~~ Gadgets - Performance, Looks, Apps, Hottest Models ~~ [Archive]

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

8th July 2010, 10:35 PM

[tscii:9bccf5c2ab]Electronic Gadgets - Performance, Looks, Reviews, Apps, Hottest models and much more

Frnds. An exclusive thread for discussions on latest gadgets, ur personal reviews on them. You can also comment about your own handset, computer, laptop or any other gadget's performances, apps, post software and hardware related queries, and much more.

Here r some links of notable gadget sites -

CAMERAS:

¤ www.dpreview.com
¤ www.imaging-resource.com/

MOBILE PHONES:

¤ www.gsmarena.com
¤ www.alternatives2ipad.com/ (TABLETS)
¤ www.engadget.com
¤ www.mymobile.co.in
¤ www.androidpads.com

OTHERS (includes computer and hardwares and all in one sites):

¤ www.anandtech.com (has some info abt mobiles also)
¤ www.arstechnica.com
¤ www.reevoo.com
¤ www.cnet.com
¤ www.pcworld.com
¤ www.mashable.com
¤ www.infibeam.com
¤ www.armdevices.com
¤ www.deltapage.com ( chennai dealer )

COURTESY: Hubbers Sathya,S.Vallavar,Littlemaster,Ipvk.[/tscii:9bccf5c2ab]

Apart from these, renowned brands like Apple,Nokia,Sony,LG etc.. have their own official websites that hosts much more details abt their products. Also check in the sites of local dealers to have a best buy of a gadget and for offers.

Amazon gadgets link (http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=&linkCode=ur2&tag=thhu051-20&url=search-alias%3Delectronics">Name Your Link</a><img src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thhu051-20&l=ur2&o=1)

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

8th July 2010, 10:53 PM

[tscii:c68aeb8b09]let me start with a few words about my cell phone. Nokia E63. Its a qwerty keypad phone and belongs to the E -Series Nokia Phones. Main use

¤ for web browsing
¤ checking emails with Nokia Mail App
¤ downloading videos, songs

The qwerty keypad makes texting much easier than the 240*320 screen phones. Bought it for 9300 INR. Has mozilla Firefox as home browser. Web browsing is a pleasure with opera apps. Nice phone but large in size. Available in three colours - black,red, sorry..forgot the third colour. Nokia's symbian edition S60 platform allows us to have tons and tons of apps. Ovi store has plenty of apps to download. Overall a nice phone...[/tscii:c68aeb8b09]

app_engine

8th July 2010, 11:30 PM

Good thread!

I was asking in one of the threads in the hub sometime back about what's the big invention / device to hit users, after cellphone & mp3 players...

Now, after using it for a couple of years, I'm convinced it's the GPS :-)

Nerd

8th July 2010, 11:32 PM

GPS is slowly becoming a thing of the past with smartphones + 3G networks replacing them :-)

app_engine

8th July 2010, 11:36 PM

About 5 years back, my b-i-l wanted me to go with him as 'teknikkal-helppu' to the Best Buy store to get this thing called GPS (as his biz partner was coming from India and they had to travel around the U.S. and this was to help him navigate in non-familiar downtowns).

I was quite sceptical of the device, megallen was the name I think, priced > $900, bulky, small screen etc (found out later that the maps were stored in a Toshiba hard disk inside the dabbA). He got it anyways and during initial "test rides", it gave us directions that doubled the travel distance:-)

I was thinking inside like - I'm fine with mapquest - may use phone based maps but never this one etc - at that time.

How wrong I was!

app_engine

8th July 2010, 11:49 PM

Nerd,
Most automobiles are getting the GPS (of some form) built-in.

I was amused to see the latest credit union ad - that for all auto loans a GPS will be a free gift:-)

app_engine

8th July 2010, 11:57 PM

Like I said, I was never planning to have one till the employer sent a 'navigon' as a gift a couple of years back:-)

Even after that, it was just hanging there - the first trip from Detroit to Columbus was a disaster (it took me through village routes - 35 mile roads etc, unlike the one I was used to do, resulting in an extra hour).

However, slowly, I started using it as a secondary help (after keeping my mapquest route as preference #1) and it was handy in some new cities.

app_engine

9th July 2010, 12:03 AM

Some of the reasons I love it now -

1. Speed limit display and comparing my current speed, audible warning if I go 10 miles over the limit (saved me in a few "school zones" where 45 mph suddenly drops to 25 mph in "first-time-cities" with a cop car around).

2. ETA thingy during long drives, "how many minutes I've gained" gives some childish pleasure

3. The map showing streets / streams nearby gives pointers to some nice "natural scenery views"

4. Elevation info (I was stunned to see a lot of road spots below sea level in FL)

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 12:10 AM

GPS is slowly becoming a thing of the past with smartphones + 3G networks replacing them :-)

Yeah. But gps is being extensively used for defence purposes. To locate enemy planes, locate particular persons, lost planes etc.. Remember learning this in 10th std geography subject.

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 12:13 AM

GET READY TO EXPERIENCE THE SPEED. 3G is fast arriving :bluejump: . ''Can expect connections from september '' says a BSNL official.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

9th July 2010, 03:20 PM

I think the next wave is tablets...

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

9th July 2010, 03:24 PM

When it comes to laptops, i would reccoment Acer Brand mainly for its hardware stability. I have 2, Acer and HP.

HP laptop died after two years and when i took it to service center, they said GPU(NVidia) Chip died becos of overheating and it cannot be replaced here instead the only option is to replace the whole motherboard for about 13K. ITs half the laptop cost! No option and i spent that amount. Later i came to know that the NVdia chip is very easily available and they only changes the chip and DID NOT replace the motherboard at all.

At one side I also heard about more HP Laptop problems
At other side, I have seen much more Acer Laptops which are 3-4 years working fine without any problems

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 04:50 PM

Gud gud. Soon i will buy a ACER lappy then. Nice to hear few comments on it, for i knew nothing abt it. One doubt is that i feel uncomfortable in operating the lappy bcoz it doesn't have mouse. Can we plug in a mouse to a lappy ?? Any suggestions pls !

sathya_1979

9th July 2010, 05:23 PM

I agree with sakala 100%. Have an Acer laptop for over 2 years and performance did not drop or never faced any problems. Love it :D

sathya_1979

9th July 2010, 05:24 PM

@ipvk- u can plug in wireless or usb based mouse and keyboard to a laptop.

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 05:40 PM

:ty: sathya.

app_engine

9th July 2010, 07:53 PM

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 07:55 PM

COMING SOON - NOKIA E5.

Looks gorgeous than E63. More slim. The keypad is quite different from E63. Has windows live and google talk also. The back panel is awesome. More info abt E5 visit

www.nokia.co.in/find-products/products/nokia-e5

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 07:59 PM

apple says i-pad starts at $499. Here's the official apple i-pad site - www.apple.com/ipad/

app_engine

9th July 2010, 08:04 PM

ilayapuyal,
i-pad is fabulous, no doubt about it, though pricey.

I just want to know about any worthy competitors around.

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 08:10 PM

got from google. 9 tablets coming soon as competitors to apple i-pad

http://mashable.com/2010/01/27/9-upcoming-tablet-alternatives-to-the-apple-ipad/

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 08:14 PM

of these my picks r htc-google and dell.

sathya_1979

9th July 2010, 09:30 PM

infibeam phi - chk at infibeam.com

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 10:03 PM

infibeam phi - chk at infibeam.com

What's it ?? :confused2:

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

9th July 2010, 10:15 PM

My son got an i-pad recently and keeps attached to it all the time, mostly reading comic books / playing music / recording his music etc)

(Personally I'm not a big fan of apple - except for the superb audio/visual quality.)

Who are the worthy competitors and what are the prices?

app,

as of now there are no worthy competitiors. let me tell one by one..

1. lots of android tablets have been announced. none of the big IT giant is missing. everybody have either announced or have plan to jump in, very few have been released, but none are matching ipad quality. one big reason is, Android is a mobile stack and not designed for tablets. as a result the screen resolutions are poor and Android has lots of bugs

2. china is a xerox machine of any hot gadget and like smartphones, tablets are also flushing from china. look at alibaba or globalsources. but they too are as similar to their mobile counterparts, ie same baed kuwaalitti. none of them possess any standard certification like CE/FCC

3. There are few Intel Atom based tablets with screensize upto 12 inches. but they are complained for generating heat and poor battery life.

4. As of India, infibeam is the 1st one to release a ebook reader(6 inches) and now they are coming up with a tablet for 15k. we have to wait and see if its worthy and bug free.

5. The (somewhat) most anticipated/expected tablet is not from silicon valley, not from china, not even from silicon valley of india/bengalooru ( there is potential :wink: ) but from hyderabad. Notion Ini'k Adam. ITs even touted and guessed as a good competitior for iPad. Release date is not known, but i guess anytime this year.

6. If you wait for 6 - 8 months, i will show you a great tablet :wink: :D which will have more compelling and useful features than all these

If you seriously want to have a look at the biiiig list of current tablets - www.androidpads.com & http://armdevices.net/category/tablets/

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

9th July 2010, 10:23 PM

got from google. 9 tablets coming soon as competitors to apple i-pad

http://mashable.com/2010/01/27/9-upcoming-tablet-alternatives-to-the-apple-ipad/

vinod,

in that list, HP Slate wont release as it brought Palm and there is no plans as of now for a tablet. Dell streak is a big size phone and advertised as a tablet!. Even phones like HTC Evo and Droid X have touched 4.3 inches, just 5 inch wont make a good tablet. Google & HTC is a vaporware. it wont happen. among others, few are not yet released, others are intel atom based, generating lot of heat and poor battery life. But the one to have a worthy look is Notion Ink's Adam. Every Indian can be proud of that product ( except me :( )

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 10:31 PM

ya. I agree. But i prefer big sized phones to tablets. I know very little abt tablets. My bro loves HTC big sized phones.

app_engine

9th July 2010, 10:45 PM

6. If you wait for 6 - 8 months

:-)

As mentioned in my post, my son got one already - phenomenal battery life is additional plus for the ipad - and I may personally never use one myself, unless the prices crash drastically :-)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

9th July 2010, 11:08 PM

as of now, tablets, incl iPad are not good for a laptop/Pc replacement. As of now they are used for 4 things

Media consumtion
Lightweight Office works
Lighweight Browsing (no Flash, Magazine apps not matured enuf even in iPad)
Appstore ( not available in all android tablets)

It will take long time to replace PC but thats where the whole IT cos are headed. It will happen one day

RAGHAVENDRA

9th July 2010, 11:13 PM

What about digital cameras? Any guidance for a camera with Mega Pixel ranging between 10 and 12 with rich features and lowest in price?

Raghavendran

app_engine

9th July 2010, 11:22 PM

What about digital cameras? Any guidance for a camera with Mega Pixel ranging between 10 and 12 with rich features and lowest in price?

Raghavendran

If the HP ones are still in the market, they probably have the best price-performance :-)

I had one 10mp HP that got lost unfortunately, suspect my daughter threw that thinnie into the trash can :-(

Now a Nikon 12mp that costed < $200, extremely good, my son took a zoom pic of night moon with so much details:-) Highly recommended!

sathya_1979

9th July 2010, 11:24 PM

Canon / Sony / Nikon / Olympus - Wide variety available in 10-12 MP range. Should be between Rs. 5000 to 15000 depending on features

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 11:29 PM

Mr. Raghavenra. I don't know much about cameras. But can give u a link of a site that hosts reviews on hottest camera models - www.imaging-resource.com

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

9th July 2010, 11:30 PM

sony is the best their 10x optical zoom has more coverage, very good at night mode, has a large screen, its somewhat worth the high cost.

on other note, nowadays the small 3x optical zoom ones too are having more megapizels in range of 10 to 12 megapixels. this much is not at all needed for normal close range, they kind of compensate the optical zoom feature.

app_engine

9th July 2010, 11:31 PM

I guess one of the greatest inventions of the last few decades is the flash memory.

IIRC, intel launched them in late 80's and our team used it first in an add-on-module of telephone system to store voice messages.

For people like me who were used to EPROMs (UV needed for erasing) and the frequent memory loss of the prior "EEPROMS", these were nothing short of a miracle.

Even then, I never thought that it would be as popular as it became later on. Today, they're practically in all gadgets and the technology is still alive after 20 years :-)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

9th July 2010, 11:36 PM

all memory technologies are improving superb, 2 TB hard disk is just INR 5000, 16 gB pen drive is just INR1300, DDR RAM prices too are falling down.

all these years, its CPU which is not catching up with any new tech wave - In a nutshell, I can sum up my take as follows: "computing" has changed radically since 2003. CPUs have not. (http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2010/07/the-pc-just-not-as-interesting-as-it-was-from-1998-to-2003.ars)

app, neengalum namma aalu polirukke :)

sathya_1979

9th July 2010, 11:38 PM

all memory technologies are improving superb, 2 TB hard disk is just INR 5000, 16 gB pen drive is just INR1300, DDR RAM prices too are falling down.

app, neengalum namma aalu polirukke :)
Sakala, details pls (Brand, Place where I can buy). Badly in need of one as my External HDD is full :-(

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

9th July 2010, 11:42 PM

I am in touch with Bangalore guys(SP Road) If u are in chennai u can try some shop at Ritchie Street ( Remba Posh a irukkum :lol: )

I guess Seagate is in this range. I brought 1 TB Seagate HDD for PC, and brought an USB to SATA Box and converted to an external drive. total cost is some 4800 INR, and thats b4 some 6 months. now u shud get 2 TB in same range

sathya_1979

9th July 2010, 11:44 PM

Thanks, yeah Ritchie street nallaa theriyum! Will check it out.

littlemaster1982

9th July 2010, 11:45 PM

Sathya,

Check the prices here (http://www.deltapage.com/). One of the cheapest/most reliable seller in Chennai.

littlemaster1982

9th July 2010, 11:46 PM

sathya_1979

9th July 2010, 11:47 PM

:ty: Master
<<Dig: Birthday Treat enge? :D :End Dig>>

littlemaster1982

9th July 2010, 11:48 PM

15th :)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

9th July 2010, 11:48 PM

U maybe right LM, i was just thinking, jushtu 1K eshtra is fetching you 1 TB extra.

