Category: Recommendations

Edit: Its time to Tabulate with the Galaxy Tab 750

Its one of those things that takes time to reach its prime potential. Tablets were introduced in 2010 and primarily a couple of brands ruled the market. With the iPad eating the largest slice of the market share, Android tablets started to pour in by the second half of 2010.

The Original 7 inch Galaxy tab was the first true Android tablet to be launched in India. While it filled a major void that was left in the market due to the unavailability of the iPad, people were not quite ready for a switch to tablets and the tablets weren’t quite ready for human consumption.

2011 marked the era of the Tablets, with advancements in technology that allowed for powerful devices to be manufactured at prices well within the buying power of the consumer, Tablets have taken the market by storm, bent it, made space and created a new segment of electronic goods.

The year started with many tablets, The iPad 2 being the most impressive and the most dominating, followed by low numbers of the Motorola Xoom, RIM Playbook and others. Samsung had announced plans of launching the 10 inch tablet before the announcement of the iPad 2, but later changes in design and specs caused a major delay in the actual release date of the device.

Most are calling this tablet a true iPad 2 rival, a market favorite of sorts. So, in a market like India where people are finally making space in their life for tablets, where does the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 or the Indian Galaxy 750 fit in?

Here is our EDIT on why the Galaxy 750 is special for us and the Indian Market.

Galaxy 750

We already handled the earlier Tab ( thicker version), but for reasons unknown the device was never released and its a good thing. The new Galaxy 750 is just 8.6mm, it is 0.2mm thinner than the iPad 2. and weighing only 565g it’s also 36g lighter than the Cupertino tablet. The device is brilliantly built from from to back and is easily held in one hand. The shape and the design of the Tablet along with a good mix of materials make it feel like a luxury.

The Galaxy 750 runs Android Honeycomb 3.1, which is the latest version of Android meant for Tablets. This brings about much more usability to the device including resizable widgets and a better application management system as shown by us in out preview of Honeycomb.

The newer Galaxy 750 also drops the 8mp rear camera for a 3mp one, which doesn’t bother us and is still far superior than the iPad 2’s unknown less than 1Mp camera.

TouchWiz

The Galaxy 750 also adds the newer version of TouchWiz on what is usually a boring interface. TouchWiz not only makes the user interface on the device more attractive to look at, but also adds a whole host of features. The inbuilt task manager, ram management, Voice functions and several multimedia enhancements make the experience a lot better.

No Chains

One of the biggest deciding factors for the device has to be the fact that, people want to use a Tablet as a replacement for a laptop or a netbook. The iPad does not fulfill that gap because of the closed structure of iOS. While ruling the mobile structure , iOS does not quite answer to the day to day requirements for a tablet user.

Basic file sharing is disabled in iOS, where as Android allows all sorts of file sharing. The device also has the ability to read from USB host devices, but itself lacks a usb port. The Galaxy 750 will require a proprietary cable and will be able to read content from USB hard drives or flash sticks. Making it a far better laptop/netbook replacement than any other Tablet in the market.

The fact that the Galaxy 750 runs Android, also means that its an easily customizable device, if you don’t like the theme or layout, you can change it. Widgets make it easy to stay up to date on all sorts of information, from stocks to weather, from social networking to emails, new releases and quick actions. The widget- laden interface is a lot of fun to interact with and is also one of the primary reasons we like Android.

Companion

The Galaxy 750 can also be the perfect travel companion, not only for business, but also for fun. Download the Kindle App or read a book from the Samsung bookshelf, watch movies on the stunning 1280x800px display which is exceptionally bright. The Galaxy 750 also has a 4 way motion sensor, a Gyroscope, which would make the gaming experience better than any other tablet in the market, including the iPad 2. Samsung also uses this technology for panoramas in the camera and for navigating through the UI like in the case of the Galaxy S2.

If you didn’t consider buying a tablet prior to this, the time is now. Samsung have brought Tablets, especially Android Tablets, to a place where no one has been able achieve before. A portable media centre which begs attention, a device powerful enough to replace a netbook or even a laptop. Enterprise emails and Office Apps are already on the device along with a 16GB storage (expandable). The device also features a dual core 1 GHZ NVidia Tegra 2 processor with 1 GB of Ram dedicated to the Tablet.

