KINDLE FIRE - $200 (Rs 13000)

Kindle Fire [Image source: www.amazon.com]

        With the introduction Kindle fire Amazon has definitely attracted many people around the world who were looking for a low budget tablet but with all facilities. Amazon has done exceptionally well about the Kindle fire. It is a 7” tablet which integrates Amazons awesome collection of music, video, books and magazine services into a single package. Apps will not be present as in android market but you can always rely upon Amazon who prefers quality over quantity. When we consider the display quality it is so great than many other highly priced tablets. But anyway due to the very low price it lacks many features such as 3G, Bluetooth, camera, GPS. One of the main problems is the absence of expansion slot and internal memory is just 8 GB. Overall Kindle fire provides outstanding value for money.

SPECIFICATIONS:
*  Android 2.3 gingerbread OS
*  1 GHz dual core processor
*  512 MB RAM
*  7” display
*  1024 x 600 screen resolution
*  8 GB internal memory (No expansion slot)
*  No camera
*  Wi-Fi, micro USB
*  Battery life: 8 hours
*  Preloaded apps: Email, Amazon silk browser
*  Supported text formats: AZW, PRC (Mobipocket), PDF, DOC, TXT, DOCX

PROS:
*  Ultra affordable price
*  Awesome screen quality in this range
*  Solid build quality
*  Access to Amazon’s large media
*  Amazon also offers cloud drive service

CONS:
*  No google play access
*  Only 8 GB internal memory and no expansion slot
*  No 3G, Bluetooth
*  Apps are less
*  Occasional sluggish performance
*  Amazon prime subscription is needed to fully utilize the Kindle fire

           Kindle fire is a perfect tablet for low budget customers with great value for money. It feels good in hand and also looks good. It wins over many tablets which are priced higher but when we compare it with high end tablets we can see the difference. Its performance is sometimes slow, it has no 3G, Bluetooth and its memory is limited. The absence of google play access is a huge disadvantage. High end tablets has many other features than Kindle and performance is also better but you should keep the fact in mind that these tablets are priced 3 or 4 times Kindle’s cost! All in all its not as perfect as an ipad but it’s definitely worth buying.

Now you can Unprint a Printed Page!

      Scientist at Cambridge University,Britain says that they have developed a new technique which can remove ink from printed pages. The new technique uses short pulses of laser light to delete printed words and images. The laser vapourises the toner ink without damaging the paper. This invenvention opens up the prospect of future computer printers and photocopiers having an "UnPrint" function to allow paper to be reused. The process works on a wide range of toners. The positive aspect is that it does not damage the paper. This technology will be a big boost to those who support saving paper.

SONY TABLET P - $560 (Rs. 32000)

SONY TABLET P [Image source : www.sony.co.in]

            Sony tablet P is a dual screen tablet which runs on android 3.2 honeycomb. Since it is a foldable tablet it can be easily carried and even be crammed into jeans pocket. This tablet comes with Wi-Fi and it also has 3G connectivity. It’s both screens are 5.5 inches each. The bottom part of tablet is pointed and does not feel good while holding for a long time. We can use the top display alone or we can use both top and bottom displays. But the huge drawback is the screens themselves. There is a giant gap between 2 screens and this is definitely annoying. It completely breaks the continuity of the page. Another drawback is the speaker which is not loud enough. Actually most of the android apps are not optimized for working in this screen, so we get a poor experience.

SPECIFICATIONS:

*  Android 3.2 honeycomb OS (can be updated to android 4.0 ics)
*  1 GHz Tegra 2 dual core processor
*  1 GB RAM
*  11” display (two 5.5” displays)
*  1024 x 480 screen resolution
*  4 GB internal memory (expandable upto 32 GB)
*  Camera: 5 MP rear and 0.3 MP front
*  3080 mAh battery
*  Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, 3G, micro USB, GPS
*  Sensors: accelerometer, gyro, compass

PROS:

*  Light and compact
*  Can play PS1 games
*  Good processor performance
*  New dual screen display

CONS:
*  Most android apps works poorly in dual screens
*  Wi-Fi experience not good
*  The giant gap between two screens is a great disappointment
*  Pointed corners of the device make it hard to use

                Sony has surely introduced a unique tablet into the market. Its new folding design makes it easy to carry and use. Its dual screens provide a good online experience but watching movies will not be entertaining. PS1 games can be played in this but still it’s not so good. To make things worse it is also priced high. Considering this price range you will easily get many other good tablets even below this. But if you want to try something unique and easy to carry then you can go for Sony tablet P.

BlackBerry Porsche P'9981: RIM launches Rs 1.39 lakh phone

BlackBerry Porsche P'9981 [Image Source : in.blackberry.com]

         Research In Motion has launched an ultra-premium BlackBerry Porsche P'9981 at a whopping price of Rs1,39,990/-. It is developed in association with Porsche Design. The 155g smartphone features a MSM 8655,1.2 GHz processor and liquid graphics technology, HD video recording, 24-bit high resolution graphics, advanced sensor enabling new augmented reality applications (Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Proximity etc), and built-in support for NFC (near field communications). It has an 8 GB internal memory, expandable to up to 40 GB with a microSD card. The integrated GPS and WiFi is among of the key features.The 5Mp front camera arrives with Face detection , Image Stabilisation and Geo-tagging. Porsche P'9981 is having a Capacitive touch screen as well as an Optical trackpad. P'9981 arrives with a number of pre-loaded applications and is also supported by Wikitude(an Augmented Reality browser) which gives an augmented reality app experience.

