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WishTel Ira vs. Aakash 2: Budget tablets under 5k compared

2012-03-27T08:50:00.003-07:00

The Indian market is already awash with budget tablets, and numerous new manufacturers are joining the race to further heat up the competition.WishTel, BSNL, Zync aBSNL recently forayed into the tablet market with the launch of three tablets including the ultra low-cost Penta T PAD IS 701R (priced at Rs. 3,250). Unfortunately, the availability of the tablets in the retail market has been delayed for a while.

WishTel, however, with its recent launch of two low-cost tablets, will for a while offer the most affordable low-cost tablet from a private manufacturer in India, with its ultra low-cost Ira-series tablets starting at Rs. 4,000.

While we're talking about the ultra low-cost tablets, we cannot fail to mention the Aakash 2 tablet, which is slated to launch in April. The Aakash 2 tablet is an ambitious project of the Indian government and is aimed at 'bridging the digital divide' in the country. The Aakash 2 tablet is going to cost around Rs. 2,276 (Rs. 1,500 approx. subsidised price).

We bring you a quick comparison between the two hottest ultra low-cost tablets – WishTel Ira and Aakash 2.

WishTel Ira

The WishTel Ira sports a seven-inch capacitive touchscreen with 800 x 480 resolution, while the Ira Thing has a resistive touchscreen with the same resolution. The Ira runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and is powered by an 800MHz CPU. It has a 512MB of RAM. The device has a 4GB inbuilt storage expandable up to 32GB via MicroSD card. For connectivity, the device supports Wi-Fi, 3G and USB 2.0. The Ira has a 2,800 mAh battery. The device comes preloaded with a bunch of apps such as a Web Browser, Media Player, Photo viewer, Office, MSN, Skype, Gtalk, Note pad, Clock, Weather and more.

The WishTel Ira is priced at Rs. 5,000, and the Ira Thing is priced at Rs. 4,000. The specifications of both the budget tablets are the same apart from the fact that the Ira Thing has a resistive touchscreen and the Ira has a capacitive touchscreen. Also, the Ira Thing has a 2,200 mAh battery whereas the Ira has a 2,800 mAh battery.

Aakash 2

The Aakash 2 tablet is going to be an improved version of the original Aakash tablet, which was developed by DataWind. The device will have a seven-inch capacitive touchscreen and will be powered by a 700MHz Cortex A8 processor. The Aakash 2 tablet will have an improved 3,200 mAh battery, which is rated to deliver three-hours of back up. The device runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and supports the following document (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, ODT, ODP, PDF), image (PNG, JPG, BMP and GIF), audio (MP3, AAC, AC3, WAV, WMA) and video (MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, FLV) file formats. For connectivity, the device supports Wi-Fi and GPRS. The Aakash 2 is priced at Rs. 2,276.

As you can also see, the Aakash 2 tablet continues to be the cheapest tablet in the market so far. Even at a price of Rs. 5,000, the WishTel Ira still costs twice as much as the Aakash tablet. But having said that, there's no confirmed information about the availability of the Aakash device. Though Union minister Kapil Sibal has said that the device will be launched next month, we're not sure that'll happen, especially considering the previous failures to meet deadlines.

Would you prefer waiting for another month to lay hands on the Aakash 2 tablet? Or, will you go ahead with WishTel's Ira tablet that costs you twice as much as the Aakash tablet?nd Intex are the latest entrants to the Indian budget tablet market.

Five dual-core Android phones you can get for less than Rs. 25,000

2012-03-27T08:46:00.003-07:00

Dual-core smartphones were considered a luxury premium product when they were introduced about one year ago. They were highly priced, packed a punch under the hood and finally we started seeing alternatives to a little device called the iPhone.Now, one year later, dual-core Android phones have been available in India for quite some time. The Google Play Store is also filled with apps that take advantage of the powerful hardware under the hood of these devices.

With quad-core phones just around the corner we thought we’d take a look at some of the dual-core phones out there for you that have seen a slight dip in prices – allowing us to bring you a list of the five best dual-core Android smartphones under Rs. 25,000. If you thought a dual-core Android powered smartphone was out of your reach, think again!

Will you pick up one of these as your next smartphone?

Motorola Atrix 2

Processor: Dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9
RAM: 1GB
Display: 4.3-inch display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels
Camera: 8MP AF Camera with an LED flash and a front facing camera
Battery: 1,785 mAh
OS: Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Storage: 8GB Internal Storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD
Price: Rs. 22,990

Verdict: At its price point, the Motorola Atrix 2 is a fantastic product. It has a brilliant display. The MotoBlur UI skin over Android is fun to use with 5 customizable screens. The device also has a micro-HDMI connector so you can playback content on your HDTV. Did we mention the phone is built like a rock?

HTC Sensation

Processor: Dual-core 1.2GHz Scorpion
RAM: 768MB RAM
Display: 4.3-inch display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels
Camera: 8MP AF camera with dual LED flash, 1080p Video recording and a front facing VGA camera
Battery: 1,520 mAh
OS: Android OS 2.3.4 Gingerbread upgradable to ICS
Storage: 1GB Internal storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
Price: Rs. 24,000

Verdict: At Rs. 24,000, the Sensation is one of the best smartphones from the HTC lineup. We really like the high-resolution display that is quite a bit better than what the competition has to offer at this price point. If you are looking for an overall value for money product that isn’t the Samsung Galaxy S II, you can definitely take a look at the HTC Sensation.

Read the complete ThinkDigit review of the HTC Sensation.

Samsung Galaxy R

Processor: Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9
RAM: 1GB RAM
Display: 4.2-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels
Camera: 5MP AF camera with an LED flash, 720p HD recording and a 1.3MP front facing camera
Battery: 1,650mAh
OS: Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread
Storage: 8GB internal storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
Price: Rs. 21,170

Verdict: The only drawback to the Samsung Galaxy R is that it doesn’t feature a Super AMOLED Display. The 5MP camera is a great performer, the gorilla glass makes sure that your screen is safe and the battery life of the device is long enough to survive a hectic day.

LG Optimus 2X

Processor: Dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9
RAM: 512MB RAM
Display: 4.0-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels
Camera: 8MP autofocus camera with an LED flash, 1080p HD video recording and a 1.3MP front facing camera
Battery: 1,500mAh
OS: Android 2.2 Froyo, upgradable to 2.3 Gingerbread
Storage: 8 GB internal storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
Price: Rs. 19,990

Verdict: The Optimus 2X with the 1GHz dual-core processor offers a definite performance improvement over the smartphones powered by 1GHz single core phones. The extra power under the hood does make it a snappier device. For a price of around Rs. 20k, this is definitely a steal. Along with the extra power, you will get a very capable phone, excellent display, a good camera, HDMI video out capability and 8GB built-in storage.

Read the complete ThinkDigit review of the LG Optimus 2X.

Micromax Superfone A85

Processor: Dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9
RAM: 512MB RAM
Display: 3.8-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels
Camera: 5MP autofocus camera and a VGA front facing camera
Battery: 1500 mAh
OS: Android 2.2 Froyo
Storage: 8 GB internal storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
Price: Rs. 15,200

Verdict: Probably the only smartphone on our list to boast of gesture controls, the Micromax A85 Superfone is also the cheapest Dual-core smartphone available in the market. Its battery life may be shorter than the competition and considering the price point of Rs. 15,200 it does skim off on some features such as the camera and the build. The bright side is that you get a Tegra 2 powered Android smartphone under 20k.

How to make your iPhone or iPad run faster

2012-03-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

My iPhone (3GS), now nearing its second birthday, has seemed sluggish for a few months. It started around the same time that I installed iOS 5, that latest major update to the mobile operating system. When iOS 5.1 came out a few weeks ago, I wondered whether it would only exacerbate the problem when I installed it. Would the OS update take up even more space on my little phone, making it run even slYou don't need to know much at all about how your iPhone or iPad works, or even how much a gigabyte is, to make your Apple mobile device run faster. Follow these few simple steps, and you'll be on your way to a cleaner and quicker iPhone or iPad.

