TechGazing

We knew it had to happen some day, given the rate at which touchscreen phone prices were dipping, but now a big brand has finally come out with a touchscreen phone that costs less than Rs 5,000. Samsung has released two new devices, the Omnia Lite B7300 and the Samsung Champ C330. While most of the attention has been focussed on the Omnia Lite with its superior configuration, we must confess to being VERY impressed with the Champ, which offers a 2.4 inch QVGA touchscreen, a VGA  camera and a TouchWiz interface for as little as Rs 4,500. The specs are not really much to rave about (there is a 1000 phonebook and 500 SMS memory), but the price definitely is.

Yes, we do know that  some of the newer brands in town are offering devices with much better technical configurations at a comparable price, but few, if any, of them are going to back them up with the kind of support and service that Samsung has. Which, in our book, makes the Champ live up to its name. India finally has a quality touchscreen phone below Rs 4,500. Now, we are waiting for the likes of Nokia to respond.

We have had the opportunity to play around with India’s first 3G-enabled tablet, the OlivePad from Olive Telecom, and while we are not exactly sure that it will drive us away from the iPad, it is by far the best stand-alone tablet product in the country. Yes, we do not know its final price yet, but if you are looking for reasons to invest in it, here are six factors that we think could help make up your mind. Continue reading »

BlackBerry users who want to experience touchscreen goodness without having to give up on the traditional, solid BlackBerry QWERTY keypad have reason to rejoice. RIM yesterday revealed a new handset, the BlackBerry Torch 9800, combines a 3.2 inch capacitive (like the iPhone) touchscreen with a full, slide-out QWERTY keypad, making it the first slider from RIM. The phone is also the first BlackBerry device to come with a 5.0-megapixel camera and will run a new version of the BlackBerry operating system, BlackBerry 6, which looks a lot better than the existing one with larger, more colourful icons.
On board is also a new browser that supports tabbed browsing and a universal search feature that lets users search almost all the content on the phone. Apps have been rehauled too - there is a social feeds app that will let users keep track of their social networks and on the multimedia front, users will be able to sync music on their device over Wi-Fi. Developers can make apps for the new OS using HTML 5 and Java, which should result in many more apps for the device and interestingly, users device purchases can be billed through the operator (we can hear Indian users cheering at this).

Touchscreen, keyboard, better browser, better camera, more apps - all combined with BlackBerry’s traditional mailing and messaging strength, now that should make the Torch perfect for all those who want a great touchscreen-QWERTY combo. The big question, of course, is when will it come to India? We are waiting. And watching.

One of the biggest complaints we have had about Android devices in the country has been the fact that they have generally cost a packet and have more often than not come with older versions of the operating system. Well, HTC’s latest Android handset, the Wildfire, cannot be accused of either of these shortcomings. The phone which was released in the Indian market recently in collaboration with Reliance, runs Android 2.1 (yes, we know that Android 2.2 is out but it is available on a handful of devices as of now), has a 5 MP camera with a flash and comes at a price of Rs 16,990 (it is actually available in some parts of the market for about Rs 15,500).

Also among the goodies onboard are a digital compass, the HTC Sense interface (which many consider to be one of the best for Android), a 3.2 inch touchscreen, 512 MB memory, support for 3G and FM Radio. Pretty good, we think, and easily the best value for money Android device that we have seen in the Indian market, easily outstripping the Samsung Galaxy Spica, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini and the LG GW 620, all of which were in the Rs 12,000-Rs 15,000 price range.

It seems as if Amazon is determined to give Kindle sales a big push. Just days after we heard of the new Kindles with better displays and lower prices, comes the announcement that one can also opt for refurbished versions of the e-book reader that many (us included) consider to be the best when it comes to reading electronically. Refurbished versions generally are devices that have been repaired and are as good as new and come with complete warranty and support. Most importantly, they are always cheaper than brand new versions of the device. The refurbished Kindles are no different - you can get the 9.7 inch Kindle Dx for $299.99 and the regular 7 inch Kindle for $169.99, which are both well below their regular prices. Interestingly, unlike the new Kindles, these are both global editions and will work anywhere in the world. There are no restrictions on either device - you can do pretty much what you can on a regular, brand new device on them.

