Apple MacBook

Apple MacBook (Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0GHz, 2GB RAM, 13.3-inch TFT)

Since the shift to Intel's chipset, consumers have been waiting for an aluminum replacement for the 12-inch PowerBook G4. The model has finally arrived, though sporting a larger 13.3-inch display. Based on the same unibody design as the MacBook Air, the latest MacBook comes in two configurations--the midrange 2.0GHz model and the high-end 2.4GHz machine. Besides the processor speed, the difference is that only the latter unit comes with a backlit keyboard.

Axioo Zetta MNS 4232

Axioo Zetta MNS 4232 (Core 2 Duo P8600 Processor 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM)

Ports selection includes HDMI and eSATA; scratch-resistant body; dual-array mics.

Only two USB ports; no security or multimedia features; note cheap for a no-frills laptop.

For a machine with a basic feature set, the Axioo Zetta MNS is relatively expensive considering there are better options from bigger brands in the market.

The Zetta MNS 4232 has a pretty classy design, thanks to the silver bar spanning the black top lid. Given that the laptop is made from plastic, the body feels surprisingly firm and sturdy, while a scratch-resistant coating protects the exterior from daily bumps and knocks.

The 14.1-inch display has a 1,280 x 800 native resolution and is powered by a discrete low-end Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS graphics card.

Blackberry Bold

1. HSDPA
2. Wi-Fi
3. GPS
4. QWERTY keypad
5. Bright screen

Unlike Palm, RIM has built up an impressive product portfolio that is made even better by the addition of the Bold. Aside from offering number of features, the Bold's screen is one of the best I've ever seen. Hope you will like it too.

CP-X10000

This projector is built by HITACHI, it uses 7500 lumens LCD technology.
Uncompromising quality, flexibility of installation and extended product life are features on offer with our Professional Series Installation Projectors. Life of the product is extended considerably with virtually maintenance free inorganic LCD panels and polarizer filters. A wide lens shift and a wide variety of optional lenses provide greater range of movement and projection distances. This series also boasts superb quality with an impressive contrast ratio of 2500:1 (with Iris), a 10-bit digital signal processor and a high quality scaler chip on board.

Laser Advertising

3D Laser Advertising in Mid-air!
This is another great invent by Japan. Burton of Kawasaki, Japan has developed a laser system which allows images to be created in the air. The laser pulse is focused onto a point in the air, causing the air to ionise. The resulting glowing plasma appears as a point of light ("flash point") suspended in mid-air.
When hundreds of laser pulses per second are fired, an illusion is created of many constant points of light. By increasing the firing rate to a thousand flash points per second, 3D images have been created which can actually appear to move.
Within a few years, advertising boards may be replaced by empty spaces on the sides of the roads in which moving figures and messages made from various colored lasers may appear, as if by magic, out of thin air! Other applications could include 3D TV and light displays that appear like fireworks.
The discovery can have defense applications. The Pentagon is developing a military application (Plasma Acoustic Shield System, Pass) which causes the plasma balls to explode violently by use of an additional laser pulse. The idea is to create protective "flash-bang" curtains up to 100 meters away to serve as screens against snipers - a wall of light and sound!

Jabra BT3030 - Bluetooth Headset

• Play, pause, skip--remote control your music without touching your mobile
• Headphones Type: Binaural
• Form Factor: Ear-bud
• Headphones Technology: Dynamic
• Connectivity Technology: Wireless - Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
• Sound Output Mode: Stereo
• Impedance: 16 Ohm
• Microphone Operation Mode: Mono
• Supported Devices: Cellular phone, Digital player
• Wireless Link Transmission Range: 33 ft

Price: Rs. 4,800

Asus Rampage II Extreme--Motherboard

This is an Extreme powerful Motherboard built by Asus. It was introduced in the month of August 2009. It's brief description is given below:
Form Factor: TX Form Factor, 12inches x 10.6inches (30.5cm x 26.9cm); Intel X58 chipset
Memory: Triple channel memory architecture; 6 x Dimm maximum, 12 GB, DDR3 1800 (OC) / 1600 (OC) / 1333 / 1066/ MHz, non-ECC, unbuffered memory
VGA: Multi-GPU Technology (SLI & CrossfireX)
Expansion: 3 x PCIe2.0 x 16 slot, supports x16, x8, x8, or dual x 1 6 speds; 2 x PCIe2.0 x1 (the PCIEx1_1 (black) slot can be used as an audio slot); 1 x PCI 2.2 Storage: 7 x Sata 3.0 Gb/s ports; 1 x eSata 3.0 Gb/s port; 1 x UltraDMA 133 for up to 2 Pata devices
LAN: Dual Gigabit Lan controllers with teaming support, both featuring AI Net2
Audio: High definition supreme FX X-Fi audio with EAX4.0 support
Connectivity: 2 x 1394a ports; 12 x USB 2.0 ports

