20 TECHTONIC THE TIMES OF INDIA, BENGALURU

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2014

G Xolo Omega 5.0 Lenovo Tab S8 Toshiba WT-8

A T he Omega 5.0 is an entry-level smartphone that belies its budget
pricing. The device is designed with a curved back, while a metallic
silver trim around the edge adds to its aesthetics. What you also get is a
I f you’re in the market for an Android tablet, then consider the
Lenovo Tab S8 that runs on KitKat (4.4). This slate boasts of an
8-inch (1920x1200px) Full HD touchscreen and front-facing Dolby
T he WT-8 is a Windows 8.1 tablet that runs on the 1.3GHz quad-core
Intel Atom processor, and comes with 1GB RAM, 32GB built-in storage
and support for 128GB microSDs. The device is fronted by an 8-inch
D 5-inch (1280x720px) HD IPS touchscreen, a 1.4GHz octa-core MTK6592M
processor, 1GB RAM, an 8MP shooter with LED flash, a 2MP front
Sound stereo speakers. It comes with a wide-angle 8MP rear
camera for quality group and landscape shots and a 1.6MP front
(1280x800px) HD display, and backed by Dolby Digital Plus stereo
speakers. What you also get are two USB ports that support reading and

G camera, Yamaha amplifier with DTS for clearer sound, 8GB storage with
support for microSD up to 32GB, and a 2100mAh battery. Additionally, a
tie-up with Vodafone means you get 500MB free data plans, per month
E for 2 months, as well as unlimited content from Vodafone Music for the
same period as part of a 3-month introductory offer.
T www.xolo.in `8,999
camera for HD video calls. The S8 is powered by a 1.86GHz
quad-core Intel Atom processor, has 2GB RAM, includes 16GB
internal storage and a microSD slot for up to 64GB. The S8 also
supports voice calling and houses a 4290mAh battery that’s
rated to give seven hours of service on a single charge.
www.lenovo.com/in `16,990
writing to pen drives, a 5MP autofocus rear shooter, a 1.2MP front-facing
camera that can used for video conferencing, as well as a 3788mAh
battery with up to 10 hours of service on a single charge. Besides, the
WT-8 is preloaded with apps like Skype, Xbox Music and Video, Kindle
Reader, and a one-year subscription to the Office 365 productivity suite.
amazon.in `15,490

LUMIA 730 DUAL SIM
T he Lumia 730 is an attrac-
tive smartphone, with
a slim but sturdy build that
does not feel unwieldy in
the hand.
Its OLED touchscreen is
bright, renders sharp text
and punchy colours, with
excellent viewing angles. The
screen is very responsive and
can be configured to be less
Besides, you get a Gif creator
(Lumia Cinemagraph), and a
location-based photo gallery
(Lumia Storyteller) tool as well.
The 5MP front camera
produces average shots but
is better utilized as a web-
cam for Skype calls. Audio
output of the speaker and call
quality is loud and clear.
Lumia 730 offers a range of
buyer’s guide
THEY’RE DIFFERENT
I would like to buy a laptop for personal use. What are my
options within a budget of `35,000 and what sort of
There are a whole bunch of smartphones that sell at around `15,000 and performance can I expect from such a machine? —Benoy
EP, Pradeep Padmanabhan, Deven Saini, Aakash Sarnobat
most of these have similar features and even look alike. Ashutosh Desai aptops under `35,000 are
and Savio D’Souza review two devices that stand out from the rest… L
equipped to handle basic
computing tasks: internet
browsing, social networking
ASUS PADFONE MINI Specs: 4-inch (800x480px)
and e-mails; office productivity

