Most Laptop Batteries are manufactured by all the leading companies in the market like Acer, Apple, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, HP, IBM, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, Panasonic and iPod. Coming to the details of Laptop Batteries :
Acer: It provides batteries to all of its modules which have been released in the market with required specifications for their modules considering the factors like voltage requirement, weight, width, height and length of the batteries.
1. 14.8V 4000mAH.
2. BAT30N3L battery which fits for Acer modules.
3. Weight: 300 g
4. Width: 97 mm Height: 20.5 mm Length: 127 mm
5. BTP-550 HBT.0186.001
Apple: Apple also provides batteries to all of its modules which have been released in the market with required specifications for their modules considering the factors like voltage requirement, weight, width, height, length of the batteries.
1. 14.4v 3200mAh Li-Ion battery
2. ibook 1999 Li-ion battery
3. Width 52 mm, Height 19 mm and Length 287 mm.
4. Shape Rectangular
Compaq: Provides batteries to all of its modules which have been released in the market with required specifications for their modules considering the factors voltage requirement, weight, width, height, length of the batteries.
1. 14.8v 3600 mAh Li-Ion battery.
2. Made with Japanese cells to meet or exceed manufacturers’ specifications.
Dell: Dell provides batteries to all of its modules which have been released in the market with required specifications for their modules considering the factors voltage requirement, weight, width, height, length of the batteries.
1. Compatible Li-ion battery.
2. 14.8V 4400mAH capacity.
3. Made with Japanese cells to meet or exceed manufacturers’ specifications.
Gate way: Provides batteries to all of its modules which have been released in the market with required specifications for their modules considering the factors voltage requirement, weight, width, height, length of the batteries.
1. 14.8v 4000mAh battery
2. Gateway Solo Li-Ion Battery
3. Voltage: 14.8V 4000mAH
4. Made with Japanese cells to meet or exceed manufacturers’ specifications
HP: It has following specifications in it batteries
1. 14.4v 3600 mAh Li-Ion battery
2. L18650-8DHL
3. CBI0683A
4. Made with Japanese cells to meet or exceed manufacturers’ specifications
IBM: IBM provides batteries to all of its modules which have been released in the market with required specifications for their modules considering the factors voltage required, weight, width, height, length of the batteries.
1. 9.6v 3500mAh battery
2. H230AE-PS1
3. 350, 350C (NiMH) Battery
4. CBH0176A
5. Made with Japanese cells to meet or exceed manufacturers
Sony: Sony provides batteries to their modules by considering 11.1v 1800mAh and Replaces Sony battery PCGA-BP52AL which is made by Japanese cells.
Samsung: Provides batteries by considering Voltage to 14.8 V Capacity: 4000 mAh with CBI0780A by Japanese technology.
Dell Inc., is an American computer hardware company based in Round Rock, Texas, Formed by Michael Dell, while he was a student at the University of Texas at Austin. He founded the company as "PC" Limited with just $1000, in his room, an off campus dorm, in 1984 to sell IBM-compatible computers built from stock components.
The company has been formed on the principle that by selling computer systems directly to the customers, it could best understand their needs and provide them the most effective computing solutions. The solutions can be for a wide range of personal computer, servers, data storages devices, network switches, personal digital assistance for software, computer peripherals and so on.
Dell Laptops computers bring the ease of convenience and high performance machine together, at affordable prices. Dell laptops bring integrated high-speed 3G connectivity and high performance in form factors, both small and large. Dell meets your need for higher performance, excellent value or a lightweight travel notebook. Dell laptops span a wide range of sizes from 12 inches to 20 inches; these are powerful but pricey laptops featuring an Intel Core Duo processor and Microsoft’s Media Center OS. The display resolutions of the dell laptops are 855/865/815 and 1400 * 1050 chipset.
The different types of laptop are
1. Ultraportables:Laptops have screens typically less than 12 inches diagonally and weigh less than 1.7kg. Their primary audience is usually business travelers who need small, lightweight laptops. Ultraportables are often very expensive and house power-saving CPUs and almost always have integrated graphics.
2. Thin-and-lights:These are the Laptops which weigh between 1.8kg and 2.8kg with a screen size of 12 or 14 inches diagonally.
3. Medium-sized laptops:These are usually having screens of 15 - 15.4 inches diagonally and weigh around 3-3.5kg.
4. Desktop replacement computers:These are powerful laptops mainly used in a fixed location and infrequently carried out due to there weight and size. They provide more space for powerful components and a big screen - usually measuring 15 inches or more for desktop replacements and often have limited battery life due to their hardware, rarely exceeding three hours.
Dell manufactures its products close to the customers. The assembling of desktop computers for the North American market takes place at Dell Laptops plants in Austin, Texas and in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with servers built in Nashville, Tennessee. Dell, Inc. assembles computers for Europe in Limerick City, Ireland. The major competitors of Dell are Apple, Hewlett-Packard/Compaq, Packard Bell, Sun Microsystems, Gateway/Emachines, Lenovo, Sony, Toshiba, and MDG Computers in Canada. Enthusiast market competition takes place with Alienware, now which is a Dell’s division- Falcon Northwest, Voodoo PC, WidowPC, Sin Systems Inc. and other manufacturers. By August 2003, Dell Laptops lowered their product prices by 22% in an attempt to generate more sales; however this disappointed shareholders, sending it shares down by 2% in late Wall-Street trading, amid fears of a sector-wide slump.
The Acer Ferrari is a combination of an atest mobile 64-bit technology, sleek design and innovative work, an instrument for "no compromise.” Acer Ferrari range Laptop is an ideal for professionals, who want to deliver ideas and images with eye-catching ability. It has a wide high-resolution 15.4 inch screen with a great performance, multipurpose flash card slot, trayless double-layer optical drive and 1GB of RAM. Ferrari has the best features like, the vision clarity, power to pull ahead, lightning speed communication, totally mobile expansion, and wide coverage.
Acer is producing a powerful laptop with unique in-built technological features and as well giving it a stylish outer look. Based around the AMD 2GHz, Turion 64 ML-37 processor and supported by 1024MB DDR SDRAM, about performance. Acer Laptop of this module has a curved keyboard, with a five-degree curve for decoration, as it is believed that more natural placing of the keys helps reduce RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) due to rigorous typing. Acer Ferrari has an elegant look and very soon it will come up with the 1.6GHzprocessor of the AMD brand processor.
Acer is a Taiwan based company which was set up in the year 1976 by the name Multitech, and later renamed to Acer in 1987. It has its headquarters located in Hsichih City, Taipei County, Taiwan. By 2005 Acer Laptop was ranked as the world's No. 4 branded PC vendor. It offers a range of products like desktop and mobile PCs, servers and storages, LCD monitors and high-definition TVs, projectors, and handheld/navigational devices. In 2000, Acer spun-off its fabricating business to focus on developing technologically advanced and user-friendly computing. And it decided to support the sales of the product lines through specific marketing activities that best utilizes distribution channels. Revenues increased from US$4.9 billion in 2003 to US$7 billion in 2004. By 2005, Acer employed only 7,800 people across the world while maintaining a sales and service network throughout the world. And in 2006, its revenues reached US$11.32 billion.
Acer has a portable product line extension, the TravelMate series, the Aspire series and the cutting edge Ferrari series in line. Acer Ferrari laptops have the high persistent quality because of which they have managed to carve out a niche for themselves in the market. It is already popular in Asian and European markets, now it is hoping to garner attention in the profitable U.S market. Acer is ranked as first in 13 countries- Italy, Spain, Austria, Holland, Switzerland, The Czech Republic, Russia, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Poland, Hungary and The Slovakian Republic. Acer provides a wide range of portables with advanced features like flexibility, power, speed, full coverage, vision, and style to name a few.
Acer Laptops have 299.00 Intel Pentium III 600 MHz Processor 128 MB with RAM 12 Gb Hard Disk CD RW Drive, in-built Modem and Ethernet of 10/100 Lan Infra Red port Audio-in out and Mic Jacks 2 USB ports 1 Parallel and 1 Serial Ports External Keyboard port PCMCIA Slot Upgradeable Memory and Hard disks and Lithium-Ion Battery, provided with Drivers CD ROM.
