Chip June11

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SMARTPHONES TAKE OVER

Leave your laptop at homesmartphones can take care of everything you need
Smartphones Take Over
| 8 Android Tablets & 10 Budget Laptops | Back Up Your Phone

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Acer Iconia Tab A500 conia HTC Desire Z Samsung Galaxy Fit Apple MacBook Pro Canon IXUS 1000HS Razer Onza Zotac Fusion 350-A-E
How 3D street maps are made Pro tips for YouTube The batteries of tomorrow
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Customize your Android launcher Sync and back up your phone Brand new browsers for a new-age Web
JUNE 2011 VOLUME 8 ISSUE 7 Rs 150
06 11 Subscribers Copy
ANDROID ANDROI TABLETS 8 ANDROID T PLAY FOR WORK AND 10 LAPTOPS UNDER Rs 35,000
www.chip.in
SMARTPHONES TAKE OVER

Leave your laptop at homesmartphones can take care of everything you need
Smartphones Take Over
| 8 Android Tablets & 10 Budget Laptops | Back Up Your Phone

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Acer Iconia Tab A500 conia HTC Desire Z Samsung Galaxy Fit Apple MacBook Pro Canon IXUS 1000HS Razer Onza Zotac Fusion 350-A-E
How 3D street maps are made Pro tips for YouTube The batteries of tomorrow
Rs 150
Customize your Android launcher Sync and back up your phone Brand new browsers for a new-age Web
EDITORIAL
Is Android the next Windows?

hen using a Windows PC today, its easy to take for granted that the software will just work. If you need something new, just pop in a CD or download it from the Webtheres usually no question of whether it will work or not. With the combined market shares of all available versions hovering around the 90 percent mark for well over a decade, Windows is effectively the standard that developers must adopt unless they have very good reasons for remaining available to only a small niche. It wasnt always like this though, back in the early days of personal computers, multiple different platforms existed and it wasnt always easy to share data between them, let alone entire programs. Software (including the operating system) became one of the main reasons youd choose one platform over another, and when smaller players became unsustainable and the industry crystallized around the Windows and Macintosh, it was still software that differentiated them. There are various reasons for which the Mac platform didnt gain as much popularity as Windows in the 1990s, but its always been a viable alternative.
Todays mobile devices are in a similar situation. We have a number of completely different platforms, mainly differentiated by their operating systems and all mutually incompatible. Differences arent limited only to the look and feel of the hardware and software, but extend to the kind of situations youd want to use each of them in. Some have been developed with no-frills business applications in mind, some with games and multimedia, and some trying to bridge the two worlds. In many ways, Apple is playing the same game it played with desktop computerstightly controlling the hardware and software to give users a premium and polishedif somewhat constrainedexperience. This time though, its had a clear first-mover advantage, arguably defining the modern smartphone experience on its own. Recognizing that third-party software is key to the platforms success, Apple also created the App Store, which we now know to be the center of the iOS ecosystem. Google, on the other hand, is playing things the way Microsoft did twenty years ago: building only the software, and letting anyone who wants it use it. To beat Apples early advantage, they decided to make it free of cost to manufacturers, and its paid off. Thats how we have dozens of models from various manufactuers, and also why there are so many differences in hardware, power, and usability. Androids reach is now arguably greater than iOSs, but it comes at the cost of stability, predictability, and now also securitythe hallmark weaknesses of Windows. If Android continues to gain popularity, it will become the default choice for software developers, and thus become the standard that everyone else must become compatible with. In such a world, iOS, BlackBerry OS, WebOS and Windows Phone would live on as niche minority options, or some of them would die out entirely. Who knows, if Android truly is the Windows of the post-PC era, it might even overtake its desktop-bound ancestor as malware authors favorite target.
Jamshed Avari editor@chip.in
Contents
90 COVER STORY SMARTPHONES TAKE OVER The world in your pocket
NEWSWIRE
14 In the News...
A look at what's making news in the world of technology.
TEST CENTER
34 Product Spotlight
A QWERTY keypad in an Android phone. Does the HTC Desire Z make it work?
FEATURED
90 Smartphones Take Over
It's never been possible to have so much power in your pocket.
20 The Buzz List

The people, products and innovations that have got the tech world talking.
36 Hardware Tested
The latest PC hardware, mobile phones and peripherals tested and rated.
96 Browser Browsing
With so many great Web browsers vying for your attenion, we find out which performs best.
22 New Products Launched

A round-up of the latest products that are hitting shelves now.
56 Stylish, Affordable, Powerful

Ten entry-level laptops priced under Rs 30,000 face the CHIP test.
100 Pro Tips for Youtube

Deal with country bans and find videos quickly.
26 Social Gaming: Join the Club!

The social gaming phenomenon has taken the virtual world by storm, and it's here to stay.
63 Touch Computing
The biggest buzz words in technology - Android and tablets, combine in his comparison.
102 The Streets Are Yours to Wander

This is how those cool panoramas are created.
104 Power Batteries of Tomorrow

A look at the latest advances in this field.
30 AirJaldi: Connecting the Hills

How one company is innovating with wireless connectivity to bring Web access to rural India.
68 Software Spotlight
Is the ESET Smart Security 4 security suite good enough to challenge the big boys?
108 Online Reviews: Your Verdict

User reviews are a great way for you to get first-hand feedback on products and services.
70 Software Tested
Everything from image editors and system tools to file converters and disc burning suites.
112 Seeking a New Home?

Here are some of the best Home replacement apps for Android smartphones and tablets.
06/2011
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
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34 TEST CENTER HARDWARE The latest hardware tested
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ON DVD Autodesk 2012
3G is Here
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Turn to page 42
| 12 Andro
id Smartp h
| 18 Budge
t QWERT Y
122 HANDS ON TOTAL ANDROID MANAGEMENT Take control and keep your data safe
38 TEST CENTER SOFTWARE SPOTLIGHT ESET Smart Security 4
HANDS ON
117 Dr CHIP
Our in-house expert helps you out with your computing woes.
UNWIND
136 Angry Birds Mania
Fun facts you may not know about Angry Birds.
REGULARS
04 Editorial, 08 Colophon, 12 Letters, 14 In the News..., 20 The Buzz List, 22 New Products Launched, 82 Long Term Test, 86 PC Configs, 114 Web Watch, 117 Dr CHIP, 130 Tips & Tricks, 146 Market Watch, 160 Contests, 162 Personal Tech
122 Total Android Management

Manage your contacts, messages, apps, files and do a lot more with just one application.
138 Portal 2
GlaDOS is back, and she's isn't happy.
140 OFP: Red River

The Flashpoint now moves to cental Asia.
126 Documents On the Go

Here's how you can get Google Docs to play nice with your Android device.
141 Mortal Kombat

The flawless victory we've been waiting for.
128 Mobile Upgrades Made Easy

We show you how you can take backups and easily port data from one phone to another.
142 Virtua Tennis 4

Can the old arcade flavor hold off Top Spin 4?
130 Tips N Tricks

Some useful tweaks and hidden application features you may not know about.
143 SOCOM: Special Forces

Zipper takes the reigns, but is it enough?
144 Dirt 3 (Preview)

We kick up dust with a pre-release build.
06/2011
JUNE 2011 | VOLUME 8 | ISSUE 07

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06/2011
LETTERS
SPONSORED BY
INBOX
Next month's Star Letter wins accessories set (worth Rs 5,000)
Dear CHIP,
STAR LETT'sEinR th w ner

This mon cool gets a set accessories
What Am I Paying For? or?
After years of delays, 3G is finally here. Tata Telecom has launched the high speed 3G e-stick with speeds up to 21 Mbps, with monthly charges starting from Rs 1,000, and of course the so called unlimited data usage. A couple of months ago, Reliance Infocom set up a data card demo booth in my college campus, attracting crowds with its awesome speeds. I, like others, was amazed looking at the YouTube video buffer which happened with seconds. I asked the executive one simple question kya apke pas koi unlimited plan hai? the answer was simple nahi sir. Then whats the point of showing demos of fast video buffering, downloads and uploads? Do they think people will be happy just by the speed? Will they be delighted when they notice their Internet bills? Then comes the Tata-Docomo e-stick with its heavy promotions and tempting tariff plans. At first, I was surpris surprised to see the plans, especially the Unlimited usage, which almost made g me to go ahead and buy this thing. Just while I was scanning through the entire p page I saw an * which took me to the Terms & conditions section. This i is what it meant: as per the fair usage policy the download speed of 21.1 Mbps is limited only up to 15GB per month, beyond this limit 128Kbps speed is applicable up to 30GB, beyond this limit 10Kbps of download speed is applicable. Who are they kidding? Telecom companies in India always hype their services. I doubt whether their intention is to satisfy the customer or cheat them. The companies always throw up the peculiar reason rare resource or lack of infrastructure. My argument for this is that if they have taken license for pan-India services then how can their resources/ infrastructure be inadequate? Shouldnt they have invested in it long time ago when they started planning? The solution for this is simple: learn from the Japanese and Koreans. NTT-Docomo, the Japanese internet/mobile service provider has been so successful in implementing fiber optic technology that the maintenance and development costs are much lower than traditional copper wire. The same goes for wireless technology also. There is a lot of opportunity in India for this kind of service. I hope one day there will be a revolution and technology implementation will be free and fair. Thanks, NIKHIL S R BELGAUM, KARNATAKA
Sachin Pandit
CONTACT INFO
Tablet advice
Dear Editor, I have been reading CHIP for two years and it has helped me in buying a good Android mobile. I wanted you to suggest some good tablets like the iPad 2 or Xoom. I want a big touchscreen multimedia monster with a good camera (I would prefer Android or iOS). It
should also have a good storage capacity. Can I get an iPad 3G SIM in India? Thanks in advance. SIDDHANT
decide what to buy. If you want iOS, your only choice is the iPad 2. TEAM CHIP
Please send your letters to: editor@chip.in with "LETTERS" in the subject line
Free to decide
Hi Siddhant, 3G microSIM cards for the iPad are easily available from most carriers. Check this months Android tablet comparison which should help you Hi, The article How Well Do Security Suites Protect from the April 2011 CHIP issue covered a lot of ground on the security front. I really
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06/2011
LETTERS
SMS US
Since we like knowing whats on your mind and what you think about our magazine, we bring you another way to get in touch. Do you have something to say about a test or review? Liked a feature story? Was the workshop useful? SMS us your feedback! For general comments, create the following message: ICCO <Your comments here> Example: ICCO The cover story was very useful To rate a story, product review, etc look out for the story tag at the base of each article and type: ICCO <Story tag> <Rating> Example: ICCO PWS 5 The Story tag is mentioned at the base of every story in the magazine and the Rating is on a scale of 1 to 5. Finally, send your messages to 51818. Cheers! Please keep comments to 160 characters per message! Include your email address to help us reply or check out the SMS Feedback thread at www.chip.in/forums
appreciate the hard work the CHIP team goes through. But I was surprised to see that none of the free alternatives were reviewed. For example, Microsoft offers its own free system security solution Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). I am currently using MSE and would love to know where my system security stands right now. I believe there are many others like me who would be interested in free security solutions. And I would be interested to know more about WiMAX. Regards, RAHUL ROY
Record HD video without spending a bomb Can the Government kill the Internet in India? Save your kids from social networking addiction
MAY 2011 VOLUME 8 ISSUE 6 Rs 150
supposedly get paid for it. There should be definitely an article on

18 QWERTY PHONES UNDER RS 6,000 12 SOLID-STATE DRIVES TO SPEED UP YOUR PC
this topic. Are there any genuine sites or are the all spam and fraud sites? Thanks. ADARSH ACHARYA Hi Adarsh, While a little bit of caution is always necessary online, theres no need to be suspicious of everything to the
NOKIA E7, SAMSUNG RV411, GEFORCE GTX 590, TATA SKY+ HD, TUNEUP UTILITIES 2011, CRYSIS 2
SMART
Stream digital movies, browse the Web and play games onlineall without spending money on a new TV
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Control your movies and music with your iPhone Build a home theater PC with the free XBMC OS The best April Fools Day pranks online
point that you just stop using the Internet altogether. Make sure you have a good security suite and modern browser, and that you keep all your software up to date (including, of course, a non-pirated operating system). Avoid the obvious traps like clicking on scandaloussounding links and opening email attachments from unknown senders. Stay updated with news of the kind of threats and scams that are spreading around. Get-rich-quick schemes usually have some catch involved, so do your research before signing up for any of these offers. Staying informed is the best form of safety. Happy surfing! TEAM CHIP
US store. If you search for the Hi Rahul, Thanks for your feedback about the article. Well definitely keep your point in mindfree alternatives deserve just as much coverage. Well have a lot more coverage of WiMAX and related wireless tech coming up soon! TEAM CHIP keyword 'tax' on iTunes you get the Indian apps first. But when you do the same on Android market you get apps from all over the world which will be irrelevant. It would be great if your magazine could do an article about apps and marketing techniques. Since the mobile market boom there are a lot of single developers who are trying to get some attention. I think this would be a valuable article as every mobile platform is all about the apps. No success in app development means no apps, and that means a dead platform. Again thanks for this wonderful magazine. BLESSAN MATHEW
App promotion
Hi, I first want to say thanks for this great magazine. I've been a reader since I was in the 10th standard. That was back at 2003 and now I've finished engineering and work as a mobile developer. What I love most about the magazine is the news section. I go through a lot of tech news sites everyday just to keep in touch with the new stuff but your magazine always seems to bring something that I didn't see anywhere. I really loved the supplement about the Android platform. From my experience its a really great platform to work on. It has lots of development and a great community. I recently released an application to the Android market, a free financial app named 'MyTaxIndia'. This app was highly successful on the iPhone and iPad but so far its failing to gain any attention on the Android side. There are more Android phones in India than the iPhone, but from what I understood, the Android market isn't helpful in promoting apps. In iTunes there's an Indian store and a
Piracy woes
Dear Sir, I would like to add to the discussion on the pitfalls of piracy. A number of job applications/resumes including those for government jobs are filled using services provided by local cybercafe owners. Most of them use pirated software, thus allowing personal information and scanned documents required to fill these forms to be compromised through active collusion or complacency. The cybercafe owners often feign ignorance. The data thus harvested can be used at a later date, amongst other purposes to settle scores, influence decisions, or can be sold to criminal and political organizations. The same pitfalls are waiting for people using pirated software on their personal computers out of sheer ignorance or lack of availability genuine software. Yours faithfully, SANDEEP MANKOTIA
Safe or sorry?
Hi Team CHIP, I have been reading CHIP since its beginning. It makes me updated about technology. In this world of cybercrime and fraud, I feel naked whenever I connect my laptop to the Internet. I feel as though the screen is watching my every activity and I can be cheated with a single wrong click. Sometimes I doubt every site, even those which look like genuine Yahoo and Google pages. I dont know which page popups are phishing tricks. My inbox is always full of ads for survey sites, paid emails, click-now schemes etc. They offer $10 for every click after you pay a registration fee and start taking surveys. You have to click on an ad, wait for 30 seconds, and you
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06/2011
NEWS SNIPPETS
NEWSWIRE
HAZARDS PREDICTION
HIGH RISK
IN THE NEWS...
COMPILED BY JAMSHED AVARI
Security firms expect more attacks on social communities such as Facebook in the coming weeks
SECURITY
MEDIUM RISK
Osama-related spam and malware attacks rampant throughout May, Facebook users especially at risk
As is the case with any major global event, malware authors immediately latched onto the death of Osama Bin Laden. This time, though, nearly all security vendors including Sophos, Symantec and F-Secure have reported amazing volumes and varieties of security threats using the infamous terrorist leader's name and image as a social engineering tactic. Most notably, links claiming to lead to photos and videos of the slain Bin Laden have been spreading around Facebook and Twitter. These usually lead to rogue applications that want nothing more than for users to click through various "security" procedures that end up in completing payper-referral surveys. These of course are then pasted onto unsuspecting friends' walls. More dangerously, news outlets including the CNN were spoofed, and their identities used to carry out phishing attacks and spread Trojans. Another approach was spam offering links to a rich text format le (RTF) with the title "Courier who led U.S. to Osama bin Laden's hideout identied". The le uses a known exploit to dump an executable le on the user's hard drive, which then phones
LOW RISK
HAZARDOUS SEARCH TERMS

Screensaver
59% 25% 16% 13% 8% 2%
Free Games
Telework
Rihanna
iPhone
Viagra
The probability of landing on contaminated Web sites is extremely high, when searching for these terms.
Source: McAfee
CYBERCRIME ON THE RISE

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Jan. 2009 Mar. 2009 May 2009 July 2009 Sept. 2009 Nov. 2009 Jan. 2010 Mar. 2010 May. 2010 July. 2010 Sept. 2010 Nov. 2010 Average number of web attacks per day in million Trend line
home to a malware server, reports typed data back to its owner, and downloads more instructions. Users are of course warned not to click on such links, not matter how strong the allure of a gruesome video might be.
A current study by Symantec shows that the number of Web-based attacks has increased since 2009. There were an average of 15 million per day in 2010. Source: Symantec
RESEARCH
Indian scientists' steganography breakthrough

Two Indian scientists have developed a new algorithm for improving steganography, the art of embedding a digital le within the datastream of another le. Computer scientists Rajesh Kumar Tiwari of the GLNA Institute of Technology, Mathura, and G Sahoo of the Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, have published a paper outlining a method of obscuring les within EXE les, rather than the usual audio, video or photo les commonly used. The advantage of EXE les is that even extremely large ones don't arouse much suspicion, which might lead others to probe their contents. The functioning of the EXE is unaffected by the process. The method could be used on any data storage device, allowing users to safely hide large amounts of sensitive data.
FIGURE OF THE MONTH
400,000
new Android devices are activated each day. Over 100 million activations have been registered in total
Source: Google
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06/2011
SMS us!
Story code: NSN to 51818
NEWS SNIPPETS
NEWSWIRE
SECURITY
SECURITY
LEGAL ISSUES
NEW SECURITY RISKS DETECTED AND PATCHED
FB users tricked into attacking themselves with JavaScript

Facebook scams are nothing new, but a recent spate of them have been tricking users into executing rogue JavaScript. The apps, typically posing as controversial videos or tools to detect prole visitors, ask users to copy and paste scripts into their address bars, which effectively allows them to run as if it were authorized by the site they are visiting. Some apps also copy code to the Windows clipboard and ask users to press [CTRL]+[V] to paste it into the address bar, pretending that this is a "security check" or method of "validating" them, much like typing in a capcha code. Because Facebook hosts its apps, the browser will think that this script is also being served by Facebook, and will thus run it. This circumvents most modern browsers' cross-site scripting (XSS) protections. Facebook is working with browser makers to prevent this kind of behavior, but users are still warned not to believe scams like this are genuine.
Google to pay for dirty ad dealings
Google's latest nancial statements indicate that it has put US$ 500 million aside in order to settle charges that it colluded with advertisers who break the law, such as by selling prescription pharmaceuticals via the Web. Google has been accused not only of running the ads, but also of aiding them by suggesting search-related keywords that would boost their rankings, and extending credit to known scammers.
ADOBE FLASH
Attackers can run malicious code on a target computer using a manipulated Word document that has a modified Flash file embedded inside it. SOLUTION: A patch is not yet available, but Adobe is working to release one as quickly as possible.
VLC
Attackers can use two buffer overflow vulnerabilities in VLC Media Player at the same time to crash the player and thus execute malicious software. The plug-ins libmp4 and libmodplug are affected. SOLUTION: The new version 1.1.9 fixes both bugs and also brings a raft of stability improvements.
SECURITY
SECURITY
Android vulnerable to attacks due Teen fraudsters to fragmentation and openness sentenced in UK
600
A report titled "IT
Two British teens have

