Tech Creel

Monday, June 2, 2014

Top 8 affordable Quad-Core tablets compared

The defining benchmark of a Post PC era is that tablets are becoming hugely popular and are giving a stiff competition to laptops and ultrabooks. And why not? They are much more portable and offer almost all the features and capabilities one can get on a laptop. Most modern-day tablets are easily as powerful (if not more) as two-three year old laptops.

The ‘slate’ has been prevalent for quite a few years but the modern age tablet gained popularity and traction in the year 2010. In our opinion, the credit goes to Apple for shaping the tablet market when it released the first iPad in 2010 and pushed tablet segment into the mainstream consumer market. The company also brought in capacitive touchscreens to the tablet category which meant that users could just tap away with their fingers without having to rely on a stylus pen. A number of manufacturers followed Apple’s move and today every hardware-based technology company operating in the consumer space has a tablet to offer.

SAMSUNG GALAXY 10.1"

According to the International Data Corp. (IDC) the year 2013 saw a rise of 50.6% in tablet sales with the worldwide tablet shipments totalling to 217.1 million, an increase from 144.2 million in 2012. For the Indian market, researchers have predicted that the period of 2013- 2014 will see a boost of 50% in the sales on tablets. These numbers are actually huge and are a big threat for laptop makers as the tablet has been marginalizing PCs and laptops for quite some time.

A large chunk of the total number of tablets in the market is occupied by Android as it has become the dominating platform in the mobile device industry purely by number of devices adopting it. Apart from Android one can even get their hands on a Windows 8.1 running tablet under a budget of `25,000 which provides the Modern UI, as well as proper desktop mode just like a PC. Today, manufacturers like Apple and Samsung offer tablets in a premium range but a large portion of consumers in the Indian market opt for more affordable tablets to fit their budgets.

While we are on the subject, the budget category of tablets has widened a lot and with Indian brands bringing in a mix of their own products, there has been an increase in variety as well. If we look back to 2013, getting your hands on a powerful tablet meant shelling out a lot of money. But times have changed and one can easily get a tablet running on a quad-core processor with plenty of features under a budget of Rs 20,000 without breaking a sweat.

For this shootout we have picked tablets from well-known companies and also some indigenous brands which provide some competitive features. The focus here is on tablets selling around `25,000 which attracts the majority of the consumers. We have included eight Android tablets namely the Dell Venue 7 and Venue 8, iBerry Auxus CoreX8, iBall Slide 3G Q1035, Micromax Canvas Tab, Google Nexus 7 (2013), MTV Slash 4X and Simmtronics XPad Turbo. We have also included two Windows 8.1 tablets one from Dell and one from Acer.

THE PLATFORMS

Android had stepped into the tablet game by releasing a different version altogether (3.0 Honeycomb) which was specifically designed for tablets. It did not gain a lot of popularity back then, so Google scrapped it off and made a unified version (4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich) that would run both on smartphones and tablets. Today the platform is on the verge of becoming the most selling tablet operating system and the numbers are just going stronger by the day. Almost all of the Android tablets that we have tested run on Android 4.2 and the only tablet with the latest KitKat update was the Nexus 7.

Hopefully manufacturers will be announcing some new tablet this year with Google’s latest 4.4.2 update. With almost 2 million apps available on the Google Play store, Android tablets are poised to take over the industry. When Microsoft had announced that Windows 8 will feature an app ecosystem on top of the traditional desktop layout, it seemed logical that the OS would be ported to tablet devices. The good part is that one can get a full-fledged desktop/laptop experience but the bad part is that using its touchscreen on the desktop mode is a real pain. The tiled UI is similar to what we have seen on Windows Phone devices and the apps work in a similar fashion. With the app development steadily going stronger, Windows 8.1 tablets could soon gain a decent market share.

Fujifilm X100S review trending on no. 1.

74,900

best price available

OUR VERDICT

The Fujifilm X100 was a redefining camera for the point and shoot segment, but sadly, it shipped with many flaws. However, the X100s feels like a camera made by a company that listens to its customers. Not only does the new camera inherit no flaws from the X100, but it also brings with it a set of new features that are sure to win many over. But the price on the X100S can be a deterrent for a few along with its fixed focal length lens. But thereï¿½s a lot more to the story, so read on.

