ASUS TRANSFORMER PAD INFINITY TF700 - $500 (Rs.28000)

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity
[Image source : www.asus.com] 

       Asus had added yet another member to their Transformer series of tablets. Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 looks very similar to its predecessor Transformer Prime with only small changes. Thickness has increased very slightly and there is also a small change in the back cover. But is there any need for Transformer Prime users to upgrade? Well let’s see about that, TF700 has a sharper screen resolution than the Prime, that is, 1920 x 1200 to be exact and processing speed has now become 1.6 GHz from the existing 1.3 GHz of Prime. TF700 has the same 8 MP camera as that of the Prime with a LED flash. Signal reception problem in Prime is also not present in the case of TF300. RAM is still 1 GB but now it is DDR3. Overall when you consider TF300 it is one of the best 10” android tablets in the market today.

SPECIFICATIONS:

*  Android 4.0.3 icecream sandwich OS

*  1.6 GHz Tegra 3 quad core processor

*  1 GB DDR3 RAM

*  10.1” S-IPS, LED backlit display

*  1920 x 1200 screen resolution

*  Memory: 32 or 64 GB and can be expanded using micro SD

*  Camera: 8 MP rear with LED flash and 2 MP front

*  25 Wh battery and 19.5 Wh battery in keyboard dock (should be bought extra)

*  Wi-Fi, GPS, micro HDMI, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0

*  Sensors: Gravity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Gyro sensor, Digital compass

PROS:

*  High resolution display

*  Good camera

*  Good quad core performance

*  Smooth gaming

*  Long battery life

CONS:

*  Distorted display when touch pressure is increased

*  Less apps for this greater resolution

*  Some performance problems

       Even if TF700 is a quad core tablet there is some performance issues, but it does not happen too often. However we do not want any lag for a 500$ tablet. So is an upgrade from Transformer Prime to TF700 necessary? If you want a sharper and crisp display and a greater processor speed then you can go for TF700. But if you are after display then don’t forget the ipad with retina display. You can also consider Acer iconia A700 which is 50$ less than TF300 and almost has the same hardware under the hood. In summary, if you are after a 10” android tablet with good performance and gaming then keep this tablet in your mind.

Internet Gains Trillions of Addresses

IPv6 Logo released by the Internet Society. 
[ Image courtesy : www.worldipv6launch.org ]

       A new Internet standard giving the global network more room to grow came into effect on June 6,2012. The switch occured at 0001 GMT when Internet opetrators switched to a new standard called IPv6 that allows for trillions of IP addresses, up from the current 4.3 billion. IPv6 is developed by Internet Engineering Task Force (IEFT). More countries came forward for the deployment of IPv6 after the World IPv6 Launch on June 6,2012. The Internet runs today on the IPv4 protocol predominantly. The IPv4 protocol uses a 32bit addressing scheme, and thus insufficient for today booming Internet world. In this internet age, where every electronic device is IP enabled, we have already ran out of IPv4 address resources. The solution to this problem is to move on to the next level of addressing scheme of the Internet Protocol, called the IPv6. IPv6 uses a 128bit addressing scheme, thus enabling it to address the Internet for decades to come. IPv6 uses eight groups of four digit hexadecimal numbers for addressing. For example

1201:4ab0:58b3:100b:6a2e:0000:0710:3347.                                             

       IPv6 is adapt with the new requirements of the internet world, and makes it easier for address assignments to smart devices of the future. With IPv6 the long anticipated problem of IPv4 running out of addresses is solved.

SONY XPERIA GO - $350 (Rs.18000)

SONY XPERIA GO [Image source: www.sonymobile.com]

        Sony has added one more member to the Xperia series with the introduction of Xperia Go. It is a compact and neatly designed handset which you can easily carry in your pocket. It is made to resist dust and it is also water proof. Xperia Go is IP67 certified meaning it is completely dust proof and can be submerged upto 1m fresh water for 30 minutes without any problem. If you are one of those persons having butter fingers you can definitely rely on Xperia Go. It is designed for rough use so that scratches will not appear easily. It has an average display of 3.5”, but its resolution (320 x 480) will disappoint you. Xperia Go runs on 1 GHz dual core processor and has a RAM of 512 MB. With this hardware you will get an average performance, but don’t expect super fast and powerful performance. Android 4.0 ics is the popular OS lately but still this phone comes with the old android 2.3 Gingerbread. Anyway Xperia Go is surely a real competitor in the rugged phone category which is now ruled by Motorola Defy+ and Defy Mini.

