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October 30, 2013

Quirky USB Gadgets to Accessorise Your Desk

Quirky USB Gadgets to Accessorise Your Desk

You can use the ubiquitous USB port on your computer for more than just boring memory devices and dongles. Karan Bajaj rounds up some cute and useful conversation starters



Handy Microscope 

This lightweight and easy-to-use microscope offers up to 200X magnification. It has a 2MP sensor that records stills and video which can be directly saved to a computer. It also has 8 LEDs built-in, which combined with the microscope's automatic light contrast can deliver sharp images. It also offers a live view of the magnification on the connected computer. 

Get it for 3,250 from ebay.in




Super WiFi Antenna 

Having trouble with poor WiFi reception in your room or office? Get the USB powered super WiFi antenna that boosts your laptop's ability to receive a WiFi signal. It is weather resistant, so you can even place it outside if the Wi-Fi router is on a different floor. The device comes with suction mounts to help stick it on glass.

Get it for US$ 120 from www.firststreetonline.com 



Cute Toast Handwarmers 

These smiling toast-shaped gloves are universal size & have an adjustable strap. Plug them in to switch on the built-in heating. You can choose the level of warmth (only two levels of heat; low or high) and it takes a few minutes to warm up. Since they don't cover your fingers, you can even use them while typing on a keyboard — good news for anyone in an office where the air-conditioning is kept on full 
blast.

Get it for US$ 31.99 from www.thinkgeek.com



The Squirming Tentacle 

The squirming tentacle doesn't serve any purpose other than being a conversation starter. Plug it in and it instantly starts wiggling and squirming as if it's alive. Plug a few of them into a USB hub and it will look like you have a small octopus trapped on your desk. 

Get it for US$ 14.99 from www. thinkgeek.com



Bladeless Fan 

The USB powered desk fan has a bladeless design — no danger of any injury and nothing to get caught in rotating blades. It has a brushless motor that draws in air from the back and pushes it out through the bladeless ring. The airflow is steady but not too powerful — just enough for personal use. It includes a removable sponge — soak the sponge in water  to get cold air from the fan. You can power it via USB or with four AA batteries. 

Get it for 2,000 from ebay.in 



Heated Blanket 

Made of plush, comforable material, this heating blanket has two USB cables for power; use it with one USB port for low heat and connect both USB ports for high heating. It uses an infrared carbon fibre heating wire which supposedly has therapeutic health benefits for people with high blood pressure, heart conditions and arthritis. With both USB cables connected, the blanket heats up to around 50 
degrees Celcius. 

Get it for 1,600 from ebay.in



Desk Fishquarium 

If you're looking to brighten up your desk & take in the calming benefits of live fish, why not get a Fishquarium? It has an LED light, space to keep your office stationary, a built-in clock, calendar and temperature sensor as well as a tiny aquarium. The USB connection is required for a low voltage pump and filtration system. The clock and calendar uses three AA batteries. 

Get it for US$ 39.99 from www.thinkgeek.com



Folding Piano 

Nothing like a foldable, hide-away USBpowered keyboard to bring out the buding musician in you. This piano offers ifferent tones and even a built in drum pad. It's also great for kids because it's pill-proof, unbreakable and has no keys hat can chip or fall out. Can also be powred using three AA batteries. 

Get it for US$ 40 from www.dx.com 



Portable Drum Kit 

With this nifty gadget, you can carry six different drums in your backpack – all powered by a USB port. The pads are made of silicon, so you know it's durable. A pair of plastic drumsticks are included, as is a software CD to help record/playback the drums on a computer (Windows only). It's not really a serious musicians instrument since it only recognises one tap (one beat) at a time, but good for a laugh. 

Get it for US$ 23 from www.dx.com



Toaster Hub Thumbdrives 

This quirky, 4-port USB hub resembles a retro style toaster — the USB ports face upwards and it also includes an SD card reader on the side. The fun part is you can also purchase USB drives in the shape of toast that fit perfectly on the toaster hub. Each 4GB toast-shaped USB drive is US$ 19.99 and is available in four different shades of brown. 

