The New Kindles: Heavyweights In The E-book Arena

The New Kindles: Heavyweights In The E-book Arena

You can now order all variants of Amazon's Kindle e-book reader in India. Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj review the Paperwhite and Fire HD 8.9 and offer a few accessory recommendations

Paperwhite Display

The Kindle Paperwhite has a 6-inch e-ink touchscreen with 212ppi (pixels per inch) & 16 levels of grey scale for an optimum display. It has a built-in light which illuminates the screen evenly across the surface making it easy to view/read text in any ambient lighting condition — whether in direct sunlight or in low light. Since it uses 4 low power LED's, the effect on battery life is not that pronunced. 

Not Just For Reading 

If you thought the Kindle Paperwhite is only for reading books, think again. It has built in dictionaries. 

You can also search the web or Wikipedia and even translate text into different languages. You can add annotataions to text anywhere and then export them. There is the also option to create notes or highlight particular phrases/sections and then share them with friends over Facebook or Twitter. 

Unmatched Battery 

Like the previous Kindle e-book reader, the Paperwhite offers fantastic battery life. With wireless switched off & light setting at 10, it claims a battery life of almost two months (half an hour of reading everyday). Even if you use it with wireless on and a brighter light setting, you should get at least a few weeks of battery life, depending on how much you use it on a daily basis. 

How To Get Books 

You can download books by visiting the Amazon book store from the device directly or from your computer. Any purchases made on Amazon using a web browser are automatically delivered to the device. You can also send documents to the device and download books in compatible formats from various other websites like www. manybooks.net & www.freebookspot.com. Free Lifetime 3G 

With the Kindle Paperwhite 3G, you get free 3G for life. There are no monthly charges, no limit and it works anywhere in the world. You are obviously limited to the functions performed by the device — 

searching for and downloading books from Amazon, online search and sharing notes with friends. In India, 3G is powered by the Vodafone network. 

Media Powerhouse 

The Fire HD is a multimedia powerhouse with support for various audio/video formats, full HD video playback and a customised Dolby Digital Plus audio engine. The dual band, dual antenna WiFi offers faster connections for HD video. It also has powerful dual speakers on the side and a microHDMI port so that you can connect it to a larger display. 

Not a Usual Android Tab 

The Fire HD is the only 8.9-inch tablet with a full HD touchscreen. The interface is geared for consumption of books, apps & media. Since it syncs using your Amazon user ID, no set up is required — 

all content is synced over the cloud. The dual core processor, 16GB storage and 10 hour battery life is not the best for the price, but it offers smooth performance thanks to the custom UI. 

Unique User Interface 

Amazon has loaded up a heavily customised user interface on Android. You get a scrollable list of recently accessed apps, books, music, videos with large icons that are easy to view as well as navigate. 

There is deep facebook integration throughout the interface that makes it easy to share photos or post an update quickly from anywhere in the tablet.

No Google Play Store 

There is no Google Play store available on the Kindle Fire HD, so you have to rely entirely on the Amazon app store for apps. The good thing is that the screening process makes sure you get the best of the apps and Amazon offers one paid app for free everyday. The downside is that you do not have the entire variety of apps that are available on the Google Play Store. 

Default Apps 

WIth the Kindle Fire HD, you don't have all the usual Android apps for contacts, calendar, mail and browser. Instead, you get Amazon's own Silk browser that uses their servers to preload webpages so that they load faster on the device. The email app works with various mail service providers and automatically fetches and syncs your contacts with the device.

Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 26/06/2013

The Foodie’s Guide to Smartphone Apps

The Foodie's Guide to Smartphone Apps

The smartphone is an invaluable tool for the connected, city-based foodie. Great deals, recipes, recommendations, restaurant ratings, reservations & home delivery options are just an app away say Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj

Getting There 

Trying to locate nearby eateries to grab a bite? Check out these apps to get location based results along with easy-to-follow directions

ON THE WAY 

This free Android app is a great companion for the road traveller. It shows details of various eating joints along the highways and major road routes. You can get driving directions to a particular place, cost for two as well as directly call them up for queries. The app is powered by Ixigo and its database is constantly updated with data aggregated from multiple travel websites. 

TIMESCITY 

Available for Android, BlackBerry 10 and iOS, timescity sorts your search results of restaurants and cafes on the basis of distance from current location - making it easy to identify the nearest eating joint. From the results, you can call a place directly, get directions as well as share the details of a place with your friends. 

WIKITUDE 

With wikitude you can use your camera to identify and locate various points of interest around your location along with the distance on how far is each place. Although it does not give detailed directions to reach a particular place, this augmented reality browser is very useful in discovering new places. 

Make it Yourself 

If you're the kind who prefers to cook at home rather than eat out, these apps (they're all available across multiple platforms) will come in handy 

EVERNOTE FOOD 

Evernote Food lets you explore recipes from various websites and save them to your Evernote account. 

You can save recipes with detailed notes, tags and pictures and even share them with friends over email or social networks. The recipes that you store using the app can be accessed on any device by just logging into your Evernote account. 

SWEET'N'SPICY 

If you crave Indian food, this free app offers you over 4,000 different recipes and over 400 video cooking tutorials. You can even select the ingredients available to you and the app will suggest a dish that can be made using those ingredients. As a bonus, it offers a calorie counter (great for weight watchers) plus other useful kitchen tips and tricks. 

