It's evidently clear what HTC's trying to do with the One X — shake off the slump and gloom borne out of being toppled off the top of the Android pile, and reinvigorate the brand's lineup with a flagship phone with the biggest bragging rights — a gigantic display, top notch hardware specs and gorgeous design. Can the One X truly be HTC's comeback device? This is where you'll find out!Design wise, this phone can literally take a master class for the industry on how to get first impressions right. I cannot overstate just how beautiful a device this is. A curved profile and polycarbonate unibody shell means that the phone not only feels premium but it also remains light for its size (and thin, at 8.9mm!). Even with its monstrous 4.7 inch display, the phone was surprisingly not unwieldy to hold. The unibody design does mean that the battery is no longer user replaceable, nor do you get the option of adding any extra storage through a microSD card. And like the iPhone and the Xperia S, it requires a microSIM card.Then again, HTC did manage to get design right every now and then, though it rarely led the pack in terms of hardware specs. Stuff of the past, really – with the One X, HTC's packing in a bleeding edge Nvidia Tegra 3 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, the first phone to launch with such specs. There's a generous 1GB of memory and 32GB of storage on board. And then there's that large 4.7-inch screen that is such a stunning part of the One X. A 720p high definition (HD) display, it treads confidently into "retina" territory, with the individual pixels becoming invisible to the naked eye. The camera — an 8.0/1.3 megapixel rear/front combo is super snappy, with almost zero shutter lag. That it comes wielding the latest release of Android 4.0 and HTC's latest Sense user interface just goes to show there were very few corners cut when dreaming up this baby.Is this phone perfect then? Heck no, it has its downsides too. Image quality is not as game changing as HTC would have you believe, and battery life is iffy, at best, never pushing more than 10-11 hours of moderate use. Pricing is well, premium. Despite these compromises, this is clearly one of the best mobile devices I've seen, period. Folks, this is *the* Android smartphone to beat in 2012.Rating: 9/10Price: Rs 42,999URL: http://bit.ly/JGdkEs Seriously Fun After the prolonged delay, the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich trickle has finally started, only this time it has shown up in the most unlikely of places, in a sub-Rs.10,000 tablet from the house of Micromax. The big question for the Funbook is — can it break away from the crowded unusable-budget-tablet segment? For something that retails at Rs. 6,499, the Funbook is well put together yet remains slim and easy to hold, and you have a tough time believing you're paying that little for this device. A fairly usable 7-inch 480x800 pixel capacitive display adorns the front of this device, and it has the usual complement of buttons and ports. It is strange that the options, home and back buttons are included in the first place, since Android 4.0 doesn't really need physical buttons as these functions can be accessed directly through the ICS user interface. What is interesting though is that the Funbook supports the use of USB pen drives and 3G dongles with this device, which is a huge plus for the device. Under the hood, the device is powered by a 1.22 GHz Cortex-A8 CPU and two Mali 400 graphics chips, which gives it pretty decent graphics chops for its price. Is it usable though? Yes, if you want to put it through its paces by running full high definition 1080p video or playing Angry Birds, it's up to the task. However, the tablet is often plagued with lag when you're browsing the web or navigating the user interface, which one could pass off as par for the price, but it's disappointing. The content partnerships, especially on the education front, might differentiate the device, but in the end, I can recommend this only for those on an extremely tight budget. Rating: 7/10Price: Rs 6,499URL: http://bit.ly/IHic8g technocool at kanwar dot nettwitter@2shar
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There I was one afternoon minding my own business, when there was a knock on the door. A man in a blue shirt handed me a package. Just another phone, I thought, taking a quick peek but continuing my business, leaving the phone aside for some other time. Remembering it a few hours later, I opened the box — and out came an absolutely gorgeous phone. I picked it up and my mouth formed an involuntarily "Wow". This was the HTC One X.I should stop a moment to think back to last year and how HTC had a battalion of tough-looking smartphones, the biggest of the lot, all ready to battle in the dog-eat-dog smartphone arena. But then, perhaps because of too many phones and too little branding or because Samsung just pushed it into a corner, HTC lost its growl. It really looked like we would be left with Samsung vs Apple for the near future. HTC needed to do something — and it did. Coming up with a line of "One" smartphones (the