5 Tips for Making Your iPhone or iPad Run Faster

1. Check your usage.
Click on the Settings icon. Select General. Select Usage.

At the very top, you'll see two numbers: GB available and GB used.

You don't need to understand these numbers deeply. All you need to know for the purpose of making your phone run faster is the percent of free space you have. There are no hard and fast rules, but you probably want your available space to be at least 10 percent, but perhaps as much as 15 or 20 percent. Obviously, if the available space is larger than the used space, you're in good shape.

Note that when you add the available space and the used space, it won't add up to the total size of your phone (e.g., a 16GB iPhone will appear to have only about 13.6GB total space) because it doesn't include the space being used by the operating system.

Select any app, and a new page will break down the usage into two parts: the app and the data and documents stored in the app. For example, my Instapaper app takes up 30.7MB total:22.9MB for the app (see where it says "app size" on the image) and 7.8MB for documents and data. Sometimes, this information helps you see that it's not the app but what you store in it that's eating up space. In the case of my Instapaper app, I'm in the clear. Neither the app nor the data are taking up much space. To delete documents and data when they are taking up too much space, open the app where they're contained and remove them there, because you can'tdelete them from the iPhone or iPad Settings area.

2. Delete apps.
To create more available or free space, you'll need to delete apps, music, videos, or other data. Here's how to figure out which ones are worth nixing.

Staying right on the same screen from step no. 1, look through the next section, which shows the apps you have installed and how much space they use. This list automatically sorts by space used, from greatest to least. The apps appear at the top are using the most space. Most of your apps are probably measured in MB rather than GB (1GB=1,024MB).

The app highest on your list is probably either Music or Video. You can't actually delete those apps, but you can remove some of the music or video files, explained next in step no. 3. But first, take a look at the other apps in the list and decide which ones you'll delete. Judging them by the amount of space they consume could be more effective than simply thinking about whether you want to keep them.

To delete apps, go to your iPhone or iPad's homescreen and press and hold any app. All the apps will quiver on screen, and a small black X will appear on the top right corner of the icons for any app that can be deleted. Press the X, and you'll see a screen asking for confirmation to delete the app. For some apps, you may see a second confirmation screen, warning you that you'll lose additional information associated with the app, such as data in Game Center. To kiss those apps goodbye, confirm.

3. Delete songs, albums, podcasts, videos.

You can delete music and videos two ways.

From Settings. Staying in the Usage screen (Settings > General > Usage), tap the option for Music or Video in the apps list. The next screen summarizes your music and podcast data usage. Clean out any of these in one shot by pressing the Edit button (top right), hitting the red circle with white stripe next to the appropriate entry, and selecting "delete." This action deletes all the files associated with the entry. It doesn't give you a track-by-track option for deleting.

From within the apps. You can delete track by track, album by album, and so forth, from within the app. Launch the app, navigate to a page that shows the items you want to delete, and simply use one finger to swipe from right to left across the listings you want to delete. When the delete button appears, press it.

4. Delete Photos.
Confusingly, when you navigate to Settings > Photos, you can't see how much space the images on your iPhone or iPad use. The easiest way to see this statistic is to connect your device to your computer and open iTunes. Click on the device name at the left side of the dashboard, and you'll see at the bottom a graph showing how many GB different features use. It's color-coded; photos are orange.

If you want to save images to your computer, you can import to your computer. To delete them from the iPhone or iPad, go to the Photos app and open any album. Click the square-with-arrow icon at the top left, then tap each photo you want to delete; when you've selected them all, press the red delete button. Alternatively, from the Album page, select "Edit" to delete entire albums in one shot.

5. Clear Safari's cache.
Another way to free up space is to clear the Safari Web browser cache.

Go to Settings > Safari.

In the image below, it's right in the center.

Next, two buttons are applicable: Clear History and Clear Cookies and Data. If you've never cleared your Safari browser before, you'll probably want to use both these buttons. When the history or cookies and data sections are empty, the text of those buttons will turn gray.

There's one more step you can take in the Safari area, and it's under this section: Advanced > Website Data. At the bottom of that page, you can select "Remove All Website Data," which may free up some additional space.

Zync launches Android 4.0 ICS-based Z-990 tablet for Rs. 8,990

2012-03-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

Competition in the budget tablet segment has continued to intensify. The latest entrant in the market is Zync's Z-990, which the company touts as India's first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet. Priced at Rs. 8,990, the Zync Z-990 runs a powerful 1.2GHz processor with 1GB of RAM.The Zynch Z-990 has a seven-inch display with 800x480 pixels resolution and 0.3MP front facing camera. It has 4GB of internal storage. For connectivity, the device supports Wi-Fi, 3G, and USB 2.0. The Zynch Z-990 comes with a standard 3,600 mAh Li-ion battery. The device is available at online retail store Letsbuy for Rs. 8,500.Zync says the Z-990 is India's first ICS tablet with features such as control over data usage, new gallery app with photo editor, new lock action, new user interface, new camera capabilities and five point touch. The company says it has launched the Z-990 after receiving positive feedback over its previous tablets Z-900, Z-909 and Z-999.Earlier we'd reported that Micromax's P-300 was the first tablet in India to run on the latest Android ICS operating system. The device was spotted on online store HomeShop 18, which had then listed it as “out of stock”. However, the website later pulled that image and name of the device. According to reports, the device is likely to return on the site after it is officially launched.Zync's Z-990 is going to compete with other Indian budget tablets including the recently launched Intex i-Tab. Check out our coverage on Intex's i-Tab here.

Also read,

Jabra launches UC Voice Series headsets, promising affordable UC deployment

2012-03-27T08:16:00.001-07:00

Jabra has launched four models of its UC Voice Series of headsets in India, hoping to provide companies a cost-effective means for deploying unified communications.According to Jabra, there is an expected growth potential in the field, to the tune of roughly Rs. 35-70 billion by 2014. Speaking on the rise of the unified communications industry, Jabra’s MD of South Asia, Ralph Ede, said:“Today there are approximately 7.8 million users of UC. By 2015 that number is expected to skyrocket to 49.5 million. Optimization of these investments by adding the voice dimension to the UC experience and attaching headsets that offer superior sound, comfort and build will have a tremendous impact when wanting to ensure the right ROI.” All four Jabra UV Voice Series headsets were designed specifically for companies looking for a cost-effective means of deploying headsets across an organization and to accommodate for the different working styles and environments without compromising on quality.

In addition to headset solutions for light to heavy users, the Jabra UC Voice Series also features a portable headset developed for today’s virtual offices that is the industry’s first corded UC headset with a behind-the-ear wearing style and discreet form factor for video conferencing.Apart from promising easy maintenance and superior sound clarity, Jabra’s UC Voice series of headsets will feature two-year global warranty. To learn more about the Jabra UC Voice Series or to learn where to buy the headsets, please visit www.Jabra.com.

Asus launches its GeForce GTX 680 card at Rs. 46,000

2012-03-27T08:11:00.002-07:00

The Asus GTX680-2GD5 has been given an astonishingly high price of Rs. 46,000 excluding taxes, roughly Rs. 14,000 more than ZOTAC’s GTX 680 (read our review) offering, which has been priced at Rs. 32,000.

We, like the rest of the Indian tech industry are a bit flummoxed by the pricing – the card after all is not factory overclocked (same 1006MHz core clock, and 6.008GHz effective memory clock), or feature any special partner customization of note – hopefully, street prices will be much, much lower. Did we mention it comes with Asus GPU Tweak software?

Find complete specifications at the end of the article.