500 400 300 200 100 0
MICROSOFT WINDOWS
At present, over 64 security holes are known, using any of which, attackers can damage a Windows system. Nine of these are classified as critical and eight as important. What's more 44 of the bugs are easy enough to exploit that malicious code to do so will soon be freely available. SOLUTION: Microsoft has issued patches that fix all of these known issues, but it is up to users to update their computers via Windows Update.
Threat Evolution for Q1-2011" by Kaspersky Labs states that threats aimed at mobile platforms are growing at an alarming rate. Over 50 threats targeting Android users were detected during the
been convicted of stealing thousands of people's credit card information and disrupting a Web hosting company's operations so badly that it went out of business. Zachary Woodham, 19,
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
and Louis Tobenhouse, 18, redirected church website visitors to pornographic sites, and used stolen credit card numbers to pay for premiumrate phone calls which they themselves proted from, according to Sophos. The pair also posted tutorials on an underground cybercrime forum. Due to their ages, the pair have been given suspended jail sentences and hundreds of hours of community service.
New mobile malware signatures added to antivirus databases so far this year
study period, most aiming to steal data including users' IMEI numbers. Criminals are creating dozens of Android Developer accounts due to the low entry cost of US$ 25, and are publishing malware faster than they can be detected and shut down. The situation is compounded because of the large number of users still running older versions of Android, or jailbreaking devices and circumventing lockouts. Users are dependent on hardware manufacturers to release updates, as these are heavily customized. The report compares these factors to the situation with Windows. Older and unpatched or pirated versions of the desktop OS are the most vulnerable.
WORDPRESS
The developers of Wordpress have admitted that unknown intruders have managed to gain admin-level access to the service and read its source code. Sensitive user data appears to have been left untouched. SOLUTON: Users are advised to change their passwords as a precaution.
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NEWS SNIPPETS
WEB TECH HARDWARE
NEWSWIRE
Future of Android, Chrome and Google cloud services revealed at 2011 IO Conference
Google pulled a number of surprises out of its hat at this year's IO conference, which was largely dedicated to its Chrome and Android projects. First, the company revealed Android 3.1, which adds UI improvements and USB host functionality for storage media and accessories including game controllers. Google also announced its next major revision, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich. Though a version number was not announced, this will be the release that unies Android's tablet and smartphone UIs. Other major announcements included the much-awaited Google Music cloud service, essentially an online locker that will let users access their libraries from multiple devices. HD movie rentals have also come to the Android marketplace, and can similarly be watched on a variety of devices. The new Android at Home project is aimed at using Android devices to control home automation, including lighting, thermostats, and eventually appliances via simple Wi-Fi commands. On the Chrome side of the fence, Google showed off upcoming "Chromebooks" from Acer and Samsung, running the soon-to-benal ChromeOS. Chromebooks will turn on in a few seconds and users will be able to access a le manager to browse through stored media. A rental model will brings costs down to as little as US$ 20 per month for the business and education markets. The Chrome browser itself gets a ton of new features including voice-powered search and translation, GPU acceleration, and a Web store for app purchases, including, of course, Angry Birds.
Intel reinvents transistors in 3D
Intel has announced a historic change in the way it fabricates transistors, the fudamental building block of today's microprocessors. Rather than the planar construction that has been in use since the invention of the transistor, Intel will begin fabricating chips using a 3D structure. The new "Tri-Gate" design will increase efciency and allow transistors to switch states faster, apart from helping t billions of transistors into smaller and denser packages. New CPUs using the Tri-Gate process will ship this year.
WEB
SOFTWARE
TRENDS
SECURITY
Sony suffers another setback
ARM Windows to Ebooks outsell New IE9 filter be incompatible? print on Amazon cuts infections
Intel Senior Vice President Renee James has kicked up a storm by announcing that Windows on ARM platforms will be incompatible with
Even after a highly embarrassing month in which its entire PlayStation Network, Sony Online Entertainment and Qriocity services were unavailable and over 100 million user accounts have been compromised, Sony's woes aren't over. The justrestored PSN's password reset page has had to be suspended following the revelation that a vulnerability in it allows anyone to take control of a user's account if they know the user's email address and birthdate. Sony is now faced with cleaning up its image.
the vast library of current Windows software, and will not have any native emulation capability. She also strongly hinted that different versions of the OS would need to be compiled for each ARM vendor, signicantly fracturing the market. Microsoft has called her statements "factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading", but hasn't claried the situation any further. Intel's Atom CPUs for tablets have not quite taken off yet, and the company faces stiff competition from ARM in the low-power arena.
Amazon, who pioneered digital eBook sales via their Kindle reading device back in 2007, have announced that they now sell 105 eBooks for every 100 print books. Kindle books overtook hardcover editions a year ago, and now they outsell all print formats. 2011 has also seen the fastest year-onyear growth of eBook sales so far, helped by the release of a cheaper ad-supported Kindle reader. Users can also read Kindle books on their tablets and smartphones. Amazon is widely expected to launch its own Android tablet this year.
The IE9 team has released statistics showing that the browser's new security features have helped prevent malware infections up to 95 percent of the time. Using a reputationbased system, IE9 warns users whether les being downloaded are likely to be harmful to their computers or not. According to the report, users are often tricked by social engineering tactics or scams, but 95 percent of them now choose to delete or not run downloaded les that are agged as potentially harmful.
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NEWSWIRE
BUZZ LIST
POP CULTURE
Zynga creates Gagaville, hopes to cash in

HARDWARE
AMD Fusion is almost here

It's been teased, promised, and delayed for years, but now AMD's After Farmville and Cityville, social gaming pioneer Zynga has teamed up with social media darling Lady Gaga to promote her new album. Gagaville combines the gameplay and mechanics of Farmville with a number of typically oddball Gaga touches including shiny unicorns, sheep on motorcycles and rhinestonestudded produce. Players can earn limited edition rewards in the form of Gaga merchandise and previews of unreleased songs. Purchasing a certain amount worth of Zynga games will entitle players to a free digital download of the album. The partners, perfectly suited to tap the huge youth market that spends hours each day on Facebook and Twitter, had raised US$ 1.5 million for Japan last month. long-awaited Fusion series of mainstream processors is about to be complete. Here's what we know about the microarchitecture so far: the Bobcat core design for small portables, which launched earlier this year in the form of E-series and C-series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), has been doing rather well, helping the company post first-quarter profits that exceeded even their own expectations. The mainstream product line, still known only by its codename "Llano", has been shipping to manufacturers for a few months now, and PCs with these APUs should launch in June. Finally, the top-of-the-line Bulldozer-based "Zambezi" for enthusiasts and gamers will also release before the end of this year.
BUSINESS
LinkedIn, Skype overvalued?

Microsoft's US$ 8.5 billion buyout of Skype pioneer could have been worth, and mere days layer, LinkedIn's initial public offering neatly doubled the company's
LIST
BUZZ
The simple lowdown on what everyone's talking about this month
SECURITY
Mac users caught off guard

Apple's Mac computers have always had the
defied all expectations of how much the floundering VoIP
perceived reputation of being immune to viruses, and Mac users are therefore much less likely to be running security software. However, a rogue application that pretends to be an antivirus program called "MAC Defender" has been spreading around in the past month, causing mischief such as pornographic popup ads, and attempting to steal credit card details by claiming that users need to pay US$ 85 in order to "unlock" the software and fix the problem. Despite the fact that the program can't be installed unless users click a fake-looking popup ad and also supply their administrator passwords, plenty of people are falling victim to this scam. Mac users are warned not to be lulled by a false sense of security.
net worth to $ 8.8 billion. Microsoft is yet to announce a specific strategy or reason for its acquisition, and has not responded to critics who have called the move pointless. Speculation is that Skype could find itself integrated into the Windows Phone platform, Windows Live Messenger, or even Lync, Microsoft's lesser-known business collaboration tool. The market's response to LinkedIn, whose IPO is now officially the biggest since Google listed in 2004, is being likened to the early days of the dotcom bubble. Some analysts are advising caution, while others are salivating at the prospects of more IPOsBloomberg estimates that at the same valuation, Facebook would be worth $94 billion today.
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NEW PRODUCTS LAUNCHED
NEWSWIRE

LITE-ON
students, commuters and mobile professionals. It is a mobile wireless router, connecting devices such as notebooks and smartphones to one broadband internet service. It can be used as a universal repeater in conjunction with other routers, as an access point when combined with a
ZEN MOBILE
Customizable DVD Writer
Affordable touchscreen phone

Zen Mobile has launched the Flikk M45 with Feather Touch, the next generation touch phone with a soft and accurate touch screen, at an unbelievable price. With a 7.1 cm touch screen display, the new Zen Flikk M45 can be viewed even in bright sunlight and does not require a stylus. The powerful 3.2 megapixel camera comes in handy to capture instant pictures or record every interesting moment of your life in high resolution MP4 video. Zen M45 has for the first time brought capacitive touch technology to an entry level touch phone. The exclusive back cover fitted with a stand allows the phone to be propped up. Also Flikk M45 allows you to stay connected, chat, share and get updated with its preloaded Facebook, Snaptu & Opera Mini applications.
Lite-On has announced the new eNAU series External Slim DVD writer that lets users personalize their drive and disc. The interchangeable top cover inserts included in the drive give the device a stylish twist. Moreover, users can create a cover with their own design. The compact and lightweight design is ideal for laptops and netbooks and, for added convenient, it is powered by USB so no other cables or adapters need to be carried, which makes eNAU series a perfect companion for professionals, school, and people on the-go. The eNAU series also come with LabelTag, Lite-Ons latest patented disc labeling technology that allows users to create a circular label on the data side of a standard DVDR disc, no special media required.
broadband modem, and as an Ethernet adapter for devices like game consoles, printers and cable set-top boxes. Finally, the WL-330N3G has both hotspot and 3G sharing modes built in.
PRICE: Rs 4,500 WEBSITE: www.asus.in
ALTEC LANSING
Sleek new speakers

Altec Lansing has unveiled the new speaker system BXR 1321, an aesthetically styled and powerful threepiece home speaker system for desktop computers and laptops. The BXR 1321 easily connects to the computer and delivers clear bass and quality stereo sound for music and gamers. The BXR 1321 is highly space saving as it is designed in a very sleek and compact satellite form factor easily fitting on your desk. The two separate satellite speakers improve perception of both gaming and stereo recordings. The 2-inch full range drivers on satellites deliver clear full range sound aptly supported by the compact 4-inch down firing subwoof subwoofer. Extra magnetic shield h been added to the has drivers. The built in power and volume controls on the right satellite delivers power to the user for easy maneuvering.
PRICE: Rs 5,000 WEBSITE: NA
PRICE: TBA WEBSITE: www.liteonit.com
SAMSUNG
ASUS
Ultra slim notebook

Samsung Electronics has announced its ultra-premium and ultra-slim Notebook Series 9. With a weight of only 1.31kg, measuring a mere 16.3mm in depth and with a screen size of 13 inches, the Samsung Notebook Series 9 combines the latest technology with mobile computing experience. In terms of design, the sophisticated beauty of the flowing line on the side of the Notebook Series 9 is
Flexible 3G router
Asus has launched the WL-330N3G router which offers the benefits of a standard er-friendly wireless router, with a user-friendly es setup. All of these features fit in a tiny device that is easy to carry, making the WL-330N3G ideal for travelers and business people. Its footprint is smaller than a business card. This is a full wireless router designed for those on the move, especially
PRICE: Rs 1,750 WEBSITE: www. a alteclansing.com
22
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The products and services listed here have not been reviewed by IC-CHIP. These are not endorsements or recommendations. All prices, specifications endo a and claims are as stated by the respective manufacturers and publicists.
NEWSWIRE
a key design concept that gives it an aerodynamic and sleek style. Additionally, the notebooks SuperBright Plus display as well as its vibrant color reproduction (16 million colors) and Super Contrast ratio (1,300:1), makes it one of the most beautiful notebook displays on the market. To ensure high performance, it uses a Second Generation Intel Core i5 processor. processors. The board features SLI/ CrossFire on Demand technology, supporting up to four graphics cards in a 3-Way SLI or CrossFireX configuration. Whichever path you take, you can be assured of jaw-dropping graphics at a level previously unseen. The motherboard supports DDR3 memory that features data transfer rates of up to 2200 (OC) MHz to meet the higher bandwidth requirements of the latest operating systems, 3D graphics, multimedia, and Internet applications. By Corel today announced the release of Corel PDF Fusion, a new application that enables users to work with more than 100 file formats to easily create PDF documents. Anyone who receives information, documents and images in a variety of formats knows the challenges of pulling all these files together in a single, secure and easily shared document. Corel PDF Fusion makes it easy to view, edit, assemble and create PDFs from over 100 file formats; enabling users to open and share file types that may not be a typical part of their day-to-day tasks. Corel PDF Fusion takes a unique, visual approach to building documents, making it easier and faster to use than other software. Iomega has announced the new Iomega ScreenPlay DX HD Media Player, an easy-touse multimedia device that changes the way you experience digital entertainment in your home. With the Iomega ScreenPlay DX HD Media Player, you can access and enjoy videos, movies, photos and music on the Internet as well as content you own all on your own TV in full 1080p high definition. The product is compatible with the most popular formats, including H.264, WMV and RMVB, as well as being DLNA certified for easy streaming with compatible devices on your home network. Other notable features include WiFi capability right out of Asus has launched its latest Republic of Gamers motherboard, the Rampage III Black Edition. The Rampage III Black Edition will be a limited edition model based on the Intel X58 Express chipset and supporting the LGA1366 Intel Core i7 the box thanks to the included 802.11n adaptor, and a user-friendly remote control featuring a full QWERTY keyboard. enhancing the two key factors (speed and sound) that dominate your gaming experience, the advanced integration of the LAN/Audio combo ThunderBolt offers higher throughput and decreased latency.
SU-KAM
Home UPS System
PRICE: Rs 1,00,990 WEBSITE: www.samsung.com
Su-Kam have launched the Torque range of Home UPS systems. Powerful and sensitive at the same time, Torque will run all your IT equipment and your electrical appliances single handedly, smoothly, without a break. Torque comes in a range of 650 VA, 850 VA and 1500 VA and ensures safe running of sophisticated home appliances as well as IT equipment. Torque takes only a few milliseconds to switch to battery mode in the absence of mains. That means the electrical equipments will get constant power. Torque range is equipped with charging technology which enables the batteries to get charged 40 percent faster than other systems. So, even if the mains power fails repeatedly, the battery backup will snap into action every time. It provides longer back-up to computers as compared to conventional UPS systems.
COREL
Flexible PDF Tool
PRICE: Rs 39,500 WEBSITE: www.asus.in
IOMEGA
Feature-rich media player
PRICE: Rs 4,700 (starting) WEBSITE: NA
WILEY
Network Synthesis Book

Network Synthesis and Filter Design is targeted to serve as a core text for undergraduate students of electrical, electronics and telecommunication engineering of all major Indian universities. The book is well organized in seven chapters and covers all the important topics in the field of electric network.
PRICE: TBA WEBSITE: www.corel.com
ASUS
Premium gaming motherboard
PRICE: 1TB: Rs 12,999; 2TB: Rs 14,999 WEBSITE: www. iomega.com
PRICE: Rs 329 WEBSITE: www.wiley.com

jamshed.avari@chip.in
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SOCIAL GAMING
NEWSWIRE
Social Gaming: Join the Club!

The so-called serious gamers, with their consoles and high-end PCs, may look down upon and shrug off the whole trend of social gaming, but the humble farmers, bakers, and poker aficionados are creating quite a stir.
BY PRIYANKA TILVE
ennifer needs help in a good old fashioned barn raising to let her store more items, and she still needs
building cities, amongst other things. All these games are part of the social gaming phenomenon. Social gaming is gaining tremendous popularity all over the world, and in India itself, over 10 million Facebook users play social games. The trend of social games was birthed by the social networking sites, but they have now evolved in their own right. Today, they act as mini social networks in themselves, where like minded people can interact while gaming.
What makes them social?

Apart form the fact that they were popularized by social networking sites, the very nature of these games is social. You need help from your friends to move ahead in the game. Once you start playing a particular game, you can invite your family members and friends to play along with you. The fact that these games are played online adds to their charm, and it means that one can easily connect with friends no matter what part of the world they are in.
the help of 10 more friends. Joseph sent you some lucky chips. Ronald sent you an extra pair of eyes to help you get started in Maa Wars. Afshaan just visited your restaurant and found a locked crate with two ingredients inside. Do these messages sound familiar? There is a whole new breed of gamers who are busy farming, raising sh, running restaurants, ghting mobs and
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Chaitanya Surpur
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SOCIAL GAMING
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Shalini Nair, an avid Scrabble buff who grew up playing Scrabble with her elder sister, missed the routine when she moved to another city. But thanks to the online version of the game available on social networking sites, she can now play the game at leisure. She says, Thanks to the online option, I and my sister can connect on weekends and play a game or two. Another great thing is that we can save a game and continue it later. Whats more, we can even invite our friends from any part of the world to play at the same time. Shalini is not alone. There are many others like her, who have rediscovered the joy of playing games online. Little wonder then that online Poker and Teen Patti were the most popular games played during Diwali last year.
Zynga games in India. I got rst-hand experience of this during our recent Zynga Fan Club launch in Bangalore. The fan summit was one of the rst ever social gaming fan summits in India, and gave our players an opportunity to connect with each other and also engage with the members of the Zynga team in Bangalore. The fan event attracted fans not only from Bangalore, but also from the other parts of the country. Zynga games are liked because they are social, interactive, creative, engaging, and above all, fun. Our mission always remains to connect the world through our games.
got on-board some great engineering talent. The India team has not only spearheaded technologies for Zynga games, but has also contributed in making innovations (for example, the open source database Membase) that have had an industry-wide impact. In 2011, I believe India will continue to grow in signicance for the industry as well as for Zynga. We recently launched Studio-I, Zyngas largest gaming studio outside of the US in Bangalore. Studio-I will focus on innovative game development to create new features that will delight players.
Social gaming is serious business

Social gaming has millions of users hooked and is now a serious business, with many gaming companies cashing in on the trend by developing games to appeal the growing fan base. What started with games available only on social networks, has slowly but surely established its presence through dedicated gaming sites. Another angle thats set to give a further llip to social gaming is that of the smartphones. One look at the app stores of major service providers is enough to give you an idea of just how popular gaming is. New gaming apps are being launched all the time and are devoured by eager gamers. Social gaming is emerging as a parallel universe and has generated enough buzz to woo even the advertisers and brands. For instance, Mahindra promoted its newly launched SUVs and scooters on Zapak, wherein gamers could drive the vehicles to get a feel for them. Similarly, the deodorant brand Axe ran a promotion, where male gamers could attract women in virtual space with the help of the product. With over 52 million Internet users and an equally high number of mobile users, India is a vibrant market. Having set up its India office in Bangalore early last year, Zynga is now looking at doubling its headcount by getting more talent on-board across engineering, creative, and senior management. Shan says, For Zynga, India is a great market not just in terms of players, but also in terms of the talent to build games. Recognizing this potential early, we set up our rst office outside the US in Bangalore in the beginning of 2010 and
What next?
Shan is bullish about the trend of social gaming. He says, I believe that the social gaming industry in India is moving to the next level and is on a verge of experiencing a huge boom in the coming years. Online and mobile gaming will be the key drivers for this growth. Some of the reasons for the growth of online and mobile games are 3G rollout and the evolution of next-gen devices like smartphones and tablets, higher rate of Internet adoption across users, greater penetration of social networking websites, and greater awareness of online and social gaming. Quick to capitalize on these emerging trends, Zynga has already made some of its popular games available on the iOS and Android mobile platforms. In the coming months, we will see a lot of games being launched across platforms, and topping it all off is the introduction of pre-paid game cards. Armed with this game card, you can purchase points, which can then be used to move ahead or buy goods in your favorite games. Zynga recently rolled out these Game Cards in India and they can be purchased from Reliance World or Gameplex outlets. They are available in denominations starting from Rs 100. Shan says, The idea behind this is to make our games more accessible by providing more options for users in India and other Asian markets. Zynga Game Cards are available in smaller currency values, which will give players more choices for amounts they want to spend on virtual goods within the game and will be available for use with Zyngas most popular games.
priyanka.tilve@chip.in
What makes them so popular?

There are many factors that make social gaming popular. Firstly, you can play them on social networking sites that you are already a part of, and also invite your friends to play along with you regardless of what part of the world they are in. If you permit it, your scores and achievements will be visible on your prole. Similarly, you will also see the gaming updates of your friends in your news feed, which can act as a catalyst. Also, there is an emotional aspect that should be taken into consideration. These games act as an escape from the hassles of everyday life. Ask any avid Farmville buff and they will tell you how satisfying it is to see their crops ready for harvest, or how depressing it is if crops were to wither. There is an unmistakable sense of achievement as they complete tasks and move to the next level. Besides it is whole lot of fun, and quite relaxing. Zynga, the company behind popular social games like Farmville, Cityville, Caf World, Maa Wars, Zynga Poker, and Frontierville seems to have got the recipe right. Over 250 million people play Zynga games each month, with India contributing its fair share. Talking about their popularity, Zyngas Country Manager for India, Shan Kadavil says, Social games have gained popularity because of the enhanced social interaction that they bring along. There are approximately 1.5 million daily active players of
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NEWSWIRE
FEATURE
AirJaldi: Connecting the Hills