Gounder: oru kodikku evlo cyber theriyuma :lol:

sathya_1979

9th July 2010, 11:50 PM

2TB Seagate Free agent is 8150. Shud be fine. Lemme check it out.

sathya_1979

9th July 2010, 11:51 PM

15th :)
Super, lunch ungaLoda sponser, dinner Maddy :lol:

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

9th July 2010, 11:52 PM

anybody having an iPad, Android phone, can you post your experiences :)

Bala (Karthik)

9th July 2010, 11:53 PM

What about digital cameras? Any guidance for a camera with Mega Pixel ranging between 10 and 12 with rich features and lowest in price?

Raghavendran
Megapixel is not everything.
You might want to check out Canon S5 IS and SX 10 IS.... (in between gap btw point-and-shoot and DSLRs)

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

9th July 2010, 11:53 PM

I have an idea of adding some notable website links on gadgets and related things in the first page. What do u hubbers think ?? If ok, pls give me some contributions.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

10th July 2010, 12:09 AM

some thing to look for, when buying a camera

if u are budget minded, go for 3x optical slim ones( market is full of this) nowadays high megapixles somewhat compensate the optical zoom

check if there is auto mode available in night mode. this means, when in night mode where flash is not useful, there is auto mode and u dont worry about shakes and vibrations.

check if u can zoom in and out while taking videos. few models dont have this.

if u are buying a 10x optical zoom see the maximum coverage space at zero zoom. in sony models this is higher.

today even in 10x optical zoom models some cameras have their own battery. this means you dont need to buy battery and bulky chargers seperately

smile detection is not important but this ensures that face detection is already present, this is needful as it adjusts flash focus accordingly

app_engine

10th July 2010, 12:11 AM

sony is the best their 10x optical zoom has more coverage, very good at night mode, has a large screen, its somewhat worth the high cost.

Sony with Carl-Zeiss lens is >>>>>>> Sony with otherwise lens.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

10th July 2010, 12:20 AM

a good link which summaraizes the confusion prevailing in tablet pc platform. the intresting surprise is the author's impatience to wait for an indian tablet - Notion Ink's Adam

http://www.pcworld.com/article/200539/lg_android_tablet_in_late_2010_so_what.html?tk=hp_ blg

littlemaster1982

10th July 2010, 12:32 AM

I have an idea of adding some notable website links on gadgets and related things in the first page. What do u hubbers think ?? If ok, pls give me some contributions.

Add some links for review sites, which would be helpful.

Mobiles: www.gsmarena.com

Digital cameras: www.dpreview.com

Also check www.engadget.com

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

10th July 2010, 12:35 AM

www.cnet.com

www.arstechnica.com

www.anandtech.com ( namm oor aalu :D)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

10th July 2010, 01:17 AM

how many reccomend mobile broadband like Tata Photon, BSNL EVDO etc>

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

10th July 2010, 01:57 AM

sathya_1979

10th July 2010, 09:39 AM

Review Site - Reviews by Users:
http://www.reevoo.com

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

10th July 2010, 02:16 PM

ok hubbers, I have done my best and added some sites links given by u in my first post of the thread. :ty: for ur valuable contributions.

ajaybaskar

10th July 2010, 02:22 PM

Guys,

thought of upgrading/replacing my 1 Din car audio with a 2 Din. Preferably with a TFT screen to it.. Any recommendations? already have a pair of co-axial speakers in the Boot. pair of 4 inch speakers in the rear doors, pair of 6 inch speakers in front door - all sony xplod. also JBL tweeters. But the player is the basic model of sony xplod, the one that came free with the car. If i change that to a 2 din, will the output be better?

raghavendran

10th July 2010, 05:32 PM

Siv.S

10th July 2010, 05:44 PM

ajaybaskar

10th July 2010, 05:55 PM

Mine is an Acer and its nearing 2 yrs.. Very much satisfied. it may lack the style of the viaos and the pavilions but performancewise its really good.

app_engine

10th July 2010, 06:39 PM

Notebooks - all come after Toshiba, IMO, in the Microsoft world.

As mentioned before, I admire A-V quality of Macs -and they seem to be more sturdy and reliable as well from what I've seen - but staying away from them due to price. There were software availability / compatibility issues in the past, but now with most end-user applications using browser or similar interfaces, that's not a big deal anymore, but price is still an issue. One can also have multiple OS and run windows apps.

Sony is the shiniest (possibly best A-V in windows world), but with reliability issues. I have seen every one of them ( 4 numbers with my friends / relatives) develop some kind of hardware issues, some as stupid as "contact problems".

Dell doesn't have much reliability issues, decent performance and cost, but the least shiny. Safe bet for someone who does not want to lose money and are satisfied with average A-V.

HP/Compaq is not even in the radar, forget it. One company that lost its customer focus, almost totally. Same for Thinkpads (IBM sold it to Lenova and washed off hands, worst A-V possibly).

Acer the cheapest - great if people find it reliable:-)

All said, give me a Toshiba anyday - competitive price & reliability coming together :-)

disclaimer - the prices / machines I talk about are applicable in the US market and I lost touch with the Indian ones.

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

10th July 2010, 06:51 PM

Oh. So when it comes to laptops Toshiba is the best, rite ???

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

10th July 2010, 09:03 PM

HP laptop died after two years and when i took it to service center, they said GPU(NVidia) Chip died becos of overheating and it cannot be replaced here instead the only option is to replace the whole motherboard for about 13K. ITs half the laptop cost! No option and i spent that amount. Later i came to know that the NVdia chip is very easily available and they only changes the chip and DID NOT replace the motherboard at all.

I have HP pavilion,next month its completing 2 years :shaking:,overheating is not avoidable... i use to d/l movies almost every day for 6-8 hours.. till now i have not faced any problems... :bow:

siv, dont worry! few tips:-

install this program - http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/Core-Temp-setup.exe this always keeps an eye on core cpu temparature.

don't open too many windows and tabs

try to always remove unused programs running in background. this is somewhat tricky but very important

very imp: spend Rs.600 and buy an laptop cooling pad which comes with 2 to 3 fans at the bottom. u shud place ure laptop in this. if u r budget minded, a local one for Rs.100 is available

keep ur laptop table clean, dont allow dust to settle.

try cleaning ur laptop monthly once

if possible, start using Ubuntu Linux and avoid windows as much possible

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

10th July 2010, 09:07 PM

Same for Thinkpads (IBM sold it to Lenova and washed off hands, worst A-V possibly).

Isn't IBM still a strong brand when it comes to enterprise laptops? :roll:

Siv.S

10th July 2010, 09:18 PM

Sakala :ty: :ty:

littlemaster1982

10th July 2010, 09:40 PM

Same for Thinkpads (IBM sold it to Lenova and washed off hands, worst A-V possibly).

Isn't IBM still a strong brand when it comes to enterprise laptops? :roll:

Even I don't understand App_E's point about Lenovo. They are still doing fine.

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

10th July 2010, 09:59 PM

S.Vallavar :ty: for useful tips.

app_engine

11th July 2010, 04:17 AM

Lenova = poorest quality :-(

I'm using my second thinkpad (first one IBM branded and sold by them, then company sold to lenova and supported by Lenova and the second one Lenova branded, both employer provided) and both had the worst keyboards I've ever seen, weakest audio I've ever seen on laptops and otherwise too nothing extraordinary to write about.

Lenova doesn't do anything to improve quality IMSO.

I'll have to still give them good marks for sending "replacement keyboards". However, that doesn't encourage me to suggest people to buy that brand :-)

littlemaster1982

11th July 2010, 05:04 AM

I'm using a Lenovo for more than 3 years and the performance has been nothing short of awesome. I agree the audio is very very feeble through the speakers. I always use headphones, so I'm not really worried about the weak sound.

OTOH, I have handled a lot of Dell Latitude laptops in my previous job and had faced one problem or another in almost every laptop. The after sales service of Dell is excellent, but those niggles shouldn't be there in the first place. They are little expensive as well.

Toshiba and Lenovo are the two brands I always suggest to my friends when it comes to laptops.

app_engine

11th July 2010, 09:47 AM

LM,
My replaced Lenova keyboard too has now developed a "lazy" shift key (won't bounce in time, so two caps can happen when you attempt just one; often I'm forced to retype passwords).

The left key of the trackpad too has a broken leaf and hinges on the other. I'm just waiting for the couple of months before I get a new machine and I use it only occasionally thanks to the workload on the client's machine :-)

Coming from a hardware dev / mfg background of over a decade, I'm normally very soft on electronics:-)

With personal experiences like the ones I have with Thinkpads (poor kind of switches / keyboards) it's difficult for me to rate this product as an impressive one -especially when superior products are there.

app_engine

11th July 2010, 09:54 AM

My frequent rants to the IT support at my company (and many similar complaints from other users, I think) have now resulted in a policy change - that of not buying a brand in bulk by IT dept :-)

They've started giving consultants the freedom to buy any brand / config (upto a $ limit) themselves and get reimbursement, albeit on an experimental / limited scale :-)

viraajan

11th July 2010, 03:27 PM

Need an information on Sony Ericssion Mobiles.

Any phone which is presently available in Market Or coming in near future with following features?

Bar Type (No compromise),
3.2 Mpx Camera with Auto Focus
LED (or Xenon flash)
Mega Bass
HPM Headset ('In ear' headphones)

Please give your suggestion. Preferably Walkman series! :D

Any upcoming models?

sathya_1979

11th July 2010, 03:35 PM

Question: Is it advisable to upgrade the RAM in laptop? (For upgrading my OS from Vista to Win 7, I have 2 GB DDR 2 RAM in my laptop)

app_engine

11th July 2010, 09:01 PM

Question: Is it advisable to upgrade the RAM in laptop? (For upgrading my OS from Vista to Win 7, I have 2 GB DDR 2 RAM in my laptop)

I think you'll have to...even 32bit version of Windows7 calls for 3GB RAM I was told by experts.

littlemaster1982

11th July 2010, 09:22 PM

Question: Is it advisable to upgrade the RAM in laptop? (For upgrading my OS from Vista to Win 7, I have 2 GB DDR 2 RAM in my laptop)

If Vista is running fine in your laptop, Win 7 should work fine too. No need to upgrade.

HonestRaj

11th July 2010, 11:24 PM

Toshiba and Lenovo are the two brands I always suggest to my friends when it comes to laptops.

:cool2: After reading few reviews, recently I bought Toshiba... even though some of my friends recommended Dell / HP

sathya_1979

11th July 2010, 11:27 PM

Thanks for the inputs app, LM!

Bala (Karthik)

11th July 2010, 11:58 PM

Toshiba and Lenovo are the two brands I always suggest to my friends when it comes to laptops.
Except the Qosmio series (the one Naseeruddin uses in 'A Wednesday'), which was a resounding flop, as i found out the hard way.

podalangai

12th July 2010, 03:41 AM

As mentioned before, I admire A-V quality of Macs -and they seem to be more sturdy and reliable as well from what I've seen - but staying away from them due to price.

The screen on a Macbook Pro is about the best you can get in a non-specialist laptop. It's glossy, but it seems to be next to impossible to get a non-glossy screen anywhere nowadays. The speakers are OK - not bad for a laptop. Also, though they're expensive they last a long while - you'll get at least five years life out of it, and more if you treat it well, so it's good value for money in terms of longevity. Of course, I get about an academic discount which lops around a quarter off the price - that makes them much more affordable (and OS X 10.6 supports the anjal system for typing phonetically in Tamil out of the box).

HP/Compaq is not even in the radar, forget it. One company that lost its customer focus, almost totally.
I agree, sadly. My first personal laptop was an HP Omnibook XE2, which I bought in 1999 after leaving the world of work to go back to Uni for a Ph.D. (and having to hand back my corporate laptop). For its day, it was a fabulous machine with neat little touches like a separate power circuit to the CD player, so you could pop a CD in and listen to it without even turning the computer on. The speakers were as good as medium-range desktop speakers, and the laptop lasted over ten years - until two weeks ago, as a matter of fact, when the CMOS battery finally gave up the ghost and shorted the mainboard. Their current line of laptops are a very, very far cry from that sort of quality.

rajraj

12th July 2010, 05:08 AM

How lucky you are! :)

The first computer I used had 32KB memory ! :) That is right! Thirtytwo kilobytes! It was CDC3400. The company is defunct.

The next one was no better. IBM7090/7094 !

The third was IBM360 model 40 or 60! :) It had 64KB. I was up in the clouds!

Now, you talk about GB very casually? How lucky?

(I thought you could use some tidbits and humor! ) :lol:

podalangai

12th July 2010, 02:32 PM

kid-glove

12th July 2010, 02:57 PM

Not many Dell fans here.

But as a long time customer, I feel it's about the best deal. It's a bit bulky but pretty effective. I hold Studio 15

http://www1.ap.dell.com/in/en/home/notebooks/laptop-studio-1555/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-1555&cs=indhs1&s=dhs

Display is okay. But good for 15.6 screen.

For video editing, it's slightly slower and dragging than Mac. But still just about functional.

I'm able to play games like GTA 4, FIFA 2010, etc without much problems. Core 1.3 Intel + 4 GB ram + 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470.

Blu Ray playback is perfect.