Price: Rs. 32,400

Sony Vaio AW27

This is another great laptop introduced by Sony. It has so many features and looks just stunning. Given below is its brief description:

• Full HD AV entertainment experience with added features to make your DSLR photography easier.
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 437.2 x 36.9-39.7 x 288.9 mm; 3.95kg (including the supplied battery)
• Processor Technology: Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor Technology, Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9550 (2.66GHz)
• Processor System Bus: 1066 MHz
• Memory Bus: 800 MHz
• Cache Memory: 6MB
• Main Memory: 4GB DDR2 SDRam (Upgradeable to 8GB * 1), 2 SO-DIMM slots. (The pre-installed memory module uses two)
• Hard Drive: 1 TB (500GB x 2) (Serial ATA, 4200 rpm); Raid Array
• Wireless LAN: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/Draft n
• Blu-ray Disc™ Drive-Reader & Writer
• Graphics Accelerator: nVidia® GeForce® Go 9600M GT notebook graphics processing unit (GPU) (Motion Reality HD equipped)
• Dedicated Video Memory: 512 MB
• Display: 18.4" wide (Full HD: 1920 x 1080) TFT colour display

Price: Rs. 330,000 (as on August 2, 2009)

Dell Adamo

Dell Adamo (Core 2 Duo U9300 Processor 1.2GHz, 2GB RAM)
The good: Sleek, thin design breaks new ground for Dell; good performance for a low-power laptop.
The bad: Very expensive; lacks an SD card slot; feels a bit heavier than it looks.
The bottom line: Dell's upscale Adamo is a 13-inch laptop for those who value design and finish as much as performance, but its luxury price will limit the potential audience.
Read full review of the Dell Adamo »
Price as of April 13, 2009 USD 2935

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7

The good: 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens with 12x optical zoom; AVCHD compression lets users record longer clips; fast burst mode; above-average image quality.
The bad: No manual exposure control; AVCHD compression produces uncommon file format.
The bottom line: The TZ7 is a good long zoom compact camera that frequent travelers should consider if they want decent picture quality. A pity it doesn't offer manual exposure control.
Read full review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 »

Sony NWZ-W202

Sony NWZ-W202 (2GB)
The good: Unique, portable design; drag-and-drop user interface; comes with matching dock; quick-charge feature.
The bad: Tiny volume buttons; exposed mini-USB port.
The bottom line: The Sony NWZ-W202 Walkman is an excellent choice for people with active lifestyles who listen to music during workouts.
Read full review of the Sony NWZ-W202 (2GB) »

Apple iPod Shuffle

Apple iPod Shuffle (4GB; Third Generation)
The good: The third-generation Apple iPod shuffle is as light as a feather and as small as a paper clip, and it includes VoiceOver cues, and improved support for podcasts and audiobooks.
The bad: You need to operate the shuffle using a pill-size remote control on your headphones, battery life isn't great, features are few, and the design is a bit boring.
The bottom line: The third-generation iPod shuffle is the next best thing to an invisible MP3 player, but the quirky controls and microscopic design make it a limited recommendation.
Read full review of the Apple iPod shuffle (4GB; third generation) »
List Price as of March 18 2009 USD 83

Japan's Latest Supermodel -- a Robot

She doesn't have the grace of a Cindy Crawford or Elle MacPherson (yet), but a few struts on the catwalk may help HRP-4C loosen up and hit her stride.

Scientists from Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology reportedly designed the 5-foot (ish), dark-haired creation to look like an average Japanese woman between the ages of 19 to 29. Unlike the average Japanese woman, however, HRP-4C has 30 motors in its body that allow it to walk and move its arms (loudly and awkwardly, if the video below is any indication) and eight facial motors for blinking, smiling, and expressing emotions akin to anger and surprise.

IPhone OS 3.0

New features

Systemwide search
Apple has integrated its Spotlight search technology across the entire device. This will let users search for specific email messages, applications, contacts, and any other data from within those applications in one place. Users get to it from a new menu that's to the left of their first home screen. Swiping to the left brings up an open search box that brings in results as you type, similar to Spotlight search on Mac OS X.

Copy and paste for text, photos, and SMS
One of the most-wanted features, the ability to copy and paste text will be making its way to OS 3.0. Users will be able to select sections of text and take them to other applications. This is one of the new APIs that Apple is releasing to developers.
To copy text, simply double-tap the screen, and it pulls up an option to cut, copy, and paste. Then simply drag a start point, and an end point, over the text you want, and then double-tap again. The phone will save the text in a clipboard, from which it can be taken elsewhere. You can also grab entire sections of text using a large rectangle that can be moved around to include paragraphs at a time.
Additionally, copy and paste will work with photos and SMS messages. For instance, if you feel like selecting multiple photos to send in an email you can now select the ones you want, then send them together in one message. Previously you had to select them one at a time--through the Photos application, over to mail. The same goes for SMS messages too, so if you feel like relaying a text message to another contact you can simply forward it.