Get it for US$ 19.99 from www.thinkgeek.com


Courtesy : Techtonic, Time of India dated 03-04-2013 
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How to Stay Ahead With Up-to-the-minute News

How to Stay Ahead With Up-to-the-minute News

In a world where everyone is connected, you shouldn't have to go searching for news — it should come to you. Karan Bajaj shows you how you can stay on top of current events or really anything you choose, with just a few clicks


Online Newspapers 

The newspaper is the primary source for news for a lot of people. To keep up with 
the digital age, publications also have a portal, which is continuously updated. www.allyoucanread.com and www.onlinenewspapers.com work as a central repository of newspapers from around the world. You can view newspapers from various countrires and access websites with one click. On a smartphone, a free app called Newshunt gives you quick access to news from multiple newspapers. 


Live TV News 

If you have a fast enough broadband connection, you can watch live streaming news video, right in your web browser. http://wwitv.com provides a list of channels from around the world. Select the news channel of choice and the website will either stream a live feed of the channel or take you to the live broadcast page on the official website. On your smartphone, check out free apps like nexGtv, YuppTV or Myplex Now TV. You can use them to watch Indian news channels. 


BuzzFeed 

As an online news aggregator, BuzzFeed lets you select the amount of news you want in different categories (Tech, Politics, Food, Sports and so on). Once you have set these parameters, the website refreshes the home page with the most relevant stories for you, from across the Internet. The best part is that you don't need to open multiple pages — all content is displayed on a single page — just keep scrolling down for more. 


Live News Ticker 

For a live, customisable, RSS-based news ticker right on your desktop, head to Snackr (www.snackr.net). Snackr is a free download available for Windows, MAC OS X & Linux. If you see something interesting on the ticker, just click it to pop it out in a window. 




Apps 


Feedly 

With a mobile-optimised view, this RSS news reader aggregates contents from different websites of your choice and delivers them to your handheld device. 


Flipboard 

Presenting news from topics of your interest, Flipboard has a magazine-style interface — you just flip pages to view various stories from different sources. 


News 360 

With a combination of text, images and videos, this free app offers the latest news from over 50,000 sources. You can also save articles for offline reading.


Pulse News 

Pulse shows headlines from various stories in a unique, scrolling interface. You can view an article in text-only format or just visit the new source directly. 


Zite 

Zite lets you select from thousands of topics of interest and then creates a personalised magazine with news, articles, images, videos in an easy-to-browse interface. 


Track a Word 

IF YOU NEED to constantly keep track about mentions of a particular word (could be a name, brand name or an industry) on the World Wide Web, check out http://en.mention.net. You can either download the desktop software, the mobile app or just use the website. You can also select specific sources which you want to track, such as Facebook, blogs, forums, videos and images. The free trial 
limits you to 500 mentions per month, while a paid plan (US$ 19.99/ month) gives you 50,000 mentions per month. 


Publish a NewsPaper 

USING THE free Paper.li service (http://paper.li), you can create and publish a virtual newspaper (around any topic) on your social network. You need to login with your Twitter or Facebook account and choose how often the newspaper will be published. Just select your preferred sources from a list and you are good to go. 


Google Alerts 

IF YOU WANT to get regular alerts about a specific topic, head to Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts). The interface is simple — type in a keyword, select the type of result you require (news, videos, discussions) and how often would you like to be alerted (immediately, once a day or once a week). Enter your email address and you will start receiving alerts in your email inbox. 


SMS Alerts 

CELLPHONE operators provide a paid subscription service for SMS based news alerts. Airtel has Cool Alerts (Dial *321# to subscribe), Vodafone has Vodafone Alerts (Dial *123*31# to subscribe) and Idea has a news portal pack. Other operators also have similar services for news alerts. Subscriptions to this 
service usually set you back by 30/month (for a news alert every two hours).





