Month / August 2012

by Kush

Which way to go, Tablet or Notebook ?

There are people I know who think a tablet can do all the things that a notebook can. There are numerous choices of tablets and we are constantly bombarded by advertisements. Some folks easily get swayed by the ads and the many choices and buy a device that they think would serve their purpose. But very soon they regret buying it. Hence it is better to know what device you really require before you order it. Here we shall look at both devices from a user’s perspective.

If you’re not desk-bound all year-round and travel a lot, you might prefer a device that is less of a burden and as useful as the PC in your office. At first impulse, you might choose the tablet because it is light and also offers long battery life compared to laptops and notebooks. But on the flipside, there’s only so much you can do with a tablet. What are the things you can or cannot expect from either device:

Preparing documents, worksheets, presentations
On a notebook, you can do all of the above. But try doing that on a tablet and you might burst a blood vessel. And it’s not just a matter of getting used to. After all, the tablet’s touch-screen is not tough enough to take hours of typing and endless navigation.

Checking email, Web-browsing
If it’s just looking up your mailbox, posting Facebook updates and searching for something on the Web, then either device can do just as well. But replying to an email with some detail and lengthy explanation may require typing – a tad more difficult compared to using a notebook.

Entertainment while travelling
If you travel a lot and can’t do without music and entertainment or reading, then the obvious choice would be the slimmer, lighter tablet. Some tablets can allow you as many as 5 hours of music or video-watching pleasure on a single charge. I doubt if notebooks can offer you that.

Storage capacity
If you like to store tons of documents, presentations, videos, music and other data files in your portable device then a notebook would be the right choice. Tablets can hardly give you more than 64GB. Some give you just 16GB! Whereas notebook hard-disks can store as much as 320GB, some laptops even offer 1 terrabyte of storage space. Of course, today you have cloud storage to help unburden your device plus microSD card, but still the choice weighs heavily in the notebook’s favour.

Making presentations
If you need a device for business use, then you would sometimes need to hook it up with other devices like a projector, a printer or a router. This is where the notebook proves more useful with at least 3 USB ports. The notebook would also have a card reader and an Ethernet port unlike the tablet.

WiFi
Most new notebooks are WiFi-enabled like the tablet. But the latter is a great deal lighter to use in places like a busy mall.

Video conferencing
The tablet, any day, is a lot more convenient compared to the bulky laptop for video conferencing. In fact, the latest tablets (Microsoft’s Surface) now come with a Webcam that is angled such that the images are straight and not slanted. It also has a kick-stand that allows you to keep the device standing while you go about making your presentation.

Ultimately, what also matters is if you have a man Friday to carry your stuff around for you all the time. Then it hardly makes a difference whether you buy either or even both.

by Kush

Aakash tablet goes on sale online for Rs. 2,500

Head over to aakashtablet.com! India’s debutant, low-cost tablet, Aakash has gone up for sale online (only!) for a price of Rs.2,500. The Aakash tablet will be delivered in a week’s time from the date of placing the order, and customers can pay the cash on delivery. The commercial version of the tablet, Ubislate, however can be preordered online for a price of Rs.2,999. Only UbiSlate 7 will be available by late January, next year. Makers, Datawind have put up as many as 30,000 units of the Aakash tablet for sale online, over a week’s period.

The Aakash tablet runs on Android 2.2 and boast of the following specifications:

7-inch, resistive touchscreen

  • Wi-Fi, 2 USB ports
  • Processor: 366MHz + HD video co-processor
  • Flash memory: 2GB + 2GB microSD (expandable to 32GB),
  • RAM: 256 MB
  • Battery: 2100 mAh
  • Battery life: 3 hours

 

Tried ordering for the Aakash tablet, today? We did and soon after received an e-mail stating the price of the tablet, which much to our surprise was slated as Rs.2,999 and not Rs.2,500 (Aakash tablet). Simply put, it was the UbiSlate 7 that we were being offered and not the Aakash tablet. Most importantly, and like we’ve been pointing out in our reports, the Aakash tablet is not commercially available for purchase by single individuals.

