Three2Tango » Gadgets Corner

World’s Slimmest USB Drives launched by Moser Baer

Vivek — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:16:44 +0000

Moser Baer has launched the “Knight” USB Flash drives, which is claimed to be the world’s slimmest 8GB USB flash drive. The USB Device measures just 2.3mm in width and weighs only 1.3 grams! The USB flash drive comes with embedded LED and is just 29.4 x 12.4 x 2.3mm in size. These micro USB Flash drives are equipped with an advanced “Chip-on-Board technology” which allows 8GB of flash storage on its very small case. It also comes with the “MyZone” option which allows the users to customize their own private and public storage space which can be secured by using a password.

Other Specs:

USB Support
USB 1.1/2.0

Compatible OS
Windows, Linux, Mac

Colors available
Red, Yellow, Green, Pink and Orange

Price
4GB: Rs. 750 8GB:Rs. 1,150

Other Features
Embedded LED, Lanyard,5 Year warranty, Dust and water resistance, password enabled customized storage options

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iPhone vs Android

Vivek — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:45:27 +0000

Which is the best mobile operating system? Well, a year ago , this would have been a senseless question to ask as the iPhone OS was so much above the rest in terms of performance and mainly the IPhone Apps.The case is however very different after the launch of the Android Operating system.The Android phones are a stiff and worthy competition to the IPhone. The Android is not just going to be a threat for the iPhone , but also the iPad, with a number of Android based tablets that is being launched.

Android can be a worthy competitor to the iPhone. The Droid devices provides true multi tasking and this is one feature people would like to see on their smart phones and certainly a tablet is not worth it if it does not support multi tasking. True that the iPhone OS 4 has multi tasking capabilities, but that too is very limited. good for Apple that they have provided some thought to the idea of multi tasking at least now.

Apple’s biggest advantage has been the thousands of iApps available through the app store. Apple controls this whole store and there is no dearth of applications in the app store. But ,the Android is fast catching up with the IPhone in this front also. Also, the users are able to use only the applications available through the app store.There are no such restrictions imposed on the Droid devices, and also large number of applications are being made for the Android devices.Also,with many prominent mobile phone manufacturers turning to Android OS, the number of applications could still rise. The number of Android apps is already around 100,000.Also, the Droid will support Adobe Flash. As hundreds of web sites still use Flash prominently, the lack of Flash support on the iPad may prove decisive. Android 2.2 is going to be released soon, meaning that Google is still trying to improve the OS. The Android 2.2 release will be the seventh platform released since the launch of the Android 1.0 in September 2009.The Android 2.2 will be faster and will also feature rich set of new API.

So which is the best OS for mobile phones and tablets? As of now, Apple leads the race but the “Droids” are fast catching up.With more and more manufacturers looking to make Android devices, as an OS for mobiles, the future of Android looks bright.

HP buys Palm to enter the SmartPhone market

Vivek — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:23:13 +0000

HP has never been a major player when it came to Smart Phones.Not that HP wont be able to buid a masterpiece on its own, but when there is a short cut , everyone would take it and HP were no different. Also Lenovo’s and Dell’s intentions to enter the Smart Phone market would have prompted HP to think seriously about the Smart Phone venture. With Palm’s shares plungin down heavily,HP had the oppurtunity . HP will buy Palm for $1.2 billion.

The advantages to HP is the Palm’s WebOS operationg system,the Palm Pre and the Palm Pixi smart phones. Another great advantage would be that Palm’s technical know-how about wireless connectivity would help bolster H’s own ambitions in wireless technology. All the more, the deal seems to be a very good one for HP. Add to this the large number of experienced management and engineering talent in Palm, HP has entered the Smart Phone market with a bang.

Palm has been recentky struggling to make an impact even though the Palm Pre was well received. But with the new iPhone 3G making an even larger impact that the iPhone, Palm were having a tough time in the market. HP’s decision hs come as a great relief to Palm. Also ,with HP’s global presence, Palm would also be able to make a better impact globally.With HP’s financial security, we could very well see Palm+ HP making great strides in the Smart Phone market.Finally,may be, we might just be able to see a worthy competitor to the iPhone, from the Palm+HP stables.

Apple iPhone OS 4 – A sneak peek

Vivek — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:02:42 +0000

Apple are on a roll these days. Just a few months after the iPad and the iPhone 3G was launched, Apple has now unveiled plans for a whole new iPhone OS,the iPhone OS4.The unveiling of the iPhone OS4 would mean that the next iPhone is also round the corner. The iPhone OS4 is supposed to be the biggest and the most exciting iPhone software update ever. It will come with over 100 new user features,that is going to make the iPhone even more exciting. iPhone OS 4 will be shipped for iPhone and iPod touch and the iPad very soon.