Over 3,000 feet above the sea level in Dharamsala, you may not get network on your cell phones, but rest assured that you will be able to enjoy Wi-Fi access, courtesy AirJaldi.
BY PRIYANKA TILVE
hose of us living in urban areas have taken the Internet for granted, but there are still many
and rural development projects in many developing countries. He has a close association with Dharamsala, where he has been working on various development projects with the Tibetan community in exile. In relation to setting up a Wi-Fi network in Dharamsala, he says, It so happened that we were already there doing other things, and back then, it was a kind of a semi-rural area with quite a challenging topography. So it offered very good testing ground for
new connectivity technologies. They went about setting up Wi-Fi relays in the hills after having looked at various other options rst. Wi-Fi was the most feasible and economical option then, he says, There were other wireless technologies that preceded Wi-Fi, but at that time, none of these technologies were either matured or reasonably priced for what we were looking at, and Wi-Fi was really the only viable option at that time. It was the only technology
areas of our country that are deprived of Internet access, especially the rural areas. However, this picture is changing slowly with efforts on the part of the government as well as some private parties. One such initiative, which is bringing about a Wi-Fi revolution in far away locations like Dharamsala, TehriGarhwal, Kumaon and Jharkhand, is AirJaldi. AirJaldi rst came into existence in 2005 as a non-prot enterprise with the aim of providing viable and sustainable broadband for rural communities. Michael Ginguld, Director, Strategy and Operations, Rural Broadband Pvt Ltd and CEO of AirJaldi.org, a nonprot organization, says When we started in 2005, connectivity was available, but only in selected locations in rural areas. Our initial motivation was rst of all the need to connect the number of campuses that were some distance away from each other and needed connectivity. In addition, we had a long-term interest in communication technologies and the ways in which they can help rural areas. So my colleagues and I started Air Jaldi. Michael, who was born and raised in a Kibbutz, Israel, has vast experience in working closely with community
Thanks to AirJaldi, far-flung areas like Dharamsala, Tehri-Garhwal, Kumaon and Jharkhand now enjoy wi-fi.
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FEATURE
that really offered something that was workable, affordable and it actually did the job. However, setting up Wi-Fi in the hills was not an easy task at all. Aside from the he topography, other factors like irregular power and weather conditions posed hurdles. We faced multiple challenges. When we started, most of the technology was not geared for outdoor deployment. Wi-Fi as a protocol was not designed for outdoor usage. So the rst challenge was to actually take something that was not meant for outdoors and to adapt it for outdoor usage. This was something that we had to go through quite a lot at the beginning. That was in 2005. Six years later, we have multiple products that are actually suited for the outdoors, so its a different situation now. But when we started out, it was a big challenge, he said. Another major challenge they faced was the irregular power supply, which is a common problem, especially in the rural areas. This meant that there are periods without power or there are power surges that may cause the voltage to uctuate or surge to very high levels, which can damage equipment. We had to deal with supplying power back-ups, which was costly and required a certain amount of knowledge, be the solution solar, electrical or wind energy. I dare say that we have made quite a number
Varied topography presented a challenge in setting up Wi-Fi networks in the hills. AirJaldi's aim is to be significant contributor in bringing broadband connectivity to rural India.
to us to nd the best solution. It has worked well so far. In line with this approach, the AirJaldi networks are made up of three closely related, but somehow separate, components. The rst is the upstream relay, says Michael. This is the way we get our upstream bandwidth that allows us to connect to the Internet. Next, we have the backbone, which we build on our own using wireless relays. The upstream as well as the backbone are both solar powered. The third component is the client link to the network. There, clients have a choice of required bandwidth, power back-up, and a range of value-added services. This knack for experimentation and their determination to do their best has certainly come in handy. When they started off in 2005, even though the response they received was enthusiastic, the adoption was a bit slow, but that did not deter them. I think people were enthusiastic. If you were living in a place where connectivity was not something that people needed, then maybe this idea would have not left the drawing board. There was a need and so the adoption, I would say, has been enthusiastic over the years. Michael points out that some peoples initial reluctance towards getting a connection was not due to lack of need, but the lack of trust. In fact, he is of the opinion that rural areas have a much
of advances in guring out systems that provide the needed backup and are decently priced, says Michael. In fact, electricity is not the only problem that they successfully found a solution for. They tackled every obstacle that came in their way in the most practical and economically feasible manner. He says, We believe that every technical problem has a solution, but the question is one needs to ask is at what cost? We at AirJaldi dont try to throw money at the problem, but instead spend time and effort on identifying the origin of the problem and then come up with a simple and robust solution. Our approach has been to use and employ combinations of technologies available
06/2011
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NEWSWIRE
FEATURE
AirJaldi employs a combination of technologies to find the best connectivity solution.
Michael is very modest when it comes to talking about the impact that AirJaldi has had in the hills, saying, Its the impact of having a bicycle, and as opposed to riding it around the yard in the house, we are taking it out into the world and everything that comes with it - the new vistas, the new experiences, the new people; the good and the bad. Thats what the Internet has done for people around the world, and thats what its doing for people in these areas. People have come to rely on the AirJaldi networks, and for good reason. What sets them apart from other service providers is the fact that they have a hands-on approach to all problems. Michael and his team have done everything possible to provide the best possible service, but problems do occur. He says, Well, I try to ensure seamless Internet access in multiple ways. One is by having trust-worthy up stream providers and ensuring that our link to them is as good as possible. The second is building the system in anticipation of what it needs to do, and we have spent a lot of time into really understanding what it takes to build a good network. The third thing is service; we do not have 99.9 percent uptime, but our clients know that whenever the lines are down, we are trying to solve the problem. I
Given their success, it would have been easy for them to replicate the same in big cities, but they are clear that they want to remain focused in the rural areas and tier 3 and 4 towns. Michael says, We focus only on the rural areas, but this doesnt mean that the urban areas in India are not in need. We believe that there are many players trying to get into in the urban areas with many competing technologies. Its the rural areas where the players are few and far between, and thats really where the challenge lies. The way in which we develop our technology really made it more suitable for the rural areas. Michael says that AirJaldis aim is to be a signicant contributor in bringing about universal broadband connectivity in rural India, and looking at their determination, it may not be long before that is achieved.
higher connectivity potential then is initially apparent. One just needs to hang around patiently to see the results. If you walk into a rural area and ask how many people are interested in getting an Internet connection, you will nd that the numbers are really low to begin with. We believe that if you can expand and wait long enough, then the number will grow. If people come to know that the connectivity that is offered is of good quality, then they will sign up, but you need to be patient. One of the problems in rural India is that people come and a lot of promises are made, but they are rarely fullled, so its important that they are convinced of what they are being offered. We have been present in rural areas for a few years now. People have seen our service and have some condence in us. And condence is something that the AirJaldi network has managed to earn, so much so that over the years, their network has directly benetted over 20, 000 users, and lakhs more indirectly.
think that its more important that your clients know that you are there for them, and that you are accessible and reachable. Nobody is perfect, and that includes us. What is important is that the clients can trust you. Apart from connecting these remote areas, they also have a non-prot institute, which provides training on wireless technologies. As Michael puts it, We also run AirJaldi Research and Innovation, which focuses on training, capacity building, research and development. We are coming across a whole range of practical lessons that could be of importance to others as well, and it should be shared. The idea is to share knowledge. Right now, we give a basic course on wireless, which allows anyone who has some interest in the technology and knows English to take the course. It allows him or her to get a feel for what the technology is like. Some of them have actually graduated from the academy and have involved themselves in the work that we do.
AirJaldi Research and Innovation provides training on wireless technologies.
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TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
VERDICT
XXXXX
SMARTPHONE
HTC DESIRE Z
VERDICT: A good smartphone with a failed keypad. FOR: Looks great, HTCSense.com integration, good battery life. AGAINST: Poor keypad.
here arent many Android smartphones many n with QWERTY keyboards, so when HTC keyboards announced the release of the Desire Z in
we feel Sense e is probably the the best custom Android UI weve seen, and we stick to that. I hardly encountered any lag, and while the 800MHz processor doesnt exactly make operations silky smooth, it doesnt make it sluggish either. That is in large part due to the super sensitive display. Even the minutest touches were captured and responded to by the screen, which led to an excellent multitouch experience. Add to that the optical trackpad for scrolling and selection, and the Desire Z provides a very wholesome package as a smartphone. Slide the keyboard out though, and the problems start cropping up. The phone does switch plus), but the issues start from there. The four-row keyboard, though it feels nice while typing, has a pretty poor layout. The shift and the function keys really shouldve swapped positions and the lack of a D-pad is criminal. It forces you to use the optical trackpad, which on its own wouldnt have been a bad thing if my big thumb wasnt hitting the damn touch-sensitive menu button right above it (on the left in landscape mode) every single time. That also makes you type with one hand most of the time, which kinda defeats the purpose of a physical keyboard. The presence of a dedicated menu button and two customizable shortcut keys are probably the only saving grace. Overall, the OS and the interface are super as a normal touchscreen handset, but the keyboard is very disappointing.
India, it was received with much appreciation. Theres a bit of history involved, too. The rst LAPTOP Android handset - the HTC G1 - had a QWERTY keypad as well, and this is the rst Android smartphone with one that HTC have released, since then. Things have changed, obviously, and the Desire Z brings FroYo goodness, an S-LCD screen and a whole bunch of other features to the table.
XXXX
FOR: XXX AGAINST: XXXX
Design and Build Quality

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The rst thing you notice when you hold the Desire XXXXXX Z in your hands is how heavy it is. This is in no small XXXx contributing to that is the metallic nish that the front of the phone, as well as the battery cover has. The 3.7-inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, running at 480x848, adorns the front of the Desire Z and is encased by Gorilla Glass, below which the four standard Android touch-sensitive keys reside. An optical trackpad is also present. The slideout function for the QWERTY keyboard is rather unconventional and funky. Once you start sliding out, the display gets raised onto a rubbery hinge and then drops down. It doesnt lock down though, and the rubbery hinge is a bit of a concern. It looks
automatically to landscape mode (which is a big part thanks to the slide-out QWERTY keypad. Also - dushyant.khilnani@chip.in
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs XXX
www.XXXX.XXXX
like it could wear down over time, but its still a cool touch. The phone doesnt feature a front-facing camera, but that and the bulkiness are the only negatives in the design of the Desire Z. It looks and feels very well built. Obviously, you wouldnt want to drop it on concrete, but it still instills a feeling of solidness.
XXXXX: XXXXXX;
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
XXX XXX XXX
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY ERGONOMICS FEATURES PERFORMANCE OVERALL RATING VALUE FOR MONEY
Media
The inbuilt music player is nice, but fell short in the loudness department. I tried giving it some articial gain using Mixzing (which also gave me the graphical EQ settings), but just as I thought it was
Interface
The Desire Z has Android 2.2 Froyo with the HTC Sense UI on top. Weve said time and again that
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Story code: HCI to 51818
TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
VERDICT
going smoothly, the sound started cracking. Video playback is excellent, though. The Desire Z supports DivX and XviD, as well as H264 videos all the way up to 720p. High-prole 720p H264 videos start framing though, so maybe the processor is just a little under-powered to handle those. Otherwise, videos look and play great on the Desire Z. pictures including white balance, exposure,
XXXXX
sharpness, saturation etc. It also has a bunch of post-processing options, which can lead to some pretty hilarious pictures. The picture quality is very middling. Its neither excellent nor horrible, and sits comfortably in the middle, probably tilting a little towards the good side because of the customization. Outdoor pictures are a little better than the ones taken indoors, but there isnt a very big difference. The camera also supports 720p video recording which is pretty cool. I tried it out and didnt experience any kind of framing in the video, which is fantastic.
Connectivity
The Desire Z has everything youd expect from a phone in this price range. 3G (HSDPA at 14.4Mbps), EDGE/GPRS support, WiFi connectivity, 3G WiFi Hotspot capability and also DLNA for streaming media to other DLNA-enabled devices. Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP is present too. There are built in apps for Facebook and Twitter, though theyre a bit redundant with Friend Stream being bundled. The widget displays updates from Facebook and Twitter simultaneously, and is a very convenient one. Obviously, the other standard LAPTOP Google connectivity apps like Gmail, Gtalk, Places, Google Maps, Navigation etc are all bundled too.
Battery
The 1300mAh battery serves the Desire Z well, even if it is a bit out of its league when put under heavy load. Heavy usage saw the battery die out in about a day, but medium (with some music and YouTubing thrown in for good measure) and light usage saw it last two and two-and-a-half days respectively. Its not exactly winning (see what I did there?), but its decent nonetheless.
XXXX
Miscellaneous features
A lot of mobile phone standards present are
FOR: XXX present, and so are extras like Adobe Reader, AGAINST: XXXX spotlight is the HTCSense. but what steals the
com integration, which gives you some pretty neat
Closing comments
The Desire Zs USP, the QWERTY keyboard, lets it down. It functions very well as a smartphone, but would you really tolerate the extra bulk if the very XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX reason for it is inadequate? At Rs. 24,999, youd expect more from your phone. - Sriram Gurunathan
features when using a desktop Internet browser. If XXXXXX youve misplaced your phone somewhere, you can XXXx send it a command- to ring even if its in silent dushyant.khilnani@chip.in mode and if youve managed to lose it completely, you can track it using GPS, lock it down completely or even wipe out all personal data from the device remotely. It also includes features for call and message forwarding, backing up of contacts and messages and even allows you to send messages from your phone using your desktop keyboard! All in all, HTCSense.com is a great addition and with all new HTC devices sporting it, its a nice experience enhancer.
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 25,590
www.htc.com/in
Dimensions (W x H x D):60.4 x 119 x 14.2 mm; Weight: 180 g; Display: 3.7 inch, 480 x 800; Internal Storage: 1.5 GB, 512 MB RAM; Camera: 5 megapixels, autofocus, LED flash; Connectivity: 3G, WiFi, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth 2.1
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
SPECIFICATIONS
Camera
The Desire Z has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED ash. Like all HTC phones, it has quite a range of options for
Rs XXX
www.XXXX.XXXX
XXXXX: XXXXXX;
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
HTC India Pvt. Ltd 9811428765 shaurya.vedvyas@brightpoint.com
XXX XXX XXX
RATINGS
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY ERGONOMICS FEATURES PERFORMANCE
The Desire Z features a slide-out QWERTY keypad, a rarity in Android phones. OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
06/2011
35
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HARDWARE
SMARTPHONE
SAMSUNG S8530 WAVE II

FOR: Great media playback, amazing battery life, good camera. AGAINST: Bada OS.
potting the differences between the Wave and Wave II is not easy. Look closer, and the Wave II is
Thanks to the crisp display, the black levels on videos are superb. The Wave II supports 720p HD video les in MOV and MKV formats with DivX and XviD codec support. For connectivity, the Wave II packs in Wi-Fi with DLNA for media sharing, 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, and USB 2.0. TV Out (Pal NTSC) via the 3.5mm handsfree socket is also supported. Facebook and Twitter apps are preloaded and so is Samsungs Feeds and Updates combined widget. Setting up email is just a little harder than doing so on WP7, iOS or Android, but not an issue. For the GPS module, Samsung has thrown in Samsung LBS, which uses Route 66 mapping for navigation. The 5 megapixel autofocus camera now includes an LED ash, as well as features like face and smile detection, auto-stitch panorama, etc. Image quality, be it outdoors or inside, is really good. Although details arent the sharpest, colors are retained well. Macro images look really good, with a high level of detail and focus. Another area where the Wave II excels is battery life. We had no need to charge the device for two full days with regular usage of calls messages, email and videos. What does drain the battery very heavily though is the camera. For Rs 15,400, you could get an Android device, but the Wave II is an excellent multimedia handset that delivers on all those fronts. So if youre looking for a smartphone that isnt too complicated to use, get the Wave II. - Shayne Rana
heavier and thicker, and the display is now larger at 3.7 inches. The AMOLED screen gives way to a Super Clear LCD with a 480x800 resolution with Gorilla Glass casing. Bada has not changed much. Its a clean OS that performs quite smoothly, although theres a hint of lag sometimes. Powered by a 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor on a Hummingbird chipset, overall speed and ease of access is not an issue. You can customize the multiple desktops with preloaded widgets or get more off of the Samsung App Store. The apps can also be moved around. Handwriting recognition is supported, but Swype support wouldve been great. Social network integration was a problem, and for some reason we were unable to sync Facebook accounts with contacts. Twitter was no problem. There was also no option to sync the device with a Google account. There were also preventing us from merging contacts. The Wave II is a fully loaded media-
The memory card is not hot-swappable forcing you to switch off the phone to remove it.
friendly handset, enough to deter you from considering a PMP. The music player dishes out clear tones with a punch in the bass line. Seven EQ presets are provided along with a few audio enhancement settings. Samsungs DNSe adds virtual 5.1 surround. The FM radio took about 13 seconds to nd and store 6 of the 9 available radio stations. Reception was good outdoors in almost all locations.
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 15,400
www.samsung.com/in
Dimensions (WxHxD): 60 x 124 x 12 mm; Weight: 135 g; OS: Bada OS v1.2; CPU: 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8; Internal storage: 2 GB; Display: 3.7-inch SLCD, 480 x 800, Camera: 5 MP; Connectivity: Wi-fi N, Bluetooth, 3G.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Samsung India Electronics 0124-4881234 ravi.gulati@samsung.com
VERDICT
RATINGS
A FEATURE-PACKED, USER-FRIENDLY SMARTPHONE.

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MOBILE PHONE
NOKIA C3-01
VERDICT: Average looking, but feature-rich. FOR: Good music player, responsive UI, 3G-enabled. AGAINST: Average looks.
he C3-01 is a candy bar phone with a metallic matte nish throughout, except the keypad, which is plastic.
are present, and the C3-01 is also 3G-enabled. Images from the 5 megapixel camera are just about average. Even after two hours of phone calls and some slight music and Web usage, the phone lasted an entire day. Its hard to say if the C3-01 is worth paying Rs 9,389 for. The phone costs about Rs 400 less than the X3-02 and the features are almost the same. Theres a slight advantage of the LED ash, but thats only if you really intend to use the camera extensively. If youre in it for looks, the X3-02 is a great option. This one on the other hand, is a more average looking version of the X3-02. - Ashish Koshy
The 2.4-inch 240x320 screen displays good brightness and colors levels. It runs on the Symbian S40s 6th edition. The touchscreen is resistive and responds well. Transition between menus is fast, apart from a few instances of lag. On the home screen, you can add three shortcuts, and a quick launch bar lets you add four more. The music player didnt disappoint. The mids seem almost perfect and the highs sound good as well. The bass seems a little low, but thats not too bad. Wi-Fi, EDGE/GPRS and Bluetooth connectivity
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 9,389
www.nokia.co.in
Dimensions (W x H x D):47.5 x 111 x 11 mm; Weight: 100 g; Display: 2.4 inch, 240 x 320; Internal Storage: 30 MB, 64 MB RAM; Camera: 5 MP, LED flash; Connectivity: 3G, WiFi, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth 2.1
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Nokia 30303838 NA
RATINGS
SMARTPHONE
SAMSUNG GALAXY FIT S5670

VERDICT: Falls just a little short of t. FOR: Great sound, good camera. AGAINST: Poor battery life, low screen resolution.
T
SPECIFICATIONS
he Galaxy Fit is denitely more attractive than the Galaxy 3, but the 3.3-inch capacitive display
with A2DP, and USB 2.0 connectivity. Setting up multiple email accounts (POP/ IMAP or other) for Push services is easy, and with Adobe Flash 10.2 support, Web browsing was a breeze. The saving grace for the Fit is the 5 megapixel AF camera. It comes with a plethora of features, many scene modes, and geotagging. In daylight, picture quality seemed reasonably sharp, and low light conditions werent bad either. The battery life didnt impress us. The camera and Wi-Fi seemed to drain the battery before our very eyes. On an average, talk time was just about three hours. At Rs 12,860, we wouldnt recommend the Galaxy Fit over the Galaxy 3. - Shayne Rana
with a low 240x320 resolution was disappointing. Running on a 600 Mhz processor, Froyo functioned well on the Fit. Scrolling through menus worked without a hitch. Social networking integration with contacts is a painstaking manual process. Samsung DNSe audio enhancement adds EQ presets and 5.1 stereo for music for a great audio experience. The video player didnt support DivX or XviD, though Rockplayer played all les just ne. Google Voice Search and a voice recorder are also present. The Fit is 3G-enabled, and also supports EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Rs 12,860
www.samsung.com/in
Dimensions (W x H x D):61.2 x 110.2 x 12.6 mm; Weight: 108 g; Display: 3.3 inch, 240 x 320; Internal Storage: 160 MB; Camera: 5 megapixels, autofocus; Connectivity: 3G, WiFi, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth 2.1
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
RATINGS
06/2011
37
TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
MOBILE PHONE
MICROMAX M2
FOR: Decent music features. AGAINST: No memory expansion, bad camera, limited video options.
he M2 is a candy bar mobile
The M2 has basic connectivity features. Theres no 3G or Wi-Fi, but theres the usual GPRS and EDGE for Internet connectivity. Users can also transfer data using Bluetooth or the micro-USB slot. The handset gives a decent call quality and although the callers voice doesnt sound too loud, the phone denitely has a good ability to catch signals in closed places, where signal reception is not too high. Like most Java-based mobile handsets, the M2 has quite a few miscellaneous features like notes, calendar, world clock, and unit and currency converter. Theres FM radio and the phone also comes with some preloaded games. The 2 megapixel camera delivers really poor indoor shots and the outdoor shots are only marginally better. The colors as well as level of details are really bad. Although this is not a camera phone, we expected the phone to give us average pictures at least. The handset has a standard 850 mAh battery, which lasts almost a day with the normal load of calls, texts and music. A full charge will almost last you the whole day, and as long as youre not using it heavily (even for music), the M2 will stay alive throughout the day. At a price of Rs. 3,500, the M2 is a neat option for a music phone. The sound quality it offers cannot be classied as stellar, but is denitely very good for its price. However, one of the biggest reasons why this mobile phone is not recommended is because of its really tiny storage capacity of 2 GB. Also, apart from the music, this phone doesnt have anything great to offer. - Ashish Koshy
phone with a nice dull-gray color and metallic nish. Theres a
2-inch 240x320 resolution screen and a click wheel similar to that on an iPod designed to house music shortcuts. The keys below the wheel are a tad small, but comfortable to use. The * and # keys double up as volume keys, but a separate volume rocker would have been better. The phone includes hot-swap dual SIM card slots with protective aps, a 3.5 mm audio jack, and a micro-USB port. The M2 doesnt have any kind of expandable memory, so all you get is the 2 GB of inbuilt memory. It uses a Java-based user interface, which is quite ordinary and the icons lack any sort of aesthetic appeal. We noticed that while playing music, there was lag when browsing through menus. The M2s USP is music, and it bundles a pair of circumaural headphones, and packs in SRS WOW HD equalizer settings with nine presets, but no custom EQ option.
The back panel cannot be opened and the SIM card slots are located on the top of the phone.
The M2 churns out great sound. While the treble might feel a little low, the mids are easy to identify and sound really nice. For a phone, the M2s bass also has sufficient thump and boom. Turning the volume all the way up, however, is not a good idea as the sound starts to distort. The handset doesnt support any video format apart from H.263, which doesnt make it great to watch movies.
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 3,500
www.micromaxinfo.com
Dimensions (W x H x D): 44.8 x 113 x 10.8 mm; Weight: 109.7 g; Display: 2 inch, 240 x 320; Internal Storage: 2 GB; Camera: 2 megapixels, 1600 x 1200; Connectivity: GPRS, Bluetooth
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Micromax Informatics 1860-500-8266 info@micromaxinfo.com
VERDICT
RATINGS
A GOOD PHONE FOR MUSIC, AND NOTHING MORE.