COCKTAIL FLOW 

Probably one of the best designed cocktail apps, this one lets you first select what spirits and mixers you have and then suggests what you can make with them. The step-by-step guide makes it easy for even amateurs to quickly and easily make any cocktail. A useful 'bartenders guide' explains what the different types of glasses are, various bar tools and what their function is while making a drink. 

BIGOVEN 

With an exhaustive list of over 2,50,000 recipes from around the world, this free (ad-supported) app lets you search for recipes based on ingredients and keywords. If you like, you can create an account — 

doing so will help you to save your recipes, sync them across multiple devices, share them to social networks and even import more recipes from other cooking websites and blogs. The paid version of the app ($19.99/yr) removes ads & adds more features. 

Get it Delivered 

Craving fancy food but don't want to step out? Use these apps to order food from your couch 

FOODPANDA 

With over 1,000 restaurants in their catalogue, Foodpanda has an easy to navigate interface with detailed restaurant menus. There is no minimum delivery order and you also get the option to pay cash on delivery. Currently the app works for restaurants in NCR, Bangalore, Hyderbad, Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur and Chandigrah/Mohali. 

JUST EAT 

Just eat claims to have tied up with over 2,000 restaurants and other than ordering food for home delivery it even lets you book a table at select restaurants. You can also see rating of each restaurant along with the minimum order cost for delivery. They also have cash on delivery option. The service is available in NCR, Bangalore and Mumbai. 

DOMINO'S PIZZA 

For pizza lovers, domino's pizza India has an official smartphone app to order pizza. The app requires a registration via phone number or via Facebook and post that you can select from the various offerings. 

You can select the size, pizza base as well as additional toppings from the app along with beverages and side dishes. You can also use various discount coupons on the mobile app. Reservations & Discounts Use these apps when you need to find a good place to eat near you and/or get a sweet deal 

EATTR 

Although Eattr (Android only) is powered by Zomato, it's focused on getting you the best deals in restaurants around you. All you have to do is select your city from a drop down list (while the app gets your current location). Then, you can search by restaurant name or type of cuisine and it will start listing places to eat — nearest first. If you prefer, you can also do a generic search for deals in your city. 

DELIGHTCIRCLE 

DelightCircle (free for Android, BlackBerry and iOS) offers many different types of deals (apparel, electronics, grocery and so on). For restaurants, it first figures out your location and shows you the best deals closest to you. Click on any restaurant name and you'll see the offers, the restaurant's address and some helpful tips provided by other patrons. You can choose to call the restaurant directly from this page (if accessing DelightCircle from a smartphone) or view its location on a map (clicking on the 'Get Directions' buttons plugs the location info into Google Maps which starts the turn-by-turn directions from your current location). The service is available in nine cities: all the metros, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh. 

CITYPAL 

Citypal (free for Android and iOS) requires you to sign up with them before you start. Sign up only takes a minute and you can choose to sign in with Facebook if you like. Signing in with Facebook also shows you friends who are also using Citypal. From the 'Places' list, click on any one to see details, call from within the app or get directions (using Google Maps). More features (such as search for restaurant by name) are being added soon. Citypal currently works in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Pune. 

Reviews, Ratings 

Given all the choices, it can be difficult to decide on a place. These should be your 'go-to' apps when you need to get quick user reviews and restaurant ratings 

ZOMATO 

Zomato is the number one choice if you want to see how a particular eating place is rated by visitors. 

You can also view photos of the venue, the full menu as well as read reviews (and tips) about the food and service. The app also provides other useful information such as directions, phone numbers, the cost for two and the restaurant timings. 

BURRP! 

Even though Burrp!'s interface and details on offer are simpler compared to Zomato, it offers one big advantage: it has a line on the specialities served at various restaurants. This means you don't have to go read user reviews to find out what to order. It also shows you directions to the place and lets you place a call from within the app. 

Fun Stuff INSTAPLACE 

Like clicking photos of your food? Instaplace is good place to start — it's like Instagram but with places. 

Start up the app and click a photo or choose an existing one from the image gallery. Then, you can enhance your photograph with fun effects, add the text of your choice and the app will overlay it on the photo along with details of the location (pulled from Facebook or Foursquare) automatically. The final image can then be shared on Instagram or any other social network — you can share your location and boast about what you're eating at the same time. A pro version removes ads and adds more customisation. 

MOODIEFOODIE 

Available only for iOS, this app requires you to select your current mood. Depending on what you select, the app recommends what you should eat. It also helps build up your appetite by showing you big, tempting pictures of the food it recommends. Finally, you can get the detailed recipe for the dish with step-by-step directions on how to prepare it.

Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 19/06/2013

Fwd: 7 Ways iOS 7 Improves Apple's Mobile Devices

7 Ways iOS 7 Improves Apple's Mobile Devices

There may not be many revolutionary changes to Apple's popular mobile OS but it builds on popular features found in Android, BlackBerry & Windows Phone to deliver a streamlined experience say Karan Bajaj & Hitesh Raj Bhagat

Easier On The Eyes 

The most visible change in iOS7 is the new user interface. The icons have a modern, flat look with a new colour palette and new fonts that work well on small screens. Most native apps get new icons to suit the new colour palette. Menus and pop-up windows have a translucent background — to give the appearance of layers stacked on top of one another — makes it easier to see the layer right on top. There 's also a lot more white space to give everything a cleaner, more Apple-like feel. 