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 is a fighting contender for the crown of the fastest single-GPU card, competing and even beating the AMD Radeon HD 7970 in some cases. It is based on Nvidia’s new 28nm process, and features the company’s new 3.54 billion transistor Kepler GPU. For more details about the GTX 680, such as memory bandwidth, TDP rating, etc., refer to our previous coverage.

Graphics Engine - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
Bus Standard - PCI Express 3.0
Video Memory - GDDR5 2GB
Engine Clock - 1058 MHz
CUDA Core - 1536
Memory Clock - 6008 MHz ( 1502 MHz GDDR5 )
Memory Interface - 256-bit
Resolution DVI Max Resolution - 2560x1600
Interface DVI Output - Yes x 1 (DVI-I), Yes x 1 (DVI-D)
HDMI Output - Yes x 1
Display Port - Yes x 1 (Regular DP)
Accessories - 1 x Power cable
Software - GPU Tweak
Dimensions - 10.08 " x 4.37 " x 1.47 "

Angry Birds Space Review

2012-03-27T08:09:00.002-07:00

Price: NA

Our Rating: Excellent

4.5/5

Features:

Performance:

Value:

Design:

PROS

New gravity mechanics are fun to play
60 new levels to play through
Revamped Birds look cool
Space age sound effects

CONS

Expensive for Mac app store and Windows
Free Android version has ads
Danger Zone levels are an in-app purchased

Summary

Overall, Angry Birds Space is a must buy for anyone remotely interested in puzzle games on smartphones. The new zero gravity and planetary mechanics add fresh elements to the gameplay and the redesigned birds simply look cool. Besides, the game is free on Android and $0.99 on iOS really isn't a deal breaker. With more levels expected in the coming months, you will definitely be flinging birds in space for a long time.

Review :

When Angry Birds was slingshot onto smartphones all over the world in 2009, the game became synonymous with addiction. The excitement of flinging an assortment of birds at a bunch of pigs hiding in some strangely designed structure was at first unfathomable yet exciting.

Two versions later (Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio), the Angry Birds franchise has tried to maintain some freshness with variations in levels and the addition of some new birds to fling at foes.

Does this new installment in the series have what it takes to keep the Bird slinging addiction alive or are we better off looking elsewhere?

Revamped Gameplay
The gameplay in Angry Birds Space has been significantly revamped from its predecessors. As the name suggests, the Birds are now battling the pigs in space, adding new elements to gameplay, such as gravity, and the absence of it.

Zero gravity adds a nice mix to Angry Birds gameplay, as you will never be sure of the direction your bird will take after its impact with the target. There is also the addition of moons/planets with their own gravitational pull, which adds new physics elements and some brain scratching puzzles. It is fun to watch the birds circle a small planet a couple of times before making contact with the desired target. When the number of gravity enabled planets increases from one to two, the excitement of watching the birds go round in various ways is thrilling.

The addition of zero gravity and the gravity-enabled planets is a great refreshment from the simple slingshot experience of the past iterations of Angry Birds.

The Angry Birds Receive a Makeover
It’s not only the levels that have been redesigned for space. The Angry Birds themselves have been rehashed, and been made “cooler” for outer space. The simple Red Bird now has a pair of space age goggles that would give Geordi La Forge (the dude from Star Trek: The Next Generation with the funky glasses) a run for his money.

Another noteworthy makeover to Angry Birds is the yellow triangle bird that picks up speed like a rocket when the screen is tapped. For starters, the colour has been changed to jazzy purple and now the direction in which the bird zooms can be selected by simply tapping the location on screen.

Similarly the exploding bird of Angry Birds along with the one that splits into three too have received a makeover in terms of their looks. There is also an addition of a new bird in Angry Birds Space. This bird is a square ice-coloured bird that freezes its surroundings on impact.

The addition of the “new bird” along with the “outer space” environment has really refreshed the Angry Birds gameplay.

Number of Levels and PlatformsThe number of devices on which Angry Birds is available is no longer restricted to smartphones and tablets. You can play the game on your Mac, Windows PC, iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone and Android Tablets. And soon, Windows Phone.

The free version on Android (with ad support) comes with two worlds that comprise of 30 levels each. Additional 30 levels of Angry Birds Space, called the Danger Zone can be bought as an in app purchase. Samsung Galaxy Note users can download these additional levels from the Samsung App store.

Space Age MusicIf you are one who doesn’t play the game on mute, then you will undoubtedly appreciate the background score of the new Angry Birds game. The game has a very Star Trek theme music to it that adds as a subtle touch to immerse gamers more in the feeling of being in space.

VerdictOverall, Angry Birds Space is a must buy for anyone remotely interested in puzzle games on smartphones. The new zero gravity and planetary mechanics add fresh elements to the gameplay and the redesigned birds simply look cool. Besides, the game is free on Android and $0.99 on iOS really isn’t a deal breaker. With more levels expected in the coming months, you will definitely be flinging birds in space for a long time.

Pricing and AvailabilityiPhone/iPod touch: $0.99
iPad: $2.99
Android: Free
Mac App Store: $4.99
Windows PC: $5.95

Google Play store added to navigation bar

2012-03-27T08:03:00.001-07:00

Google Play, the Big G's replacement for the Android Market, has been promoted to the top of the Google home page.

Google Play is now sitting in pride of place in Google's navigation bar, lurking between Maps and YouTube – an indication of just how much importance Google's attaching to its new app store. Even key Google services like Reader and Shopping are relegated to the drop-down menu at the end of the navigation bar.

Whether Google Play manages to keep its lofty position, or whether it's unceremoniously dumped like poor, unloved Google Wave, only time will tell. In the meantime, if you're thinking of taking advantage of Google Play's services, check out our Android apps of the week.

FIX DAMAGED HEADPHONES

2012-03-27T07:50:00.001-07:00

Here is a small guide to help you fix your favorite headphones, which might have been damaged due to wire stretching or audio jack issues.

Whether you’re an audiophile or somebody who listens to music on-the-go, your headphones may stop working or work only partially over prolonged use. We’ve put together a simple guide on how to get those headphones up and running once again.

Firstly, you’ll require a soldering iron, some solder wire and another pair headphones which you don't intend to use. The reason we would require another pair of headphones or earphones is to make use of the wires and the connector in case your expensive headphones have a bad wire or connector, thus needing replacement. Needless to say, other tools like screwdrivers, wire strippers and a sharp blade or knife will definitely come in handy. So once you’ve collected the materials required, get your favorite pair of headphones ready and start with finding the cause of the faulty connection.

Fault Identification

Identify the area of the fault. If there’s a break in the wire, it’s best to replace the whole wire from your headphones with a new one or taken from another pair. In case there are problems at the connector end, the solution is to cut the wire, buy another connector (most electronic shops sell it for less than ten rupees) and solder the wires to the new connector. Thirdly, in most cases, sound is audible over only one side of the headphones as the soldering wears off with time or the wires have given way. Due to this, the functionality of the headphones is drastically reduced, but with a few simple methods mentioned below, you’ll get the sound back from both channels in no time.

For our workshop, we took our faulty ‘Koss Porta Pro’ headphones and upon diagnosis, realized that the fault lay at the point where the cable met the headphone driver. But here’s the important bit of information you need to keep in mind - you need to identify the smartest possible way of prying your headphones open. In most cases, the drivers are concealed in a frame, which is either glued together, fused as one piece, have clamps or simply screwed together. Therefore, we would suggest that you carefully examine the headphones and the wiring before attempting to open them. In case you find the drivers are fused inside a case, you might need to cut open the frame. If needed, get some help from someone who knows a bit of electronics.

On our Koss headphones, we found that it had a small plastic cap covering the audio driver’s connectors that needed to be flipped apart with a screwdriver. A few have the second channel routed through the head band and hence, there will be a bit more of opening up required to get to the soldering bit. For others, there are separate wires entering both the drivers on either side and the task will be a little easier. Some in-ear headphones do have a strong adhesive hold and trying to take them apart might just break the internals or the case itself. Hence, it’s better to be careful while handling such headphones.