MMS
You can now send and receive multimedia messages (MMS). This means text messages can be sent with photos and voice recordings, all without using the built-in mail application to do it. Missing, however, is any kind of video support, which is an MMS feature found on many other phones with built-in cameras.

Push notifications
The feature that was supposed to appear in September of last year will finally be making its way to phones in version 3.0. Scott Forstall, the head of iPhone software development, noted that Apple had been late on this, and blamed the delay on scaling, saying that the original system was too taxing on both the handset's battery and its processing power. The new system works just like old one, but has been optimized for over-the-air data transfer. It still relies on Apple's servers as a go-between to send audio alerts, text messages, and badge notifications. Users still have to fire up the application to get at the data though.

In-app micropayments
Apple has built in a new system for developers to charge users after they've purchased an application. Previously there was no way to do this, forcing developers to hike up the initial price, or use external payment systems, similar to what Amazon did with its Kindle application.
Apple's new system, dubbed "In-App Purchase" lets developers create an application where extra content can be purchased from within it to expand what it can do. All the billing is handled by Apple, and goes through the user's iTunes store account.
This same system has been used in console games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero with extra music track purchases. On the iPhone this was demoed on the upcoming EA title The Sims 3, which will let users buy items for their virtual character using an in-game store interface.
This payment system is only for paid apps, meaning free applications cannot be upgraded to a paid premium version. Apple is also using the same revenue model for per-app purchases, meaning developers can charge whatever they want, and keep 70 percent.

Better GPS baked into apps
Apple announced that Core Location would now be available for developers to build into their applications, meaning they'll be able to include turn-by-turn directions into their apps. However, they won't be able to build it off the iPhone's Google Maps application. Apple says this is due to licensing issues. However, map providers may step up and start selling mapping data to iPhone developers.

P2P networking and hardware communication
No longer will handsets exist as single entities. A new system, built off Apple's Bonjour technology, will let devices talk to each other. This would let people play multiplayer games with one another, and potentially exchange data files--all without the need to be connected to a third-party server or a central Wi-Fi hub. To do this Apple is using the iPhone's built-in Bluetooth antenna.

SmartQ 5 Ubuntu MID

SmartQ 5 Ubuntu MID arriving soon

SmartQ recently sent out a press release in China announcing its upcoming Linux-based Mobile Internet Device (MID), the SmartQ 5. This MID will run on an ARM processor, usually found in mobile phones and handhelds. The Ubuntu operating system (OS) used on it, on the other hand, more commonly resides on computers using x86 processors made by companies like Intel and AMD. The combination of a power-saving mobile processor and a full desktop OS should be interesting.

What makes the SmartQ 5 even more enticing is its announced price of 899 yuan (US$132). That's even cheaper than many MP3 players out in the market.

HTC Touch Cruise (2009)

The good: Very responsive; car kit included; bundled with GPS software; polished TouchFLO interface; D-pad acts as scroll wheel.
The bad: Small QVGA screen; no dedicated audio jack; camera has no LED for dimly lit situations.
The bottom line: The new Cruise is in every way as good as the earlier Touch 3G, but its 2.8-inch screen makes its proposition as a good GPS-centric device hard to swallow.
Read full review of the HTC Touch Cruise (2009) »

Nintendo DSI

The good: Plays DS and DS Lite games; capable of AAC music playback; larger screens than the DS Lite.
The bad: Doesn't play MP3 audio files; reduced battery life; camera function is gimmicky.
The bottom line: The Nintendo DSi is great if you're looking for a new handheld games console, but there's very little point buying one if you already own a DS Lite. It's merely mediocre as an audio player, its VGA cameras are poor and under-utilised, and its battery life is significantly lower than its predecessor's.
Read full review of the Nintendo DSi »

USB Prosthetic Finger

USB Prosthetic Finger gives new meaning to thumbdrives


This is a story about Jerry Jalava, a Finnish software developer who lost part of his finger in a motorcycle accident last July. According to his friend, Henri Bergius, when the surgeon assigned to work on Jalava's prosthetic finger discovered his hacking history, he made a clever suggestion: Incorporate a USB key into the new digit.
The prosthetic finger contains a 2GB USB key, and Jalava also loaded it with Billix distribution, CouchDBX, and Ajatus to run off the drive, throwing even more geek cred into the mix.
When Jalava needs the drive, he simply pulls it off his left hand, plugs it in, and comes back to pick it up after the transfers are finished. That dispels any parallels to that scene in Robocop when he uses the giant spike that comes out of his hand to transfer data from the OCP criminal database to the computer in his head.