others being S and V), it surprised everyone with the knock-em-dead One X. The first impression you get when you hold this 4.7 inch smartphone in your hand is that it feels so nice to the touch, with its white polycarbonate matte finish back and curved sides and edges. It's sensual in the way that Apple products are, but with a different direction in design. It's in white, which may upset a few men who want their phones to look like their bikes, but personally I think the white adds something to the overall impression. But then I'm also largely indifferent to bikes. The One X has an expanse of a screen (1280x720 pixels Super IPS LCD), which is so pleasing to look at without hitting you between the eyes. Flipboard, made available for Android but exclusive to the Galaxy S III for now, looks wonderful on it. Ah yes, it has quickly become unofficially available. HTC has made maximum use of the space for the screen and yet it manages to make it look minimalistic. Being a Galaxy S II user, I was and remain disoriented with the power button on the top edge. The 3.5mm jack for earphones is also on top. The volume rocker is on the side though, but it is strangely long. For a moment, I wondered if it was that long for a reason and whether it did something other than volume. The One X also feels solid, and somehow safe. At the same time, it's light and thin. A sweet spot in size vs weight and bulk. And this, by the way folks, is the way to do plastic. There's a price to pay for the beauty of that unibody design. It's a big one. You can't change or get at the battery, you don't have an SD card option, and you have to use a micro SIM. While we're on the downside, I found the unit I used getting hot under the collar — and that's when I wasn't gaming, but Flipboarding. But well, the iPad gets warm too and everyone's got used to that. On the hardware front, this phone is a powerhouse. The Tegra 31. quad core 1.5 GHz processor is as fast as it gets and is powered by 1.5 GB of RAM. But how fast it actually works depends on how you use it. Many users can go for years without ever touching the limits of their phone's power. Gamers can go to the other extreme and bring a device to its knees pretty quickly. The camera is its flagship feature. It's a standard (for premiums) 8 megapixel, but has other features that take it beyond that. It has a fast burst mode that takes 20 pictures before you can blink. It can take pictures while playing or even recording video (1920x1080p). There's panoramic and HDR photography and some editing effects. The sound on the phone is fine, though not remarkable. The One X runs on Ice Cream Sandwich and the 4.0 version of its Sense skin. If you've used another phone, it takes a little getting used to. But it feels as if every care has been taken to give the user a good experience without being in-your-face at the same time. From being a shadow of its former self, the Taiwan-based HTC is very much back in the game, going head to head with the recently launched (but still unavailable) Galaxy S III. From what the tech media were saying at the time of that launch, you could see that the One X was coming up all the time for comparison, along with the iPhone 4S and a future iPhone 5. We can go spec to spec with these, but the real comparison will be evident when the S III comes in and is experienced. The iPhone 5, of course, is still a twinkle in Tim Cook's eye. In the end, it takes more than just a great phone to get to the top in the fight, and even more to stay there. Marketing muscle and distribution is the least of it. So while we will see what we will see, it's nice to have another fantastic choice.(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 28-05-2012)
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Large viewable pictures for less money than a similarly sized TV — who shouldn't want to consider a projector for home entertainment? Add to it the bonus of portability that mini projectors like the BenQ Joybee GP2 offer, and your entertainment continues even when you leave the house! Pull the GP2 out of its box and you get a stylish little box that's no larger than half a dozen CD cases stacked one on top of the other. The duo-tone black-and-white glossy finish is a fingerprint magnet, more so with the projector's touch controls located on the black top. You can use the included remote if you'd like your GP2 to remain smudge-free. Bear in mind that the remote isn't backlit, so you could be struggling a bit in the dark with the operation. Despite its diminutive size and mere weight of under 600 grams, the GP2 can throw a very usable 1,280 x 800 pixel (720p resolution) image to up to 160 inches! You'd be more hard pressed to find uncluttered walls that can support this massive display size! For the specs geeks, the projector offers a middling 2,400:1 contrast ratio and maximum brightness of 200 lumens. What's really interesting is that BenQ has pulled out all the stops with the projector's connectivity options. Apart from the very obvious inclusion of an iPod/iPhone dock (which lets you charge and operate your Apple device directly on the