Tuesday 30 August 2011

Samsung NP-X360

Laptops manufacturers, it seems, are finally trying to provide what people really want instead of just going ahead and building powerful laptops. All this while we have seen laptops that were able to deliver either good performance, but at the cost of continuous power supply, like the Dell Monster 'XPS M1730' or like the usual laptops, sacrifice performance for lower power consumption.
 
Today we have a laptop - Samsung NP-X360 - that bridges this gap and promises to do much more by providing a good performance and battery life.

 


 
The Samsung NP-X360 is part of the newer generation of laptops like the Sony Vaio TZ38GN that we recently reviewed. Unfortunately, unlike Samsung, Sony chose to dump their older generation of laptops - the TZ Series - here in India instead of providing us the latest the world of laptop technology has to offer in the TT Series

Sony Vaio W (VPCW115XG/P)

At last Sony has succumbed to the temptation and launched its first version of the Vaio W Netbook. The Vaio P was a great toy to flaunt but didn't offer any practical value as it lacked performance. The Vaio W on the other hand offers style as well as substance and is a lot more practical as it's a proper Netbook. Specifications shouldn't be of any surprise but what is different is the build quality, which is definitely a notch above the rest. Even though it's not as slim as the Asus Seashell Netbook, it's incredibly lightweight, thanks to the materials used to build the body.

Another striking feature of this Netbook is that, for the first time we have 1366x768 resolution on a 10.1" screen. This makes text and images appear a lot sharper, while the LED backlit screen makes it more vivid as well.


The Vaio W definitely makes its presence felt but can it win the battle of the best battery life when compared to veterans like Asus? Let's find out.


 





Bundle

The reviewer's bundle only came with a charger in a mysterious black box. But on checking the website, that's all you get even in the retail package. Oddly, no driver disk seems to be present in the bundle.

Sony VAIO CW

If you remember, Sony announced a couple new notebooks with quite aggressive price tags just a few of weeks back. Along with the super sexy 'X' series, we also have the mainstream CW series which is what we've got for review today. Until now, if you wanted a solid performing multimedia notebook that was reasonably priced, we had just two major options, either a Dell or an HP. Now, Sony is all set to enter this space and compete with the bigwigs in this category. 





The VPCCW16FG/P that we got for review comes packed with plenty of brute force. For starters, we have an Intel Core2Duo P8700 running at 2.5GHz in the heart of the notebook. We have Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit for proper utilization of the 4GB DDR3 memory. The best bit is the graphics card which is Nvidia's latest GT 230M which comes with 512MB of GDDR3 RAM. If this is anything like the GT220, which is the desktop variant, we can easily expect some good gaming performance. To view all this goodness, we have a 14-inch LED backlit display.

Apart from the good specifications, being a Sony, the build quality of the notebook is very good with strong plastics used for the chassis. You get multiple colors to choose from and following the tradition, Sony sends us a pink notebook for review.

Bundle

There wasn't much of a bundle provided other than the charger since this was a review piece but checking the site, the retail piece as well will come with just a charger and battery as standard with other optional accessories available.

eMachines EM250 Netbook

We're finally beginning to see netbooks fall under the Rs. 20,000 barrier where they really belong. This kind of pricing also helps manufacturers distinguish these devices from regular laptops in the sub-30k range. 

The eMachines EM250 netbook that we are reviewing today is a typical run-of-the-mill model with an attractive price tag. Let's quickly run through what it's got and see whether it can stand tall with new generation models? 

Design and Build  
The eMachines EM250 looks quite similar to the Acer Aspire One D150 model we reviewed a while back. While the design is almost exactly the same, this netbook has managed to shave off almost 10 mm of its thickness, thus making it fairly thin. The build quality is decent. The black and metallic-grey color combination gives the EM250 a corporate-friendly appeal. But it isn't a stunner in terms of looks, especially owing to its flat protruding battery at the back. But on the positive side, the flat surface of the battery isn't as obtrusive while using this netbook on the lap. At almost 1.3 kilos, it's fairly light for a netbook with a 6-cell battery. 



On the inside we have a regular 10-inch 1024 x 600 pixel screen. The quality is standard-fare and brightness is sufficient. Despite several attempts, we weren't able to get the webcam working, thus we can't comment on its quality. The size of the keyboard would have been called adequate if we would have seen the EM250 two years ago. But with netbooks these days having wider key designs (for e.g. the HP Mini 110 or the Eee PC 1005HA), the one on the EM250 feels somewhat tiny. They offer fair tactility, but not everybody will be happy using it.



We had a similar skeptical feeling after seeing the tiny square-shaped touchpad at first, but were gladly surprised to find its touch response quite accurate. The surface is also quite smooth and it supports multi-touch gestures like two finger scrolling. How clever, since putting a traditional side-scrolling strip would have eaten away precious real estate of the touch-area. At the sides we have the usual array of ports: 3 USB, 1 VGA, 1 headphone, 1 mic, 1 LAN and 1 card reader. There's a switch at the front edge to toggle the wi-fi on or off. The stereo speakers at the base of the laptop offer average audio quality and moderate volume. We wouldn't prefer hearing anything other than the dings and dongs of the Windows OS from them.