The Future of tablets is here and its Time to Tabulate with the Galaxy 750.

Until something better shows up anyway!

We can’t express how excited we are to unbox and review this device for you guys! If you have some special requests please leave them in the comments below.

[polldaddy poll=5388771]

Full Specs for the Galaxy 750

Image Gallery

August 11, 2011
EDIT : Why The iOS 5 going to be the Best Mobile OS to Date!

Apple has recently announced the new iOS 5, The biggest update to their mobile phone OS since the iPhone was launched back in 2007. So Big, infact, that Apple decided to bypass the iPhone 5 launch this year round.

What the iOS 5 bring that the iOS didn’t already have.

People loved the iOS for its fluidity and ease of use, its beautiful and clean interface and the simplicity of performing actions to utilize and exploit the abilities the device it was on. The huge list of useful and eye pleasing applications which were designed to work within the means of the OS and worked on the same basic principle, doing simple things easily and simplifying difficult things.

But not everyone feels like this. Especially those who take pride in their endeavors to defame the fruit companies products, with their basic set of questions in place. Why does the structure have to be so closed? Why are we not allowed to do things that prior devices allowed us to do? Bluetooth file transfer- File management, Adobe Flash based browsing, even setting a custom ringtone.

The fact of the matter is, Apple saw that these things were slowing down the Operating Systems usage which in turn deteriorated the whole device. For example, Bluetooth file transfer was the main reason due to which, in 2005, over 3 million Nokia phones got infected with a virus which would delete important files from the Symbian structure ending basic phone use.

Adobe flash is the heaviest video plugin ever made ( Adobe’s CEO confirms this) it is heavy on the processor , ram and extremely heavy on battery. Apple saw that by disabling Flash for video within Internet browsing, the overall battery life of device increased considerably. That being said, the user always should to have the choice to make the decision for himself. Adobe flash is allowed in the Application structure and a large number of apps are made with flash. Apple could have enabled Flash for a user to decide. But , in their defense it is easier to ignore a couple of 1000 people complaining about Flash – than a few million complaining about bad battery.

Apple knows and is sure of one thing and one thing only, if they say their device does something, it does it. They don’t care about anything else and especially those things that they don’t promise or talk about.

With the new iOS 5 , Apple brings about a large number of change in the Operating Systems use and the way you use your iDevice in a day to day basis. Apple has made these improvements not only due to a large number of demands, But also to take on the competition head first.

The iOS 5 adds a huge chunk of things that were missing from the iOS over 200 to be precise. It also adds a whole list of new and innovative aspects to the already popular OS. Here are some of the most notable things

Notifications

Possibly the most asked-for improvement, the new notification system takes cue from the Android notification panel and takes it one notch higher. Just swipe down from the top of any screen to enter Notification Center.

Choose which notifications you want to see. Even see a stock ticker and the current weather. Notifications appear briefly at the top of your screen, without interrupting what you’re doing.

The Lock screen displays notifications so you can act on them with just a swipe. Possibly the first OS to have this feature built right into it. Yes you can get it on Android too, but only with a third party plugin.

iMessage

What has Apple done here? This is a feature that i personally have been waiting for. Apple has single handedly taken down forces of the mobile world, ping chat, whatsapp etc have stability problems, they break functionality and messages most often don’t reach the intended recipient. Enter – iMessage , Apple has built instant messaging over networks for free into iPods, iPads and iPhones on iOS 5 . You can send text, audio, images and even video over your devices to other people using iOS5 devices. Not only will this take a single most lethal blow at Blackberry, but also eliminate the need for most third party chat plugins.

Almost 60% blackberry users complain that if the iPhone had something close to bbm they would switch, and they will once iMessage comes out. If that does really hold true, then Apple will truly and effectively have stabbed competition right in the chest. Taking out Blackberry would mean great news for Apple and iPhone users, with a large number of people on iPhones, popularity of iMessage is bound to go up. Ergo the iOS 5 Device owner is bound to reap the benefits.

Reminders

We fail to understand, why this functionality never existed in the first place. A good reminder system is something every phone should have. whether smart or dumb. Apple has done something really great with reminders. Not only are they simple to-do lists — complete with due dates and locations, they are also location based.