Dinesh84

12th July 2010, 09:20 PM

I am planning to buy a lappy.. please suggest a brand..

pricing: moderate

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

12th July 2010, 09:29 PM

my suggestion is acer aspire 4740 or 5750. price is around 30K.

if u are ok for some 38K go for acer timeline series. slim laptop with 8 hrs battery time.

or else u dont want a windows laptop, go for some eMachines model( this is also from acer) which comes with linux

i have no idea abt other brands but i am sure acer has good hardware stability. it wont take u to service station and optimum performance is gauranteed

Dinesh84

12th July 2010, 10:13 PM

do they have service centers in chennai?

sathya_1979

12th July 2010, 10:23 PM

Dinesh, I saw an Acer center near chromepet as well. I guess they have Acer Malls in Chennai.

app_engine

12th July 2010, 10:26 PM

Dinesh84

13th July 2010, 02:28 PM

do they have service centers in chennai?
:lol: (no offence meant to you, this is typical Indian mindset, I also had this mindset years back, that, all products will have problems and need technicians close at hand)

Please buy something that won't need service, at least for a few years:-)

If there're any mfg issues, that should show up within a couple of months and your contract should make it possible to return the machine and get money back. The level of automation in manufacturing processes is in such a state -i.e. right from processing the raw materials for basic components to assemblies to final product - that one should no longer look at "repairing" electronics anymore :-)

Just to adjust the perspective, will you think of repairing an IC? We should think the same way about the final product as well, in this case, a laptop:-) i am not talking about ic failures and stuffs.. but there have been cases where, the keys from the system would get damaged or not work properly(my friends dell laptop had this problem in 3 months from purchase).. so in that case we cant repair it ourselfs.. we need to go to an authorized dealer otherwise the warranty is void.. he contacted the shop where he bought it.. they said that, the service center is not available in chennai and he has to mail it to US :shock: to get it repaired..

littlemaster1982

13th July 2010, 02:41 PM

Dinesh,

Acer has a host of authorised third party service centers, where you can get your laptop repaired in case of issues. Also, Dell has its own service center in Chennai.

app_engine

13th July 2010, 07:38 PM

Dinesh84,
I understand mechanical parts aren't reliable in some brands (I've changed keyboards in my Lenovo machines too, they mailed me the keyboard with "how-to" instructions and diagram and that's all was needed anyways, no service center / technician).

I feel there has to be data on the brands as to who has the least mech issues (like keys rated for 1mn operations etc, for e.g.) to settle for the right one :-)

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

14th July 2010, 07:26 PM

Nokia C5 launches in India

Nokia has announced the launch of the Nokia C5 in India. Nokia C5 runs Symbian S60 3rd edition operating system.

Nokia C5 features a 2.2 inch QVGA display with 320 x 240 pixels resolution, 3.2 megapixel full focus camera with 4x digital zoom, secondary camera for video calling, internal Memory of 50 MB, 2GB MicroSD card included and up to 16GB of external memory.

Nokia C5 also features 3G connectivity, GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB, A-GPS, OVI Maps, Stereo FM Radio, Ovi maps, nokia messaging and social networking integration. It is powered by BL-5CT 860 mAh Li-Ion battery that provides 12 hours of talktime and 630 hours of stand by time.

Nokia C5 is priced at Rs.7999.

Courtesy: MyMobile

E63 has Wi-Fi and 2mp camera and priced @ 9300. This phone has 3.2mp camera and priced @ 7999

Nerd

14th July 2010, 08:35 PM

On Lenovos - I have been using a Lenovo for the past 1 year and I am a compulsive obsessive movie downloader. Also I often go to sites like techsatish which bring unsolicited spam. Its running on Vista. And this one is one of those cheaper lenovos, ideapad. I never had a single problem and I would strongly recommend it.

The best laptop I ever had was an acer. Had it for about 2 years before it was stolen in a library. Acer's are dead cheap and are generally not preferred by Americans btw.

rajraj

14th July 2010, 08:46 PM

Computer ratings:

If you want ratings and comparsion of computers get a copy of the June issue of Consumer Reports magazine! You can pick up a copy from any used book store also! :)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

14th July 2010, 08:56 PM

we don't worry if acer is walmart of america, but this is another successful case of acer hardware/overall stability.

rajraj

19th July 2010, 01:35 AM

The first computer I used had 32KB memory ! :) That is right! Thirtytwo kilobytes! It was CDC3400. The company is defunct.

Ah, so you were one of the pioneers in the transistorised computer revolution! How does it feel to know that, just forty years later, your mobile phone is much more powerful in computing terms, *and* fits in your pocket? :P

podalangai,
It is interesting you bring up mobile phone! :) In 1972 I worked on Touch Tone systems where you touch/press a button to generate and transmit a tone with two frequencies. I was working on converting the analog,heavy and table top phone to digital! Pioneer? The label probably fits me to some extent. :lol: The company decided to terminate the project because it did not want to compete with a major customer, the telephone company ! You win some and you lose some ! :) I am happy VLSI is working wonders! Not sure I like the electronic waste it generates! :(
Please see my pm !

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

23rd July 2010, 01:16 PM

Future is Tablets.

This is the small list of companies who announced and planning to release tablet PC

HP, Acer, Dell, LG, Lenova, Samsung, Intel(with partners),Sharp, Cicso, Microsoft, Motorola(Freescale)

And from India
Infibeam Phi, Notion Ink Adam, DC Books+Calsoft collaboration, Olive Telecom

Last CES2010 Silicon Valley, atlest 30 vendos showcased tablets. After iPad released, atleast 50 worldwive vendors planning for tablets. Ipad will touch 20 million in worldwide sales by this year end. 20 Million or 2 Crore is the total internet population of India!

And the most surprising news is, Govt of India itself announces a $35 (Rs. 1,500) :shock: Tablet for students and under-previleiged.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/resources/article529944.ece
http://www.pcworld.in/news/indian-hrd-ministry-launches-rs1500-tablet-30322010

Does anyone has doubt that tablet is next revolution?

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

1st August 2010, 01:02 PM

Epic Browser (Beta version) - First Indigenous Website of our Country with multi tasking features upto 20 tabs...

Can be downloaded @ www.epicbrowser.com/

~ the first-ever web browser for India

~ the world's only sidebar apps browser

~ antivirus scanner, word processor, 1500+ more apps

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

1st August 2010, 01:14 PM

[tscii:ef4f356628]Now Indian Epic seeks to retell browser tales

Will the Indian browser craft a new Epic?

India Inc. probably has one more achievement in the information technology sector. Epic, the country's first browser launched recently in Bangalore, is the brainchild of Alok Bhardwaj, CEO, and Tejas Vyas, Chief Tech Lead, Hidden Reflex. The two-year-old company is aware of the stiff competition in the browser world and banks on a wide range of India specifics that form the core features of Epic. Besides being Made in India,' Epic has a range of features that may attract the Indian web-users.

The developers claim that it is the world's only free browser with anti-virus built in. The security apart, Epic boasts of a sidebar, which Mr. Bhardwaj refers to as the multi-tasking sidebar.' This provides tabs for 20 various tasks, from logging on to Gmail, playing games to simply changing the skin' of the browser. Epic comes with 1,500 different India-specific themes' and wallpapers that can be added.One even has the option of typing in 12 different Indian languages, besides Russian, Nepali, Greek and Arabic, and use it for emailing or uploading on any site. Indian languages, including Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Urdu and Punjabi, are available. This may help to spread awareness of the Internet, but at the moment it is merely a typing device. It would have been a leap, if they had given an option of converting web-pages into those languages (at least one or two, to start with).

This is now possible with various free applications available on the web. Hidden Reflex's partnership with Web 18 enables Epic to have news headlines and the top 10 in music charts, among other things, as part of the sidebar application.

The company also claims to have built in a word processor in the browser. Epic is going to give the competition a tough time, says Mr. Bhardwaj. It uses less memory than Google Chrome and is tested to be faster than Mozilla Firefox. According to the Acid 3 test, a test page from the Web Standards Project, Epic scores 91/100 compared with Mozilla and Chrome, which scored 93. In the months to come, Hidden Reflex plans to get more Indian content, facilitate the use of more languages and get more live TV on Epic.

:arrow: http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/article544756.ece[/tscii:ef4f356628]

sathya_1979

1st August 2010, 01:19 PM

Browser's look and feel is good with number of apps in the side bar. Have to test for perf and security.

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

1st August 2010, 03:41 PM

I have a doubt ! Which is the best browser in terms of secutriy and speed ?? I know Flock, Mozilla, Chrome, Opera .. Are there other browsers ??

PARAMASHIVAN

11th August 2010, 05:30 PM

Coming to this mobile phones ......

any one got this Apple iPhones ??? such as Apple iphone 4 ??

Is it a touch screen system ? does it have an MP3 player or sat nav ???

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/APPLE-IPHONE4-32GB-O2/MONTHLY?src=dealFinder&tariffContract=&tariffNetworks=&tariffCost=&gift=

pls let me know if any one has used it ?

app_engine

11th August 2010, 07:16 PM

Param,
All iPhones are touch screen & have music player / camera built-in.

Also, I haven't seen any who uses iPhone without basic web features (mail / browser etc)

PARAMASHIVAN

11th August 2010, 07:36 PM

Param,
All iPhones are touch screen & have music player / camera built-in.

Also, I haven't seen any who uses iPhone without basic web features (mail / browser etc)

Ok, but they are compatible with PCs right?

I am aware some of them come with 5 Mega pixel camera, but do they come with Sat Nav (GPS) ?

Nerd

11th August 2010, 07:53 PM

Also, I haven't seen any who uses iPhone without basic web features (mail / browser etc)
You can't use it without basic web features in the USA. I mean you could choose not to, but its mandatory that you buy the web-unlimited plan for 30 bucks a month.

iPhones come with GPS, yes. The latest iPhone (4) has a 5.0MP camera. The older ones have a 2.0 MP camera. And the iPhones are compatible only with iTunes (except when you just want to copy pictures), both PC and Mac.

app_engine

11th August 2010, 07:55 PM

Ok, but they are compatible with PCs right?

புரியலை :-(

It's a cell phone and not a personal computer - how can it be "compatible"?

If you mean whether "some" files (music / pics / video) can be moved around, yes, but not all types.

OTOH, if you asked whether applications that run on PC can also run on iPhone, a big NO. iPhones need their own applications.

I am aware some of them come with 5 Mega pixel camera, but do they come with Sat Nav (GPS) ?

The initial ones had only maps on web but no navigation.

The 3G ones should have navigation (I haven't seen any of my friends / associates use this yet).

PARAMASHIVAN

11th August 2010, 08:01 PM

Ok, but they are compatible with PCs right?

புரியலை :-(

App na

What I meant was you can connect to PC using a USB and download images, music.contacts that sort of thing right ?

Nerd

You mentioned iphones are only compatible with itunes, does that mean iphone will not be compatible for mp3 format :roll:

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

11th August 2010, 08:01 PM

Global Tablets so far
Apple Ipad - Crossed 3 Million in Volume Sales, ONLY successful tablet, competitors are far behind. Starts from $499 to $829. Apple iOS, iTunes

JooJoo Tablet - Founded by an Indian, Almost Flop.

Announced ones:-
LG, Samsung, Sharp(Consumer Electronics)
Lenova, HP, Acer(Mainly Laptops, and some other categories)
Microsoft (Operating Systems Major)
Blackberry, Motorola(Handsets and Misc Products)

Indian Tablets so far

Infibeam Pi - 6 inch e-Reader - Rs. 10000
Infibeam Phi - 7 inch color Android & Windows version Rs.15000
EC Media Wink 6 inch eReader - Rs.8000
EC Media Wink 9.7 inch eReader - Rs.22000
Olive Media OlivePad 7 inch Android with 3G Phone function - Rs.22000
iProf 7 inch Student Tablet - Rs.22000 (Education Courses - Rs. 30000)
Indian Govt's Proposed Tablet which will NEVER release :lol: - Rs.1500
Notion Ink 10 Inch Tablet(Release date unknown) - Price unknown. shud be less than iPad Basic version

None of this tablet is a big success (except Notion Ink which is not released, but on huge buzz and hype) but all this shows India too is innovating :thumbsup:

app_engine

11th August 2010, 08:27 PM

You can't use it without basic web features in the USA. I mean you could choose not to, but its mandatory that you buy the web-unlimited plan for 30 bucks a month.

What you say is correct for new phones / connections. "Hand me downs" and such used ones can be used without that extra charge as they accept the sim card and can be used on a traditional subscription.

app_engine

11th August 2010, 08:32 PM

does that mean iphone will not be compatible for mp3 format :roll:

iPhone can play mp3 (like iPod / iPad). One connects to the PC on USB to "sync" with iTunes and such stuff.

(I'm not very clear about this whole thingy - as all this playing around is done by my 17 yr old and I personally do not venture into such. :oops: Nerd's posts are authentic unlike my second hand ones)

PARAMASHIVAN

11th August 2010, 08:33 PM

Ok thanks app annEh

app_engine

11th August 2010, 08:38 PM

Another thing, the boys (my son / classmates) are mostly Apple fans and feverishly talk about how they did "jail-break" their iPhones / iPads etc.

Initally I was worried as to whether these are getting into some illegal stuff. Questioned them about it and apparently it could at the max jeopardize Apple's warranty agreement but not violating any state laws. ("jail-breaking" enables one to get apps on the Apple device cheaply or freely from anywhere, otherwise apps had to be bought at higher prices from Apple / its auth sources it seems)

I was relieved.