projector), you get a full-sized SD card slot, a far more practical alternative to most mini and micro projectors' MicroSDHC slots — allows for direct camera shooting to project viewing. Seamless! Then there's HDMI for video playback, a proprietary port that offers VGA and composite through an included adapter, plus ports for standard-sized and micro USB. The micro-USB is handy to connect to any PC directly, and it uses DisplayLink technology to allow it to accept input from any Windows computer with a USB port, Just plug it in at both ends, and with zero additional configuration, your projector can act as secondary monitor for you to extend your display or mirror your primary display. But it's the inclusion of the full-fized USB port that reveals an interesting capability — the GP2 can work as a media and document viewer, without the need of a PC driving the content. So you can playback AVI/MOV/MP4 movie files, MP3/WAV music, JPG/BMP images, Adobe PDF and Microsoft office formats directly off a thumb drive, SD card or the 2GB of internal memory. Pretty neat feature, though the on-screen navigation is a tad clunky and slow. Oh, and there's an audio out for external speakers as well – no matter how loud these speakers get, it just doesn't hurt having the option to connect a better set of external speakers. And while we're on the topic of sound, the GP2 does end up being rather loud, with a loud hum that can get rather annoying when you're watching that serious scene in the movie. Like most small LED projectors, the image quality the GP2 delivers is quite decent, with vibrant colors, nice and deep blacks. Movie watching was just about average, with the projector losing detail intermittently in bright and dark areas of the screen, and the flesh tones took on a strangely reddish tinge. Overall, results that will satisfy all but the most demanding users. That said, there's a lot to like in the GP2, if you don't fall into that category. It's well equipped on the connectivity front, and the size allows it to be carried to meetings and parties alike. The retail package packs in a padded carrying case which allows you to carry this portable projector safely in your travels. And if you're on the road much, you might want to consider the GP2's optional battery, which allows the GP2 to last upto three charges on each charge. A worthy buy, in my books.Rating: 8/10Price: Rs 39,167URL: http://bit.ly/Hozw2x Unsound Choice No one's going to give JBL's Tempo headphones any design awards, but the moment you slip them on, you realise how easily one would forsake design for long-duration comfort. The padded headband and earcups allow you to wear the Tempo through the entire duration of a Bollywood movie, and then some more, without the associated ear-fatigue. While clarity of playback is above average, there are a couple of issues with the headset, though. Bass is on the weak side, and there's simply too much sound leaking out the sides of these cans. Tad pricey too, if you ask me. URL: http://bit.ly/HozS9ePrice: Rs 2,749 Focusing On Work It starts with you opening a random link on YouTube or an innocent Wikipedia diversion, and before you know it, an hour or two has passed, and you realise that you haven't finished what you sat down to do. If staying away from distractions on the Internet is something you've tried to do, and failed, help is at hand with a simple and easy-to-use website blocker called FocalFilter. It allows you to block websites for pre-specified time intervals without muddling you with any confusing configurations. All you have to do is edit the blocked site list, select one of many time intervals (from 5 minutes to 12 hours) and hit go. Now, unlike a lot of other tools, which can remove the block by exiting or uninstalling the application, this one is serious about its job. To reset the block while it is active, you will need to reboot your computer. If that doesn't cure the temptation, nothing will! URL: http://bit.ly/GYXCxUPrice: free technocool at kanwar dot nettwitter@2shar
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Google Inc is getting into the eyewear business with a pair of thin wraparound shades that puts the company's Web services in your face.The experimental "augmented reality" glasses - from the same team that is developing self-driven cars - can snap photos, initiate videochats and display directions at the sound of a user's voice.The prototype digital glasses, unveiled on the company's Google+ social network on Wednesday, are still being tweaked and tested, and are not available in stores yet."We're sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input," Google wrote in a post on a Google+ page devoted to Project Glass.The spectacles are being developed by Google<x>, the secretive group working on advanced research projects such as self-driving cars.The Google+ page featured a 2-1/2 minute video, shot from the perspective of someone wearing the glasses. The wearer goes about his day walking through New York City while speaking commands to the glasses to do things such as take a photo and post it to Google+, get block-by-block directions