MapmyIndia In-Dash Navi-tainment
The bundled navigation interface— the new MapmyIndia Maps version 7—offers a detailed national-level map that can guide you to over 576,000 towns and villages in India.
I love the touchscreen gadgets that come with fancy new cars. A single console integrates a reverse-view camera and GPS navigator, while also letting me play a CD or DVD. I want it all, and I want it in my old car. Alas, there aren’t many options available. And even if there are, they tend to be prohibitively expensive.
MapmyIndia has a solution. It is not the best stuff going, but it is still a good option at its price, especially if your car has enough space to install a 2 DIN music system.
The first thing that hits you when you see the In-dash Navi-tainment system—as MapmyIndia likes to call it—is that it runs on Android. Yes, the same operating system that runs many of today’s smartphones. The next thing you notice is that it has a USB dongle, with which it can take you onto the internet. So you can not only go to Twitter and Facebook from your car, but also download your must-have apps without hooking up another computer. Also, if you want to use a navigation interface other than the one that comes bundled along with this package, you can download it directly to your navigation and entertainment system.
The bundled navigation interface— the new MapmyIndia Maps version 7—offers a detailed national-level map that can guide you to over 576,000 towns and villages in India. Plus, it also has street-level maps of more than 4,000 cities. Maps of 36 major cities have house-level details, and 20 cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore even have 3D maps.
The biggest problem I have with this system is that if you insert or eject a CD, the CD interface pops up and that of the GPS navigation moves to the background. That is fine for a music buff, but not for someone who is perhaps lost in the city. But this is still a good option if you are looking to upgrade your car stereo and also buy a GPS navigation console.
Another issue is that many car makers fit their cars with stereos that are customised to specific dashboards. So, installing something like this may be a slight problem.
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The Above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 20th February 2012, Volume 04, Issue 07
Jabra Supreme
The Jabra’s noise- cancellation capabilities were fully tested as I zipped past India Gate, with Republic Day preparations in full swing.
was a little sceptical about reviewing another handsfree kit, at first. But when I saw the specs of this Jabra, and its price, I wanted to lay my hands on it fast. The device can not only pair with two devices at the same time, it can also do noise cancellation. Also, you don’t have to fiddle with the device to turn it on. When you open the boom, it gets powered on. Close the boom, and it’s off.
I took it along the next morning on a cycle ride through Delhi. If the handsfree kit could survive the bumps and jumps of Delhi roads and stay hooked up with my iPod and phone, it would be worth the price. The ride would also help assess its noise cancellation. Now, I can go about 35 kmph on a bicycle. If it worked on a bike ride, it would work in an office or a moving car.
The promise battery life is 7 hours, which was more than enough for my 3-hour ride. The Jabra’s noise- cancellation capabilities were fully tested as I zipped past India Gate, with Republic Day preparations in full swing. The gizmo lived up to its promise of connecting both with the phone and iPod, as the music went blank every two minutes—to relay to me a GPS readout from my phone, say that I had completed another kilometre on the road, and tell me what direction to take, before resuming my music playback.
The next day, I tested it in a noisier environment, the Delhi Metro. Now, wearing this as a Sardar, under my turban, is a total no-no because this handsfree kit is much bigger than most others. So, with my hair tied and the device making me look like an alien on a train ride, I confirmed that my office colleagues did not detect the noise inside the Metro cabin, and I could hear the other person without any background office noise.
The only problem that I see with it is its extraordinary size. But that is a very small price to pay for good-quality sound.
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The Above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 13 Feb 2012, Volume 04, Issue 6
Sony Ericsson Live Walkman
Since it is branded as a Walkman, this phone is specifically designed for music lovers and has features that are not common on most other phones.
The Walkman phone is back in a new avatar. This time it is cool white, has a 3.2 inch WVGA screen, its Home button is in the centre, and it runs onAndroid 2.3. Though it is powered by a single core 1 GHz processor, it is still very responsive. The rear camera can do 5 megapixels—and 3D panorama and HD video (720p only) at 30 frames per second. There is also a 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera for video calls.
In this new avatar, the dedicated Walkman key is located on top, where you typically find the lock key on Android phones. As a result, I was hitting this instead of the lock key a lot. The headphones that Sony bundled with the phone earlier were not very good. The phone is now bundled with a Benetton set of headphones. It is slightly better, but to really enjoy this phone you will still need to upgrade the headset.