Disassembling the Headphones

Once you’ve gotten into the inside of the headphones, check if the existing wire has come loose. If it has, a simple soldering might just do the trick. In our case, it seemed like the wire had worn out over time, so we decided to change the wire completely. Here is where we needed the other pair of unused headphones for transplanting its wires to the Koss set.

Cut out the older worn out wires and discard them. Do note the polarities of the wires before cutting them as you might need to restore it later using the new wires. Headphone manufacturers sometimes make a marking on the terminals with either ‘+’ or ‘-‘ signs, or simply mark them with two colors. Usually, headphones don’t need wiring polarity as a compulsory connection and hence you can safely connect any polarity to any end of the headphones.

Now take the wires from the other headphone. Using a wire stripper, cutter or a plain knife, strip the wire sleeve by around half an inch to reveal the two internal wires. Here is the part you need to be very careful about: headphones use a very delicate pair of wire cores. While some have a mesh of 10 to 20 strands for each wire, others might have a single strand only.

Soldering the Wires

These strands of wires are always coated with a layer of lacquer to prevent a short circuit. This lacquer needs to be scraped off before soldering it to the terminal. To do this, use a very sharp blade or knife and very carefully and delicately scrape off the lacquer from the wire strands. If you apply too much pressure, the wire will break and you will end up with a shorter wire. Once that is done, coat the scraped ends with solder. This process is called tinning of copper.

Once you're done, it is time to solder the wires to the terminals, but do this carefully as the last thing you want is your plastic casing to melt away. If you are not confident with soldering process, we would advise taking help from someone who knows this job. It would be safer than realizing later that you destroyed your expensive headphones.

Process Reversal

Now that you have soldered the wires to the drivers, it is time to check if the music’s back on before re-assembling the headphones. If it works, you can now reverse the opening technique you used on the headphones to put them back into their original state.

If you cannot hear any audio from the speakers even though you have done proper soldering, it is time for fault finding. If you know how to use a multi-meter, it is time to bring it in use here. Check the connectivity between the main audio jack and the driver’s terminals to check if the wire and the soldering is a perfect joint. You might have to check the drivers too. If the driver itself is faulty, you might just need to discard the headphones completely as repairing a driver is next to impossible, unless an expert looks into the matter.

Wishtel launches two 'Ira' Android budget tablets, starting Rs. 4,000

2012-03-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

Wishtel launches two 'Ira' Android budget tablets, starting Rs. 4,000

Wishtel India has launched 2 tablets in the Indian market, the Ira Thing and the Ira. The two tablets are priced at Rs. 4000 and Rs. 5,500 respectively, plus tax.

The specifications of both the budget tablets are the same apart from the fact that the Ira Thing has a resistive touchscreen and the Ira has a capacitive touchscreen. The battery of both the devices too is different.

The Ira Thing has a 2,200 mAh battery where as the Ira has a 2,800 mAh battery. Other specifications of the device can be found in the table at the end of the article.

The device comes preloaded with a bunch of apps such as a Web Browser, Media Player, Photo viewer, Office, MSN, Skype, Gtalk, Note pad, Clock, Weather and more.

The devices on display at the press event ran Android 2.2 Froyo but the manufacturers have confirmed that the device will launch with Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Apart from Android, customers will have the option to use the tablet on the Linux Sugar OS.

Speaking at the event, Milind Shah, CEO, Wishtel, said:

“This launch is the first step in our long term vision of bringing people closer to technology by creating gadgets that truly touch their lives. By enabling support for Indian languages, we are providing the opportunity for hundreds of millions of Indians to join the tablet revolution that is sweeping the globe today. We also hope to reach out to those brilliant minds in India that are inhibited for the lack of proper resources.”

Richard Brown, VP International Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc., added:

“With the introduction of the IRA and IRA Thing, Wishtel is leading the way in driving tablet innovation in India. The potential for these devices is breathtaking, particularly in areas such as education.”

*Click to enlarge*

From the specifications of the device and its build it is clear that Wishtel is aiming to take on the Aakash and the Aakash 2 tablet that is being manufactured by Datawind for the India government.

*Specifications of Wishtel Ira Thing i-Pad and Ira i-Pad*
7-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 800x480 800MHz CPU 512 MB RAM OS: Android 2.2/2.3 4GB inbuilt storage expandable up to 32GB via MicroSD card Wi-Fi The device has a USB 2.0 port to which users can connect a 3G dongle Card reader Headphones jack 1.3MP front facing camera and no rear shooter Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.7 x 1.45cm Weight: 0.37 kg

Ultrabooks comparison: 4 latest models reviewed

2012-03-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

When it comes to mobile computers, Intel’s latest standard for notebooks- the Ultrabook is the hottest segment today. Ultrabooks are sleek, sexy, thin but powerful new-age variety of laptops, hinting towards the future of computing devices. Intel has gone on record to state that 40% of laptops launched this year will be ultrabooks, that manufacturers will flood the market with over 70 different types of ultrabook offerings globally. Such a remark from someone who makes chips that goes into hundreds of thousands of laptops every year is definitely a sign of things to come.

Our comparison test includes ultrabooks from four brands -- Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo. We are yet to receive products from Dell, Toshiba and Samsung. The four models under review are priced between Rs. 50,900 to Rs. 99,999.

Here is the specifications comparison table for the 4 ultrabooks along with their pricing.

Brand & Model	Acer Aspire S3	Asus Zenbook	Lenovo IdeaPad U300s	HP Folio 13

Price (Rs)	50,900	99,999	67,990	69,990
Processor	Intel Core i5-2467M	Intel Core i7-2677M	Intel Core i5-2467M	Intel Core i5-2467M 1.6 GHz
Speed (MHz)	1600	2600	2000	1600
RAM (DDR3)	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics	Intel HD 3000 Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 3000	Intel HD Graphics 3000
HDD	320 SSD	256 SSD	128 SSD	128 SSD
OS	Windows 7 HP 64-bit	Windows 7 HP 64-bit	Windows 7 HP 64-bit	Windows 7 HP 64-bit
Screen Size (Inches)	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3
Type of Panel	LED backlit	LED backlit	LED backlit	LED backlit
Screen Resolution (Pixels)	1366x768	1600x900	1366x768	1366x768
Weight (kg)	1.35 kg	1.3 kg	1.33 kg	1.5 kg
No of Ports (USB / Firewire)	2/0	2/0	2/0	2/0
No of USB 3.0 (Y/N)	0	1	1	0
Connectivity (LAN / Bluetooth / Wi-Fi)	Y/Y/Y	Y/Y/Y	Y/Y/Y	Y/Y/Y
E-Sata / Thunderbolt	N/N	N/N	N/N	N/N
Display (VGA / DVI / HDMI / Display Port)	Y/N/Y/N	N/N/Y/Y	N/N/Y/N	N/N/Y/N
Headphone / Mic	Y/Y	Y/Y	Y/Y	Y/Y
Memory Card Reader (Y/N)	Y	Y	N	Y
Fingerprint scanner (Y/N)	N	N	N	N
Optical Drive (Y/N)	N	N	N	N
Inbuilt Webcam (Y/N)	Y	Y	Y	Y

Build & Design
Although Intel has an established roadmap with respect to the processor architecture, the defining physical attributes for an ultrabook are still largely its slimmer, thinner dimensions. The Acer Aspire S3 and Lenovo IdeaPad U300s are less than 0.7-inch in thickness, while theAsus Zenbook UX31E and HP Folio 13 are slightly thicker than 0.7-inch, but still thinner than 1-inch, when measured with their lid closed. None of the bundled laptops weigh more than 1.5 kg, which is the weight of the “heaviest” ultrabook -- HP Folio 13. All four ultrabooks in the comparison sport metal screen lids, with two sporting an all-metal exterior (Asus, Lenovo) while the other two having to make do with reinforced plastic shells (Acer, HP). While the Lenovo and Acer ultrabooks have smooth metal lids, the HP Folio 13 and Asus Zenbook up the ante a bit with brushed finish that feels excellent on touch.