Easier File Sharing 

With iOS 7, apps can have a 'Share' button built in. Tap the share button to open a new window called Share Sheet from where you can send a selected photo, video or contact to supported apps such as Mail, iCloud, Twitter, Facebook, and Messages. Another feature called AirDrop lets you send files to a nearby iOS 7 user wirelessly (using Bluetooth & WiFi). People around you with iOS7 will be visible in the Share Sheet — and once he/she accepts the incoming transfer, it will be sent to their device. AirDrop transfers between two iOS 7 devices are automatically encrypted. Note that this feature only works with devices on iOS 7. 

Interface Improvements 

iOS 7 banks heavily on gestures to offer improved and easy navigation. Even though there is no physical back button, you get a virtual one — swipe in from the left of the screen to go back to the previous window (works in supported apps only). Swipe an email to delete or move it without opening the mail. Unlocking the phone is easier — instead of swiping left to right on a bar, the screen unlocks with a left-to-right swipe from anywhere on the lock screen. The Notification Centre can also be accessed from the lock screen (this can be switched off in settings). 

iTunes Radio 

Like many internet radio services, iTunes Radio offers over 200 genre-based radio stations to choose from. The difference is that it is baked right into iOS 7's Music app and is completely free. You can create a personalised radio station around your favourite artist or genre and set a balance between playing new songs or known hits as well as choose to never listen to a particular song. Any song being played on iTunes Radio can be purchased and downloaded immediately. Apple says that the service will be free (adsupported) and will initially be U.S. only. 

Control Center 

Quite like Android, with Control Center, you get quick access to a few commonly-used settings, apps & features. To bring up Control Center, swipe up from the bottom of the screen anywhere in the interface (including the lock screen). From the Control Center, you can activate Airplane mode, Bluetooth, WiFi, Do Not Disturb and screen rotation function. You can also adjust screen brightness and launch apps like the Torch, Calculator, Timer and Camera with one tap. Finally, Control Center also includes a mini music player with song information and playback controls (play/pause, track and volume). 

Better Multitasking 

iOS 7 offers a new way to multitask. Double click the home button to see preview screens of all the running apps — this makes it easier to view what you were working on. To close an app, just swipe the preview screen of that app upwards. iOS 7 also learns from your usage habits to optimise app updates. It will learn when you open an app on a daily basis and automatically get the latest update at that time. It will also schedule updates when it causes the least amount of battery drain. 

Camera Improvements 

Many iPhone users complained about the lack of camera features available by default — this also exaplains the popularity of third-party camera apps. With iOS 7, the interface looks modern, clean and adds gesture support. You can swipe horizontally to shift between Photo, Video, Panorama and the Square (for Instagram and the like) shooting modes. Various artistic filters are included — depending on the device you use, filters can either be tried out before taking a photo or applied after. 

What devices will iOS 7 be compatible with? 

iPhone 4, 4S & 5, 5th Gen iPod Touch, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4 and iPad Mini will all get iOS 7 as a free update. 

Will all new features be available on all devices? 

Unfortunately not. Apple has chosen to withhold some features from older devices. The availability of features has nothing to do with the hardware capabilities of those devices. For instance, the new Panorama camera mode will only be available in iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and 5th Gen iPod Touch (not on the iPads). Live camera filters will only be available in iPhone 5 and 5th Gen iPod Touch. AirDrop will work only on iPhone 5, iPad Mini, 4th Gen iPad & 5th Gen iPod Touch. And finally, Siri will continue to avoid the iPhone 4, iPad 2 and all older versions of the iPod Touch. 

When will the update be available? 

iOS developers have access to iOS 7 immediately. The rest of the public has to wait till Sep-Oct 2013 (no exact date has been given). 

What is 'iOS in the Car'? 

Sometime in 2014, you will start to see in-dash systems with 'iOS in the Car'. This new system will connect to an iPhone 5 for a greater level of incar integration. For instance, you will be able to control your iPhone using the car's built in touchscreen (or voice, using Siri), access music, take calls, use navigation and send/receive messages. Automakers that have already signed on to offer iOS in the Car include Acura, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Opel, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Volvo.

Sony CyberShot WX300 

SPECIFICATIONS 18.2MP CMOS sensor, Bionz processor, 20x optical zoom, 3-inch LCD, full HD video, 10fps burst shoot, optical steadyshot, built-in WiFi, HDMI, 166 grams 

Great quality images and videos, fast focus, compact, built-in WiFi Focussing issue at times, no manual 

controls, small control buttons 

KARAN BAJAJ 

NEW DELHI 

At first sight it's hard to believe that Sony has managed to cram a 20x optical zoom lens into this compact camera. More impressive is the fact that the camera also has built in optical image stabilisation, shoots at 10 fps (burst), has built-in WiFi and does full HD video recording. In terms of size, the camera will easily fit in the palm of your hand. It has a brushed metal finish and overall build quality is fantastic. Around the back is a 3-inch (non-touch) LCD that acts as the viewfinder but is prone to fingerprints and smudges. Various control buttons for menu, playback, one touch movie recording and the jog dial for navigation are lined up neatly alongside the display. One issue is that these buttons are a bit small for comfortable use. The mode selection dial on top cannot be operated via the thumb alone — 

it's far too small to get a proper grip. Thankfully the zoom ring and shutter button are a good size. 

