Atom-based Vaio - Review Sony Vaio VPCW115XG

If you always wanted a Vaio, but did not want to take a loan to buy it, and an Atom machine works fine for you, check this out

Processor Atom 1.6 GHz | OS Windows XP | RAM 1GB | Hard Disc 160 GB | Screen 10.1 inch wide | Weight 1.19 kg

Yes, a Sony Vaio at Rs29,990… go wash your eyes. I did too when I read this. Sony finally has an Atom-based machine. Available in three colours (pink, white and brown), these will appeal to both the younger set of users as well as women who were always looking for a pink laptop (yes, I know you girls like the colour).

Like most Atom machines, it also features an easy-to-type isolation type keyboard, where keys are spaced out. I loved the resolution of the machine, and this means you will never feel like working on a smaller machine. It also comes with Vaio Media Plus, that allows you to wirelessly stream music and videos to DLNA-enabled devices, and, if you have it, PlayStation 3. The downside is that it has a battery time of only 2.5 hours, compared to four to five hours in other Atom machines, and it has only a 0.5 megapixel camera, while others have started including either a 1.13 or 2 megapixel camera. The W Series unit is Energy Star 5.0 compliant, EPEAT Gold registered, and has eco-conscious features such as a mercury-free, LED backlit LCD.

The choice of colours lets you choose what you really want to reveal in your personality. Since this machine has just been announced, I could not touch and feel it, and this is only a preview.

So if you always wanted a Vaio, but did not want to go take a loan to buy one, and an Atom machine works fine for you (it does for me when I travel), go ahead check it out. Just in case, the full model number is VPCW115XG/P/T/W. For more details visit the sony website by clicking here

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The Above Article Appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 28th August 2009

Cool Cam - HDC HS20 Panasonic Review

The HDC HS20 from Panasonic may seem an expensive option, but if you are looking for a next generation camcorder, this is a safe investment
16x optical zoom | full HD recording | 80 GB hard disk | Rs 49,990

My dad is a Sony fan, but this time around he was open to an option of a camcorder from any other company, and he had a clear brief: the camcorder should be able to shoot full high definition video, should have a hard disk, and he should be able to download the data from the camcorder on a Mac or Windows PC without hassle. A little research led me to the HDC HS20, which Panasonic let me try out for two weeks.

It is a light piece, all shiny and well finished. The black body gives it the luxury feel and the Lecia lens adds the magic. This gizmo features a 16x optical zoom, full HD recording, and an 80 GB hard disk. It also supports 32 GB SD/SDHC card. It supports sound capture at 5.1 channel surround, and I must say that the microphone is one of the most sensitive ones I have come across in recent times. The built-in speaker, if you are doing a preview of the movies, is not that great, but the recording is great quality.

The camcorder features an LED Light for shooting in low light, and the manual focus allows you to focus on those hard areas. It supports both H.264 and AVCHD video formats.

I feel disappointed that this camcorder gives only one to two hours of video recording on a fully charged battery. Sadly, the battery and the AC Adapter can’t be used together, so if you are running it on AC power and supply gets disrupted, your recording will stop in the midst of the action.

The camcorder has a 1.47 megapixel sensor giving an affective 1.17 megapixel digital still camera. Still images and the video can be recorded on the same media—SD card or hard drive. It also features a 40x to 100x digital zoom and has a focal length of 2.95mm to 47.2 mm. The 2.7” wide LCD seemed a bit small to me. I love the part where you can randomly access video segments you had shot, and that you can easily select video quality depending on whether you want full HD or HD mode, you can go from 8 to 33 hours of recording. More here

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The above article appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue #20, Dated 21 August 2009

The ideal navigator - Review Garmin Nuvi 215

On my last weekend trip to the Himalayan foothills, I decided to try some alternative routes, giving my ‘navigator’ wife a rest and depending entirely on the new Garmin GPS from Map My India.

I have always had a preference for Garmin, and during a meeting with Map My India’s Rohan Verma last year had told him how people like me would love to see his maps on a Garmin device. So I was more than delighted when the company recently launched Garmin products pre-loaded with their maps.

Any in-car device can be a bit of a distraction while driving on dangerous Indian roads. This is where the Garmin Nuvi 215 gets it edge. Every time I tried to feed in co-ordinates, it reminded me that I should stop the car if I wanted to do so—however, this function can be disabled if your co-passenger is looking after the device.
Most other GPS devices I have used to take around three minutes to start up, lock into the satellite positions and get its coordinates right. But the Nuvi locks in under a minute, telling you exactly where you are.

I loved the interface too. You can search destinations in a free field, or in a specific state—when you start entering the destination the device pops up choices, making life much easier. Plus, it shows a list of points of interest around where you are, right from star hotels to ATMs and hospitals. Though by default all GPS equipment shift from a yellowish interface to a green and black interface at night, Garmin allows users to choose the display they like. The Nuvi can easily fit into your pocket; arm/bike straps can be bought separately. Moreover, the matte finish screen makes it easier to read in sunshine.

In case you don’t want the GPS to prompt you, use the power switch to shift the unit into a lock/safe mode, enabling you to focus on your driving. A mute button, to allow you to listen to just your songs, would have been welcome—as of now, users have to choose mute through the menu.
The device comes preloaded with Map My India for 401 cities and there is the provision for an SD Card to load maps for other countries or update when new maps come out. Since Garmin is an international brand, you can easily buy maps for the device, though most country maps are not free.

The unit came with a disc to mount it on the dashboard, but I failed to do so despite my best efforts and had to get used to the windscreen position. So make sure you ask the dealer to fit the device on your dashboard.
The battery on the Nuvi lasted about four hours, so I suggest you keep it plugged in for longer drives. It features a good trip meter and shows your maximum speed, average speed, total moving and stoppage time. However, the device has to be on at all times during the trip for it to calculate time. A trip planner is not built-in, but if you key in you destination and click detour it will show all alternative routes available.