Since it is branded as a Walkman, this phone is specifically designed for music lovers and has features that are not common on most other phones. There is a 10 setting graphic equaliser to customise your music. Its built-in xLoud loudness enhancement engine improves the sound quality. There is also direct integration to help you look for song videos on YouTube, search for artiste information on Wikipedia, look for lyrics on Google, and also pick out karaoke videos of that song on YouTube.
On the hardware front, its GPS is pretty accurate and locks on to the appropiate satellites without much delay. A few of the GPS applications did tend to hang up when there was an incoming call. But this could be an application-specific bug.
The user interface is also clever and lets you access messages, media, your phone and phonebook quickly.
While Sony says the battery runs for 14 hours, I got a little over 10 hours. I was using 3G services and also did a couple of hours of GPS. But 10 hours on this phone is good enough. On the downside, there is no HDMI to connect the phone to your TV. You have 3D panorama, but it’s a painful experience. The 2D panorama works perfectly fine, though.
Fujifilm x10
If you are not hung up on interchangeable lenses, this little camera could prove handy
DSLR | 2.8 inch LCD screen | 28-112 mm lens | Rs. 49,999
Perhaps because it is such a small camera, its exposure compensation dial is placed on top.
I love clicking pictures, but regular point-and-shoots just don’t do it for me. And while I could buy a DSLR for this price, it would be too big and awkward to lug on a holiday. Yes, there are Micro 4/3rds. And now, there is also the Fujifilm X10, which is not a Micro 4/3rd format camera, as it does not have interchangeable lenses, but an interesting option all the same. And not just because its magnesium alloy, retro-style body is designed like a rangefinder from the 1960s.
Perhaps because it is such a small camera, its exposure compensation dial is placed on top. The power button has been done away with, and it turns on when you rotate the zoom lens from lock position. It turns off when you rotate back to lock.
There is an optical viewfinder too. While it covers only 85 per cent of the image being shot, it has this great ability to zoom in when the camera’s lens zooms into a shot. The camera’s front only has an auto focus and manual focus switching mechanism. Its rear, however, is loaded with buttons and has a 2.8 inch (7.1 cm) LCD screen. The lens is 28–112 mm (4x, that is), and its aperture is between f/2 and f/2.8. The flash may be small, but is good for regular shots, and there is also a hot shoe for external flash units. The camera can shoot HD videos and macro images from as close as 1 cm (distance to lens).
It is a nice camera if you can live without interchangeable lenses. Its small size is easy to work with, and it packs enough power and versatility to let you do a lot of work you would expect of larger cameras. It fits perfectly in one’s hand, and does an especially good job of capturing indoor and low-light pictures.
It can also store images in raw format. This means you can touch up your images after you shoot them, doing things like optimising the colour or hue by deciding the ‘white balance’ for each image.
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The Above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Volume 04, Issue 3, Dated 23rd January 2012
Navon GPS485
You can choose between 2D and 3D maps, and between a faster or greener route.
The way our cities are growing, GPSs are becoming a necessity. And while there are many brands available in the market now, finding a really good one is still a challenge.
Till now, Navon was available only with Volkswagen cars. The company has recently launched a retail strategy, and now anyone can buy it.
While the N485 is an entry-level model, it is definitely not a dumbed-down version. It has a 4.3 inch touchscreen, a rubberised grip and a one-year subscription for updating the maps. Its GPS boots up quickly, although the software takes its own sweet time. Once the GPS and software are up, everything works fine.
You can choose between 2D and 3D maps, and between a faster or greener route. The green route reduces your carbon footprint. The N485 does this using algorithms and historical traffic data. It knows that roads are clogged on Monday mornings and can suggests alternatives. Another nice feature is the Junction View. The moment you approach a turn you have to take, not only does the GPS announce it, it also zooms into the junction on-screen and shows you exactly where to turn. It is so much more convenient than the GPS announcing: “Take the second exit.” To better orient you with the on-screen map, landmarks such as India Gate in New Delhi and the Gateway of India in Mumbai come up in 3D on the screen if they are on your route.
Overall, this GPS has the best interface I have seen so far. It could have responded faster at times, but I was happy with its build quality, maps and interface. The Navon also lets you plug in a microSD card and watch movies or listen to music. With its Bluetooth, you can connect it to your handset and use it as a speakerphone. The touchscreen can also be used to dial numbers off the GPS.