Dell Vostro V13

What happens when you take an (unnecessarily) expensive laptop, strip it of some of its premium components (like an SSD) and bring the price down to less than half of the original? Case in point, the Dell Adamo. When it was released almost a year ago, Dell proudly claimed it to be the world's 'thinnest laptop' -- a domain initially (and maybe still) reigned by the Macbook Air. Other than a well-sized 128GB SSD, the Adamo's internals didn't really pull off any marvelous feat that any Rs. 50k laptop couldn't. But its asking price of over a lakh rupees did not justify on many counts. Even the newly-launched Adamo XPS, although being an awing laptop, was also way too overpriced. 

Dell maybe realized that if they dabble with the original Adamo , they could come up with a new product that would appeal to a much wider audience. Enter the Vostro V13. Its design is inspired from the original Adamo, but fortunately not its price tag. Is this the perfect portable computer for business professionals? Let's find out.

Asus Eee PC 1008P

The Eee PC 1008P is the latest generation "premium" netbook from Asus. The company took help from famous designer Karim Rashid to add some of sort of uniqueness to its design. Along with the updated laundry list of internal components, the Eee PC 1008P is "Year 2010-ready". It's got almost everything right for a netbook; it's thin, lightweight, has a comfortable keyboard/touch-pad and decent battery life - thanks to the extra battery pack. The main gripe we had with the 1008P is the low screen brightness. Also, just two USB ports could be too less for some people. 

Priced at Rs. 27,000, it's slightly expensive but this was expected since this is a premium range product. It's close to Rs. 10,000 more than any decent netbook from last year (like the HP Mini 110 or Asus's own Eee PC 1005HA). If you don't mind burning your moolah, then the Eee PC 1008P Karim Rashid is a chic netbook to go for. However, if you're a penny saver, then look away. An Eee PC 1005HA (or the upcoming revised 1005P/PE models) will do almost everything that this one does, for much lesser. 

In comparison, the Sony Vaio W (VPCW216AG/P) has almost similar specifications. It is equally cool-looking and has a brighter, higher-resolution screen, which is good for watching 720p movies. But the low-capacity battery won't give you a long run-time. 

Lenovo Ideapad S10-3t Tablet Netbook

We're living in an age where touchscreen devices are gaining more and more mass appeal, especially in portable computers. Now that the iPad is out, people have embraced this gadget as a revolutionary change in the world of computing. Some are even seen typing long documents on its virtual keyboard. But what about people who not only want the frills of a touchscreen but also need a PC to perform simple tasks like copy-pasting a file to a flash drive? The concept of a touchscreen netbook was introduced by Asus some time back, though without as much success as its other Eee PCs. Today we see Lenovo try their hand at the same concept, with the Ideapad S10-3t. Let's see if the touchscreen is actually of any practical use.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 New (1012)

Following the launch of Intel's Pine Trail range of Atom processors, every manufacturer seems to be busy with refreshed versions of their respective netbooks. Today we have for review Dell's Inspiron Mini 10. While some makers, like Asus, have made nominal changes to the exterior, the Mini 10 has gone through a complete makeover since its last iteration. This earlier model was appreciated for having an HDMI port on-board, but trashed for a paltry 3-cell battery that was packaged along with it. Dell has tried to perfect their netbook formula with this model. Let's find out if they have succeeded in doing so.


Acer Timeline X 4820T

Acer's Timeline series of laptops have all fared well in the past. Typically, manufacturers would want to add a premium to to every thin laptop they manufacture, but not Acer. These guys gave us affordable laptops that were slim and weighed a comfortable two kilos. The Timeline 4810TZ was a good blend of Intel's power conservative ULV processors that are powerful to run regular tasks and (along with Intel's GMA4500 graphics) even play 1080p video smoothly. It had a regular 14-inch screen; perfect for people who didn't want to compromise on the smaller screen of a netbook.


 
Now, Acer has renewed the Timeline series with the Timeline X 4820T laptop, which we have for review today. The most interesting change in the 4820T is the upgrade to a regular laptop-grade Core i3 330M processor. However, what's more interesting is that Acer still prints the same "8 hour" battery life claim like they did with the Timeline 4810TZ. In our tests, the 4810TZ did manage to survive for 5-6 hours of real world usage, which was a good show by itself. Other than a change in design, the rest of the internal specs are the same. So, will the Core i3 processor end up wrecking the Timeline X's high battery life claim? Let's find out.

Dell Studio 15 (Core i5)

Dell's mid-range segment of laptops, Studio, is for people who want something more than what the basic entry-level models have to offer. We'd tested the Studio 14 a while back when it was in its Core 2 Duo iteration, and found it to be a darn good 14-inch laptop. It had a good build and finish, and great flexibility in its specifications.

It had upgrades like a 1600 x 900 pixel display and a Blu-ray drive to satiate a videophile. Today, we're testing the 15-inch version of the Studio. While its cheaper variants (the Inspiron range) have gone through a body job, the Studio series still looks exactly the same. Just that its internals are now based on Intel's latest Core 'i' offerings. The Studio 15 we're testing has a Core i5 processor. Let's take it for a spin to see if it is still worthy paying the extra thousands over an Inspiron laptop.