sensitive to accidental taps
through the shirt pocket.
Navigating the Windows
Phone 8.1 user interface and
switching between apps is lag-
free. The device handles Full
HD movies – in MP4, MOV,
WMV formats – and most 3D
games smoothly. Here, the
8GB internal storage space
might seem inadequate, requir-
ing you to use a microSD card.
The Lumia 730’s rear cam-
era takes clear shots, cap-
tures natural colours, and
does a good job with close-
ups too. Its intuitive camera
interface offers manual control
over scene modes, exposure,
ISO levels and focussing.
What the ratings mean: Below 5: The product is poor and doesn’t offer the
experience it promises | 5 and 6: The product works as advertised | 7: The
product is good; will not disappoint the buyer | 8: The product is very good;
super value for money | 9: The product is exceptional | 10: You’re kidding, right?
services – including a vastly
improved app store – out of the
box. You get a voice assistant
called Cortana that lets you
make calls, send messages,
set reminders, search the
web and more. It does, how-
ever, take a while to learn your
preferences and accent.
Specs: 4.7-inch (1280x720px),
OLED, Corning Gorilla Glass
3 touchscreen | 1.2GHz
quad-core Snapdragon 400
processor | 1GB RAM | 8GB
storage, microSD up to 128GB
| 6.7MP/5MP (rear/front) cam
| Dual SIM | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,
GPS, NFC, FM | 2220mAh
battery | Windows 8.1 (with
Lumia Denim)
6.5/10 `14,999
The device can also be
used by fitness freaks,
thanks to the dedicated hard-
ware (SensorCore) on the
phone and the Health & Fit-
ness app that doubles as a
pedometer, activity monitor,
and a health and diet advisor.
Like every other Windows
Phone handset, the Lumia 730
is loaded with an Office suite
for documents and spread-
sheets. As for battery life, you
can get over a day’s worth of
work done – with judicious use
– on a single charge.
Buy this phone if want a
full office productivity suite
with tight integration with
your Win 8.1 laptop, Skype
for calls, a fitness tracker
and a good quality camera.
T
he Padfone Mini comprises two gadgets – a smartphone
and a tablet device called the PadFone Station, with
4- and 7-inch displays, respectively. The pair is designed in such
a way that the handset can be used by itself to make calls, send
messages, read e-mails, download apps, etc. But, when required,
the smartphone can be inserted into a dock in the PadFone
Station to use its larger screen for tasks such as replying
to e-mails, reading e-books, watching movies, playing games
– or anything else that requires a bigger display.
The handset, fabricated out of plastic, has a curved back
that makes it comfortable to hold and operate with a single
hand. Users who are accustomed to larger smartphones might
find its screen size underwhelming.
Now, while the screen boasts of good viewing
angles, the display colours are not vibrant and
appear washed out. Also, images and text do not
appear sharp or crisp.
The device is capable of running HD videos and
games without any hitches, but certain Full HD clips
and 3D games are plagued with stutter.
On the camera front, you get average shooters that
work well enough for posting onto social net-
works and with apps like Instagram. Still, the output
lacks detail, and is plagued with grain. Since the
device does not have a flash, low-light photogra-
phy is definitely not an option.
The custom user interface includes preinstalled
features that let you boost performance, conserve
battery, jot down a quick memo, and more. You also
get a reading mode that dims the screen, giving
it a yellowish tinge to make it easier on the eyes.
Slip the mobile unit into the PadFone Station, and
you get a slate that’s well suited for e-books, browsing
THE XIAOMI REDMI NOTE AT `8,999
T he Redmi Note is a handset that punches well above its weight when
it comes to capabilities. Given its large 5.5-inch screen, this smart-
phone – equipped with scratch-resistant glass – works well if you’re
looking for a budget device to watch Full HD movies, and play 3D games,
without experiencing any slowdowns. Its display is vibrant, and colours
appear natural.
Its cameras are also pretty good – capturing snapshots that work
well for sharing on the web. Its battery life is another area where the
Redmi Note performs wonderfully. On a full charge, it gave us over a day’s
worth of usage.
Sadly, there has been a temporary stoppage – owing to some unresolved
patent issues – on the sale of this smartphone in the country. We’re hoping
that these legal matters get resolved as soon as possible, simply because
– at its present pricing – this handset offers tremendous value for money.
& 7-inch (1200x800px) IPS,
jobs such as working with
scratch resistant | 1.6GHz
documents, spreadsheets and
dual-core Intel Atom Z2560
presentations; basic photo-
| 1GB RAM | 8GB stor-
editing using Photoshop and
age, microSD up to 64GB |
Gimp; and even for entertainment like watching high-
8MP/2MP, rear/front cam-
definition videos and listening to music.
era | 1500mAh & 2200mAh
Sub-35k laptops that include a dedicated graphics card
Li-po batteries | Dual SIM,
can also smoothly run older-generation games like Call of
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS |
Duty: Ghosts, Batman: Arkham Origins and The Elder
Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)
Scrolls Online, but at medium-to-low quality settings.
6/10 `15,999 Depending on your preference, you can choose between
a 14- or 15.6-inch display…
the web, and social networking. Besides, this dock The Lenovo Flex 2-14D (59-427873) (`32,490) sports a
has its own battery that doubles the phone’s life 14-inch touchscreen that can be swivelled all the way back
from 7 hours of usage to up to a whole day. – to 300 degrees – to be used as a tablet, or while watching
Like it is with the handset, the speaker output movies. It is powered by an AMD A6 quad-core processor,
on the tablet is fairly loud. You can also use the and a dedicated AMD Sun Pro graphics card. This laptop
complete unit to answer calls when in tablet mode. comes with an 8GB solid state drive (SSD) for faster
Call quality is clear and crisp, and this device held boot times.
on to the network even in places of low coverage. Alternatively, you can opt for the 14-inch Dell Vostro
It should be noted, however, that apps like Insta- V3446 (`35,000), which is not equipped with a touchscreen,
gram and Skype don’t work when in tablet mode but is powered by a fourth-gen Intel Core i3 processor and
as the dock does not have its own camera.
an nVidia GeForce (2GB) GT620M graphics card.
Buy the PadFone Mini if you want a budget
If you need a laptop with a larger display, check out the
tablet smartphone combination that’s good
for browsing the web, reading e-books, playing HP 15-r007TU (G8D27PA) (`32,000) or the Lenovo G50-70
a few casual games and perhaps, to watch (59-422406) (`35,000). While both are kitted with a fourth-
the odd movie or two. While the PadFone Mini gen Intel Core i3 processor, the Lenovo also includes a
is not an out-and-out performer, it still works dedicated 2GB graphics card (ATI R5 M230).
well for someone looking for a All the laptops mentioned here run the Windows 8.1
phone and tablet in a tidy, operating system, support a display resolution of
tight budget. 1366x768px (HD), 4GB RAM, a 500GB hard drive, Ethernet
for wired connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an HDMI port, and
a memory card reader. Additionally, all these machines –
except the Lenovo Flex 2 – are fitted with a DVD-R/W
optical drive.
SPECS | 5.5-inch
(1280x720px) IPS, Corning
Before you make a buying decision,
visit a local store to check
Gorila Glass 3 touchscreen the device for its build
quality, its display for
| 1.7GHz octa-core MTK
viewing angles and
MT6592 processor | 2GB
visibility in bright light,
RAM | 8GB internal storage,
speakers for audio,
microSD | 13MP/5MP rear/
and its keyboard for
front camera | Dual SIM,
typing comfort.
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS | —Ashutosh Desai
3100mAh Li-po battery |
Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) Can’t decide which gizmo is right for you? Looking for buying suggestions?
Write in to techtonic@timesgroup.com
RATING: 7/10
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