Map My India on Garmin GPS is a brilliant combo if you are looking to buy yourself a GPS device. Though it may seem expensive compared to the other options, I still believe my preference towards Garmin has valid reasons. The Nuvi 215 is available for Rs 14,990 on mapmyindia.com.

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The Above review / article was printed in the Indian Express, Issue Dated 16th August 2009

HTC Magic Review

When Google... let me correct myself, Android platform was launched, it was dubbed the Google phone. The phone was supposed to be the iPhone, BlackBerry and Palm killer. The Android phone could not kill them—not because it’s not a great platform, but due to its limited availability. Earlier in July 2009, HTC launched its second phone on the Android platform, called the HTC Magic. Though initially available only through Airtel, now it is available across the market and is a brilliantly done up phone.

The feel in hand is that of a quality device, the low weight immediately felt. There is no keyboard, except six buttons and a scroll ball in the centre that lights up for alerts. All other features are touch screen based. Like most of the modern phones, this gizmo also features an accelerometer, which enables both the keyboard and the screen direction to change, and the qwerty keyboard in the landscape mode is one of the prettier ones around.

The web browsing experience on the phone is brilliant: the search bar and address bar are integrated. If you think iPhone had solved all browsing issues on a phone, you should check out the Magic. It is much better. The camera is pretty decent on the phone, but does not have a flash. At 3.2 megapixels, you get some crisp shots in the outdoors. The media handling and connectivity were all really good, and now the Magic also supports Microsoft Exchange, so you have brilliant office features too.

The battery lasted me roughly one full day on heavy usage, and I had to put it on charging only the second day, which I loved. I am not sure why HTC can’t figure out a way to insert the Micro SD Card from outside, without opening the back cover. But keeping the design in view, I did not mind opening the back cover to change my Micro SD Card. Another downer is the fact that there is no 3.5 mm jack. The hands-free plugs into the USB port and is a proprietary one.

This, my friends, is a bestseller. So if you are a Google fan and did not want an Apple device for whatever reasons you had, and the other iPhone killers were nowhere near what all you wanted, get your hands on this one. Airtel has a cool deal with this phone if you buy it from them, but otherwise it is available for Rs 29,900 in the open market. Find out more here

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The above article appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 14th August 2009.

THE CHEAPEST ONE - Review Blackberry 8520 Curve

Finally, here is a BlackBerry everyone can afford
If the prices scared you away from owning a BlackBerry, your wait is over. The 8520 Curve, launched last week, thankfully costs just Rs 15,990, though available only on Airtel for now.

And it’s not just the price. Over the years, the BlackBerry had moved on from the side scroller to a trackball in the middle; now it has taken another leap of faith and switched to a track pad. Plus, the 8520 is 3.9 gram lighter than the lightest BlackBerry.

So what is good and what is bad about the new 8520? First, there is no 3G, (remember the Bold was 3G, the Javellin Pearl 8900 was not), the 3.2 megapixel Accurate camera of the 8900 has been replaced by a 2 megapixel in the new one. The new 8520 is thicker by 0.4 mm than 8900, and the 5.5-hour battery has been replaced by a 4.5-hour battery— with up to 17 days of standby time. The GPS and BlackBerry Maps features have been done away with, which means no geotagging for photographs. The 480x360 screen of the 8900 has been replaced by a 320x240 LCD, but at a bigger at 2.46”.

While I am not sure a lot of people use the mediaplayer on their BlackBerrys, the 8520 has dedicated keys to help you play music, pause to talk and skip tracks. You can easily mute a call with a dedicated button.
There is also a 3.5-mm stereo headset jack and BlackBerry Media Sync, which makes it easy to quickly sync music from iTunes and Windows Mediaplayer. However, RIM says the unit won’t play some music files. The 8520 has an expandable memory card (microSD / SDHC) slot next to the battery and supports 16 GB of memory— 32 GB when the new cards come out.

Also instant messaging and social networking applications are now available, thus enabling you to access sites such as Facebook, My Space, and Flickr. If you are a fan of Twitter, you can always download free applications such as Uber Tweet to update the world on your latest status. Like other models, it comes preinstalled with the BlackBerry messenger, which lets users text for free to other RIM phones.

RIM has also decided to make six new colours available, but it has not announced the pricing of these skins— you get one skin free with the handset. While the tight-fit rubber skins add more durability to the handset, it also allows you to be slightly different than the thousands of black BlackBerrys you see everywhere.

Premium phone features including voice-activated dialling and Bluetooth support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other peripherals, built-in Wi-Fi and full HTML web browser with support for online streaming video

Recently, at parties and other social gatherings, I have been surprised by the number of people carrying BlackBerrys, more for the social standing it brings than purpose—some don’t even have a data plan. But the fact is that while BlackBerry started out as an email-only device, today it is on a par with the best in the market and has the best possible data handling. No wonder there are 28.5 million Blackberry users across the globe now.

Overall, the 8520 Curve is a great bargain. The ideal way to enter the BlackBerry club.


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The above review appeared in the Indian Express on Sunday 9th August 2009

Remember Bobby Mc Ferrin: The Power of Pentatonic Scale

Remember Bobby McFerrin, of the Famous, Don't worry Be Happy Song. All of us thought he has disappeared, but his sudden appearance at the World Science Festival 2009, showing how Science and the Pentatonic Scale can be used to teach music to anyone, is a wonderful presentation, this Presentation should also get featured on Presentation Zen in some days, but for now, here is the wonderful video, Trust me the second part is awsome.