The products include Travel Mate notebook computers, convertible Tablet PCs with Intel Pentium processors, wide-screen Aspire multimedia notebooks and Ferrari notebooks notable for a bright red chassis. Acer also markets a full range of Veriton business desktops, AcerPower and Aspire value desktops, Altos servers for the enterprise, and both LCD and CRT displays. Acer Laptop market in North American share has slipped over the past few years while the European market share has flanged up. Most of their success in Europe can be attributed to their on going association with the Ferrari Formula 1 Team and the former F1 team, Prost Grand Prix in 2001. They have recently broadened the scope of their relationship with Ferrari by announcing that they will sponsor the Formula One team until 2008.
Hi users, here is a common method to determine that if your antivirus program is working properly or not. I think you may know it already, but for the beginner (noobs) this can be informative.
* Then save file as "checkantivirus.com" including quotation-marks. (not necessary to be same as this file name, but save it in extension . com
* After some seconds saving this file, your Anti-Virus should come with the message that this file is infected with virus asking permission for its deletion/clean.
* This file is secure and it’s not going to infect your computer in whatever way. It is a standard text developed by the European Institute for Computer Anti-virus Research (EICAR). Every Anti-Virus is programmed to load this file as a virus.
* If your Anti-Virus will not hack this file as a virus, a program will appear as DOS window with this text EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE.
* If this happens then you should probably find some other Anti-Virus up to date. It means that your PC might already being infected from viruses and your current Anti-Virus does not recognize them.
Here is the Motorola Defy review – a rugged Android phone which is available for purchase in UK, USA and hitting Indiasoon.The phone drew plenty of attention worldwide because it’s not only rugged but also smart !
The DEFY is a rugged smartphone. It is marketed as a complete smartphone solution for social savvy people with the added bonus of being dustproof, scratch-resistant and splash-resistant. Motorola calls it the lifeproof phone. I don’t disagree.
The DEFY is a rare breed in smartphones. Not only is it a smartphone, it is also capable of withstanding the daily abuse that life throws at it – and it does so stylishly.
When I first heard of the Defy, I expected to be greeted with a smartphone equivalent of a Panasonic Toughbook laptop, but no – the Defy looks like any normal smartphone. It is even smaller than my Nokia N8! It won’t take any design awards home as far as physical aesthetics is concerned, but it isn’t something you would be embarrassed to own. In fact it looks rather cute!
The Motorola DEFY comes in an eye catching compact box. Inside you will find the DEFY, a large 1540mAh battery, microUSB cable, 2GB microSDHC card, headphones and USB wall charger.
As a rugged smartphone, the DEFY is surprisingly small and light. It looks nothing like most rugged phones I have ever laid my eyes on. Hat tip to Motorola engineers for creating a rugged smartphone that not only looks normal but in fact stylish even.
The capacitive Touchscreen is incredibly sharp. The DEFY packs a 3.7″ LCD with a resolution of 480×854, and is covered by a Gorilla Glass ensuring that it is as scratch-resistant. Multi touch is supported. Colour rendition is accurate and not oversaturated as you would normally find on an OLED screen. Contrast could be better.
Just below the display are four capacitive touch-sensitive soft buttons. Personally I’ve never been too keen on touch-sensitive buttons as they are too sensitive, and thus prone to accidental presses.
On the top of the phone you will find the small power button and 3.5mm audio jack. The volume rocker resides on the right side of the phone, while on the left the microUSB port. A reassuringly large 1540mAh battery can be found behind the battery cover. The microSDHC and SIM card slots can be found below the battery. A 5 mega pixle with VGA 30fps video recording and LED flash resides close to the top of the back.
Looking around the Defy it is evident how Motorola managed to make it water-resistant. Not only is the battery door sealed well, the microUSB port and headphone audio jack are covered by protective flaps. But what truly surprises me was how small and light the DEFY is.
With a thickness of 13.4mm, it is barely thicker than my Nokia N8 but also significantly lighter (118g vs 135g). The lightness can be attributed to Motorola’s decision to use plastic. Some may see this as a bad thing, but I’ve seen no evidence that the built-quality is compromised by the use of plastic material. Overall the DEFY is smaller than the N8, but has the added advantage of having a bigger and more importantly, removable battery.
The DEFY is powered by Android 2.1 (Eclair) and Motorola’s own custom homescreen MOTOBLUR. The homescreen actually looks and feels like a normal Android homescreen.
The MOTOBLUR integration comes in the form of widgets. There are plenty of widgets to choose from, including Social and Status (for Twitter and Facebook), Weather, Contacts, RSS, Music Player etc. While the widgets are resizable, they are rectangular in shape, which makes them rather unattractive to look at.
The technical specs of the DEFY are modest. It runs on a 800Mhz TI OMAP3610 ARM Cortex A8 processor. The relatively slow processor (both in clock speed and out-dated architecture) coupled with Android 2.1 is evident when using the DEFY. I’ve shown a couple of HTC Desire owners the DEFY, and they’ve all commented on how laggy the DEFY felt.
512MB of RAM is available so you wouldn’t have any issues multi-tasking. There’s also 2GB of on-board storage for installing applications. A 2GB microSD card is also bundled with the phone. In addition to that, the DEFY packs quad band EDGE, dual band HSDPA, WiFi, Blutooth with A2DP, built-in GPS receiver, accelerometer – basically almost everything you would expect in a 2010 phone.
Like many modern smartphones, the DEFY has two microphones, one which is used to cancel out noise. Motorola dubs this the CrystalTalk technology. In-call quality is good and clear while I never encountered any issues with reception. Smart dialing feature is missing, though I didn’t find that I miss it at all.
The phonebook is brilliantly social savvy. You can link each contacts with their own Twitter and Facebook accounts, thus giving you an easy way to view any of your contact’s latest social updates. Linking the contacts is easy and painless, though isn’t as straight forward as Microsoft’s approach with Windows Phone 7.
Messaging is easy with the DEFY. Threaded messaging is here, and the built-in Swype support makes composing texts and emails a relatively painless process. Gmail is unsurprisingly supported and works in a way that you would expect it to, including option for push e-mail, labels and archives.
Web browsing is a breeze thanks to the high resolution screen. Despite running on Android 2.1, Flash is included. Zooming can be done via either double tapping or pinch to zoom. While multiple tabs are supported, text reflow isn’t.
Most modern smartphones are very well capable of replacing dedicated DAP (MP3 players), and the same can be said of the Defy. The music player, while basic, is intuitive. The audio quality is very good with overall good frequency response. It isn’t as good as the iPod Touch or N8, but most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference unless they invest in $200 headphones.
As the DEFY comes with built-in GPS receiver, you can use as a SatNav device. Google Maps is preloaded, though if you want the latest and greatest you can always grab the latest Google Maps 5 via the Android Market.
The DEFY comes with a standard (in 2010 terms) 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. Video recording is limited to VGA resolution, which is disappointing but hardly surprising – Motorola never set out to make the DEFY a cameraphone. Still for a social phone you would expect better.
Unfortunately because the DEFY does not have a physical camera shutter button, it was impossible to take pictures underwater. I tried, but because the DEFY uses a capacitive screen, water makes it difficult to operate the screen. So forget about using the DEFY for cool underwater shots.
You can also forget about low light photography as the DEFY is poor at that. With good amount of lighting available, the DEFY managed to capture some decent pictures with good amount of detail. The camera UI is simple to use, with a handful of options available to the user (nothing manual).
So is it worth your time? Geeks will unlikely taken by it – the DEFY is slow compared to its other Android cousins and the lack of Froyo/Gingerbread will no doubt put some people off. But it isn’t without its charm. The DEFY is a competent smartphone competing in a category that has no competitors. There are no other rugged or semi-rugged consumer smartphones that looks as stylish as the DEFY on the market. If you are in the market for a clever social phone with the ability to keep up with your hectic lifestyle, then the DEFY is for you. Good
+ Small and stylish
+ Water, scratch and dust resistant
+ Good battery life integration Bad
- Slow , might be android upate might fix things
- Android 2.1
- Clunky looking widgets
Here is the FoneArena LG Optimus 2X review. And guess what ? It’s the first time we have reviewed a Dual-Core phone. Until recently LG was loosing ground in the smartphone race but they surprised the world when they announced the world’s first smartphone powered by a Nvidia Tegra2 processor. At CES 2011 , several handset makers announced products based on the Tegra2 but this is the first smartphone or super-smart phone to hit the market. LG needs a nice pat on the back for making the first move. Lets see how the device meets our expectations.