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HARDWARE
DIGITAL CAMERA
FUJIFILM FINEPIX AV200

FOR: Excellent performance, 720p video recording, very easy to use. AGAINST: The entire body is a ngerprint magnet.
he FinePix AV200 is FujiFilms latest offering for those who want a super-affordable camera.
zoom rocker is placed right at the top, and below it are tiny rubber dimples for thumb grip. The d-pad has one-touch shortcuts for delete, macro, ash modes and self-timer, and the center button is the Menu/OK button. The auto and scene modes only allow setting the image size, quality and color mode. The Program mode is a little advanced with options for manually setting the ISO, white balance, focus mode and face detection. Videos can be shot at 720p, 640x480 or 320x480. Depending on the size of the memory card inserted, the available shoot duration is displayed next to the resolution options.The camera draws power from a pair of AA batteries. The imaging quality of the camerais one of the best weve seen in entry-level models. The exposure levels in both indoor and outdoor shots were very good, bringing out details in shadows and dark areas. The color reproduction was excellent but JPEG compression artefacts killed details in certain areas of the photos. However, it was only visible when viewed at 100 percent zoom; otherwise images looked great. The quality of video recording was also good. Optical zoom while shooting is supported but the audio gets completely muted while zooming in or out while shooting. Captured videos get stored in MJPEG format. If youre on a very tight budget and want a simple point-and-shoot camera, this one deserves serious consideration. - Anand Tuliani
Since this is an entry-level model, dont expect too many features. Its a very basic point-and-shoot digital camera with automatic and program modes and a few scene modes. The key feature of this camera is the ability to shoot videos at 720p (1280x720) and its a big bonus because its a rare feature for an entry level digital camera. The FinePix AV200 is about the size of a pack of playing cards and is just about pocketable, although its a bit on the heavier side. The camera is available in silver and black and the one that we got from FujiFilm was black with a thick chrome band running around the sides. The entire shell, including the 2.7-inch LCD, has a glossy nish. It looks classy, but it easily attracts ngerprints and scratches. A protection lm for the LCD is a must and a piece of lint-free cloth for wiping the shell is recommended. The camera sports a 14 megapixel sensor and 3x optical zoom lens with a
The camera gets its bulk from a pair of AA batteries. A Li-ion battery would have made it slimmer.
focal length of 32 mm on the widest end. A wider lens would have added good value because shooting portraits, wide landscapes and large groups of people would have been more convenient. The camera is very easy to use thanks to the highly intuitive user interface. The control panel, which comprises a 5-way d-pad, playback and display/back buttons is just perfect to operate the camera. The
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 5,499
www.fujifilm.in
Dimensions (WxHxD): 93 x 60 x 28 mm; Weight: 168 g (with batteries); Resolution: 14 megapixel; LCD: 2.7-inch; Focal length: 32-96 mm (3x optical zoom); Aperture: F2.9-F5.2; Shutter speed: 8-1/1400 sec; Video recording: 720p @30 fps.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Fujifilm India 0124-4325500 contact@fujifilmindia.com
VERDICT
RATINGS
AWESOME CAMERA AT AN AWESOME PRICE.

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HARDWARE
TABLET
APPLE iPAD 2 (64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G)

VERDICT: First-gen iPad owners need not upgrade unless they really want to own the latest gadgets. FOR: Powerful CPU, FaceTime, unmatched OS and loads of apps available. AGAINST: Still quite expensive.
ust three months after the Indian launch of the original iPad comes the iPad 2. The iPad 2 is a signicant
iPad 2 includes three new apps: Camera, which is just for basic stills and videos; Photo Booth, for many of the novelty effects found on the OS X version; and FaceTime, Apples own video chat service. The 1024x768 screen is identical to the older model, which is disappointing, but it ensures that all apps will run smoothly. Our 64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G sample was noticeably snappier than a rst-gen iPad, and ran intense apps including iMovie, GarageBand and several 3D games without a hiccup. Battery life is rated at 10 hours; this could have been better, but thinness was obviously a priority. - Jamshed Avari
SPECIFICATIONS
improvement over its predecessor, and is just a fraction more expensive. The iPad 2 is a lot slimmer and lighter. Its easier to hold in the hand, though the new beveled edge makes it harder to reach the volume controls and dock connector. The iPad 2 is available with white or black faceplates, and there are magnets under the surface that hold the new optional Smart Covers in place. The iPad 2 has a much faster dual-core CPU and improved graphics as well. There are also cameras on the front and rear now. To make use of them, the
Rs 46,900
www.apple.com
Dimensions: (WxHxD) 185.7 x 241.2 8.8 mm; Weight: 613 g; CPU: Apple A5 (1 Ghz, dual core); Cameras: 720p rear, VGA front; Sensors: 3-axis gyro, ambient light, accelerometer; Connectivity: Dock connector, Wi-Fi A/B/G/N, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, UMTS, HSPA, EDGE
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Apple India 1800-425-0744 indiasales@mac.com
RATINGS
ERGONOMICS FEATURES PERFORMANCE OVERALL RATING VALUE FOR MONEY
06/2011
41
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HARDWARE
DIGITAL CAMERA
CANON IXUS 1000 HS

FOR: 10x zoom, can shoot 1080p video. AGAINST: High price, average picture quality, no manual mode.
e received the silver variant of the IXUS 1000 HS, which with its corners and edges
and metallic build, looks pretty mean. With the styling reminiscent of some jet plane, this point-and-shoot boasts of a large feature list. Though the resolution is modest, this camera is equipped with a powerful lens boasting of 10x optical zoom in a rather compact body. On the back lies a relatively large 3-inch LCD screen. At 190 grams, this camera is slightly heavy, but the completely metal body makes it very sturdy. Navigation on the IXUS 1000 is slightly difficult. The dial also doubles up as a D-pad and takes time getting used to. The buttons on the dial arent as tactile and ngers tend to slip over it. The user interface is quite similar to the ones used on most IXUS and Powershot cameras. The IXUS 1000 HS houses a 1/2.3inch backlit CMOS sensor. The backlight ideally translates to better performance in low light situations. The lens has a 35mm equivalent focal length ranging from 36 mm at wide to 360 mm at telephoto. In simpler words, the lens should do a good job of clicking distant and nearby subjects alike. Full HD videos can be captured at 24fps, with 720p at 30 fps. On the right side of the camera lie an HDMI and a mini USB port. The shutter speed can vary from 1 second to 1/4000. However, it can go to as low as 15 seconds in some shooting modes. There is no manual mode, leaving you with very few settings to play around with. The IXUS 1000 HS takes great pictures outdoors, with accurate colors, albeit with slight graining and noise present. This can be overlooked, until the camera is taken indoors, where the noise increases and is noticeable. Once indoors, the pictures look either too dull at the lower ISOs or too washed out at the higher ones and color reproduction isnt all that good either. The noise at ISO 3200 still leaves the picture useable, but only just. 1080p videos shot by the IXUS 1000 are insanely high on le size and the visual quality is exceptional. However, focusing is very slow, as is panning, making shooting videos a laggy affair. Added effects are a fun feature; it can shoot slow motion videos at 240 fps. However, the resolution gets dropped down to 320x240, and the resulting video is too dark to be used. The miniature effect is also another attractive feature that blurs the top and bottom of any video or picture to give a faux tilt-shift effect. The camera allows macro shots up to a minimum distance of 1 cm and does not disappoint with the result. The focusing though could have been quicker. - Pranav Tonseker
The control panel has been made compact to accomodate the large 3-inch LCD, but the controls are intuitive.
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 25,995
www.canon.co.in
Dimensions (WxHxD): 101.3 x 58.5 x 22.3 mm; Weight: 190 g (with batteries); Resolution: 10 megapixel; LCD: 3-in; Focal length: 6.3 - 63.0 mm (10x optical zoom); Aperture: F3.4 F5.6; Shutter speed: 15-1/ 1400 sec; Video recording: 1080p @24 fps.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
VERDICT
Canon India Pvt Ltd 1800-1803-366 info@canon.co.in
A FEATURE-PACKED POINT-AND-SHOOT WITH MEDIOCRE PERFORMANCE.
RATINGS
06/2011
43
TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
NETBOOK
ACER ASPIRE ONE HAPPY

VERDICT: A decent netbook at a reasonable price. FOR: Lightweight, DDR3 RAM. AGAINST: Sluggish operation, average trackpad.
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 17,599
www.acer.co.in
he Acer Aspire One Happy is a sleek netbook with an excellent build quality. The glossy top makes
on the trackpad, and its buttons are hard to press. The netbook houses a tiny VGA webcam that is just good enough for video chat. The Aspire One boots two operating systems Windows 7 Starter and Android. The Android 1.09 port isnt too useful, considering Android is an OS made for smartphones and tablets. Firing up Windows 7 was a relief. Benchmarks werent too impressive; it logged a meager 1145 on PCMark and 0.25 in Cinebench. The battery lasts up to 6 hours 23 minutes when idle. With sufficient specs and hefty battery, all under Rs 20,000, the Acer Aspire is quite a bargain. - Pranav Tonseker
it extremely susceptible to scratches and ngerprints. With a single core Atom N455 clocked at 1.66 GHz and 1 GB of DDR3 RAM, this is a no frills netbook. The 10.1-inch 1024x600 resolution screen rests on a sturdy hinge and doesnt wobble too much. The sides have three USB ports, a memory card reader, headphone and mic jacks and a VGA port. Speakers are situated on the underside, so the sound tends to get blocked. The keyboard is standard and keys are well sized and spaced out, but but scrolling is impossible
Dimensions (WxHxD): 258.5 x 24 x 185 mm; Weight: 1.25 kg ; Processor: Intel Atom N455 1.66 GHz; RAM: 1 GB DDR3 ; Graphics processor: Intel NM10 Express; Storage: 320 GB HDD; Display: 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600; Connectivity: 10/100 Ethernet LAN, 802.11 b/g/n Wireless LAN, Bluetooth 3.0
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Acer India 080-39408700 ailenquiries@acer.co.in
RATINGS
NETBOOK
SAMSUNG NF210
VERDICT: A netbook with sexy curves, but average performance. FOR: Good looks, decent performance. AGAINST: Poor hard drive transfer rates.
he rst thing we noticed about the NF210 is its curvy design. The lid has a glossy nish, and while
to Toshibas NB520, which has 2 GB of RAM. There was a minuscule two percent difference in the Cinebench R10 scores, and compressing a le took two seconds less on the Toshiba. The hard drive didnt perform too well though, transferring a 4 GB le at 22.75 MB/s, and assorted les worth 4 GB at just 16 MB/s. The 3 Watt speakers are loud enough, and while the bass is almost negligible, the mids and highs are quite distinct. The battery test saw the netbook run for 3 hours 50 minutes, which is quite low for a netbook. Performance-wise, its a toss-up between the NF210 and the Toshiba NB520. If youre not too caught up on looks, wed suggest you go with the NB520. - Ashish Koshy
the 10.1-inch LED backlit display inside is non-glossy, it features a surprisingly poor viewing angle. The Chiclet keyboard makes it pretty comfortable to type on, but the size is a little smaller than usual. The trackpad also felt a little small and lacked the required responsiveness. It runs on a dual-core Atom N550 processor that clocks 1.5 GHz, and 1 GB DDR2 RAM, and packs in a 250 GB hard drive. Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 N are available for connectivity. We were pleasantly surprised to see the NF210 fare almost as well as other netbooks in our tests. In terms of scores, its close
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 22,990
www.samsung.com/in
Dimensions (WxHxD): 275 x 25.3 x 187.5 mm ; Weight: 1.35 kg ; Processor: Intel Atom N550 1.5 GHz; Graphics processor: Intel GMA3150; RAM: 1GB DDR2; Storage: 250 GB HDD; Display: 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600; Connectivity: 10/100 Ethernet LAN, 802.11 b/g/n Wireless LAN, Bluetooth 3.0
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
RATINGS
44
06/2011
TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
NOTEBOOK
APPLE MACBOOK PRO 17-INCH (2011)

VERDICT: Despite plenty of annoyances, this is a beast of a machine. FOR: Extremely powerful components. AGAINST: Limited expansion, gets a bit hot with use.
he 2011 MacBook Pro refresh brings Intels latest Sandy Bridge CPUs to the entire line. Apple shipped
SD card reader and you can forget about Blu-ray or USB 3.0. Performance was snappy, with even iMovie and Garage Band starting up in mere seconds. The Core i7 CPU tore through all our tests and the Radeon HD 6750 M is good enough for medium-quality gaming. OSX switches seamlessly between the Radeon and the CPUs integrated graphics. The battery easily matches its 7 hour rating, but our unit got noticeably hot during use. Overall, the new Pro is a pleasure to use, but we were left wanting for all the conveniences wed get in similarly priced alternatives. - Jamshed Avari
SPECIFICATIONS
us its top-end 17-inch model for review. Apart from a good selection of core components, the most interesting addition is the new Thunderbolt high-speed port. Sadly, with no compatible products on the market yet, we were unable to test it. On the downside, the MacBook Pros design now feels quite dated. Expansion is limited to three tightly packed USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800 and Thunderbolt/Mini DisplayPort, and an ExpressCard slot. There isnt even an
Rs 1,42,900
www.apple.com/in/mac
Dimensions (WxDxH): 393 x 267 x 250 mm; Weight: 2.99 kg; CPU: Intel Core i7 (2.2GHz, quad core, 6 MB cache); RAM: 4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz; HDD: 750 GB; Optical drive: 8x DVD RW; Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6750M, Intel HD3000, auto switching; Connectivity: Wi-Fi N, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Apple India 1800-425-0744 indiasales@mac.com
RATINGS
06/2011
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HARDWARE
MOTHERBOARD
ASUS RAMPAGE III EXTREME BLACK EDITION

VERDICT: A killer board for building a mean gaming machine. FOR: On-board Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, discrete sound card, excellent design. AGAINST: None.
I
SPECIFICATIONS
ts been over two years now and the Intel X58 chipset is still going strong. With the Black Edition of Rampage III,
has eight SATA ports out of which two are 6 Gb/s. The top corner is labelled OC zone and youll nd check points for measuring voltages and debugging LEDs for POST. The layout of the motherboard is excellent, with the components spread across evenly. The CPU socket has ample clearance around it, making it possible to t large coolers. The performance of the Rampage III Extreme was excellent and this board is even better. Asus has included BIOS tweaks for better and more stable overclocking, and the board features a dual-BIOS design. - Anand Tuliani
Asus has built the meanest X58 board ever. It adds an on-board module for Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0, and a PCIE x1 card called ThunderBolt with discrete sound and LAN controllers. There are no FireWire ports on the rear, but you get seven USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, two SATA ports and jacks for the on-board Creative X-Fi sound controller. The Rampage III Black Edition sports four PCIE x16 slots, which support 3-way SLI and 4-way CrossFireX. The right side
Rs 39,500
www.asus.in
Form factor: ATX; Chipset: Intel X58; RAM: DDR3-1600 (up to 48 GB); Expansion slots: 4x PCIE x16 and 2x PCIE x1; Multi-GPU support: Up to 3-way SLI and 4-way CrossFireX; SATA ports: 8 (2x 6 Gb/s); USB ports: 15 (6 via headers); eSATA ports: 2.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
ASUS Technology 022-67668800 reachus@asus.com
RATINGS
FEATURES PERFORMANCE OVERALL RATING VALUE FOR MONEY
MOBILE BATTERY PACK
CHOIIX POWER FORT

VERDICT: The perfect device to ensure that your portable gadgets dont run out of juice. FOR: Built-in torch, fast charging, light weight. AGAINST: Glossy body.
he Choixx Power Fort is a portable battery charger, which can help re-charge your handheld devices
10 to 95 hours. Additionally, the output power rating of 5 V 1 A increases charging speed by almost 30 percent. The unit also supports bypass charging, allowing the user to simultaneously charge any device while charging the unit itself. Short-circuit, over-charge and discharge protection technologies are implemented to prevent damage, increase battery life and retain power for longer periods. The battery pack comes in two variants - standard and advanced. While the standard unit bundles a mini USB and micro USB cable, the advanced unit additionally bundles the AC power charger and a car charging unit. - Francis Dsa
anywhere and at any time. It charges completely in less than 3.5 hours using any standard USB port or charger. The Power Fort weighs just 102 grams, has an excellent built quality, and is very easy to operate. The front face has four blue LEDs indicating the charge status. The bottom features an emergency torch. The front features a standard mini USB port for charging and a standard USB type-A male connector port to plug in any USB device that needs charging. The Power Fort can boost your portable devices battery life by anywhere from
SPECIFICATIONS
RS 3,500
www.choiix.com
Dimensions (WxHxD): 64 X 12 x 110 mm; Weight: 102 g; Charging ports: mini USB for charging, USB A for devices; Battery rating: Li-polymer 2700 mAh; Power output: 5 V, 1 A.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Abacus Peripherals Pvt Ltd 022-40914603 enquiry@abacusperipherals.com
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY FEATURES PERFORMANCE OVERALL RATING VALUE FOR MONEY
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HARDWARE
MOTHERBOARD
ZOTAC FUSION ITX

VERDICT: Perfect for a low-cost home theater PC. FOR: Excellent feature set, all-solid capacitors, Wi-Fi n. AGAINST: None.
he Zotac Fusion ITX is based on the AMD E-350 APU, but what sets it apart from the rest is the
port, video outputs (DVI, HDMI and DP) ) and connectors for the bundled Wi-Fi antennae. The motherboard can take up to 8 GB of DDR3 memory, but it uses 204-pin SO-DIMM modules, which are used in laptops. Despite the compact form factor, the layout of the board is excellent. Weve already tested a few Fusion-based motherboards, and this one performs equally well, defeating the dual-core Atom with Nvidia Ion by a good margin. The integrated Radeon HD 6310 GPU handles full HD playback seamlessly. This board is perfect for a small form factor HTPC. All you have to do is t it in a cabinet and add RAM and a hard drive. - Anand Tuliani
on-board Wi-Fi n adapter. Its a big bonus because you wont need a separate USB Wi-Fi device for wireless Internet access and media streaming. Zotac has gone with a fully-passive design for cooling the APU and chipset. The twin heatpipebased cooler has been designed by Cooler Master and it is very effective. Even under full load, the heat sink temperature was below 60 degrees C. Just below the massive heatsink, youll nd a tiny Wi-Fi adapter plugged into a mini PCIE slot. The rear panel sports six USB ports (four USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0), an eSATA
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 8,555
www.zotac.com
Form factor: Mini ITX; APU: AMD E-350; RAM: Up to 8 GB DDR3-1066; SATA ports: 4; USB 2.0 ports: 6 (2 via headers); USB 3.0 ports: 4 (2 via headers); Video outputs: DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort; Wi-Fi: 802.11 n; Audio: 8-channel.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Neoteric Infomatique 9891282522 tarun.kalra@neoteric.co.in
RATINGS
06/2011
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HARDWARE
NAS
NETGEAR STORA MS2000

FOR: Mirrored RAID, designed for home use. AGAINST: Software needs improvement, premium services charged extra.
ith the Stora appliance, Netgear is targeting basic home users who shouldnt
maximizes space but you wont know which les are on which drive. If one dies, you lose an arbitrary portion of your data). Even basic conguration options are accessible only by logging into the mystora.com Web service, making you dependent on an Internet connection. Thankfully you can browse the Stora through Windows Explorer. You can use the mystora.com login service to get to your les from any Web browser, but only if you pay for the Premium service. The Web interface lets you create and share photo galleries, and stream your media over a broadband connection from anywhere in the world. This is also the only way to control which folders are automatically shared online and with other devices via DLNA. Performance for local le copies is as good as any NAS drive, but lag when using the Mystora Web access from other computers. The Storas main attraction is the unbeatable peace of mind you get by having everything automatically mirrored. You can swap out a crashed drive and the Stora will rebuild its array from the surviving one. Also, it should be easy enough to swap the drives out for larger ones if needed. Netgear has tried to create a simple device that anyone can use, but you still need a certain comfort level to use networked devices. Once set up, it should be a breeze to use, but we do wish it had a little more power and exibility. - Jamshed Avari
need to know the vagaries of network conguration. The unit is stylish but chunky, and its fans and front panel LEDs are thankfully unobtrusive. The setup instructions suggest you plug the device into your DHCP-compliant router and run the setup CD before installing hard drives. However, the setup wizard refused to run past the rst step because bizarrely, it wont proceed if your computer is set to a time zone with a +/- 30 offset, which affects every user in India! Changing to +5:00 GMT worked. Once the setup was complete, we were prompted to try Netgears premium services such as streaming to mobile phones and more than ve user proles. These features ought to be standard. Installing drives was fairly simple due to the hot-swap capability and screwless design. Adding a second drive automatically creates a mirrored RAID array as long as the sizes are compatible. The devices rmware has no options for
The Web-based interface should be easy enough to gure out, but we wish there was also a standard conguration page.
creating and managing root folders or controlling which users can access them. These are all basic features, and they make the Stora unsuitable for anyone with basic le security needs. You cant even choose to run your two drives in striped mode for better speed, or mount them individually. The only choices are mirrored RAID and JBOD (combining the two into a single logical space, which
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 7,700
www.netgear.com
Dimensions (WxDxH): 150 x 146 x 175.25 mm; Weight: 1.36 kg (without drives); Interface: Gigabit Ethernet; RAID support: RAID 1 (mirroring), JBOD; Servers: DLNA; USB host support: storage media, printers.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
sales.india@netgear.com 011-41207446 sales.india@netgear.com
VERDICT
RATINGS
IDEAL FOR MIRRORED BACKUPS OR A LARGE MEDIA SERVER AT HOME.