Performance from the camera is good — superfast autofocus and impressive results. The camera powers up and is ready to shoot in less than 2 seconds — it takes the same time to power down. Images are sharp with rich colours and have minimal noise even at ISO 1600. Even pictures taken indoors without flash are very pleasing. In low light conditions without flash, the camera struggles like any other compact digital camera. There is one flaw we noticed; it has trouble focusing on objects when zoomed-in. If it's a landscape view, it will focus fine, but even after trying all the modes and after multiple attempts, it failed to focus on individual objects indoors. 

The full HD videos we recorded were very high quality and the camera supports zooming while recording. Since support for tracking focus is built in, we did not find any issues of blurred video when panning. 

There are no manual exposure or manual focus controls on the camera, but it offers plenty of scene modes along with sweep panorama and superior auto mode. With the built-in WiFi, it generates its own secure WiFi network. The network can be used to transfer files to a connected computer. You can also use a smartphone as a remote control (with the supported free app). When using a phone as a remote, the phone's display becomes your viewfinder. You can also zoom in/out using the phone. However, there is a lag of 2-3 seconds. At this price, the WX300 is impressive for its size and feature set. Battery life is phenomenal — we recorded over 300 shots with mixed use of flash and few minutes of video recording from a fully charged battery. You can also consider Canon's Powershot SX260HS that also offers 20x optical zoom, full manual controls with great performance for 15,995. 

ALSO SEE Canon SX260HS 

12MP CMOS sensor, Digic 5, Optical image stabilization, 20x optical zoom, 3-inch LCD, full HD video, built-in flash, GPS, manual controls, 15 995 HDMI, 231g ,

Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 12/06/2013

Fwd: Where and How to Get the Best Online Gadget Deals

Where and How to Get the Best Online Gadget Deals

You can save a lot of money when shopping online for gadgets as long as you know where to look. Karan Bajaj lists some of the online stores that offer great deals and discounts:

Phones, Tablets & Cameras

If you are on the lookout for a handheld device, you can get some fantastic deals compared to retail stores on these sites 

UNIVERCELL.IN 

Along with a deal of the week that offers promo codes for additional discounts on purchase, they also offer heavy discounts on slightly older devices. 

SAHOLIC.COM 

The site has a clearance sale section where older products can be picked up for as much as 70% discount. They also offer the facility to collect a device purchased online from nearest Spice Hotspot store. 

THEMOBILESTORE.IN 

Although the rates are similar to other websites for a majority of the products, their 'Super Sale' section has some unbelievable deals at times. 

ZOOMIN.COM 

Although they show discount over MRP on most listed items, what sets them apart is their special offers where newer devices are listed with extra discount making them cheaper than other sites. 

MIRCHIMART.COM 

This one offers fantastic discounts on recently launched gadgets. Every Tuesday they have special discounts on various products under their dedicated sale day called 'Toofani Tuesday'. 

Discount Coupons Website 

Most e-commerce sites offer discount coupons to attract new users. The coupons help you save further over the sale price when buying online. Head to www.khojguru.com, www. cashkaro.com, www.couponpolice.com and www.couponzguru.com to get discounts coupons for popular websites. Most of these websites do not require you to signup for any account. Search for the online store of your choice and the site will list all the offers currently available. Everything Under One Roof Offering everything from gadgets to home appliances 

CROMARETAIL.COM 

The online store of well known retail chain offers discount on a number of products, unlike retail stores. It offers various combo offers along with discount coupons for their own 'Croma' range of products in order to entice customers in buying them. 

SHOPPING.INDIATIMES.COM 

The site offers fresh discount coupons in their daily midnight deal. The discount is on one specific product category so that the consumer can avail discount on any product of choice. There are also deals on gadgets and accessories running on the homepage. 

EBAY.IN 

Though eBay works on a different model than the usual e-commerce sites, it offers some of the best discounts in its Deals section. Just make sure that you purchase from a power seller with manufacturer warranty provided and not seller warranty 

INFIBEAM.COM 

Infibeam keeps updating its site with various deals on a weekly basis and even has some combo offers at times. However, it stands out with its Magic Box section that daily offers two new products from various categories at unmatched discounted price. 

FLIPKART.COM 

Flipkart is a household name now thanks to its innovative marketing. The site offers almost anything and everything from handheld gadgets to home appliances. Although they don't have a dedicated deal section, the site always has some discount offer. 

SNAPDEAL.COM 

Shifting from being a deal sites to an online store, Snapdeal now offers a much larger portfolio of products across categories. They have various offers listed on the home page across categories as well as a deal of the day (not necessarily of gadgets). 

HOMESHOP18.COM 

Homeshop has two deal sections on the site. The first is called Daily 18 – lists 18 products from various categories with a discounted price. The second called Superdeals lists down products along with discount coupons of certain value. 

TRADUS.COM 

Tradus works on a similar model as eBay – verified sellers list products and the consumer can purchase from the seller offering the lowest price. There is a dedicated deal page listing products (usually unknown brands) at a surprisingly low price. 

Accessories Only 

STUFFCOOL.COM 

Stuffcool is a great source for accessories of phones, tablet and laptops. There is usually one or the other deal running and they also have clearance sale on accessories for older devices. 

LOVE4APPLE.COM 

As the name suggests, the site deals in accessories for various Apple devices. They have a hot deals section where you can get up to 70% discount on select items. The section is updated on a weekly basis. 

FOMMY.CO.IN 

This is the only site where accessories for devices by Indian manufacturer like Micromax, Intex, iBall etc are available. They have a dedicated daily deal page where a new product is listed everyday at a special price. 