What does location based mean, you ask! Well lets put it in an example: A reminder app will play a sound or flash a note and remind you, that once you leave office you need to buy eggs on the way home, at a fixed time say 10 minutes before you leave office daily( lets say at 5:30pm daily). But in a scenario, where your daily departure time changes from 5:30 pm to say 4:30 pm you will be reminded to buy eggs when you are already possibly at home. In a alternate scenario you will be reminded to buy eggs at 5:20 pm, but by the time you leave office at 7:00pm ( say you got late) you will forget.

Reminders from Apple solves this problem easily. You set a location based reminder – on departure from Office a reminder from the phone will remind you of your duties. The Phone using the GPS detects that you have left office, irrespective of the time, and reminds you that you have to buy eggs on your way home. Far more efficient and far more convenient than any other reminder we have ever used.

Twitter Integration

What is so great about twitter anyway? Nothing but the fact that the whole world uses it to share their thoughts. Its not a social network and its not about ads or games, no invitations to unknown parties and no fan pages. Its simple mood sharing, and the new iOS5 has it and will bring it to iPhones , iPods and iPads . The twitter integration is built right into Safari, Photos, Camera, YouTube, or Maps, you can tweet messages or reply to @usernames, you can even share your location. Its nothing great but the fact its built into the OS is really awesome and we like it a lot.

Camera and Photos

The iPhone 4 brought the best possible camera that any mobile device had ever had. Sure we have had cameras up-to 12 megapixel on cellphones, but its time that all of us accept the fact that more megapixels is not equal to better camera. The iPhone 4 features a backlit sensor that captures images like a dream, better than any other device to date. The new improvements in the Camera and photo apps take this functionality and extends it into the iOS 5.

The most noticeable improvement is the use of the volume button as the camera shutter release. People have always struggled tapping the onscreen button, often resulting in shaky and wobbly images. The use of a physical button on the strategic location such as the volume key, makes it almost identical to holding a point and shoot camera- Boom! instant awesome images.

You can also now open the Camera app right from the Lock screen, use grid lines, pinch-to-zoom gestures, and single-tap focus and exposure locks to compose a picture on the fly. Using iCloud all your pictures are instantly shared with all your devices, iPhone to iPad to your Mac.

The photos app allows better editing, crop, rotate, enhance, and remove red-eye without leaving the Photos app, a possible total replacement for Point and Shoot Cameras.

Wifi Syncing

Say What ? Did you read wireless sync? yes you did! Since the day the iPhone has been launched people have wanted a way to wirelessly sync their devices, and guess what, Apple allows you to do that in iOS 5. You do require to plug in your device into a charger for the obvious battery drain prevention that a WiFi sync may cause, But its better than getting to a Pc/Mac every time you want to sync. Now daily when you plug in your iPhone, iPad or iPod for charging it will also sync it to your computer. That is simply brilliant!

200 More Features

Apart from the above mentioned features the iOS 5 brings about over 200 changes, from improvements in the Mail and Calendar App to new Game center, multitasking gestures on the iPad, device to TV mirroring on the iPad, that fact that now when you buy an iDevice you wont be greeted with the annoying connect to iTunes logo as the devices will be ready to be used without connecting to a PC. iCloud is bringing a whole new list of possibilities to iDevices, and we will talk about it soon.

We see Apple progressing to new levels every time they announce something. No matter what anyone says , Apple was the first company to have perfected a touchscreen mobile phone, the first to popularize the concept of an App Store. They might be an expensive product company, a snobby company, with closed circuits and irritating policies. Their devices have a locked OS with limited potential. But it looks like the company is starting to open up to what the customer wants, and they prove it with the iOS 5.

According to us the iOS 5 is going to be the best Mobile OS to Date. Future enhancement will come and most will follow in Apple’s footsteps, even go further. Windows Phone 7 “Mango” is unlocking 500 features in WP7 and Android is constantly evolving. But till that happens looks like Apple has hit the ball out of the park. The iOS 5 is coming this fall to the iPhone 3Gs – the iPhone 4 the iPad and the iPad 2. It is also coming to iPod Touch 3rd and 4th gen.

Thats our opinion, whats yours ? Leave your feedback in the comments below.