Nerd

11th August 2010, 08:51 PM

PARAMASHIVAN

11th August 2010, 08:56 PM

Oh thanks Nerd

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

11th August 2010, 10:58 PM

Nerd

You mentioned iphones are only compatible with itunes, does that mean iphone will not be compatible for mp3 format :roll:

What I meant was you have to have the iTunes software installed to upload/download music, contacts, videos, pictures etc from/to the iPhone. Once you have that software (which is free of course) you can do the synch in windows/mac etc.
though i have not used iphone i think the following is correct:-

if you buy an iPhone in US, there are high chances that you subscribe a 3G DataPlan which you can use to browse internet and check mails. So in the case of iPhone and iPad, once you connect to internet, you can download content directly from itunes to your device, without a PC. Whereas if you want to transfer your own photos videos or music, from PC, then itunes is the only way to put them to your iPhone

As 3G is available in India, as of now only BSNL, you can connect your iPhone to internet, in India too. By this year end, most of the other players too will offer 3G. Even otherwise, GPRS (somewhat faster nowadays) will work.

In US, the whole country has public-paid Wi-Fi Network(i think GPRS is out of date )Now, this is coming in India too, test drive starting in Bangalore this year

rami

12th August 2010, 12:29 PM

www.zoho.com A good site with a free unlimited email storage with unlimited POP accounts combined with a host of other cloud based products.. :thumbsup:

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

12th August 2010, 01:23 PM

ZOHO is kinda alternative for google office. quite popular among corporates, those on the move etc

PARAMASHIVAN

12th August 2010, 04:46 PM

[tscii:ae27017064]This touch screen mechanism on Apple iphones, is it good? I mean what if you get scratches on the screen? And does it come with a ‘pen’??

I personally find them annoying

[/tscii:ae27017064]

app_engine

12th August 2010, 05:21 PM

[tscii:9caef9d458]This touch screen mechanism on Apple iphones, is it good? I mean what if you get scratches on the screen? And does it come with a ‘pen’??

I personally find them annoying

[/tscii:9caef9d458]

No "pen" or sharp pressure for iPhone - actually, the touchscreen in phenomenal!

It won't function properly if you use your "nails" - I believe it works on thermal sensing and only "simple touch" will work:-)

The only complaint I've ever heard about iPhones is the battery time - which is not an issue if one has a habit of plugging it to the power outlet each night.

Apple's touchscreen is "touch wood" :-)

Kambar_Kannagi

12th August 2010, 05:23 PM

Anyone here using WePad? Heard it's better than iPad...

app_engine

12th August 2010, 05:24 PM

PARAMASHIVAN

12th August 2010, 06:54 PM

[tscii:77c58cd2af]This touch screen mechanism on Apple iphones, is it good? I mean what if you get scratches on the screen? And does it come with a ‘pen’??

I personally find them annoying

[/tscii:77c58cd2af]

No "pen" or sharp pressure for iPhone - actually, the touchscreen in phenomenal!

It won't function properly if you use your "nails" - I believe it works on thermal sensing and only "simple touch" will work:-)

The only complaint I've ever heard about iPhones is the battery time - which is not an issue if one has a habit of plugging it to the power outlet each night.

Apple's touchscreen is "touch wood" :-)

thanks na

I am going to get this iphone next month :P

PARAMASHIVAN

12th August 2010, 06:56 PM

In London (central london,city) Wi-Fi is available any where :P

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

12th August 2010, 07:19 PM

In US, the whole country has public-paid Wi-Fi Network

இல்லீங்க :-(

Some counties / states tried to provide. Few of them backtracked as well.

However, one can walk into any McDonalds kind of establishment and use their free wi-fi. oh ok, my personal experience is within silicon valley, and heard that its available everywhere, so just took that word!

i wonder why its needed, when 3G is much faster and superior

Nerd

13th August 2010, 09:15 PM

i wonder why its needed, when 3G is much faster and superior
And actually 3G is not available nationwide too. The 'Edge' network (in AT&T terms) is available everywhere except when you go hiking etc :-)

And as a-e says, iPhone touchscreen is phenomenal. Nowadays all smartphones are multi-touch as in you can have more than one finger on the touchscreen to do different things. Pens/styluses are things of the past :-)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

14th August 2010, 09:45 AM

Pens are made a things of past becos MSFT didnt take it right way. there were other factors which helped the msft tablet flop - bulky, heat, etc.

I actually see a need for stylus in both smartpones and tablets. Today, a graphic artist cant use them in a tablet or smartpone. He has to go ONLY to a PC with Mouse or graphic tablet

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

15th August 2010, 05:50 PM

[tscii:c344076421]Attack of the 'iPad-Killers' — 32 Tablets, Slates, Pads and More (http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,203265/printable.html)[/tscii:c344076421]

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

15th August 2010, 11:50 PM

In US, the whole country has public-paid Wi-Fi Network(i think GPRS is out of date )Now, this is coming in India too, test drive starting in Bangalore this year

:shock: Wow !!! wii-fii , faster downloads, :slurp:

PARAMASHIVAN

16th August 2010, 06:52 PM

Talk about 3D alarm clocks!!!

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2554138/Trail/searchtext%3EALARM+CLOCK.htm

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

1st September 2010, 04:28 PM

Following Infibeam ( Pi Ebook reader (http://www.infibeam.com/Pi) / Phi Color Tablet (http://www.infibeam.com/Pi)) and Olive Meida ( Olive Tablet 3G (http://www.olivetelecom.in/laptop/olivepad/)), now DC Books (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Books) the popular publishing house from Kerala has come up with eBook Reader named Wink - https://www.thewinkstore.com

Even if they are not OEM and buying from outright, this move has to be appreciated. India is changing...

app_engine

1st September 2010, 10:25 PM

Started with a new client few days back and the Siemens IP phone is quite interesting (somewhat different from the Cisco one I've used earlier).

The funny thing is "optical" hook switch :-)

During a conversation, I tried to wipe the "perceived dust" on the phone and disconnected the call :-( It's then that I realized there's no mechanical hookswitch but an invisible light & a photosensor.

Sanjeevi

1st September 2010, 10:30 PM

Anyone here using WePad? Heard it's better than iPad...

Don't know about WePad till now. But what a competitive name to iPad :lol:

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

5th September 2010, 06:32 PM

WePAd is a german tablet, based on Intel Atom.

http://wepad-tablet-pc.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/product_specifications_WePad_version1.5_100419.pdf

Though its android based, the Atom cpu will drain the battery soon. Moreover, the price is also costly, and Android Market wont come officially to any of those Android tablets, so the lakhs of apps are inaccessible and one has to rely on thirdparty and alternative markets(like SlideMe) though its not at all bad, the US IT fellas will dislike an android product without official appstore.

In India, the situation is different....

As of now, there is no release date for WePad, so it looks vaporous, like many other android tablet announcements.

On other hand, Samsung has released it tablet just recently and THoshiba showcased its tablet which was in long announcement. Both are getting quite disappointing reviews...

sathya_1979

5th September 2010, 07:05 PM

Advice / Input required on buying USB Data Card for my laptop for 2-3 months in which I will be shuttling between Chennai and Bangalore - MTS / Reliance / Tata Photon / Airtel. Which wud be better?

Mukzi

5th September 2010, 10:57 PM

I didn't know a better place to post this articlee
the Top Ten Part College's in the USA!!
my picks..University of Wisconsin

http://www.playboy.com/articles/top-party-schools-2010-top-10/index.html

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

5th September 2010, 11:21 PM

Advice / Input required on buying USB Data Card for my laptop for 2-3 months in which I will be shuttling between Chennai and Bangalore - MTS / Reliance / Tata Photon / Airtel. Which wud be better?
go to http://www.indiabroadband.net/ and read reviews, then u can decide

sathya_1979

5th September 2010, 11:24 PM

Thanks Sakala!

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

6th September 2010, 03:35 PM

Olive pad EXCLUSIVE review only on TECHGURU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulTB-JZYw6Y

sathya_1979

6th September 2010, 07:27 PM

Took Tata Photon+ today. MaraNa fast. Liked it, idhuvaraikkum. fingers crossed

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

19th September 2010, 12:59 AM

[tscii:62bb2af8f4]
Gorgeous Gizmos : Five gadgets to set your pulse racing

Sunny Sen

For business or pleasure? Both, actually. It turns out that the five gadgets that finally made it to the top of our list are not the most expensive in the market, but are popular because they work when you work, and play when you play. So, here goes.

Bang & Olufsen’s (B&O) latest in world-class music systems is BeoSound 5 — a modern day jukebox that features ‘MOTS’ (More Of The Same) intelligent playlist technology. MOTS is an intuitive graphical user interface, which is able to capture the unique musical identity of a track, and then create a playlist of similar music. Besides, it has a 500-GB in-built memory and can be connected to the Internet. The BeoSound 5 will leave you lighter by Rs 4,50,000, but richer for the experience.

And for your visual senses, the idiot box in its new avatar is a piece of technological art. At 7.98 mm, the Samsung LED Full HD 9000 series is the world’s slimmest full high-definition LED television. It has a chic touchscreen remote control with a three-inch display that comes with Twin View, allowing you to watch television and DVD titles simultaneously. Further, its Qwerty keyboard allows you to update social networking sites. The not-so-cheap Rs 4.4-lakh television set has speakers mounted on stands and a built-in tuner. It is also equipped with four HDMI ports, including a USB port.

In the cut-throat world of high-end touchscreen mobile phones, the Apple iPhone 4 remains the patriarch of stylish, sexy handsets. This phone sports a new design as well as the latest version of Apple’s iPhone operating system — iOS4. Its display with 960x640 pixel resolution makes movies a visual treat. The new phone has a longer battery life and allows high-definition video recording. Moreover, with the new Face Time application, you can also video conference. The iPhone 4 comes in two versions of memory capacity — 16 GB for $199 and 32 GB for $299.

Anything from the Apple stable creates waves and the Apple iPad is no exception. Priced between $499 and $699, the tablet PC got rave reviews globally and is considered a usurper to the netbook throne. The iPad concentrates on communication on the move such as Web surfing and gaming. It is also a wonderful e-reader and the 9.7-inch LED backlit display makes it easy on the eyes. The iPad is well integrated with all Apple applications and comes with memory versions from 16 GB to 64 GB.

If you are a photography buff, the Leica M9 camera has to be on your must-have list. Weighing just 593 gm, it has an easy-to-use viewfinder and a simplified menu, making it faster and easier to use. The M9’s digital sensor rangefinder coupled with enhanced optics gives superb results. All Leica lenses are compatible with the M9, but one has to buy the lenses separately. So the M9 is definitely a good buy if you already have a Leica lens or if you are ready to spend another few lakhs for one. The camera itself costs around Rs 3.6 lakh, but for the truly passionate, no price is too high for a good camera.

www.businessworld.in/bw/2010_09_18_Gorgeous_Gizmos.html [/tscii:62bb2af8f4]

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

20th September 2010, 05:37 PM

ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar

1st October 2010, 10:26 PM

@ Saka - I'm not willing to buy a tablet. One reason that i can say - Can't have multiple tabs in a single browser as mentioned above...

Well... I would like to know some good sites for free blogging... I know Blogger but it's very difficult to post through mobile... I have an account in wordpress but dunno how to use it... Any good mobile blogging site pls ???

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

4th October 2010, 04:21 PM

no idea, check is blogger is in google apps. if so, a mobile blogging site shud be available in android phone.

did anybody try Spice HotSPot Mobile? Excellent specs, android phone @ 10K

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

19th October 2010, 12:42 AM

Any good mobile blogging site pls ???

http://www.blogger.com/mobile-start.g

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

19th October 2010, 12:43 AM

[tscii:ffa6c06a1a]http://blog.acyut.com/?p=217
http://blog.acyut.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/100_0383.jpg

AcYut : India’s First Indigenously developed humanoid
Just another robot by BITS - Pilani
[/tscii:ffa6c06a1a]

PARAMASHIVAN

29th October 2010, 08:53 PM

has any one got / used the Nokia N8 ? it is supposed to be the world's best Camera phone with 12 Mega Pixels, and 16GB of memory !

Any good ? :roll:

sathya_1979

14th November 2010, 11:00 AM

My laptop is not having HDMI output. Can somebody help me on how do I interface this with my LCD TV's HDMI input?

Dhakshan

14th November 2010, 11:15 AM

Am planning to buy a graphic card for my PC.. Minimum 512 mb.. My system configuration is
* 1 gb ddr2 ram
* Intel 945 Mother board
* Pentium D processor

Suggestions plz :D

Benny Lava

14th November 2010, 11:45 AM

My laptop is not having HDMI output. Can somebody help me on how do I interface this with my LCD TV's HDMI input?

Sathya, one option would be to use s-video to composite (RCA connectors) cables. If your TV has a VGA input you can use VGA to VGA cable. Since your laptop doesn't have HDMI output these are the best options available I think.

Benny Lava

14th November 2010, 08:36 PM

Many of us wud have seen this commercial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e16gkiRaGxk&feature=related

Katrina is shown holding an iPad having a video chat with her friend.

Read below and then answer few questions about tablets: -

Kindly bear in mind that Tablets are not PC Replacements as of now, they are mainly media consumption devices - Movies, Music, Photos, Check Mails, Browse, Games, Newspapers, Maps, Tons of Mobile Apps etc

Whats not possible with Tablets:-
Running a Word Processor, Spreadsheet, development(coding or Animation, Graphics) Opening Multiple tabs in Browser, Opening Multiple Applications/Windows(Multitasting) Power Games demanding high end graphics

How many of you like to buy a tablet?
What features would you like to have in Tablet?
What will be the price range you are willing to spend for tablets?

Actually not all of the above are correct. There are a variety of apps available to do word processing, spreadsheet etc., at least in ipad. And they are capable of delivering powerful graphics based applications, they are quite impressive . My iPhone safari used to have multiple tabs right from IOS 3.1 so I don't think iPad or other Tablets would miss that feature.