Despite their razor thin dimensions, all the featured ultrabooks have good build quality -- although, we think the Acer Aspire S3 could be a little more rugged, but there its super-slim profile is to blame more than anything else. Another common thread across all the ultrabooks currently is their form factor -- all four ultrabooks have a 13.3-inch screen, with the Asus Zenbook sporting the highest resolution screen at 1600x900 pixels. All ultrabooks sport locked battery compartments that can’t just be pulled out.

Features & Performance
All four ultrabooks sport new 2nd-gen Core i5 and Core i7 processors. None of the ultrabooks have an optical drive or separate mouse buttons on their trackpad. All ultrabooks come with at least two USB ports, audio jacks and one output video port. Out of all the ultrabooks, we really liked the typing experience on the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s and HP Folio 13 keyboards. No problem with the Acer Aspire S3’s keyboard and trackpad, but the Asus Zenbook’s trackpad and mouse buttons are just plain difficult to use.

Brand & Model	Acer Aspire S3	Asus Zenbook	Lenovo IdeaPad U300s	HP Folio 13

Price (Rs)	50,900	99,999	67,990	69,990
PCMark Vantage Score	5244	8270	9147	9205
Memory Score	2990	4472	1921	4944
TV and Movies Score	3102	3958	3703	3841
Gaming Score	3618	7166	6590	7268
Music Score	4525	9732	10317	10402
Communications Score	7216	7195	9704	10094
Productivity Score	4554	11932	10321	12259
HDD Score	2645	13641	20599	26072
3D Mark 06 Score	3280	3656	3457	3453
Maxxon Cinebench R11.5 (CPU Score)	1.94	2.3	1.93	1.95
Battery Meter (in mins)	132	113	168	280

All ultrabooks managed to achieve the 2-hour mark in our battery tests -- Asus fell under by 7 minutes, while HP Folio 13 went over and above that mark by a long shot! Just like Intel claimed, the ultrabooks don’t compromise on brute performance despite their anorexic dimensions. Oh, no sir! How could they if all of them are sporting Core i5/Core i7 processors and fast-paced SSDs? HP’s Folio 13 won the performance crown in a closely fought contest, with Asus Zenbook coming in second. Despite multiple benchmark runs and double-checking, HP’s Folio 13 etches out the Asus Zenbook despite running on a slower processor. Trust me, it baffled us to no end, but no matter what we did, the scores didn’t change (although logic dictated otherwise).

All four ultrabooks can handle multitasking with various apps,watching HD 1080p flicks, music and day-to-day apps with ease. These ultrabooks don’t have great depth in onboard audio, but they are okay for personal entertainment. No doubt, as more manufacturers launch ultrabooks in the coming months, refinement in quality of user experience and fine-tuning components will be high on their agenda.

WinnerThe HP Folio 13 is our Best Performer, showcasing great processing power with its CPU-SSD combination, beating most other mainstream, general purpose laptops as well. The only thing it doesn’t have is dedicated graphics -- none of the ultrabooks presently have discrete graphics, though. All these ultrabooks challenge the might of Apple’s MacBook Air in design, features and performance in varying degrees, and some actually manage to successfully beat it -- especially the Asus Zenbook UX31E.

HP Envy 14 Spectre ultrabook launched at Rs. 99,999

2012-03-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

HP has launched the Envy 14 Spectre in India, giving it a maximum retail price of Rs. 99,999. The ultrabook will be on shelves in April.

HP first unveiled the Envy 14 Spectre, its first ultrabook, back at CES 2012, and recently brought its second, the HP Folio 13 ultrabook, to India as well.

Like other Ultrabook manufacturers, HP claims it has fit a 14-inch display into a 13-inch chassis with the Envy 14 Spectre. It wieghs in at 1.7 kgs, and has a coating of scratch-resistant glass over its screen, lid and palm rest.

The HP Envy 14 Spectre bears a 14-inch (1600x900 pixel) display, and runs on a Intel Core i5-2467M processor, coupled with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD (with a choice of a second 128GB SSD available),.

HP promises a 9 hour battery life for the Envy 14 Spectre, and on the connectivity side, the ultrabook features USB 3.0, HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet, Intel WiDi and wireless audio, as well as NFC.

Bundled software will include a 2 year subscription to Norton Internet Security, and full versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. The Envy 14 Spectre also features CoolSense technology, HP ImagePad for enhanced multi-touch, and an integrated HP TrueVision HD webcam.

Logitech's BCC950 ConferenceCam pans across 180 degrees

2012-03-27T07:36:00.001-07:00

It may look like a cross between a toilet brush and the very creepy garbage compactor monster (the Dianoga) from Star Wars, but Logitech's latest computer cam is a lot smarter than your average webcam.

With its eye set firmly on the corporate market, the BCC950 ConferenceCam squeezes in a Carl Zeiss lens and 1080p HD video quality at 30fps, into a device that sits atop a motorised stalk that can pan 180 degrees across a room. As well as being able to bring everyone into the frame, with its 78 degree field of view Logitech's ConferenceCam waves good bye to huddling around a laptop to be in with a chance of being seen.

Its full-duplex speakerphone system will pick you up within a range of eight feet and the more lazy amongst you will appreciate the bundled remote control, which you can use for receiving and ending calls, as well as controlling audio functions and its panning capabilities. Alternatively, the webcam can be controlled through the control pad on its base.

Aimed at the business end of the market – but in no way limited to suited and booted users – the BCC950 Conference Cam will retail for £200 – so it's a bit pricey for Skype chats with your mates. But if you're looking for a quality webcam with omni-directional prowess – either for business or pleasure – Logitech's webcam efforts are worth checking out when it officially launches in May.

Sony NEX-7 Review

2012-03-27T07:34:00.001-07:00

SONY NEX-7: IMAGE QUALITY

Daylight photos really show off the quality of the NEX-7's sensor. Edges are sharp and colours realistic, with every last pixel doing its job. Indoors, you can often get away without a flash or a high ISO. In-camera trickery means even 16000 is a realistic backup. If you dig into the menus you’ll come across a number of arty effects to gloss your snaps with soft focus, retro haziness and pop-art colours.

SONY NEX-7: VIDEO QUALITY

The full manual control and those special effects are also available when shooting in 1080p, 50fps video mode. The footage is excellent, and the ability to alter the depth of field as you film means you can lay down some dramatic, moody sequences with minimal fuss.

SONY NEX-7: CONTROLS

Many of the controls are context-sensitive. Twiddling the beautifully minimalist, unmarked knobs can be perplexing at first but it doesn’t take long to realise what does what. It’s generally quick and easy to use but the rotating dial on the back is a bit too small, and it’s easy to push the video record button by accident.

SONY NEX-7: BUILT-IN FLASH

Compact swappy-lens cameras often sacrifice features in the pursuit of petiteness, but not the NEX-7. A flash that pops up manually is perfectly integrated into the angles of the top edge, allowing the camera to work as a go-anywhere compact as well as a serious snapper. There’s a hot shoe if you need a flash with a bigger bang.

SONY NEX-7: ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER

An electronic viewfinder gives the NEX-7 a DSLR feel, switching automatically from the main LCD to the EVF when it senses your eye on the camera. It makes framing outdoors in bright light so much easier. There’s a strange smearing effect if you move your eye off centre, but otherwise it’s up to the job.