Courtesy : Techtonic, Times of India, dated: 17/04/2013

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How to Make Your Gadget’s Battery Last Longer

How to Make Your Gadget's Battery Last Longer

One of the most common issues that handheld devices suffer from is poor battery life. Using a few simple tips, apps and accessories in your daily routine can help maximise the battery backup. Karan Bajaj shows you how


PHONE/TAB

Brightness Level 

Display is one of the biggest battery drainer on a phone. Instead of opting for automatic brightness in settings, manually set it to 40-50% 

Connectivity 

Keep the phone's Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC and 3G connectivity switched off when not required to improve battery backup 


Uninstall Apps 

Various apps run background processes that constantly consume battery. If you are not using a particular app, it's better to uninstall it 


Haptic Feedback 

The vibrating feedback from the phone everytime the touchscreen is used might feel nice, but switching it off saves battery life 


Battery Doctor 

This free app is available for iOS and Android. It shows which apps are consuming more battery and the remaining battery time of the device. The android app also lets you do one touch optimisation of the battery 


Carat 

Carat is available for both Android as well as iOS and shows how much power each running app is consuming. After a week's usage, it starts giving recommendations on phone usage to improve battery life 


PORTABLE CHARGER 

Available from a number of manufacturer's, a portable charger is the best way to charge your device on the go. We recommend picking up one with at least 6,000mAh battery so that it is good enough to charge your phone as well as tablet. 999 onwards




LAPTOP 

Display 

Similar to phones, laptop screen is also a power guzzler. Keep the brightness as low as possible. Also, If you also have keyboard backlighting, turn it off 


External devices 

Any external device plugged in the USB port constantly draws power from your laptop. Removing them after use conserves battery 


Temperature 

Overheating leads to the internal fans to run faster - which in turn consume more battery. Use a laptop cooler to keep the temperature at bay 


Hibernate 

Instead of putting your computer on standby, choose to hibernate - it saves the state of your computer and shuts down the computer and saves battery.


Windows Power Plans 

Laptops running windows have built-in power plan settings. You can choose various items such as display brightness, when to turn off the display/ hard-drives and USB power. Use these to improve your laptop battery life. 


BatteryCare 

This records the battery discharge cycle and also shows a detailed battery status including consumption, manufacturer, wear level etc. It also shows CPU and hard drive temperature to indicate any overheating. 





EXTERNAL BATTERY PACK 

With a 20,000mAh battery, this external battery pack from Anker is capable of providing one full charge to your laptop and charge your other handheld devices side by side too. It even has 3 adjustable voltage levels to suit different laptop models. Available for 7,000 from eBay Global EasyBuy 



CAMERA 


LCD Display 

If your camera has an optical viewfinder, use that to frame your shots instead of the LCD display. The display consumes more power than the viewfinder. If you do not have an optical viewfinder and have to use the LCD display as a viewfinder, then we recommended turning the brightness levels of the screen as low as possible 


Use of Flash 

Be it a point and shoot or a DSLR, the built-in flash on the camera draws power from the internal battery. Extended use of flash would result in faster draining of the camera's battery. Try using flash as less as possible by either increasing the ISO or using an external flash to extend the battery backup from your camera battery 


Memory Cards 

Opt for a memory card with a fast read/write speed. With most cameras shooting at 12MP resolution and above, file size of the image has also increased - especially is you save in RAW. The longer camera takes to save the image on the memory card, the more battery it uses. Using a fast memory card takes care of this issue 


Stop Reviewing 

Most of us like to instantly review the clicked photo and then delete it if there is something wrong. 

Doing this occasionally is fine, but if you review each image and then choose whether to delete or keep it, you are eating through the battery. Instead, use a large memory card to save all the image and review them later 


SPARE BATTERY 

Whatever camera you use, investing in a spare battery is always a good idea. Not only does this make switching between batteries easy, it also extends both the battery's lifespan as discharge cycle is compar battery.



Courtesy : Techtonic, Times of India, dated: 08/05/2013 
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Free & Simple Ways to Create Online Surveys

Free & Simple Ways to Create Online Surveys

From simple data collection to complex, customer satisfaction surveys, all the tools you need are free available. You should know where to look, explain Karan Bajaj & Hitesh Raj Bhagat


Survey Planet 


It takes just a minute to signup and you can start creating a survey. You can choose to have multiple or a single question per page. The site lets you have unlimited questions in a survey and you can choose from multiple choices, scale, true/false or rating-based questions. Once finished, share the survey via a direct 
link or embed it in a blog. Survey results can be accessed from the site anytime. 