Interesting Features of LG Optimus 2X
GSM Quad Band , HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
World’s first Dual Core phone powered by Nvidia Tegra2
Dual Core 1Ghz CPU with Geforce GPU
World’s first camera phone to offer 1080p (1920x1080px) video recording
480x800 Capacitive IPS Display
8 MP Camera with LED Flash
1.3 MP video calling camera
1920x1080px Video playback , HDMI mirroring, DLNA
Android 2.2.1 with update to 2.3 promised
8GB memory , supports upto 32 GB microSD cards
Bluetooth 3.0 , WiFi b/g/n , aGPS
Browser with Adobe Flash Player 10.1
Stereo speakers
FM Radio
1500 mAh 3.7 V battery
Accelerometer , Gyro sensor
Hardware
The first thing you would notice about the phone is the huge 4 inch display which has great clarity and color reproduction. The display runs on a 800x480 px resolution. The left and right edges of the display have a minor curve towards the end and its nice to use.
You have a nice metallic bezel running though the sides of the phone which gives it a nice feel.
Although the phone is made of plastic for the most part, it does not feel cheap like other phones like the Samsung Galaxy S.
You have the video calling camera on the top right and lg branding in the center. The earpiece above the LG logo. The proximity sensor and ambient light sensor sit on the left.
Below the display are the 4 keys for common operations of the Android OS -- Menu, Home, Back and Search
Camera
The LG Optimus 2X is equipped with an 8 Megapixel camera, autofocus and an LED flash. The amount of detail in the pictures is great. The colour rendering is on the more natural side. No artificial colouring or over saturation.
The noise level is kept to a minimum even though it is present. The LED flash is not as powerful as a Xenon or Dual-LED so lighting up a dark room is out of the question. But it can do a decent job. Try avoiding using the flash while taking macros as it may wash away the colour of the subject.
Software
The phone comes with Android 2.2.1 build FRG83. We got to tell that Android 2.2 is not seriously optimized for dual core phones but despite that the phone runs fast. LG has promised an update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread for this device and we can’t wait to try our benchmarks with that update. Even with FroYo , most operations seem a lot faster than other Android phones in the market.
UI
We have a mixed feelings about the UI. While we loved the unlock screen and homescreens , the icons looks a bit inconsistent or out of place. You can configure the number of homescreen panels and add widgets to each homescreen. Both LG widgets and Android widgets can be added.The transitions and pretty smooth thanks to plenty of processing power. The weather widget is pretty cool and worth checking out.There were no lags during our test and it we never had to pull out the battery to restart phone.
The notification bar has shortcuts to Sound, WiFi , Bluetooth , GPS and Accelerometer.The music player is present below and can be turned-off if needed. Whats cool is that you can control the music even without unlocking the screen.
Apps
The phone comes with several apps pre-installed.Twitter , Facebook and Myspace for LG apps are social networking apps developed by LG for this device.There is a Browsing Protection app from F-Secure.
You can always download the latest apps from the Android market. There is LG’s App Advisor too which lets you discover the top rated apps in your country or globally.
Benchmarks
Here are some benchmarks of the Tegra 2 CPU on the Optimus 2X.
Just want to point out that most these android benchmarking tools available today support Dual core mobile phones.
Quadrant
Linpack
BenchMarkPi
Phone Calls , Messaging
Phone calls went through pretty fine and we did not experience any dropped calls.
SMS, MMS , Email are all supported. There is a built it Email client in addition to the Android Gmail app.
The keyboard support both landscape and QWERTY input and you always have the liberty of installing some Swype tools
The phone provides good integration of contacts with social networking sites.
Connectivity
The phone supports plenty of connectivity options include HSDPA and Wifi(n). You can also use the phone as a WiFi hotspot
The browser is pretty fast and supports flash content.
The Video out via HDMI is really impressive and we have a video which is processing currently to show you how it works.
Battery Life
This is something we were not expecting much as the Optimus 2X is the first dual core phone. But we were surprised as we could sail through a complete day with the phone. You might have to reduce the screen brightness to achieve this.With heavy usage like constant 3G downloading , video playback it lasted for around 12-13 hours . With minimal usage it can last close to 2 days with a single charge.
Conclusion
There are few things to complain about the Optimus 2X. There are a lot of things which LG has got right on this phone. There are some things which LG could have done better. It could have had a more premium external casing just to make it look special. They could have added a dedicated camera key, may be it was omitted to maintain a simple design. It would have been cool with Gingerbread on board but at least LG has committed that an update is coming . There will be more Dual-core phones hitting the market in 2011 but LG gets full marks for being the first. If are a person who loves to stay up-to date with the latest technology , you can go ahead and get the Optimus 2X, the future is here. It might take a while before other phones hit the market.
Currently the phone is available in Korea and is expected to launch in Europe this month followed by Asia. It is also rumored to hit USA this year. Pros
The story with Android has been quite similar these last few years: manufacturers seem to always be on the run to deliver bigger, faster, better, devices with more specs inside than anyone can humanly memorize. Dual-Core processors, 4.3″ screens, 3D displays, HD video recording… are all interesting, except they target what? maybe 5-10% of the users. The rest, well, they get very confused and somewhat overwhelmed with these features. They want a phone, that’s it. Maybe they want Facebook in there, a camera of sorts, and email would be a nice plus. For those, the Samsung Galaxy 5 is perfect.
The Galaxy 5 is the smartphone brother of the iconic Samsung Corby, a device with a simple design, dedicated keys for calls, quite limited features in terms of camera and other hardware, but it packs Android Eclair 2.1 instead of Samsung’s dumbphone OS. But the question is does this mix work?
In a word, yes. The Galaxy 5 has everything in it to take the average Joe phone user, seduce him, and introduce him to Android and smartphones. Below is a list of 5 things to love about the Galaxy 5. 1. It runs Android Eclair 2.1: while being a bit old, Eclair is miles ahead of Donut 1.6. Some markets, specifically in South America, have shipped Froyo 2.2 for the Galaxy 5, making it quite a modern offer in terms of software. And despite all the hardware limitations, the software is the full Android version, with the Samsung TouchWiz UI on top.
2. Samsung TouchWiz: although many people prefer the vanilla experience of Android, TouchWiz can easily get out of the way, letting you enjoy an almost plain experience. Yes, there is a set of Samsung-specific widgets, like Accuweather, Buddies, Feeds and Updates, but you can opt out of these and customize the homescreen as you prefer. The application menu is divided into pages of 16 applications each scrollable horizontally, which fits more on a small screen like this. The TouchWiz Gallery and Camera UI are really great to look at and use. Also included are many of Samsung’s specific applications like Type and Go, Files, but the notable ones are Layar and Swype. Swype specifically makes a nice difference as that keyboard is a lot easier and more convenient to use than the default Samsung keyboard, in both portrait and landscape.
3. D-Pad: when you have a screen as small as the 2.8″ one on the Galaxy 5, finger selection gets a bit complicated, no matter how small your fingers are. In the browser, while typing text, in selection windows, basically all over the phone, precise selection is quite difficult at least at first, so the D-Pad helps a ton with that. You can scroll through lists and text, select the items you want, move easily around the browser, point to and click a link, without a lot of trouble. 4. Dedicated Call/End Call keys: while everyone is moving away from physical buttons, a lot of people still look at these new smartphones and wonder how to call or end a call. The Galaxy 5 outcomes that by including a regular set of calling buttons, allowing anyone who picks it to know how to initiate a phone conversation or end it. It’s also one of the elements that make it look more like a regular phone and less like a smartphone. 5. Battery life: thanks to its small screen and less resource intensive processor, the Galaxy 5 is one of a rare breed of battery champions when it comes to Android devices. The battery will easily last a day, with moderate to intense use, and if you install something like Juice Defender, it will even get to 2 days with that amount of usage.