MacBook Air 11-inch Review

The original MacBook Air that launched two years back was a remarkable machine. It was the thinnest notebook at the time of its launch, and even though others soon caught up with it in terms of thinness, the Air still held its own when it came to pure charm. But despite that it wasn't the MacBook of our dreams. It was prohibitively expensive and did not have the performance or the features to justify the price tag, and had very little to offer apart from flaunt value. Even with last year's hardware update, we still weren't quite convinced. Given a choice we would spring for the 13-inch MacBook Pro without hesitation, as it offered a far better balance between portability and performance.



But the new MacBook Air changes all that. The biggest change is in the price, the MacBook Air, at the moment, is significantly cheaper than the older model. It is also slimmer, as you would expect any new generation Apple product to be, and at the same time includes plenty of basic features that the older model left out, such as an additional USB port, an SD card slot and stereo speakers. It also includes higher resolution displays and has now switched completely to flash storage. More importantly, there is now an 11-inch model as well, along with the 13-inch model, which starts at $999, the same as the cheapest MacBook.

But there have been some compromises made along the way, such as the inclusion of a slower processor, limited storage space and the lack of backlight keyboard. But will that affect the overall performance in a significant way? Or is the new MacBook Air still a better machine overall despite the obvious drawbacks? Let's find out.


Bundle
  • 11-inch MacBook Air
  • 45W MagSafe power adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord
  • Printed and electronic documentation
  • Software Reinstall Drive


As you can see, the 11-inch MacBook Air comes with a smaller 45W power adaptor, compared to the 85W power adaptor that the MacBook Pros come with. Also, this time around Apple is providing the software on a nifty little flash drive. It has the Mac OS X Snow Leopard as well as iLife '11 on it. Unfortunately though, Apple has not included Windows Boot Camp drivers on the flash drive (they have made sure that the drive is not detectable at all on Windows). Thankfully, you get the option to download Boot Camp drivers when you are creating a partition, which you can save on another portable drive and then install separately after you install Windows.

Acer Aspire AOD260 Wireless Broadband Netbook

Netbooks are on-the-go machines built to accomplish basic computing tasks without weighing your bag down. Since surfing the net is one of the primary use of such PCs, all of them come embedded with a Wi-fi chip. In some countries, there have been a handful of models that have been sold with 3G adapters built-in. But most of these didn't really make their way into India, obviously as the country is just waking up to the 3G revolution this year. But this is GSM 3G we're talking of, while CDMA's competitive 3G technology (dubbed EV-DO) has been around in India for some time, providing users with theoretical speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps.

We'd tested the Olive Zipbook, a Netbook that had an EV-DO based wireless modem built-in. Although it was a pioneering attempt in the country, the device lacked the basic deliverables that are expected from a Netbook.

Today, we have the Acer AOD260 - a variant of the "Aspire One" series Netbook from the company, with a 3G EV-DO modem built-in. So, does the AOD260 finally pull off the characteristics of a netbook without the need to have a stick-like object poking out of its USB port? Read on to find out.

Design and Build

The Acer Aspire AOD260 is very similar in design to its Gateway counterpart, the LT23. The glossy black top with the "Aspire One" logo is striking, and oddly enough, the same glossy part is even fitted at the base of the laptop. The AOD260 is pretty thin and light compared to the current iteration of Netbooks; anything smaller than this is going to burn a hole in your pocket. The build quality is also pretty good as the AOD260 does not creak or flex to the point of concern.

Acer Aspire AOD260 front


The display is a typical 10-inch 1024 x 600 pixel LCD panel that portrays good clarity and brightness. Text appears clear and the viewing angles are also not too bad. On the inside, we have a keyboard design that Acer has been using in quite a few previous generations of its laptops. The keys have an evenly flat level and offer good tactility. But then the size and placement of certain keys, like the area surrounding the arrow keys, makes you accidentally hit the wrong place occasionally.

Acer Aspire AOD260 keyboard


Below that is a decently sized touch-pad that has a silky-smooth surface that we loved. It is pretty accurate too, except for a few times that it behaved oddly by zooming into webpages. The touch-pad also supports multi-touch gestures like two-fingered scrolling.

HP Mini 210 Review

When the first Netbook came out three years ago, the only thing that really excited us about it was its size, and more importantly, its price. First-generation Netbooks in comparison to what we've got today were horrible in terms of usability.

Today, we've reached new highs where Netbooks aren't only utilized for the three humble tasks they were originally designed for, like light internet surfing, office productivity and basic multimedia. They play 1080p HD videos these days, and can manage a bit gaming as well.

But that isn't the case with all. Still, most Netbooks today concentrate on affordable pricing, but tend to fall short in terms of quality. HP Mini series of Netbooks have always been known for their hightened level of usability; thanks to a good keyboard and accurate touch-pad.

HP mini 210 color options


The HP Mini 210 for test today is the latest variant of this series. It costs a little more than typical Rs. 15,000 Netbooks, but aims to give you a few things in return for the extra money you spend.

MacBook Pro 15-inch 2011

For yet another year, Apple is continuing with what can be called a tradition of maintaining the general look and feel of their MacBook Pro range, while only upgrading the internals to bring them up to speed with the current market trends. The latest generation MacBook Pros feature Intel's Sandy Bridge range of processors along with updated graphics, relatively new I/O technology named Thunderbolt and high definition FaceTime camera.




Bundle
  • MacBook Pro
  • Display cleaning cloth
  • 85W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord
  • Software DVDs
  • Printed and electronic documentation


We expected Apple to bundle the new flash drive that they provide with the latest generation MacBook Air for re-installing the OS and the iLife suite of applications, but were disappointed to see the same old dual DVDs in the bundle.