Survey Monkey 


This one offers a free and a paid account ( 490/month). The free account limits you to 10 questions and 100 responses per survey. You can choose a theme-based survey template and start adding questions. 

There is also a question bank from where you can select popular questions. Share the survey link via email or social networks. You can login to the site anytime to view the survey results. 


Kwik Surveys 


Kwik Survey lets you make a survey, quiz or a poll. It has a graphical user interface that makes it really easy to create a survey. The types of questions on offer are not as vast as the others, but you can add unlimited questions & create multiple pages. A useful feature is the option to filter responses by location and time. The free account is ad-supported & keeps the survey active only for 6 months. 



Google Drive 


To create a form-based survey using Google Drive, sign in to http://drive.google.com with your Gmail account and click Create > Form. Choose a theme and add your questions — the responses can be using a scale (1 to 10), multiple choice or plain text boxes. Once done, click Send Form to get a link. You can also invite responses using Google+, FaceBook, Twitter or simply send to your email contacts. 


Microsoft Office Online 


To create a Microsoft Excel-based survey for free, simply sign in to your SkyDrive account (or create a new account if you don't have a login) – click on Create > Excel Survey. The Microsoft Excel web app will open right in the web browser and give you an easy way to create your survey questions. After you create all questions, you'll get a link which you need to share with your respondents. 



LimeSurvey 


LimeSurvey differs from the rest because it's an open-source project with downloadable software. It has the most number of features on offer compared to any survey or form creator software: unlimited surveys/questions/ participants, 28 question types and multimedia integration. The only downside of LimeSurvey is that there's a fairly steep learning curve because of all the features. 


USE FACEBOOK 

Facebook has its own survey/poll service called Questions, available for a page admin or in a group. 

Write your question, add poll answer options and post the question. The results are displayed in real-time as people answer the questions. You'll see an increasing graph and percentage next to all the the answers. 


USE TWITTER 

Twitpolls (www.twitpolls.com) lets you quickly create a poll for Twitter followers. Just write a question, give answers options (up to 4 answers), add images or videos and publish the poll on your timeline. 

Followers will reply using the hashtag and results can either be viewed on Twitter or on Twitpolls' website. 




SURVEY APPS 

Insta Survey 

Use Insta Survey for customers or attendees at a conference. Tablets/smartphones with the app and pre-loaded survey can be placed strategically. Data from the survey is saved to Google Docs for analysis. 


QuickTapSurvey 

Thanks to large text and icons, this free app makes it easy to take a survey on a tablet (IOS or Android). It works offline and can be setup to show advertisements and promotions while taking the survey. 


Datafield, Forms and Surveys 

This free app is available for both iOS and Android. Create a survey and participants can take the survey immediately. Contact details entered can automatically sync with your Mailchimp account. 




POLL APPS 


Poll Anywhere Lite 

This Android app lets you get responses for a poll via text messages. Set up a poll and the participants need to send you responses by text. The app automatically tallies results in real-time & shows a result. 


Poll It 

Using this app you can create a quick poll and share it with your contacts via SMS. The app then automatically tracks and analyses the responses from your contacts and shows them in a graph. 


Polar 

Polar for iOS lets you create an image-based poll. Choose any two images you want an opinion on, upload them using the app and you can solicit comments from people using the app, completely free.



Courtesy : Techtonic, Times of India, dated: 15/05/2013 

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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 



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. 



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. 



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



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. 



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 



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. 



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. 



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 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 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. 



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). 



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 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 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. 



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. 



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 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 (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 


• 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. 



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
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Worthy Alternatives to Google’s Play App Store

Worthy Alternatives to Google's Play App Store

From the hundreds of places where you can download Android apps, a few stand out because they are more trustworthy and intuitive. Karan Bajaj & Hitesh Raj Bhagat round up some of the best options.