But the Galaxy 5 isn’t all rainbows and butterflies, and there are many limitations to its use. Here are the 5 things that we hate about the Galaxy 5. 1. Small touchscreen: the main hamper on the Galaxy 5′s use is its 2.8″ screen. If this wasn’t a touchscreen device, the size would have been more than enough, but going below 3″ on a touchscreen is quite unforgivable. A bump to 3″ or 3.2″ would have been greatly appreciated as there are some instances where the screen is just too tiny to be of use, and many applications won’t look decent on it, or are simply not available for it. 2. Non-TouchWiz’ed Music Player: everything on the Galaxy 5 is quite pimped up, UI-wise, thanks to TouchWiz, except the music player which is the default Android one. This sort of makes it look out of place on the device, and leaves the experience a bit inconsistent with the rest. 3. No GPS: while I do realize that something had to give in order to lower the price of the Galaxy, omitting a GPS chip and relying totally on network location is a bit sad in a day and age where voice navigation is becoming free, ubiquitous, and one of the selling points of smartphones. 4. Very limited Camera: this is another factor that had to be compromised to fit the price and size range of the Galaxy 5, but a 2MP camera with no AutoFocus is quite ridiculous. There are 3.2MP cameras around and even 5MP modules that could be a much better fit than this.
5. Tiny Memory: while the target demographic for the Galaxy 5 is not those who want to install hundreds of applications and games, it was still a bit sad to see the memory low warning with around 30 apps installed on mine. That warning gets a bit more frustrating if you’re running Eclair, since you can’t move some applications to the SD card to free space.
As you see, the Galaxy 5 is a phone that brings many of the regular phone features: with the D-Pad, dedicated call keys, small and pocketable size, and great battery life. It will lure the unsuspecting non-smartphone user into buying and trying it, thanks to its quite reasonable price, and then will present them with a smartphone experience. With Eclair, TouchWiz and the Market, users will find themselves attracted to trying new applications, fiddling around, arranging homescreens to fit their needs. There are very few limitations on applications that the Galaxy 5 can run, and while the hardware isn’t up to par, it will offer a full Android experience from the software side. I was personally able to load it with what I wanted, in terms of apps and personalization items, make it fit my needs, and get quite satisfied with it.
Except that there will come a time when the limitations will start annoying the user. After being attracted to Android, they will want a bigger screen to see more information and have better control over things, a faster processor, a better camera, GPS to use with voice navigation and augmented reality apps, and more memory for all their apps. The Galaxy 5 will be like a stepping stone, a transitional device of sorts from the non-geeky average usage for its owner, to a more involved and smartphone-aware owner who will start looking for more.
It's that time of the year when one would like to see how bollywood have performed over the period of 6 months starting January, 2010.
With only one super hit in Raajneeti and one hit in My Name is Khan, the condition of the industry looks dilapidated.
Lack of originality, novel themes, power-packed content and lackluster performances are the factors that have paved the way for major flicks turning out to be stinking turkeys at the box-office.
Also the rage of IPL for over 45 days was other factor for theatres being empty.
Final Word, Well we have only some khushi and all Gham at the ticket window. How? Let's examine!
We will see in the coming columns as to what are the factors responsible for the successful movies' triumph & woeful films' deterioration, respectively. Let's kick off the report with the string of flops. Veer (Verdict - Flop)
The movie was one of the biggest openers of 2010. With more than 500 prints put across, the movie managed a decent opening, basically riding on the niche name of Salman Khan, earning 30 Crores in first 3 days. Later on, the picture changed drastically as the movie lacked originality, and the content was not able to hold audiences glued to the screen. The only saving grace was its exceptional musical score. As the days passed, people rejected the movie and it became the first major flop of 2010.
Plusses- Salman Khan, Musical score, Cinematography
Minuses- Lackluster performances, nothing new to offer Paathshaala (Verdict - Flop)
The movie was critically and commercially unsuccessful. The major reason for its plummeting was the repetition of the concept we had seen in Taare Zameen Par, Thus a comparison was rife and the movie could nor match up to the expectation of the viewers.
Plusses- Shahid Kapoor, Music
Minuses- Half-baked product and performances Phoonk 2 (Verdict - Flop)
The movie was the sequel to the 2008 average grosser Phoonk, but the confusion in the climax scenes led to the debacle of this horror flick. Simply, it failed to terrorize cinegoers.
Plusses- Ashwini Keleskar as the ghost, Ehsaas Channa
Minuses- Could not live up the level of its prequel, Lacked fear factor. Prince (Verdict - Flop)
Launched as the come back vehicle of Vivek Oberoi, Prince failed to make him the prince of the bollywood and must say, the movie bit the dust and how! The flick was over hyped and its lack of meat in the script made it bite the dust.
Plusses- Musical score and lip-lock scenes
Minuses- Flawed story, zero performance-level, bad marketing strategies and IPL. Karthik Calling Karthik (Verdict - Flop)
This Farhan Akhter-Deepika Padukone was a film audiences failed to connect with. Farhan shall concentrate more to his directing career. He is not an acting material, for sure.
Plusses- Hard to find
Minuses- So many to list out here, sorry! Rann (Verdict - Flop)
Even Amitabh Bachchan's presence in the film could not prevent the film from sinking at the box-office even without a trace. The story lacked solidity.
Plusses- Amitabh Bachchan, Reteish Deshmukh, Sudeep
Minuses- Failure of not had been able to convert an ambitious project in to a cinematic genius. Teen Patti (Verdict - Flop)
The story of this fanfare was so flawed that it could not bring audiences to the cinema halls. Amitabh's hamming led to the debacle of the movie. Indigestive!
Plusses- None
Minuses- Toooooooo Many
These were big flops of the 2010 so far. You must be thinking why not we have featured Kites & Raavan here. Well, we have a special section created enacted. To find out, read on! Surprise! Surprise!
The two of the most hyped and hugely anticipated movies being speculated to revive the industry from the burden of surging flops and set the cash registers ringing have flopped like anything. Such has been their fate they are not been able to recover their production costs. They are Kites and Raavan. Welcome to the section of disasters.
The Disasters:
Kites (Verdict - Disaster)
One of the keenly anticipated movies of 2010, Kites failed to soar high and could not reignite the screen. The Midas touch of Rakesh Roshan- Hrithik Roshan seems to have lost its way out.
The story was the main culprit as it had nothing new to offer at all. We have seen N numbers of such outings before. The major USP of Hrithik, His dance, was sidelined, thus disappointing his fans. Hrithik & Barbara looked hot on the screen but could not absorb the limelight. An actress of Kangana Ranaut caliber was wasted.
Plusses- Music, Cinematography, Direction.
Minuses- Soulless Performances, hamming. Raavan (Verdict - Disaster)
Mani Ratnam has missed the success bus this time and how! The lack of aggressiveness and menacing of the title character of Raavan completely has made this over hyped product phase out without registering substantial selling.
Plusses- Vikram and Aishwarya, Cinematography
Minuses- Music, Abhishek Bachchan, Editing
Now, lets have a look at some of the above average Bollywood movie grossers of half 2010:
Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge! (Verdict - Average)
First things first, despite IPL, the movie managed a decent performance because it has its heart at the right place, i.e., the story. Plus, a super combination of performances from the leads of the movie landed it to safety.
Plusses- Ajay Devgan, Paresh Raval, Konkana Sen Sharma and story.
Minuses- Misplacing of songs, slow second half. Badmaash Company (Verdict - Average)
The freshness, novelty and perfection in the execution of the story equipped with foot tapping music and niche performances from Shahid Kapoor and tight direction from the first timer, Parmeet Sethi led the movie to the above average category.
Plusses- Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Parmeet Sethi, Music
Minuses- Second-half is slow I Hate Luv Storys (Verdict - Average)
The freshness of the lead pair plus a novel theme and more importantly a strange title and music attracted audiences to the plexes in folds. Imran Khan & Sonam Kapur's performances have also made this movie click with the youth cinegoers.
Plusses- Noted performances form the lead actors, soulful music
Minuses- Bad editing could have trimmer in the second half. Housefull (Verdict - Average)
The Sajid Khan-Akshay Kumar-Reteish Deshmukh once again clicked on the box office after the savvy Heyy Babbyy. The comic timing, performances from the leads and music ensured that the movie see green at the end.
Plusses- Akshay Kumar, Sajid Khan's Direction
Minuses- Too much skin show
Well, its time to take you to the winner world. Yes, you guessed them right! They are Raajneeti & My Name is Khan.