Sony VAIO S (VPCSB16FG) Review

Sony VAIO S Series of laptops has always catered to the student and business segment, but with a touch of style and elegance. The latest generation in this series comes with Sandy Bridge processors from Intel, to make things even more interesting. Naturally, it is expected to be more energy-efficient and powerful, thus having better performance and a longer battery life. We have the latest Sony VAIO S 13.3" laptop with us. Let us see if it is really better than its predecessor.

Sony VAIO S

Sony VAIO S

Design and Features

The new Sony VAIO S no longer sports the thick and curvy plastic casing of the previous generation, but instead goes at least half way in the direction of the VAIO Z in terms of design. It instead comes with a black magnesium-reinforced chassis and keyboard rest made of a single aluminium sheet, which gives it a classy look as well as ruggedness and adequate protection against wear and tear. Weighing just 1.69 kg and with a thickness of just 24 mm, this truly portable enough to carry anywhere. The overall build quality is good, though it did seem flimsy at times, such as when you try to lift the laptop by holding on its left side and the optical drive door cover comes off.

Keyboard and surroundings

Keyboard and surroundings

The Chiclet-type keyboard is just the right size for a laptop and is comfortable to use for long working hours. There is enough play to give you just the right amount of tactile feedback. There is no separate keypad, but this is not expected in this size range. Function keys double up to take care of multimedia and shortcut functions. Moreover, the keyboard is backlit with ambient light sensor, which automatically lights it up when it senses a dimly lit environment. This allows you to use it in dark environments such as in your car or in the airplane. The multi-touch touchpad is sufficiently large for comfortable use, while the buttons below it are uncomfortably hard to press and certainly seemed out of place where everything else is so ergonomically designed. Two tiny slits present on the left and right near the top are the openings for speakers beneath.

Dell Vostro V130 Review

Dell wowed us with its Vostro V13 a year back with its sleek styling and aluminum finish; it was very stylish yet extremely functional. There were some minor drawbacks though like no HDMI port, few USB ports and a slightly underpowered processor. A year has gone by and Dell seems to have listened to our complaints (well, some of them at least) and have brought out a new model called the V130. The basic design and ergonomics have remained the same and Dell seems to have stuck to the philosophy, "If it ain't broke don't fix it" and has made some connectivity additions and upgraded the internals.

The Dell V130 is powered by a Core i3 ULV series 380UM running at 1.3GHz. It does not support Turbo Boost but it has Hyperthreading so it should be a bit faster than the older Celeron 743 which also ran at the same speed. The downside of the Core i3 is the higher TDP of 18W which can take a toll on the battery life which wasn't great to begin with. Other than that, Dell has still maintained the low 1.5kg weight and the comfortable keyboard. Let's see how much of a difference these new improvements have really made.



The design hasn't deviated much from the original and this time, we got a ruby red sample which looks really good. The matt finish has a sheen to it which doesn't attract a lot of finger prints and yet looks striking. The Vostro V130 now comes with three USB 2.0 ports instead of two and an HDMI port as well. What's missing is the Express Card slot which is fine since it's hardly ever used. The V130 now comes with a 4GB RAM by default and a choice of 320GB or 500GB 7200rpm hard drive.



The keyboard remains exactly the same and is very comfortable to use. The power button and the status lights have swapped places on the top for whatever reason. The 13.3-inch anti-glare screen sports a 1366x768 resolution which means images and video look sharp and clear. 

Overall, the V130 is a nice little upgrade to the earlier V13 in terms of horsepower and connectivity is concerned. Now let's have a look at the performance improvement and more importantly, the battery life.

Asus Eee PC 1215B

AMDs Fusion APUs seem to be trickling in the market gradually and giving stiff competition to Intel's Atom CPUs. You can already find HP's Pavilion DM1-3014au selling in the market with AMDs Fusion APU and today we have an entrant from Asus; the soon to be launched 1215B Eee PC from their Seashell line up.



The 1215B is a twin of the 1215N that we reviewed a while back that featured Nvidia's ION 2 chipset. The 1215B comes with different configurations and the one we'll be reviewing today is powered by the C-50 APU running at 1GHz. There's 2GB of system memory and a 250GB hard drive that should be enough for Windows 7 Starter Edition. You get different color options; ours had a nice brushed metal type finish on the lid and a palm rest.



There is a big compartment underneath to swap the memory or add more. The 1215B supports up to 4GB in total but only single channel.



Just like the ION variant, the 1215B comes with an HDMI port as well. The onboard Fusion APU can easily handle 1080p output to an HDTV.



Although the website mentions USB 3.0 support, this will vary from region to region. Our unit didn't have USB 3.0 onboard, just three USB 2.0 ports. Despite the slender design, the netbook feels a bit weighty with the 6-cell battery.



The keyboard is the standard chiclet type that we have come to love from Asus. The palm rest has ample amount of space for even large hands and the keys are quite comfortable to use as well.

Sharp Reveals The RW-T107 Tablet

Sharp has announced a new 7" tablet, RW-T107 in Japan. The product runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and sports fully-functional NFC (Near Field Communication) capabilities. This will enable users to make payments, read membership cards, IDs, and more using the tablet. Yes, that's all I could make out of the inept translation.