[polldaddy poll=5241624]

July 18, 2011
Edit : The iPhone 5, What to Expect?
The Anticipation clock of most humans starts to ring with the sight of an Apple Product Launch. This time around people are expecting 3 new launches. The iPod refresh, the iPad with some minor changes and most importantly the iPhone 5 (or iPhone 4s).

The iPhone is the most successful smartphone ever made, with in excess of 18.5 million devices sold this year the iPhone has set records that are yet to be matched. Why everyone loves the iPhone? There could be several answers:
- The User Interface
- The OS
- The Hardware
- The Looks
- The Company Name / Brand Value
- Pricing
It could be any or all of the factors from above, we really don’t know. The iPhone has always been marketed as a magical device, with the right amount of hype. Keeping price at a point where it was just above the competition and just low enough to be an approachable target (for those looking for a smart phone) . This strategy has also led people into believing that Apple Devices are super premium and most people in India still hold them at gold value (sometimes more value that those useless super value phones).

Whatever the reason behind the iPhones popularity, we know a new one is coming and following rumors and yearly cycles , here is what we think the iPhone 5 is going to be like.

Name

The most obvious guess for a name of the upcoming iPhone would be the iPhone 5 , but unless Apple is planning some major changes the new iPhone may just as well be called the iPhone 4s. Whatever said and done the word “iPhone” will be there and a 5 would sound much better than an iPhone 4s. Some people suggest that the new device will be called iPhone 4 HD, but that seems like an unlikely name for a device from Cupertino.

Hardware

There is no guessing the obvious, Apple has already shown off their A5 chipset in the iPad 2 , and just like the iPhone 4 had the iPads chip, the next iPhone will have the new Apple dual core A5 chip. This will boost the speed and performance of the iPhone 5 (we are just going to stick to that name for now) upto four times. Also, in tow will be RAM upgrades and a bigger 8 megapixel camera sensor, which has been talked about.

Various rumors and speculation points to a larger Edge to Edge display on the front of the device. A possible 3.8 inch or even 4 inch capacitive display can do no harm to Apple’s Jesus phone, giving it a larger screen – real estate would require pumping in more pixels per inch to retain the “Retina Display” badge.

Design

Now this is where the controversy starts. The iPhone 4 had a impressively new design which was loved by everyone when it was launched. Mostly everyone appreciated the new stainless steel design, although there were some who said that it was not as nice looking as the original iPhone. The new design brought a lot of possibilities for Apple especially in the components department. A machined design meant that they could stuff their components into the phone and still have room for a large battery. The frame of the iPhone was the most impressively designed structure to be ever used in a SmartPhone, leaving only the glass front and back in question, which did end up weakening the whole device and making it prone to damage.

The Antenna design, dubbed Antennagate put Apple in the wrong kind of limelight and has ever since been know as the “break all or make all” theory for last years Jesus phone. Everyone thought the antenna problem would diminish the sales of the iPhone 4, but it actually gave them so much publicity that the device did better than expectations from the company HQ.

Using a similar antenna on the next iPhone would be a not-so-smart move from Apple, although there are those who would still buy the device, a large chunk of the audience would think that Apple ignores the consumer, and move onto alternatives.

The tear drop design has had many references in rumors of the upcoming iPhone 5, a device machined out of Aluminum (unibody is Apple’s forté) which is really slim for the most part but thicker in arears that will hold the antenna and battery. A device of such design will do fantastically well with the young consumer base of Apple’s baby.

Operating System

We all know the iPhone 5 will have the iOS 5, which will radically enhance the usability of the phone. With dedicated notifications, iMessage, iCloud, Newsstand, Twitter integration, Wireless Device syncing, new photo editing, and the use of volume button as a dedicated camera shutter release. The iOS 5 is ready to give stiff competition to its competitors, still remaining the most secure and bug free mobile OS below the stratosphere . There are still basic features missing from the iOS, bluetooth file transfer being one of them.

One More Thing!

Apple may introduce a new cheaper iPhone this year, to target the Android buying generation. A similar strategy already kind of exists with the iPhone 4 being the pedigree and the iPhone 3Gs being sold for Rs. 19,990 (USD 400).

But these rumors point to a completely new and cheaper device id, possibly a US $ 200 iPhone ( they could relaunch the 3GS at 200 $/ or drop in a sim card in the iPod touch). Nobody really knows till Steve walks up on stage ( hopefully) with the next “Magical” device and amazes the audience watching the event worldwide.