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HARDWARE
WIRELESS ROUTER
D-LINK DIR-632
VERDICT: A feature-rich, future-proof router with an awesome price tag. FOR: Rugged build, 8-port switch, IPv6-ready, looks sleek. AGAINST: Glossy nish, no Gigabit networking.
S
SPECIFICATIONS
ince most homes and offices are heading towards wireless connectivity, manufacturers are
routers in the category, which feature SPI rewall, WPA and WPA2 security options, WPS, QoS, access control and port forwarding. The router has a sleek look with a black glossy shell, but is slightly wider due to the integration of the 8-port switch within. The USB port on the rear can be congured for USB sharing (storage or printer), 3G internet or WCN. Basic testing of the router revealed good performance and a wider range throw even in dead spots where conventional routers nd hard to perform. The DIR-632 should denitely be considered for a future-proof networking, and at just Rs 4,700, its a steal. - Francis Dsa
reducing the size of their wireless routers by decreasing the physical Ethernet connectivity options. Yet D-Link embeds an 8-port hub into this N-series router. Though some might not nd this move necessary, small office and cybercaf owners will love it. The DIR-632 features an 8-port 10/100 Mb/s switch which can prove benecial for those who need additional wired networking along with a wireless N network. It is one-step ahead by implementing the IPv6 protocol for a future-ready networking scenario. The router is similar to other conventional
Rs 4, 700
www.dlink.co.in
Dimensions (WxHxD): 230 x 33 x 150 mm; Weight: 272.2 g; WLAN Standards: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n; LAN ports: 8 x 10/100 Mbps; Firewall: SPI; Security: WPA, WPA2.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
D-Link India 022-29215700 divya.shetty@dlink.co.in
RATINGS
COLOR LASER PRINTER
HP LASERJET CP1025
VERDICT: The ideal choice for a compact personal color laser printer. FOR: Good print speeds, excellent print quality. AGAINST: Glossy white exterior gets smudged easily.
T
SPECIFICATIONS
he CP1025 color laser printer from HP is surprisingly compact, occupying less space than most
each color cartridge can yield around 1,000 pages. The printer consumes a maximum of 300 watts while printing on full load, while taking up around 8 watts when idle. Printing tests back up the manufacturers claims - 17 pages per minute in black and 4 pages per minute in color. The print quality is excellent and sharp; color details even on plain paper are bright. The printer only features a USB 2.0 interface for connectivity and lacks an automatic duplex mechanism. Based on the printing speeds, print quality, compact design, connectivity features and the price, the HP CP1205 is the ideal choice for upgrading to a personal color laser printer in the home or small office. - Francis Dsa
mono laser printers. The printer has a 150-sheet front loading tray, but does not have any enclosure to keep dust away. The control panel is located neatly on the top right side and consists of six buttons; four individual buttons to change each color cartridge, and the regular cancel and continue buttons. There is no display panel whatsoever. The cartridges are placed deep within the unit and mounted on a rotary drum. You have to press the appropriate the color button on the panel to change the respective cartridge before opening the cartridge door. The black cartridge can yield just 1,200 pages while
Rs 14,999
www.hp.com
Dimensions (WxHxD): 15.7 x 15.8 x 9.9 in; Weight: 12 kg; Technology: 4-pass color laser printing; Print resolution: 600x600 dpi; Duty cycle: 15,000 pages; paper handling: input 150 sheets, output 50 sheets; Interface: USB 2.0.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Hewlett Packard 1800 425 4999 in.contact@hp.com
RATINGS
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HARDWARE
BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS
CREATIVE S2 WIRELESS
VERDICT: The ideal wireless 2.1-channel speaker system for portable devices. FOR: Good audio reproduction, excellent build quality, Bluetooth dongle supplied. AGAINST: Slightly boomy bass at high volume, aux-in auto cutoff does not work.
reedom from wires! Well, not exactly. The S2 from Creative is a Bluetooth-enabled 2.1-channel
with a matte-nished exterior. The S2 delivers a total of 33 watts RMS.The speakers reproduce good quality music with the right levels of bass and treble. Though the bass sounds a little boomy at volume levels higher than 80 percent, it isnt too bad. We did nd a aw with the connectivity; while using the Bluetooth as the audio feed, plugging in an auxiliary source does not cut off the existing input. In fact, the audio can be heard from both the Bluetooth source as well as the auxiliary inputs simultaneously. Apart from this issue, the S2 is the perfect 2.1-channel wireless speaker system for Bluetoothenabled laptops, netbooks, mobile phones and portable media players. - Francis Dsa
speaker system which can link up to your PC using the bundled pre-congured USB Bluetooth dongle. You can comfortably stream music from a distance of 30 feet. The S2 can also be paired with any Bluetooth-enabled gadget. Alternatively, you can plug in an external audio source using the auxiliary input on the right satellite. The right satellite also features the headphone jack, along with digital buttons for power and volume control. The subwoofer is pretty small, with the bass control and bass reex port located on the rear, and delivers decent bass. The speakers have an excellent build-quality,
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 9,499
in.creative.com
Dimensions (WxHxD): Satellites - 2.9 x 2.9 x 4.1 in, Subwoofer - 9.1 x 7.1 x 7.9 in; Weight: 1.3 kg; Power output: 33 Watts RMS; Interface: Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and AVRCP.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Creative Technology 9223101322 vinayendra.singh@compuageindia.com
RATINGS
06/2011
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HARDWARE
BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS
WEBCAM
GAMING PERIPHERAL
CREATIVE D200
VERDICT: An average Bluetooth wireless speaker system for personal use. FOR: Above average sound quality, simple design, quick pairing. AGAINST: Oddly placed power button, glossy shell, bad sound at high volumes. SPECIFICATIONS
GENIUS ILOOK 300

VERDICT: An entry level webcam with disappointing performance. FOR: Sturdy build, good bundled software. AGAINST: Poor performance. SPECIFICATIONS
RAZER ONZA
VERDICT: Use it for shooters, and nothing else. FOR: Customs keys, adjustable analog. AGAINST: Clicky buttons, programmable buttons work on few games, triggers could be better, expensive. SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 900
www.geniusnet.com
Rs 7,499
in.creative.com
Rs 3,499
www.razerzone.com
Dimensions (WxHxD): 46.6 x 3.9 x 10.1 cm; Weight: 1.6 Kg; Power output: 9+9 Watts RMS; Connectivity: Bluetooth; Aux-in; Operating range: 10 meters.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Dimension: 49 x 60 x 66 mm; Weight: 90g; Interface: USB 1.1; Sensor: VGA CMOS; Still image resolution: 640 x 480 (upto 8 megapixels with interpolation); Video resolution: 640 x 480
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Inspan Infotech 022-42088250 sharon_chiang@geniusnet.com.tw
Dimension: 6.1 x 4.3 x 2.4 in; Connectivity type: Wired; Interface: USB; Programmable buttons: 2; Platforms: Xbox 360, Windows 7
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
RATINGS
Razer Zone 07837090922 sashank.bhandaru@razerzone.com
RATINGS
RATINGS
he Creative D200 is a compact Bluetooth stereo speaker system.
he Genius iLook 300 is a budget Web camera with a modest
640x480 resolution. It uses the USB 1.1 interface, which is almost obsolete in a time when USB 3.0 is all the rage. Build quality is decent and the camera, though entirely made of plastic, does not seem imsy. On connecting the iLook 300 to the PC, it does not get detected immediately; you need to install drivers. So this is not a plugand-play device. Bundled software includes CrazyTalk Cam Suite Pro, which gives you a lot of settings and effects. The camera lens needs to be focused manually. Auto or full focus would have been preferred since this is a webcam. Picture and video quality is abysmal with a lot of noise visible. Colors are washed out and slight lag was noticeable too. Its a decent camera for video chat if youre on a budget or if your Internet cannot handle uploading higher resolution videos. - Pranav Tonseker
any gamers had their hopes pinned on the Razer Onza, but
It features an 18 watts of RMS power output. The drivers are encased in highgloss shell and the front is covered with cloth. The top of the speakers have just a power button and a volume up/down rocker switch. The rear features the standard 3.5-mm auxiliary jack for nonBluetooth media players. The rear also features the oddly placed power switch and a bass reex port. Pairing using Bluetooth is easy, with no pass codes required. The speakers deliver above average sound quality, with rich trebles and bass but only at around 5060 percent volume levels. The music tends to rumble with loss of audio quality due to immense bass levels, which makes these speakers useless at higher volumes. The D200 is a good wireless speaker system for listening to music as long as its at low volume levels. - Francis Dsa
having tried it across Xbox 360 and PC and over several game genres, its clear that the controller has some serious aws. First-off, all the face buttons and shoulder buttons have an annoying clicky feel, which is more at home on a mouse than a game controller. That may be ne in shooters, where use of face buttons is occasional, but in sports and hack-n-slash games, it completely throws you off your game. The triggers protrude and require you to push them downwards, rather than pulling them back as you do on the stock controller, and which works a lot better. The Onza has two additional programmable shoulder buttons, you can tweak the sensitivity of the analog sticks, and the braided cord is a great addition, but some basic design aws nullify these positives. - Sameer Desai
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HARDWARE
INPUT DEVICE
HARD DISK
HARD DISK
LENOVO MINI WIRELESS KEYBOARD

VERDICT: A good keyboard-trackball combination for HTPCs FOR: Responsive trackball, comfortable keypad, good range AGAINST: Build feels cheap SPECIFICATIONS
SEAGATE BARRACUDA XT 3TB ST33000651AS

VERDICT: A good storage solution at a justiably steep price FOR: Great performance. AGAINST: None. SPECIFICATIONS
WD SCORPIO BLACK
VERDICT: A big upgrade from regular laptop hard drives. FOR: Excellent read/write speeds, lots of storage space. AGAINST: None. SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 5,275
www.wdc.com
Rs 1,999
www.lenovo.com/in/en/
Rs 14,900
www.seagate.com
Dimensions (WxHxD): 126 x 27 x 134 mm; Weight: 130 g; Connectivity: USB 2.0; Range: 10 m; Battery: 2 x AAA
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Interface SATA 6Gb/s ; Cache: 64MB ; Capacity: 3TB; Dimensions (WxHxD): 101.85 x 26.1 x 146.99 mm; Weight: 700g; Spin Speed: 7200 RPM
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Form factor: 2.5-inch; Spindle speed: 7200 rpm; Capacity: 750 GB; Cache: 16 MB; Interface: SATA 3 Gb/s.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Lenovo India 18004252666 pmatthan@lenovo.com
Fortune Marketing 011-2641 4468 sales@fortune-it.com
Western Digital 9880293193 srinivas.sampangi@wdc.com
RATINGS
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY FEATURES ERGONOMICS PERFORMANCE OVERALL RATING VALUE FOR MONEY
RATINGS
hen you buy a laptop, you you dont have the exibility
f you want a full QWERTY keyboard for your HTPC, the Lenovo N5901 is
he Seagate Barracuda XT is equipped with ve 600 GB platters
to choose components. Most users upgrade their hard drives only when the existing one crashes or when theyre running out of space. If youre planning to replace/upgrade your laptop hard drive, give the WD Scorpio a thought. This drive is available in capacities ranging from 160 GB to 750 GB and its one of the best performing models. We tested the highest capacity variant and our experience with the drive was extremely good. The drive has a spindle speed of 7200 rpm and is armed with 16 MB of cache. HD Tach reported average read and write speeds of 105 MB/s and 79.3 MB/s respectively. The sequential read speed in SiSoft Sandra 2011 was 122.6 MB/s and the sequential write speed was 119 MB/s. The real world scores were very close to those of HD Tach. With speeds comparable to a desktop hard drive, this drive gets a strong recommendation from us. - Anand Tuliani
and connects via the new SATA 6 Gb/s interface. In synthetic benchmarks as well as real world tests, the Barracuda XT delivers great performance, even outdoing some of the SSDs tested last month. It logs an average read speed of 122.7 MB/s and an average write speed of 122.2 MB/s on HD Tach. In real world tests, it writes a single le at 148.01 MB/s and multiple les at 122.9 MB/s. The same single le is read at 143.21 MB/s and the multiple les at 113.52 MB/s. There are bottlenecks, however. Youll need an updated BIOS or a newer UEFI motherboard and a 64 bit OS to use all 3 terabytes on the drive. The drive must be partitioned using the GUID partition table. For Windows XP and systems with older BIOS, youll have to use Seagates DiscWizard tool to use the full capacity. - Pranav Tonseker
a good choice. Its a little larger than a remote, but smaller than a keyboard. It has a trackball mouse built into the device. There is a set of multimedia buttons at the top of the keyboard; a [Fn] toggle key; and a combination to access the [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del] function. The keyboard is light, but feels somewhat cheap. The lower half houses the trackball in the centre and two mouse clicks within it. The keys on the keyboard panel above it are large enough to type short messages on. The device is powered by a set of AAA batteries. The trackball is very smooth, and the wireless range is pretty impressive as well. If youre building a high-end HTPC and you do not want to spend too much, youll nd yourself satised with its performance. - Rossi Fernandes
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ENTRY-LEVEL LAPTOP COMPARISON
TEST CENTER
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Neha Mithbawkar
TEST CENTER
Stylish, Affordable and Powerful!

Entry-level laptops pack a lot more power than before and come in at attractive prices. Take your pick from these 10 budget-friendly road warriors.
BY ANAND TULIANI, FRANCIS D'SA AND PRANAV TONSEKER
aptops get more powerful year after year as Intel and AMD refresh their mobile platforms. The best time to buy one is when brands have launched models based on the latest hardware. By then, the previ-
ous models get huge price cuts and offer great value. Intel Pentium Dual-Core CPU, 2 GB of RAM, 320 GB hard drive, DVD-writer, webcam and Wi-Fi are standard components for entry-level laptops. The kind of power this conguration packs is ideal for day-to-day applications. The entry-level starts from Rs 23,000, a few thousand Rupees more than the most basic desktop PC. If used as a desktop PC replacement, these compact machines dont eat up much space and give you more mobility. Moving up the ladder are more powerful laptops powered by Intel Core i3 and Core i5 CPUs. The advantages you get with Intel Core i3 CPUs are better graphics, more processing power and improved battery life. Intel Core i3 powered laptops used to cost around Rs 35,000 when Intel had just launched them. Today, you can one for under Rs 30,000 and that too with a large 15.6-inch display. Features such as HDMI output and USB 3.0 ports are also becoming a common feature of entry-level laptops. In this roundup, we put 10 entry-level laptops priced under Rs 35,000 through our battery of rigorous tests. Whether you want power, battery life or pure value for money, its all here.
TEST PROCESS
This comparison being of entry-level laptops priced under Rs 35,000, we grouped them under one category. The laptops were evaluated on the basis of features, build quality, ergonomics, performance and warranty period.
cores, amount of RAM installed, hard drive capacity, display size, and so on. So a laptop with a Core i3 processor, 3 GB RAM and 500 GB hard drive would score higher than a model with an Intel Pentium Dual-Core CPU, 2 GB RAM and 320 GB hard drive. The presence of integrated features such as Bluetooth, memory card reader, USB 3.0 ports, HDMI output and eSATA port were also noted and points were awarded accordingly. A laptop should be light so that its easier to
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 06/2011
FEATURES: The more powerful

the hardware, the better will be the performance of the laptop. Here, we logged technical specications such as the processor model, number of CPU
SMS us!
Story code: TLC to 51818
57
TEST CENTER
carry around. We used a digital weighing scale to note the weight of each laptop. The aesthetic appeal was also rated subjectively on a ve-point scale. Second to performance, this section was allotted a weightage of 30 percent of the overall score.
PERSONAL TAKE
BUILD QUALITY: A laptop should be

able to withstand the occasional bumps that come in its way. In this section, we logged attributes that make a laptop robust. These included the quality of chassis, screen frame, hinges, keyboard, and battery retention mechanism. We subjectively assessed the quality of material used in construction of the chassis and keyboard, and the ease in detaching the battery. Laptops with glossy shells look stylish, but they attract stains and scratches very easily. We awarded more points to laptops with full-matte nishes.
An example of a good keyboard; large size, wellspread out keys and a numeric keypad.
ANAND TULIANI anand.tuliani@chip.in When youre looking for an entry-level laptop, there is much to consider. First of all, go in for a strong configuration and it should be available for a sweet price. Next up, the comfort and satisfaction is largely dependent on the ergonomics and build quality. Last but not the least, who doesnt want a good-looker! The entry-level range starts at Rs 23,000, but its worth spending a little extra for better performance and ergonomics, because your laptop will be your companion for at least the next three years. For me, the Lenovo IdeaPad G570 is the sweetest deal. Although the Acer Aspire 4738Z is also a good buy, with the G570, you get more power, a larger display, better ergonomics, and a Windows 7 Home Premium license. The Acer is no doubt the best option if youre on a tight budget, but youll have to spend extra for Windows.
PERFORMANCE: We ran a battery

of synthetic and real-world tests to evaluate the performance of the various subsystems of the laptop. The synthetic tests stress the core components by simulating real-world activities and report scores. We used SiSoft Sandra 2011 to assess performance of the CPU, memory and hard drive. Real world tests reect the actual performance and hence were given more importance. Our objective was to stress the CPU, memory and hard drive to the fullest by running tasks such as le compression, video encoding and ray tracing. The time taken to complete each task was measured using a stopwatch. The battery life was evaluated using Battery Eater Pro. In an ideal scenario, it scrolls through a document as if an individual is reading or browsing webpages. The load scene was rendering
ERGONOMICS: User comfort is a
HDMI output and eSATA port are bonus features in entry-level models.
a small 3D scene in an endless loop until the battery gave up. Higher weightage was given to the battery life under load.
PRANAV TONSEKER feedback@chip.in This comparison left us with 10 similarly configured entry-level laptops, but the Lenovo IdeaPad G570 and the MSI CR640 were the ones that stood out. The CR640 (dont be mistaken by the nomenclature; it isnt that Google Chromebook youve been waiting for) was most visually appealing. The design is reminiscent of the Macbooks, and Im not complaining! It performed great too. The USB 3.0 ports were the cherry on the icing, but all this comes at a steeper price. The IdeaPad G570 was the best in terms of performance. It aced almost every real world test. The Zenith Uranium notebook too was a great deal, given its low price tag and the decent specs it came with. Unlike many other laptops that came with Linux preinstalled to cut costs, Windows 7 came bundled with the Zenith Uranium, which made it an even better deal. Given the choice (and money), Id go for the MSI CR640, for the stunning looks, features and performance.
very important factor when it comes to portable devices such as laptops. We paid close attention to the keyboard and mouse. Details such as the size, spacing and tactility of keys, location of various ports and card reader, and the presence of status indicators and hotkeys were logged and points were given accordingly. A keyboard with big keys and good layout is very easy on the hands. Also with the presence of hotkeys, one doesnt have to use the mouse or keyboard for volume control and media playback. Being a more important parameter than build quality, we allotted 15 percent of the overall weightage to this section. BENCHMARK File compression Video encoding Ray tracing APPLICATION USED 7-Zip Avidemux POV-Ray
WARRANTY AND SUPPORT: Laptops

are highly complex electronic devices with several subsystems, and are very prone to malfunction. Hence, its important for a laptop to be backed by robust warranty and support. Here we noted the warranty period and extra points were awarded to the ones that offered longer periods.
VALUE FOR MONEY: The Value for