and weather conditions and get a pop-up alert when a friend is nearby.The Google posting is intended to show "what this technology could look like," the company said. Mock-up images of the glasses on the Google+ page depict a stamp-sized digital display that seems attached to a pair of glasses and sits at the top corner of one of the lenses.The post asks people to submit their suggestions for what they would like to see in the glasses.Google, the world's No. 1 search engine, is famous for letting its employees work on ambitious projects that don't always have a direct relation to its business.Those projects have not always sat well with investors, who worry about Google's spending on projects with uncertain returns.Google Chief Executive Larry Page has cut down on many of the projects and products underway at the company since taking the reins a year ago. But he has defended Google's commitment to working on "speculative" projects that could one day turn into "billion-dollar businesses," though he has stressed the company isn't "betting the farm" on such efforts.The glasses could provide a way for Google to more closely entwine its advertising-supported online services, including Web searches, maps and email, into people's daily lives.The glasses also could help Google match some of the buzz that rival Apple Inc <AAPL.O> has generated with its latest iPhone and the built-in Siri digital assistant, which takes spoken commands to do such tasks as schedule calendar appointments and get weather forecasts.A Google insider said it is unclear when the glasses might be commercially available, but noted that the philosophy of Google<x> group is to develop technologies that can be used in a relatively short period of time, rather than dreaming up creations that won't be possible for 10 or more years.The glasses, under development for two years, will be tested in public by members of the Google<x> team, according to the Google insider.Shares of Google, which reports its first quarter financial results next week, fell about 1.2 percent to close at $635.15 on Wednesday amid a broad market sell-off.(Reuters)
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New TVs, new tablets, new phones, new cameras, new entertainment devices, all under one roof. A few things get the gizmo-holics in us going as much as a packed house of soon-to-be-launched gadgets, and at the Samsung South West Asia Forum 2012, we were treated to the company's 2012 portfolio of products. Read on to find out which ones tickled our fancy.‘Smart' Smart TVs: Smart TVs circa 2011 used to be about TVs that could connect to the Internet, media players and such like. With the 2012 range, smart just got smarter, with the TVs packing in an integrated camera and microphone that will do fulfill more than just your Skype needs. These TVs recognize movement and voice and allow you to control the TV and navigate within the applications on the TV using gestures and voice commands, while offering basic face recognition features as well. Just say "Hi TV" and the voic control is activated, and you can speak the commands to change channels, increase the volume etc or simply motion to the right area on the screen with your hand gestures. In my experience of the device, the features were a bit hit-and-miss (especially with the gestures), though I expect stuff will be ironed out by the time these models hit Indian shores. What interested me more was that these TVs would ship with what Samsung calls a Smart Evolution Kit – the ability to add new hardware and sofytware features such as upgrading from dual-core to quad core processors – by simply adding a piece of hardware to the existing TV in the future! Select 2012 TVs will come equipped with a simple slot-in to the back of the TV, with prices for India expected to be Rs 80,000 onwards. Galaxy Tab 2 310 Retro Docks: Among the audio docks on display, the decidedly retro looking DA-E750 dock caught my eye with its use of mahogany finish and vacuum tube amplifiers, both of which wouldn't look out of place in radios from half a century ago. This dock plays nice not only with Samsung's Galaxy range of devices, but also features a dock connector for Apple devices, so folks on both sides of the Android-iOS debate can consider this for their living rooms.Beam Me Up: At first glance, the Galaxy Beam looks like one of the many Android phones on offer these days. It is powered by a 1GHz dual core processor and features a roomy 4-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. And the rest of spec sheet reads off without any surprises — Android 2.3, 5MP rear camera, 8GB internal storage with a microSD slot up to 32GB and a 2,000 mAh battery for all-day use. Of course, the real highlight of this device is a built-in 15-lumen brightness projector which lets you project images and video to upto 50-inches on the nearest wall (or ceiling, if you're feeling lazy!). You'll have to darken the room a bit for it to work, but the result is pretty fantastic — don't forget, this is a phone, after all!Computing Part Deux: One more for the alphabet soup, I guess. But with the Galaxy Tab 