Fujifilm has developed quite a name itself with the X-series. It all started with the X100, the first APS-C point and shoot from the company. Then came theX-Pro1 and the X10 and the X-E1, which boosted this series of cameras into the limelight as niche products for those who crave the perfect amalgamation of the old and the new.

So, with the year beginning anew, it was only expected that Fujifilm would update the X100 with a new model. The X10 got replaced with the X20, so naturally, the X100 was to be replaced with the X200 right? Wrong! Fujifilmreleased the upgrade under the name of X100S. Once this reviewer managed to contain the excitement of the announcement, a question arose. What does the “S” stand for? We reached out to Fujifilm India to get our hands on the X100s early so that we could understand why the company chose to add a letter and not a number of the camera’s nomenclature. Here’s what we have found so far.

S is for Simplicity:
One glance at the X100S and there is no way to tell it’s a camera different from its predecessor, save for that little “s” emblazoned on the bottom right corner (or bottom-left, it’s all about perspective with us photographers). It has the exact same look and build as the X100. Flip the camera over and there’s a very good chance you won’t notice the only change the camera’s exterior has undergone. The “RAW” button on the X100 has been replaced with a “Q” button, the same one found on the X-Pro1, which brings instant access to most of the imaging features of the camera. That’s about all the exterior changes. Fujifilm has kept the design philosophy rather simple, sticking to the old rangefinder build. Looks like Fujifilm took the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” saying to heart!

Fujifilm in fact steps it up a notch with the X100s. Seeing how photographers absolutely loved the hybrid viewfinder of the X-Pro 1, the company decided to include that module in the X100S too. The EVF allows the user to switch between the “real world” view with an information overlay and an actual electronic viewfinder just by the flick of a switch placed conveniently on the front of the camera.

S is for Specifications:
The specs on the X100S are quite similar to the X100. It’s got an upgraded 16 megapixel X-Trans II sensor which is complimented by the new EXR II image processing chip. The X-Trans II sensor isn’t just a change in number, but is a significantly improved sensor from before. For starters, not only does it employ the Back Side Illuminated design, but also gets dedicated phase detection pixels that have allowed the X100s to become the fastest focussing point and shoot camera so far.

The front of the X100S is graced by a Fujinon 23mm f/2.0 lens (which gives a 34.5mm field of view) which, just like on the predecessor, has a minimal footprint. The lens however, has been optically improved and this is where the EXRII chip comes into play. Besides pushing off the 6 frames per second burst mode, the EXRII chip also applies real-time lens correction data to the images to correct for vignette and chromatic aberration, and from what we’ve seen, it does a splendid job.

S is for Shutter Splendour:
Fujifilm pretty much pulled out all stops and replaced the normal “focal-plane” shutter found on pretty much every camera in the market, with a leaf shutter. Moving past the awkward name, a leaf shutter brings with it some serious chops. For starters, you can now sync your flash with shutter speeds up to 1/1000th of a second. Conventional DSLRs max out their shutter sync speeds at 1/250th of a second, so the ability to be able to use your speedlight at incredibly high shutter speeds should really excite you.

We must clarify one thing though. You might hear a claim of “being able to sync flash at any shutter speed,” which happens to be both true and false. While it is true that the shutter shouldn’t exhibit any shadow banding, the flash sync depends on your Speedlight’s pulse duration. While we could get into the nitty gritties of the pulse duration and what not, but we’re just going to keep it simple and say that going up to 1/1000th of a second wouldn’t be a problem.

A pricey Bluetooth headphone with premium sound

The Good The Beats Studio Wireless is a very comfortable over-the-ear wireless headphone that offers excellent sound for a Bluetooth headphone and features active noise-canceling technology. The headphones fold up into a more compact form factor and battery life is decent at 12 hours of wireless listening. They also worked well as a wireless headset for making cell-phone calls.

The Bad Expensive; if the integrated rechargeable battery dies, the music dies.