Hit ke baad super hit:
My Name is Khan (Verdict - Hit)
The combination of SRK and Karan Johar never fails and this movie proves it yet again. Water tight script and excellent music plus exceptional performances from Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and team saw the movie easily getting the HIT status instantly.
Plusses- SRK & Kajol, Karan's direction, superb music, editing, story, etc.
Minuses- Too long Raajneeti (Verdict - Super Hit, Blockbuster)
The best thing and best actor in the movie was the excellent story and not to mention, Prakash Jha's gripping direction. Top performances from the leads were erected out by the director just like he has done in his previous outings like Gangaajal and Apaharan, respectively.
Plusses- Performances from Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Raampal, Ajay Devgan, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, direction, editing, cinematography, amazingly exceptional climax, etc.
Minuses-Too long towards the second hour
Conclusion:
Well, we have tried to present the report card of Hindi movies of the first 6th months of 2010 where we have only two winners. With
Lamhaa,
Khatta Meetha,
Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai,
Aisha,
Peepli Live,
Kajraare,
Hello Darling,
Anjaana Anjaani,
Lafangey Parindey,
Golmaal 3,
Action Replay,
Guzaarish,
Tees Maar Khan
amongst others gearing up to hit the silver screen shortly in the ensuing months and mesmerize you with their offerings, can we expect these movies to revive the soul of bollywood. We are keeping our fingers crossed!
Movie Name: Hum Dono
Actors: Dev Anand, Nanda, Sadhana
Director(s): Amarjeet
Producer(s): Dev Anand
Editor Review: Hum Dono-Rangeen Movie Review
Do yourself a favor of the lifetime, Go and watch Hum Dono fully colored. You are not deemed to miss it at any cost, whatsoever!!! Genre - Drama. Running Time - 2 Hours and 40 Minutes. Rating - ****1/2 (Enchanting and Matchless). Read Full Editor Review...
Genre - Drama
Running Time - 2 Hours and 40 Minutes
Remember Mughal-E-Azam? Yes, the same epic ultimate romantic flick that was colored in 2004. It worked in its favor. And How!
I can still remember that during the days Mughal-E-Azam (Color) was released way back in 2004, Shahrukh-Rani-Preity starter ' Veer-Zaara' had also released and was a hot favorite at the box-office. Having sad that, ' Veer-Zaara' did managed a super-hit status but not before it had some competition from Mughal-E-Azam' s color version. Wow! Such has been the effect of this masterpiece movie that it created quite a heroic when it was released in color.
Naya Daur, another Dilip Kumar movie that' s also considered a great work of cinema did not managed the same kind of publicity and success when colored and when compared with colored Mughal-E-Azam.
Even since Mughal-E-Azam' s color version hit the jackpot, a trend of coloring back and white films that has the world going for them is being planned to release.
Another great black and white cinematic experience starring the evergreen hero of bollywood, Dev Anand and Sadhna, Hum Dono has been released now in color laced with full features that any of the movies has for today and also in Dolby digital surround sound across India.
We all know what a great film Hum Dono was but as they say some flicks should not be tempered and be left the way they are. But, after having said that, a movie like Hum Dono when colored has become nothing but just like a situation when a diamond is polished and gets a new lease of life.
Final word? Hum Dono Rangeen is nothing but a pure classic set to be experienced and not to be missed at all. If you loved the color version of Mughal-E-Azam, you are definitely going to love this one as well.
Yes; let' s see the basic plot of this movie in the pivotal words of none other than Mrs. Nikhat Kazmi, The Times of India' s film critic and a noted trade pundit for a career spanning more than a decade.
"Poor boy Arun (Dev Anand) joins the army after his girlfriend' s (Sadhna) dad insults him on his jobless state. There he bonds with his look-alike, Major Varma and promises to look after his newfound friend' s family, in case the ongoing war claims him as its victim. The Major goes missing in the battlefield and Arun ends up donning his identity before the war hero' s wife (Nanda) and mother. What happens to his own love story?"
Wow, looks like an enticing plot, right folks?
Now, let' s give you 5 major reasons as to why you shall be watching this timeless classic at a cinema near you today itself.
Reason no 1- It' s because of the fact that Hum Dono just like Mughal-E-Azam, Hum Dono is the ultimate example of timeless classics. If you thought that movies that are made today or were on your favorite list are the examples of master cinematic stroke, its time for some reality check guys and watch it colored. The original movie (Black and white) released around 50 years ago but still the flavor is mint fresh. The most important thing about the movie is that it nothing looks outdated not even the sartorial style.
Reason no 2- The 2nd major factor to watch it is its strong message. Its anti-war undercurrent looks evident even in today' s time. Dev Anand' s take on the irrelevance of war and horror in the battleground reminds us of Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator.
Reason no 3- Its soulful music that' s fresh even today. The melodious lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi Saab and enchanting music by Jaidev Saab could just elevate anyone' s mood. How can one forget songs like Main Zindagi Ka Sath Nibhata Chala Gaya, Abhi Na jao chod ke, Allah tero Naam which are fresh even till today? Yes, they are!
Reason no 4- The girls. If Nanda is as sweet as saccharine, look for Sadhna as well because she could just take breath away by her sheer beauty. Nothing unofficial about them, you need to see them to believe them as to why so candidly we are vouching for them
Reason no 5- Dev Anand all the way! If you still don' t have any idea what is meant by evergreen? Go watch him and correct all your apprehensions. Watch him in a double role win you all over again.
On the whole, Hum Dono is strictly for all types of audiences and appeals to all someway or the other. Don' t dare to miss it!!!
From box-office point of view, some movies are above financial collections and Hum Dono is one such timeless whose worth just cannot be measured from the collections it does. You must feel blessed to have been watching it just like me who is feeling equally blessed and honored to the movie review for it. I am overwhelmed!!! Long Live Dev Anand Saab!!!
Movie Name: 7 Khoon Maaf
Actors: Priyanka Chopra, John Abraham, Naseerudin Shah, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Annu Kapoor
Director(s): Vishal Bhardwaj
Producer(s): Vishal Bhardwaj
Editor Review: 7 Khoon Maaf Movie Review
7 Khoon Maaf could have gained acceptance if it would have released before World Cup days. Watch it if you are a true Vishal and Priyanka fan only. Genre - Thriller. Running Time - 2 Hours 15 Minutes. Rating - *** (Above Average). Read Full Editor Review...
Genre - Thriller
Running Time - 2 Hours 15 Minutes
The very thought of watching a Vishal Bhardwaj movie excites a movie buff till no end. Kaminey and Omkara must have been doing the rounds while the first promo of 7 Khoon Maaf would have hit the small tube, right folks?
Well, there was a strong buzz that the new flick from his side would keep the cash registers ringing just like the first few releases of January, 2011 had managed to hit the bull' s eye.
After having said that, Do 7 Khoon Maaf evoke right emotion and able to match the heroics of Maqbool, Omkara and Kaminey? We are here to provide an exclusive peek as to if the fanfare is worth a dekho?
Well, it would be pivotal to provide you some glimpse of films earlier made by the maverick film-maker Mr. Vishal Bhardwaj. A Vishal Bhardwaj movie is not just a release but an event of sort in itself. Previously, his movies have been able to give an out-of-the-box spice on the silver screen. So, the expectation from his novel movie is obvious to reach a new crescendo.
Final Word? 7 Khoon Maaf is no Omkara or Maqbool, watch it if you must to be served a movie with an unusual treatment.
Let' s see the basic plot of the flick in the pivotal words of Mr. Taran Adarsh, a noted film critic and an expert trade analyst for a career spanning more than two decades.
Susanna [Priyanka Chopra] is unlucky in love. Her first husband, Major Edwin [Neil Nitin Mukesh], is overtly possessive and suspicious. After his demise, Susanna marries Jimmy [John Abraham] as she is floored by his musical talent. Jimmy becomes successful, but with success comes girls and drugs. He dies of drug overdose.
Enter Wasiullah aka Musafir [Irrfan Khan]. Impressed by his poetry, Susanna marries him, but discovers that he' s a romantic in daytime, but a beast at night. He too gets eliminated. Susanna falls for the suave Nicolai [Aleksandr Dyachenko] from Moscow, but this marriage doesn' t last long as Susanna discovers that Vronsky has a wife in Russia.