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Electric Auto Spotted in Bangladesh

Electric vehicles are making inroads but are very expensive, this Jugaad, in Bangladesh was spotted by Shawn

Here is the Video

MapMyIndia Light - A Candid Review

MapMyIndia got popular last year, when they launched their NAV 300 priced at Rs 22,900. The journey over the last one year has been both to reduce the price and also to make it a bit more efficient and friendly to the user. They did this with the MapMyIndia Light Edition. It is not only light on the pocket, Rs 11,900 for the unit and all-India maps, but also very nicely made, and comes with one of the best GPS mounting kits that I have used in a long time. It features maps of 401 cities in India on a street level and a very fast locking GPS, which left me amazed.

The usual GPS features that tell you your current running speed and the points of interest around you (ATMs, hospitals, emergency services, restaurants) are all built-in. A unique feature which I saw for the first time on a GPS is the snooze feature—you can snooze your GPS when you exit the car, and wake it up from sleep when you return, to cut out the boot up and lock time. At just about 12.5 mm thickness, you can fit it in your back pocket, or take it with you hiking (though no kits for using it as a wrist mount are provided).

The major problem that I had while testing this piece was that the battery would not last more than 2 hours. Also, one misses a safe mode (this means you should not be able to key into it to locate a destination while driving).

The plastic body is finished well and the display is nicely done (in very bright sunlight this may have a problem, but night- and daytime views are great). The Bluetooth is gone and the video player is also missing—I think they were useless features anyway, and were just loading up the price.

The micro SD card that holds the data just pops out at a flick, which is a bit dangerous, but overall the Navigator (Light) is built brilliantly and comes at a price point that makes it affordable for all car users. If you were waiting for GPS prices to fall, here is what you were waiting for.

For More Information, http://bit.ly/open-light
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The above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 7th August 2009

Great when it’s for free - Review ADRIVE.COM

There must be a million sites offering free storage online, but not more than a handful which offer their services for free. Then I discovered A-Drive.com, which claims to offer 50GB of free online storage.
True to its claim, A-drive allows you to store 50 GB of data on their servers. However, you cannot upload files larger than 2GB, or more than 1,000 files in one go. So if you are looking to create a backup library for your songs online, you can do it on A-drive, but over a period of time.

I managed to test the site on both 256 kbps and 512 kbps broadband connections and found the performance satisfactory. However, in case of a transfer error, the web-based uploader on the free service does not skip to the next file and just pauses, waiting for intervention. So don’t think of going to sleep, hoping the upload process will be over by morning.

A-Drive.com has a desktop utility which is faster and uploads your files even if it comes across an error. But this is a paid utility and the free trial expires in 14 days. It offers three types of accounts, Basic (free), Signature (US$ 6.95 per month) and Premium (US$ 13.95 per month). In case you are looking to save various versions of the same file, a desktop utility to synchronise, or FTP transfers, you will need to enlist for one of the paid plans. There is a ‘transfer remote file’ feature which allows users to download files directly to A-Drive from other servers. Make sure you keep the window open if you don’t want the transfer to stop. I was able to transfer a 650 MB file in under 10 minutes from a remote server to the A-Drive.com server. I will think twice before uploading anything confidential on the site, but it can’t get any better than this for free.

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The above review appeared in the Indian Express, Issue Dated 2nd August 2009

Nivio Companion - Review

Nivio Companion
Finally something that can be put to use anywhere you need a spare PC, without the price of licences for software and the effort to guard against viruses and crashes

Computing by default is not known to be stress free. What gets blamed as a Microsoft Windows problem, is ac­tually a problem of badly tuned hardware, and useless downloads and malware instal­lations from the Internet. Malware increases hardware failure, and in extreme cases your computer may stop working completely. Nivio has finally launching the Companion PC that could do away with many of these problems. The Nivio Companion is actu­ally a dumb box, it has no hard disk, no major processing power and not much RAM. Everything you need is stored on the Internet. This can work because we spend most of our computer time online anyway, whether it is using a browser, chat messenger, office applications or email. And the Internet today is always on. So, you can ac­cess your data, just like on a regular PC, using the Nivio Companion.

Since the desktop is online, you pay a monthly rental of Rs 249 plus your broadband charges. Nivio currently gives you 10 GB of online disk space, and you will need to rent out applications (example: MS Office will cost you an additional Rs 149 a month), that you want to use. You only pay for the application you use. And in the process get rid of piracy guilt. It con­sumes only 5 watts of energy; additional en­ergy of about 60 watts goes into feeding your LCD monitor (your PC eats 200 watts just for the CPU). The other advantage is, since you don’t need to install every application that is there (and there is a centrally installed antivi­rus), chances of your computer getting infect­ed are nearly zero. And, because all your files would be stored in a centrally managed data­base, you don’t need to keep a backup either. The Companion can also be purchased along with a 15 inch LCD monitor for a combo price of Rs 7,999. To run it, you require a minimum of 256 kbps broadband, but 512 kbps will be preferred. Finally, here’s something that can be put to use anywhere you need­ed a spare PC but were too scared: of the price to be paid for licences of the software and the effort to protect it against viruses and crashes. No wonder the Nivio won the Technology Pioneer Award at the Global Economic Forum in Davos this year.

More Details: http://bit.ly/open-nivio

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The above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 31 July 2009

Solving a Problem, Online

If a man fell off a plane from an altitude of 10,000 ft, how long will it take for him to hit earth? Well, this is no joke. It is actually a mathematical problem which will take some old fashioned brain slogging to solve.

I have always been in awe of mathematical equations and how using the relevant formula you can explain and solve any problem. However, I am not good at remembering anything but for basic equations from school.

So, the other day, while discussing the rate of evaporation of water for an Olympic size pool with an architect, both of us realised that we had no clue which formula to use, after all this wasn’t one of those problems we were faced with everyday.

Carrying a scientific calculator all the time is not really a practical option. I still do carry one, but not everyone can, and the old scientific ruler is not really available anymore. So how do you get to remember equations, and what happens when you are stuck with a problem.