SONY NEX-7: SENSOR

The NEX-7's APS-C sized sensor has enough space on its surface to make those 24 megapixels count. With the 18-55mm kit lens there’s scope for wide-angle vistas and blurry backgrounds with depth-of-field effects. Auto focus is quick in bright conditions but lags when the AF light is drafted in to help.

SONY NEX-7: TILTING LCD

If you ever find yourself holding your camera above a crowd and shooting blind, or poking it into small spaces where your head can’t follow, you’ll appreciate the NEX-7’s adjustable LCD screen. Once set to outdoor mode it’s bright enough for framing on sunny days, but even so, a subtle tilt can be useful for reducing glare and reflections.

Uncharted Golden Abyss

2012-03-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

Price: 2799

Our Rating: Good

4/5

Features:

Performance:

Value:

Design:

PROS

Great graphics
Best third person action adventure game on a handheld
Trophy hungry gamers have a lot to look out for
Production value to match a summer blockbuster
Well-paced gameplay between traversing, action and puzzles

CONS

Low replay value
Story gets a bit boring in the middle
Some touch controls can get frustrating
No multiplayer

Summary

Uncharted Golden Abyss is a fantastic game with production quality we have come to love from its console counterparts. The lifespan is about 10 hours and there is enough to keep you hooked throughout the journey apart from a few frustrating touch controls and a story that drifts into the boring realm for a bit. This is a Vita launch title you should take a look at if you decide to pick up Sony's new portable gaming hardware.

Review

The Uncharted franchise has been credited with not only being one of the best looking games of the current console generation but takes the narrative of action adventure games to a whole new level. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a portable version of the AAA title we have come to love on the PS3.

With the horsepower under the hood of the Vita (read ourreview of the console here) and the potential of new gameplay mechanics does this game do justice to the franchise it belongs to? Read on to find out!

Story
Once again you don the role of the lead protagonist Nathan Drake and the events of Golden Abyss are set before the time period of the first Uncharted on the PS3. You are introduced to new characters – old friend tuned foe Jason Dante and a love interest, Marisa Chase and an angry army general thrown into the mix.The only familiar face is Victor “Sully” Sullivan, your forever partner in crime.

The story is set in Central America and the plot is the tried and tested treasure hunt story with the standard Indiana Jones style twists and turns thrown into the plot.

Some great moments are shared between Nate and Sully and you will definitely chuckle at some of the “that’s what she said” joke littered throughout the game.

Overall, the story is predictable especially to the veterans of the franchise.The downside to the narrative is that it does tend to drag a bit half way through the game.

Gameplay
Just like its console counterpart, the game is a mix of third person cover based shooting, platforming and puzzle solving. The unique aspect --the game makes use of the Vita’s front and rear touch controls as well as well as the motion sensors.

You can adjust the aim by physically moving the console, zooming in and out of the scope of a sniper rifle by using the rear touch panel and traverse the environment by using the touchscreen and the rear touch panel. The touch interfaceis used to solve puzzles as well.

Even though you can use the analog stick to move through the environment, the addition of the touchscreen is a nice option and you can mix up the two control schemes to add a bit of variation to the gameplay. You simply tap the screen or drag you figure across the screen and watch Nathan Drake traverse the environment.

In terms of puzzle solving, you will spend quite some time joining together torn pieces of paper in a jigsaw puzzle, rubbing the screen to make charcoal drawings or cleaning rusty old things to find clues using the touchscreen. There are quite a few of these puzzles and they are well mixed and passed out to avoid the repetitive nature.

The fistfights too incorporate the touchscreen and this can get a little frustrating if you are used to bashing the “box” button all the time on your controller. The display will ask you for a set of swipes which will either counter attach or deliver a finishing blow to the opponent. The boss fistfights are completely touch based and can get a little annoying.

The gameplay is also mixed with quite a few set piece moments that require you to control Nate through death defying situations. Remember the train sequence from Uncharted 2 or the cargo airplane sequence from Uncharted 3? Well, you wont find the set pieces in Golden Abyss to be of the same magnitude but they are present nonetheless. They are well spaced out too. At one moment you will run from a breaking bridge, after which you will be running from a burning buildingand the next instant riding a canoe against the current of a waterfall. These set pieces are a real treat (even if they don’t live up to the expectations set by their console counterparts) and they do show you the potential of Sony’s handheld.

It will take you close to 10-hours to run through the 34 chapter campaign and add a few more if you are a treasure and trophy hungry gamer who needs the 100% completion tag on every game. The lack of a multiplayer is a downer and the story isn’t engaging enough for a second run-through.

Graphics
If you want a game that will save you from buyer’s remorse faced after dropping 20k on the Vita or you just want to show off the capabilities of your new toy, then this is the game for you. It is gorgeous. The dynamic lighting really brings the environment to life, the jungles look dense, the shadows look fantastic and there are moments when the camera of the game pans out to give a perspective of the environment and you will be blown away (a reminiscent of the ship wrecked area from Uncharted 3).

All the actors have gone through the rigmarole of voice acting along with motion capture (simultaneously) making the cut scenes look very believable.

Sound
The background orchestral score stays true to the Uncharted franchise delivering high octave and fast paced beats in the action sequences to subtle tunes based on the situation. There are even moments of silence in the stealthy sections where all you will hear are the natural sounds of the Central American jungle immersing you in the situation at hand.

The voice acting from the cast resonates the Uncharted franchise making veterans fell right at home.

Verdict
Uncharted Golden Abyss is a fantastic game with production quality we have come to love from its console counterparts. The lifespan is about 10 hours and there is enough to keep you hooked throughout the journey apart from a few frustrating touch controls and a story that drifts into the boring realm for a bit. This is a Vita launch title you should take a look at if you decide to pick up Sony’s new portable gaming hardware.

Price: Rs. 2799

Ratings Story: 3
Gameplay: 4
Graphics: 4.5
Sound: 4.5
Overall: 4

Check out the official trailer of Uncharted Golden Abyss:

Norton Mobile Security available for Samsung Galaxy smartphones

2012-03-22T20:48:00.001-07:00

Symantec's Norton Mobile Security is now available for select Samsung smartphones. Samsung is offering a full-featured complimentary 90-day subscription of a Norton Mobile Security app in multiple languages to Samsung GALAXY users through its Samsung Apps. “We are pleased to extend our valued relationship with Samsung by helping to protect more of its customers’ devices and data from theft, loss and mobile threats,” said Janice Chaffin, group president, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec. “With smartphone sales now outpacing PC sales, cybercriminals are devising new threats everyday to steal from mobile users. Consumers need to be protected more than ever.”

The Norton Mobile Security comes with anti-theft features with antimalware to protect user’s important data from loss, theft, viruses and other threats. With the help of Norton Mobile Security, you can see the location of your smartphone, and also lets you remotely lock your lost or stolen phone via the Internet or SMS. Other features of the Norton Mobile Security include support for SD Card scanning, anti-malware and Automatic LiveUpdate.

Samsung users can download the Norton Mobile Security app from Utility category in Samsung Apps or by entering ‘Norton Mobile Security’ into the search query at the Samsung Apps. Norton Mobile Security supports all the Samsung Galaxy Android smartphones available in India. It is available in nine languages, including Korean, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese languages. A one-year license costs $29.99USD (approximately Rs. 1,519)

Rovio launches Angry Birds Space for iOS, Android, PC and Mac

2012-03-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

The battle between the angry birds and pigs has now gone into the space as Rovio in collaboration with NASA launches sequel to its popular mobile game - Angry Birds Space.The Angry Birds Space has launched on App Store, Android and for the PCs and MACs. The new Angry Birds is said to have new twists as compared to previous sequels of the game. It has now new characters and a new physics game, which is obviously because the game has arrived in an environment with all new gravitational dynamics. One of the notable additions is the new power-up called Space Eagles. The power-up is available via an in-app purchase or progressing throughout the game. Users are initially given 60 levels of the game with more coming via game updates.