International Sites 

THINKGEEK.COM 

Thinkgeek has one of the best collections of quirky and unusual gadgets and accessories. The site ships to India via DHL or UPS Express due to which the shipping cost is slightly high. 

DX.COM 

DX (DealeXtreme) offers free worldwide shipping and has over 80,000 products (most unknown brands) in its roaster. They have some great clearance sales and deals available almost every week. 

EBAY GLOBAL 

• http://GEB.EBAY.IN

• The site offer access to products that are not available officially in India along with the price inclusive of shipping and custom duties to India. Requires some searching around to find the various deals. 

ALIEXPRESS.COM 

With vendors across south east Asia selling products on Aliexpress, you can get accessories and gadgets at great prices. They also have a dedicated superdeals section where products are listed with hefty discounts. 

Price Comparison Websites 

With the growing number of ecommerce sites, it's tedious to visit each and every website, find the price offered by it and then compare it against the various other websites. One way to simplify this process is to use a price comparison website. Websites like www.junglee.com,www.mysmartprice.com, www.phonecurry.com, www.compareraja. com, and www.pricedekho.com let you search across various online stores for a particular gadget. The results 

— listed along with relevant information like price, delivery time and rating of the store — make it easy to view the difference in price among websites and quickly find the lowest price of a gadget.

Ongoing Gadget Deals

APPLE IPHONE 5 + APPLE TV DEAL PRICE: 45,500 

The 16GB Apple iPhone 5 is priced at 45,500 and comes with a 4-inch retina display, dual core processor and a fantastic 8MP camera. Apple TV is for 8,295 and lets you enjoy multimedia content from the internet or iCloud on your TV. Get the combo of both devices for just 45,500 atwww.infibeam.com 

BLACKBERRY TORCH 9860 DEAL PRICE: 14,500 

The Torch 9860 runs Blackberry OS 7 and has a 3.7-inch touchscreen display. It has a great 5MP camera and runs on a 1.2Ghz processor with 768MB RAM - offering great performance. The phone usually sells for 21,990, but on www.themobilestore.in you can get it for just 14,500 under their special deals.

SAMSUNG GALAXY SII DEAL PRICE: 18,643 

The Galaxy SII still outweighs most budget smartphones when it comes to features. It has a 4.3-inch super amoled plus display, dual core 1.2Ghz processor, 1GB RAM along with a fantastic 8MP camera. 

Head to www.themobilestore.in to pick it up for just 18,643 instead of its usual price tag of 25,900

CANON EOS 600D DEAL PRICE: 28,869 

Canon's entry-level DSLR features an 18MP APS-C size sensor, Digic 4 processor and records videos in full HD resolution. It has a 3-inch articulating LCD display that is great for composing pictures. The camera usually sells at 34,995 with the 18-55mm kit lens, but is currently available for 28,869 at http://ebay.in 

NOKIA LUMIA 720 DEAL PRICE: 17,599 

One of the slimmest Windows Phone 8 smartphones available in the market today, Lumia 720 has a 4.3-inch display, runs on a dual core processor and has a 6.1MP camera that takes great low-light photos. 

Announced less than two months ago for 18,999, it is selling for 17,599 atwww.homeshop18.com

Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 05/06/2013 

A Brand New Star in Samsung's Galaxy

A Brand New Star in Samsung's Galaxy

Samsung's Galaxy series includes some of the best Android smartphones around. Now that the flagship Galaxy S4 is here, how does it compare and does it have the potential to be the new best? Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj find out

Display 

The S4 has a 5-inch, super amoled display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. This gives the display a pixel density of 441 PPI (pixels per inch) — try as you might, you cannot see individual pixels with a naked eye. The colours are rich, blacks are super-deep, viewing angles are excellent and text and images in any condition are pin sharp. Plus, it uses Gorilla Glass 3 that is claimed to be three times more scratch resistant than Gorilla Glass 2. This is the king of mobile displays. 

Hardware 

The Samsung Exynos octa-core processor along with 2GB of RAM powers the internatinal (and India) version. Octa core combines a 1.6Ghz quad-core cortex A15 and a 1.2Ghz quad-core cortex A7 processor. At any given point, the phone uses only four cores — if you are using it for light work (calls, web browsing, music playback, texts), the phone uses the lower power A7 cores. For demanding apps and games it instantly switches to the more powerful A15 cores. This provides a great balance between performance and power efficiency. 

Samsung Hub + IR Emitter 

Samsung Hub provides a place to buy content (books, music, apps, games). It does duplicate the Google Play Store but you have both options. Signing up for Samsung Hub also gives you a 540 gift voucher. The infrared emitter works in tandem with Samsung WatchOn. You can configure it to work with any TV, set 

top box or DVD/Blu-Ray player but there is no programme guide for India yet. 

Camera 

The S4 sports a 13MP autofocus rear camera  with LED flash and a 2MP front camera. Both are capable of recording full HD video at 30fps. The camera has a revamped, simpler interface with one-touch access to effects and settings. It now features a scrolling carousel for selecting the various modes. Each mode is shown with an image so that it's easy to understand. 

