Android phone with a built- in projector
The Samsung Galaxy Beam is an android
smartphone with a difference. Yes, like other smartphones, is had a dual core
processor, 4in screen, 5 megapixel camera and an Android operating system.
However, the extra it offers is a 15 Lumen DLP nHD projector, which apart from
everything else also acts as a powerful torchlight!
Along with its regular accessories, it also
has a stand to attach your phone for viewing or recharging wirelessly.
Measuring 124x64.2x12.5, the Beam seems to be bulkier than regular smartphones
but actually it’s sleeker if you consider that it has a built in projector. The
build quality is cause for concern as it’s plastic-like feel is not impressive
at all. The front has a 4in screen, the Home button and two capacitive buttons
for handling menu and back on the lower half. On the right side there is a
dedicated projector key along with the usual power/lock button. The volume
rocker is on the left. A part from these, there is a 5 megapixel camera on the
back and a 1.3 megapixel in the front for handling video calling.
The Galaxy Beam has an internal storage of
8GB, out of which 4GB is accessible to the user. It also accepts MicroSD cards
up to 32GB to expand usable memory. The manufacturer claims the projector can
display an image up to 50in wide with a resolution of 640x360. In low light,
the color reproduction is good with several modes.
The Beam comes bundled with 2.3.6
Gingerbread, which is a bit of a letdown but it can upgraded to ICS later. The
4in display has a resolution of 800x480. A1GHz dual core processor and 786MB of
RAM provide the grunt.
The network reception is very good, as is
the quality of the speaker. The 2000mAh battery though lasts little over a day.
The multimedia performance is good. Where it scores is of course the projection
capability as that’s where it is different from the rest. Though the price is a
bit higher that it should have been, it’s a decent buy if it suits your needs.
We say: No ICS, good projector, good
screen, slightly over priced
Overall: 6/10
Transcend Ultimate SDHC UHS-1 Class 10
One of the best card out there
A camera can be qualified as a ‘good’ one
only when it has the right accessories. Needless to say, a memory card tops the
list of must-haves that gives your camera an edge over others. And we can safely
say that the Transcend Ultimate SDHC Class 10 card just happens to be one of
the best that we have tested!
Photography enthusiasts are aware about the
importance of a memory card’s ‘class mark’ in a camera’s overall performance.
Though a bit on the costly side, a class 10 card is the highest, with the
promise of delivering 85MB/s. A sure-shot attention grabber! Plus, it is
available with RecoveryFX a recovery software. However, you need to download it
from Transcend.
The card offers a lifetime warranty, has a
sturdy build and scores on details like a the slide lock, all of which make it
a good choice!
We used this card in a full frame DSLR,
micro four-third camera in burst shooting mode, higher shutter priority modes
and in a laptop to get it benchmarked with dedicated software. In shutter
priority mode, we started with a speed of 1/400 under optimum lighting
condition and went upto 1/4000 sec. Then we tried it in Sony Alpha SLT-A65 with
the claimed 11 fps burst mode. Happily, the card’s performance remained
amazing, no matter what the environment!
In the synthetic benchmarking test, we were
impressed by a read speed of 79.11 MB/s and a writing speed of 45.16MB/s. And
that explains the reasons this card rocks a Class 10 card is generally meant to
read up to 20MB/s and has a slower write speed!
Flipkart offers this card for Rs 895 total
value for money, we say!
We say: Blazing speed, decently priced
Overall: 6/10
Zen The Master A10
Good looking option in the budget android
tablet segment
Zen The Master, a popular component
manufacturer which has already launched a few Android devices in the market,
has recently introduced the A10 tablet which is a budget release and dedicated
to the ICS shelf. The A10 is a low cost 7in android tablet. To be honest, it’s neither
a nexus killer nor a galaxy tab substitute or even an iPad competitor, but yes
it’s a device for those who want to have a touchscreen android tablet
experience without burning a hole in their wallet!
With an all-white matte casing, the A 10 is
visually appealing and fortunately has a better build quality than others in
its price range. The front is occupied just by the screen, with no physical
buttons for controlling the device. Measuring 195x122x11.7mm, it weighs just
450gms. The lock/power switch and volume rocker is on the left hands side and
an DMI, USB mini port, CBVS output, HDTV out and 3.5mm out are on the right
side.
The application performance is in line with
what we would expect as the A10 has the same Boxchip A10 multi core processor.
Mali 350MHZ GPU and 512MB of vmemory as most other budget tablets. Apart from
the MicroSD card support, the A 10 also has an in-built memory of 4GB for
storing applications and content. The 7in display produces a resolution of 800x480
pixels.
The tablet is ideal for viewing, reading,
listening to music or watching movies and the HDMI out port lets you to connect
the device to a bigger TV for viewing content directly from the tablet.
The ZenPad A 10 should not be confused with
any other Zen Mobile product as this device is a product of HT Impex. Available
in all the major IT outlets across India
We say: Good build, poor specs, slightly
over Priced
Overall: 6/10
Kingston Data Traveler Ultimate 3
USB memory key with fast data transfer
USB memory key that’s two or three times as
fast as equivalent USB 2 devices
More and more USB 3portable storage devices
are becoming available they use the faster USB 3 ports on some newer computers
to provide faster data transfer between the computer and the storage device.
The Kingston Data Traveler Ultimate 3 comes
in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB sizes. We reviewed the 32GB one, which offers a good
amount of storage in a size no bigger than any other USB memory key (slightly
larger than a lipstick).
USB 3 is technically up to 10 times fast
than its predecessor, the USB 2 found on most modern computers and USB devices.
But in practice you won’t see that kind of increase – we found that in our
tests the Data Traveler Ultimate 3 managed speeds around two or three times as
fast as equivalent USB 2 devices.
You might find a USB2 device in much
cheaper price, but if you regularly have to move lost of files between
computers this is a quick way to do it.
We say: Good looks, decent speed
Overall: 8/10