My immediate thought was to Google the problem, or maybe checkout Wolfram Alpha, the search engine making all the waves. Then I decided to check if Casio—I love their scientific calculators—has put something online, may be a formula search.

And it had. Since June 1, the company has made available its Keisan portal—Keisan means calculation in Japanese—and it was online at www.keisan.casio.com.

The architect and me, both science students, were enamoured by the number of mathematical equations on the site. From the trivial ‘When is Easter for a particular year’ to the serious Bessel functions and probability calculations, they were all there.

The website is accurate up to 50 digit calculations, and users can select how many digits they want in the result. Another great feature is that you can paste both the calculation results and the chart into Excel and incorporate it in your report. So if you are a science student, or just enamoured by mathematical calculations, it is about time you checked out Keisan, 1,50,000 others do so every day.

That’s not all. In July alone, seven new calculations were added to the site, quite an achievement considering serious mathematics is no child’s play. With such interest being generated, Keisan should grow fast and become a useful tool for students and aspiring mathematicians.

By the way, it takes about the 70 seconds for the man to reach earth, Keisan says so.

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The above review appeared in the Indian Express, Dated 26th July 2009.

Xtreme backup for Windows - Review Seagate Xtreme Edition

After I reviewed the Apple Time Capsule some time back, a lot of readers wrote in asking if I had something specific for Windows. Well, I do, and it is called the Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme Edition.

When I got the Seagate Xtreme Edition Desktop Hard Disk, called the FreeAgent Xtreme, I was surprised to see the port options—it had two Firewire ports, an eSata Port and a USB 2.0 Port. It also had a Kensington lock port, in case you wanted to lock this to your desk. I loved the feel and form factor of the drive as well as its all-black appearance. However, I thought the USB and Firewire cables as well as the power adapter should have been in black too.

The drive was very quiet when I tested it with a lot of read and write. It also managed to stay cool despite Delhi’s heat, unlike other external hard disks which often tend to heat up. I was unable to use it with my Mac as the drive was formatted for Windows, but it performed efficiently on my Windows PC.


The Seagate FreeAgent utility comes preinstalled on the hard disk, but has to be installed on to your PC. The utility can backup your data at scheduled intervals, and can also help you look for data that you have backed up on multiple hard disks. It has built-in profiles to backup My Documents, Photos, Music, Videos, or all your files at one go. The software also supports encryption, so other users can read the data only if they have the decryption key. The software also puts the hard drive in sleep mode when not in use for more than 15 minutes, thus saving power. But Seagate should have thought of a way to manage the tangle of cables the unit creates.

I already have some machines which have an eSata Port, which will soon become a standard on desktops enabling you to connect at high speeds, higher than firewire. I got great speeds when I tested the eSata using an HP workstation. However, it stopped working after I left the drive idle—not sure if it was a problem with my eStata Port or the drive? If you don’t have a PC with an e-Sata port, you should look at acquiring one. With speeds up to 3GB/second it becomes extremely fast to backup your data or to restore it. The maximum you can achieve on a USB is 480 Mb/second.

Seagate comes with a five-year warranty as standard on all their hard disk products. They have an after-sales warranty that works and with the new on-site warranty they come and change/fix your drive at site in some towns. At Rs 14,500 for a 1.5 TB unit, this is the best-priced External Hard Disk, at less than Rs 10 per GB. The box contains the hard disk, a Firewire cable and a USB cable, but no e-Sata cable. It also contains an attachable stand for the unit, and a power adapter. The hard disk is 6.89” in height, and 1.33” in width and weighs about 1.39 kg.

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The above review, was printed in the Indian Express, dated Sunday July 19, 2009

Acer Aspire Timeline

With eight hours of battery time, this laptop weighs a cool 2 kg, has an LED screen, big keys and a multi-gesture touchpad. It may sound like a Mac, but it’s not that. It’s the new Acer Aspire Timeline. A brilliant-looking laptop, for under Rs 45,000. And the best part of this series is, the prices of 13.3 inch, 14 inch and 15.6 inch models are roughly the same. The only differences among the models are features such as: size of RAM, hard disk drive or the optical disc drive. The machine looks nice and sophisticated. The keys are big, very similar to the keyboard on a MacBook. The heart of the machine is a Core 2 Solo ultra low voltage 1.4 GHz processor, and it ships pre-loaded with Windows Vista Home Edition. The 13.3 inch model boasts of 2 GB RAM with a 250 GB hard disk. The 15.6 inch model has 3 GB RAM and a 320 GB hard disk. Its screen is HD capable (ie, 1,366 x 768 pixels) and supports 16:9 aspect ratio. The built-in 5-in-1 card reader, Bluetooth and gigabit ethernet port are great connectivity options. The machine (though not available in India) is available with an built-in HSDPA 3G modem and some of the models also support WiMax connectivity. The pinch-action zoom, circular motion scroll and the page flip on the multi-gesture touch pad—all make it feel (not behave) like an iPhone. The screen is great at 200 nit brightness for indoor use, but I am not sure how it will behave in bright sunshine. Dolby sound enhancement on its speakers makes the machine sound professional, especially when using multimedia applications. The built-in microphone and webcam let you video conference with ease.

http://bit.ly/open-acertime

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The above review was printed in the Open Magazine, Issue dated 18th July 2009

HTC HD

When I picked up this phone and was testing it, everyone thought it was the new iPhone 3GS. After all, it has a big screen, it was simple looking and had a brilliant display. But hey, it’s the HTC HD.

The HD stands for high definition, and the phone has a whopping 3.8 inch VGA of landscape on a touch screen to tackle that feature. It has just one button to lock and unlock the phone, a USB port (though proprietary cable) to charge it and sync it with your PC and a 3.5 mm earphone jack—all in black. The widescreen VGA lets you see videos and web pages in full screen. Since the screen supports 800 pixels of display width, there is no need to tap screens to zoom in and out, or scroll left to right while on a web page.