Following the death of a foreign national, the police start taking keen interest in the case. The officer Keemat Lal [Annu Kapoor] enters Susanna' s life. Initially, he asks for sexual favors and later, persuades her to marry him. He dies due to cardiac arrest. After the death of Keemat Lal, Susanna marries Dr. Modhusudon [Naseeruddin Shah]. Susanne is depressed and he puts her on a mushroom only diet. But he' s the first guy in her life who wants to get rid of her. Instead, she murders him.
In the end, Susanna marries yet again... for the seventh time. This time, to someone who knows she has committed the murders and sins. What happens next?
It seems like a good plot to be seen executed on the screen, right?
Musically, the movie already has one chartbusters, Darling Ankhon se… fits very well in the narrative of the movie.
On the whole, 7 Khoon Maaf is a movie that' s dark and has its share of positives and negatives. However, its destined to see the reaction of movie goers either this way or that way. It has got its own audience who will definitely come in hordes, but what about the common mass? Well, that' s a question you will get answer for in near future.
From box-office point of view, the opening weekend shall not be good, (India Vs. Bangladesh Match, World Cup, 2011) and with matches becoming the order of the day soon, it would be very hard for the movie to recover its initials and make decent profits.
Rating - *** (Above Average)
Verdict - 7 Khoon Maaf is a wrong positioned movie, will have few takers!
Movie Name: Tanu Weds Manu
Actors: R. Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Shergill, Deepak Dobriyal, Ravi Kissen
Director(s): Anand L. Rai
Producer(s): Vinod Bachchan, Shailesh R. Singh, Surya Singh
Editor Review: Tanu Weds Manu Movie Review
If you liked Jab We Met, chances are you end up loving Tanu Weds Manu even. Go for it on a weekend and enjoy the crackling chemistry between the leads. Recommended!!! Genre- Comedy/Romance/Social. Running Time- 2 Hours and 15 Minutes. Rating- ***1/2 (Achchi Hai). Read Full Editor Review...
Genre- Comedy/Romance/Social
Running Time- 2 Hours and 15 Minutes
What happens when people having contrasting characters meet? Sparks are evident to fly. Remember what happened when Shahid and Kareena Kapoor met in ' Jab We Met' ? Yes, you must not have forgotten the scintillating chemistry between the leads that forced cash registers ringing.
While ' Jab We Met' was about two people of different characters coming together for each other' s concern, the newest outing Tanu Weds Manu is about a perfect a mismatch. Yes, it brings two contrasting people together for an event called Marriage. How they meet each other, love blossoms between them and many more things are what form the crust of the main plot.
Strangers meeting strangers and an enchanting love story developing between them had been a staple diet for many a bollywood movie. Movies like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Namastey London and many more are the prime examples of fanfares talking about unconditional love and patriotism or showing a love for the soil. Tanu Weds Manu belongs to the same category.
So, amidst a cricket world cup, would you like to go all out and watch a movie? Well, the question is if the flick is Tanu Weds Manu, why not?
Final Word? Tanu Weds Manu comes as a pleasant surprise and touches all the right notes to overwhelm you. Recommended!
Let' s scrutinize the basic plot of the movie in the pivotal words of Mr. Taran Adarsh, a noted film-critic with a career spanning more than two decades.
Meet Manu [R. Madhavan], a seedha saadha Doctor from London. Intelligent, temperate and from a respectable family, the perfect groom which every parent wants for their daughter. When he arrives in India, he realizes that India has changed and so have the people. The Indian women in particular are more attracted towards the Western lifestyle. Family pressure leads him to Kanpur to meet Tanu [Kangna Ranaut], the quintessential small-town girl who has studied in Delhi.
Tanu is a smart, intelligent girl who will do everything that her parents will disapprove. With a mind of her own and a love for rebellion, Tanu is dead against an arranged marriage. But destiny holds something totally different for these diametrically diverse personalities.
Wow… seems like an appetizing fare, right guys?
Although it' s not familiar to Jab We Met but it looks like that it' s loosely inspired from that superb flick. The Punjabi flavor and the rebellious girl are some of the content that takes you back to those days of Jab We Met.
Tanu Weds Manu has some interesting moments in the first-half, especially the sequences between Madhavan and Deepak Dobriyal, not to forget the sequences before the interval.
Musically speaking, the movie has already one blockbuster in the song ' Saadi Gali' that' s on the top slot for many a music channel. Jugni sung by Mika Singh is another surprise that would just let you dance freely in style for sure. These two tracks are absolutely crackling and must be in demand in marriage season set to strike India soon.
Talking of the performances, Madhavan has already proved his worth in Guru and 3 Idiots; he takes his performance bar to another level of satisfaction. He is very natural in his role and matches perfectly as Manu.
Kangna too has proved that she is a talented actress in Gangsters, Woh Lamhe and many more but with Tanu Weds Manu, She takes a break from those disturbing kind of psychic roles and shines brightly as Tanu. She delivers a performance to watch out for. Her only blemish is her pronunciation or accent. She needs to correct it to become audible to those single screen theaters audiences that still do not have a Dolby digital sound system.
States Taran further on the fine performances from the leads and others among the cast.
On the whole, Tanu Weds Manu is a surprisingly light hearted movie that seems to have its heart in the right place. It can be watched when you are having a cricket match involving minnows coming up, you wont be disappointed for sure.
Given the fact that cricket world cup, 2011 is running in full swing, Tanu Weds Manu would attract a low turn out of patrons especially on a match day involving India. It' s made on a steep budget and should be able to recover its costs as days pass. Remember that just like Jab We Met, the life of a movie like Tanu Weds Manu also solely depends on strong word of mouth publicity. Recommended!
Rating- ***1/2 (Achchi Hai)
Verdict- Tanu Weds Manu is a watch able affair, go for it!
Movie Name: Satrangee Parachute
Actors: Jacky Shroff, Kay Kay Menon, Zakir Hussain, Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra, Rupali Ganguly, Lilliput, Siddhartha Sanghani, Rajvi Suchak
Director(s): Vineet Khetrapal
Producer(s): Vineet Khetrapal
Editor Review: Satrangee Parachute Movie Review
If you want to keep away headache, make sure to maintain a distance from Satrangee Parachute at all costs! Genre- Children. Running Time- Around 2 Hours. Rating- * (Flop). Read Full Editor Review...
Genre- Children
Running Time- Around 2 Hours
We always keep saying that we shall not only stick to make movies that only concerns adults but also kids. But, after having said that, we have not been able to come up with a convincing movie that could be of higher standards to kids. Chota Chetan (3D) still remains India' s numero uno kid' s movie. It' s high time to move over Chota Chetan and come up with something that has the meat in it to match the correct international standards.
Well, another kiddy movie, Satrangee Parachute has released and let me put it straight to you that it' s a big disappointment in the terms of its content, executing, story, script, production values and the performances. It has written disaster all over it.
Previously too, there had been attempts to make good kiddy movie like Blue Umbrella and Makdee. Though those were good but not that good to be too good in the end.
Another thing that must be applauded is the brevity with which the producers have gone ahead and released the movie when Cricket world cup is going on in full swing. IPL, world cup and Ramzaan periods are not considered lucky by the film-makers to release their movies fearing empty halls, hats off to Satrangee Parachute to come alone and get welcomed by empty halls all across.
Final word? Firstly, Satrangee Parachute is a badly made movie, and then its wrong positioning for release are a recipe for disaster.
Let' s scrutinize the basic plot of the movie in the words of Mr. Taran Adarsh, who is completely miffed as to when we would be able to see a full-fledged kiddie movie.
Pappu [Siddhartha Sanghani] flees his home in Nainital with four other friends, leaving their parents angry and worried. Pappu plans to buy a parachute for one of their friends Kuhu [Rajvi Suchak], which explains why the kids decide to flee their homes. The kids face obstacles in Mumbai as they are mistaken to be accomplices of four terrorists, who have also arrived in the city with nefarious plans.
Looks good but an ordinary stuff only…
Talking of the performances, Taran gives us his account.