Unique Shooting Modes 

Several new modes have been added to the S4's camera. Dual shot uses both rear and front cameras to take an image/record a video — this way, the person holding the phone can also be included. 360 photo mode creates a 360 degree spherical panorama. An Eraser mode smartly allows you to remove moving objects from the frame. Drama Shot takes several exposures and combines them into a single collage photo. Sound & Shot takes a photo and combines it with 9 seconds of audio to give the viewer a feel of what it felt like to be there when the photograph was taken.

BENCHMARKED PERFORMANCE

AnTuTu Benchmark 

AnTuTu tests memory, CPU, 2D/3D graphics, SD card read/write & Database IO. The S4 scores the highest here, with the HTC One coming in at 22,678 while the Xperia Z scores 20,794.

Quadrant 

Quadrant tests the CPU, I/O and 3D graphics of a device. It uses a data connection to submit the score and compare the device against others. Our Galaxy S4 with the Octa core Exynos processor clocked a very impressive 12,778, beating every device on the market. The HTC One comes close with a score of 11,800.

3D Mark Ice Storm 

A great cross-platform benchmarking tool, 3DMark is an industry standard test. The S4 scores 10,617 here, the Xperia Z gets 9,592 while the HTC One clocks in at 9,773.There is a lot to love about Samsung's blockbuster Galaxy S3 — and the S4 betters it in every respect. It couldn't have been easy, but the S4 shoehorns a 5-inch, full HD super amoled screen into a device that is thinner than the S3. It's also about the same width/ height as the S3, has a larger battery, improved 

camera, better hardware, infrared emitter plus additional sensors. The screen is breathtaking — rich, dark blacks, amazing viewing angles and eyepopping colours come very naturally to the super amoled screen. Add in the 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution and Gorilla Glass 3 and you get a screen that is one of the best on a mobile device. Samsung has pulled out all stops with the S4 — it does a bunch of new tricks (many of them firsts in the industry). It can pause a video if you look away, automatically scroll when you reach the end of a page and answer a call or move between images with a swipe of your hand in mid air. These do not work 100% of the time and may or may not find favour with everyone but a feature called Air View might. Following up from the same feature on the Note II (which works with a stylus), now you just hover your finger over the screen to pull up additional information like calendar entries, text within SMS/email, images inside a folder or video thumbnails. All this add-on software occupies a significant amount of space on the device. About 3GB of space is 'missing' from the internal memory, so of the 16GB internal memory, only 9GB is available to you. Luckily, you can easily pop in another 32 or 64GB card (`1500 or 3000, respectively). There are vast improvements in camera quality with many more tricks like erasing people from the frame, multiple images in one frame, animated GIFs and dual active cameras. Battery life was great too, with the phone lasting over a day easily. Probably the only area where the S4 really falls short of expectations is with the polycarbonate design. Granted, the polycarbonate back is flexible, strong, durable & most importantly, removable — it still doesn't feel as nice as a `40k device should. It seems that competitors have made huge strides in this area and Samsung, which also received flak for the extensive use of polycarbonate on previous flagships like the S3 and Note II, didn't learn from this misstep. Overall, the S4 is a great evolution of the S3. The easy availability and attractive finance schemes will only make it easier to own. It's the current performance king and comes very close to being ideal. Just consider all the options in the 'Also See' section before you put down the cash for it.

Samsung Galaxy S4 

SPECIFICATIONS 5-inch, full HD touchscreen (1080 x 1920 pixels; 441ppi), Octa Core processor (quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 + quadcore 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7), 2GB RAM, 16GB storage + micro SD, 13MP rear cam, 2MP front cam, Android 4.2, 2,600mAh battery, 130 gms High-quality full HD screen, blistering performance, great camera with lots of enhancements, great battery life, IR emitter to control TV/set top box, removable battery, expandable memory Polycarbonate shell doesn't feel as good as some of the competition, many of the improvements and new features are software based which are good to have, but may not always be used.

HTC One 

The HTC One primarily scores over the Galaxy S4 in terms of build quality. The unibody aluminium construction and incredible attention to detail makes it one of the best designed Android smartphones around. It also has a full HD display and the 4MP 'Ultrapixel' camera outperforms the S4 in certain low light situations. However, the HTC does not have expandable storage or a removable battery and the performance stops short of the S4 on every count. 

42,900

Courtesy : Techtonic, Times of India, dated: 01/05/2013 

Fwd:

Fujifilm FinePix X20 PRICE 39,999 

SPECIFICATIONS 12MP, 28-112mm (4x) optical zoom, f2 -2.8, pop-up flash, hot shoe, 1080p video, 12fps burst mode, RAW, hybrid AF, optical viewfinder, 2.8-inch LCD, 353 grams 