Few things I would like to see in Tablets are:
1. USB port (Right now only HP Slate promised to include this. Even Samsung Galaxy tab doesn't seem to have it). I can use USB modems for high speed internet connection, at least until 3G becomes common or cheaper.
2. Smaller size for ease of use (I heard Galaxy tab has the perfect size to hold in one hand)
3. Flash video playback. I miss it a lot on iPhone. Funnily even html5 videos don't play. I don't know whether it is a problem with my device or anything else. Android tablets are the way to go here.
4. Standardized ports. Similar to point 1 above, these devices need to find a way to have standard interfaces. Each proprietary ports and cables aren't making users life any easier while on the go. You feel screwed up for a while if you lose or misplace your connector. A standard port like USB or Firewire makes it much more user friendly.
5. The prices have to come down more :mrgreen:

Plum

24th November 2010, 11:36 PM

Need recos on digital video cams
Requirement
Simple home videos to be recorded and stored
Compact to carry
Ease of use in recording, charging battery, transferring to hard drive, lesser the wires and connections the better
Storage capacity
Video_->digital format - storage rrquirements?
Utilitarianism preferred over fancy features barring clarity and picture quality

app_engine

24th November 2010, 11:39 PM

venkkiram

25th November 2010, 12:54 AM

littlemaster1982

25th November 2010, 11:12 PM

Plum,

Check this (http://www.sony.co.in/product/dcr-sr68e) one. Best bet, if you ask me.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

5th January 2011, 11:43 PM

Most of the gadget freaks in the world are anxious about Notion Ink's Adam Tablet. Indians are happily excited as this is an Indian Startup. This tablet is touted by section of fans and media as iPad killer or competitor.

After lots of hiccups past year, finally they are launching Adam this CES 2011, the mother of all tech events, which happens in Silicon Valley, California.

http://www.slashgear.com/notion-ink-adam-hands-on-at-ces-2011-05123431/
http://notionink.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/ces-here-we-are

app_engine

6th January 2011, 10:13 PM

Chrysler's Town & Country minivan has one cool feature with the central console LCD.

When your gear is in 'Park' position, you can watch movies :-)

This is actually the 3rd screen in the vehicle as the 2nd & 3rd rows have their own screens to watch either same or two different movies.

Recently I had to wait for an hour (child sleeping and other co-travellers doing shopping) and didn't have to "go" to the 2nd row seat to watch the movie but could do it sitting in the driver's seat :-)

PARAMASHIVAN

5th February 2011, 05:52 PM

Folks

I have Nokia N8 Phone, I downloaded some MP3 files to my PC, then tried to copy the files to the phone (when phone is connected to my PC via USB) , but it does not let me drag and drop the MP3 from my pc to the phone, in fact it does not allow me to copy any files? pls help

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

15th June 2011, 02:37 AM

HRD Minister announced last year that govt is gonna release an ultra cheap subsidized tablet for education, popularly called and ridiculed as $35 Tablet. Its original name is Sakshat tablet. It seems this is not a vaporvare as ridiculed. Its going to be released for 1st batch. Suppose if this comes true, then its a really great achievement, even if the quality of the tablet device is low profile. Because, edu-tablets didn't catch up even in 1st world countries, best example being the MIT's OLPC(One Laptop Per Child).

Govt to begin field trial of low-cost computer soon (http://www.deccanherald.com/content/167412/govt-begin-field-trial-low.html)

As part of its plan to make available low cost computers to all the secondary and higher level students, the Centre will soon launch the field trial of 1 lakh such computers in the country.

Making a presentation on the low cost access-cum-computing devise at a meeting of State Education Ministers here, presided over by Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, a HRD official said arrangements were being made to procure about one lakh such computers. These devises would be made available to the states within three months for their distribution among students for “field trial”, the official added.
On the basis of the feedback of the field trial, the computers will be made available for distribution among students under National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology. The HRD Ministry has already released Rs 47.72 crore to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rajasthan, for acquisition and testing of the 8.9×7-inch touch-screen computer and optimization of their hardware and software.
Under the scheme, low cost computing devise would be made available to all the students, from secondary to higher level, by sharing fifty per cent of the total cost.
The tablet computing devise, weighing about 1.5 kilogramme, has been developed jointly by Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur, Delhi and Jodhpur. The mini computer with network connectivity using WiFi and three-hours of battery back up will come with a price tag of around $ 35.

Remember Government’s $35 Tablet? Launches This June [Will Cost Rs. 2,200/] (http://www.pluggd.in/35-laptop-launch-date-297/)

Remember the $35 tablet from Indian government? The project has gone through its own yo-yo cycle with government canceling the tender and delaying the project by more than 6 months.

The good news is that there is a light at the end of this tunnel and early this month, government announced that 10,000 (Sakshat) tablet will be delivered to IIT-Rajasthan in late June and over the next four months 90,000 more would be made available at a price of Rs 2,200/device.

Government will subsidize the cost by 50%, so a student would have to pay only Rs. 1,100/ for the device (though it’s hard to believe that the actual cost price of device is only Rs. 2,200/).

Features
7 ‘’ Touch-screen
2 USB ports
32GB HD
2 GB RAM
Video-conferencing facility
Multimedia content
Like we said earlier, we are ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the device and we certainly hope that this project lives up to its expectation.

If executed well, this can drastically change the way education is imparted and importantly, open up plethora of possibilities for startups/technology companies to build products around the education ecosystem.

Even though the present Congress govt is being a damp squib spoiler in case of corruption, and bad law & order, some things it does like these are to be highly appreciated without second thought. There is a huge difference btw a govt giving free rice/televisions and (almost free) low-cost tablet computer to poor students. Tablets are gonna be the alternative to PC and laptops. In future tablet devices computing power is gonna rise and at one stage surpass the computing power of PC and yet stay much thinner, lightweight and easy to carry form-factor, with more battery life. Lets hope this yields lots of good to the student generation :D

India’s own iPad (http://www.businessreviewindia.in/technology/tablet-computers-in-india)

Several global manufacturers have stated that it is actually impossible to make such a tablet PC just for $35. But after giving the world the cheapest car, the Tata Nano, at $2, 000 or Rs. 1 lakh, it is hardly surprising that the government took up this tablet challenge and emerged victorious too.

The govt also has wikipedia entry for the tablet - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakshat

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

15th June 2011, 02:43 AM

No more paperwork: BPL, caste survey go the tablet way (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-more-paperwork-bpl-caste-survey-go-the-tablet-way/796933/0)
In the first large-scale use of the $35 tablet PC unveiled by HRD Minister Kapil Sibal in July last year for Indian students, the government will deploy over six lakh of these units loaded with Google’s Android 2.2 operating system during the BPL survey and caste census later this year.
The machine will use Java-based user interface software linked to SQLite back-end database to store information that will capture the socio-economic profile of over 200 million households as part of the two surveys.

“The open source system reduces a lot of cost from this exercise,” Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee, engaged by the Ministry of Rural Development for this technical work, told The Indian Express.

This touch-screen tablet PC will be clubbed with an external keyboard along with a spare battery back-up of 10 hours to work in different situations across the country. A solar cell will charge the spare batteries while operating the device.

Hopefully govt/private sectors introduces tablets in lot more other works so that it speeds and eases the work.

Our own Tamilnadu govt has an excellent oppurtunity before it, Instead of giving laptops, i guess students can be awarded tablets!

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

16th June 2011, 05:04 PM

Anybody owning Android phone? I recently brought Dell XCD35, superb phone. Display is exact equivalent to iPhone.

app_engine

16th June 2011, 07:12 PM

Anybody owning Android phone?

Using the xperia (Sony Ericsson, 3G type) for quite a while, BestBuy gave for $0.01 with AT&T upgrade :-) More or less like the iPhone...

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

16th June 2011, 10:54 PM

thats a nice, costly phone! mine is 10K INR but more value for money :D

app, what r ur fav apps? search for 'tamil' in market, u will get 2 gems :)

1) https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mv.android.thirukkural&feature=search_result
2) https://market.android.com/details?id=com.byminerva.soundboard.goundamani&feature=search_result

SoftSword

22nd June 2011, 10:19 PM

me havin a HTC desire, and i have developed the habit of reading the boxes and understanding the posts based on the emoticons used.

San_K

22nd June 2011, 10:23 PM

Anybody owning Android phone? I recently brought Dell XCD35, superb phone. Display is exact equivalent to iPhone.

Mine is HTC wildfire S :)

SoftSword

22nd June 2011, 10:26 PM

enna prachinai'naa... main problem is the battery...

Balaji.r

23rd June 2011, 12:07 PM

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

23rd June 2011, 01:35 PM

me havin a HTC desire, and i have developed the habit of reading the boxes and understanding the posts based on the emoticons used.

No more reading boxes if u follow this - http://www.mayyam.com/talk/showthread.php?9372-%E0%AE%87%E0%AE%A3%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%A4%E0%A F%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B4%E0%AF%8D&p=701238&viewfull=1#post701238

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

23rd June 2011, 01:38 PM

Mine is HTC wildfire S :) Nice phone :)

Comparing ur costly phone with my budget phone, except for the CPU & Camera, mostly its same :wink:
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3077&idPhone2=3623

groucho070

23rd June 2011, 01:49 PM

Xperia. If you use app a lot, battery gets sucked up pretty fast. I guess it's the usage.

SoftSword

23rd June 2011, 04:08 PM

No more reading boxes if u follow this - http://www.mayyam.com/talk/showthread.php?9372-%E0%AE%87%E0%AE%A3%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%A4%E0%A F%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B4%E0%AF%8D&p=701238&viewfull=1#post701238

danks pa...

SoftSword

23rd June 2011, 04:08 PM

Nice phone :)

Comparing ur costly phone with my budget phone, except for the CPU & Camera, mostly its same :wink:
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3077&idPhone2=3623

neenga wildfire'nu solli desire compare pannirukeenga...
adhu nambaldhu...

mostly same?

desire has 3.7 inch screen,
- Gorilla Glass display
- Multi-touch input method
- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- Optical trackpad
- HTC Sense UI

- 576 MB ram

- storage upto 32gb and 4gb included

- upgradable OS

- Digital compass
- Dedicated search key
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail
- YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration
- MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA9 player
- MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV9 player
- Facebook, Flickr, Twitter applications
- Voice memo

ivlo irukku... neenga epdi almost same'nu sollalaam... :)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

23rd June 2011, 05:27 PM

Only these are unique differences btw ur model and mine, kindly see my comments in blue

desire has 3.7 inch screen, - nice :)
- Gorilla Glass display - i have a screen protector :wink:
- HTC Sense UI - Cyanogenmod gives you many UI themes
- Dedicated search key - not a mandatory, still can manage
- Optical trackpad - nice feature :)

- Multi-touch input method

Below items are present in Dell XCD35 too, kindly see comments again

- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate - yes sir!
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - yes sir!

- 576 MB ram - yes sir!
- storage upto 32gb and 4gb included - yes sir, 2gb full!
- upgradable OS - yes sir!
- Digital compass - yes sir!
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail - yes sir!
- YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration - yes sir!
- MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA9 player - yes sir!
- MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV9 player - yes sir!
- Facebook, Flickr, Twitter applications - yes sir!
- Voice memo - yes sir!

There are some feature which ur mobile has but mine doesn't has. GSMArena has skipped them too :lol: For example, urs has LED flash, mine doesn't have. Urs has 5 MP Camera, mine is only 3.2 MP that too not good quality.

Exactly what model os wild fire u have.
HTC Wildfire 6225/ADR6225,
HTC Wildfire A3333,
HTC Wildfire S A510E,
T-Mobile HTC Wildfire S,
Telstra HTC Wildfire A3335

gsm arena is not complete in comparisions

http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdacomparer&id1=2611&id2=2125&id3=2783&id4=2885&id5=2664&id6=2712 - This is the ultimate comparision website, developers use. You can compare 40 mobiles at once! Even thats not 100 % perfect.

And, i have upgraded my mobile with Cyanogenmod so that now its Android 2.3, where i can overclock the cpu from 600 to 800 mhz. there are much more features in cyanogen, though its a warranty void

SoftSword

23rd June 2011, 05:34 PM

sakala... ungalukku 256 ram dhanae...
and is it a multitouch input?
also, the htc sense ui is not only for display.. its for taking inputs with intelli touch.
one more imp thing is wifi hotspot... this is very useful cos, i can connect to my mobile internet and host a hotspot for my laptop to connect thru wifi... in places where i don hav internet.

innoru mukkiyamaana feature...
internet use panna 2 hrs ku mela battery setthudum :)
maybe this problem is only with my battery...

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

23rd June 2011, 05:42 PM

Xperia. If you use app a lot, battery gets sucked up pretty fast. I guess it's the usage.

You can use the System Task manager to kill the unwanted tasks that run in background. Problem with android is it won't kill the apps you closed, and they will needlessly keep running in background. If not, try some 'task killer' apps in market.