Terrific deals for those wanting to take a dip in e-book readers. Now, we are waiting for the competition to respond.

The recently-launched OlivePad and the Apple iPad might have got more column space in news columns, but we at Techgazing are keeping our fingers crossed that the tablet that will really change the world will the one recently shown by the HRD ministry. Featuring a touchscreen and a number of connectivity options and running on a version of Linux (no, not Android), the biggest attraction of the product is the fact that it is expected to be priced at as low as $35 (around Rs 1600). Now compare that with the Rs 23,000 price tag of the OlivePad and the Rs 30,000 of the Wi-Fi iPad, and you can see why we are thrilled at the prospect of such a product. Not only would it make computing so much more accessible to the masses, it would also force other manufacturers to bring down their prices. Yes, we know that the $35 tablet is unlikely to have the kind of specs the iPad or the OlivePad possess, but from what we know it will let users browse the Net, check their social networks, do some e-mailing and also some word processing. Truth be told, not too many people need more from a portable computing device. We certainly would be more than content, even if its price tag doubles or heck, triples!

There has been widespread scorn poured on the product by most of the international media, which are already calling it “vapourware,” but given the involvement of the prestigious IITs in the project, we cannot help but root for it. We are keeping our eyes on this product. And our fingers crossed. Watch this space for more news.

The e-book reader wars are really hotting up. As if slashing the price of its Kindle e-book reader to sub-$200 levels was not enough, Amazon has now released two new models of the Kindle.  The new models are sleeker, more slim than their predecessors, and more importantly, one of them comes at a staggering price tag - just $139.  This is the Wi-Fi only version of the e-book reader, which many expect to go head-to-head against Barnes & Noble’s Wi-Fi only Nook which costs $149 (we are waiting for a price cut there too, folks). The other model comes with a $189 price tag (same as the Kindle 2) and has 3G connectivity.

Both models are 15 per cent lighter and 21 per cent smaller than the Kindle 2, and sport the E-Ink Pearl screen recently displayed on the Kindle Dx (Graphite), which offers a 20 per cent faster refresh rate. Internal memory too has been boosted, allowing you to store many more books on the device, and battery life now can go upto a month with wireless switched off and ten days with it running. So will this allow Kindle to maintain its edge in the e-book reader battle? We think it will indeed. Our only regret is that the new Kindles are going to be available only in the UK and US from August 27 onwards. Come on, fellas, we in India read too!

Olive Telecom has unveiled India’s first 3G tablet. Called the OlivePad, it comes packed with some very impressive specifications. Its screen is a tad smaller than the iPad’s but on the flip side, it comes with high-speed wireless broadband (Tata), USB connectivity, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, two cameras (one at the back and one for video calling), and what we like most of all, the Android 2.1 operating system. The price, we believe, will be less than Rs 25,000 and the tablet itself will be seen in Indian markets in August. An iPad killer? We know not, but the specs are certainly very impressive.

The iPad might not have arrived on Indian shores yet, but you can be sure of one thing - come Thursday, India will see its first 3G-enabled tablet device. Olive Telecom are the folks launching it - if we remember right, they were the first ones off the mark with the first 3G-enabled laptop in the country too. The launch is scheduled to happen in Delhi around noon on Thursday.

Of course, there are a host of questions that spring to mind at the announcement - what operating system will the tablet run on (Android, Windows, proprietary), what will be the connectivity costs (3G connectivity ain’t cheap from what we have seen), what will be the functions available on the tablet (will it be able to take photographs) and most importantly, what will be the price tag that it carries? Given Olive’s reputation for solid, value-for-money devices, we are hoping in our heart of hearts for an Android tablet that costs less than Rs 20,000, but we will know only on Thursday. Watch this space until then.