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The Above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 29th December – 4th January 2012, Volume 03, Issue 39
Seagate GoFlex Satellite
A portable hard disc that you can access without a cable
Rs. 11,500
The biggest complaint most of my friends have with the iPad is that it can’t access data from a hard disc or pen drive without a cable. For me, this is not really much of a hassle, as I store a lot of my files on a data cloud. But if you would rather carry a hard disc full of movies because the built-in storage on the highest-end tablet computer does not suffice for you, sweat not. The Seagate GoFlex Satellite drive is here.
The Satellite offers 500 GB of storage that is accessible wirelessly. It features a built-in wireless access point and rechargeable battery, so that you can carry your library of movies, pictures and documents (if you want to) and access them wirelessly using the free GoFlex Media App. In case you want to avoid plugging cables into your Android tablet, you can also access these files off a Web browser—without any cables.
It can only handle three devices at one time. I wouldn’t bother about that. What I would worry about is its battery time of just 5 hours. What makes this figure distressing is that your laptop/tablet would last longer than the hard disc.
Since Satellite is part of Seagate’s GoFlex range of drives, you can use it as a standalone hard disc, a USB 3.0, Firewire or eSATA hard disc.
I am happy with the packaging. It has a USB 3.0 adapter, a car charger (which took me a while to figure out what it was), and a USB charger. TheGoFlex Media App though has a long way to go. The moment you relegate it to the background, it stops streaming. It is also slow when it comes to photo streaming, which I expect Seagate will fix in future releases. What I am not happy with is that you can’t use the Wi-Fi network while using the drive as a data store.
I want to buy this product. It fills a gap that I never knew existed in my life. Also, it’s time to go spend some money this Diwali.
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The above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 3-9 November 2011, Volume 03, Issue 31
iPhone 4S
Called Siri, its smart voice assistant can help you make calls, run internet searches, move your calendar and check if you have clashing appointments, read you your text messages and even reply to them.
How do you better the best? Apple solved this problem with the iPhone 4S by giving it a faster processor and smart voice assistant. It is also a world phone that works on all GSM as well as CDMA networks.
The 4S is powered by the same processor that powers the iPad. That means better handling of graphics and more responsive apps.
The camera has been bumped up to 8 megapixel. What makes this 8 meg camera better than many of the others in the market, is that it has a five-element lens that lets you capture sharper images, a larger f/2.4 aperture that lets in more light, and an advanced hybrid infrared filter to keep out infrared light so that you get accurate colours. There’s also an illumination sensor that increases the camera’s sensitivity and ensures a shorter exposure time for night-time pictures. And, 4S is the first iPhone to sport an LED flash. A good camera is not all. With the 4S, you can also crop, rotate, remove red eye and enhance the image right off the phone. It can also shoot videos in 1080 p HD, at 30 frames per second.
Now, on to the smart part. Called Siri, its smart voice assistant can help you make calls, run internet searches, move your calendar and check if you have clashing appointments, read you your text messages and even reply to them. It can serve reminders not just for a particular time, but also for a location. You can set a reminder for when you reach ‘home’. The phone will dutifully remind you to, say, kiss your wife/husband when you do. While Siri requires you to speak with an accent, it ain’t no stumbling block, like the voice recognition apps on many other phones.
Smartphones are notorious for short battery times. But the 4S on a full charge can do 8 hours on a 3G network and 14 hours on 2G. At 200 hours of standby time, you can keep it locked for a whole week, and it is still ready to go. If you use the iPhone for data, it allows 6 hours of non-stop 3G data usage, and 9 hours on a Wi-Fi network. If all you want to do is watch movies and listen to music, the battery will allow you 10 and 40 hours of each respectively.
TomTom Via 125
Most GPS devices in India have not been up to global standards.
Finding your way around any city is a pain. Even the most helpful person can send you offtrack, because he offers you the best route that he knows. Most of us have been told by helpful cyclists, on lonely stretches, to go straight—only to find that the last time a road was built there was when Sher Shah Suri had just been defeated in battle by Humayun.
That’s why I love GPS. However, most GPS devices in India have not been up to global standards.
That changed last week when TomTom launched its Via series in India. The Via 125 comes in a brushed aluminium finish with a 5 inch touchscreen. It also has a USB cable, to charge the unit and update its maps. It also incorporates voice recognition so that you can ask it for help, rather than fiddle with it while driving. And, you can choose to receive directions in a language of your choice: be it Hindi, Tamil or Punjabi.