The Bottom Line While it'll cost you a hefty $380, the Beats Studio Wireless is an excellent wireless Bluetooth headphone.

It's easy to confuse the Beats Studio (2013) headphones with the company's Studio Wireless over-the-ear headphones. That's because the two headphones look nearly identical, the big difference being the latter model includes not only active noise-canceling but Bluetooth technology, which allows for wireless streaming from any Bluetooth-enabled device. Oh, and at $379.95, the Studio Wireless costs $80 more.

Both these headphones are based on a new "re-imagined" design of the original, uber-popular Studio, which didn't impress audiophiles and had other faults. These new models are lighter and built more sturdily. They also boast softer earcups and seem very comfortable (I know people who run in them), offering a snug fit and a fairly tight seal without feeling too tight.

I tested Studio Wireless for several weeks and came away really liking it. Soundwise, it measures up to many of the top Bluetooth headphones, and it's a big upgrade over the older on-ear Wireless in every way. The big question, of course, is it worth $379.95?

The answer really depends on whether you're OK with paying a premium for the Beats brand. But more on that in a minute.

Design and features

The Studio Wireless comes in six colors -- white, blue, red, titanium, and black (matte or glossy) -- and is better constructed than the original Beats Studio. For what it's worth, I like the look of the the matte black and blue models best (I started with a glossy black review sample, which I later swapped for a matte black sample).

While these are premium headphones, they are made mostly of plastic, but their finishes help them seem a little more swanky than the original Studios. The glossy models do attract fingerprints, which is why the headphones come with a small cloth for buffing them (the buff cloth is now becoming a common accessory for this type of high-end plastic headphone).

Beats Studio Wireless Over-Ear Headphone (Matte Black 2013) — The Beats Studio Wireless fold up into a more compact package.

Like the standard Studio (2013), this model has no "visible" screws, which is good, because those tiny little screws on the headband of the original had a habit of unscrewing themselves and falling out. However, when you break the headphones down -- they fold up (though not flat) to fit in a nice carrying case -- you'll notice Torx screws on the joints on each side of the headband. That joint does have some metal in it and snaps nicely into place when you unfold the headphones.

Beyond that carrying case, you get a few other extras, including both a straight cord for wired listening and one that integrates an Apple-friendly remote and microphone for cell-phone calls. (The remote features may not work with non-Apple devices, but the microphone will.)

Unfortunately, the cords come in red for all models, so there's a little bit of color clash when, say, you get the blue model and end up with a red cord. For $379.95, you should probably get cords that match the color of the headphones. Still, these are wireless headphones, and the vast majority of people will stow away those extra cords (except maybe the USB cable) and never use them, so color won't matter too much. However, it is worth noting that the headphone' internal battery has to have some charge for the headphones to work, wireless or wired.

On the inside, there's a new, "improved" DSP (digital signal processor) and software that Beats has, for marketing purposes, dubbed the Beats Acoustic Engine. These are active noise-canceling headphones, and they come equipped with two modes of "adaptive" noise cancellation. According to Beats, one mode is for music listening and offers "balanced" adaptive noise cancellation between your music and your environment, and the other mode offers stronger noise cancellation for when you're disconnected and just want to shut out the world (you can't play your music in this mode).

To power the Bluetooth and noise-cancellation circuitry, there's an integrated rechargeable lithium battery that you juice up via a Micro-USB connection (a cable is included -- again red). Battery life is rated at 12 hours of wireless listening and 20 hours of wired listening. A five-light LED "battery fuel gauge" under the power button on the right earcup indicates how much charge is left, and if you have an iOS device, a tiny battery gauge appears on your device next to the Bluetooth icon in the top right of your screen (as it does with all Bluetooth audio devices).

Like other stereo Bluetooth headphones, this model has a built-in microphone, and I thought the Beats Wireless worked very well as a wireless headset for making cell phone calls. Callers said they could hear me reasonably well, even when I was walking on the noisy streets of New York City on a fairly windy day.

Best wearable tech

Smartwatches. Health monitors. Pedometers. Activity trackers. They're all part of the emerging landscape of wearable technology, which promises to change the way we exercise and communicate. We've collected the best products in this upstart category below.