2 310 (quite a mouthful, isn't it?), you get the latest version of Android — 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) — preloaded on the device. With the number of ICS devices still in the low single digits in India, an updated OS on the Tab 2 is something I'm looking forward to trying out when it launches in the next couple of months. Also seen at the show was the impossibly slim Samsung Series 9 notebook, arguably the slimmest notebook in the world — I just hope Samsung gets its pricing right when it launches in India in the next couple of months. Rigorous Reworkings Wow, talk of taking consumer feedback seriously. Seagate has updated the firmware on its GoFlex Satellite iPad compatible streaming hard drive to fix niggling issues I'd seen with the drive when it was launched just under six months ago. Not only does the drive see improved battery life (from five hours to seven), you can connect a lot more devices (up from 3) to the drive simultaneously. And perhaps most importantly, the update now allows you to use the drive and use the Internet at the same time — a major pain point in the first release. This drive just got itself a serious recommendation! URL: http://bit.ly/GOCRK0 Slow Delivery Know which game is played most in India? Street cricket, what else? Cashing in on the lifelong craze Indians have with just setting up a makeshift wicket (three stones, at the very least) and starting a game, Sony's launched Move Street Cricket. The idea had potential — using the Move controller to bowl or swing the bat. Unfortunately, the execution leaves much to be desired, with inaccurate handling and pretty pedestrian graphics and audio tracks. Not a game I'd recommend even for an ardent cricket fan – heck, this may well inspire you to get out and play some real street cricket! URL: http://bit.ly/GH84v1Price: Rs 1,499 technocool at kanwar dot nettwitter@2shar
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Remember when we were younger, we'd cut up magazines and newspapers to pull together scrapbooks and posters of things we liked? These scrapbooks and posters were all about who we were, whom we identified with and who we aspired to be. Cut to 2012… who'd have thought scrapbooking would suddenly be the hottest buzzword on the web? Only this time, it's called Pinterest —a virtual pinboard where you can share and organise and images online that you find interesting. You can ‘pin' these images on customised themed Boards, and boards can be on just about any topic imaginable — anything from custom Harleys to wedding themes. If you browse through some pins, you'll realise that they are largely made up of interests people pursue in everyday life, right from food, artwork, animals, fashion — you name it, it's there. Pins often end up being the virtual embodiment of a person's lifestyle! But that's once you're on Pinterest, that is. It is invite-only for now, so you can sign up for invites on the site (be prepared to wait!) or if you already know a Pinner, they can easily invite you onto the site. Once you sign in, do install the handy browser extension – that way, when you come across an image you like, you can just click the button, select the picture, assign it to a board and you're done! Want to add some text to remember this image later, or maybe add a price? Pinterest lets you do that as well, and Pinners with iPhones can take pictures on the go and add it to their boards with a mobile app. But surely there's more to Pinterest than pinning pictures of cute cats (or whatever tickles your fancy, really!). It's handy to organize your thoughts visually as well. For example, if you want to redecorate a room in your house, you can create a board of pictures of all the stuff you want to do for that room. You could store inspirational images to get you going each morning. Or you could keep pictures of things to buy – a visual shopping list. Boards can have multiple people collaborating, so Pinterest can just as well be used by students to quickly assemble project materials on a wide variety of topics. Any which way, Pinterest delivers on its mission statement to connect everyone in the world through the things they find interesting. In a world (wide web) of words, Pinterest is a welcome visual break. While it borrows from existing social networks – it's open like twitter in that you can follow anyone, you can comment on a pin, Like it or Repin it – it appeals to mothers, amateur cooks, home decorators and others who are not usually known to obsess with startup trends, aka the rest of us! Top Reasons for Businesses to Consider Pinterest: Users, Users, Users: Pinterest is where a lot of folks are. A LOT. Millions already and the numbers just keep going up. Getting your business on Pinterest early will give you a head start in a social network that is showing significant growth potential. Exposure: Imagine the exposure – your brand gets seen by a staggering number of eyeballs, and you can direct traffic via the pins to your own catalog. Pinterest gives companies a free service to advertise their brand and products to millions. It's easy: Pinterest has learned