The film has several talented names dominating the cast, but the show belongs to the kids actually. Especially Siddhartha Sanghani, who displays great confidence while enacting his character. Rajvi Suchak has the purity that this role demands. Zakir Hussain and Rupali Ganguli, as Pappu' s parents, are adequate. Kay Kay Menon gets limited scope. Liliput has no role whatsoever. Rajpal Yadav is wasted. Sanjay Mishra deserved a better deal. As for Jackie Shroff, what is he doing in this film? The remaining kids are alright.
On the whole, the movie is a non-starter all the way and a poor show straight from the first draft.
Commercially speaking, the movie shall not be able to recover its production and other costs whatsoever. Avoid it!
Rating- * (Flop)
Verdict- Forget being Satrangee, the movie does not depict even one color truly. Just avoid it and keep enjoying cricket matches instead!
Ok, so you want to buy a smartphone. Great choice. Modern smartphones gives you robust email integration, great organization capabilities (notes, calendars et all), great internet browsing experience, and above all, great extensibility through applications. They are mini personal computers that you can carry around in your pocket.
Now, the next question is, which one ? The engine behind a smartphone is its Operating System (OS). This presents you with 5 great choices, each with its own pros and cons.
First lets see a few charts to set the context: Symbian is the most popular operating system with about 40% share in all handsets sold (as of Q2, 2010). RIM (BlackBerry), Android and iPhone OS follow behind with about 20% share each.
Market share of Smartphone Operating Systems (Source: Gartner, August 2010)
Yet, the developer ecosystems of iPhoneOS and Android are much more active. iPhone OS has the most apps available for it – over 200,000, while Android is second with over 70,000 apps (as of Q2 2010). Such a large range of app availability means that you are never short of new things to do with on these smartphones.
Number of Apps Available in App Stores (Source: Mobile Developer Economics, 2010 and Beyond)
Ok, now that the figures are out of the way, lets hit the road and consider each OS on the 2 most important parameters – user interface (how does the OS ‘feel’), and application availability (i.e. how many applications are available to extend the functionality of the phone – think news, social networking, dictionaries, productivity and other apps).
User interface is more important for most users, so it will be ranked on a scale of 10, while application availability will be ranked on a scale of 5. The sum of these two scores will be the final score for each OS.
Please note that we are only considering the operating systems for touch screens (which form a majority of the smartphones these days) – in fact, operating systems such as iOS (iPhone OS) and Android are designed only for touch screens.
Now, lets look at each OS in detail. If you are interested in only the final scores, skip to the bottom of this article.
Symbian
The oldest smartphone operating system. If you have owned a Nokia smartphone, you are probably familiar with this OS.
Symbian was earlier a separate company but was acquired by Nokia in 2008. Today virtually all Nokia smartphones as well as some of the smartphones from the likes of Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG are based on this OS. Lets rank it on the important parameters
User Interface (for Symbian S60) : 6/10
How do we put this ? As far as touchscreen phones are concerned, Symbian is robust and reliable, but its not really quite as intuitive as Android or iPhone OS.
Things which would require a 1-2 taps on Android tend to require 3-4 on Symbian with its often redundant sub menus. Still, its pretty solid, and doesn’t take much time to get used to.
Here is a look at the Nokia X6, based on the Symbian S60 Fifth Edition.
User Interface (for Symbian 3) : 7/10
The new version of Symbian – Symbian 3 – available in the newer Nokia smartphones including N8 – revamps the ageing OS a bit, and improves the user interface, bringing in multiple personalized home-screens, pinch to zoom functionality etc, but still falls short of the more modern operating systems like Android in terms of intuitiveness.
Here is a look at Nokia N8, based on Symbian 3.
Application Availability : 2.5/5
Being the oldest among the big smartphone platforms (and the most popular), there is a decent variety of applications available for Symbian. The new Ovi Store makes it easy to browse and download apps straight on your Nokia smartphone. And a renewed push to the developer ecosystem (including introduction of carrier billing in several countries) indicates that Nokia is prepared to give a good fight in the face of hard competition.
That said, however, the variety of applications, currently available, still falls way short when compared to Android or iPhoneOS (see chart).
Android
Anything from the house of Google is bound to generate hype and interest, so in a sense Android was always destined to be successful. But it would be this successful, not many imagined. With great overall performance, and simple, sensible functionality that is the hallmark of virtually all Google products, Android has caught on the imagination of mobile manufacturers like no other OS.
User Interface : 9/10
Android interfaces by the likes of HTC and Sony Ericsson have been praised unanimously as being beautiful and intuitive. Even the plain vanilla interface adopted by some manufacturers is pretty good, and makes up for its lack of flair with simplicity of use.
So Android gets a clear thumbs up here. It would have been foolish to expect anything else from Google anyway – they are great at designing brilliantly usable interfaces.
Here is a video demo of HTC Desire, running on Android.
Application Availability : 4/5
So far the only platform to come even remotely close to challenging the number and variety of apps on iPhone OS, the Android application market has grown by leaps and bounds ever since its release. In fact it gets a leg up on the iPhone app store in terms of the ratio of free applications to paid applications.
Free vs Paid Apps (Source: Distimo Report, Jun 2010)
In fact some of the really good apps for Android are those already on the phone and created by Google itself – the troika of Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Maps, are brilliantly designed and sync flawlessly with your online accounts.
For instance, all your phone contacts are synced with your Gmail contacts, in effect you always have a backup of your phone contacts in your Gmail account, so absolutely no worries on that account, if your phone ever gets lost or stolen.
Windows Mobile 6.5
The mobile OS by Microsoft has been a decent, robust choice for business phones. Although often criticized for a dull interface, recent phones by the likes of HTC have managed to, at least partially, turn that perception on its head, with slick and intuitive interfaces built on top of the Windows Mobile platform.
User Interface : 6/10
Although the Windows interface brings with it robustness, it still fails to match up to the best in class in terms of easy of use.
Here is a look at the Samsung Omnia 2 with Windows Mobile
Application Availability : 3/5
Like Symbian, Windows Mobile has fallen way behind in the app race, even with its head start. Still it has a decent app variety backing it up, and the Windows Market Place provides an easy way to download and install apps.
Of course, one great thing is that Windows Mobile also packs Office mobile, which means you have reading/editing documents, spreadsheets and presentation straight out-of-the-box, which is obviously great if you need access to such files on your mobile.
Windows Phone 7
The most anticipated development in the smartphone market in recent times has been the launch of the new version of the mobile OS from Microsoft. Called ‘Windows Phone 7?, its beautifully designed, and radically new interface has impressed one and all with its focus and simplicity of use. It represents a fresh start for Microsoft in this domain, and the initial reviews indicate that they are right on target.
User Interface : 9/10
Introducing new elements such as ‘live tiles’ (links to applications and features that are dynamic and update in real time – for example, the tile for an email account would display the number of unread messages) and ‘hubs’ (for example, the Pictures hub shows photos captured with the device’s camera and the user’s Facebook photo albums) , Windows Phone takes a new, fresh approach to a smartphone, managing to achieve both functionality and ease-of-use together.
Here is a demo of the Windows 7 User Interface (phones will be commercially launched by the end of 2010):
Application Availability : 2/5
Being a completely new OS, old Windows Mobile apps will not be able to work on the Windows Phone 7. That means the OS has to take a fresh start, and will not have a well loaded app store to begin with. However, Microsoft is pursuing developers aggressively (Twitter, Ebay and IMDB apps have already been developed), and you can expect a lot of action in this space shortly.
BlackBerry OS
The big daddy of business phones – RIM – relies on the sturdy BlackBerry OS to power its handsets. Its strength, like that of the Symbian OS, is more in its robustness, than ease of use.
User Interface (BlackBerry OS 5) : 6/10
Like the Symbian interface, BlackBerry OS is smart, and gets work done, but not as fast, or as intuitively as Android or iPhone OS.
Here is a look at the BlackBerry OS 5 user interface on the BlackBerry Storm 2
User Interface (BlackBerry OS 6) : 7/10
The new version of the BlackBerry OS is a significant upgrade – with a more functional home-screen, social feed apps, a better browser and a more touch-friendly interface in general. BlackBerry Torch is the first phone to utilize it so far, and more phones will be launched shortly.
Here is a look at the new user interface on BlackBerry Torch.