The very aim of the Aakash tablet is to make quality education and technology accessible to the masses who cannot afford it. So, if you’re a single buyer, you may well have to wait for the commercial version of the tablet i.e. the UbiSlate 7, which, if you’ve pr-ordered already, should reach you sometime late next month.

by Kush

Karbonn officially launches the A9 Android smartphone

Karbonn mobile is, like the rest of the local handset makers, cashing in on the Android boom and has only recently launched yet another addition to their Android range of budget smartphones. The Karbonn A9 that’s available on Infibeam.com has just made it out and comes equipped with interesting features that could make it a worthy competitor in the lower budget smartphone segment.

Loaded up with a 1 GHz processor, the Karbonn A9 will come with Android Gingerbread aka v2.3.6 as the operating system. Keeping the competition in mind, Karbonn has also incorporated a dual-SIM (GSM + GSM) functionality with the A9 smartphone allowing users to have two numbers run simultaneously on the handset.

Here’s a quick look at some of the additional features that Karbonn’s later offering will come equipped with –

  • 3.8-inch capacity touchscreen display with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution
  • 3G, EDGE/GPRS and Wi-Fi capabilities for net access
  • GPS with A-GPS support for Google Maps
  • Bluetooth with A2DP and USB 2.0 (Micro)
  • 5MP camera with LED flash and secondary camera up front
  • FM radio
  • 1GB internal + microSD card support for up to 32GB more memory

A major highlight in the Karbonn A9’s specs would be the 1600 mAh battery that powers the handset. It should prove to be quite handy for heavy use on a daily basis, but we can only confirm this after we’ve conducted a proper review of the device.

Karbonn seems quite determined to make a statement in the industry, as late last month there was a little buzz about the company launching two new smartphones, the A9 included; there was word of them announcing a new tablet device as well. The tablet would feature Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) version of the Operating System. The SmartTab 1 appeared to be a heavily loaded tablet that would possibly compete with rival, Micromax’s Funbook.

Karbonn’s A9 smartphone will come with a price tag of Rs.8,999. This puts it in a great position to seriously compete with the likes of Samsung, Micromax and any other local company developing low-budget smart devices.

by Kush

Zenga TV launches live TV for computers

Zenga TV has announced a web version of Live TV for computers which will host a variety of Live and Video on Demand (Vod) content. VoD allows users to watch movies, serials, news via streaming over the Internet and Zenga has got a few live channels for streaming as well.

The web version will allow users to get access to various channels pertaining to entertainment, news, regional languages and movies. All of this will be available for free. Zengatv.com will be available for low bandwidth users as well and the company has assured that it will run at a speed designed for India. To experience the WEB TV service, users need to click here.

Also, here’s our initial impression of the VoD and Live TV service. Two channels are currently available in the live section, Sahara One and UTV Bindaas. But, surely they’re planning to get more channels on to the web version. A range of movies have been added in the VoD section. We clicked on one of the movies and after an initial buffering, the player came up with a ‘Video not found or access denied’ error. Hopefully, that’s just a glitch. Another, important thing for streaming is bandwidth issues and the low bandwidth one worked pretty well without lagging. However, we’re running a pretty quick Internet connection and if any of you’ll have tried the web TV or VoD service, let us know your feedback in the comments section below.

by Kush

Microsoft Surface Lands

From touch to type, office to living room, from your screen to the big screen, you can see more, share more, and do more with Surface.Create, collaborate, and get stuff done with Office. Explore your world with fast, fluid Windows 8 apps. Discover new music, movies, and games in the Windows Store.

Surface is thin, light and it has a great battery. At 9.3mm, Surface for Windows RT is just thin enough to still sport a full sized USB port. Print, share, or charge your phone on the go.2 Head out knowing that you are ready for anything. Surface has a 10.6″, 16:9 widescreen HD Display. Microsoft’s ClearType HD Display technology delivers a great picture for movies. An ultra-wide viewing angle makes it easy for your friends to share in the vibrant experience. The auto-adjusting screen intensity delivers great visual clarity, indoors and out. The addition of the Micro SD card slot means you can bring your entire movie and music collection with you on vacation.