  Great retro design,

  High performance and low noise,

  RAW support 

  No traditional on/off button or lever, LCD resolution

  Could have been higher 

HITESH RAJ BHAGAT 

NEW DELHI 

Retro style cameras are in and Fuji is making the biggest push in this area. The recently reviewed X100s earned top honours from us for superb performance. However, the price does put it out of reach for everyone except avid enthusiasts and professionals. The new X20 is more affordable but still retains the retro charm. It's available in allblack and a (nicer looking, in our opinion) black-silver. The X20 has a 12MP sensor, 28 – 112mm manual zoom Fujinon lens, built in optical image stabilisation, 1cm macro mode, full HD video recording at 60fps, a super-fast, hybrid autofocus system, RAW shooting support, a 2.8-inch LCD (4,60,000 dots), film simulation mode, built in 360 panorama mode, electronic level, full manual control and a burst mode of 12fps (at full 12MP resolution). In a head-to-head comparison, these features put the X20 ahead of any entry or mid-level DSLR kit. It makes a very strong case for itself if you don't need to change lenses. It may not have the APS-C size CMOS sensor found in digital SLRs, but it still does have a 2/3-inch X-Trans CMOS II sensor — larger than most compact cameras. It also has an optical viewfinder with a new Digital Trans Panel — the viewfinder zooms along with the lens, but it also shows you vital information like shutter speed, aperture, mode and focus lock. Performance is excellent in any condition. The X20 delivers sharp and bright images with virtually no lag. Video quality is excellent too, with the hybrid AF taking care of focus. Finally, there are various modes and filters (toy camera, selective colour, low light, miniature, soft focus and so on) If you're considering buying a DSLR but are put off by size and heft, the X20 is a great alternative. Sony's NEX-5R offers better performance, interchangeable lenses and a larger sensor, but at the cost of the great retro design.

ALSO SEE Sony NEX-5RL 

16.1MP APS-C CMOS sensor, hybrid AF, interchangeable lenses, 3-inch LCD, 180-degree flip screen, 10fps shooting, full HD video, WiFi, 276 grams

Rs. 39,990

Nokia Lumia 520 PRICE 10,499 

SPECIFICATIONS 1Ghz dual core processor, 512MB RAM, 8GB storage (expandable), 4-inch LCD (800 x 480 pixels), 5MP rear camera,1,430mAh, 124 grams Great value, sturdy design, interchangeable covers, extra sensitive touch surface No front camera, no FM, small battery, basic LCD screen (no clear black or Amoled) 

HITESH RAJ BHAGAT 

NEW DELHI 

As smartphones become cheaper and better, it's the consumer that benefits the most. Nokia's new Lumia 520 is officially the most affordable Windows Phone device out there — it's an attempt to allow a greater number of people to enjoy the core experience of Windows Phone without stripping away too many of the usual essentials of a smartphone. 

Considering the price, the Lumia 520 is a great deal. You get a 1Ghz dual core processor, 512MB RAM and 8GB of storage (expandable by another 64GB). The tile-based interface is easy to learn for firsttime smartphone users (Nokia's primary target for this device), Obviously, a few things have been omitted to get the price down. For instance, there is no front camera and the rear camera is a basic 5MP unit without flash. The camera can do a decent enough job outdoors but struggles to record anything viewable/ watchable indoors. The battery is a 1,430mAh unit and you won't get any high-end features like NFC, TV out or 1080p video recording. Where it matters the most, you can't find fault with the Lumia 520. It may be entry-level, but it still offers a fluid interface, it includes Nokia's turn-by-turn navigation, Nokia Music, great call quality and feels sturdy to hold and use. 

As a bonus, the touchscreen can also be operated while wearing gloves. 

All said and done, if you don't have much to spend but still want a smartphone from one of the top global brands, the Lumia 520 is a bargain. However, if you're not that fussy about brands, you can get a decent Android smartphone for half as much as the Lumia 520. And 10k will get you Karbonn's S1 — a quad core Android phone with a larger 4.5inch screen and front camera.

Karbonn S1 Titanium 

4.5-inch (960 x 540 pixels), 1.2Ghz quad-core, 1GB RAM, 4GB + microSD slot, 5MP/VGA camera, Wi-Fi, FM Radio, GPS, Android 4.1,127g, 1,600mAh 

10,990

Lenovo Ideaphone S890 PRICE 20,899 KARAN BAJAJ NEW DELHI 

The S890 is Lenovo's latest Android smartphone. With a 5-inch screen & flip cover that locks and unlocks the device, it's clearly in 'phablet' territory. The build quality of the S890 is impressive — it looks and feels more premium than almost any other phablet we compared it with. One slight issue is that the phone is slightly heavier (176 grams) when compared to similar size phablets such as the Micromax Canvas HD (156 grams) or the Samsung Galaxy Grand (162 grams). 

The 5-inch IPS display has good viewing angles and shows vivid colors. The customised user interface smartly masks the low resolution (960 x540 pixels) by using a minimalist icon design for most used apps such as messages and phone calling. Hardware consists of a Mediatek dual core processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB storage with a microSD card slot. Performance is great — no visible lag or sluggishness even with multiple apps running in the background. Full HD videos and games like Shadowgun and Dead Trigger ran without issue. Pictures taken from the rear camera have sharp details and natural colors. However, noise is visible when used indoors or in low light conditions. Lenovo's Energy smart feature lets you keep a track of your battery usage and optimize it. Using that, we got a battery life of over one and half day on the device with the 2,250mAh battery — impressive. The S890 is a good phone, but the Micromax canvas HD offers a better resolution display with a quad core processor for a lower price. 

ALSO SEE Micromax Canvas HD 

Rs. 14,999 

5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels), 1.2Ghz quadcore, 1GB RAM, 4GB + microSD slot, 8MP/2MP camera, Android 4.1, 156g, 2,000mAh

Courtesy : Techtonic, Times of India, dated: 24/04/2013 

BlackBerry's Z10 Up to The Challenge?

BlackBerry's Z10 Up to The Challenge?