Now a sneak peek at the very new features to be made available in the OS 4. Some of the features include Multitasking,Organization into Folders,iBooks,better mail,improved data support and an enhanced enterprise support.

The multitasking functionality is one new feature that the iPad surely needed to have. But with this software update, Apple will be able to attract more customers to buy the iPad.

May be one thing that the enthusiasts will be disappointed is by the fact that the flash support will be still missing in the OS 4. May be Steve Jobs and his Apple crew will be waiting for the next iPhone to be launched before actually going through with the flash support integration.Watch this space for more news on the OS 4 very soon.

Apple iPad – Launch & Latest News

Apple iPad – Launch & Latest News

Dileep — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 07:04:54 +0000

The Apple iPad went on sale on the 5th of April 2010, and more than 300,000 iPads were sold on the first day itself. This was a huge response for the tablet computer, as it shattered all the preditions that were made. It was believed that about the same number would be sold inside the first week of it’s launch. Steve Jobs, Apple chief executive, said “It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world it’s going to be a game-changer; iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad.” Similar in functionality to the smaller, less powerful iPhone or iPod touch, it runs a modified version of the same operating system (iPhone OS), with a user interface redesigned to take advantage of the larger screen. The iPad has a 9.7-inch (25 cm) LED backlit multi-touch display, 16 to 64 gigabytes (GB) of flash memory, Bluetooth, and a 30-pin dock connector to sync with iTunes and connect wired accessories.

The initial response has been pretty good. Most of the initial buyers seemed to be happy with what they have after day 1 of owning their iPads. The applications supported are Mobile Safari, iBooks, Calendar/Contacts, Mail, iTunes / iBookstore / App Store, Video / iPod / YouTube, etc. Some of the popular third party apps available on the iPad are Marvel, ABC video player, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times, Netflix, Yahoo! Entertainment, TweetDeck, etc. On the downside, some of the owners immediately logged on to Apple forums complaining that their iPad had little or no wi-fi signal, where other devices worked well. Some suggest that the problem could be a weak wi-fi antenna, which is located behind the logo on the back of the iPad. Apple haven’t yet commented on the issue. Let’s wait and find out on how the iPad would perform in the market.

Dell to Launch Smartphones in India

Dileep — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 07:05:00 +0000

Dell India announced yesterday, that it will soon market it’s range of smartphones in the country. The company beat HP to become the top selling mobile PC brand in India, and is doing wonderfully well in the country, as they have more than doubled their quarterly revenues in the last year. CEO and chairman Michael Dell said the comapny is going to target the smartphone market in a big way. “There are about 4 billion mobile phone users in the world, but only 1.5% of them have a smartphone.. Over the next five years, most of those 98.5% will say, ‘I’d like to have a smartphone.. to access the videos, share photos, social networking..’ We have already launched smartphones in China, Brazil. It will be coming in the US pretty soon. The 98.5% people who have phones, but not smartphones are a big opportunity,” he said at a Nasscom event.

The Android-powered Aero is Dell’s first smartphone. Some of the features of the Aero include a 3.5-inch (640×360) display, GPS, Flash Lite, contacts/calendar integration with Facebook friends/events, and a 5 megapixel camera with Flickr, Facebook, Picassa, YouTube and TwitPic sharing. The Dell Mini 3i is a phone already launched by the company, and available in the Chinese markets. The Mini 3i smartphone is compatible with a range of consumer applications, e-mail platforms, and office productivity software. This Android phone is capable of making a Wi-Fi connection, supports GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSDPA and Bluetooth + EDR. Features include a 3.5-inch (640×360) display, mini USB port, SD card slot (no word on maximum storage size), and a 3.2-megapixel camera.

Dell smartphones, thus, makes it’s way to the Indian market, after China, brazil and the US. If the Chariman’s words are to be believed, there is huge scope in the mobile phone market. Moreover, Android phones are supposed to be the most sought-after variety in the times to come. All together, things does look rosy for Dell in India.

The cheapest Dual SIM phones-Intex ISmart and Zen Z77

Vivek — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:43:16 +0000

Just like the automobile industry in India isbeing filled in with more and more foreign manufacturers entering the fray, the mobile phone industry has also caught the eye of more and more manufacturers. The latest entrants to the market are Zen mobile and Intex.