Almost every cellphone manufacturer these days is coming out with devices with full keyboards - called QWERTY because of the arrangement of the letters - allowing users to type more conveniently. However, we have to hand to one of the newcomers, LAVA, for putting a spin on the concept and coming out with a full keyboard with a difference. Their recently launched B5 handset has a full keyboard, but not of the QWERTY type. Instead the alphabet is laid out in, well, alphabetical order (ABCD, etc.).

Now, this might be puzzling for keyboard veterans who have been used to typing on a QWERTY set-up on a phone or on a computer, but for those who have never really used either, this device is just perfect as they would not need to hunt for keys. And the phone does not cost too much either - Rs 4,399 is the official price. Not a bad deal for a device with full keyboard, 2.2 inch display, 2 MP camera and dual sim. An interesting spin, we must admit. We will let you know how the device actually performs when we get a review unit.

After seemingly having stood and stared while the likes of the Samsung Star and Corby and the LG Cookie series grabbed the lower mid-segment share of the Indian cellphone market, Nokia now finally seems to be hitting back with some terrific devices in the high volume sub-Rs 10k segment. We were very impressed with the 5233 and now we have the C5, which packs in a whole stack of features at a price that seems way too good to be true. Continue reading »

Even as the gaming community waits for Microsoft to release Kinect, its controller-free gaming system, the company has announced a significant cut in the price of the arcade version of its XBox 360 game console in India. Previously priced at Rs 16,990, the console will now be available at Rs 14,676. That makes it a very good deal indeed for those looking for a next-gen gaming console, making it an infinitely better deal than Sony’s PS3 which is selling for close to Rs 20,000 and Nintendo’s Wii, which is retailing at around Rs 19,000.

However, it would be sensible to point out that the arcade version of the Xbox 360 does not come with a hard drive and gamers will therefore have to shell out a few thousand  rupees more if they want to save their games. But even with that, the Xbox 360 now is an excellent option for those looking for a dose of console gaming, or preparing for the Kinect, which, of course, will be compatible with all existing Xbox 360 consoles.

One of the biggest grudges we have been nursing against gaming consoles - be it the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, or the Nintendo Wii - is the fact that none of them have a decent game of cricket on them. We have had a few versions of EA’s Cricket and one of Brian Lara Cricket too, but none of them have quite hit the right buttons. International Cricket 2010, however, is quite a different matter.

For one, the game is incredibly simple and intuitive to play. We have been messing around with the PS3 version and must confess to being impressed. Yes, it is very - and we mean VERY - similar to Ashes Cricket 2009 (heck, it is largely the same team of developers from Codemasters), but there are a number of refinements that stand out. Continue reading »

It is easily one of the most coveted gadgets in the world, having made the cover of both Time and Newseek,  single-handedly reviving the tablet industry, and adding a whole new dimension to accessing content on the move.We are talking of the Apple iPad. Such is its attraction that thousands of people in India are already queuing up for it, even though it has not been officially released in the country, asking relatives and friends abroad to get them a unit or simply picking one up from the grey market. If you are one of those swayed by the iPad and are itching to get one, our advice to you is simple: wait. And no, we are not saying that because we are jealous (hey, we do not have an iPad yet - there! we have confessed it), but because of some very valid reasons. Continue reading »

Apple has just addressed one of the biggest complainst about the iPhone - the absence of multi-tasking. The latest update to the iPhone OS, called iOS 4,brings multi-tasking to the device they call the Godphone as well as a host of other features, such as the option to change wallpapers (yep, believe it or not, you could not do so earlier), get all your e-mail in a unified mailbox, and organising apps in folders (once again, this was not available earlier). There are also significant improvements in terms of speed and battery consumption, as well as the addition of iBooks, Apple’s new e-book reader, although you still cannot purchase books directly from the Apple iBookstore in India.

The update is free and works on iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 and the 3rd generation iPod touch. While iPhone 3G users can also update their phones, they will not be able to access most of the new features, most notably the multi-tasking. Mind you, at 378 MB, it is not exactly a small download. Still, it is well worth it, given the features it adds to what we think is the best phone in town.