Money index is calculated by stacking up the sum of performance and ergonomics against the price of the laptop. We awarded the model which performed best and the one that offered the best value for money. DESCRIPTION
Time taken to compress 100 MB of multiple les using Ultra mode and encryption. Time taken to encode a 1 minute MPEG video to x.264 format. Time taken to ray trace an 800x600 pixels image with AA set to 0.3
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sleek, performs brilliantly, and is very comfortable to use. Lenovo has paid a great deal of attention to make sure its new model stands out from the rest. Its also the most affordable laptop based on Intels new Sandy Bridge platform. This laptop is dressed in an all-black shell. The lid has a glossy nish with very subtle glitter, which looks very pleasing. On opening the lid, youre greeted with a sweet 15.6-inch display and an islandtype keyboard, which has a separate numeric keypad. With the G570, which is a step up from the G560 and G565, Lenovo has gone with a metal palm rest, which has a brushed aluminium nish. Not only does it feel better, but it goes a long way in augmenting the aesthetics. This baby was the best looking out of all the models in the comparison. This variant of the IdeaPad G570 is powered by the Intel Core i3-2410M CPU, 3 GB of RAM and a 600 GB hard disk. Its based on the latest platform and the conguration is far superior to the
he Lenovo IdeaPad G570 is a winner on all counts. It sports an excellent feature set, looks
standard Intel Pentium P6200 CPU, 2 GB RAM and 320 GB hard disk. So you can rest assured that it will deliver very good performance and at the same time wont get outdated for at least another year or two. Run your ngers through the overall scores and youll see this model is a top scorer in features, ergonomics and performance. Had the lid been scratch-resistant, it would have also scored highest in build quality. The new G570 is very comfortable to use thanks to the brilliant keyboard. The keys are very well laid out and the tactility is very good. The mouse buttons also have very good tactile response. Youll nd the USB, HDMI, eSATA and LAN ports placed on the sides for easy access. This laptop comes pre-installed with Window 7 Home Premium. For its conguration, the Ideapad G570 is good value for money, but it would have been much better if Lenovo included USB 3.0 ports. VERDICT: Great looks and stellar performance at an attractive price point. FOR: Excellent build, great aesthetics, very good performance. AGAINST: No USB 3.0 ports.
LENOVO IDEAPAD G570
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 30,490
Weight: 2.6 kg; CPU: Intel Core i3-2410M; RAM: 3 GB; HDD: 600 GB; Display: 15.6-in; OS: Win 7 Home Premium.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Lenovo India 1800-425-2666 pmatthan@lenovo.com
RATINGS
laptop. However, the latter offers better performance at a price premium of just Rs 1,000, which is why it earned the Best Value title. Weighing just 2 kg, with a 14-inch screen, it is easy to hold and carry around. The Uranium wasnt the best looking laptop around. With an old-fashioned keyboard, it looked quite unimpressive and slightly clunky, but you deal with notebooks just as you would with books; not judging them by their cover. The Uranium is well congured, with a rst gen Core i5 processor with two cores clocked at 2.67 GHz. It comes with 2 gigs of DDR3 RAM, and a 320 GB hard drive. The chipset is the older Intel HM55, with integrated Intel HD Graphics. A 1.3 megapixel Web cam is also included. The Uranium boasts of decent build quality, but the screen frame is too glossy and prone to scratches. The screen hinge is extremely imsy and tends to wobble often. The body is made of aluminum and the top panel has a brushed metal nish, which looks decent and protects it from scratches. The keyboard consists
hile comparing the laptops, the Acer 4738Z was on par with the Zenith Uranium
of decent buttons with great tactility; you wont have any problems typing on this one. The trackpad of the Uranium disappoints. It is supposed to be hidden, but ngers often run off the trackpad and its buttons are not great to use either. The glossy screen has a native resolution of 1366x768 and has a decent viewing angle. Speakers sound tinny, and arent too loud either. You would need to hook it up to a better pair of speakers or headphones. The Zenith Uranium comes bundled with Windows 7 Professional, so you dont have to invest in a separate OS. Performance is where the Uranium actually shines. In synthetic benchmarks as well as real world tests, the Uranium was at par with most other laptops, even outperforming some of them. In PCMark Vantage, it logged 5381 PCMarks, the highest overall score. It also compressed a 100 MB le within 75 seconds. For Rs 23,000, the Uranium is a great bargain. VERDICT: A laptop that gives great value for money and performs just as well. FOR: Good performance, metal body, reasonable price tag. AGAINST: Poorly constructed screen hinge, bad speakers.
ZENITH URANIUM A14HM02
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 23,000
Weight: 2 kg; CPU: Intel Core i5-560M; RAM: 2 GB; HDD: 320 GB; Display: 14 in; OS: Win 7 Professional
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Zenith Computers 1800-222-004 info@zenith-india.com
RATINGS
06/2011
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1 SpecScan
NAME Contact Phone E-mail Price* OVERALL Features (30%) Build quality (10%) Ergonomics (15%) Performance (40%) Warranty & support (5%) Overall Value for money FEATURES Dimensions | Weight Processor Chipset | Graphics RAM | Storage Display Ethernet | USB 2.0 | USB 3.0 | eSATA Wi-fi-N | HDMI | MMC reader Operating system Aesthetic appeal# Battery BUILD QUALITY Chassis | Keyboard# Buttons & switches | Hinges | Screen frame** Resistant to scratches | Use of metal in construction ERGONOMICS Keyboard keys: Size | Spacing** Mouse buttons: Size | Placement | Tactility** Media player controls Status indicators: Wi-fi | Bluetooth Switch for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth No of hotkeys | Dedicated volume control PERFORMANCE Synthetic tests SiSoft Sandra 2011 Processor Multimedia (Aggregate) Mem bandwidth Float HDTV TV Transcoding PCMark Vantage: Overall | Mem | Game | Prod | HDD Cinebench R11.5 | 7.zip benchmark Real-world tests File copy test: Read | Write (Average) Video encoding | File compression Ray-tracing Battery Eater Pro: Idle| Load WARRANTY Warranty period MSI CR640 Micro Star International 011-41758808 bishakhadas@msi.com Rs. 35,999
75 83 73 79 100
0 50 100
LENOVO IDEAPAD G570 Lenovo India 1800-425-2666 pmatthan@lenovo.com Rs. 30,490

75 79 82 82 50
0 50 100
ACER ASPIRE 5750 Acer India 080-39408700 ailenquiries@acer.co.in Rs. 29,349

64 79 76 75 50
0 50 100
78
78
71
38 x 3.4 x 26 cm | 2.6 Kg Intel Core i5-2410M, 2.3 GHz Intel HM65 | Intel HD Graphics 3 GB, DDR3 1333 | 500 GB 15.6-inch, 1366x768 Gigabit | 2 | 2 | | ||| Win 7 Home Premium 5 4400 mAh 5|4 3|2|2 | 2.5 | 3 3 | 2.5 | 3 | N|N
34 x 3.44 x 23.1 cm | 2.6 Kg Intel Core i3-2310M, 2.1 GHz Intel HM65 | Intel HD Graphics 3 GB, DDR3 1333 | 600 GB 15.6-inch, 1366x768 10/100 | 4 | | | ||| Win 7 Home Premium 4.5 4100 mAh 4.5 | 5 3 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3|3 3 | 2.5 | 3 | N|N
38.1 x 3.3 x 25.4 | 2.58 Kg Intel Core i3-2310M, 2.1 GHz Intel HM65 | Intel HD Graphics 2 GB, DDR3 1333 | 500 GB 15.3-inch, 1366x768 Gigabit | 2 | 1 | | ||| Linpus Linux 4 4400 mAh 4 | 4.5 3 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3|3 3 | 2.5 | 3 | N|N
56 Mpix/s 14.3 GB/s 4 MB/s 3846 | 2991 | 2480 | 3610 | 3041 2.47 Pts | 7345 MIPS 55.735 MB/s | 49.93 MB/s 90 sec | 69 sec 49.75 sec 4 hrs 43 min | 1 hrs 7 min 1 year
** Scores out of 3
43.47 Mpix/s 13.57 GB/s 3.84 MB/s 4566 | 3145 | 3649 | 4058 | 2971 1.91 Pts | 6247 MIPS 69.275 MB/s | 66.31 MB/s 87 sec | 117 sec 63.88 sec 3 hrs 37 min | 1 hr 39 min 1 year
# Scores out of 5
* Prices are indicative and are subject to change, taxes extra
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Joshua Navalkar
ACER 5745 Acer India 080-39408700 ailenquiries@acer.co.in Rs. 25,852

65 65 80 74 50
0 50 100
ZENITH URANIUM A14HM02 Zenith Computers 1800-222-004 info@zenith-india.com Rs. 23,000

69 72 65 73 50
0 50 100
ASUS K52F Asus India 022-67668871 rahul_r@asus.com Rs. 28,399

65 74 76 66 50
0 50 100
SAMSUNG NP-RV411 Samsung India 0124-4881234 ravi.gulati@samsung.com Rs. 30,490

69 60 71 68 50
0 50 100
70
69
67
67
37.9 x 3.29 x 25.0 | 2.6 Kg Intel Core i3-380M, 2.53 GHz Intel HM55 | Intel HD Graphics 2 GB, DDR3 1333 | 500 GB 15.6-inch, 1366x768 Gigabit | 4 | | | ||| Linpus Linux 4 6000 mAh 4.5 | 4 3 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 3|3 3 | 2.5 | 3 | 2|N
34.36 x 3.34 x 23.7 cm | 2 Kg Intel Core i5-560M, 2.67 GHz Intel HM55 | Intel HD Graphics 2 GB, DDR3 1333 | 320 GB 13.9-inch, 1366x768 Gigabit | 3 | | | ||| Win 7 Professional 3.5 4400 mAh 4|4 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2 3 | 2.5 | 2 | N|N
38 x 3.57 x 25.5 | 2.62 Kg Intel Core i3-350M, 2.27 GHz Intel HM55 | Intel HD Graphics 2 GB, DDR3 1333 | 320 GB 15.6-inch, 1366x768 Gigabit | 3 | | | ||| FreeDOS 5 4400 mAh 4.5 | 4 3|3|3 | 3|3 3 | 2.5 | 3 | N|N
34.6 x 3.1 x 23.8 | 2.2 Kg Intel Pentium P6200, 2.13 GHz Intel HM55 | Intel HD Graphics 3 GB, DDR3 1066 | 500 GB 14-inch, 1366x768 Gigabit | 3 | | | ||| Win 7 Home Basic 3 4400 mAh 3.5 | 3.5 3 | 2.5 | 3 | 3|3 3 | 2.5 | 3 | N|N
62.14 Mpix/s 6.63 GB/s 0.442 MB/s 5381 | 2933 | 2739 | 4368 | 2495 2.3 Pts | 7449 MIPS 53.395 MB/s | 48.685 MB/s 75 sec | 92 sec 62.15 sec 3 hrs | 1 hr 39 min 1 year
29.5 Mpix/s 7.26 GB/s 253 MB/s 4074 | 2818 | 2358 | 3019 | 3623 1.29 Pts | 3967 MIPS 62.22 MB/s | 45.35 MB/s 129 sec | 157 sec 115.6 sec 4 hrs 36 min | 1 hr 35 min 1 year
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8 SpecScan
NAME Contact Phone E-mail Price* OVERALL Features (30%) Build quality (10%) Ergonomics (15%) Performance (40%) Warranty & support (5%) Overall Value for money FEATURES Dimensions | Weight Processor Chipset | Graphics RAM | Storage Display Ethernet | USB 2.0 | USB 3.0 | eSATA Wi-fi-N | HDMI | MMC reader Operating system Aesthetic appeal# Battery BUILD QUALITY Chassis | Keyboard# Buttons & switches | Hinges | Screen frame** Resistant to scratches | Use of metal in construction ERGONOMICS Keyboard keys: Size | Spacing** Mouse buttons: Size | Placement | Tactility** Media player controls Status indicators: Wi-fi | Bluetooth Switch for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth No of hotkeys | Dedicated volume control PERFORMANCE Synthetic tests SiSoft Sandra 2011 Processor Multimedia (Aggregate) Mem bandwidth Float HDTV TV Transcoding PCMark Vantage: Overall | Mem | Game | Prod | HDD Cinebench R11.5 | 7.zip benchmark Real-world tests File copy test: Read | Write (Average) Video encoding | File compression Ray-tracing Battery Eater Pro: Idle| Load WARRANTY Warranty period ACER ASPIRE 4738Z Acer India 080-39408700 ailenquiries@acer.co.in Rs. 22,144
59 78 66 67 50
0 50 100
10
WIPRO EGO Wipro Ltd 9920356929 arun.mishra2@wipro.com Rs. 35,000

65 60 65 60 50
0 50 100
ACER 4253 Acer India 080-39408700 ailenquiries@acer.co.in Rs. 25,749

59 78 66 51 50
0 50 100
65
62
58
34.2 x 33.5 x 24.9 | 2.2 Kg Intel Pentium P2600, 2.13 GHz Intel HM55 | Intel HD Graphics 2 GB, DDR3 1066 | 500 GB 13.9-inch, 1366x768 Gigabit | 3 | | | ||| Linpus Linux 4 4400 mAh 4|4 3 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3 3|2|2 | N|N
34.5 x 4 x 24.5 cm | 2.5 Kg Intel C2D T6600, 2.2 GHz Intel GL40 | Intel HD Graphics 2 GB, DDR3 800 | 320 GB 14.1-inch, 1280x800 10/100 | 3 | | | ||| Win 7 Professional 3.5 4400 mAh 4|4 3 | 1.5 | 3 | 3 | 2.5 3 | 2.5 | 2 | N|N
34.2 x 3.86 x 2.39 | 2.3 Kg AMD E350, 1.6 GHz AMD Hudson K14 | Radeon HD 6310 2 GB, DDR3 1066 | 500 GB 14-inch, 1366x768 Gigabit | 3 | | | ||| Win 7 Home Basic 4 4400 mAh 4|4 3 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3 3|2|2 | N|N
** Scores out of 3
# Scores out of 5
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Touch Computing
The big buzz words in technology today - tablets and Android, combine in this comparison.
BY ANAND TULIANI, FRANCIS D'SA AND PRANAV TONSEKER
given their weight and bulky form factor, they arent ideal to lug around everywhere you go. As an alternative, touchscreen computing is already here and is taking over! Tablets have been all the rage lately. They combine touchscreens and a unique user interface, which makes using them a much simpler, quicker and fun experience. Thus, the traditional mice and keyboards are made redundant. Tablets are not just portable, but the recent tablet devices have been housing quite powerful components. Tablets have been running on processors with clock speeds around 1 GHz, around 1 GB RAM, and oodles of storage. The newest tablet devices also feature dual core processors. For all you know, they might even outperform those modest little netbooks. With the launch of the Apple iPad 2, Googles Android
aptops and netbooks are handy portable devices than can handle a lot of your daily tasks. However,
Honeycomb
platform,
and
mobile
devices for learning, in the classroom and outside of it. Tablets have changed the face of e-books and magazines, making reading a more true to life experience, with pages you can actually touch and turn. Apps such as Google Voice, ooVoo and Skype have made VoIP on tablets far easier, and with most of the tablets featuring 3G and a secondary camera, they can be great devices for video calling and video conferencing. While Apples iPad brought tablets into the limelight, there also exist tablets running Android, which are capable of doing just as much, or probably more. In this roundup, we are going to have a closer look at Android tablets. We got together seven such tablets and put them to the test to see which one proves to be the best of the Androids. Read on to nd out which one of these devices can revolutionize the way you look at mobile computing.
components like the Nvidia Tegra 2, tablets are here to stay. A tablet is often mistaken to be a mere shiny or a useless gadget, but it can be used well for quick presentations, to watch movies, to catch up on the latest shows, or to sway to your favorite tunes. Browsing the Internet is a whole new experience on a tablet. With the full screen browser, the multi touch gestures, and the kinetic scrolling, no longer does browsing imply sitting for long hours in front of your PC. Then theres the mobility factor. You dont need to re up your laptop or computer every time you want to look something up or catch up on the news. Innovative stands let you use tablets wherever and whenever you would need them, be it in the kitchen listing recipes, or on the dashboard of your car, showing you the way around town. They are even said to be great
SMS us!
Story code: TTC to 51818
Joshua Navalkar
63
TABLET COMPARISON
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TEST PROCESS
This roundup features Android-based tablets. We tested each of these using parameters such as features, built quality, ergonomics, performance and warranty. Lets give you closer look at the details of each of these parameters.
camera and headphone jack. This section mainly affects the performance scores of the tablets and hence the ergonomics score is clubbed with the performance scored to arrive at the winner of the Best Performance title.
PERSONAL TAKE
PERFORMANCE: Here, we
benchmarked each tablet using applications such as An3DBench, An3DBenchXL, AnTutu System Review and Quadrant Professional, which evaluate the performance of the CPU, GPU, memory, I/O and storage. Since some tablets refused to run the Quadrant Professional tests, we havent included these scores in the nal performance evaluation, but the scores are listed in the table for reference purposes only. The sound quality of the built-in speakers matters, especially during VoIP calls. We played a few music tracks and viewed photos and video les to test the speakers and the performance and clarity of the display. We gauged the smoothness of the GUI and the touchscreen sensitivity. Some tablets featured resistive touchscreens, which need a stylus for usability. Since this makes for sluggish ergonomics and affects productivity, scores were evaluated to these tablets accordingly. Finally, we put together the scores of the ergonomics and performance to determine the best performer.
The main reason for opting for a tablet is faster access to minimal computing. Since tablets are portable and more convenient to handle than netbooks, a tablet makes better sense. I would blindly pick the Acer Iconia A500 simply because of its feature set - the latest Honeycomb OS, a large display, USB host, and the Tegra 2 dual-core processor. Even when comparing its price with other tablets, the A500 is the sweetest deal. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is decent too. It is highly portable, and features a built-in GSM phone and 3G out-of-the-box. But since it would be carried around in my bag anyway, I would rather pick the A500 for its superior performance, larger and better display, more features, and the latest operating system, for just Rs 600 more than the Galaxy tab. FRANCIS D'SA francis.dsa@chip.in
FEATURES: To start with, the version

of the Android operating system was noted; higher the better. The dimensions and weight of each tablet were also noted. The display type and size was noted, as a larger screen and higher resolution creates a richer experience. The processor specs were also noted; a faster processor increases the overall performance and ease of use. We noted the memory and storage space as well. Connectivity options such as USB host, 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth were also logged. We also noted features of the camera, speakers and sensors. We logged battery ratings, and networking and data interfaces. We then noted the capacity of the bundled memory cards, if any, and the package contents such as sleeves, cleaning cloth, chargers, etc.
BUILD QUALITY: A device that is

meant for regular use and designed for portability should denitely sport a rugged build. In this section, we noted characteristics such as the quality of the shell, the battery compartment, location of the interface ports and presence of port aps. We allotted extra points for a scratch-resistant sheels.
WARRANTY: A device that is used

almost every day should carry an extensive warranty coverage. The tablets with the highest number of years of warranty were scored higher.
PRANAV TONSEKER feedback@chip.in Being on a college student budget, I always look for products that give me good value for money. The Acer Iconia A500 hit that sweet spot. At Rs 27,990, with a dual core processor, a gigabyte of RAM thrown in, decent front and rear cameras, and Android Honeycomb, this tablet is a great bargain! However, I did have a soft corner for the Dell Streak. Armed with a 5-inch screen, the Streak 5 struck the perfect balance between phone and tablet. I liked the design, and though huge, it is very sleek. The device has rather powerful insides, with a 1 GHz processor, a discrete GPU, and 512 MB RAM. The 5-megapixel camera didnt disappoint either. What did frustrate was the rear panel mechanism; the Streak switched itself off each time I removed the back panel to swap memory cards. The headphone jack is also oddly placed on the right side of the device. Though overall the Dell Streak is quite decent, Id consider it only if the price was
ERGONOMICS: As an Android tablet

has a touch screen as the main input, the ergonomics relies completely on the touchscreen. Here, we noted if the interface is capacitive or resistive. We also took note of the types and sizes of the buttons, such as home, search, menu and back. We evaluated the handling comfort and nally the location of the
VALUE FOR MONEY: We combined

scores of the features, performance, build quality, ergonomics and warranty against the retail price. The nal outcome helps use determine if the product is worth its price, when compared to its competitors.
The USB port on a tablet can be used for a USB keyboard or to access files from a pen drive.
Tablets with touch-sensitive buttons are more ergonomic than those that feature physical ones.
lower. Till then, its the A500 for the win!
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the latest operating system. The A500 does look rich, with a large display and a brush-nished aluminum shell with almost no physical buttons on the front. It features a powerful dual core Tegra 2 processor with 1 GB of RAM and a massive 16 GB of storage space. The tablet sports a 10.1-inch crisp display which a resolution of 1280x800, which is good enough for enjoying 720p HD movies. The capacitive display can recognize 10 simultaneous touch inputs for a great onscreen keyboard experience, but the screens surface is highly glossy and a nger-print nightmare. The tablet features the latest Android operating system - 3.0.1 or Honeycomb, plus some very useful features, like a USB 2.0 host, which can be used to connect an external keyboard or a 3G dongle; and a physical switch for orientation sensor locking. A micro HDMI port for connecting a larger monitor or an LCD TV is also featured. Additionally, it includes a rear 5-megapixel camera capable of taking
he Acer Iconia A500 was the most awaited tablet. The main reasons - a faster processor and
720p videos at 35 fps, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video calls. On the performance front, the product beats the rest of the gang simply because of the dual core processor, but as for real-world performance, you will have to try it out yourself. Though the stock Home application is a tad jittery, it features a stunning interface, which is easy to operate. It is well organized, with icons for E-reading, Games, Multimedia and Social. The tablet also includes the Clear. media sharing app for wirelessly sharing media les with DLNA compatible devices. The A500 supports an additional 32 GB storage expansion via a micro SD card and the package bundles a free carry sleeve, which can also be folded to be used as a stand. The battery life maxes out at 8 hours while watching movies and 18 hours when idle. The A500 is very well-priced and can give competitors a real run for their money. VERDICT: One of the most powerful Homecomb-based Android tablets. FOR: Good build, dual core processor, large screen, USB host, good price. AGAINST: Slightly heavy, glossy screen.
ACER ICONIA A500
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 27,990
Dimensions (WxHxD): 26 x 17.7 x 1.33 cm; Weight: 730 g; Processor: Tegra 2 1 GHz; RAM: 1 GB; Storage: 16 GB; Display: 10.1 in capacitive, 1280x800; OS: Android Honeycomb; Camera: 5 megapixels; Battery rating: 3260 mAh; Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB 2.0, HDMI.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
Mr. Ravi Hansdak 080-39408700 ailenquiries@acer.co.in
RATINGS
primarily because of the lowest price tag in this tablet roundup. If it hadnt been here, the Best Value award was surely Acers. The ZiiO has a rugged build, with a matte-nished shell. It sports a 7-inch resistive touch screen with touch sensitive buttons for Home, Search, Menu and Back functions. The ZiiO is powered by Creatives own ZiiLABS ZMS-08 HD processor clocked at 750 MHz and backed by 408 MB of RAM. There is 8 GB of storage included onboard, and a micro SD card slot allows for further expansion. Other features include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, an HDMI port, and a VGA front-facing camera. The product did attract us at the start, but after using it, we found a couple of aws, which were serious enough to make us think twice about awarding it the Best Value award. For example, the resistive touchscreen makes the UI sluggish and hinders the overall ergonomics of the tablet. Also, the Back button is placed around 1 cm to the left of where it should be. Finally, the OS is only targeted towards entertainment
he Creative ZiiO 7 was the last to enter the Test Center, but took away the Best Value award
and the Android Market app is not available. We did try installing the Market app from the SD card, but it refused to work, forcing us to use the ZiiStore app for downloads instead. The operating system is quite buggy too, with force closes and application crashes at almost every step. On the performance front, however, the ZiiO did well, delivering great audio and display quality does conrm what Creative calls this device - the entertainment tablet. Though the display quality is great, the tablet has a slight problem with the viewing angle. Overall, judging the limited feature set, the unusually sluggish ergonomics and buggy operating system of the product, we would recommend the Wespro, which is in a similar budget range. If entertainment is your only preference, the ZiiO could stand a chance, but the price would be too high. VERDICT: A portable Android-based entertainment tablet with quite a few aws. FOR: Audio and video quality, HDMI port. AGAINST: Buggy OS with limitations, sluggish UI, resistive touch screen, faulty Back button.
CREATIVE ZIIO 7
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 17,999
Dimensions (WxHxD): 20.7 x 13.3 x 1.3 cm; Weight: 415 g; Processor: ZiiLABS ZMS-08 HD, 750 MHz; RAM: 408 MB; Storage: 8 GB; Display: 7 in resistive, 400x800; OS: Android Froyo; Camera: VGA; Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HDMI.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL
RATINGS
06/2011
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1 SpecScan
NAME Model Contact Phone E-mail Price* OVERALL Features (30%) Build quality (10%) Ergonomics (10%) Performance (45%) Warranty (5%) Overall (Out of 100%) Value For Money FEATURES Dimensions | Weight Operating system version CPU Memory: RAM | Internal | Bundled Display Connectivity options USB ports | Speakers | Camera Sensors: Proximity | Light Battery rating Package contents Aestheric appeal** BUILD QUALITY Quality: Shell | Buttons** Resistant to scratches | Port flaps ERGONOMICS Button size | Button type | Handling comfort** Location: Camera | Headphone jack PERFORMANCE Overall GUI smoothness** Quality: Audio | Video | Photos** Touchscreen sensitivity** Synthetic tests An3DBench (Overall) An3DBench XL (Overall) AnTutu System Benchmark: Overall Memory CPU: Integer | Float Graphics: 2D | 3D SD card: Write | Read Quadrant: Overall CPU | Memory | I/O Graphics: 2D | 3D WARRANTY Warranty period ACER Iconia A500 Mr. Ravi Hansdak 080-39408700 ailenquiries@acer.co.in Rs 27,990
73 100 70 96 100
0 50 100
SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab Samsung India 0124-4881234 NA Rs 27,390