The rear-facing camera will be angled at 22 degrees to allow proper framing of another person while the “kickstand” is in use. The “kickstand” is a .77 mm thin built-in stand that spans the width of the device and allows Surface to be propped up at an angle in landscape orientation for a hands-free viewing experience. Surface Pro has perimeter venting which allows air to flow out the sides, and helps avoid airflow being impeded by hands holding the device.

Touch Cover and Type Cover

Microsoft will offer two keyboard covers for Surface: Touch Cover and Type Cover. Both, when folded up, serve as protective covers that connect to the Surface via a magnetic strip. When opened, the covers are keyboards. The Touch Cover is 3 mm in thickness and has a touch-sensitive keyboard. The Type Cover is thicker and includes a tactile keyboard. The keyboards have a gyroscope and accelerometer sensors to determine, based on position, whether or not to accept input. Both also include a multitouch touchpad.

About

Surface was designed to be your go-to-device. It comes with a precision crafted VaporMg casing that protects the vital technology inside and leaves a high quality finish and feel.Touch Cover comes in five vibrant colors. Type Cover offers classic typing experience for those who prefer a more traditional keyboard. Pick the one that best meets your needs and represents your sense of style.

by Kush

Hate Spending Money? Grab These Free Games

Free-to-play (F2P) refers to any video game or social or mobile application that has the option of allowing its players/users to play/download without paying. The model was first popularly used in early massively multiplayer online games (MMO) targeted towards casual gamers, before finding wider adoption among games released by major video game publishers to combat video game piracy and high system requirements. Since games using the concept are available at no cost to players, they use other means to gather revenue, such as charging money for certain in-game items (like powerful bonuses which are usually available for real money only) or integrating advertisements into the game.

Blacklight: Retribution

About the Game

Wage war with advanced weapons and technology in Blacklight: Retribution, a free-to-play, futuristic first-person shooter. Deploy devastating armored exoskeletons and utilize lethal hand-held weapons in vicious competitive modes.

SUIT UP, SIGHT ON, FIRE AWAY

The Hardsuit is the ultimate weapon. Powerful but slow, this armored suit packs a one-shot, one-kill railgun and a high velocity minigun to clear rooms… fast. Only by using teamwork, heavy weapons from in-game Weapon Depots and the Hyper Reality Visor (HRV), can players overcome the futuristic killing machine.

Tribes: Ascend

About the Game

Tribes: Ascend is the world’s fastest shooter – a high-adrenaline, online multiplayer FPS with jetpacks, skiing, vehicles, and multiple classes. The classic shooter franchise Tribes has been played by well over 1 million people. With Tribes: Ascend, the franchise is reborn – fast-paced, vertical, acrobatic combat combined with class-based teamwork and stunning sci-fi visuals.

Age of Empires Online

About the Game

Age of Empires Online is the next chapter in the best-selling Age of Empires PC game franchise features some of the greatest ancient civilizations including the Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, and Celts, with more being introduced all the time, and offers more than hundreds of hours of gameplay for free!

And that’s just where the experience starts! As players grow their empires and look for new adventures, Age of Empires Online delivers the opportunity to buy new Premium Content Packs – everything from entirely new civilizations to Booster Packs with new game modes and more. It’s the biggest Age of Empires game ever.

What’s more, Age of Empires Online adds new social interaction, customization, and MMORPG gameplay in an evolving and persistent world. Play co-operatively or competitively, craft and trade items, and level up by completing quests – all for free! Plus, Age of Empires Online still offers all the classic RTS gameplay, empowering players to build mighty empires, manage resources, earn rewards, and battle their way into rich new worlds full of lively villagers, epic warriors, and historically-themed architecture.

Team Fortress 2

About the Game

“The most fun you can have online” – PC Gamer

Is now FREE!

There’s no catch! Play as much as you want, as long as you like!

The most highly-rated free game of all time!