Cyanogenmod has task killers which you can optimize very deep but installing that voids ur warranty

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

23rd June 2011, 06:11 PM

sakala... ungalukku 256 ram dhanae... in reality its 512 but half the mem is locked, it can be unlocked
- see here (http://wiki.modaco.com/index.php/ZTE_Blade#How_to_unlock_all_512MB_RAM.3F) -

RAM: 512 MB some variants only have 256 MB accessible (there is a hack that can upgrade these to 512)

How to unlock all 512MB RAM?
Some (few) devices come with 256MB of the RAM inaccessible. See the forum thread to unlock the rest of the RAM.

and is it a multitouch input? Most android phones are NOT multitouch. they are dual touch! My phone is dual touch. I can pinch zoom photos, maps etc with two fingers, but not more than two! Kindly see below

this is multitouch
http://rockstar.99k.org/image/multitouch2.jpg

this is NOT multitouch, just dual touch
http://cdn.androidcommunity.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/1-12-09-g1-multitouch.jpg

This app tells if ur phone is truely multitouch or not - Multitouch Visible Test (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.batterypoweredgames.mtvistest)

one more imp thing is wifi hotspot..- In my android 2.2, dell customized and added both USB thetering and wifi hotspot. i hav put 3g sim and can use it as a hotspot to browse in my laptop

Except camera, minor diff in screen size, trackball/LED Flash, HTC sense etc, there aren't much hardware differences, given that one hacks the Dell XCD35 with cyanogenmod to make full use of the hardware (though i agree that it voids warranty and most of the end users wont prefer modding, as they ear of bricking the device)

SoftSword

23rd June 2011, 06:18 PM

one prob is, i dono where to disable to gmail sync...
time and again it notifies sayin cannot connect.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

23rd June 2011, 06:26 PM

SS, go to settings -> Accounts & sync -> You will find ur gmail/twitter/facebook id's listed there under "Manage Accounts". Select ur gmail id, u will find the second option, uncheck the "Sync Gmail". It will stop syncing.

What is ur model, exactly. And hav u tested multitouch?(I mean, can u use more than 2 fingers at a taime, on ur touchscreen? )

sathya_1979

23rd June 2011, 06:29 PM

I am not comfortable with touch phones (old age :roll: ) Need inputs on good QWERTY SmartPhones with Nice video and Audio Playback and for browsing. No Samsung products pls. I hate Samsung
I dnt play games, maybe few apps for news reading, scores, dilbert, social networking

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

23rd June 2011, 06:31 PM

Blackberry torch!

sathya_1979

23rd June 2011, 06:33 PM

Blackberry Video / Audio nallaa irukkumaa

SoftSword

23rd June 2011, 06:35 PM

sakala... adhellam panniyaachu... appovum koovikite irukku...
sari adha vidunga...
mine is android 2.2 htc desire
multitouch try pannala... veetla poi panren.

sathya... go for blackberry.
it has bbm, blackberry messaging thru which u can be connected with other bbm users...
u can always stay in touch.

sathya_1979

23rd June 2011, 06:35 PM

sakala or Sathya?

sathya_1979

23rd June 2011, 06:37 PM

Ok, thanks

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

23rd June 2011, 08:11 PM

Blackberry torch, audio video ellaam problem e illai. only problem is price, Rs.32 K! Best thing is go to blackberry showroom and see if it suits you. before that one shud remember blackberry phones are not very popular for entertainment, rather they are mainly meant for official/business purposes. You can carry ur whole mailbox for free, lots of corporate features, excellent support, tried and tested softwares which does not hang/leave u in confusion etc.,

There r ppl who NEVER like qwerty phones at all, i am one such! (eventho i agree the easiness of typing text, when compared to touch ones)

Anyways, for those who want excellent touch screen phone with lots of entertainment feature, i would recommend mine - Dell XCD35.

Also, when considering among Android phones, and if your budget is around 10K, All these LG Optimus, Samsung galaxy, Sony Ericsson(X10 Mini/X8), Motorola (XT5), HTC Wildfire, all take a beating to Dell XCD35. The biggest highlight is that this 10K phone has a display exactly equal to iPhone3! ( 3.5 inches, 480 x 800 pixel resolution)

So you get a superb display, good cpu(600 Mhz) all the other goodies like Android 2.2, Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS, Accelerometer, Compass & proximity sensors, a decent camera, decent battery life, all in one package with a really impressive price.

Somehow, there is almost no publicity for this phone, when compared to LG, Samsung & Sony. Any mobile vendor dealing all this phones will tell you XCD35 has superior specs than these phones, be he is kinda being chased by the wholesale dealers of Samsung & LG for increasing sales whereas the Dell marketing dept is limiting itself only to laptops.

I brought this phone mainly for development/hacking purpose, as its a well hacked phone, but even from a lay consumer point of view, this phone has a great specs!

SoftSword

23rd June 2011, 08:18 PM

sakala...
explain more on business use and carry mailbox for free...
i hav heard everyone saying that, but don understand whats unique in that.

Also, when considering among Android phones, and if your budget is around 10K, All these LG Optimus, Samsung galaxy, Sony Ericsson(X10 Mini/X8), Motorola (XT5), HTC Wildfire, all take a beating to Dell XCD35. The biggest highlight is that this 10K phone has a display exactly equal to iPhone3! ( 3.5 inches, 480 x 800 pixel resolution)

So you get a superb display, good cpu(600 Mhz) all the other goodies like Android 2.2, Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS, Accelerometer, Compass & proximity sensors, a decent camera, decent battery life, all in one package with a really impressive price.

htc desire idhula enga varudhu?
cos it has a display better(3.7inch) than iphone(3.5inch).
it has a 720p resolution for video... i was shocked when i tried to play VTV song in youtube in my phone... it was crystal clear.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

23rd June 2011, 09:12 PM

Softsword, To explain in simple words, do you see ALL features in the mail app u see in android, similar to your gmail account u see in PC? Also gmail is not corporate mail client like outlook express. Blackberry is kinda 1st phone which actually created a category called smartphone. Not those crap HP PDAs etc. While BB has almost ALL useful features of a corporate mail packed onto the device, it also has excellent Backend support features in the Mail servers which are connected to the BB devices. Added to that, unmatched security, speed, stability, support and performance which are any day the top priorities of a Corporate Mailbox. All those features which existed in "Mail for PC & Servers" were recreated, for the 1st time, to devices, by BB. Its a pinoeer. Now compare that to open source, malware-prone Android where enterprise features are still catching up.

But for an average individual consumer aiming for entertainment, glamour and glitz, not too much worried about enterprise features, iPhone and Android offers best, while Android taking good share becos of its low cost price point.

Corporate mail is just ONE feature among the many other useful Enterprise services available on a BB. For example there are BB apps that can pass a search query to a million item db sitting on remote corporate server, which is almost impossible thru an Android Device.

htc desire idhula enga varudhu?
cos it has a display better(3.7inch) than iphone(3.5inch).
it has a 720p resolution for video... i was shocked when i tried to play VTV song in youtube in my phone... it was crystal clear.

HTC which is starting at Rs.22K, ithula ethukku varaNum? I was talking about 10K Range :)

SoftSword

23rd June 2011, 09:18 PM

but blackberry always irritates me with its qwerty keypad made for new born babies.
especially for those who hav flat fingers without nails.

app_engine

23rd June 2011, 11:53 PM

You can use the System Task manager to kill the unwanted tasks that run in background. Problem with android is it won't kill the apps you closed, and they will needlessly keep running in background. If not, try some 'task killer' apps in market.

Cyanogenmod has task killers which you can optimize very deep but installing that voids ur warranty

xperia comes with built-in talk killer sorry task killer app (at least mine had, which the best buy guy demo-ed while signing up).

Groucho,
What is the battery expectation? I've never had low-bat problem - at times me & my 5 yr old youtube for a couple of hours without problem...may be I have this habit of plugging into adapter each night...however, even when I forgot a couple of times, there was no low-batt issue at all for that day...

Above all, these phones can plug into any laptop and get charged (USB) ; also car chargers are sold at $ 0.99 in amazon.com...so, battery life should no longer be a consideration when picking a smartphone in the future...

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

25th June 2011, 12:09 AM

Essential Android Toolkit by CNet (http://download.cnet.com/android-starter-kit/?tag=mncol;txt)

5 Android apps that should be on every smartphone (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/5-android-apps-that-should-be-on-every-smartphone/3023?tag=nl.e539)

sathya_1979

25th June 2011, 09:07 PM

Anybody please suggest a nice Mp3 cutter joiner S/W? I tried a few, does not work out.

littlemaster1982

25th June 2011, 09:33 PM

Try Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/). This is actually a audio editing software, but should serve you for mp3 cutting/joining too.

sathya_1979

25th June 2011, 09:39 PM

nanRi hai Master

San_K

26th June 2011, 12:06 AM

Nice phone :)

Comparing ur costly phone with my budget phone, except for the CPU & Camera, mostly its same
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3077&idPhone2=3623

boss,

not much difference in cost too :)

Dell XCD - around 10K
HTC Wildfire - around 11.5K
HTC Wildfire S - around 13.5K

As a google admirer/fan, I wanted to buy an Android phone. I tried to buy a phone around 10K only and bought HTC wf S for 13.5K with free theft insurance :). Bangalore Sangeetha mobiles gives some offers (free insurance, gifts, lucky draw and 1 rupee margin sale :lol:) in its Chennai shops to catch 'the market'. I hesitated to buy a Dell brand phone since they are very new to mobile phone market.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

26th June 2011, 11:25 PM

https://market.android.com/details?id=net.xdevelop.rm&feature=search_result

Today, I downloaded this app 'Remote Web Desktop' from Android market. What an app! Control ur Android phone via PC's web browser! It was a very useful, interesting app wich you cannot close soon. Sending/Checking Msgs, using the PC Keyboard in places u need to type faster, using browser to see the screenshot before u take a snap, and that also gives you a chance for you to make the android phone 'see' itself!! mirrorring!! what an unthought possibility! I updated wallpaper, downloaded files, and sent messages. I wish if call making and true android UI emulation features are available! Also it would be nice if this app is open sourced too.

This feature may be available already in iOS devices, but what makes me happy is access such an app using a budget android phone(Dell XCD35/ZTE Blade), a feature, which is available in high end devices like Motorola Atrix! I wish the app dev, more success!

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

28th June 2011, 08:47 PM

Dual-core Android Smartphone Comparison Table
HTC EVO 3D | HTC EVO 4G+ X515E | HTC Holiday | LG P920 Optimus 3D | Samsung Galaxy S 2 Attain | HTC Sensation 4G (http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdacomparer&id1=2828&id2=2966&id3=2876&id4=2791&id5=2869&id6=2845)

All the 6 phones are power beasts, boasting dual core 1 GHz CPU. As of now, There is just no smartphones powerful than these, in the whole world. It will take some time for other phones, (even the ones from the above companies itself) to exceed this specs.

Imagine, just with an Android phone like dell XCD35 which runs at 600MHz, if you can control your Desktop(Windows/Mac/Linux) with app like this (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.teamviewer.teamviewer.market.mobile&feature=related_apps) & control your Smartphone on your Compute, with apps like this, (https://market.android.com/details?id=net.xdevelop.rm&feature=search_result) just imagine the processing power of the above mentioned rocking racers.

If you are happy with their Processing power but not satisfied with 4.3 inch display, try this - ARCHOS 101 G9 (https://store.archos.com/archos-p-5017.html) 10.1 inch tablet with Dual core 1.5 GHz CPU. 8 gb model expected at $399.

If you want to keep an eye on Dual core Android phones - http://www.engadget.com/tag/dualcore,smartphone

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

28th June 2011, 10:23 PM

Long ago, when i along with my friends decided to do a crazy academic project - throw empty boxes into electronic dustbin. It will scan the barcode of that product and order the same in supermarket, thru internet. Then i came to know similar crazy idea existed(only in theory) with some other friends in industry. Even now nobody attempted the crazy idea, but see this - Grocery iQ® for Android (http://www.groceryiq.com/mobile_android.aspx).

When you run out of something at home, you can just use Grocery IQ app to scan the barcode thru the camera in the phone and immediately add it to your groceries list.

See other interesting ideas to Save Money with Your Smartphone (http://lifehacker.com/5815296/top-10-ways-to-save-money-with-your-smartphone) (most of them works ONLY in US, but still an interesting list :) )

villan007

28th June 2011, 10:27 PM

boss,

not much difference in cost too :)

Dell XCD - around 10K
HTC Wildfire - around 11.5K
HTC Wildfire S - around 13.5K

As a google admirer/fan, I wanted to buy an Android phone. I tried to buy a phone around 10K only and bought HTC wf S for 13.5K with free theft insurance :). Bangalore Sangeetha mobiles gives some offers (free insurance, gifts, lucky draw and 1 rupee margin sale :lol:) in its Chennai shops to catch 'the market'. I hesitated to buy a Dell brand phone since they are very new to mobile phone market.

Dell smarphones are nothing but rebranded ZTE phones (chinese company) http://androidos.in/2010/11/dell-launches-zte-racer-blade-android-phones-as-xcd35-xcd28/

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

28th June 2011, 11:49 PM

Dell smarphones are nothing but rebranded ZTE phones (chinese company) http://androidos.in/2010/11/dell-launches-zte-racer-blade-android-phones-as-xcd35-xcd28/
ithanaal thaangkaL kuura virumbuvathu?!?

villan007

30th June 2011, 11:56 PM

Dell brand name ku upto Rs.3000 Premium katta vendi irukum ambututhan.. ZTE's XCD model is around 7.5k (with bill warranty esra esra)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

1st July 2011, 12:49 PM

villain ji thats not right :) Dell XCD has 2 models Dell XCD28 (Rs.7300) (http://www.flipkart.com/mobiles/dell/itmczcr4hjeufzny?pid=mobcschuheep2tuv) & Dell XCD35 ~ (Rs.10500) (http://www.flipkart.com/mobiles/dell/itmczcsmv6n8dzgm?pid=mobctm5tkczg6htv) which is mine. I brought at 10.2

Today Dell has given an Ad for its Smartphones (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIBG/2011/07/01/7/Img/Ad0070313.png) in which XCD35 is priced 11K. This is not the final price but just to show you that always the difference can be max around Rs.1000.

Otherwise, let me break some myths which may or may exist for this phone :)
1) Its a rebranded phone which is originally manufactured by chinese company ZTE, which is not just a crap china mobile company
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZTE

As of 2011 it is the second-largest Chinese telecoms equipment maker and the world's fifth-largest mobile phone manufacturer.[2]

2) This phone is extremely popular among developers for hacking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZTE_Blade

Reviews of the ZTE Blade have been very positive due to the amount of features offered while maintaining a low price. The screen in particular received praise, while the camera/camcorder quality was identified as one of the few downsides to the device. Various websites, mainly MoDaCo and XDA-developers, have created a very large modifications scene around the Blade.