SPECIFICATIONS:

*  Android 2.3 Gingerbread

*  1 GHz dual core processor

*  512 MB RAM

*  3.5” LCD display

*  320 x 480 screen resolution

*  Memory: 8 GB internal and expandable upto 32 GB

*  Camera: 5 MP rear with LED flash and no front camera

*  1305 mAh battery

*  Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, GPS

       Sony Xperia Go feels very comfortable in our hands and has nice look too. It also has a great power under the hood, but yet sometimes it shows lags which will irritate you. Apart from this speaker placement is not at all good. You should also be warned about the speaker volume because speaking in the phone in outdoors will not be a good experience for you. However if you are after a phone which can be used roughly without having any fear of damaging it, then Xperia Go is the best option.

HP ENVY 4-1025TX Sleekbook - $940 (Rs.52990)

HP ENVY 4-1025TX Sleekbook [Image Source : www.hp.com]

      The HP Envy 4-1025TX Sleekbook is a newcomer in the Envy series which is useful for both professionals and home users. It arrives with a 3rd Generation Intel Core i5 processor clocked at 1.7 Ghz. The Ultrabook is pre-loaded with Windows 7 Home Basic operating system. The 1.75Kg gadget is highly reliable and is good in multitasking. The 8 hours backup allows you to spend more hours without access to a power source. The dedicated graphic memory and graphic processor is very useful while you are playing games,watching movies etc.The switchable graphics helps you configure graphics to each and individual applications running.The ultrabook features a 14" LED Widescreen. The smooth and glossy exteriors gives it a professional look.

FEATURES & SPECIFICATIONS

*  Intel Core i5 Processor (3rd Generation)

*  Processor clocked at 1.7 Ghz 

*  System memory is 4 GB DDR3 (expandable upto 16 GB)

*  500 GB HDD

*  Weighs 1.75 Kg

*  14" LED Backlit Widescreen

*  Screen resolution is 1366 x 768 Pixel

*  2 Gb DDR3 dedicated Graphics Memory

*  ATI Radeon 7670M Graphic Processor

*  1.3 Mp HP TrueVision Low Light HD Webcam

*  TouchPad with Multitouch Gesture Support

*  Beats Audio High Definition Dual Speakers with Internal Sub-woofer

*  Upto 8 hours battery backup

*  Communication - Ethernet (Integrated 10/100/10000, Wireless LAN, Bluetooth v4.0

*  Ports - 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, HDMI , VGA Port, Mic In, RJ45 LAN, Multi Card Slot.

       The audio features in the Envy 4-1025TX also scores high. The dual speakers and internal sub-woofers gives clear audio output without any disturbance. It supports high speed data transfer through two USB 3.0 ports and Bluetooth v4.0. The storage options are appreciable as it provides a 4 Gb system memory and a 500 Gb HDD. But an SSD (Solid State Drive) should have been integrated instead of HDD. The Envy 4-1025 can be slimmer and lighter. But when you see the price tag you don't feel it as a disadvantage. Windows 7 Home basic edition is not best suited for this ultrabook.The battery will drain faster if you Graphic card in high performance mode. There is no backlit keyboard, which Hp should have been included in this 54k ultrabook. Considering the price tag and configuration the Hp Envy 4-1025TX is one of the best in this range. If you are looking for an ultrabook with long battery life, moderately fast processor, moderate graphics and good multimedia capabilities the Hp Envy 4-1025TX will not disappoint you.