One of the most popular online action games of all time, Team Fortress 2 delivers constant free updates—new game modes, maps, equipment and, most importantly, hats. Nine distinct classes provide a broad range of tactical abilities and personalities, and lend themselves to a variety of player skills.

by Kush

Jelly Bean 4.1

jelly bean_android

The version history of the Android operating system began with the release of the Android beta in November 2007. The first commercial version, Android 1.0, was released in September 2008. Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance, and has seen a number of updates to its base operating system since its original release. These updates typically fix bugs and add new features. Since April 2009, each Android version has been developed under a codename based on a dessert or sweet treat. These versions have been released in alphabetical order: Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo (frozen yogurt), Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jelly Bean. The pre-release versions of Android were dubbed Astro and Bender, but these names could not ultimately be used for trademark reasons.[1] The most recent update to the Android OS was Jelly Bean v4.1, which was announced in June 2012, and was released into the Android Open Source Project on July 9, 2012.

  • Vsync timing across all drawing and animation done by the Android framework, including application rendering, touch events, screen composition and display refresh
  • Triple buffering in the graphics pipeline
  • Enhanced accessibility
  • Bi-directional text and other language support
  • User-installable keyboard maps
  • Expandable notifications
  • Ability to turn off notifications on an app specific basis
  • Shortcuts and widgets can automatically be re-arranged or re-sized to allow new items to fit on home screens
  • Bluetooth data transfer for Android Beam
  • Offline voice dictation
  • New interface layout for tablets with smaller screens (closer resembling that of a phone)[71]
  • Improved voice search
  • Improved camera app
  • Google Wallet (for the Nexus 7)
  • High resolution Google+ contact photos
  • Google Now
  • Multichannel audio
  • USB audio (for external sound DACs)
  • Audio chaining (also known as gapless playback)
by Kush

Adobe CS 6

Adobe Creative Suite (CS) is a collection of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications made by Adobe Systems. The collection consists of Adobe’s applications (e.g., Photoshop, Acrobat, InDesign), that are based on various technologies (e.g.,PostScript, PDF, Flash). The latest version, Adobe Creative Suite 6 (CS6), was launched at a release event April 23, 2012, and released on May 7, 2012

Optimizing Raw Photos with ACR 7

For many photographers, raw processing is the holy grail of image quality. Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) provides photographers the opportunity to perfect the exposure balance, contrast, colors, and details in their photographs. From there they can render high quality, 16-bit files into Photoshop for final retouching and output. ACR is a true digital darkroom for those who need to develop their raw photos with precision!

Photoshop CS6: Brushes, Vector Tools, & Transforms

Part of Photoshop CS6′s power is its versatility as a graphics toolbox. Not only does it provide state of the art features and options for photography, video, and other raster workflows, but it also provides excellent vector and transformational tools to compliment your image-making. In fact the vector tools in Photoshop CS6 have been given a substantial overhaul, making them both more powerful and more consistent with Adobe’s other vector workflows like InDesign and Illustrator.

Brief descriptions of the applications in the various Adobe Creative Suite editions:

  • Adobe Acrobat is a software family dedicated to Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF). Adobe Acrobat Standard, Adobe Acrobat Professional, and Adobe Acrobat Professional Extended all allow for the creation of PDF files. Adobe Reader is a free application that allows the reading of PDF files.
  • Adobe After Effects is a digital motion graphics and compositing software published by Adobe Systems. It can be used in film and video post-production.
  • Adobe Audition is a digital audio editor that provides the modern interface and seamless workflow of Adobe Soundbooth with the precision and power of Audition.
  • Adobe Bridge is an organizational program. Its primary purpose is to link the parts of the Creative Suite together using a format similar to the file browser found in previous versions of Adobe Photoshop.
  • Adobe Contribute can edit the content of a website. It allows a wide variety of people within an organization to update web pages by reducing the amount of web design skills necessary for the process.
  • Adobe Device Central’s primary purpose is to integrate parts of the Creative Suite together to offer both professional and individual creative professionals, web designers and mobile developers an easier way to preview and test Flash Lite, bitmap, web and video content for mobile devices.
  • Adobe Dreamweaver is a combination code / GUI web development application.
  • Adobe Dynamic Link integrates After Effects with Premiere Pro and with Encore.