from Twitter and Facebook by incorporating an easy way for businesses to drive images and traffic to its site. A very simple to install "Pin it" button makes it easy for someone browsing your website to quickly add something to their Pinterest page. For example, a wedding gifts or confectionary site can add "Pin It" buttons to quickly let brides. From there, everyone else can see it, and the chances of it getting shared increase. People can also click on it and be directed back to your site URL: http://bit.ly/wV4fhdAlso see: The Marketer's Guide to Pinterest: http://mashable.com/2012/02/28/the-marketers-guide-to-pinterest-infographic/ Intelligent Enhancements Near field communication (NFC) products are finally getting past the cutesy movie posters and moving onto practical everyday applications, and the first couple of NFC products I got to play with were the Nokia Luna headset and the Play 360 Bluetooth speaker. The Luna looks nothing like any headset I'd seen so far, but the interesting bit was the fact that it packed in NFC hardware. When it is used with an NFC-equipped phone, the Luna can tell the phone to switch on its Bluetooth connection and pair with the headset, turning it all down again once you hangup and return the headset to its futuristic looking dock. All this is as easy as simply tapping the devices together. And if you thought this was impressive, check out the Play 360, a Bluetooth speaker that streams music from your phone, laptop or MP3 player. Use it with an NFC phone, and it takes just a tap to get the tunes flowing. Music quality is pretty good for a portable, wireless speaker, and what's neater is that the Play 360 senses if there is another Play 360 in the vicinity and switches the sound from mono to stereo! Rating: 7/10Price: Luna (Rs. 4530), Play 360 (Rs. 9,350)URL: http://nokia.ly/wReAnK The Lure Of The Dark Side Don't pick up The Darkness II if you're looking for a light casual game. In this game, mafia don Jackie Estacado is possessed by an ancient force known as the Darkness(and has an aversion to light, hence the title) and he's out on a mission to rip the New York underworld apart. As a first-person shooter game, the game delivers on many fronts, especially the stylised environments that look straight out of a graphic novel. The control and shooting mechanism does leave a bit to be desired, as are the mildly unimaginative enemies, but you tend to forget that with the tight storyline and pretty spectacular voice acting. I still prefer my Call of Duty though. Rating: 8/10Price: Rs 2,799 (Xbox 360, PS3), Rs 999 (PC)URL: http://bit.ly/xZYGjm technocool at kanwar dot nettwitter@2shar
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They're calling it the post-PC era, almost likening tablets and smartphones to be the asteroids that took out the archaic prehistoric personal computer segment. Where then does a pricey all-in-one PC fit into the grand scheme of things, even one with the 3D buzzword tacked on for good measure? With the HP TouchSmart 620 3D Edition PC, I intend to answer just that.To be fair, the TouchSmarts are, in my opinion, one of the few models that have got the all-in-one-form factor down pat. The 620 uses the same conservative chassis design as the previously launched TouchSmarts – I use the word conservative in a good sense, with the 620 able to blend into most homes. With its ability to tilt back and forth through a variety of angles, the 620 is stable and usable at all angles, which is handy for a touchscreen PC which is more than likely to get poked at. The large 23-inch 1,920x1,080 pixel (1080p Full-HD) resolution screen is great for playing back high definition movies and the integrated stereo speakers coupled with Beats Audio work just great for a study or living room setting. Everyday performance is ensured with the Core i5-2400 processor and 1 GB of ultra-fast GDDR5 graphics memory, though at this price, I'd probably have expected a top of the line i7 processor to be thrown in.But it's that 3D tag that we should really be discussing, right? It takes some time to dig past the Windows menus to enable 3D settings for your applications and games, but a 3D switch a la smartphones would have been much better. HP's bundled in twin cameras to allow you to record in 3D as well, but points are lost for using active 3D glasses that need non-rechargeable watch battery for power. These glasses auto detect when the screen displays a 3D image and turn on themselves, though. While the quality of the 3D playback is above par from a depth perspective, the overall 3D experience on the 620 just underscores the fact that PC 3D content has a long way to go. The 3D just hasn't impressed me enough to recommend this over its predecessor (the 610), and you really have to be a 3D devotee to want to splurge on this.Rating: 7/10Price: Rs 92,999URL: http://bit.ly/xThhkc Pocket Size Powehouse Are we being overrun with Android tablets in all shapes and sizes or what? Take Samsung, for example. From just this one company you get the 750, the 730, the 680 and now the 620, all within the space of 6 months tops. The 7-inch slimmed-down