But what sets this apart as a GPS navigator is that you can use landmarks around your destination to plot a route. For example: nobody knows the name of the street in Delhi on which Jamali Kamali’s tomb is situated. But if you know that it is somewhere near Qutab Minar, the Via will give you all the landmarks near it—including the tomb.
You can also mark frequently visited places with icons. So, you can just choose an icon marked ‘pub’. And no matter where you are in the city, it will plot a route for you instantly, no questions asked.
Some of the other features are: Eco Routes, which gives you the shortest route; Quick Fix GPS, which enables the GPS to login faster; and Advanced Lane Guiding, which shows large diagrams of the lane you are driving in, so that you don’t miss that turn.
No wonder that TomTom is known as a disruptive player. Via is its first launch, and it will be interesting to see how it performs in India.
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The Above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 13-19th October, 2011, Volume 03, Issue 28
Jabra Freeway
This is one gadget you will not be looking to upgrade anytime soon.
Though I am against driving while speaking on a cellphone, there are times when I just have to take that call. A hands-free earpiece could be an option, but it doesn’t suit everyone—women don’t like it, my Sikh friends with turbans can’t use it, and nobody likes to share it. But speakerphones are different. When you are alone in a car, they do a fairly good job.
Jabra’s Freeway changes the experience of telephonic conversations. It does this with its Virtual Surround Sound, so you feel that the caller is standing in front of you—and not whispering loudly in your ear.
The three-speaker stereo system ensures a clear conversation. It also serves as a great auxiliary speaker for the music stored in your phone or other Bluetooth-enabled devices.
The Freeway can also be coupled with two phones, via Bluetooth. Alternately, it can be paired with a laptop or personal music player, while staying connected to the mobile phone. It also includes an Auto on/off feature. The speakerphone powers on when you enter the car and turns off when you leave it, without the need to handle any buttons. It is a great feature for saving battery power, which offers 14 hours of talk and 40 days of standby. It can also let you play music from your laptop/phone on the bigger speakers of your car. This Freeway does by retransmitting the music stream over FM waves, which can be picked up by the car’s music system like it does any other FM radio station.
Those who have used the Freeway for a while have only one complaint against it. The blue LED power ‘on’ indicator is helpful during the day, but a menace at night. But it can be easily turned off. And if you need to know if it is on or not, just press the voice control button and ask how much battery time is left.
This is one gadget you will not be looking to upgrade anytime soon.
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The above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 6-12th October 2011, Volume 03, Issue 27
Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker
Finally, something sturdy and portable from the world’s best sound engineers
Rs. 23,513
The speaker has been designed to take all the abuse that a portable sound box could be subjected to.
In the good old days, listening to music meant owning a collection of cassettes, MiniDiscs or CDs. Then came the digital audio player (DAP), which could hold all that music and then some more. Its severe assault relegated CD and cassette players to attics and antique shops. In time, dad’s hand-me-down amps and speakers were also turned redundant by things that could speak to your DAP directly, and wirelessly, rather than through docks.
While the world was catching up, my favourite audio equipment brand—Bose—was lagging behind. But no longer. Bose’s Wireless Mobile Speaker, the SoundLink, is here. When it came to me for testing, all it had was brown leather trim, the Bose badge, and a few large buttons. Nothing else. But it is a Bose.
The speaker has been designed to take all the abuse that a portable sound box could be subjected to. The buttons have been pressed 100,000 times to ensure their sturdiness. The unit has been dropped from tables, had gallons of water poured over it, and has been tested under extremely humid conditions for 1,500 hours. It is smart too. As soon as you close the integrated smart cover, it powers off to save battery power.
It can connect to a DAP, tablet or smartphone via Bluetooth and an EP cable, if you prefer a wired speaker. The speaker lasts three hours on a single charge, and you can keep it plugged in for longer sessions.
Bose products are known for their technology. The SoundLink is no exception. It has a high-powered Bluetooth antenna, four neodymium transducers that generate full range audio, a new waffle-design passive radiator that allows for the full range of lows to be generated from such a small box, and, of course, Bose’s famous sound engineering.
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The above review appeared in the Open Magazine, Issue Dated 29th September – 5th October 2011, Volume 03, Issue 26