LG OPTIMUS 4X HD - $700 (Rs.34000)

LG Optimus 4X

      LG is finally back in the smartphone market with its Optimus 4X to compete for the quad core crown which now rests with Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X. Optimus 4X is a huge phone having a square shape and has a 4.7” HD screen. Build quality is very good but definitely it is not a competitor to the HTC One X which has a stunning polycarbonate body. It has a 1.5 GHz Tegra 3 quad core processor and 1 GB RAM under the hood. The back portion of Optimus 4X is textured and thus easy to grip in our hands. There is 8 MP camera with a single LED flash and 1.2 MP front camera. LG has done a good work with its True IPS HD display but not good enough to compete with HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3. With the great hardware specs there is no lag or other problems thanks to the Tegra 3 chip. It has a 2150 mAh battery but the battery life was not so good. Another problem is with the speaker which has a very low sound output. It means that you can listen to the phone speakers only in quiet places. But considering other facts LG Optimus 4X is a cool smartphone a great hardware and awesome performance.

SPECIFICATIONS:

*   Android 4.0.3 icecream sandwich OS

*   1.5 GHz quad core Tegra 3 processor

*   1 GB RAM

*   4.7” True IPS HD display

*   1280 x 720 screen resolution

*   Memory: 16 GB internal and expandable upto 32 GB

*   Camera: 8 MP rear with single LED flash and 1.2 MP front

*   2150 mAh battery

*   Sensors: Ambient light, proximity, compass, accelerometer, gyroscope

*   Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0

      LG has really made a great leap by introducing Optimus 4X. But if this phone was introduced a few months ago this would have been a huge success in the market. We have already seen HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3 which are the winners in the quad core phones. Optimus 4X is priced slightly below them but the screen is not good as the other two and speakers are also not loud enough. Heavy users would also want to carry the charger with them always but for average users it will last for one day. In summary, LG has at last got everything right with this cracking handset. This may not be the best in the market but it will surely find a spot near top android phones.

BLACKBERRY CURVE 9380 - $250 (Rs.15000)

Blackberry Curve 9380

         Blackberry 9380 is the first phone in the Curve Series which has a touch screen. It looks similar to the Blackberry Torch but is a lot sleeker; it fits comfortably into one's palms. Curve 9380 has a processing speed of 806 MHz and has 512 MB RAM which is enough for multitasking. It has a 3.2” screen and resolution is just 360 x 480 pixels. But it has good viewing angles. The buttons are flat surface keys (not capacitive) and are hard to press sometimes. Volume rocker keys and camera keys are a little hard to press. Anyway the track pad of RIM is best as always. It has a 5 MP camera with LED flash but front camera is absent. It runs on Blackberry OS 7 and there was no considerable lag or any other problems. Audio experience in Curve 9380 is of top quality and it also played 720p videos with very small lag. With 1230 mAh battery you will be able to get through a day but it could have been better. All the cool and attractive Blackberry services are present as always. If you are looking for a ‘mini’ Torch 9680 then this is definitely your buy.

SPECIFICATIONS:
*  Blackberry OS 7
*  806 MHz processor
*  512 MB RAM
*  3.2” display
*  360 x 480 screen resolution
*  Memory: 512 MB internal, expandable upto 32 GB
*  Camera: 5 MP rear with LED flash and no front camera
*  1230 mAh battery
*  Wi-Fi, 3G, NFC, USB, GPS

           Curve 9380 is really a good option for those who like its high end brother Torch 9680 and with lower budget. But if you are planning to do a lot of typing on the device then putting a bit extra and buying Torch 9680 will be good. If you are considering android too then there are some more options you can consider which provide a good experience and hardware for this price tag. If you are a Blackberry fan then it is a good budget phone and else you have a lot of alternatives.

Banking on Facebook.

       

ICICI bank's  "Your Bank Account" app for Facebook 

      Most of new generation banks now have a Facebook page to interact with their customers. The banks mainly uses the page to provide updates of the bank and financial markets to its customers. But ICICI bank decided to use Facebook to allow its customers to access their bank account through the social networking site. ICICI bank developed "Your Bank Account" app for Facebook where the customers can access their bank accounts directly. The app allows the customers to check balances, request for cheque book, upgrade their debit cards etc. The app is hosted by ICICI bank servers. Their is no question of the security features as the communications happen through secure SSL channels. 

      With the introduction of one-of-its kind app ICICI bank has provided its customers with a new banking experience. ICICI expects to attract the new generation would-be customers who frequently visit the social networks like Facebook. More than 4,50,000 customers have already registered with this application. More banks are also expected to follow ICICI bank as social networks are gaining their popularity day by day.

Click Here to access the app.