There is something about flashy gadgets that makes you want to overlook their flaws. For instance, an anorexic laptop is an asset to tote around but may not be the best hardware money can buy, or a dashing smartphone that’s not exactly a powerhouse of features can still make your digital life look more swanky. As they say, looks can be deceptive.
Apple MacBook Air
Price: Rs 79,900 for 13-inch
It is still the most exquisitely thin laptop out there but with a new price tag. The base model of the Apple MacBook Air (11-inch and 13-inch) with an older CPU (Intel Core 2 Duo) and 2GB of RAM fares better than previous models of the 13-inch MacBook Air.
An all-aluminum design on a body that weighs just 1.3 kgs, MacBook Air makes no compromise with its display, keyboard size or the trackpad, and this makes us fall in love with it. We don’t know how Apple managed to achieve this, but despite multiple applications, an in-built music player and an external CD-drive running programmes on the MacBook Air, the machine refuses to slow down. The 1.86 GHz, 13-inch MacBook Air with 128GB of flash storage starts at Rs 79,900. But you should be willing to overlook the price tag for the style it adds to your desk — or wherever you may decide to place it. The flash storage card allows the MacBook Air to revive instantly (from sleep mode), even if it has been inactive for days.
Before you get excited, you should know that the the device does not come with integrated 3G for mobile broadband, back-lit keyboard, a CD/DVD drive, ethernet port, RAM or Flash drives. You will not be able to upgrade it in the future. All said and done, for those who are looking for a flashy device to go with, MacBook Air is the answer.
VERDICT: The new generation MacBook Air has that extra zing for students and professionals who prize mobility over hardware superiority.
Samsung Tab
Price: Rs 38,000
The Galaxy Tab has made its mark with the target group. However, the comparison with the Apple iPad are inevitable, and this underlines what a milestone Samsung has put out for tablet PCs that might follow. The Galaxy Tab is lighter than the iPad and makes a good buy for gizmo geeks. It is sleek and can be used while you are on the move or as a gaming or video device within the comforts of your home. While the seven-inch capacitive screen is exceptionally sharp, thanks to Samsung’s excellent resolution choice, it has 192-pixel density per inch. But becuase the device comes with a TFT screen, the images do not maintain the same quality as a SuperAMOLED screen used by Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphones.
Galaxy Tab features a super fast 1 GHz processor that makes navigating snappy. We had no qualms with the touchscreen that was extremely responsive and there was no stuttering. It has mobile hotspot capabilities and turn-by-turn navigation — features that are not available on the iPad. The Tab is everything you would want from a modern Android phone (version 2.2, upgradeable when 3.0 hits) — to be fair it is somewhere between a smartphone and a regular tablet. The OS is easy to use, so even if you haven’t toyed around with an Android-powered device before, you should be able to get around fairly easily within a matter of minutes. The Galaxy Tab’s battery life is impressive and will surely get you through the day. Features such as a full-featured Web browser, powerful email client, calendar, media player, navigation, simply add to its style statement.
Galaxy Tab also comes in-built with ‘Readers Hub, an e-reading application that gives access to over two million e-books, 3,000 magazines and 1,600 newspapers in English and vernacular languages. Indian users can access 55 Indian newspapers in English and vernacular languages on the Galaxy Tab.
VERDICT: The Samsung Galaxy Tab – being the first mass market Android tablet – is the beginning of a host of Android tablets that will hit the market in 2011. But do we wait for cheaper models or switch to the Tab today?
Nokia X5
Price: Rs 10,499
This is Nokia’s attempt to make a phone look chic while delivering a corporate user all smartphone features that are considered part of the big league. Nokia X5 is crafted to be a mobile device that gives one-click access to social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Hidden beneath the 2.3-inch TFT screen is a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Nokia seems to have finally got the sliding mechanism right with the X5. As expected, being a slide phone, you will take time to get used to tapping the top row of the keypad, but once you are accustomed to do so, the QWERTY keyboard is really handy in tweeting, status updates and sending text messages.
Fancy functions make this phone rather endearing. For instance, users can turn the phone around to switch to a new random track; or shake it to reveal the number of unread messages. And when you go through your moves, it makes you forget that the on board memory is a meagre 256 MB. However, you can upgrade the memory up to 32 GB. The X5 reminds us of the Motorola FlipOut when it comes to its looks but due to the attractive price tag, this S60 smartphone offers good value for money.
A good 5 megapixel camera with a 4x digital zoom and LED flash completes the smartphone package. But the absence of features like autofocus becomes painfully apparent when you try to take a macro shot. The X5 offers amazing quality of music and superb loud speakers — something the young generation could catch on to.
VERDICT: It’s clearly not a smartphone that will appeal to everyone, but some will fall for its looks and rectangular charm.