66 78 84 76 100
0 50 100
DELL Streak 5 Dell India 1800-425-4026 dechama_uthappa@dell.com Rs 34,990

64 81 85 69 100
0 50 100
87
75
72
26 x 17.7 x 1.33 cm | 730 g Android v3 (Honeycomb) Tegra 2, 1 GHz 1 GB | 16 GB | None 10.1-inch, Capacitive, 1280x800 Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G (optional) 1 | Stereo | 5 MP | 3260 mAh Sleeve, Cleaning cloth 5 5|5 | 4.5 | Touch | 3.5 Front + Rear | Side 5 5|5|5 5 6932 22412 3566 734 1147 | 1010 128 | 168 10.6 MB/s | 16.3 MB/s 2162 6639 | 2338 | 1097 86 | 652 1 year
** Scores out of 5
19.01 x 12.05 x 1.2 cm | 380 g Android v2.2 (Froyo) ARM Cortex A8, 1 GHz 512 MB | 16 GB | 2 GB 7-inch, Capacitive, 1024x600 GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth, 3G, Wi-Fi None | Stereo | 3 MP | 4000 mAh None 4.5 5|5 | 4.5 | Touch | 4.5 Rear | Top 4.5 4|5|5 5 7114 Failed 2052 359 629 | 148 161 | 404 9 MB/s | 15.1 MB/s 1087 1659 | 1697 | 1003 200 | 874 1 year
15.29 x 7.91 x 1 cm | 220 g Android v2.2 (Froyo) Scorpion, 1 GHz 512 MB | 512 MB | 16 GB 5-inch, Capacitive, 800x400 GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth, 3G, Wi-Fi None | Mono | 5 MP | 1530 mAh Sleeve 5 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | Touch | 5 Front + Rear | Top 4.5 4|5|5 5 4457 10398 1575 285 628 | 270 123 | 46 3.5 MB/s | 8.3 MB/s 777 1626 | 1088 | 496 296 | 379 1 year
66
06/2011
OLIVE OlivePad V-T100 Olive Telecommunication 0124-4648040 ravi.p@olive.net Rs 25,990

55 66 84 62 100
0 50 100
CREATIVE ZiiO 7 Creative Technology 9223101322 vinayendra.singh@compuageindia.com Rs 17,999

42 85 79 62 100
0 50 100
VIEWSONIC ViewPad 10 ViewSonic Technologies 011-42603195 deepak.deveswar@in.viewsonic.com Rs 38,000

61 76 57 48 100
0 50 100
WESPRO PC Tablet 802 Wespro Digital Pvt Ltd 022-32916036 sales@wesprodigital.com Rs 22,000
35 50 55 34 100
0 50 100
WESPRO PC Tablet 786 Wespro Digital Pvt Ltd 022-32916036 sales@wesprodigital.com Rs 20,000
34 48 57 34 100
0 50 100
64
62
58
41
41
11 x 17.94 x 1.15 cm | 375 g Android v2.2 (Froyo) ARM 11, 600 MHz 512 MB | 512 MB | 16 GB 7-inch, Capacitive, 800x400 GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth, 3G, Wi-Fi None | Stereo | 3 MP | 3240 mAh None 4 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | Touch | 4.5 Rear | Bottom 4.5 2.5 | 4 | 4 5 5458 7920 995 98 207 | 132 193 | 113 4.2 MB/s | 7.5 MB/s 421 641 | 817 | 373 107 | 165 1 year
20.7 x 13.3 x 1.3 cm | 415 g Android v2.2 (Froyo) ZiiLABS ZMS-08 HD, 750 MHz 408 MB | 8 GB | None 7-inch, Resistive, 480x800 Bluetooth, Wi-Fi None | Stereo | VGA | NA Stylus, Sleeve 4.5 5|5 | 4 | touch | 4 front | top 3.5 4.5 | 4 | 4 3.5 5276 1213 1561 268 466 | 110 206 | 218 8.3 MB/s | 18.1 MB/s 2127 3853 | 1911 | 4098 227 | 545 1 year
27.5 x 17 x 1.65 cm | 1700 g Android v2.2 (Froyo) Intel Atom, 1.6 GHz 2 GB | 16 GB | None 10.1-inch, Capacitive, 1024x600 Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G (optional) 2 | Stereo | 1.3 MP | 3200 mAh None 4.5 4 | 3.5 | 4.5 | Physical | 3 Front | Side 2.5 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 5 6023 5920 Failed Failed Failed Failed Failed Failed Failed Failed 1 year
20.6 x 15.8 x 1.1 cm | 500 g Android v2.2 (Froyo) VIA WM8650, 800 MHz 256 MB | 2 GB | None 8-inch, Resistive, 800x480 Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G (optional) 2 | Stereo | VGA | 2000 mAh Stylus, USB + Ethernet Dongle 3.5 3.5 | 3 | 3.5 | Touch + Physical | 4 Front | Bottom 3 2.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 2.5 1174 1267 469 69 188 | 14 78 | 20 3.1 MB/s | 5.9 MB/s Failed Failed Failed 1 year
20.6 x 11.7 x 1.7 cm | 390 g Android v2.2 (Froyo) VIA WM8650, 800 MHz 256 MB | 2 GB | None 7-inch, Resistive, 800x480 Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G (optional) 2 | Stereo | VGA | 1700 mAh Stylus, USB + Ethernet Dongle 2.5 3.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | Touch + Physical | 4.5 Front | Bottom 2.5 2 | 3.5 | 2.5 2.5 1319 1213 603 83 221 | 16 82 | 23 4.3 MB/s | 8.5 MB/s Failed Failed Failed 1 year
06/2011
67
TEST CENTER
TESTED
SOFTWARE SPOTLIGHT
ESET SMART SECURITY 4

VERDICT: An effective and affordable security suite. FOR: Very easy to use, ranked high by independent test labs. AGAINST: Slow scan speed, no parental control, online storage would have added value.
SECURITY SUITE
ybercriminals and crackers are nding newer and more intelligent means to spread malware and compromise
CCleaner more effective. However, we feel that the inclusion of online storage would have added good value. It would have been useful for backing up critical documents and priceless photos. The main UI is clean. ESET hasnt spruced up the visual elements, but has instead kept it simple so that its easy to use. There are no menu bars and shortcut buttons. The left side has the main functions Protection status, Computer scan, Update, Setup and Help and support. Click any of these and the status/options get displayed in the right pane. The antivirus, antispyware protection, personal rewall, and anti-spam protection are enabled by default and work straight out of the box without having to set any parameters, unless you need to specify proxy settings. Computer scan can be run in two modes. Smart scan scans the local disk on which the operating system is installed, and Custom scan allows creating proles wherein you can specify scan targets, le types, extensions, and so on. You can also specify whether or not to clean the infected les while scanning.
security. Security vendors track these newer attack methods and continually improve their antivirus and security suites. ESET Smart Security 4 is built on the NOD32 antivirus and antispyware engine. In addition to the features offered by NOD21 Antivirus, this all-round suite offers a personal rewall and spam lter.
FEATURES
ESET has decided to keep this suite simple, without too many functions that may bog a beginner. It doesnt offer parental control, system tuning utilities or online storage like other security suites. Many users consider these parameters while going in for a security suite, but these are functions that add value to the suite and dont contribute to beeng up security. So, in a way, its good that ESET has stuck to the basics. We have used tuning utilities offered by security suites, but weve found freeware tools like
ESET has focussed on ease of use rather than jazzing up the interface. This is the main interface, which by default is in Easy mode - clean and simple.
The setup section allows you to configure each and every component of the security suite in great detail. Advanced users will like this feature.
68
06/2011
SMS us!
Story code: TSM to 51818
The Setup section has options to temporarily disable the antivirus and personal rewall, and toggle Advanced mode, which adds sub-elements to the functions in the left panel. For example, under Protection status, you get options to watch network and le system activity and view statistics reported by the various modules of the suite. The Setup section offers options to congure the antivirus, personal rewall and anti-spam module in great detail. On clicking the congure link, you get a dialog box with a tree view of the setup with all the parameters that can be congured. If you arent well-versed with the parameters, you can refer to the built-in help, which explains everything in detail. If you wish to replicate the settings on another PC, the settings can be backed up to an XML le.
ON DVD
JUNE 2011
RED HOT APPLICATIONS
Autodesk Maya 2012 Autodesk MotionBuilder 2012 Autodesk Mudbox 2012 012 Autodesk SketchBook Designer 2012 k i
Avast! Free Antivirus 6.0.1091 AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5.1.43 AVG Free Edition 10.0.1321 (32-bit) BitDefender 10 Free Edition ClamWin 0.97 Cloud Antivirus 1.4.0 Comodo Internet Security 5.3.181415 HijackThis 2.0.4 Kaspersky Anti-Virus 11.0.2.556 Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.50.1 NOD32 AntiVirus 4.2.71 Norman Malware Cleaner 1.8.3 (2011.04.13) Rootkit Revealer 1.71 and more...
FULL GAMES
Action Ball 2 Air Force Missions Amelies Cafe Astro Avenger - Space Shooter Beetle Bomp Billiards Club - 3D Pool Game Born To Be Big Deadly Race Jane Croft: The Baker Street Murder and more...
datahaven rev4758 GLPI 0.80 RC3 and more...
TOOLS
MULTIMEDIA
AKVIS HDRFactory Alcohol 120% 2.0.1.2033 Aurora Flash Site Builder 1.0.11.0 BurnAware Free 3.1.6 CDBurnerXP 4.3.8.2474 Codec Pack All-In-1 6.0.3.0 CollabShot Beta 4 DAEMON Tools Lite 4.40.2 DeepBurner 1.9.0.228 DivX Play 8.1.2 DP Animation Maker 1.0.1 Beta FastStone Capture FotoMorph 13.1.5 GOM Player 2.1.28.5039 Google Earth 6.0.2.2074 ImgBurn 2.5.5.0 and more...
PERFORMANCE
It took under a minute to install the suite on our test machine, which was an entry-level laptop powered by the Intel Pentium P6200 CPU and 3 GB of RAM. The license has to be activated online, after which you immediately get the username and password for updates. We measured the boot speed, le transfer speeds (using a 2.5-inch hard drive) and scanning speed. The boot time took a slight hit (around 5 seconds or so), which is normal. Prior to installing Smart Security 4, the read and write speeds were 23 MB/s and 18 MB/s respectively. After installation and updates, read and write speeds stood at around 12 MB/s due to the delay caused by the real-time protection. The scan speed is slow compared to other suites. It took 24 minutes to scan a 180 GB partition with 30 GB occupied. However, the successive scans took almost the same amount of time. On the bright side, Dennis Technology Labs has rated ESET Smart Security 4 among the top ve in overall protection. AV-Comparatives.org has also rated this suite highly in the detection tests.
GAME ADD ONS

Conquer Online Cumulative Patch All to 5381 Conquer Online Patch 5382 FlatOut Patch 1.1 GTA: San Andreas Addon Hyundai Santa Fe Highstreet 5 Patch 0.117 Shogun 2: Total War +1 Trainer Warcraft 3 Map - DotA AI 6.69c Beta and more...
SYSTEM
4Media PDF to Word Converter 1.0.2.116 7-Zip 9.20 (32-bit) Adobe Reader 10.0.1 ArcThemALL! 4.0 CutePDF Writer 2.8 EASEUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition 5.5.1 EASEUS Partition Master 8.0.1 Evernote 4.2.3.2 Family Tree Builder 5.0.0.1198 Feed Demon 4.0.0.22 FeedReader 3.14 Foxit Reader 4.3.1.0323 Glarysoft Registry Repair 4.0.0.1266 GPU-Z 0.5.3 IZArc 4.1.6.2654 Notepad++ 5.9 and more...
INTERNET
Core FTP LE 2.2 (Build 1675) Digsby Beta (build 90) FaceTweak - Facebook FX & Features 1.0.3 FileZilla 3.4.0 Firefox 4.0.1 FlashGet 3.7.0.1156 Free Download Manager 3.0.852 Free Online TV 1.0 Google Chrome 12.0.742.9 Beta Google Talk 1.0.0.104 Beta Hamachi 2.0.3.111 Internet Explorer 8.0 XP Internet Explorer 9 9.0.8112.16421IC Final LeechGet 2009 Version 2.1 Miranda 0.9.19 and more...
GAME DEMOS
Metro 2033 Black Mirror III Combat Mission 3: Afrika Korps v1.04 Dead Meets Lead: Challenge 0.3.6 Gemini Rue Kill Switch and more...
GAME TRAILERS
Asuras Wrath - Captivate 2011 F.E.A.R. 3 Story Hunted: The Demons Forge Power of Two InFamous 2 - Quest for Power 2 Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Gameplay Red Faction: Armageddon - Kara Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City - 15th Anniversary Ridge Racer Unbounded Risen 2: Dark Waters Cinematic Section 8: Prejudice Launch Spider-man: Edge of Time - Teaser The Darkness II - Developer Interview Video and more...
VERDICT
For its price, ESET Smart Security 4 is an excellent package. Its easy to use and its overall protection is excellent. Norton 360, which is the best overall performer, costs a few
MUST HAVES
.NET Framework Version 4.0 ATI Catalyst Drivers 11.4 Vista ATI Catalyst Drivers 11.4 XP DirectX 9.0c (Jun 10) Java Runtime Environment 1.6.0.25 (32-bit) and more...
MOBILE
Free BlackBerry Video Converter Factory 3.0 Free Nokia Video Converter Factory 3.0 m-Indicator-3.0.1-Surya MobiShield (Android) 2.1.4 MobiShield (Symbian) 3.0 Nokia PC Suite 7.1.60.0 PhoNetInfo 3.1.0 Samsung Kies 2.0.0.11032_12 Samsung PC Studio 7.2.24.9 Snaptu 1.7.0 and more...
SPECIFICATIONS
hundred Rupees more, but offers parental controls, 2 GB of online storage, and system tuning tools. Whether to go in for the best or buy this suite is your choice. If you want top-notch protection without spending much, this suite is great value for money. - Anand Tuliani
Rs 999 (single PC) Rs 1,999 (3 PCs)

www.esetindia.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
ADOBE PLAYERS
Adobe Air 2.7.0.19350 RC 1 Flash Player 10.3.181.5 RC 1 (IE) Flash Player 10.3.181.5 RC 1 (Non-IE) Shockwave Player 11.5.9.620
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7; RAM: 45MB; Drive space: 50 MB.

CONTACT PHONE EMAIL ESET India
LINUX
LINUX DISTRIBUTION
Ubuntu 11.04
9619303008 nawale@esetindia.com
SECURITY
Active@ ZDelete Ad-Aware 9.0.2.0 AntiVir Personal 10.0.0.635 ARTAV Antivirus Rev. 1 a-squared Free 4.5.0.27
E-BOOKS
CHIP ARCHIVES
April 2010 to March 2011
RATINGS
FEATURES PERFORMANCE EASE OF USE OVERALL RATING VALUE FOR MONEY
LINUX TOOLS
Age of Fear: The Undead King Audio/Video/Image/Text/ISO Convert 0.91
BUSY
Accounting, Inventory & Billing Software
TEST CENTER
TESTED
VERDICT
A VERSATILE TOOL FOR SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION, BUT HAS A SET OF GLITCHES.
SYSTEM TUNING UTILITY
FULL-DISKFIGHTER
FOR: Multiple features and tools in one package, easy to use. AGAINST: Double killer is erratic, no task scheduler, backup is not present
The duplicate les nder does an excellent job, but somehow managed to delete important system les.
leaning tools like the FullDiskghter promise to clean up the junk data comfortably at the touch
a separate module for the cleaning up of Internet traces. The quicker working duplicate nder was quite effective. It uncovered 4 GB of duplicate les from the storage. The user gets an overview of remaining memory hogs with a search routine for big les too. After specication of the drive and the minimum le size, the tool enumerates the results in a long list. The results can be further restricted to videos, music or ISO les using the display lter. The Full-Diskghter's quick defragmenter only takes care of the frequently called up les. Unfortunately the software does not reveal exactly which les these are. The Full-Diskghter diagnoses considerably more redundant material compared to diverse freeware tools. However, as the software also partially deletes system les like double DLLs or the recycle bin of the email box. Even a task planner for regular cleaning is missing. Still, cleaning can be done with every boot process, which however, slows down the PC start-up a little. - Francis Dsa
of the button. For this, the tool offers
four different modules - tracking down of the trash data, identication of duplicate les, display memory hogging les and applications, and defragmentation of the entire hard disk drive. Although the program has a fast cleaning option, it works less rigorously than manually calling each individual tool. During the search for trash data like temporary les, the junk module nds only half as
SPECIFICATIONS
as many as the Windows data carrier clearing up agent. Instead, the tool shows its strengths during the identication of application remnants on the whole. On our test computer, the scan managed to shovel up over 2 GB of free data space. The routine tracks down les that can be deleted from numerous common programs. With that, the tool also wipes out cookies and the cache of Internet browsers installed. This makes up for the fact that Full-Diskghter does not have
$10 (approx Rs 500)

www.spamfighter.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OS: Windows 2000 or higher; Processor: 1 GHz equivalent or higher; RAM: 256 MB or higher; Disk space: 15 MB.
CONTACT EMAIL PHONE SPAMfighter NA NA
RATINGS
70
06/2011
TEST CENTER
TESTED
VERDICT
AN APPLICATION WITH LOTS OF FUNCTIONS, BUT NOT TOO EASY TO USE.
PHOTO MANAGEMENT TOOL
ZONER PHOTO STUDIO 13 PRO

FOR: Lots of functions, very good results, RAW editor. AGAINST: The user interface could have been a lot better.
The program has a separate module for processing RAW les. Note the color correction tab to the right.
hanks to multimedia phones or portable media, instant photos were never so easy to capture.
using GPS data if present, and displays them in Google Maps. Unfortunately, face recognition is missing. Photos can be opened individually for adding key words and description. Slideshows are also available and can be burnt to DVDs. If you connect a second monitor, it can be congured to display slideshows. The Editor offers extensive editing functions. However, the sheer abundance of options across several menus and toolbars may be intimidating for some. The automatic photo corrections may be helpful to beginners though. RAW photos can be processed in a separate module. Photos can be published to Facebook, Flickr, or Picasa, saved as a Web gallery or on an FTP server, or sent by email. Experienced users have the option to create HDR, panoramas, or 3D photos.Zoner Photo Studio 13 is powerful, but it will take quite some time to master all the functions. A better user interface would improve the learning curve to a large extent. -feedback@chip.in
The basic purpose of Zoner Photo Studio 13 Pro is to organize, edit and print photos. The program offers a slew of features, which will satisfy beginners and serious photographers. However, the functions are presented in a confusing user interface, with complicated menu structures and lots of icons that make it difficult to use. The tab on the top right side allows switching between the main modules of the program Manager,
SPECIFICATIONS
Viewer, Editor and RAW. The Manager helps organizing the photos. Here, the photos cannot be simply imported into the database. Instead, its a sort of le browser, which displays photos in the specied folders on the hard drive and external storage devices. All the images in the opened folder can be indexed in a catalogue, where they can be ltered by metadata in the EXIF info. The program can also organize photos
$69.99 (approx Rs 3,300)

www.zoner.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7; RAM: 512 MB; Drive space: 300 MB.
CONTACT EMAIL PHONE Zoner Inc. Info@zoner.com NA
RATINGS
72
06/2011
TEST CENTER
TESTED
VERDICT
A POWERFUL, EASY-TO-USE PICTURE COLLAGE TOOL.
COLLAGE TOOL
PICTURE COLLAGE MAKER PRO