The mobile phone market may not be easy for new manufacturers to make it big. There should be something that stands out,which will allow them to compete with the already established big guns like Nokia,Samsung and Sony Ericsson.As such, these two companies have gone for Dual Sim smart phones, at a very lower price.

Intex ISmart

Both Intex and Zen mobile’s Dual Sim phones have a striking resemblance to the BlackBerry Curve.The Intex ISmart Dual Sim smart phone has a phone factor that could well establish it as the ‘poor man’s Blackberry’It comes with a QWERTY keypad and a 2.2 TFT LCD display to make the typing and viewing quite easy, at least that’s what Intex wants us to believe. While the typing is good,with the comparitively good spacing between keys, the display as such can be so disgusting at times,especially a glowing blue track ball makes it difficult for the eyes.The UI is also not very spectacular but cant say too many wrong things about it,even though it is dreadfully slow..There is no 3G for the Intex ISmart. You will have to be happy with a slow browser,WAP and GPRS.

The camera on the ISmart is VGA with LED flash and white balancing.The picture quality is not the best but then we really can’t expect much from a VGA camera.The battery life of the ISmart is one that will disappoint many users. The battery life is very very poor to say the least at just over 2 hours.The Dual SIM GSM+GSM ISmart comes at a price of just Rs. 5,500, which i feel is really low when you compare it with the prices of its competitors. True that many other features may be available for these phone, but then the prices are also too high. This is where the ISmart gains.Now whether someone will choose a comparatively new one or the tried and tested Nokias,Samsungs or SEs, is something that only time will tell.Our verdict for the ISmart is “NOT BAD” for the price but it surely is not the best Dual SIM phone you will get.

Zen Z77

Another new entrant in the scene is Zen Mobiles and they too have gone with the idea of producing cheap ‘Blackberries’. The Z77 too has a striking resemblance to the Blackberry Curve.The Z77 even uses the same colors for the keypad and rear panel. The Z77 also comes with a 2.2 TFT LCD screen and a QWERTY keypad. The key pad spacing in the ISmart is a touch better compared to Zen Z77 but not much to choose between. There is no glowing trackball in the Z77 to hurt your eyes.The UI in the Z77 is also better than the ISmart as it is much faster and also do not contain many unnecessary icons to choose from.The audio and video quality is ok so is the FM radio reception.The Z77 also offers you GPRS and WAP connectivity. A micro USB slot is also provided at the bottom which is good. The battery life is not the best but much better than the Ismart at around 4.5 hours.

The camera is a 1.3 MP camera. Dont just be fooled into believing that the picture quality on this is better than the ISmart. The quality is almost similar, inspite of not being VGA. But the most striking feature of the Z77 is the price. It comes at a price as low as Rs. 3,300. That that is really really very low for the features it has. I think people can still buy the Z77 without parting ways with their tried and tested Nokias and Smasungs by keeping this as a backup phone. At Rs.3,300, the Z77 is without doubt a good phone to have.

Between the Z77 and the ISmart, there is no doubt as to who the winner is. The Z77 is much cheaper and better in almost all aspects. But then the ISmart is not bad either.

WINK micro-USB Flash Drive

Vivek — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:44:39 +0000

The USB technology has been one of the sucess stories of the computing world.The USB drives are now longer devices that can hold a little information but they can now be used for storing large amounts of data with storage capacities going as far as 500GB and more.And the sizes of these devices have also reduced drastically.But have you ever wondered which is the smallest USB flash drive,that is in terms of size,not the storage capacity?

The answer to this is the Active Media Products’ WINK flash drive. The Wink Flash drive measures just 1.2 x 0.5 x 0.1 inches and weighs just about 1/20th of an ounce. To reduce the size and weight, Active Media have not included the cap for the USB connection. But inspite of all the small size and weight, the WINK drive is by no means a fragile product.It is actually coated to make it waterproof and also has a second high impact polymer casing.The outer case also features an eye hole for an included chain and an embossed wink face,hence the name.

The WINK drive is also by no means meant for only small amounts of storage, with the WINK drive available in 2GB,4GB,8GB and 16GB versions.The WINK is also fully compactible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 and there needs no extra drivers to run on most operating systems.I am not sure whether it is available in India. The WINK costs around 8$ for the 2GB version and 38$ for the 16GB version in the US markets.

Just to provide you with an insight of how small the WINK is, take a look at the image where the WINK is alongside a cube.The WINK flash drive is no doubt a small wonder.