At Rs 42,990, the price is a bit of a downer, but it has brilliant speed as compared to any other HTC phone that I have tested on the Windows platform. Great interface and the improved Touch Flo 3D user interface provide intuitive access to the phone. If anything comes near an iPhone, this is it.

The 5 megapixel camera and no flash (very iPhone) are bad, and it can take good pictures only outdoors. The camera is very slow, which I did not like.

More: http://bit.ly/open-htchd

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The above review was printed in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 11th July 2009

Canon SX 200 IS

I have been a big fan of of SLR cameras, but when I was shifting from my film SLR to a DSLR, I thought why not just buy myself a portable point and shoot, and I did. Over the years I have missed the versatility and size of a large sensor that the DSLR gives, but am very happy with the portability of point and shoot cameras. While looking for a new camera, I had a chance of reviewing the Canon SX200 IS.

With a 12.1 megapixel sensor, 12x optical zoom and 28 mm equivalent wide-angle lens, it is one of the best cameras in its segment. A popup flash that is good for 3.2 metres, a full expandable zoom lens, all the usual controls including a manual mode, shutter priority, aperture priority, a large 3.0 inch LCD screen—all make it the envy of all your friends, who’ll want to hold it and play with it. Canon should have included a viewfinder in it. However, keeping in mind that most point-and-shoot users utilise the screen as a viewfinder, this is something that I will not hold against them.

I loved the lens range of 28 to 336 mm equivalent, and the ISO sensitivity of up to 16,000. The DIGIC 4 processor from Canon lets it easily do face detection and intelligent contrast correction. HDMI connectivity is a great option, and with video shooting mode of 720p, this is a great camera to buy.

Available in black, blue and red colours.

http://tinyurl.com/open-sx200

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The above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 4th July 2009

Double effect - Review Micromax Gravity GC700

Double effect

Except for a couple of models from Samsung and others, there are not many dual-SIM phones that can take both CDMA and GSM SIM cards. With the manufacturers staying away from the concept, some Chinese companies had made this sector their own last year. That was till a company called Micromax changed everything with its model called Gravity.

When I got my hands on the Micromax GC700 Gravity, I was surprised by its good build quality and game console-like feel. The Gravity is a nicely crafted phone and it is obvious that a lot of thought has gone into making it look expensive. The Gravity looks and feels a lot like a portable gaming device with its 4-way controllers, power buttons, speaker/microphone all on both sides, till you realise that the C and G in the centre of these 4-way D Pads actually stand for CDMA and GSM.

Since the phone has a Gravity sensor (motion sensor), you can use CDMA by holding the set in such a manner that the C becomes the microphone and G speaker. Turn it 180 degrees, with G as your microphone and C the speaker, and the phone starts to work on GSM Mode. The screen, which shows you the network you are on, has quick graphics and switches pretty fast. If you don’t want to keep flipping your phone, you can just click on either C or G on the screen while dialling to choose the network.

Similarly, every time a call comes in the phone shows the incoming network. Another brilliant feature is the C or G labels on SMSes to show which network it was received on.

The interface features slide-to-unlock, a feature becoming common with Chinese phones these days. The dialler looks much like the iPhone, and the keys become end and start key as you want them. You also have the option of using the soft keys on the screen.

However, the 2.8” screen does not really look that big when it comes to typing out messages. It also does not work in landscape mode, making typing on the screen a bit of a hassle.

I loved the speakers and the quality of the speaker phone, which I thought had a very natural tone. Though I will not recommend it to music aficionados, the ringtones sound nice, and the speakers are good enough for listening to a song once in a while.

However, I did not like the touchscreen which wasn’t a joy to use without the bundled stylus. I also hate it when you have to remove the back cover every time you want to take out or put in a memory card. Plus, the Rs 12,999 price tag seems very high, as even Samsung is selling in the same range.

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The above article / review was printed in the Indian Express, on Sunday 12th July 2009.

As Simple as saving on a Time Capsule - Review Apple Time Capsule

Backup is a word we don’t like, mainly because of the fears and pains attached to it. However, the fact is that there are thousands of options available, from hard disks that can plug into your USB port, to those with e-Sata or firewire port, and even some that come attached to your home network. Still, many of us have asked whether this option could be automated, without the clutter of cables and additional power adapters.

Well, Apple, with its keep-it-simple policy and aptitude for innovative design, has found a solution, and it is called the Time Capsule. It is painfully expensive like other Apple products, but is the only good looking, wireless and backup device in the market.

The design is so simple that all you see is a plain white box with the Apple logo—the three Ethernet ports and USB Port are tucked away at the back—never guessing that it is actually a backup device with wireless capabilities. It is a bit too big for a wireless router, but small, sleek and smart for a network-enabled hard disk. There are no buttons, antennae, or switches, just a small LED lamp that stays green if all is good and starts flashing amber if something goes wrong.

This is as simple as things can be.

To setup the device, you need to run an Airport Utility (available both on Windows and the Mac OSX); the wizard mode takes you through most of the settings. But it seems Apple has done something wrong, for every change needs a reboot of the device. So if you were sharing your Internet connection through it, all your PCs get disconnected during the reboot.

The Time Capsule has a 802.11n wireless that offers higher speed and range compared to the 802.11b/g commonly used in homes.

Though your computer should have an 802.11 n card to utilise this feature, the device is backward complaint and can offer a slower speed if you don’t have the latest.

The good part with the time capsule is, that if you are an Apple user, the data backup to the device is automatic using the built-in Time Machine utility. Plus, Mobile Me subscribers can access the files through a password-protected page on the Internet, as long as the Time Capsule router at home is switched on.