BlackBerry's new Z10 has a lot riding on its svelte shoulders. Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj offer an in-depth review of the device and operating system that many loyalists have been waiting for

The Z10 is perhaps the most important launch for a beleaguered BlackBerry. It makes no bones about its ambitions — a whole new operating system and fresh hardware — built specifically to reach out to a smartphone-crazy populace obsessed with appearances, apps and attention to detail. Say what you will 

about the company, but you'll quite easily find scores of die-hard BlackBerry fans, eagerly waiting for their next fix. That being said, it is our opinion that BlackBerry should have launched both the Z10 and the upcoming Q10 simultaneously — to appeal to both BlackBerry loyalists (who only want a physical keypad) and the touchscreen savvy group. In addition, launching from the top down — flagship device first — might just put off people who have more established (and cheaper) competitors to choose from. 

Here's our take on the Z10 after using it for a few days. 

Camera 

You can start the camera up from the lockscreen (with a long press), dock or from the app drawer. There is no dedicated shutter button but you can use the volume up/down keys or tap anywhere on the screen to take a photo. The default camera app is a bit bare with hardly any options to change modes or add effects (you can't even change image size). Thankfully, other camera apps (like CameraXFree) have started appearing which will give you a lot more options.

The highlight in the default camera app is the 'time shift' feature – when switched on, the device captures a few photos before and after you actually click. If one of your subjects is not striking a good pose, you can just choose another pose/angle to 'correct' it. Overall camera quality is impressive, with high detail and good quality low light photographs. 

Screen 

The Z10 has a 4.2-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels. This gives it a pixel density of 355ppi (pixels per inch) — higher than the iPhone 5. It is pin-sharp and offers fantastic contrast and viewing angles. The high pixel density means that you will not see individual pixels even when looking closely at the screen — providing sharper images and easy to read text. Brightness levels may not be the best, but they are more than adequate — the screen is viewable even under direct sunlight. Notably, the screen does not use Corning's Gorilla Glass, but a generic scratch-resistant glass. Response from the 4-point multi-touch screen is fantastic. However, swipe gestures take some getting used to. A number of times, while swiping up from the lower edge for a 'Peek', we missed the starting point. Another oddity is that while viewing an app in landscape mode, you have a very narrow bezel. One big issue is that the display is a fingerprint and smudge magnet and requires constant cleaning, else it affects the touch recognition for swipe gestures. 

The Operating System 

The entire interface is operated with a combination of swipes and taps. This means you do have to spend some time learning and getting used to how the phone operates. The best part is that you can wake the device up by just swiping the screen up from the lower edge. Notifications (new email, Facebook, Twitter etc) are available at any time with a 'Peek' – swipe up and hold. Swipe up and right to get to the Hub, a central location for all communication. Any app can be minimised to a live 'card' with an upward swipe. Importantly, there is no separate BlackBerry plan required with this device – just a regular data connection will do. 

The Biggest Issue 

A basic suite of apps (document viewers, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare) is included. 

BlackBerry says that there are already 70,000 apps for BB10 on BlackBerry World — but you need to take that number with a pinch of salt. In reality, you will find that several of your favourites are not available yet. It's also apparent that many of the existing apps are hurried ports from Android apps — 

erratic, unresponsive buttons are usually the first giveaway. This is probably one of the biggest challenges for BlackBerry – in an app-driven world, it has to compete with the gargantuan and highly evolved app libraries of iOS and Android. 

Keyboard 

The on-screen keyboard will be a hot topic of debate on the Z10. It looks a bit similar to the keyboard on the Bold series — large keys with metal bands adding space between the rows. It suggests whole words as you type and automatically corrects spellings in a non-intrusive manner (unlike an iPhone, which often makes embarrassing errors for you — if you're not careful). 

While there's no doubt that it's smart and keeps learning words as you type, it is not a 'one size fits all' type of keyboard — and you can't switch to another keyboard like with Swype or Swiftkey on an Android phone. 

Battery Life 

Battery life has always been a weak point with BlackBerry devices especially considering the kind of use they're put through. With an 1,800 mAh battery on the Z10, we weren't expecting much considering the large touchscreen and powerful hardware. With mixed use (calls, email, social networking, BBM, multimedia, brightness at 40% and data switched on) the Z10 will probably not last a full day. This is inspite of an extremely efficient Qualcomm processor and no apps running in the background. Future updates to the OS may increase battery life marginally, but we wouldn't count on it. 

We did not like was that there is no battery percentage or time remaining info given for the battery icon. Thankfully, third party apps like BX Battery Info can give you some real-time info in a live card. 

The Bottom Line 

It's a trying time for BlackBerry but BB10 provides a glimmer of hope. Now, what needs to be done is to add the apps that everyone wants, regularly update the operating system to iron out bugs and to quickly launch more devices at different price points — especially in emerging markets. Considering the price, the Z10 has some stiff competition (see box below). Also note that while the launch price may be high, market forces will probably peg the price closer to 40,000. 

BlackBerry Q10 Specifications 

3.1-inch touchscreen, 1.5Ghz dual core, 2GB RAM, 16GB + microSD, 8MP/2MP, 139 grams 

The upcoming Q10 is for BlackBerry loyalists who are desperate for a device with a physical keyboard. 

The straight keyboard is wider than all previous designs and should make it really easy to bang out long text. The 3.1-inch super amoled display has a resolution of 720 x 720 pixels. In terms of pixel density, this one beats the iPhone 5 too. It also includes all the features of BlackBerry 10 OS. It is expected to be available from April 2013 onwards and we expect it to be priced at 35,000.

Courtesy : Techtonic, Time of India dated 27-02-2013