BEATS BY DR. DRE – BEATBOX SPEAKER
DOCK (Rs. 24,000)
PROS
* Excellent bass response; high and mid-ranges are well defined, clear and distinctly audible
* Handles most genres of music very well
* Better sound quality than some other higher priced speaker docks
* Simple portability
* short, BIG sound from a small box
CONS
* Expensive
* The plastic bubble remote doesn’t fit the bill
* No equalizer on the dock
* High frequency sounds not very strong
FEATURES
* Auxiliary input, allowing connection of other mp3 devices
* Bluetooth capability
* Digital amplification
* Full-featured remote allows the device to be controlled from anywhere in the room
BOSE SOUND DOCK – SERIES LL (Rs. 14,513)
PROS
* Superb sound quality; rich with detail, deep and well defined bass
* Portable, auxiliary input and ease of use
* Remote has a good feel to it and responds well
* Packs ample power, even for larger rooms
CONS
* Lacks AM/FM radio and an alarm
* Docking outlet might be a bit too flimsy; need to be careful when inserting your iPod/phone into the slot
FEATURES
* Charges iPods while playing, without cables or adapters.
* Allows volume control and basic iPod functions from almost anywhere in the room
* Clear, undistorted sound, even at high volumes
* Prevents TV and computer picture interference so you have more flexibility to place your system wherever you want
SOUNDFREAQ SOUND PLATFORM2 SFQ-06 (Rs. 11,000)
PROS
* Brilliant upper register
* Clear detail
* Intuitive operation
* Affordable
CONS
* Weak bass
* Remote control problems in DSS mode
* Drivers sound strained at times
FEATURES
* DSS (Dual System Streaming) to pair two SFQ- 06 devices together to play left and right audio
* Universal device tray with cable management routing for USB power or line in from rear ports to tray
* Pair & Play to wirelessly stream audio from iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone and any A2DP capable Bluetooth device
FINAL VERDICT: While the Soundfreaq Platform2 sound system leaves quite a bit to be desired in terms of music quality, it does have its high points. But add to that a superior bass quality, the Bose guarantee, and the mid-range price, you have the best buy of the three. Beats by Dr. Dre beats Bose in terms of sound quality , but does burn a hole in your pocket.
NEW GADGETS
KUBE 2 MP3 PLAYER – Rs. 1900
The Kube 2 is the world’s smallest touch mp3 player introduced by Singapore Technology Company, BlueTree electronics. The touch sensitive screen navigation, excellent six hours battery life and excellent audio quality are major highlights that define its brilliant performance.
FEATURES
* MicroSD support upto 4
GB (upto 8000 songs)
* Ultra light weight
* Changeable skin
* USB charging
* Touch Buttons
* Built in lithium polymer rechargeable battery
* Card reader
FINAL VERDICT: Affordable price, excellent audio of a dynamic range of up to 100dB, and a compact lightweight design that fits into your hand easily make this a must-have for the music lover.
GOOGLE X PHONE
Rs. 12,000-Rs. 18,000 (expected price)
The release date of the much hyped ‘superphone’ from Google has been pushed back to August. This phone, touted as one of the biggest products to come out of Motorola, is sure to alter the dynamics of the smartphone competition.
SPECULATED FEATURES
* 1.7 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor
* 2 GB RAM
* 16 GB of internal storage
* 2 megapixel front-facing camera and a 10 megapixel primary camera
* Android Jelly Bean OS and a 720p display
FINAL VERDICT: This phone is a first step towards standardising phones that support customisable hardware. Strictly in the Nexus 4 price bracket, this phone is a must-buy for techies and non-techies alike.
FREE APPS of the MONTH
RECOMMENDED FOR ANDROID & iOS
MINION RUSH
Category: Game
Price: Free
Platform: Android, iOS
Description: This is an excellent endless running game that features characters from the movie Despicable Me. You get to be one of Gru’s adorable minions on its journey to become Minion Of The Year, by dodging, jumping, slashing and collecting bananas for points.