Windows has no equivalent for the brilliant Time Machine software, and users will have to use free tools like Cobian Backup, which are just no match. Moreover, on Windows, I ran into trouble setting up a USB printer I had attached to the Time Capsule. So, I suggest this only for Mac users.

This is an ideal product for Mac users, that is, if you are willing to pay the price. It is smart, quiet and you really don’t feel there is a hard disk in your room. It does heat up a bit, as Apple does not believe in putting fans in their devices.

The Time Capsule costs Rs 17,700 for 500 GB and Rs 28,200 for 1TB.

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The above article / review appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 5th July 2009

iLuv this option - Review iLuv i1255

The iPod Touch and the iPhone have found their way into the homes of most gadget lovers over the past year. For those who missed out on the iPhone invasion, the latest 3G S will be available in India this August. Though I am no big fan of converged devices, I must agree the iPhone is a wonderful package, a great music player, a good phone and a brilliant gaming device, all rolled into one.

However, I have missed being able to watch movies stored on my iPhone on the TV or play back songs from the Touch on an audio system. My wife was not so keen on another device entering our room after the Tata Sky +, DVD player, Bose Wave Radio, so I started looking for something which could help converge all these.

I found my solution in an up-market South Delhi store. It was called the iLuv i1255 and cost all of Rs 13,000—it costs just around $150 in the US. This player is smartly built and lets you watch your iPod videos through TV, while charging your device at the same time. The remote controls the DVD player as well as the Apple device in the dock.

The good part is that with this dock you can watch downloaded YouTube videos or synced podcasts on a large screen. For me the capability of being able to stream YouTube videos to my iPod Touch over Wi-Fi and then playing it on TV was a brilliant option to have. However, you will have to take the iPhone out of the dock to answer a call.

The DVD player is a smart accessory. But it still can’t play DivX movies and so doesn’t have USB ports built-in. Moreover, the fact that it has been imported by a dealer and not by a company is a bit of a downer as far as service is concerned. All this means I can’t give the DVD player more than two on a scale of five.

Though the unit is smartly designed and has a nice on-screen display and interface, I would recommend this only to those who are dealing with a cable mess at home and looking for a DVD player-cum-iPod dock to solve the problem.

However, it must be agreed that iLuv has a brilliant line-up of devices now available in India, all well designed. Though priced a little bit on the higher side, this is a good option if you are looking for something which you won’t find in every home and still doesn’t cost a bomb.

For More Details, visit the iLuv website

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The Above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday June 28, 2009

HTC MAGIC - First Android Phone Finally Available in India Next Week

The Wait finally seems to be over, with a Press Release, Airtel is Bringing the First Android Phone in India.

The HTC Magic, also known as the T-Mobile myTouch will be available across Stores in India, in the first week of July.

Though HTC has signed up with Airtel to launch the Handset, it should soon be available across every network.

I am expecting a Test Unit from Rediffusion DYR, their PR Agency in India, and will run a full review on it, so look out for it.


Just a Brief Look at the features

3G / 3.2" HVGA screen / 3.2 mega pixels Camera / Airtel customers get free 100 mb data download per month / Rs. 29,990 for the Handset

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Net TV - The Better Way (Review Airtel IPTV)

We have all seen the evolution from Doordarshan to cable TV, and finally the cable guy making way for DTH and CAS. Though picture, sound and content, too, improved over the years, there were still a few things missing, like the control over what you watch and when, to being able to record programmes, or watch something you missed.

All this changed with Tata Sky+, which allowed users to pause, rewind and even record live TV. Around the same time Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), also entered India. Though it gives the impression that you would have to sit and wait for TV to stream in, Internet TV just means TV signals will come in through the broadband wires.

IPTV has some advantages over DTH. Since the TV comes to your house over cables, rain can't affect the transmission. The service is more interactive and you can use the TV to order a pizza or do a video conference. Since the service is unicast—the signals streaming into your house will differ from what your neighbour gets ”every time you pay to watch a movie you have the option of watching from the beginning and not where the movie is playing at that point of time, like in DTH.

IPTV is not exactly new to India. MTNL has been providing the service for sometime, but I wanted to stay as far away from iControl after hearing about its slipshod manner customer service. The market has, meanwhile, been evolving with more players coming in. The latest entrant is Airtel, which has finally exorcised its fears, and started its service in New Delhi and nearby areas. Airtel, being a major player in the telecom space, also gives you the Triple Play option of having phone, broadband and television from one service provider with a single bill.

Airtel has some great features. It offers seven-day playback on 30 popular channels, including CNBC TV 18, HBO and Colors. Other features include a set-top-box with two USB ports, so that you can use it to connect a webcam for video conferencing, or maybe store programmes on an external hard disk. You can buy a movie for Rs 25 and watch it within 24 hours. I found the picture and sound quality wonderful and, at times, felt the reception was better than DTH.

However, IPTV has some inherent problems. The box that sits beside your TV is actually a modem, relaying your remote commands back to the server for action. This whole process takes a few seconds, and makes everything appear slow.

There are some Airtel-specific problems too. There is an Electronic Programme Guide, but you can't use it to jump to a channel and have to surf from one channel to another. There is no way to put an on-screen reminder so that you can watch a specific programme. The unit does not have RF output, so if your AV ports are full and you want to hook this box using RF, you can't. The box also does not support HDMI. The interface, all black and red with white text, is ugly and a little hard to read. The prompts are nice, but the user interface requires improvement. Services like radio, interactive television and movies on demand are still not active.

So, I suggest it is better to wait a while and see how the market evolves before taking the IPTV plunge.

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The Above Article appeared in the Indian Express on Sunday, June 21, 2009

Aiming high with a Javelin - Review Blackberry Curve 8900

I have been a BlackBerry user for about six years now and I still use my first model, the old and mighty 7290. My BlackBerry use is limited to emails and so the handset still looks new. It cost me a fortune then, but I still think you should look at a BlackBerry only if you are serious about emails.