The world’s most popular e-book reader just took a step closer to affordability in India. The price of Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader has been slashed to $189, which when combined with shipping and handling and import fees, comes to about $ 283.92 if you place your order online: somewhere in the vicinity of Rs 13,000. Yes, we are sure that even that figure will make some of you wince, but when you consider that the device had been launched in India at a price of $279 in October, which translated into a total cost of almost $ 373 (Rs. 17,000), thanks to shipping and handling costs and import fees, it is really not that bad a deal, especially after the last software update, which included PDF support and a number of other very handy tweaks.

Of course, the price of downloading books directly on to the device remains on the higher side (thanks to the additional $2 slapped on to the price tags), but we reckon that more users might think seriously about the Kindle, now that it is closer to the psychological cut-off point of Rs 10,000, and now costs about as much as a mid-level smartphone, and comes with inbuilt data connectivity (which is currently limited to browsing and downloading books, but still…).

The grey market holds a lot of attraction for a number of people looking for tech products. In many cases, it provides people with products that have not been officially released in their countries (consider the iPad) and in others, allows them to buy a product at a much lower rate - a grey market iPhone 3GS for instance comes for around Rs 28,000 as compared to its prim and proper counterpart, which costs in the vicinity of Rs 35,000.  However, making a purchase from the grey market comes with its own set of pitfalls, some of which can be significant. Here’s a look at five of the biggest ones. Continue reading »

It is small and light enough to be carried one-handed, looks terrific and still manages to pack in enough computing muscle to embarrass a number of computers in the market today. We are talking of the latest version of the Mac mini, Apple’s incredibly compact computer, which was launched a few hours ago. It is little over half a foot in length and width (19.7 cm), stands a mere 3.6 cm tall, and tips the scales at an ultraportable 1.36 kg - all in a beautifully crafted aluminum frame. And within it lies a Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz processor, 2GB RAM, a 320 GB HDD, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor.  All for a price in the vicinity of Rs 44,900. There is a new HDMI port, an SD card slot and considerably improved graphics, thanks to the 48-core processing power of the NVIDIA GeForce 320M (it is not still cutting-edge enough for high-end games but handy enough for most graphics tasks). One thing that is missing is the power adapter, thanks to a new integrated power supply.

Not bad, eh? Yes, you will have to shell out extra for a display, a keyboard and a mouse, but considering that this is a Mac and runs the latest version of Snow Leopard, we still think it is very good value for money.

The announcement about the Kinect might have grabbed all the headlines, but Microsoft has also released a new Xbox 360 gaming system. The new console is much slimmer than its predecessor, comes in black (from what we can see) and packs in a 250 GB hard drive as well as inbuilt Wi-Fi. It is compact and is very silent in operation. And its price tag is USD 299, pretty much the same as the current console, making it an excellent option for those looking for a new gaming device. The new Xbox 360 is expected to hit stores in the US in the coming week.

When is it expected in India? Ah, watch this space but we think it will be sooner than many of us expect, not that we are complaining!

Sony brought high-definition brilliance to gaming, Nintendo added brilliant motion-sensing, and now Microsoft has added a whole new dimension, by taking away the controller altogether. The company has revealed Kinect, the official name for Project Natal, for the Xbox 360 - a system which allows you to play games by just having your hands or making movements in front of the screen. You have to hit no buttons, hold no gadget - all you have to do is stand in front of the screen and make the movements necessary to control the character. Gaming does not get more immersive than this, we think. The fact that it will work perfectly with existing Xbox 360 consoles makes it sound almost too good to be true.

The biggest challenge, of course, is going to be whether one gets enough games to support this system. And of course, there is the little matter of price. Watch this space for more details.

Samsung seems to be betting very heavily on all-touchscreen phones that do not cost the earth. After the success of the Star and Corby, the company has now come out with what it calls its “most affordable 3G full touch handset”, the Star Nano 3G. The device sports a 2.6 inch touchscreen, a 1.3 megapixel camera and Samsung’s TouchWiz 2.0 interface that allows users to access different websites and services from a host of widgets on the homescreen. Of course, as its name itself indicates, the phone is 3G-ready, and its price tag of Rs 7,320 is supposed to be on the lower side for such a device.