form factor the 620 packs in does have some easy-to-carry-everywhere allure, but does it deliver the goods? Design wise, the 620 borrows heavily from its 10-incher sibling, which results in a sturdy yet slim design. This being an Android Honeycomb tablet, there are no physical buttons on the device but the Honeycomb interface really suits this 7-incher's smaller screen better. I'm not the biggest fan of Samsung's TouchWiz UI, but it doesn't seem to get in the way much. With hardware borrowed from the Galaxy S2 under the hood, the media playback capability is stellar and batter life manages to creep well over the 9 hour mark, though I have to say, the screen does lack a tad in brightness. With Samsung packing in a SIM card slot, you can use the 620 to make calls as well, though I highly recommend using the bundled headset if you want to avoid becoming a social outcast! At the price, would I recommend it? Only if you know what you want to do with it – with the iPad 2 dropping prices internationally, Android tablets are just going to have to up their game on the apps front if they want to earn solid ‘buy' recommendations. Rating: 8/10Price: Rs 27,613URL: http://bit.ly/A1lACs technocool at kanwar dot nettwitter@2shar
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Apple may have sold over three million new iPads, but Indians are not exactly beating down the doors to get theirs. That's because there are no doors to beat. And no iPads either, yet. But there will be, and the good thing is that by the time they come around, we will have a head up on whatever problems the new version may have and how to deal with these. I'd say that's one of the advantages of being lower down in the list on the iPad's route. But it's amazing when you consider how that one gadget is making headlines in world news — not just the tech news. It's not only a manifestation of Apple's incredible dominance in the world of technology and business, but the place their industry-shaping flagship product has across the globe. After all, of all the products that must surely be over-heating at this very moment, the globe knows of only one. It started off on the Apple discussion forums where users became alarmed at the heat in the left bottom corner of the device. Worse when plugged in, worse when gaming, but for some even with ten minutes of reading. One user said there was even a message that the iPad needed to cool down. Reviewers have been testing the new iPad and reporting that the temperature goes up to 116"F, but it isn't as if it's uncomfortable. iPad 3 So, there are many possibilities here. First, the heating could be at the expected level for a gadget that is now more powerful and has a bigger battery than its predecessors. I've used both the iPad original and the iPad 2 and found no hint of heating up even when I use it through the entire day. Another possibility could be that a few devices have a problem. Perhaps that's why Apple asks those who have a problem to head to AppleCare and many have reported getting a replacement with no subsequent problems so far. Indeed, it doesn't seem like everyone is getting the overheating and most are describing it as mildly warm. From the brief response from Apple, it doesn't seem as if the heating is a major problem, but the next few weeks should tell whether it's just a minor problem, fixable with a software update, or localised to a few devices or a widespread problem that is more serious and a fall out of a far more powerful high resolution tablet with a processor that is working harder.Heating isn't the only problem sprouting up on the support forums. There are also complaints of very slow charging. The previous generations of iPads have demonstrated incredible battery life. Personally, I've found I don't need to think about the battery at all through the day, going late into the night. In fact, by the end of the day, I have to encourage the device to drain out so I can put in on a fresh charge. It also charges completely in a couple of hours. But some users are saying charging has slowed down, though in some cases they are using additional cables which could be making a difference. Other than these, the screen's new sparklingly clear resolution seems to be a hit with those who have bought it or tested the new iPad, although I did come across a video where passersby asked to identify which of two iPads was the new one often couldn't tell the difference. A few other worries relate to how much space apps and photos or videos could take up on the new generation iPad. They have more pixels to pack in. Apps that support more resolution, such as iPhoto, will also mean that files will be larger. Data consumption online will also e a consideration. Users will need to keep an eye on what they're downloading because of the overall higher resolution. In India, I suppose we will cross our bridges when it comes to it. Meanwhile, the iPad 2 is still a fantastic purchase. Mala Bhargava is a personal technology writer and media professionalContact her at mala at pobox dot com and @malabhargava on Twitter
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