My needs are very simple, I prefer a side scroller like the old BlackBerrys—that is no longer an option—a full QWERTY keyboard, a good camera and the latest Operating System which would allow me to use both Flickr and Facebook. I don’t really require fancy ringtones, but a music/video player is more than welcome.

But I have been looking at the new BlackBerrys. You might remember that I was not very gung-ho about the BlackBerry Storm, as I am used to a full QWERTY keyboard, and the Bold seemed a bit beyond my budget. So I requested BlackBerry to send across their latest 8900 Javelin for a review.

It felt like the lightest BlackBerry till date at just 109.9 grams and looked cool with a VGA resolution screen (480x360 pixels) and Transmissive LCD. The QWERTY keyboard is smaller than previous versions, and takes some time to get used to, but the trackball has been raised a little and is no longer in a recess.

Most new phones have a light sensor that changes screen brightness as per the ambient light, but the Javelin undoubtedly has the most soothing display indoors, backed up with sharp and bright display outdoors—you can even work on it with the sun shining right on top.

The Javelin also has the best phone camera I have seen till date. The camera even recognised that I was taking pictures of a document with text in it and automatically used the macro mode to zoom into the text and render it perfectly.

Another great feature is the built-in GPS with which I was able to Geotag pictures. Though photos get the coordinates required for Geotag enabled photo management softwares (like Picasa and iPhoto), getting the GPS to work requires a subscription from your provider and can cost up to Rs 199 a month.

However, since the BlackBerry is always connected to the Internet, you can also use Google Maps, though it is not as accurate as GPS.

The Javelin’s inbuilt wireless works real well. Though your emails keep switching to the services of your service provider, you can still browse, download and update Facebook and use Google Maps through wireless.

Though I have always been a fan of the BlackBerry’s email handling capacities and data networking, I have never liked the phone much. But the enhanced background noise cancellation and speakerphone—loud and clear with no distortions—on this version changed my perception to a certain extent.

However, I did not like the fact that I had to take out the battery every time to change the Micro SD Card. Moreover, such cards, if swapped from another phone, have to be formatted to be used on the Javelin. So there is no way you can move some MP3 from another phone to the Javelin using you card.

I really liked the Javelin, but would still to stick to my old 7290, primarily because it does not have a camera and I often have to go to offices where camera phones are banned.

But if you are looking for a BlackBerry with a wonderful GPS, a brilliant camera, lovely music and video playback, the Javelin is worth every penny of the Rs 27,990 you’d have to pay for it.

Some of the Photo's I took using the Blackberry 8900






For more information, visit the Blackberry Websiteor click here for Photos, and 360 Degree View.

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The above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 14th June 2009

And I thought I had a Stationery Fetish

Bang Yao Liu is a paitient man, with a stationery fetish, ahem, I stand corrected, with a Brilliant skill of making Stop Motion Videos.

The First one shows you how he did it, the second, what he did.. Do watch

Smart Power Outlets - Now Why did no one else think of it

Electrical Fire, a very common thing that happens across the globe, what was meant to be a single outlet to connect a TV or a Bed Side Lamp, has become an extension cord, and has Cell phone chargers, Mosquitto Repellers, Laptops, and yes, the Bed Side lamps plugged into it, and chances are, that your outlet may soon burn down, or spark, and worst comes to worst, cause an electric fire.

While going through TED, I came across this brilliant talk / presentation by John La Grou, an Inventor, Designer, and Entrepreneur.

Now I Wonder, why the **** did no one else think of this ?

John La Grou unveils an ingenious new technology that will smarten up the electrical outlets in our homes, using microprocessors and RFID tags. The invention, Safeplug, promises to prevent deadly accidents like house fires -- and to conserve energy.

iPhone 3G[s] - It's finally Here

Well rumour mill or not, the iPhone 3G[s] is finally here, it is faster, more powerful and starts at US$ 99. A Wall Street Journal report, mentions that apple has lowered the price so as to increase sales.

Though now the iPhone 3G (which was earlier available as 16 and 32 GB) is 8GB to start off at US$ 99, the iPhone 3G[s] starts at US$ 199. Details of India Launch, and India Pricing is still not available with me, but I will be in touch with Apple India to get you more Juicy details.

Just a few features, that were supposedly Rumors, which are now incorporated in the new iPhone 3G[s]:

*2x Improved Performance
*Built in Video Camera with Editing
*Compass
*Voice Control

What is interesting is that the Voice Control not only let's you make / answer phone calls, but also let's you play music. The Voice control works in several languages, click here for details, though I would have loved, if I could make a Calendar Entry using Voice, then I would really have a handsfree driving experience.

I think this version will finally make iPhone my chosen Gadget, can't wait to get one from Apple to test... Anyone at Apple reading this :)

To see the Trailers of Ad's from Apple iPhone 3G[s] release click here.

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How to Grow Air - Mr. Kamal Meattle

I have always looked up to Mr. Kamal Meattle and the object of making green homes / green offices is very close to me. He has done some wonderful work with the Nehru Place Greens, and his continued research has helped me with my work of turning things Green in a lot of manner.

I had a chance to meet him in person, and pick his brains, sometime back, and he was courteous enough to not only help me with my ideas, but also spend a full hour explaning things, where I was going wrong.

I just got to know about his talk on TED, and I thought I must paste it. Though this is not one of the finest ways of projecting data, but he is good with his work, and if you think you want to grow air, he will teach you how to, in the next 4 minutes.

The office workhorse - Review HP Officejet Pro 8500

For the past couple of years my mother has been using a multi-function printer. But the tangle of the USB cable, running from her laptop to the printer, is a hassle in a wireless home. This problem can be answered by a network printer with a wireless option, though the cost of such a machine has always been a put-off for buyers. But even if you were willing to pay the price, most such printers wouldn’t be ideal for scanning from multiple PCs or support Web Scan.