The device measures 7.6" (l) x 5.1" (w) x 0.5" (d), and weighs in at 395 grammes. It's powered by a 1 GHz CPU coupled with 512 MB RAM. The 7" screen has pixel dimentions of 1024x600. Apart from that, the tablet features a microUSB port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI output, headphone jack, and a SIM card slot. The company claims that the 5,400 mAh battery provides enough juice to keep the device running for 8 hours.







Based on Gingerbread, the device will let you enjoy thousands of apps available in Android Market. This could be the main reason behind Sharp sidelining the tablet-friendly Honeycomb in favour of Gingerbread. The RW-T107 is expected to release in Japan on the 5th of September. No word on the worldwide release yet.

Dell Launches Vostro V131

Dell has launched a new laptop in its line-up for business professionals - the Vostro V131, promising it to be faster and delivering a battery life of 9.5 hours with a 6-cell removable battery.

The V131 comes in an ultrathin, light, and stylish chassis, which will appeal to business users for its no-nonsense, all-business looks. It comes with Intel Core i3 and i5 processor options. Connectivity options include WWAN, WiMax, WLAN, and Bluetooth 3.0. Business users will appreciate the fingerprint reader and Absolute LoJack security soft it comes with. Collaborative options for video conferencing and VoIP include an HD webcam, SRS Premium Voice Pro, digital array mics, and built-in Skype. It also comes with SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports, a chiclet keyboard with backlit option, and convenient quick launch keys.

Unfortunately, details have been sparse about the other specifications, but from the information we could gather from the international website, we can safely assume that it comes with at least 2 GB memory, a 320 GB hard drive, and a 13.3" 1366x768 LED display with anti-glare.

Dell has bundled several goodies with the V131 starting 1 September. The My Business Toolkit is a combination of software suite and services to take care of the IT demands of small business. Customers will be entitled to a free website hosting opportunity from Web.com, while Ruby Receptionists will provide 30 days of virtual reception or 100 receptionist minutes, depending on what comes first. A 15-month license for Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Services is also included along with Dell DataSafe for automatic backups.

The Dell Vostro V131 is available at a starting MRP of Rs 41,990. You can buy it online and you can find more information about it here.

LG To Unveil 3D Game Converter

LG will soon demonstrate the world's first OpenGL-based 2D to 3D game conversion engine for the smartphone platform. The move is expected to increase the quantity of 3D content for handheld devices.

The converter will enable small and medium-sized game developers to offer 3D versions of their existing 2D games without major investment and hassle. Moreover, smartphone users will also be able to convert their 2D games into 3D free of charge.

Dr. Henry Nho, company's 3D Technology Evangelist explains: Using the existing depth information, the 3D Game Converter generates two different images - one for the foreground and one for the background. It then uses a thin film called Parallax Barrier on the display to show the left image to the left eye and the right image to the right eye, creating an illusion of visual depth.

 
The 3D Game Converter is expected to be unveiled at IFA 2011, and the application will be included in the first Maintenance Release (MR) of the Optimus 3D starting this October.

Mercury Launches Sub-10K Android Tablet

Mercury, a name known for years in PC peripherals and components manufacturing, has launched the mTab tablet running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. A lot of tablets have been making an appearance in the Indian market, and this is the latest entrant.

Powered by a 1.2 GHz Telechip 8803 Cortex A8 processor with three cores, the mTab has 512 MB RAM and 4 GB internal storage, with an additional 32 GB option via a memory card. It sports a 7" WVGA (800x480) capacitive touch screen with multi-touch support. Connectivity options are available using Wi-Fi, and using an external 3G USB module, which will be made available with 3G packages bundled along with the tablet for free internet surfing.

The mTab features a front 1.3 MP camera, useful for video conferencing, shooting photos and videos. In addition to the most popular audio formats, it supports playback of several popular video formats including Divx, MPG, and MP4 up to 1080p using the HDMI output. The 4000 mAh battery claims to support about four hours of video playback. PC connectivity is provided via a USB 2.0 port, while a 3.5 mm stereo jack lets you plug in headphones. The tablet supports motion sensing 3D games using the G sensor built in it. With dimensions of 19.3 x 11.7 x 1.4 cm and weighing 400 grams, this is very handy as well.






The Mercury mTab comes at just Rs 9,499, and is backed by a 1-year warranty. From what is on offer in the specifications sheet, this looks like a very promising tablet at a very reasonable price.


HTC Launches Evo 3D In India

HTC has launched its glasses-free 3D smartphone, the Evo 3D in India. This Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) based device offers a unique 2D \ 3D toggle switch next to the camera shutter button, which toggles between 2D and 3D photography mode. The latter is achieved by means of dual 5.0 MP cameras capable of shooting 3D videos in 720p.

The phone features a 1.2 GHz dual-core CPU, coupled with an Adreno 220 GPU. Other specs include a 4.3" 3D display with pixel dimensions of 540x960, a gigabyte of RAM, secondary 1.4 MP camera, microSD card slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, microUSB with MHL (Mobile High-definition Link) support, and a 1730 mAh battery.





The Evo 3D will be available across the country at a price tag of around Rs 36,000.

