Annother Android - Preview Galaxy i7500 Samsung

The Google phone is now a reality. Well, it’s not that I am waking up late; I just mean more and more phones are now adopting Google’s Android operating system. After HTC started the trend by ditching the Windows Mobile, it is now Samsung’s turn with its latest Galaxy i7500. Though available in India only on the Tata Docomo network for now, the i7500 gives a glimpse of what smart phones can be and will be.

At 11.9mm thick, featuring a 3.2” HVGA (320 x 480) screen with 16 million colours and an AMOLED based display, the Galaxy i7500 looks “uber cool”. The screen is bright, vivid and has brilliant colours. I actually loved playing with it in a dark room.

A large D pad replaces the track ball seen on the HTC Magic. On the front, there are five buttons other than the OK key and the D pad. The End and Receive buttons have a Home key, a Return key and a left Menu button. In fact, I did not like the layout, especially when comparing it to the HTC Magic.
The phone’s plastic finish is nice, but the fingerprint magnet surface tends to be a bit irritating as you keep cleaning it all day long. But thankfully, this Samsung features a 3.5-mm phone jack built into the top. But I did not understand the logic of placing the USB Port right next to it.

On the side are the camera button and a screen lock button seen on other Samsung touchphones. On the back is the 5 megapixel camera and flash.

The interface is the same as the HTC Magic, but I felt the Samsung was much more responsive to touch than the former. Standard Google services such as Google Maps, Gmail, Street View (not usable in India as yet), and the GPS-based Google Latitude, which let’s you know where you are and your friends are, come in-built.

The phone is Quad Band and has WiFi built-in so you can log into a network at home or office till 3G becomes available.

The 8GB internal memory is a welcome breeze and you will need it with the 5 megapixel camera and all that music that most of us carry around these days. The MicroSD Card slot can take cards up to 32 GB.

Overall, the i7500 is an impressive phone. However, if you were to compare this to the HTC Magic, which was available only on Airtel till a few months back, I would personally wait for prices to fall. If I wanted to spend Rs 30,000 on a phone I would still opt for the iPhone, which to a certain degree is more friendly when it comes to the touch and feel interface.

The Galaxy i7500 is priced at Rs 28,990, but available only through Tata Docomo for now.
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The above preview appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 11th October 2009

Wireless TV - Review Sony Bravia ZX1

I love the way this TV looks, and would seriously consider it for a wire-free home. If only they could power it wirelessly as well
40 inches | 9.9 mm thick | 15 kg |1920 x 1080 pixel HD display
LCD TV manufacturers have slimmed down the TV. Ten years ago, no one could think that TVs would be this thin. The next most uncomfortable issue with televisions today is the mess of wires and cables that they have to be surrounded with. These are the wires that connect the TV to DVD players, video game consoles and set-top boxes. Sony has now launched the Bravia ZX1 to disentangle just that mess.

This 40 inch TV is just 9.9 mm thick and weighs 15 kg. It needs no wires other than a power cable. It has Edge LED technology, Motionflow 100 Hz and Image Blur reduction. It has full HD display resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, two integrated speakers and a woofer that deliver 20 watt of power. Its Wireless HD feature allows the user to utilise the media library located anywhere in the house, via the bundled HD media receiver. The devices are connected to the HD media receiver through wires and the TV receives input signals from the media receiver. The connectivity of the Bravia ZX1 is distinguished with four independent HDMI inputs, a PC input, composite inputs, component inputs, USB connection and an RBG compatible Scart connector.

For More information see Sony website
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The above review was printed in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 9th October to 16th October 2009

Review - Kodak Z915

This is one great camera if you are looking for a compact with a high zoom and usability features. And no, the price is not its biggest draw.

Voice notes | video grab | panorama mode | burst mode | Rs 10,999

I am not sure what made me fall for it, the retro looks, the 10x optical zoom or the price—but when I held the Kodak Easyshare Z915 in my hands, I immediately thought, now this is a camera I want. But there was more to it. The 10x zoom and the retro looks were definitely the first pull. I loved the way the controls were laid out and the fact that the macro mode, flash settings and custom timer buttons were dedicated and on top of the camera with the zoom controls. The manual mode is very nice and usable (though you don’t get manual focus).

The video quality is limited to VGA (640 x 480) but it can shoot videos at 30 fps. It also supports QVGA format (320 x 240) at 30 fps, so that you can record videos in a small file.

I like the fact that Kodak gave a 3V DC adapter input on the side of the camera. This is good when you are using the camera directly to print pictures or using it connected to your PC to download pictures, etcetera.

The camera ships in three colours: red, blue and black; has a 10 megapixel sensor (maximum print size of 30 x 40 inch), takes alkaline AA batteries; and has an additional 5x digital zoom that boosts the camera to 50x zoom (though I won’t use the digital zoom). Optical stabilisation is built into the camera. The 2.5 inch high-resolution screen is brilliantly bright in outdoor light, and the controls are neatly laid out. I love Kodak for the fact that they’ve stuck to SD cards for this camera.

The Z915 supports ISO settings from 100 to 1600 (though higher settings were very grainy, but when you are shooting in dark places these tend to be handy). Weighing in at a cool 220 gram, this is one great camera if you are looking for a compact with a high zoom and usability features.

To know more, see Kodak Website

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The above article was printed in the Open Magazine, Issue dated: 3rd October to 9th October 2009

For a better view of life - Review FARVIEW

Though we care a lot for the differently-abled in modern society, we often tend to forget about them as far as cutting-edge technology is concerned. This is why a show called Techshare held in UK in the middle of September caught my attention. Though I could not make it there to see things live, products from a company called Optelec did make an impression, especially a device called Far View.

While Far View might look like a regular digital camera, you soon realise that there is more to it than meets the eye. Far View is like any digital camera with a macro mode for viewing things up close and a tele mode for looking at things at a distance, up to 42x magnification. The 300-gram gadget has a battery life of approximately four hours and easily fits into any pocket. But here is why this gadget is special:

Firstly, it acts as a magnifying glass for those with impaired vision. For instance, if someone wanted to read a book with small fonts, the Far View can be used with a desk stand over the document and magnify the words on its 4.3" screen. It even has four LED lights to light up the area if you are in a dark environment. The screen switch to standard colour, high-contrast black and white, (also white on black), high-contrast yellow on blue and blue on yellow depending on the user’s requirements. Though the buttons on all four sides can be annoying at first, they are designed to ensure that the users remember what is where.

There is also a big LED on top of the device to show when it is on. It can also be switched from the macro to tele mode in one move. The tele view allows users to read things that are on display at a distance, like a blackboard in the classroom, or a display board at an airport.
The Far View can also be used to record information, be it a visiting card or an important notice. It is also helpful for those who find it difficult to write down everything on the board during a class.

The camera is positioned in the centre and the snapshot functionality allows users to capture close or distant objects, complete documents and multiple pages of a book or magazine, and then read through them later on the large screen with absolute clarity. Though the internal memory is designed for only 100 images, it can be extended using a memory card. The device also has a USB port for connecting it to a PC or a larger external monitor.

During my research I found that Optelec has a dealer in Mumbai called Barrier Break.
The Far View can be purchased for US$ 1,495 in the US; the special pricing for India is still not available.

For More information, please see Opeltec's Website

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The above review was printed in the Indian Express, Issue dated 4th of October 2009