Application Availability : 2.5/5
Again app availaibility is not as great as some other operating systems. But you will certainly find all the major apps there (no serious developer would give the BlackBerry a miss, with its lucrative business consumers). The BlackBerry App World provides easy access to these apps.
Like Windows mobile OS, BlackBerry also usually packs capability for reading/editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations straight out-of-the-box, catering to its major market of business users.
iPhone OS (iOS)
The iPhone was that one revolutionary device that changed the way we looks at phones. Forever. Never had the simple phone been transformed into something so brilliant, and so beautiful.
User Interface : 9/10
Apple is the expert at designing beautiful and intuitive interfaces, and they hit the jackpot again with the iPhoneOS. Successive versions have improved usability even further. Really you have to use the iPhone to grasp the beauty of the software.
Here is a look at the iPhone 4 user interface.
Application Availability : 4.5/5
With the highest number of apps amongst any app store, Apple is the clear leader and offers an astounding choice of apps to iPhone users (see chart). There is an app literally for everything! News, reference, sports, weather, shopping, tv, movies, games, notes, organizers, social networking – virtually every possible category is loaded with hundreds of apps.
Final Scores
Here is a look at final scores.
Smartphone
Operating System
User Interface
(On Scale of 10)
Application Availability
(On Scale of 5)
Total
(On Scale of 15)
iPhone OS
9
4.5
13.5
Android
9
4
13
Windows Phone 7
9
2
11
Symbian 3
7
2.5
9.5
BlackBerry OS 6
7
2.5
9.5
Windows Mobile 6.5
6
3
9
Symbian S60
6
2.5
8.5
BlackBerry OS 5
6
2.5
8.5
The iPhone OS and Android emerge out as the clear winners. Its tough to decide between them, but you can’t go wrong with either of those two. They are both intuitive and well designed. Windows Phone 7 is the new kid on the block to watch out for. It presents a completely fresh, new interface that is great at getting things done quickly, and should appeal to a large segment of users looking for no-nonsense phones.
BlackBerry and Symbian are solid operating systems in their own right, and have large (and loyal) user bases. But in an objective analysis they tend to fall behind a little when compared to the best-in-class. They will need to ramp up their game a bit (which they do seem to be doing with their latest versions), to stay among the top contenders in the long term.
On the whole though, this is an exciting time to buy a smartphone, with a large variety of good products to choose from. And as the competition heats up further, continue to expect a lot more action in this space.
[Reproduced from the PhoneCurry Blog; PhoneCurry is a website that helps Indians decide which phone to buy ]
Nokia E5- A Multifunctional Smart phone Series Mobile E5 launched in Indian Market with cool features like 5 Megapixel Camera, 250 MB inbuilt Memory, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, long last battery backup, in-built social media applications like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Orkut and many more. The OVI Store support. The Nokia E5 Mobile price in India
Dell XCD35 Price in India: Dell the well known computer sales company Launched new mobile Dell XCD 35 in India. Dell XCD 35 have good features like Wi-Fi, location awareness, thousands of apps through Android, 3.2 MP Camera, 200 MB Internal Memory and support up to 16GB SD Card ans also 800*480 pixels WVGA resolution. DELL XCD35 Price in India as below:
Specification of Dell XCD35: Operating System:
Android 2.2 (Froyo)
Processor:
ARM11, 600MHZ
Bands:
GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 2100 MHz
Display:
8.9cm(3.5 inch) 800*480 pixels WVGA resolution
262K color (18 bit color) TFT
Capacitive Touch screen
Camera:
3.2 MP Color CMOS with Auto focus
Memory:
Flash: 512M
RAM?256M
Internal Memory: About 200 MB for user.
Expandable with Micro SD memory card (up to 16GB)
Connectivity:
Bluetooth™ with v2.1 with EDR
Class 2 transmit power
IEEE 802.11b/g compliant
Internal WLAN antenna
USB 2.0 with High Speed
Micro-USB
Micro-SD card access
Support USB charging
Dimensions:
114mmx56mmx12.2mm
Advertised System Weight: 120g Primary Battery: 1250mAh Li-ion Dell XCD35 Price in India: Rs.16,990/-*
DDA Application Status – Delhi Development Authority have declared the Draw Results of DDA Applications – dda housing scheme 2011, dda, dda delhi, dda application status 2011, dda housing scheme 2010 results have been declared on the official website of DDA Application Status.
DDA Housing Application Status
DDA – Delhi Development Authority have declared the Flats Allotment Draw results with the following criteria.
DDA commenced its housing activities in 1967 and has played a crucial role in providing more than a million houses to the people of Delhi, housing about half the population of the national capital.
DDA has been constructing houses in Delhi according to the requirements and purchasing capacity of different strata of society.
DDA, from time to time, has been announcing schemes through newspapers and advertisements for various categories of flats.DDA Development
Till Jan 2007, DDA has allotted a total of 3,67,724 flats (including the re-allotment of surrendered and cancelled flats). About half the allotments are to weaker sections of society and to those belonging to low income groups.
Flats allotted by the DDA are provided with essential services like electricity, water and sewage disposal, besides other infrastructural facilities required to make them habitable.
Till Jan 2007, DDA has DDA Flats Under Constrution
announced 42 housing registration schemes for the benefit of the people and allotment of houses has been made to registrants of all 42 schemes.
To view your Payment Details please:
1. Enter your File No. with Flat Category, or
2. Select Scheme, enter Registration No./Application No. and Flat Category. http://dda.org.in/housing/results/payment_results.asp
http://dda.org.in/housing/results/priority_results.aspTo View Registration Allotment. http://dda.org.in/housing/results/reg_results.asp
To Check DDA Application Status online applicant will need to visit the DDA official website http://www.dda.org.in. The website will launch the original statistics of all the Allotment related DDA Applications status.
Spice mobile launched news mobile with projector facility with the name of Spice Popcorn Projector M9000 in India. now user can watch his photographs and video on big screen with using this Spice Popcorn Projector M9000. M9000 also support for document viewer like MS Word file, PDF File etc. Spice Popcorn Projector M9000 also Supports application like Naukri- search jobs on the go, Wapedia – mobile wikipedia, Opera mini browser, Nimbuzz – multichat Skype, MSN, yahoo, ICQ, AIM, Google , ibibo, Zenga TV – Watch live TV on mobile, Snaptu – Social networking consortium with quick access to the various social networking websites – Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, News, AccuWeather, Sports (Cricket, Soccer…) , Movies, Sudoku, Mobile Tracker
Specification of Popcorn Projector M9000:-
General Specification
Product type : Bar
Network(MHz) : 850/900/1800/2100
Dimensions : 119.2×50.3×17.35 mm
Weight : 123g
Talk Time : Up to 3.5 hrs
Stand by Time : Up to 300 hrs
Antenna Type : Internal
Battery Power : 1200 mAh
Storage
Phonebook Capacity : 1500
Memory Card Type : T-flash
Memory Card Support Capacity : 16 GB
Phone Memory : 87 MB
Display Screen : 6cm QVGA , 320×240 resolution
Sound
Ring Tones : 64 Poly, Mp3
Speakerphone
User Profiles
Caller Group
Language Support : English
Messaging
SMS 1000
SMS Templates
MMS
Concatenated Messages
Send to Many
Send to Group
SMS Counter
Email
Applications
Java
Games
Incoming Call Guard
World Clock (Format12/24)
Alarm
Calculator
Currency/Unit Convertor /No
Calendar
To-Do List
Caller Group
Vibrator Mode
Auto Power On/Off
FM Radio
FM Recording
Scheduled FM Recording
Wireless FM
Connectivity
WAP
GPRS
Bluetooth
Bluetooth version 2.1
Data Cable
Handset Manager
Remote Control for PC via Bluetooth
Camera
Photo Storage Capacity 87 MB+T-flash
Single Touch Camera Operation
Zoom Level
Brightness Level
Multi Shot
Night Vision
Photo CLI
Video Recording @ 15 fps
Video Storage Capacity 87 MB+T-flash
Wide Screen Video
Video Playing (FPS rate) @ 25 fps, 3gp, mp4, avi, flv, rm, rmvb
Pixel Size(coreband) : 3.2 mega-pixel
Spice Popcorn Projector M9000 Price: Spice Popcorn Projector M9000 Price is Rs. 6000* in India.