No matter how many expectations are met, the iPhone 5 is coming and its coming soon. So hold on to your monies and wait for its arrival, for you never know what technologies might make you drop loyalties and compel you to make the switch.

Here is a list-up of all the expectations we have
- A Completely new design
- An 8 Megapixel camera possibly on the opposite side of the back panel.
- Separate Camera Flash for better allumination
- Larger screen with the same Retina resolution
- The new A5 chip with 1 GB RAM
- 32/64 Gb capacities
- HD Facetime Camera
- Slimmer profile
- Back panel made out of tougher glass/ Aluminum / Steel
Expectations can run wild, leave a comment below if you have any other expectations!

[polldaddy poll=5223743]
July 11, 2011
EDIT : A Smartphone or a Tablet, What to Buy?

The question haunts every smartphone buyer, “should i instead buy a tablet?”. In the past few weeks we have got over a hundred emails asking us this question.

Tablet season is here and its going to stay. When tablets were launched globally starting with the 1st iPad in the United Stated, analysts speculated that the market in India would not adapt to a tablet lifestyle. Today more than 25% of India’s mobile internet traffic is from iPads alone, another 10% from other tablets. Analyst have been proven wrong yet again, but the question still remains a Tablet or a souped up Smartphone?

We shall try and resolve this predicament for you.

A smartphone today has come a long way from what it was when the term was invented. Smart phones started off as basic day to day mobile phones that did a little bit more. A color screen, an mp3 player and customizable ringtones, a WAP browser and VGA cameras with infrared photo sharing. People were happy with these features and were shelling out Rs. 25-35 thousand for devices that were just smart.

Today you can’t be happy with what you pay for, A dual core phone, WiFi – N, Bluetooth 3.0, GBs of Ram, Multiple GBs of storage, touchscreens, slim designs, gorilla glass, unibody constructions and a whole host of Apps that do everything else. But its still not enough, we need higher spec’d displays LCD, SLCD, Amoled, Super Amoled, Super Amoled Plus and now Super Amoled Plus HD. Why is there a constant need for upgraded technology? Socially a man buying a phone always has the need to be on top of technology (This is directly proportional to the size of his, since this is a public page lets say “car”) The newer and more expensive the tech, the more a man feels like a man. Why shouldn’t we? we have a right to everything that makes us happy, and a right to get what we pay for and sometimes more than what we pay for.

A Smartphone today is the ultimate tool for a man ( student through Business men) from lectures, to calculations , wind speeds, weather info, document editing, printing , presentations, video editing, photo editing, emails, messaging everything can be achieved on a smartphone. So why should we not get one.

APPS ON THE DEVICES OF TODAY

Tablets in the market today are essentially blown up versions of the devices we carry in our pockets, the iPad 1 matched the specs of the iPhone 4 , (infact the phone had more ram) and the iPad 2 will be dwarfed by the iPhone 5s specs. Similarly Android phones dwarf the tablets, Galaxy S2 and Sensation are far more powerful than any Android tablet in the market today.

So is a larger screen a better option?

No one can really answer that question for you, it all comes down to what you do with the device you buy. I personally hate carrying my tablet and only like to carry my phone. A tablet is useful while traveling its a multimedia powerhouse- gaming , movies, videos even basic editing work can be done easily on a tablet. I also have met and often bump into folks who like carrying a tablet everywhere even to the GYM ( seriously what are they thinking?). Upon a little investigation you find out that they spent their budget on a tablet with phone call abilities and don’t own a phone anymore.

PADFONE

In an ideal world a product like the Asus Padfone would be perfect. A smartphone which converts into a tablet when you need it to be one, what else could one ask for? Devices like the Padfone are going to be the ultimate tool of a technology lover, but they still have time to arrive.

Till then our recommendation is:

If you really want to, then get a tablet and fulfill your dreams. But keep in mind that a tablet will never replace a phone and you should always have a phone handy, whether a Smartphone or a standard phone is what your budget will answer (even your day to day requirements). Carrying a tablet around as a phone will not only make you look, well how should we put it, like a “doofus”. Unless you are totally business oriented and your work calls for it. But then if you are a business man then you probably already own a smartphone, right?