But the recently launched HP Officejet Pro 8500 is different. HP claims its cost per print is half that of normal colour printers and has a lower energy footprint than laser printers. I did not really check the energy efficiency, but I know it was getting power from a small UPS and did not complain. It also churned out about 60 colour photos at an amazing speed—the printer took about 10 minutes to do the job at 10 pages per minute.

I was not very happy with the photo print quality, especially since I was using Mondi High Weight Inkjet Paper; but this is not supposed to be a photo printer. However, its black&white printing left me impressed for its speed and sharp text. Though I have used it to take about 50 prints every day over the past three weeks, the printer has consumed just a third of the ink cartridges, making me agree with HP’s lower cost per print claim.

Finally, here was a printer which could install on Linux, Mac and Windows without a problem. There are some added features like a tray which can hold 250 sheets, and the duplex function which means you can print on both sides of the paper automatically. The printer uses a four-cartridge system and the console shows the level on each cartridge separately. However, the cartridges used in this HP series are best left to be changed by the dealer, self installation could be tricky. The printer supports a 1200x1200 dpi black quality as standard, and 4800x1200 dpi enhanced colour, but only on HP Photo Paper.

A great feature is the Web Scan, which allows you to scan documents off the printer’s webpage, without loading drivers on to the PC. It also has a scan-to-memory device that lets you scan documents as PDF, JPEG, or text directly on to memory cards or a pen drive. These features alone makes the MFP worth its price for me.

The scanner is both flatbed and Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)—the ADF can automatically scan 50 pages into single or multiple files. The scanner supports a maximum resolution of 4800 dpi with a 48-bit depth, but I was happy with the PDFs created as the images, at 200 x 200 dpi, were both small, readable and reprintable.

The printer comes with an Ethernet (wired) port, plus the option of buying a wireless port. I would suggest an Ethernet wired port, in case you have an Ethernet switch or a port available on your broadband router. The printer supports print-from and scan-to on different memory types—compact Flash 1 and 2, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital (SD) cards, High Capacity Secure Digital (SDHC), Multimedia Card (MMC), XD Picture Card and USB pen drive. Micro SD, Mini SD and RS-MMC are supported through an adapter which you will need to buy separately.

I did check out the fax and found that it works like any other with lost of features thrown in.

However, for the price tag it carries, the printer misses a colour LCD screen which would have been helpful in previewing documents on memory cards or USBs. Moreover, weighing around 13 kg, this not so ideal for home use. It comes with a one-year warranty which you can extend up to three years for an additional cost.

The wired network printer has a price tag of Rs 20,681 while the wireless version can be yours for Rs 22,899. The price is indeed a bottleneck, but if you have a very high print load, this is one cost you can pay for the features the HP Officejet Pro 8500 offers you.

For More Information on HP's website, click here.
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The above article / review appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 7th June 2009

Two New Microsoft Announcements - The Wow Factor

Last evening I was in an argument about how motion gaming is changing the outlook of games and it's developers. With the iPhone and it's wonderful set of games, and now most of the cell phone manufacturers coming out with their own concept of motion gaming, Wii taking the world over, how could Microsoft be left behind.

At E3, Microsoft Today announced a more interactive version of the controller, looks like indoor games (on the video game console) are soon going to replace us having to gout. Check out the Video from BBC News



The second video shows, what Science fiction has not yet spoken about, if you want virtual children, this will help you solve it.. WOW

Don’t burn your fingers - Review LG Arena KM 900

I love LG as a company, but have never had the opportunity to use an LG phone. So when I got a mail from their PR team to evaluate the new LG Arena KM 900, I jumped at the opportunity.

To start with, the Arena is good to look at, has a nice attractive finish, and is a bit smaller than the iPhone, but at 3” it is still big enough for most tasks. The accelerometer lets you play some motion games, but with LG using it on a proprietary engine, I don’t think a lot of games may be available — so don’t buy it as a game phone.

The Scube interface is wonderful and racy. However, the most annoying feature is getting to type on the keypad. Like other new generation phones, it does simultaneous directory look-ups for any number that you enter, but the way it interacts to the touch needs to be worked on. Sending an SMS or using the phone keypad to make a call can be a pain as the keypad is not very effective—LG needs to make it larger. Some features like the speaker phone menu and hold call are nice, but the call history/SMS history option will put off most serious users.

LG, however, scores with its music player and speakers, especially with the smooth movement between tracks and cover flow-like presentation. The Dolby certification and noise reduction are great add-ons. Thankfully, it uses a 3.5mm headphone jack like the iPhone.

The 5mp camera has a good macro mode, but the colours aren’t that good, and at times the camera is just too slow. The phone supposedly has an Assisted GPS and Geotagging features that allow users to tag photos according to their location, thus making them easier to manage. However, this feature did not work for me.

The phone has an in-built memory of 8GB plus the option to add a mini SD Card. Sadly, the phone still uses a proprietary cable for data transfer and charging.

The Arena undoubtedly has the best touchscreen after iPhone, with a zoom in and out that actually works. However, this option is limited to pictures and not useful for browsing or texting, making the phone primitive.

The phone supports email from any POP/IMAP provider as well as MS Exchange, but does not work over a wireless link rendering the phone almost useless in a Wi-Fi zone. Moreover, the email options are anything but user friendly and I had a tough time removing my account configured on the phone.

Go for the Arena if you want a phone which is a looker and not a great call/SMS machine. But remember the touchscreen market is slowly getting crowded and more players expected to come in the near future with better products. At Rs 24,990, buy this if you want a touch-phone which is not the iPhone.

Some Pictures Taken with the Phone





For More Information click arena.lgmobile.com

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The Above article / review appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 31 May 2009.