NOKIA 808 PUREVIEW - $699 (Rs.30995)

Nokia Pureview [Image Source : www.nokia.com]

     The Finnish phone manufacturers have stunned everyone when it introduced the Nokia 808 Pureview, the phone which packs 41 MP camera! It works on Symbian Belle operating system. It also comes with 1.3 GHz processor and has 512 MB RAM. It has a 4” AMOLED capacitive touch screen. Since now high end phones come with a maximum of 12 MP camera but Nokia has made a revolution by introducing 808 pureview. The high megapixel count doesn’t necessarily produce good pictures. But Nokia with its over sampling technology has teamed with Carl Zeiss lens to produce sharp pictures and it looks very good even in low light. Even with all these Nokia also found its way to save the image in compact file size so that sharing becomes easy. But with all these Nokia could have offered a resolution higher than 360 x 640 which now it offers. The camera lens protrudes slightly and thus it is not so slim but feels very comfortable in hands with the rubber finish.

SPECIFICATIONS:
* Symbian Belle OS
* 1.3 GHz Arm 11 processor
* 512 MB RAM
* 4” AMOLED display
* 360 x 640 screen resolution
* 16 GB internal memory and expandable upto 32 GB
* Front camera: 41 MP with Xenon flash (38 MP effective, 7152 x 5368 effective)
* Secondary camera: 0.3 MP
* Camera features: Red-eye reduction, Touch Focus, Continuous Auto Focus, Auto Exposure, Auto focus,Self-timer, Geotagging, Xenon flash, Face Detection
* 1400 mAh battery
* Bluetooth 3.0, NFC, GPS, 3G, micro HDMI, micro USB, Wi-Fi
     

         Nokia 808 also has a good performance with its 1.3 GHz processor and doesn’t show any considerable lag. But as we all know Belle OS doesn’t provide customization as we get in android OS and number of apps is also less. You will feel irritating once you try to customize the menu and all. However you can easily say that this phone has got the best camera in any phone in the market. The camera is definitely mind blowing and shoots pictures like in a digital camera. Overall it is not very good as an entry level SLR camera but it is far ahead of any other camera phone. Dolby sound system in 808 pureview is also not as good as the beats audio in HTC One X which is in the same price range. Considering its price, this phone is just not worth buying for its camera alone. You will get many other good digital cameras lower than this price if you want same camera quality. All in all 808 pureview is the most modern innovative phone in the mobile camera category.

Microsoft launches Surface tablets

Microsoft launches Surface Tablets. [Image Source : www.microsoft.com]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on 18 June,2012 unveiled Surface Tablets at Hollywood's Milk Studios , Los Angels. Panos Panay is the general manager of the Microsoft Surface. The Surface tablet will run on Microsoft's forthcoming Windows 8 operating system. It has a 10.6-inch (27cm) screen and comes in 32GB and 64GB variant memory sizes. Surface is a 9.3mm thick tablet which weighs under 1.5 pounds. It comes with a kickstand to hold it upright and the keyboard is part of the device's cover. Microsoft is expecting a strong position in Tablet market by introducing the Surface Tablet. The Surface Tablets are expected to compete with the Apple iPad . Microsoft is also planning to introduce Ultrabook which runs on Intel Corp chips in the near future. Ultabooks also arrives in the heavy tablet segment.

Go to the Official Review.
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/default.aspx

BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK -$250 (Rs 13500)

                Playbook was first introduced into the market at a price of $500 but the tablet didn’t gain much attention and later its price was dropped to half its original price. It runs on playbook OS 2.0 and has 1 GHz dual core processor and 1 GB RAM. It is available in 16, 32 and 64 GB models. Actually this is a tablet which is very much suitable for business men. There are many business oriented apps and features such as spreadsheet work very well in this device. The power button is not placed rightly and pressing it is difficult. The other great thing is that this tablet may be considered the best in multitasking. There is also a feature called Blackberry Bridge to connect blackberry Smartphone with this tablet. But the less number of apps is a downside. But for the price mentioned it is actually a pretty good deal.

SPECIFICATIONS:
*  Blackberry Playbook OS 2.0
*  1 GHz dual core processor
*  1 GB RAM
*  16, 32 and 64 GB versions available
*  7” display
*  1024 x 600 screen resolution
*  Camera: 5 mp rear and 3 MP front
*  Wi-Fi, micro USB, micro HDMI, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1
*  5300 mAh battery

PROS:
*  Advanced multitasking
*  Fast dual core processor and solid hardware
*   Secure email
*  Good business tablet
*  Blackberry Bridge

CONS:
*  Lack of apps
*  Does not support Blackberry Messenger
*  No 3G
*  Can be fully utilized only if you have Blackberry Smartphone
*  Power button is very difficult to press
            Blackberry Playbook is really a solid business tablet. If you buy this tablet you will not be disappointed with its performance but soon you will realize the lack of apps. But the RIM is working very hard with the apps section and updates for playbook is coming every day. If you want a tablet with lot of apps and games to play then this is not your tablet. But who knows whether android apps will be compatible in the near future.!