According to us, tablets today are not yet there, not ready to beat a good phone. Invest in a good phone, you will get more done. A tablet is only eye candy, a large touchscreen that has been a part of Sci-Fi movies for a long time and today when the opportunity is here, everyone wants to grab it. Get one only as a secondary device, something between your phone and your notebook, as a notebook replacement even, if you don’t have much work except document editing than a tablet will fulfill your notebook requirements and look good doing it. Plus there is always the benefit of Angry Birds on a large screen.

[polldaddy poll=5187177]

June 28, 2011
Edit : Should You Buy The iPhone 3Gs?

The iPhone 3Gs was a hardware revision device for the iPhone 3G, bringing more CPU power and Ram to the equation. The iPhone 3GS also brought about a better 3.2mp camera with tap to focus.

We got information of the impending re-launch of the iPhone 3Gs on 24th June. Without fail the 3Gs reappeared at the new price point of 20k. Now the question remains does the iPhone 3Gs qualify as a good option? Does is present a value for money deal?

Here is what we think.

The iPhone 3GS was originally launched in 2009 in the US and 2010 in India. The Device features a 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, PowerVR SGX535 GPU, 256 MB RAM, and upto 32GB of storage. The device also currently features iOS 4 and works brilliantly with iOS 5 (we’ve tested it and can verify, that till beta 2 iOS 5 works great on 3GS).

Reading a whole bunch of articles written by Tech – Bloggers , I was shocked at how blatantly the iPhone 3GS was being shot down. Though in a personal opinion the 3GS is an old hardware based device and has specs which would disgruntle almost anyone looking for souped up smartphone. The iPhone 3Gs bring a lot more, than any device at the price point can.

Lets look at it point by point.

1. OS

iOS by far is the simplest of operating systems, designed to be used by a finger. The UI is fluid and begs you to interact with it. Currently multitasking between apps is great on iOS where most Android handsets in that price range don’t support true multitasking, the iPhone 3GS has it and it works great. Using the right setup you can do a lot of things on your device. Wireless sharing of emails, pictures and music, streaming internet radio and movies, home automation, wifi printing and even controlling a quadro-copter the hundreds of thousands of apps from the App Store let you make your imagination run wild, and then, there is an app for that. The Apps are designed to run perfects in harmony with the iOS infrastructure.

The best part (according to me) of iOS for someone who does not understand or have the time to understand the intricate details of technology, is that the system is safe and bug free. Because third party apps go through a strict verification process, seldom do you find an App which would slow your device down. So no matter what you install or how many you install, Apps will not slow down the OS. That makes perfect sense for someone who is not a techie.

On the other hand Android brings the ability to customize the OS, and play around with it, the more you edit and tweak the OS, the more your chances of a system restore appear. Now there is no need to throw a banter, you can be extremely safe with Android, you just have to know what you are installing and what all does it access. But in Android, third party apps can have a built in snooper sending all your information back to the designer of the app.

2. BUILD

While it isn’t an iPhone 4, the 3Gs is pretty solid when it comes to construction. One of the most beautiful phones available today the 3Gs is available in black and white and millions of customization options are available, from skins, decals to plain covers, flip covers, leather covers, plastic covers, branded covers and hard cases. The most number of accessories ever made for a phone? the iPhone stands at number one in that record.

3. Conclusion

When we first heard rumors of the iPhone 3Gs being relaunched, we heard a price point of about 16,500/-. But, when the actual price came to be 20,000/- we lost confidence that Apple would do well selling its last year legend. Sure there are those who would love to buy the 3GS for its “Brand” and its simplicity, there are also those who will buy it for the sheer number of apps and usability features that these apps will give.

There are better options in terms of hardware specs, the rugged motorola defy is much cheaper and its water proof, the Galaxy S, the Nexus S, The Galaxy Sl, Wave 2, Blackberry Bold 3, Nokia N8. Sure these devices have better hardware, But we can promise one thing No operating system in our opinion comes close to the smooth and lag free experience of the iOS running on the iPhone 3GS (Of-course we mean at that price point)

So if you don’t have time to mess with your device / Smartphone get the iPhone 3GS because it doesn’t get any better than this. But if you are more of a tech friendly person get an Android device you will be much happier with the open-ness of Android infrastructure.

[polldaddy poll=5183813]

June 27, 2011