Its been sold in various names by various carriers in these 17 countries - Great Britain, Finland, France, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Greece, India, Japan, Lithuania, Moldova. Its also sold in USA, named as Orange San Francisco

As you know, developers/hackers will primarily choose a phone which has best specs for the best price, which actually is what normal consumers also look for :wink:

So all this rebranding et all need not be considered at all, even if its considered, its ZTE!

villan007

1st July 2011, 11:18 PM

nvm i was trying to say the 'brand' Dell always has a premium price

sathya_1979

3rd July 2011, 09:55 AM

SKV, am planning to buy a Laptop cooling pad for my Acer. Which one you suggest?

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

3rd July 2011, 05:38 PM

sathya, i don't know any branded ones, i used a local one, it has cheap transparent plastic, with 3 fans. i didn't like the elevation so not using it. ~ Rs.100 & electronics shop.
http://cgi.ebay.in/USB-Cooling-Pad-Laptop-Stand-Cooler-3Fan-Free-Ship-Sale-/250845170765?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item3a67898c4d

There is a costly one (Rs.600) - http://cgi.ebay.in/Laptop-Notebook-Stand-Cooling-Pad-Cooler-Fan-/150625550363?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item2311fb801b

Also compare this site with ebay and choose - http://www.deltapage.com/categories.php?category=Laptop-Accessories/Cooler-Pads

One important thing is, look how is ur laptop bottom, locate where is the CPU placed. Already there shud be a cooling fan placed at bottom and hot air exit placed near it sidewise. So choose a pad which covers ur CPU part closely, so it will get more air.

For any one running windows, if laptop is getting too hot, i would recommend to remove as many as useless programs/tasks running in background, in case you are unable to avoid heavy multitasking.

As a good practice, its better to use brush and vacuum cleaning kit like these - http://shop.ebay.in/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=laptop+cleaner&_sacat=See-All-Categories.

sathya_1979

3rd July 2011, 05:50 PM

Thanks Thanks :) Planning to buy vacuum as well.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

4th July 2011, 06:36 PM

I already suggested buying Dell XCD35 for those interested in Android phones in 10K Range. While that holds true, the limitations in XCD35 are
medium quality camera,
Mono speaker
poor playback of videos above 720p

Apart from this, all features are beneficial and great value for money.

Today i found another android phone much better than this. If u r willing to shen extra 4K, a total of 14K, you are getting a phone which is highly superior in all ways and there is absolutely NO PHONE with equivalent tech specs, in that range. That phone is Spice Mobile M-410. If you think Spice is a 3rd grade indian company buying poor/medium quality phones, well i don;t know, but this phone is NOT from Spice. This too is a rebranded phone like the Dell XCD35. Spice gets this phone from Huawei who originally manufactures the phone in name of Huawei Ideos X6 (Huawei U9000).

http://www.spiceglobal.com/SpiceMobiles/Model.aspx?id=200
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdacomparer&id1=2736&id2=2710
This phone is sold under various names in different regions as
Cherry Mobile Magnum HD A400 (philippines),
Spice CSL Mi 410 – Slim (india),
WellcoM A99 (thailand) and
CSL Blueberry Mi 410.

Faster CPU(1GHz), more internal Flash memory(2GB), Faster RAM(LPDDR), Faster Wi-Fi(b/g/n), bigger Display(4.1 inch), high SPeed 3g(14 Mbps as compared to 7.2 Mbps), Super camera (5 MP) HDMI Video out, , stereo speakers, all at just Rs.14,000 makes this phone much greater than Dell XCD35. Added, it can be ported to Android 2.3(comes with 2.2).

All other goodies like Bluetooth(2.1), GPS, 480 x 800 resolution, Capacitive touchscreen, 3.5mm audio-jack, microSD & USB Slot, Camera Flash, 1400Mh battery etc adds much glamour to this phone.

The CPU in this phone is no less. Its the same cpu used in HTC Desire HD, HTC Desire S, HTC Incredible S, HTC Inspire, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc/Neo/Play/Pro/Mini/Ray/Active, T-Mobile myTouch 4G, Sharp GALAPAGOS/DM009SH, Blackberry Bold/Torch/Touch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapdragon_%28system_on_chip%29#Current_.26_Future _Specifications

And Huawai is the largest networking and telecommunications equipment supplier in China and the second-largest supplier of mobile telecommunications infrastructure equipment in the world (after Ericsson). so no owrries about Rebranding. This phone beats the Crap Samsung/HTC/Motorola phones in 15K range.

SoftSword

4th July 2011, 06:46 PM

i hav a dell inspiron 64bit laptop which is 1 yr old with win7.
recently it is giving me notifications like 'consider replacing your battery', ie, the place where it shows the battery symbol in the rightside corner the battery icon appears with a cross symbol in red..

anybody hav any idea or faced anything similar?

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

4th July 2011, 07:36 PM

SS, no idea about ur problem, but as it is related to battery, i would like to know how long ur battery lasts after a full recharge?! :)

SoftSword

4th July 2011, 07:43 PM

one hour, since the day i bought it.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

4th July 2011, 07:59 PM

Ok, i asked just in case to know the health of the battery. Generally laptops need to be connected to wall charger ONLY when they ask for, and then has to run till the battery is fully empty. that means, till the system asks you to connect to wall charger. But most of us tend to just connect to wall charger, almost all the time, which is highly incorrect. Thats ok for few times, like, in emergency, critical work, or in risk/fear of a power cut etc but not always.

Becos of that wrong habit, the battery life will come down from 2.30 hours(approx for most new laptops) to just 5 to 10 mins, in a span of just one year. Otherwise, if properly maintained as said above, any laptop shud give a decent life for aprox 2.5 years

SS, maybe on vague terms, i may suggest you use some battery monitoring apps which may run for few days and give you a summary on ur battery health. Other steps may be like, reinstall the battery driver etc. Even though, 1 hour is not good, its certainly not a bad standby time. So ur battery shud be ok. Problem may be in other areas.

Some select models of Acer Aspire Timeline series are designed to give a standy time of 7 hrs. This series is in price range starting from 30K to 45K. An average of 35K 15.6 models have excellent specs. My friends who brought that are very happy.

Dell has a laptop with 19 hour standby time, but thats purely corporate, priced close to 60/70K.

SoftSword

4th July 2011, 08:09 PM

i always leave it connected, and will not shut it down quite often...
sometimes it ll be on throughout the night playing some songs or idle...
but this notification i am getting since the last 4 days and many people who hav win7 installed are witnessing the very issue. some say win7 drains ur battery and some say win7 has this new ability to notify u while the other os'es cannot... if u google, u could many instances posted.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

4th July 2011, 08:19 PM

விண்டோஸுக்கும் சிக்கனத்திற்கும் எப்போதும் ஏழாம் பொருத்தம் தான்! While i run Vista, the fan will always run full speed. for days i wondered where from that sound comes. Then, Ubuntu Linux revealed the truth. Basically, my CPU(like most) has the ability to be scaled down to lesser speed 800Mhz, 1,6 Ghz, & 1.8 Ghz is the maximum. Ubuntu has CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor thru which i will set the option as "On Demand" meaning that the CPU will run at max speed only when needed and most of the idle time it runs 800MHz. Then i installed a program in Vista - CPU Temp, which revealed that the system always runs at full speed.

Also, if you select for Windows automatic Update. then also, it will make the system too hot.

littlemaster1982

4th July 2011, 08:24 PM

Sakala,

Modern laptops cut off charging once the battery reaches 100%. It doesn't matter if the laptop is left on power always. To be on safer side, one can follow the method you said (completely discharging the battery and connecting to power).

if u google, u could many instances posted.

Did you see this thread (http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/18312-consider-replacing-your-battery.html)? There are few workarounds posted.

SoftSword

4th July 2011, 08:31 PM

illa master... will run the powercfg and see wat is observed. tx.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

5th July 2011, 02:07 AM

Sakala,

Modern laptops cut off charging once the battery reaches 100%. It doesn't matter if the laptop is left on power always. To be on safer side, one can follow the method you said (completely discharging the battery and connecting to power).

I read few battery threads and found the truth that what i said was WRONG! - http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=868812

Almost in ALL Laptops, We don't have Ni-MH today. Instead, modern laptops acome with Lithium Ion which should NOT BE completely discharged! doing so will reduce the battery life. Atleast don't do that in regular basis like what i said.

Best way is to run the laptop in battery till it reaches to, say, 40 to 50% but not till it asks you to connect charging.

Equally important another thing to get more battery life is, to avoid the laptop heating. The CPU heat will kind of pass to battery which is much bad to battery than anything. So always keep it cool, if multitasking couldn't be avoided, use a laptop fan. Also don't keep laptop in its bag if its hot, give few mins to bocome cool.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

5th July 2011, 08:26 PM

Can't resist posting this article
The Really Smart Phone (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704547604576263261679848814.html?m od=WSJ_hp_us_mostpop_read)

Intro: Researchers are harvesting a wealth of intimate detail from our cellphone data, uncovering the hidden patterns of our social lives, travels, risk of disease—even our political views.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

10th July 2011, 02:54 PM

In india, next to ebay, flipkart.com is becoming the amazon.com of india. Most of the electronics are priced a bit low. Cash on Delivery option is there for items even of worth Rs.20K. Device list is updated frequently. I have so far only brought some books thru flipkart, but my friends have brought some electronics and are happy with their service.

villan007

10th July 2011, 07:20 PM

flipkart is great :thumbsup: bought 2-3 books and a pen drive from them.. Cash on Delivery order limit is .50k :clap:

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

20th July 2011, 07:03 PM

Vodafone gonna introduce an interesting product called Webbox

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bRHtx05_Pk

Vodafone To Launch Webbox (http://www.pluggd.in/vodafone-and-bharti-to-unveil-android-devices-in-india-webbox-and-android-tablets-297/)

Vodafone, the second largest network operator in India has planned a very different device. A device that was earlier announced in February this year for South Africa called Webbox.

The Webbox is an Android 2.1 powered device that pushes out video output. This video output can be connected to the back of any ordinary TV and convert it into a supercool nano computer. Expected to be priced around 5k-6k :clap: this device has the potential to turn any ordinary TV into an ‘internet portal’. Opera Mini V5 browser together with support for SMS and email messaging, FM radio, photo gallery and a music player make this a cool device to complement your TV. The device is 2.5G compatible and currently tests are on in Kerala on the feasibility of this device.source

Webbox Specifications

QWERTY keypad
2.5G GPRS-EDGE dual-band (MSM7227)
Internal Antenna (utilizing larger housing for improved radio reception)
Android OS with Opera mini V5 & email
Audio / video format (AAC, AAC+, AAC+ Enhanced, MP3, Midi, AMR, OGG & H.263, H.264, mpeg4)
Micro SD card
FM Radio
TV output: connectivity box mixes TV out with TV antenna signal, directly fed into antenna-in of TV, integrated cable (audio, video, power, FM antenna)

So what are your thoughts about these two devices? We think the Webbox is an awesome device but limiting its capability to 2.5G might be a disadvantage (considering that it is supposed to be an Internet media consumption device and how Indians go gaga over videos on the internet).

Who knows, this may become a revolutionary device :D

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

24th July 2011, 11:04 PM

Android Tablets in India - Price List of 20 Tablet brands (http://androidos.in/android-tablets-in-india/)
India & Android – Best Phones to buy this July (http://androidos.in/2011/07/india-android-best-android-phones/)
Latest Android phones that you can afford [India Special] (http://androidos.in/2011/03/latest-android-phones-that-you-can-afford-india-special/)

Android Apps for Indian users [July Edition] (http://androidos.in/2011/07/android-apps-for-india-users-july-edition/)

Banking/Money:ICICI Bank iMobile, State Bank of India Freedom, ICICI Bank Money2India, Breeze India
Travel:Travelbuddy from Yatra, MyIndianRailways
Navigation:Sygic: GPS Navigation, nDrive India
Language:Hindi English Dictionary, English – Konkani Translator, Word4Word For Indian Languages
Local:TaazzaGO for India, Mobiesta- fun guide for India, Zomato, Tuk Tuk Meter 2, AutoMeterFare India, BookURTable, BookMYshow
Shopping:ngPay, Naptol
Entertainment:India TV Guide, mundu TV, Hungama.com, Hungama myPlay, Raaga, Saavn
News:Mid Day, NDTV, Times of India, IBNLive
Finance/Stocks:Moneycontrol Markets on Mobile, inStocks BSE/NSE Stock Markets
Cricket:CricketNext, Cricbuzz, Cricinfo, NDTV Cricket
SMS:160by2, Ibibo SMS, whozzat
Classifieds:Quikr, OLX
Other:Carwale, Zapak,TimesJobs

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

29th July 2011, 04:26 AM

How Many devices does Smartphones & Tablets Replace? (http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/IHS-iSuppli-on-the-decline-of-PMPs-PMDs-and-digital-cameras/)

Phones and tablets will take over from single-purpose gadgets, iSuppli says

Who wants to buy a PMP (portable media player), PND (portable navigation device), or digital camera when their smartphone can already handle all those functions? Fewer and fewer people, according to findings released July 28 by research firm IHS iSuppli.

The notion that smartphones and tablets are taking over from more specialized pieces of portable equipment might seem obvious to longtime LinuxDevices.com readers, who have seen what was once a flood of PMPs and PNDs get reduced to a mere trickle. But it actually runs counter to another recent trend in which tasks that once required a PC -- serving up web pages, playing Internet radio, or streaming Netflix video, for example -- have been taken over by embedded devices.