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Nokia 5230 and 5530 XpressMusic-New Touchscreen Phones from Nokia

Vivek — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:27:22 +0000

With the mobile phone market getting more and more competitive,every manufacturer is trying their best to lure customers into buying their products.Nokia were the undisputed market leader when it came to mobile phones in India not so long ago.But now with Sony Ericsson and Samsung going all out in pursuit of a larger share in the Indian market,Nokia is facing some stiff competition.Also,the attitude of the common Indian who wanted only a simple phone that could make and take calls is changing drastically.Now,people are attracted by the look,features and most of all 3G!!

On Tuesday,25th of August,Nokia announced the launch of two new touch-screen mobile phones-the Nokia 5230 and the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic.
Nokia 5230 Xpress Music
The Nokia 5230 is basically supposed to be a budget-friendly multimedia phone and a direct competitor to the Samsung Star series phones.The Nokia 5230 comes priced quite similar to the Samsung Star at Rs.10,500(149 Euro).The Nokia 5230 shares a similar look to the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic with a 3.2 touchscreen display with a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels.The emphasis seemed to be on providing the providing entertainment.It features the ‘Media Bar’ which allows quick access to your favorite music,photos or other applications.Coupled with all these is ‘entertainment on the go’ with the Nokia Music Store and OviStore.The music playback time is said to be 33 hours.Fm Radio,a 3.5mm Audio Jack and a microSD slot completes the wide features available for entertainment on this new Nokia phone,which runs on the latest Symbian S60.

The Nokia 5230’s lower price can be attributed to the fact that camera has been downgraded to 2.0 mega pixels and also loses its Wi-Fi Connectivity.However the Nokia 5230 is 3G(HSDPA max. 3.6 Mbps) enabled,has Bluetooth and A-GPS.the Nokia 5230 will be available in early 2010.The Wi-Fi unavailability may be the one feature that may work against the Nokia 5230.

For the Full Specifications check Nokia.com

Nokia 5530 XpressMusic
The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is another music and entertainment device like the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic,but more affordable and compact.The Nokia 5800 was an instant hit because of its ‘value for money’ features.The new Nokia 5530 also provides the same at an even more affordable rate.The Nokia 5530 will be priced at Rs.14,000 and runs on the S60 5th Edition OS.The touchscreen phone features a 2.9 ” display,3.2 MP camera,Wi-Fi Connectivity,Fm Radio and more.So what is the difference between the 5230 and he 5530? well,the Nokia 5530 does provide you Wi-Fi and the higher resolution camera,but comes at the expense of 3G.
For Full Specifications,Visit Nokia.com

The Nokia 5530 like the 5230 will come with massive features for entertainment.One touch shortcuts to content and popular social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace is also available.A real pity that it is 3G less!!27 hours playback time,4GB memory card etc extent the entertainment experience on the phone.The Nokia 5530 will also be available in the first quarter of 2010.

Nokia hopes to make it big by providing consumers with phones that have good looks,enhanced touch and music experience and at the same time competitively pricing.

Zune HD-Portable Perfection

Vivek — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:03:33 +0000

Microsoft Zune HD,Microsoft’s next generation portable media player will be in stores from September 15th.Apple i-Pod have long ruled the portable media player market while Zune always had to be second to the Apple product.The new Zune looks impressive and also is a remarkable improvement from the earlier models.Zune HD does look like a media player that will deliver you with the richest music experience on a portable device.

The Zune HD boasts a Nvidia Tegra CPU,high resolution OLED display and new styling.A 16GB version of the Zune HD will come in black colors while a 32 G version will also be available which will have a “platinum” finish. The display is a 3.3 inch capacitive OLED touchscreen which has been covered with glass and a single home button beneath it.The top edge will have the power button(or the lock) and the left edge has the volume rocker,quite similar to its earlier versions.

The touchscreen will allow you to flip through music,movies,pictures and other content with ease and the 16:9 widescreen display should give you rich viewing experience.

Its not just the stylish looks that makes the Zune HD worth worth a wait.It will be the first portable media player that combines built in HD Radio receiver,HD video output capabilities,Wi-Fi and an Internet Browser. The integrated HD Radio receiver will allow users to hear their favorite radio stations with crystal clear reception.The Zune HD also supports 720p HD videos through its HD video out capabilities.Of course for this,you will have to to buy the extra AV Dock and an HDTV.The HD video files will also play on the player,but it will be downsized to fit the 480 x 720 screen.

The browsing experience on the player should also be good as it will have a feature rich browser,built in accelerometer and a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard.

The Black 16GB model will cost around Rs.10,000($220) while the 32GB Platimum model will cost Rs.13,000+($290).The Zune D does look like a worthy competitor to the IPod Touch.

[View with PicLens]

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