Check out more pictures of Jalava's cybernetic finger below.

MSI Wind U100

MSI Wind U100 (Intel Atom N270 Processor 1.6GHz, 2GB RAM)
The good: Large screen; excellent keyboard; value for money.
The bad: Average battery life; no integrated 3G.
The bottom line: The MSI Wind is arguably the best netbook on the market. It's stylish, it's easy to type on and it's quick. The wireless connectivity could have been better and the standard battery life is relatively poor, but these are issues you can get around. With that in mind, this device comes highly recommended.
Read full review of the MSI Wind U100 »

Lenovo IdeaPad S10

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (Intel Atom N270 Processor 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM)
The good: Excellent keyboard; large screen; affordable; ExpressCard slot; OneKey Rescue system.
The bad: Solid-state drive not available; no HSDPA option; below-average battery life.
The bottom line: With its easy recovery system, low price and generous keyboard, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 easily sits in front of the 10-inch Netbook pack.
Read full review of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 »

HP TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PC

HP TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PC (AMD Turion 64 X2 ZM-82 Processor 2.0GHz, 3GB RAM)
The good: Dual-mode tablet display; fun-looking design; decent port assortment for a 12-inch laptop.
The bad: Mediocre battery life; unimpressive performance; touchscreen response lags.
The bottom line: The HP TouchSmart tx2 tablet PC has the features, functions and price to convert consumer laptop users to tablet users. We just wish it could live a little longer away from an outlet.
Read full review of the HP TouchSmart tx2 tablet PC »

Nokia Introduces Musical Series

New Nokia Music Stores, Comes With Music launches and three handsets, two with the XpressMusic label, have just been announced.

Apart from the 15 Music Stores now in selected countries, the Finns have deemed it fit to introduce its music download service to Mexico today, with Portugal, Norway and South Africa expected to get theirs "in the coming months".

Nokia also plans to roll out Comes With Music (CWM), its unlimited music download service that's bundled with selected handsets to Italy, Sweden and Mexico. Poised to rival Apple's a la carte iTunes store, CWM lets users download as many tunes as they want within a 12- or 18-month period and keep the tracks after that. CWM is currently available in the UK and Singapore, with Australia on the launch pad later this month. No word on whether the service will be available in other Asia-Pacific countries.

Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR

The good: Good quality images even at high ISO; reliable automatic EXR mode switches between different settings accurately; wide dynamic range.
The bad: Boring design; limited manual exposure function; no HD video-recording feature.
The bottom line: Despite minor flaws, we were captivated by the incredible image quality from the F200EXR, considering it is just a point-and-shoot. By far one of the best midrange compacts we've tested.
Read full review of the Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR »

Samsung YP-S5

Samsung YP-S5 (2GB)
The good: Excellent sound quality; built-in Bluetooth; photo and video support; FM radio; a voice recorder; alarm clock; design is cool with a fun flip-out speaker for sharing tunes; comes with a pair of earbuds that fit comfortably and securely in the ear.
The bad: Small screen and a proprietary USB connection; pricier than most other flash MP3 players; lack of tactile controls may turn off some users; no dedicated volume buttons; videos must be in Samsung's proprietary format.
The bottom line: The Samsung S5 is an MP3 player with a fun interface and excellent sound quality; the screen is a bit small, but this player is still a great choice if you want to share your tunes at the drop of a dime.
Read full review of the Samsung YP-S5 (2GB) »

Apple MacBook Pro

Apple MacBook Pro (Core 2 Duo Processor 2.66 GHz, 4GB, 17-inch TFT)
The good: New aluminum unibody construction comes to the 17-inch model; useful multitouch trackpad gestures; attractive edge-to-edge glass on display; dual graphics provide more power or more battery life.
The bad: All-clicking trackpad is a bit awkward; matte screen option costs extra; switching GPUs is not as seamless as it should be.
The bottom line: A little late to the party, Apple's redesigned 17-inch MacBook Pro joins the 15-inch model with a redesigned aluminum body, new trackpad with expanded functionality, and a dual graphics setup for either longer battery life or better performance.
Read full review of the Apple MacBook Pro »

Asus Eee PC 1000HE

Asus Eee PC 1000HE (Intel Atom N280 Processor 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM)
The good: Excellent battery life; improved keyboard; competitively priced.
The bad: Slightly faster Intel Atom CPU fails to impress; other Netbook makers have shown more innovation.
The bottom line: Asus practically invented the Netbook market, and the Eee PC 1000HE is an overdue overhaul that offers a new CPU and great battery life but misses some of the competition's bells and whistles.
Read full review of the Asus Eee PC 1000HE »