"The success of multipurpose electronic equipment, often coming at the expense of devices dedicated to a single task, is reshaping the landscape of the consumer electronics industry, says Jordan Selburn, principal analyst, consumer platforms, for IHS.

"For example, the once-ultra-hot MP3 player market has commenced an irreversible decline, not because consumers are no longer interested in music, but because other systems, primarily smartphones like the iPhone, also include audio functionality as part of a much broader suite of features," Selburn adds.

According to iSuppli, shipments of smartphones and media tablets will rise at compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 28.5 percent and 72.1 percent, respectively, for the years 2010 to 2015. In contrast, shipments of PNDs, PMPs, and DSCs (digital still cameras) will either decline or remain flat during the same period of time, the firm adds.

"Media tablets, predominantly the Apple iPad at present, are truly a jack of all trades -- and master of most," Selburn said. Although not directly acting as a replacement for pocket-sized equipment, the tablet will increasingly play more roles for consumers, acting as an e-book reader, media player, browser, calendar, alarm clock, gaming platform, GPS, and camera all in one box, he added.

Ironically, the programmable, versatile desktop PC was responsible for marginalizing any number of special-purpose devices, including typewriters, dedicated word processors, and electronic calculators. Now, smartphones and tablets -- which are merely very portable PCs, after all -- are causing yet another round of disruption.

When's the last time you saw someone wearing a wrist watch for any reason other than fashion?

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

31st July 2011, 05:51 PM

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIBG%2F2011%2F07%2F31&ViewMode=GIF&PageLabel=46&EntityId=Ar04602&AppName=1

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

1st August 2011, 07:47 PM

Excellent funny article about e-readers, e-book scenario! - http://solvanam.com/?p=16136

Follow the author (http://solvanam.com/?author=88) Ravi Natarajan to read his other superb articles! He also writes and runs http://geniusraja.blogspot.com/

19thmay

9th August 2011, 06:30 PM

ajaybaskar

9th August 2011, 06:34 PM

Sri,

ngpay and bookmyshow have android applications which are cool. Newshunt gives access to Dinamalar mobile paper. U can also download zedge for ringtones and wall papers.

19thmay

9th August 2011, 06:39 PM

Oh ok thanks Ajay. Let me try.

Btw bought HTC Wilfdire two months ago, slowly am falling in love with my mobile...ultimate :clap: Android rocks! :thumbsup:

Nokia market out pola?

ajaybaskar

9th August 2011, 06:52 PM

Yes.. Apple first. Samsung second. Nokia pushed to 3rd.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

11th August 2011, 10:15 PM

Can some one let me know more and useful apps for Android?

Hi, this is the list of apps installed on my phone right now!
http://www.appbrain.com/user/vijeeth

appbrain is an excellent app to backup, share ur apps. there are many other useful funtions too. i recommend all Android users this app

btw, what kind of app u want? games/productivity/fun/student-app/music etc?!?

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

12th August 2011, 01:43 AM

Android pushes Apple iPhone to 3rd Place! (http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Gartner-2Q-2011-smartphone-report/)

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/5315/androidd.png

The above figure for iOS includes both iPhone (3 & 4) and iPad (1 & 2).

Android figure includes the phone and tablet. If you count the unofficial china tablets then the figure will triple!

Android Rocks!!!

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

16th August 2011, 02:03 PM

Solar powered $72 tablet PC from Bharat Electronics Ltd (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-08-15/news/29889111_1_tablet-kotdwara-and-panchkula-bharat-electronics)

BANGALORE: Defence focused electronics company Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) is expanding its non-defence or civilian businesses. The PSU major, which is the leading supplier of radar, communication and electronic warfare equipments to the armed forces, is foraying into areas like tablet PCs and solar energy .

Over the last four-five months BEL's central research lab designed a basic tablet PC costing $72 that will be used by the rural development ministry to conduct a census study on people below the poverty line. A consortium consisting of BEL, Electronics Corporation of India and Industrial Training Institute will conduct the study.

The tablet is powered by Android version 2.2, and runs on a solar battery. Data can be stored and uploaded to a central server in real time. It can also be used as an e- reader. BEL has received orders for 6 lakh of these tablet PC units valued at Rs 250 crore, which it will deliver by November. BEL CMD Ashwani Kumar Datt said that the human resources ministry has also expressed interest in the tablet; the ministry's idea is to make available low-cost PCs to boost education in lower-income areas.

ajaybaskar

16th August 2011, 02:24 PM

Google buys Motorola (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/telecom/Whats-behind-Googles-Motorola-gamble/articleshow/9621993.cms)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

16th August 2011, 11:46 PM

Reliance introduces 3G Tablet @ Rs.13000 (http://www.rcom.co.in/Rcom/personal/3G/HTML/3G_Tariffs_Plans.html)

But cleverly adds 3G Tarriff bulk plans. Obviously the device is locked and you cannot have cheap BSNL 3G Plans like 1GB for Rs.300.

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/8662/plans.png

Suppose if you say i will use only WiFi then its a decent buy. Samsung Galaxy Tab WiFi tablet with same 800 MHz CPU starts at Rs.22K!

This tablet will catch up the elite customers only but still there will be more customers than Samsung Galaxy tab.

Nerd

17th August 2011, 12:35 AM

Bala (Karthik)

17th August 2011, 01:01 AM

Sakala/others,

Plis to help. Expert comments on this phone plis - HTC Inspire (http://www.htc.com/us/products/inspire-att). I am thinking of getting this. I am not updated at all in the last couple of years. I own a 3rd generation iPhone now.
IPhone 4 vonaava?

As for Inspire, spec to spec, my vote would rather be for Samsung Galaxy SII perhaps, or maybe wait for IPhone 5 :razz: [processor, memory, storage, display resolution]
S II does feel very responsive (fastest processor around i guess) and the display is great. It's got questionable build quality though, its so light that the back casing literally feels like choppu plastic phone.

SoftSword

17th August 2011, 01:35 AM

i own a HTC Desire its awesome except for the battery... maybe its a prob with mine... my friends who have it doesn hav any complaint...
otherwise its compact and solid... i dropped it twice(once in our thaar road in india) and its really solid in the literal sense...

Nerd

17th August 2011, 01:57 AM

Thanks B(K) and SS. Heard good things about the S II. Both me and my wife are going to get new phones. One of them is going to be an iPhone (if 5 is expensive, will settle for 4). We have never owned an android phone. A little background on how the cellphone market works in the USA:

-When you sign up a 2 year contract with a service provider, they will give you phones themselves (some with huge discounts, some for free and sometimes they even give you extra cash + a phone)

-Once the 2 year contract ends, they give you upgrade options with these discounts so that you ll stay with them. And the discounts are greater for *new* subscribers.

-My 2 year contract is going to end and I can get this HTC Inspire for 100 bucks, which sells for $600 if I want to buy it without a contract. And this is the only decent android phone my provider (AT & T) offers. Samsung galaxy S II (named attain here) is not available yet. Probably I will wait.

-I can switch loyalties and go to a different provider. The only other provider that offers iPhones is verizon. They have a decent collection of android phones, but if I go to them, I will lose the discount my employer offers with AT & T on my bill each month.

-HTC Desire is offered by T-Mobile but they dont' offer iPhones.

Delikat posisson. But if the HTC Inspire is totally worthless, I would consider switching to Verizon. Or will wait till Samsung Galaxy S II is available for purchase here. August they said..

Bala (Karthik)

17th August 2011, 02:31 AM

Nerd
Harry Potter same situation/sapter

I've been using IPhone 4 and wanted to get a new phone for my wife. Bought Galaxy S II for my wife 2 days back (initially i was leaning towards waiting for IPhone 5). Both are with 2 year contracts with the provider (the handsets are "free" but costs will be covered in the rentals obviously)

GS is the fastest and most feature/spec rich phone in the market right now (though some may argue that there are cheaper phones which offer more value for money).

Maybe because i'm not used to Android, or maybe the IOS UI is really better, i'm more comfortable with IPhone UI.
Apps ellaam thaaru maara use pannuveengala? - > Android advantage nu solraanga (I use very few and OK to pay for them, so Apps store is good enough)
IPhone flash support illa, so sila pala yeeteep paakka mudiyaadhu (tried installing an App which was supposed to play flash but didnt work)
Though the display is large in GS II, nothing beats the crisp display in the IPhone
Battery life sucks in IPhone (especially with office Exchange mail configured), not sure if GS II is any better

Inspire vaangittu nimmadhiya regret illaama thoonguveenga-na i guess that will offer more value for money. BTW, HTC Sensation and Inspire ore model-a illa vevveraya? A friend bought Sensation recently and i think the processor is dual core....
Varikkudharai set-u na IPhone 5 ku wait pannunga (you can still go for GS II then if required)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

17th August 2011, 02:32 PM

Nerd, as u are ok with a 4.3 inch phone( which many avoid, as its not pokettable easily :) ) i would suggest HTC Sensation. highest spec, there just is no phone beating its tech specs and its slightly higher spec thatn Samsung Galaxy 2. Check if you are getting this phone in contract, for good rate!

I don't know if you are interested in used phone but this site has genuine ones - http://swappa.com/

Key diff btw Inspire and Sensation are, Inspire has 1 GHz single core and standard resolution 480x800 whereas Sensation has 1.2GHz dual core CPU and 560x980 which is retina display similar to iPhone 4.

There are other goodies in Sensation, like, noise cancellation, (it has 5 mics, guy on other end will hear u clearly even if u r in crowded place), Bluetooth 3.0, Secondary front facing camera etc.

Full review here - http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/27/htc-sensation-review/

If u wanna get into more nitty gritty tech specs, here is an extensive comparison of Inspire and Sensation - http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdacomparer&id1=2727&id2=2845

But if u dont get Sensation in contract, then Inspire is not a bad option.

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

17th August 2011, 02:44 PM

Bala, most of ur post is right :) some corrections, u guessed right Sensation and Ispire are different. Main diff is dualcore and retina display in Sensation. Sensation has same retina display (560x980) like iPhone 4. iPhone 3 has lesser resolution.

When it comes to apps, surely iOS has slight upper hand. Most of the great Android apps are in iOS appstore but reverse is not true. But gradually Android is becoming equal, though not exceeding Apple Appstore anyways. There are some iPad apps which are claimed as favorite for Cats and Dogs! :lol:

Nerd

17th August 2011, 06:06 PM

Maybe because i'm not used to Android, or maybe the IOS UI is really better, i'm more comfortable with IPhone UI.

I felt the same too. I was fiddling with a friend's Samsung Galaxy I (guess thats the name) and I found it real hard to navigate. May be because I have been using iPhone(s) for the past 4 years or so..

Apps ellaam thaaru maara use pannuveengala? -
Not really. Apart from games (which I rarely play) I only have about a handful of useful(?) apps. As sakala said I thing apple store >> android store. And in the USA iPhones are hugely popular, androids not so much, at the moment.

Nerd, as u are ok with a 4.3 inch phone( which many avoid, as its not pokettable easily :) ) i
idhai naan note pannavE illai. I would not have bought it before checking the phone out in stores anyway. Sensation T-Mobile-la dhaan irukku who don't offer iPhones. Thanks for the links, very insightful.

Btw, another (silly) question. Does Android phones allow you to set your own mp3s as ringtones? iPhones don't. There are hacks around it I guess (used to do that with my first gen iPhone) but don't have the patience these days :oops:

SoftSword

17th August 2011, 06:11 PM

Btw, another (silly) question. Does Android phones allow you to set your own mp3s as ringtones?

yes they do...
and the navigation is not as tricky as u assume it to be...
you use it for half an hour and u ll get used to it...
and reg apps, there are lots and lots of apps available everyday in android market, which u can access from ur phone easily... most of them are free and even the paid ones are cheaper than that of iPhone i believe.

Nerd

17th August 2011, 06:28 PM

Thanks SS. Yes w.r.to apps androids will get there eventually :-)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

17th August 2011, 07:10 PM

Nerd, Enna kelvi kettuteenga, athuvum (open-source)Android paathu custom ringtones vekka mudiyumaannu!! :lol:

Get ur friend with android phone and download this app - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.byminerva.soundboard.goundamani&feature=search_result
and set ur fav dialog of Annan, to confirm that u can set custom ringtone!

For students there are some impressive apps - http://www.appnomy.com/list-android-apps-for-students-200 Android is not just fun, its informative too!

I vaguely remember u work on Java, if u have time and interest try developing simple apps using app-inventor. Its fun! I hope in future even school students will use this tool to instantly develop their favourite/own ideas into android app.

As you and ur wife both are opting to change phones, it will be great if u get one in Android and one in iPhone. Having both for some time will help understand the best and worst of both worlds :)

sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar

17th August 2011, 07:44 PM

Beetel enters tablet race; launches Android device for Rs 9,999 (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/beetel-enters-tab-race-launches-android-device-for-rs-9999/articleshow/9638003.cms)
http://www.beetel.in/sites/default/files/big-600-gray.png

Specs are Superb (http://www.beetel.in/magiq) compared to the recently launched Reliance 3G Tablet. A comparison tells:-

1 GHz CPU vs 800MHz
2MP Camera on both sides!
HDMI Port Out
Comfort Stand
Plans not costly and general cellphone 3G Plans applies. As Beetel is sister concern of Airtel, the device is locked for Airtel but you don't need to pay a bomb like Reliance Tablet.

Overall, a 1GHz Snapdragan CPU, Stereo speakers, Better 3G Plans, 2MP Camera both sides all for Just Rs.10K is a steal! I guess Samsung galaxy tab will take a complete backseat and Reliance may reduce price and enter tough competition.

Btw, the screen apps look so dumb, there is Internet Explorer Logo :shock: I hope one can see the device in Stores before buying