50 per cent and 2 billion devices expected to be sold to end consumers this year, it is obvious that the trend cannot be ignored. The threat of a new device disrupting many individual markets looms around all the time. But people do not seem to prefer a single ubiquitous device that could be your computer, mobile phone, audio player, video viewer and in-car navi system. The famous question of ‘convergence of devices’ pops up often, but coexistence of multiple devices appears to be the way. In the near term, smart phones will not outsmart in-car navihead-units. Rather, the trend is clearly towards strong integration, giving rise to a new symbiotic technology trend.Automotive Apps are leading at the forefront of this innovation wave due to integration. Broadly, two types of apps are emerging. There are apps that enable locking the car and switching on the heater/cooler remotely, which provide car functions on a smart phone. There are Apps like in-car version of Facebook or internet radio Pandora that runs on the infotainment platform and makes smart phone features available in the car. This makes the smart phone and the car infotainment system an inseparable pair, rather than a competition to each other. There are a wide range of utility apps available for users. The simple app called GasBuddy gives cheap gas prices nearby, helping users to save on fuel costs. Technology savvy users could use apps like “Dynolicious Fusion” which gives vehicle performance measurements – real time horsepower, 0-60 miles acceleration time, lateral G-forces etc.Diagnostic codes can be read and issues fixed faster by knowledgeable users. In the context of electro-mobility, Apps are indispensable. Apps help monitor charge levels, plan routes with charging schedule and act as a guide to charging stations.The ecosystem to support automotive apps is evolving rapidly. GM calls it Mylink, Ford calls it AppLink, Nissan offers Carwings for Leaf, almost all OEMs are creating platforms to explore the possibilities of automotive and smart phone integration. In every autoshow and Consumer Electronics event, new solutions with smart phone integration are showcased. Emerging open platforms allow independently developed apps to be launched. What remained as a closed space between OEMs and suppliers is opening up.The Apple model is getting replicated with business models and strong user communities. OEMs are seeing clear business benefits and brand value in establishing their own platforms to deploy Apps.Like any other emerging technology trend, there are challenges to battle. The idea of automotive apps is not to grant the pleasure of playing Angry Birds while driving. There is a definite risk of business models pushing pop-up ads which load the display. Till automatic driving becomes an everyday reality, driver distraction will remain a fundamental topic not to be ignored. Already there are concepts to disable certain distracting functions depending on driving conditions, these will get further strengthened.Looking in to the future, just replicating the screen from a mobile device on the in-car display would not be enough value. More and more automotive functions would get tightly coupled to smart devices. Enough has been done to bring the internet in to the car and now the effort is on to take the car on to the internet, on to the cloud. Automotive apps could continue to lead the innovation wave, connecting cars and its users.(The author is Sri Krishnan, Vice President, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Limited)
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Lenovo P780Rs 19,999Ask some people what they want most in a phone and they’ll say – battery life. Can’t blame them, for those who are focused on communication and only want other smart functions to play second fiddle, are hard put to find a phone today that will satisfy them with enough battery life. The Lenovo P780 is built for battery. It’s a business-like looking phone, with metal-plus-textured-plastic making for an appearance that is handsome, though not necessarily cool. It’s clearly a look that will appeal to working professionals rather than the hip youth, who want something snazzy. But it has a whopper of a battery — 4,000 mAh should be enough on any smartphone. There’s also an app that lets you choose your usage pattern, so you can stretch the battery life further. If you are not busy draining out the battery with videos and gaming, this should last a couple of days for sure. The battery is, of course, a weight unto itself, but the phone is overall not at all prohibitively heavy. I’ve seen others this size that are heavier. The P780 has a very nice 5-inch display, with a 780 x 1280 resolution, while some have moved on to full HD. Colours are beautiful, images and text clear and viewing angles are fine. The cameras are 8 MP and 0.3 MP and not particularly good. The device is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Mediatek processor with 1 GB RAM and 4 GB storage. It runs on Android 4.2.1 and works quite fast and smooth. It’s overall a standard Android phone with a few touches from Lenovo and no heavy overlay of annoying interfaces. It also offers a dual sim. Lemon Aspire A4Rs 17,999It's companies like lemon Mobiles and more so Micromax, Karbonn and Lava that are giving the phone bigwigs a run for their money. Not only do they eat up the lower end of the market, they’re now showing that they can make smartphones with hefty specs too. Lemon has come up with an Aspire A1 and Aspire A4 (the one we look at today) in the 5-inch space. A1 even has a stylus. The Aspire A4 may be 5 inches but it doesn’t feel oversized or heavy. It has a nice back, fingerprint resistant and is nicely done, but the metallic-looking strip along the sides doesn’t quite have the“finish” that one associates with worthwhile products. The power button on this device is also a bit recessed and not easy to get to by pure feel. But the smartphone comes into its own when you turn on the screen. The default animated wallpaper is quite quirky — showing off the 1920 x 1080 full-HD screen in all its colourful glory. The image revolves when you move across screens and I was so childishly delighted with this I kept everything else off the home screens. The A4 doesn’t just stop at a great screen. This fairly fast phone runs Android 4.2 on a 1.2 GHz quad core processor with 1 GB of RAM. The cameras are 13 MP and 5 MP — but perform averagely. There are a lot of Lemon apps on the device. The battery is an 1850 mAh, which may be a tad too little for a device you’re going to like seeing the screen of. Wammy Passion Z+Rs 15,990The 5-inch phone that goes by the unlikely name of Wammy Passion Z+ came to the market a while ago with an upgrade to the earlier Passion Z, and with a bunch of advantages. First, it’s got an obvious nice build. It’s a slab, say, reminiscent of some of the Sony devices, but has a look and feel to it. Slightly rounded corners and smooth sides make it easy to hold. That, and the fact that it isn’t too wide to sit in the palm of your hand. The back is smooth plastic and doesn’t need to pretend to be anything else as it doesn’t look cheap. It’s in black and white. The back panel opens to let you get at the 2500 mAh battery as it sits inside neat interiors. Power this device up from the button on the right, designed neatly into the body, and you’ll find a pretty nice screen, one of the early full HD IPS 1080 x 1920 ones. Viewing angles are not bad. Sound is a fraction low, but not disappointing. Surprisingly, it has a good 13 MP camera, not half as noisy as some seen on more expensive and well-known brands. It shows quite a bit of sharp detail, even inside. The front camera is a 2 MP. Running it all — and Jelly Bean Android 4.2 — is a MediaTek 1.5 GHz MT6589T quad-core processor. There’s 1 GB of RAM and sadly about as much storage space because that’s what’s available of the 4 GB on board. You can add a memory card and expand the storage, but it’s the apps that need the space on a device. The phone performs smoothly and is fast enough and offers dual-sim — all offered for a fair price. A reminder that Micromax is by no means the only company that offers value-for-money phones. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 16-12-2013)
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