Android Pit 

Android pit market not only lets you discover and download apps but also has a dedicated 'Tests' area with app reviews, screenshots and ratings. In terms of installation, 50% of the apps can be installed from within the app while for the rest, it redirects you to the Google Play store. Get it from 




1Mobile Market 

Available from www.1mobile. com, this app store has a simple, list-based interface. The app also has lists where recommended apps under specific categories listed (games starter kits, app starter kit, photo editing, music apps) for ease of discovery. The only issue with this app store is that its search function is 
sometimes erratic.


Amazon Appstore 

To get Amazon's appstore, you have to visit www.amazon.com/getappstore & download the installer. Once installed, sign in to your Amazon account to download apps. Amazon does not have all the apps that Google Play has, but it does offer one paid app for free every day.


F-droid 

If you are only interested in free apps, F-droid (www.f-droid.org) is the marketplace to install. The app is dedicated to free open source apps. It displays different versions of an app for different Android versions (Froyo, Honeycomb, Gingerbread are all clearly listed) so that you can install the correct one. 


Slideme 

Slideme (www.slideme.org) has a similar interface to the Google Play Store. It requires you to first create a free account. The interface is fluid and you have the option of limiting apps displayed per page and the number of screenshots to save data costs. You can also set the target country to dispay local apps and lock the app with a PIN. 


Mobo Market 

Mobo (www.moborobo. com) not only has apps and games but also a dedicated section for wallpaper and themes. You also get a builtin download manager where you can monitor the downloads in progress. The app manager makes it easy to install and uninstall downloaded apps. 


AAOMarket 

Almost all apps on this marketplace are free. AAomarket (www.andapponline. com) claims that they have limited apps because they want to feature only quality apps. One issue is that there is no progress indicator, so you do not get to know how much time the selected app will take to download. 


Good E-reader App Store 

This app store displays the app rating right next to the app name in the main interface. The interface is very basic — you only get listings for hot and popular apps along with categories to browse through. 
A good thing here is that there is a dedicated section for alternative app stores — from where you can download most of the stores mentioned. (http://apps.goodreader.com) 



APKs FROM THE WEB AppBrain 

AppBrain is a trusted source for Android apps. First, visit appbrain.com from your device's browser and create an account. Then you need to download and install AppBrain's app from the Play Store. AppBrain app helps a lot with app discovery - once you see an app you like, you can choose to head directly to the 
Play Store to install it. 


Opera App Store 

Opera's App Store was built after the company acquired Handster - the store front is platform independent. To access the store, just open the web browser on your Android device and type apps.opera.com. The service will auto-detect your device and you can download APKs directly to the device. About 70% of the apps are free on this store. 


How to Install APKs 

APKS OR ANDROID Application Package files have the extension .apk and are like EXE or MSI files on a Windows computer - they can be used to install apps on your Android device BEFORE YOU TRANSFER an APK to your Android device, you need to allow the device to install apps from 'unknown sources', i.e., from places other than Google's Play Store TO DO THIS, head to device settings and look for the option called 'Unknown Sources' - this could be in Application Settings or under Security - make sure that you check the box and exit ONCE DONE, TRANSFER the APKs to your device via Bluetooth, email, memory card or just download them directly from a supported website. Use a file manager to click on an APK to begin installation 




 Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 10/07/2013 
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High Tech Eyeglasses That Help Improve Your Vision

High Tech Eyeglasses That Help Improve Your Vision

If someone mentions the phrase "high-tech glasses," you probably assume that person is talking about Google Glass, the smartphone-on-aheadband that Google hopes to offer for sale next year. The truth is, though, that 2013 has been the Year of the High-Tech Glasses in other, quieter ways. At least three new eyeglass technologies have arrived. They're not intended to bring the Internet to your eyeball. They have a more traditional goal: improving your vision.