MP3 DOWNLOADER
VERSION 1.1
Category: Music
Price: Free
Platform: iOS
Description: This app is a fully featured free music downloader. You can download free and legal music, audio books, and videos to your iPod, iPad or iPhone. It also allows you to play videos in the background and supports all new skins, including new iOS6-style skins.
COLOUR TOUCH EFFECTS
Category: Photo editing
Price: Free
Platform: Android, iOS
Description: This app converts your photo into a black and white image and then lets you highlight only the portions you like with colour, or change the colour of any item in the picture, giving a new feel and form to old pictures.
VYCLONE
Category: Video app
Price: Free
Platform: Android, iOS
Description: This is a cool social video platform that lets you co-create, sync and edit multiple views of a shared moment (POVs). Film anything with vyclone from multiple phones or camera rolls. They are then automatically uploaded onto the Vyclone server, which then syncs and edits together all of the footage and makes a movie. If unsatisfied with the auto edit, you can also choose to switch between the POVs manually.
DUOLINGO
Category: Educational
Price: Free
Platform: Android, iOS
Description: Learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian and English. Lose hearts for answering incorrectly, advance by completing bite-sized lessons, and track your progress with shiny achievements. It even tracks your progress and measures it against that of your friends
LAPTOP AND ESSENTIALS
I JUST BOUGHT A NEW LAPTOP. WHAT ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE SHOULD I INSTAL?
NVIDIA SHIELD
Rs. 18,000 (approximate price)
Nvidia is all set to change the entire gaming experience on handheld devices with Shield, the latest addition to an already rich repertoire.
FEATURES
* Custom 72-core NVIDIA GeForce GPU, quad core ARM 15 processor
* Console-grade game controller
* 5-inch 720p retinal multi-touch display
* 100% Android, Jelly Bean version, with WiFi connectivity
* Integrated speakers and custom, bass reflex-tuned port audio system
FINAL VERDICT: The device can be synced with a TV or a PC, that too, with zero latency. Expensive? Yes. But an essential buy for the dedicated gamer.
LOGITECH FABRICSKIN KEYBOARD FOLIO – Rs. 8300 (approximate price)
The Logitech Keyboard Folio for the iPad not only emulates a keyboard but works seamlessly with an iPad. Some of the features of the keyboard folio include
* Light weight
* Large keys
* Magnetic stand
* Liquid repellent
* Control buttons
FINAL VERDICT: A little pricey, but offers excellent functionality, good battery backup and Bluetooth connectivity. Some features might not work with the folio on.
RECUVA PORTABLE
A free tool that allows you to recover files that you accidentally deleted or lost if your computer crashed. As deleted files aren’t really deleted until that part of the hard disk is overwritten, you can use Recuva to recover mp3 files, emails, Word documents, temporary files, etc.
DROPBOX
Dropbox is a free file hosting service that allows cloud storage and file synchronisation. Dropbox allows users to create a special folder in each of their computers, which it then synchronises so that it appears to be the same folder (with the same contents) regardless of which computer is used to view it. Files placed in this folder also are accessible through a website and a mobile phone application.
MALWAREBYTES AND AVG ANTI-VIRUS
MalwareBytes is a powerful tool that is able to detect and remove all traces of malware, including worms, Trojans, rootkits, rogues, spyware and more and is available for free. The scan speed is also quite fast. For protection against web threats and viruses, AVG Anti virus, which is also available for free, is recommended.
LIBRE OFFICE
Libre office is a free open source office suite that comprises programmes to make text documents, spreadsheets, slideshows, draw diagrams, to compose math formulae and maintain databases. It is designed to be compatible with other major office suites like Microsoft Office.
IOBIT
IOBit is an option that one should check up on while configuring their laptop. IOBit offers a variety of free tools that include nifty options to defragment the memory, to cleanup disk space, and run Advanced System Care that diagnoses and fixes error messages that might occur while enhancing computer performance.
Volume 3 Issue 2