Honestly, we think the screen is a bit on the smaller side for a device that is based on a touch interface (the BlackBerry Bold has as big a screen AND a QWERTY keypad to boot) and we do think that a 1.3 megapixel camera is a bit passe in these days when one can get a 3.2 megapixel shooter for most devices in the Star Nano 3G’s price range. Nevertheless, we think it is the performance of the device on a 3G network that Samsung is really betting on and after seeing how well the Corby has handled it on Tata Indicom, we would not bet against this one. Of course, we are still waiting for 3G to come to India, but Samsung seems to be ready for it already. Consumers are unlikely to complain.

There is good news for all those who use Peek, the handy and extremely affordable QWERTY device that lets you access e-mail on the move. According to a mail that we have received, the Peek service is going to get upgraded on May 18. Improvements include “faster email delivery for many users, and the ability to view PDF attachments as images on your Peek.” The service will not be available for three hours (from 0730 hrs to 1030 hrs, Indian time) on May 18, while the upgrade takes place. Also, the upgrade will not let users view attachments of old mail downloaded before the upgrade. Still, if it delivers what it promises - the speed boost and the PDF handling - most Peek users in India, some of whom have been complaining about the service being a tad on the slow side, will be more than delighted.

Now, we just hope the folks at Peek can do something to bring down that Rs 299 per month rental for using the service, which we maintain remains on the high side, considering that Aircel (the network that offers the Peek) has an unlimited Mobile Internet access package of Rs 98 per month!

How do you buy  gadget for someone who not just brought you into the world but has also played a major role in ensuring that you turned out the way you have? Yes, is is Mother’s Day on May 9 and if you are thinking of buying your mum a tech toy to show how much she means to you, we would suggest a fair degree of caution and preparation. For, let’s face it, mums are not generally the most tech-savvy people on the planet (heck, they do not need technology, unlike us lesser humans), but they sure are going to try their best to use whatever their offspring gives them (after yelling at them that there was no need for anything, of course. Of course!). While there are stacks of gadgets out there that might appeal to mothers, we have shortlisted five that we think are surefire hits with most mums. Continue reading »

Asus could be on the verge of launching one of the most interesting tech products of the year, if rumours are to be believed. The EEE Keyboard PC is in fact an entire computer in a keyboard. You can just plug it into any display to get it working, or can even do some basic tasks on a 5inch capacitive touchscreen that is a part of it. In essence, even as other desktop PC manufacturers are attempting to merge the CPU (the tower-like component)into the display to make computers more compact, Asus has gone the other way and merged the CPU into the keyboard! Of course, the specs of the device are nothing to really rave about - Windows XP Home, an Intel Atom N270 processor, an Intel 945GSE / ICH7-M chipset, 16GB SSD upgradable to 32GB storage, 1GB memory, GbE Ethernet, Wireless LAN, HDMI, and Bluetooth - but the form factor is impressive, and the device looks very sleek indeed in aluminum (shades of the Macbook, eh?)

All of which is expected to cost in the vicinity of Rs 27,000. A bit on the expensive side, but then the first edition of innovative products always do cost a bit. No, we do not know when it is coming to India (or the world, for that matter), but the chances are that we will be seeing it this year.

As the number of Android phones in the country increases, a rather disturbing trend is becoming evident - a number of smartphone manufacturers are selling their devices with older versions of Android and what’s worse, are not providing any option to the user to update them to newer versions. In simple terms, just imagine that someone not only sells you a computer that is running an older version of Windows (say Windows 98) but also prevents you from updating it to a newer version. Sounds ridiculous? Well, that is exactly what seems to be happening. Of all the Android devices in the country, only two - the HTC Legend and the Motorola Milestone - are running the latest version(2.1) of Android. Of the rest, only one - the Samsung Spica - has been updated to the latest version. The others - HTC Hero, HTC Tattoo, HTC Magic, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, LG GW620, Samsung Glaxay, Acer Liquid - are all running older versions of Android (either 1.5 or 1.6). Continue reading »