O2AMP COLOR ASSISTING GLASSES 

O2AMP MAKES tinted-lens glasses for the medical profession. According to the company, these glasses give doctors a "clearer view of veins and vasculature, bruising, cyanosis, pallor, rashes, erythema, and other variations in blood O2 level, and concentration," especially in bright light. But the purplish pair, the Oxy-Iso ($302), has an unintended side effect, the Web site says: they "may cure red-green colorblindness." "We do have about one or two in 20 that don't get any benefit, and it's due to their colorblindness being too severe," the inventor wrote to me. "What our technology does is amplify weak red-green sensitivity. But if there's basically no red-green sensitivity at all, then there's nothing to amplify." If the Amazon reviews are any indication, these glasses do permit many colorblind buyers to distinguish colors for the first time. But the company notes that the Oxy-Iso filter amplifies the redgreen discriminations "at the expense of their intact yellow-blue discrimination. In a sense, the Oxy-Iso spreads the color confusion more evenly around the color wheel." That's why you shouldn't wear them for 
driving, because "yellow lights will become nearly invisible." But if you're red-green colorblind, and it's worth $300 to be able to distinguish colors for the first time, you should try them.


GLASSES.COM VIRTUAL TRY-ON APP 

NOTHING IS MORE designdependent, fit-dependent or person-dependent than glasses. And few things make a bigger difference to your looks. That's why most people buy glasses at a store, trying on pair after pair in a mirror, accompanied by trusted friends or family. The online store Glasses.com has created some exceptionally slick, polished, useful software to address this problem. Its free iPad app creates a 3D, photo-perfect model of your head — and then lets you "try on" thousands of different colors and styles of glasses. (Android and iPhone apps are coming.) You hold your iPad flat against a bathroom mirror. The app's voice prompts you to turn your virtual head slowly from fully left to fully right; in a second step, you hold the iPad facing the mirror against your chin while it measures your 
face. You see it create a wire-mesh 3D model, "Terminator"-style, and then boom: there's a perfect, photographic, 3D model of your head. You can "try on" any of 2,000 glasses designs in the company's catalog. They're organized by style, color, price and so on. Using your fingers, you can turn your head 90 degrees left or right. You can view four copies of your head on one screen, turning them in sync, to make it easier to compare glasses. You can even adjust how you're wearing the glasses.


ADLENS VARIABLE FOCUS 

"AD," IN THIS CASE, is short for "adjustable"; these are variable-focus glasses. The lenses of the Lennon and Hemispheres styles ($80 and $100; adlens.com) are filled with liquid, and cylindrical plastic knobs protrude from the sides. By turning the knobs, you precisely adjust the liquid pressure on a curved membrane inside the lens, affecting its power (from –4.5 to +3.5 diopters). They can handle even severe nearsightedness or farsightedness. They don't work for the blurriness of astigmatism, but they're perfect for presbyopia (better known as "over-40-reading-glasses-syndrome").


Advantages 

There are distinct advantages to variable-focus glasses like these. First, you can tweak the lenses independently for each eye. Second, you can adjust them for different situations — tired eyes often need more help — or even different people. They're a natural for restaurants, which can hand them out to patrons who've forgotten their reading glasses. Third, you can adjust them yourself, without requiring an eye doctor or a prescription. That's a big deal in poor countries like Rwanda, where, Adlens says, 

There are 10 million people but only 14 optometrists. Even though a million Rwandans need glasses, almost nobody has them, according to the company. When you buy a pair of these glasses, Adlens donates a pair for distribution in Rwanda. 


Available in Different Styles 

The Lennon and Hemisphere styles look goofy because the lenses are perfect circles, like half dollars, which isn't a design that will suit many faces. (They're available in a wide range of frame colors and lens tints.) Furthermore, the adjustment knobs are big, ribbed and absurd looking, sticking out beyond the frames. Once you've dialed up the perfect focus, you can snap off the knobs, but then the glasses are no longer adjustable. You've locked in that "prescription" forever. The third Adlens style, Emergensee ($40), is slightly more conventional-looking. Its adjustment knobs are much smaller and less conspicuous. They stay on, so you can always adjust the focus. These glasses don't have liquid inside; 
instead, each lens has two panes that slide past each other when you turn the knobs, so they still look a little odd. But Adlens promotes them as an ideal spare pair for the glove compartment or kitchen drawer. The best, Adlens says, is yet to come. This fall, it will offer liquid-lens technology, for the first time, in normally shaped, designer like frames. Stay tuned.





  Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 17/07/2013  
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