Make Money with Online Facebook Stores

There are several different ways that you can make money online—you can participate in affiliate programs, sell AD space on your web site or complete a number of surveys for example. But if you have an online business your approach to making money and selling your products are services need to be a little different.
While you can set up a blog so that you have a site where you can sell your products/services, promoting your merchandise may be a little difficult to do and you may have a hard time making income. If you would like to reach an extremely large audience however, an easy way to get exposure is selling your products on a site that is flooded with millions of users on a daily basis—Facebook. The popular social networking service is a great portal to use. While most companies use fan pages to self-market and even better alternative is establishing a Facebook Store.
Make Money with Online Facebook Stores
A Facebook store can be compared to a ‘super charged’ fan page—what it does is in addition to promoting, it allows small business owners for example to sell their merchandise or services at a special discounted rate when purchasing through Facebook in the hopes of enticing customers. This shouldn’t be confused with simply adding an e-commerce app onto a fan page however—e-commerce buttons just re-directs customers to another site to confirm purchases.
With a Facebook store however, not only can costumers make purchases directly on Facebook, but you will be part of collection of other Facebook stores. In a way, it’s as almost if you own an individual store within a large shopping mall or market—costumers can start off in one store but then somehow accidently end up at your store which means you are exposed to a much broader audience (not just fans of your page). As a bonus, whenever a user makes a purchase his or her friends will be notified on their wall feed which means that you can potentially acquire even more customers that way. That said, it’s an excellent way to make some income.
While some of the bigger Facebook stores charge a small monthly fee for you to set up shop like Social Mall, there are some other options that provide services for free. One of the better free ones is Shopping Mall.  While only providing the basics –vendors can post images of merchandise, display prices and develop a color scheme for their store—the app works pretty well. Vendors must have a business-related Paypal account first however before you sign up so customers can actually make purchases. But other than that all you need to do is register/ set up an account with Shopping Mall and then add the app.

PC Suite For Nokia Mobile Phones – Free Download Latest Nokia PC Suite

Latest Nokia Mobile PC Suite Free Download

PC Suite For Nokia Mobile Phones - Free Download Latest Nokia PC Suite
Nokia PC Suite Connected Your Nokia Mobile Phones and PC Computers, Nokia PC Suite Help to Transfer your Nokia Mobile Phones Data like Photos, Videos, Music Files and Contacts and Notes, etc.
Nokia PC Suite Help to Install Software Application in your Nokia mobile Phone, Nokia Mobile phone Backup Easy and Fast Transfer. Nokia PC Suite Support All Windows Operating Systems , Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7.

Nokia PC Suite Features : 

  • Backup and Restore Nokia Mobile Phone Files
  • Transfer Mobile Content like Photos, Videos, Music and Etc
  • Connect Internet in your PC Computer
  • Synchronize Your Nokia Phone Data
  • Install Mobile Phone Application and Games
  • Compose Ringtone and Music Files
  • Send SMS and MMS From PC Computer

Nokia PC Suie Compatible Mobile Phones:

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LG intros two new Sandy Bridge notebooks with "crystalline finish"

LG has introduced a pair of brightly colored Sandy Bridge notebooks -- the S430 and S530 -- to its Aurora family. Both machines have been treated with a "crystalline finish," which LG describes as an "innovative" coating process that utilizes NCVM (Non-Conductive Vapor Metallization) technology to produce a glossy metallic veneer that protects the lid from dings. While it may aid against scratches, there's no word about how the crystalline finish withstands fingerprints.
Besides their unusual finish, the new Aurora notebooks are standard fare among today's mass market multimedia laptops. The S430 carries a 14.1-inch 1366x768 display while the S530 is upgraded to a 15.6-inch 1600x900 panel, and both will be offered with an Intel Pentium, Core i3 or Core i5 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, as much as 750GB of mechanical storage, and a DVD burner. Select models will have their integrated Intel graphics augmented by a Radeon HD 6470M.
Other features include Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0 ports, a 7-in-1 card reader, a 1-megapixel webcam, presumably HDMI or some other video output interface, and a six-cell battery (no mention of battery life). Fully loaded, the smaller machine weighs about 2.6kg (5.7lbs) but that can be reduced to 2.45kg by removing the optical drive. The systems are set to hit shelves in the Middle East, Africa and Asia next month. Pricing is unknown

HP is giving away select TouchPad apps


touchpad, hp, free apps

HP is offering TouchPad users six paid apps absolutely free for a limited time. The promotion comes shortly after HP discontinued the WebOS tablet after less than two months on the market and sparked a fire liquidation sale.
The offer was announced on the official HP Palm blog yesterday. The apps in question range from games to a bird watching guide and vary in price from $0.99 to $14.99. As of writing, only customers in the US can score these apps for free but HP plans to expand the offer to other countries soon.
To score the free apps, simply click on the links below on your TouchPad then enter in the promo code. You will need a credit card tied to your account for verification purposes but it won’t be charged.
Glimpse ($5): Amp up your TouchPad multitasking to 11 using this customizable and addictive split-screen interface. Use promo code:  injoj55410gavxv
Kung Fu Panda 2 Storybook ($2.99): Enjoy images and voices from Kung Fu Panda 2 right on your TouchPad. Use promo code:  eotss76676jjzqr
Big Boss ($1.99): Design your “Boss” – a gigantic monster – and attempt to defeat the brave heroes and powerful wizards of WackyLands. Use promo code:  vfimk09918lngoz
Sparkle HD ($4.99): Save Crowberry Woods in this TouchPad version of the popular desktop game. Use promo code:  pweuq32135vrbhx
Camera for TouchPad ($0.99): Start snapping away, with options for managing your photos and using them with other TouchPad apps. Use promo code:  rijon62171nhvtu
Audubon Birds ($14.99): This searchable digital field guide to North American birds offers stunning photography and thrilling (trilling?) bird songs. Use promo code:  jjiox66488ddnik
Promo codes are valid until August 31, or for as long as inventory is available. If none of these freebies appeal to you, HP is planning to release another 6-pack of apps in early September.