Rovio took help from NASA to device the new mechanic. The angry space birds have enhanced their unique pig-capping abilities in accordance with the perilous vacuum of space. Red Bird, the leader of the flock, comes with an Uber Mask that leads him to the optimal flight path. Yellow Bird is equipped with a Geordi LaForge visor to become Lazer Bird and gain extreme speed. The cool Ice Bird is an interesting addition. Even pigs are now getting some back up. They now have a giant Fat Pig to make things difficult for the angry birds.

The Angry Birds Space is definitely different from other Angry Birds games. Apart from the space environment, Rovio has upgraded a number of things in the game such as trajectory and tougher games.

Rovio's Angry Birds has been named the most downloaded paid app for the smartphones and tablets in 2011. A number of Angry Birds parodies have also been launched such as Angry Anna and Angry Brides. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YZ_yLQadBg&feature=player_embedded

Creative launches a range of new gaming audio products in India

2012-03-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

Creative today launched a range of audio products for gaming enthusiasts in India. The product line range includes sound cards and headphones, along with an external sound card, which can be connected to a PC/Mac or even a gaming console .
Sound Blaster Recon3D:

The Sound Blaster Recon3D is powered by the Sound Core3D quad-core sound and voice processor. This USB audio enhancer delivers gaming audio to your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC or Mac. The hardware accelerated THX TruStudio Pro and Dolby Digital decoding, the Sound Blaster Recon3D enhances even basic stereo sound into 3D surround audio on headset or speakers. The device has a proprietary Scout Mode that enhances the audio in gaming to a level that lets you hear you enemy’s footsteps even before they appear on screen adding to a realistic 360-degree audio effect.

The Sound Blaster Recon3D also supports optical audio in, but only supports 3.5mm out. Another disadvantage is that only one source can be connected to the device at a given point in time.

The Sound Blaster Recon3D is premium priced at Rs. 9,999.

Creative has also launched 3 gaming headsets in India today. Their details are as follows

1. Sound Blaster Tactic3D Wrath Wireless Gaming Headset:

Priced at Rs. 11,999 the Sound Blaster Tactic3D Wrath Wireless Gaming Headset boasts of delivering THX TruStudio Pro audio wirelessly. The device has illuminated ear cups housing 50mm FullSpectrum Speakers, a removable microphone, integrated volume and mute controls, and uncompressed wireless technology delivering THX TruStudio Pro-enhanced audio on your PC or Mac.

2. Creative Draco HS-850 gaming headset:

The Creative Draco HS-850 gaming headset boasts of audio quality that is close to reality. The device has full-size circum-aural earcups in soft leatherette. The swivel earcups fold easily for storage. The microphone on this headphone is detachable as well. The Creative Draco HS-850 gaming headset is priced at Rs. 3,999. 3. Creative Draco HS-430 gaming headset:

The Creative Draco HS-430 gaming headset is the cheapest headset launched by creative today and is priced at Rs. 1,999. The headset is lightweightmaking it extremely portable. The Creative Draco HS-430 gaming headset also boasts of a noise-canceling microphone that is detachable.

On the soundcard front, Creative has launched three of them in India today. The Sound Blaster Recon3D PCIe, the Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatality Professional and the Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatality Champion. The three soundcards are priced at Rs, 7,999, Rs. 11,999 and Rs. 14,999 respectively.

All the sound cards feature the SoundCore3D quad-core sound and voice processor, hardware accelerated THX TruStudio Pro technology, and CrystalVoice technology that enhances vocal quality of the mix and an easy switching between 5.1 channel speaker systems and headsets. Apart from the above-mentioned features, the higher end Fatality Professional features a special ERM shield for better stability and audio quality. The Fatality Champion features all of the above feature plus an I/O drive for audio controls and high quality beam-forming microphone.

Hand Written Message review

2012-03-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

Price: NA

Our Rating: Good

3.5/5

Features:

Performance:

Value:

Design:

PROS

Variety of permutations and combinations to make the notes look cute
Easy to create and send
Once a paid app, but now its free

CONS

Limited space to type the message
You cannot save your creations

Summary

All in all, the app is a nice one to own. Sure, there a lot of apps that recognize you handwriting and can send it across as a message, but the customizable options of Handwritten Message app gives it a personal touch. Add to the fact that the app is now free instead of $0.99 and there is more incentive to give it a try!

Review

Leaving personalized hand written notes has been lost as a cute gesture thanks to the digital age of SMS, MMS, BBM, iMessage, What’s App and the plethora of other ways that people choose to stay in touch. Gone are the days when you’d find a posted note on the fridge telling you that your loved one has left the house or that message for the kids, “there’s food in the fridge”, So on and so forth.

Today we have with us an iOS app, Handwritten Message, that lets you send personalized messages that you can write on the screen using your finger. Is it the modern day version of showing cute gestures or are you better off sending the good old text?

Features:
The app is really simple. There is a message box. You use your one finger to type and two fingers to swipe/move and pinch to zoom. The notes have a defined space, which cannot be expanded upon.

In terms of customization, there are 48 solid colour backgrounds and 30 textured backgrounds to choose from. These backgrounds are really nice and enhance the personal touch of the message. You can also change the colour of the text in the message.

For that extra personal touch, there are 60 shapes including smiley faces, roses and love hearts to choose from. To add to the finishing touches, there are 48 custom borders to choose from. With the permutations and combinations, you can really make each message look unique.

*Click to enlarge*

http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/file/Handwriting%20app-350%20(1).jpg

Performance:
Straight out of the box, the beauty of the message you create in the Handwritten Message app depends on how good your handwriting is. No matter how many of the available effects you apply, if your writing looks like crawling ants, your message will look bad.

One downside is that the place to write the message feels a bit cramped. But the developers have said that in the next update to the app, users will get a larger area to type in.

It is easy to type a message on the device especially since the gestures of typing with one finger and scrolling with two starts to feel natural after a bit. Beautifying the messages is also a lot of fun as you can add borders and colour the text. The only downside is that you cannot choose the location you want to put the smiley face or the heart images. Their location is fixed.

Also, you cannot erase specific text. You can undo your last typed word but if you want to erase the 1st word, you will have to undo the whole thing or clear the slate completely. You cannot save your creations either.

Once you’ve “written” your message it is very simple to send it. Hit “done” and then hit “send” and the message gets copied to the clipboard. You can then “paste” the note in iMessage, send it as an MMS or even e-mail. The message will not go via a regular SMS, as it is an image and requires to be sent as an MMS, so you may want to keep the cost of sending an MMS in mind before sending cute posted style messages to the entire world.

Verdict:
All in all, the app is a nice one to own. Sure, there a lot of apps that recognize you handwriting and can send it across as a message, but the customizable options of Handwritten Message app gives it a personal touch. Add to the fact that the app is now free instead of $0.99 and there is more incentive to give it a try!

NVIDIA launches GeForce GTX 680

2012-03-22T20:08:00.002-07:00

NVIDIA have announced their flagship graphics card for the new GTX 600 series. Popularly known as Kepler GPU, GeForce GTX 680 GPU is based on TSMC's 28-nm manufacturing process. It houses 3.54 billion transistors, supports DirectX11.1 and PCI Express 3.0 which gives double the bandwidth of PCI Express 2.0. NVIDIA has introduced some new technologies with the Kepler GPUs. Let us look at some of them.

NVIDIA GPU Boost is a technique which dynamically boosts clock speeds based on the workload of the game and the headroom available. It not only changes the clock frequency but also the GPU voltage. In principle it looks somewhat similar to Intel's Turbo Boost technology.

Adaptive VSync is another innovation that NVIDIA has introduced with the GTX 680. Normally when your VSync is on, as soon as the frame rate drops below 60 FPS, you experience a stutter. With Adaptive Vsync, the NVIDIA card automatically switches off the VSync when the frame rate falls below 60 FPS, thus reducing unwanted stuttering.

Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing or FXAA has been added as an option in the NVIDIA Control panel, so you can switch it on and get a 4x AA image quality without a performance hit. Another AA feature introduced is called TXAA. There are two levels - TXAA 1 and TXAA 2 and according to NVIDIA, with TXAA 1 enabled you can get an image quality similar to 8x MSAA but with a performance hit equivalent to 2x MSAA. On the other hand TXAA 2 will give you the image quality better than 8x MSAA with a performance hit equivalent to 4x MSAA.

3D Vision Surround Sound can be supported on a single GTX 680. It has four display out ports - 2xHDMI, 1xDVI and 1xDisplayPort, so you can connect a 3-monitor system for gaming and have one monitor for your work. Apart from these new technologies, the card has managed to keep its TDP lesser than the GTX 580. The card comes with two six-pin power connectors with a maximum TDP of 195 Watts which is much lesser than the 250W seen on GTX 580. The memory bud width has come down from 384-bit (in GTX 580) to 256-bit.

Here is a video where Ujesh Desai, VP Corporate Marketing NVIDIA, introduces the latest features in the GTX 680

Apart from these new technologies, the card has managed to keep its TDP lesser than the GTX 580. The card comes with two six-pin power connectors with a maximum TDP of 195 Watts which is much lesser than the 250W seen on GTX 580. The memory bud width has come down from 384-bit (in GTX 580) to 256-bit.

Here is a video where Ujesh Desai, VP Corporate Marketing NVIDIA, introduces the latest features in the GTX 680

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxkXmxFx5Tg&feature=player_embedded

Nokia Asha 303 launched in India, 3G Touch and Type at Rs. 8,999

2012-03-19T18:17:00.002-07:00

The much-awaited Nokia Asha 303 has been launched in India, priced at Rs. 8,999. Vodafone customers will get special introductory tariff plans, with 1GB of free 3G data per month for the first four months. Asha 303 will also come with a subscription to the DRM-free Nokia Music Unlimited service, and feature Zenga TV, and Whatsapp, preinstalled, amongst other apps. The Series 40-based Nokia Asha 303 is a Touch and Type device, featuring a 2.6-inch capacitive touchscreen with a 320x240 pixel resolution and 256K colour gamut, apart from a full QWERTY keypad. Other specifications include a 1GHz processor, 128MB of RAM, 256MB ROM, 100MB user available built-in storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD, and a 3.2MP fixed focus camera.

In terms of connectivity, the Nokia Asha 303 features 3G (HSDPA 10.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2 Mbps), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and EDR, stereo FM with RDS, microUSB v2.0 HS, and USB On-the-Go support. It features a 1,300 mAh battery, which is rated to deliver up to 47 hours of continuous music playback, 8 hours of talk time, and 720 hours of standby time.

The Nokia Asha 303 weighs in at just 99 grams, is 13.9mm thick, and will be available in red and graphite colours. Speaking at the launch, Viral Oza, Director Marketing, Nokia India said:

“Nokia has been bringing smart innovation on mobile devices to newer price points, feeding the vast appetite for digital consumption for consumers who are young, urban, hyper-social and want the smartest phones at affordable prices. The Nokia Asha 303, loaded with Nokia Browser, Webapps, preinstalled Zenga TV, Whatsapp and Angry Birds Lite, stands very strong as an affordable smartphone.”

Nokia to launch Lumia 900 in India soon, without 4G support

2012-03-18T07:01:00.001-07:00

If reports are to be believed, Nokia will be launching a non-4G version of its Lumia 900 smartphone in India soon. The Windows Phone 7.5-based Lumia 900 smartphone was launched at the Mobile World Congress 2012 held in Barcelona earlier this year. Nokia has already launched Lumia 800 and 710 smartphones in India and is reportedly going to launch its low-cost Lumia 610 smartphone in the country within the next two months. The Nokia Lumia 900 is touted as the first LTE network supporting Windows Phone device from Nokia. The device sports a 4.3-inch with 800 x 480 pixel resolution. It is powered by a single core 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8055+ processor on the MDM9200 mobile chipset, along with 512 MB RAM and 16 GB on-board storage. It also features an 8MP main camera and 1MP front camera.

The Nokia Lumia 900 is expected to be priced at roughly Rs. 31,500 in Indian market and is going to be pitted against the likes Samsung Galaxy S II and Apple's iPhone 4S. Nokia is a major player in the Indian mobile phone market, and may just launch the device at a lower price. It may recalled that Nokia recently slashed the price of the Lumia 800 by Rs. 6,000, making room for the Lumia 900. Also read,

Nokia Windows 8 tablet in the works, confirms company's design chief

2012-03-18T06:58:00.003-07:00

Rumours of Nokia prepping a Windows 8 tablet have been around for a while, but this is the first time we are hearing from a company official. Nokia's design chief Marko Ahtisaari has confirmed that the Finnish company is 'working on' a tablet and that he is spending a third of his time on the device. Ahtisaari said this in an interview with the Finnish newspaper, Kauppalehti. Ahtisaari, however, did not divulge more details about the tablet. Considering the time spent by Ahtisaari on the new device, it looks like Nokia is hoping to make a strong debut in the tablet market. Ahtisaari's comments on the Nokia Windows 8 tablet come days after reports suggested Nokiahad well moved ahead in developing a new 10.1-inch Windows 8 tablet, which will be powered by a dual-qore Qualcomm processor and is slated to launch before this year. Speculations are rife the announcement regarding the launch of the tablet will be made at Nokia's annual Nokia World event, which is slated to be held in Helsinki this year.

As said before, rumours about the Nokia tablet have hit the Internet multiple times over the last year, even as CEO Stephon Elop, said once that the company would “hold off” until it launched something really out-of-the-box. Elop pointed out that the tablet market is interesting for the company. However, he had then not given any timeframe for the launch of Nokia's first tablet. The design exec’s full interview is not yet available online though, but an excerpt at the magazine’s site hints Nokia is also working on a significant “breakthrough” in user interface.

Microsoft recently launched the consumer preview version of Windows 8 and is supposed to launch the final version by mid 2012.

Samsung working on an Android-based digital camera

2012-03-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

Recent reports indicate that Samsung is considering a digital camera with Android onboard. The company has experienced much growth in the mobile space with Google’s operating system, and apart from tablets, already offers it on one of its portable media players.

The concept of an Android digital camera is not especially new, and the implications are interesting, with specialist camera, social and sharing apps on the Android ecosystem, along with location based features transforming the device into much more than just a camera. A touch-based interface could allow for more than just navigation, but also editing features, and a full web-interface.

For now, details are scarce, and Android is just one of the open operating systems thatSamsung is reportedly considering.

BenQ launches two 24-inch 3D gaming monitors in India

2012-03-18T06:55:00.003-07:00

BenQ has launched two new 24-inch gaming monitors in the country, part of its XL series of 120Hz displays, featuring Nvidia 3D technologies – BenQ XL2420T and XL2420TX. Prices start at Rs. 21,990. They’ve apparently been designed for FPS games with the help of pro-gamers Zowei Gear, HeatoN, and SpawN.The BenQ XL2420T and XL2420TX feature 2ms response times, 12 million to 1 dynamic contrast ratio, a Black eQualiser for enhanced visibility in dark regions. BenQ has also added a smart scaling feature to allow users choose from preset screen sizes and resolutions. They come with an ‘S Switch’ remote control to adjust display settings.

The difference between the BenQ XL2420T and XL2420TX is that the former features Nvidia 3D LightBoost technology, while the latter features Nvidia 3D Vision technology with a 3D IR emitter for the bundled 3D Vision 2 glasses.
BenQ has put two FPS special preset modes, designed for Counter Strike 1.6 and Source. Other modes can be downloaded via the Game Loader, and mapped to the S Switch controller.