Asus readying five to seven ultrabooks, starting at $799

Ultrabooks are coming and, as expected, Asus will be among those leading the charge. According to a report by the Financial Times, the company is expected to release "five to seven" models later this year with prices between $799 and $1,999. That's notably higher than Intel’s target price of $999 and under, but we can't really say we're surprised given OEM's component pricing concerns and the manufacturing challenge that the thinner form factor represents.
Asus' chief executive Jerry Shen also commented on Intel's ambition for ultrabooks to make up 40% of the consumer notebook market by the end of 2012, saying this is a very aggressive target that would be difficult to meet before 2013. The company expects its ‘U’ series of ultrabooks to account for 20% of its notebook sales next year.
Besides the technical difficulties involved in designing and manufacturing ultrabooks, Asus claims that there's limited capacity in the supply chain and at best it could handle producing around 200,000 units per month for now. As a reference, Asus shipped 3.1 million notebooks in the second quarter, or roughly 1 million notebooks a month.
Increased production and lower prices will eventually come, but not without any additional supply chain investments. Intel has already said it is setting apart $300 million to push the category over the next 3 to 4 years, though it remains to be seen if more notebook manufacturers decide to get on board. For now only Asus and Acer have talked about their upcoming ultrabook offerings, while Lenovo suggested that it would achieve mainstream prices in 2012.
We should note that Apple and Samsung are already selling systems that meet all of the criteria of an ultrabook -- including pricing -- with the 11.6-inch Samsung Series 9 and 11-inch Apple MacBook Air both starting at $999.

Samsung interested in buying webOS ?


samsung, webos, tablet, smartphone, hp

Following HP's decision to halt its webOS projects and potentially exit the PC market Samsung quickly emerged as the most likely candidate for a buyout. Though HP didn't exactly confirm it was going to exit the PC market yet, the Korean company already put all speculation to rest, claiming it has no interest in making such a move. But now new rumors suggest that it's the ill-fated smartphone and tablet platform that Samsung has its eye on.
"Sources noted that the acquisition of HP's PC business, which has a rather low gross margin, may turn out to hurt Samsung's panel and DRAM businesses that have rather high gross margins, therefore HP's webOS may be the target that Samsung has the most interest in," a report on DigiTimes reads.
Despite plans to stop making smartphones and tablet devices itself, HP has said it is not killing off webOS and that it is seeking "the best hardware partner for it." Apparently their intention is licensing it to others but at this point that seems like a tough sell considering the Pre/TouchPad failure and lack of developer support.
For Samsung, acquiring or licensing webOS could help it stand out from the hordes of Android-running phones and tablets. It could also help the company move away from all the Android lawsuits flying around lately and protect itself against Google potentially "second-tiering" its Android partners now that it has taken Motorola into the fold.
It's worth noting that Samsung has already gained some ground with low-end phones based on its Bada software while also dabbling in Windows Phone 7 devices, so the company is clearly keeping its options open when it comes to the mobile platforms it supports.

Apple starts testing iTunes Match


apple, itunes, music, icloud, itunes match, ios 5

Update: Apparently what looked like a “stream” is really a simultaneous listen and download — users can hear the song while their machine ingests it. Apple is said to have streaming rights but the company doesn't trust the mobile service providers to provide a constantly usable connection to a cloud service to forego local playback altogether yet.
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A developer beta of iTunes Match just went live yesterday and brought with it a previously unannounced feature that will surely go a long way justifying its $25 annual price tag.
The service, announced during Apple's WWDC 2011 in June, scans your entire music library and compares it against some 18 million songs in Apple's database. Those that are matched -- even the ones that have been downloaded illegally -- will become available for download onto your devices as if you've purchased them via iTunes, the rest will be uploaded, and low quality songs will be upgraded to 256kbps AAC files.
Until now, Apple hadn't advertised streaming as part of iTunes Match, but now it has enabled the option. It could be that the company was still negotiating streaming rights with major labels when iTunes Match was announced, or perhaps it just decided to add the feature along the way. Whatever the case it seems Apple is ready to play hardball against Google and Amazon, which launched similar services earlier this year.
The move also puts Apple in direct competition with subscription services like Spotify or Rdio, as it gives users access to their entire music library through Wi-Fi or 3G without using up valuable space on their iOS devices.
The full iTunes Match and Apple iCloud are expected to go live in the fall when iOS 5 and the next iPhone arrive. Check out the video below for a short demonstration of the new music service in action:

HP addresses TouchPad questions

touchpad, webos, hp
Less than two weeks ago HP dropped a bombshell by announcing they would be halting their WebOS division and effectively slashed prices on the HP TouchPad to $99 and $149 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively. Since then, demand for HP’s tablet has been phenomenal and finding one at that price has been next to impossible for most.
HP is surprised at the enthusiastic response from the price drop and as a result, has been flooded with questions from users and potential customers alike. The company took to their blog yesterday to answer some of the more pressing questions regarding availability, pricing and ordering.
The most common question from the public is when will HP get more TouchPads. HP says that they will have more information available in the next few days about whether or not they will have more available and if so, what the details are on the situation.
Regarding those who have signed up for alerts about replenished stock, emails will be going out to everyone on that list at the same time so each person has a fair shot at scoring the tablet. Due to high demand, no further email signup notifications are being accepted at this time.
Potential customers have also expressed dissatisfaction about people buying multiple TouchPads and reselling them for a profit online. HP says that if more stock becomes available, they'll implement an order limit to help curb this behavior.
If you purchased your TouchPad at a higher price before the liquidation sale started, you are urged to check with your retailer regarding their price match policy. A full list of questions and answers can be found on HP’s blog.
Were you one of the lucky ones to get a TouchPad for next to nothing, and if so, what do you plan to do with it?

HP executive talks PC business spinoff, TouchPad revival


touchpad, hp

HP still hasn't come to a decision regarding the future of its Personal Systems Group (PSG) unit but at least one executive is voicing what he believes will be of best value to shareholders, customers and employees.
In an interview with Reuters, PSG head Todd Bradley claims that HP would be better off spinning off its PC business rather than selling it, but the company is still figuring out the full implications of separating the PC business from HP.
If HP does in fact spin off the PSG business, the resulting company will retain its position as the world's largest PC manufacturer and Bradley says he would like to lead HP through this transition. He also cited Acer reporting its first-ever quarterly loss last week as he argued that selling the PC division to a rival is not a desired alternative.
Interestingly, Bradley said the company could resurrect HP's short-lived TouchPad tablet computer, which was introduced on July 1 before being killed off only about six weeks later. According to the executive this is a segment of the market that's very relevant today. That said, the future of webOS is also uncertain at this point. The company has said it will continue to support it, and is looking for licensing partners, but a buyout could also be in the cards.
The interview took place as Bradley toured China, visiting HP suppliers and retail partners to reassure them that the company is committed to doing business in that market despite the changes ahead for its PC-making unit.
HP's board is scheduled to meet in December to decide the future of its PC business, but regardless if they decide to sell the unit or spin off into a separate company, the whole ordeal could still take another 12 to 18 months.

Amazon could sell five million tablets next quarter


amazon, apple, ipad, tablet

Amazon could be looking to sell as many as five million tablets by the end of the year. Such sales would be contingent upon a sub-$300 price point and enough supply to meet demand, says Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps. Others seem to think that Amazon could come in as low as $249, a price that would significantly undercut Apple’s iPad.
Earlier this year it was rumored that Amazon was manufacturing two different tablets. The first would be an entry-level device codenamed Coyote (based on the dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 platform) and the second slate would be codenamed Hollywood (based on the quad-core Nvidia codename Kal-El platform, which is likely to be called Tegra 3).
Later rumors hinted that Quanta Computer would assemble processors developed by Texas Instruments, Taiwan-based Wintek's touch panels, and ILI Technology's LCD driver ICs.
It’s hard to fathom a Tegra 3 tablet with a sub $300 price tag, but if anyone could pull it off, it’s Amazon. Regardless of what hardware Amazon eventually brings to market, a $300 price point would likely mean the company is selling the tablet at a loss. Amazon could still make a hefty profit from the device from digital books, music, videos and apps sold to users.
This could be the first serious competitor to the iPad, as Apple primarily makes money from hardware sales on the iPad. It would be a long time before Amazon could steal the crown from Cupertino, but healthy competition is good for everyone, especially the consumer.
Amazon hasn’t said anything official about their tablet plans, nor would we expect them to ahead of launch. The most recent rumor for a launch window is sometime before October.

Facebook bounty program earns security researchers $40,000


facebook, bounty

A new bug bounty program launched by Facebook has spent more than $40,000 in its first 21 days, with one security researcher earning over $7,000 for finding six severe bugs in social networking behemoth's code. Facebook has long been the target of cyber criminals who frequently use the site to sell fake goods, send spam, and even mine personal information thanks to the site's lacklustre and confusing privacy settings.
While Facebook already has an in-house team dedicated to finding and resolving bugs, this new program takes it a step further by paying outsiders to submit vulnerabilities. In a blog post yesterday, Facebook Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan took the opportunity to comment on the bug bounty program, saying it proved highly useful.
"We realize, though, that there are many talented and well-intentioned security experts around the world who don’t work for Facebook. Over the years, we have received excellent support from independent researchers who have let us know about bugs they have found.  A couple of years ago, we decided to formalize a “whitehat” program to encourage these researchers to look for bugs and report them to us...We established this bug bounty program in an effort to recognize and reward these individuals for their good work and encourage others to join," said Sullivan.
This program is a step forward, aiming to increase security and reduce vulnerabilities in Facebook's own code. Unfortunately, the site's anti-bug initiative doesn't include unsafe third party applications that have long plagued Facebook users -- most of which are unaware of the potential implications of using them.
It's worth noting that Mozilla and Google offer similar initiatives for their web browsers, paying external security experts thousands of dollars to responsibly disclose software vulnerabilities
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