Picture Collage Maker is very easy to use and photos can be inserted using the drag-n-drop method too.
FOR: Ease of use, simple interface, drag-n-drop feature. AGAINST: None.
icture Collage Maker is a simple, yet powerful application for creating personalized collages of
can be added to spruce up your pictures. Individual photos can be stretched to size, cropped, centered, rotated or aligned on-the-y. Using the application is a very simple task. Initially, a wizard helps you with the collage setup, unless you want to go ahead with custom designed templates and designs. Once your collage is created, you can choose to save it as a JPG le or print, share, email, set as the desktop wallpaper, or even send them across to online studios to order custom printed products such as T-shirts, mugs, bags, and more. The evaluation version is available for a 15-day trial with a few features locked. The output les are watermarked in the trial version. The application is available for personal use as well as commercial use for Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,500 respectively. The registered version can gain you access to resource sites with downloadable templates, skins, cliparts and backgrounds. -Francis Dsa
pictures shot at various occasions. You can design your own collage styles or pick from any of the pre-designed built-in templates and add your pictures to it. Templates such as calendar, seasons, anniversaries, birthdays, etc are available. The number of pictures on a single collage can vary depending on size, shapes and template of each picture frame. You can select from different
SPECIFICATIONS
backgrounds, shapes, sizes, borders, colors, and themes to make your collages look unique. Backgrounds can be chosen from personal les or from pre-designed cliparts, which can be further tweaked for tiling, stretching or opacity. Page setups can also be dened for different sizes and formats. Pictures can be placed or added either using the drag-n-drop method or simply using the wizard to add multiple photos and folders. Cliparts
$40 (approx Rs 2,000)

www.picturecollagesoftware.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OS: Windows 2000 or higher; Processor: 1 GHz equivalent or higher; RAM: 512 MB or higher; Disk space: 50 MB.
CONTACT EMAIL PearlMountainSoft info@pearlmountainsoft.com
RATINGS
74
06/2011
TEST CENTER
TESTED
MEDIA PLAYBACK SUITE
CYBERLINK MEDIA SUITE 9 ULTRA

VERDICT: A comprehensive suite with functions for processing and managing media. FOR: Loads of features, easy to use, inexpensive AGAINST: None.
C
SPECIFICATIONS
yberLinks Media Suite 9 Ultra bundles up twelve programs for the playback, management,
are processed using the WaveEditor. For the burning of all possible data, Power2Go is available, which also supports BDXL for burning Blu-ray up to 128 GB. You can also design and print labels via LabelPrint. Finally, photographer can embellish their images with photo processing features of PhotoNow, and then organize them via the MediaShow photo manager. A brand new inclusion here is MediaEspresso, an easyto-operate conversion solution for videos, photos and music. The tool processes the data for smartphones, game consoles, and more. In only a few mouse clicks, you can optimize video for Blackberry, iPhone 4, PSP or other devices. -feedback@chip.in
processing and production of media content of all types. The excellent PowerDVD is responsible for the playback of DVD, Blu-ray, FLV, MVK and WTV formats. PowerDVD achieves very good results during upscaling of standard DVDs to HD. TrueTheater 3D is more a funny rather than an important feature, producing a pseudo 3D effect from 2D lms. The other parts of the suite are less outstanding. PowerDirector takes the responsibility of HD video editing, and PowerProducer burns the productions easily on a DVD or Blu-ray disc. Audio les
$99.95 (approx Rs 5,000)

www.cyberlink.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OS: Windows XP or higher; Processor: Pentium 4 2.2 GHZ equivalent or higher; RAM: 1 GB or higher; Disk space: 5 GB.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL CyberLink Corp +886-2-8667-1298 NA
RATINGS
FEATURES EASE OF USE PERFORMANCE OVERALL RATING VALUE FOR MONEY
PDF CONVERSION TOOL
PIXELPLANET PDF GRABBER

VERDICT: Not the best PDF conversion tool around FOR: Easy to use, many conversion proles to pick from. AGAINST: High price, one way conversion.
DF Grabber is a conversion tool that can export PDFs to Microsoft Office les, images and HTML
are replaced with closest alternatives, but the converted tables are slightly skewed. Using the text recognition by OCR option, we scanned a book in PDF format and converted it to DOC and TXT formats. The conversion process was riddled with errors. The output was disappointing, with inconsistent text recognition, ranging from gibberish to inaccurate results. The formatting had been botched and fragments of text were randomly distributed in text boxes. For a conversion tool, PDF Grabber is expensive, and even the trial version is severely crippled. Every converted le has watermarks and the character X gets added in almost every sentence. - Pranav Tonseker
documents. It allows only one-way conversion; no le can be converted to PDF. The user interface is uncluttered and easy to use. Every le format that a PDF can be converted to is under a prole, each with a number of output options. None of them, however, are customizable. The process is simple; add a le, click on a prole, select the output folder and range of pages, and youre ready to export. PDF Grabber takes quite a while to export and render every page, especially on older computers. The result, however, is pretty decent as PDF Grabber does its best to retain the original layout. Fonts
SPECIFICATIONS
83.19 (approx Rs 5,496)

www.pixelplanet.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7; RAM: 256 MB; Disk Space: 20 MB

CONTACT PHONE EMAIL PixelPlanet GmbH +49-421-24778-0 NA
RATINGS
76
06/2011
TEST CENTER
TESTED
STEGANOGRAPHY TOOL
SCREENSHOT TOOL
SYSTEM UTILITY
ULTIMA STEGANOGRAPHY
VERDICT: Convenient for hiding condential data within images. FOR: Very easy to use, quick, multiple image formats supported. AGAINST: The resulting images are too large. SPECIFICATIONS
FAST STONE CAPTURE

VERDICT: A simple, useful tool for effective capture of screenshots. FOR: Ease of use, multiple screenshot options, video capture. AGAINST: None. SPECIFICATIONS
ZDELETE
VERDICT: A powerful system utility for securely erasing les, folders and Internet data. FOR: Simple operation, customizable, ZDelete Can. AGAINST: Slightly overpriced. SPECIFICATIONS
$19.95 (approx Rs 998)

www.faststone.org
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
$30 (approx Rs 1,500)

www.zdelete.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
$24.95 (approx Rs 1,170)

www.enplase.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OS: Windows XP, 2003, Vista or 7; RAM: 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended); Disk Space: 60 MB
CONTACT FastStone Soft NA support@faststone.org PHONE EMAIL
OS: Windows XP and above; Processor: 1 GHz equivalent or higher; RAM: 256 MB or higher; Disk space: 20 MB.
CONTACT PHONE EMAIL LSoft Technologies +1-905-812-8434 sales@lsoft.net
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7; RAM: 128 MB; Drive space: 5 MB.

CONTACT PHONE EMAIL Enplase Research NA info@enplase.com
RATINGS
RATINGS
RATINGS
astStone Capture is a powerful screen capture tool. It installs
his tool uses a technique with which a user can hide condential
quickly, and on running it, a tiny toolbar turns up on your desktop. It houses a variety of screen capture options, each one with an explanatory tooltip. Every screen capture method has its own shortcut. With a minimalistic UI, this tiil is quite easy to use. You can capture individual windows, the entire screen, or a cropped section. Longer webpages that require scrolling can be captured with the Capture Scrolling Window tool. Captured screenshots are sent to a very basic integrated editor almost immediately. Changes can be made from here, but dont expect too much. This is a no frills image editor. Screenshots can be saved in common image formats and PDF. Using the Screen Recorder, videos of the screen can also be grabbed. Pranav Tonseker
Delete is an application that has the ability to securely erase selected
les, folders, Internet cache, Internet history, cookies, and temp les without any possibility of recovering them. The utility is a clean-up and Internet eraser that helps completely erase your tracks and conforms to the US Department of Defense cleaning and sanitizing standards. It creates a ZDelete Can icon like the systems Recycle Bin, which can permanently shred and delete your data securely. Shortcut keys can be congured for one-click batch cleaning of user-selectable areas. The application is easy to congure and use. Make sure you use it intelligently as data once deleted using ZDelete cannot be recovered in any possible way. A 30-day fully functional download is available for trial purposes. Francis Dsa
data within an image. The resulting image, which contains hidden information, opens as it usually does, but only the intended recipient would know the secret. Technically, its a complex process, but this tool makes it easy for anyone to use. The application is entirely wizard-driven, with explanations at every step. The tool accepts container images in GIF, PNG, JPG, BMP, TIF, ICO, EMF and WMF formats. It takes a few seconds for the tool to prepare the output image. The data from the image can be extracted via the application on entering the correct key. Ultima is easy to use, but the resulting images are bloated because they are uncompressed. Anand Tuliani
78
06/2011
TEST CENTER
TESTED
NOTE TAKER
GAME
Penultimate
$1.99 (approx Rs 89.66)
iPad; iOS 3.2
OVERALL RATING
Command & Conquer: Red Alert

$4.99 (approx Rs 225)
iPad; iOS 3.2
OVERALL RATING
modes. The campaign stretches out over ve maps for each of the three factions; the Soviets, Allies and Japanese. Skirmish mode offers eight maps which can be played at three difficulty levels. Graphics run smoothly on the iPad and iPad 2. Fans of RPGs will enjoy this classic game. A $0.99 version is also available for iPhone and iPod touch users. - Jamshed Avari
Two dollars might seem a bit much to pay for a simple note-taking app, but just like expensive notebooks, many people appreciate simplicity and clean design. The app lets you create any number of notebooks. You can choose six different pen colors and three different thicknesses. Just draw on the screen with your nger (or stylus, if you have one) and the app renders your scribblings as handwritten notes. Additionally, you can choose your papers background. Basic line and graph patterns come free, you can import images from your photo library, and you can pay $0.99 extra for packs such as organizer pages, music score and specialized designs. You can reorder pages and see thumbnails of your work. When youre done, you can email notes to yourself as JPG images or PDF notebooks. - Jamshed Avari Real-time strategy games are well suited to touchscreen devices, and C&C: Red Alert makes pretty good use of the medium. However the game controls take a bit of time to get used to, and the tutorial mode is often unhelpful. Still, the game is engaging and missions last for ages. You can play the game in campaign, skirmish and multiplayer
MUSIC PRODUCTION
OFFICE SUITE
to eight tracks consisting of the virtual instruments you play, voice recordings, and preset loops. The massive variety of instruments includes pianos, synths, keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, and drums. Instruments use the iPads sensors to modulate sound, such as velocity detection on the piano and drums. Smart instruments let you simply trigger sequences in related keys, making it easy to create a cohesive track even with no knowledge of music theory. This app was designed to compliment the iPad 2, but should run quite well on the original model too. - Jamshed Avari
work. Apples own iWork apps sell for $9.99 each, so this is actually pretty good value (a non-premium $9.99 version is available too). If youre the type to carry an iPad and external keyboard with you on the road, youll appreciate the native Word, Excel, and PowerPoint compatibility. You should be able to handle most les, though a few bugs are known to creep up with heavy formatting. You can share documents through iTunes, a simple desktop client, or via online services such as Google Docs or Dropbox. You can also open several other le formats including PDF, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of previewing email attachments. - Jamshed Avari
Garage Band
$4.99 (approx Rs 225)
iPad; iOS 4.2
OVERALL RATING
Documents To Go Premium
$16.99 (approx Rs 767)
iPhone, iPod touch, iPad; iOS 3.2
OVERALL RATING
GarageBand on a Mac is a powerful tool, and this version not only brings the best of its tools to the iPad, but also adds a ton of unique touchscreen-enhanced features. You can arrange up
It might seem a bit much to pay for a single app, but Documents To Go is one of the most powerful productivity options out there, allowing you to use your iPad for serious
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TEST CENTER
TESTED
HOME REPLACEMENT / LAUNCHER
APPS SORTER
SPB Shell 3D
Rs 665
Android
OVERALL RATING
TouchWiz Application Sorter

Free
Android
OVERALL RATING
SPBs Shell 3D is a nice home replacement app wit a few drawbacks. Though it is completely threedimensional, there are very few customization options. The app runs smooth even on handsets with a 600 MHz processor, but needs a display size of at least 3.5 inches for a good experience. You can simply scroll through the desktops add from a collection of desktop panels and 3D widgets. Create a simple folder and drop your app icons in it and the smart folder automatically renames itself according to its contents. Built-in live widgets for clocks, photos, and messaging are great eye-candy. The application is quite expensive and no trial version is available. Also, tablets and live wallpapers are not supported, and the app requires a graphics processor. - Francis Dsa
By default, the app drawer of Samsung TouchWiz lists the app by date. Alphabetical listing of apps makes it easier to nd applications. However, TouchWiz doesnt support sorting apps and this is where TouchWiz Application Sorter comes in handy. The prerequisite for this app is that your phone has to be rooted. Once the root permission has been granted, the app takes only a few seconds to sort all the installed apps; no reboot required. Note that running the sort process once doesnt mean the apps you install later will get sorted automatically; you will have to rerun the app. TouchWiz Application Sorter works with TouchWiz UI ver 3 (Samsung Galaxy 3, Galaxy S, etc). - Anand Tuliani
DATA BACKUP
GAME
MyBackup Pro
Rs 222
Android
OVERALL RATING
Word Wrench
Rs 88.44
Android
OVERALL RATING
While most users familiar with Titanium Backup will swear by its performance, MyBackup Pro offers increased ease of use. It is simple enough for those who frequently try out different ROM updates. It has the ability to save installed apps and theirdata, contacts, call logs, messages, bookmarks, system settings, calendar, music playlists, photos, etc including scheduled backups and online backups. Rooted users get access to market links as well. The backups can be restored on all Android devices, rooted or not. Incremental backups are stored in a separate folder, and you can manage and view these backups with ease. Choosing individual apps and data is also possible. The price is high when compared to Titanium Backup, which offers many more features. The free Trial and Root versions work on a single device only. - Francis Dsa
Word Wrench is an anagrambased word game in which you have to solve the six-letter anagram and make as many words with three letters or more. The upper portion of the interface has empty slots with dashes which indicate the number of possible words and their lengths. These slots get lled up as you go on making words. To make a word you have to spell it out by tapping on the tiles at the bottom of the screen. There are no hints, but you can shake the phone/tablet to shuffle the letters. To progress to the next puzzle, you have to solve the six-letter anagram. By default, each puzzle has a two-minute timer, which can be set to 30 seconds, 4 minutes or unlimited. The Lite version has 250 puzzles and displays ads, while the full version has more than 8,000 puzzles minus the ads. - Anand Tuliani
06/2011
81
TEST CENTER
LONG TERM
Long Term Test

MOBILE PHONE
The CHIP Test Center steps out into the real world!
KEYBOARD
iBall Aasaan
Razer Marauder
ts good to see companies like iBall coming up with phones tailored for an audience that hasnt been addressed by any brand yetsenior citizens. With an extra-large keypad
and an amber lit dot-matrix display with extra-large fonts, farsighted elderly people wont need reading glasses to dial numbers and read text on the screen. To nd out how aasaan it really is, I decided to take a short break from my Android phone. The elders at home were quite pleased to see this phone mainly because of its large keypad and large-font display. However, everyone found the Rs s 3,099 price tag high. My journey with Aasaan started with h charging it. The chargers pin looked quite familiar. I pulled out my old Nokia charger and gently pushed the pin into the phones charging jack. Surprisingly, it worked! The features are so limited that I got done with checking out the phone thoroughly in less than 10 minutes. The interface is extremely simple, which is a big plus point for a phone targeted at senior citizens. The idea of providing hotkeys on the sides for FM radio, LED torch and locking the keypad is brilliant. The FM radio doesnt require the hands-free and the tiny speaker on the rear is really loud. The contact list shows just names; you have to select the contact and select the option to view the number. On my rst call, I noticed that the earpiece didnt sound very clear although it was loud. While travelling, it was all the more difficult to understand what the person at the other end was saying. Messaging wasnt as bad, but it wasnt too comfortable either. Those used to the T9 dictionary will nd it cumbersome because the only text input mode is multi-tap. The most useful feature is the big red SOS switch on the rear. You can set ve numbers as SOS contacts, and on activating SOS, the phone triggers a loud alarm and starts calling these numbers one after the other until one is answered. However, the SOS mode got accidentally activated a couple of times while pulling the phone out from my pocket. The battery lasted for about three days with moderate usage. This phone is a good initiative by iBall. It would be great if the quirks are worked upon and the price is lowered to make it more affordable. - anand.tuliani@chip.in
eyboards havent changed much over the years, except in the niche of expensive products targeted at gamers. Razer is one of the foremost innovators in this area,
and the Marauder throws in quite a few twists that weve never seen before. It was designed to complement Starcraft II, the popular RTS game. Its designed to be compact and portable enough for LAN parties. Starcraft II involves a lot of heavy button mashing, so the keys are the old-fashioned raised type, and though they arent mechanical, they feel more satisfying than the at chiclet style that is now common. Layout-wise, the Marauders best trick is the number
pad with arrow and paging blocks superimposed over it; an ingenious way to avoid eliminating the number pad or squishing the paging keys into an awkward vertical row. The upshot of this is that while touch-typing, I can reach across and hit the arrows, [Ins], [Del], etc without hassle. The only inconvenience is when using professional applications that map shortcuts to the numpad, as constantly hitting [Num Lock] defeats the purpose of shortcuts. Im amazed no one has thought of this before; its the best compromise between size reduction and ease of use. On the downside, there arent any quick-reach controls for volume or media playback. Im not a Starcraft player, so the custom lighting and APM (actions per minute) alerts are lost on me, but I wish these could be remapped to other events such as an email alert. Macros come in handy with all kinds of software. The driver control panel is easy to use, except for the backlight color selection area. The preset options are garish and too bright for regular use; it took me ages to nd the lowest brightness setting; a shade of gray just marginally off from black. Youd have to be pretty serious about gaming or your comfort to spend Rs 7,500 on a keyboard. Still, the Marauder is the only compact yet typist-friendly keyboard, which should make anyone give it a thought. - Jamshed Avari
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SMS us!
Story code: TLT to 51818
T EST CENT TE T CE NT TEST CEN E R ES C NTER CENTER

PC CONF S C CONFIG C FIGS CONFIGS
Toshiba NB520 Rs 21,000

www.toshiba-india.com
verdict Best in class with excellent

performance and great audio quality.
love Dual-core CPU, harman/kardon

speakers deliver great audio quality.
hate USB 3.0 and HD display would have

been great additions.
SPECIFICATIONS
Weight: 1.32 Kg; CPU: Intel Atom N550, 1.5 GHz; RAM: 2 GB; Hard disk: 320 GB; Display: 10-inch; USB ports: 3; OS: Win 7 Starter; Others: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
ANAND'S PICKS
Light weight, ultra-portable and ideal for anywhere computing.
NETBOOKS
www.acer.co.in
HP Mini 110-3612TU Rs 19,500

www8.hp.com/in/en/home.html
Acer Aspire One Happy Rs 17,599

verdict A sweet-looking netbook with
excellent battery life.
verdict This one has the most powerful

conguration and is priced very well. love Dual-core CPU, very good conguration, good battery life. hate Average speakers.
love Available in ve colors, more than 5

hours of battery life, carry sleeve included. hate Glossy lid is prone to scratches and stains.
SPECIFICATIONS
Weight: 1.22 Kg; CPU: Intel Atom N570, 1.66 GHz; RAM: 2 GB; Hard disk: 320 GB; Display: 10-inch; USB ports: 3; OS: Win 7 Starter; Others: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
SPECIFICATIONS
Lenovo S10-3c Rs 16,990

www.lenovo.com/in/en
Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Rs 19,450

www.dell.co.in
verdict Are you on a shoestring budget?

This one offers the best value for money. love Great bang for the buck, good keyboard, good build quality. hate Mouse buttons under the touchpad feel awkward.
verdict Great looks, excellent keyboard,

good conguration, but slightly bulky.
love Large keyboard feels very

comfortable, great build. hate Like in the S10-3c, the touchpad feels s awkward.
SPECIFICATIONS
Weight: 1.2 Kg; CPU: Intel Atom N455, 1.66 GHz; RAM: 1 GB; Hard disk: 250 GB; Display: 10-inch; USB ports: 3; OS: Win 7 Starter; Others: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
SPECIFICATIONS
84
06/2011
ANAND'S COLUMN PC CONFIGS
TEST CENTER
ROOT ACCESS, CUSTOM ROMS, OR BOTH?

ANAND TULIANI, DEPUTY EDITOR - TECHNICAL
UNOFFICIAL UPGRADE
Y
ou have two options with an Android device - use the stock ROM and applications provided by the manufacturer, or be adventurous and install custom ROMs developed by online communities. The stock ROM and apps from Android Market suffice, is it really worth rooting your phone and installing custom ROMs? When I bought the Samsung Galaxy 3, it had just been launched, and it was one of the few affordable Android phones. It came with Android 2.1 and Samsung said the device would be upgradeable to 2.2. Within the fi rst week of owning the phone, I felt the need to root it because I wanted to gain additional space by uninstalling unwanted apps. I waited for two months until I came across Super One-Click Root, which worked like a charm. I then used Titanium Backup to uninstall apps and backup installed apps and app data. I also managed to enable Live Wallpapers, which wasn't officially supported by my phone, using Root Explorer. The Samsung Galaxy 3 offers 192 MB of storage space for installing programs and I used it all up in no time. The solution to this problem was Android 2.2, which allows moving the apps installed on the phone memory to the memory card. I couldn't wait endlessly for Samsung to release the next version of the ROM for Galaxy 3, which is also known as Galaxy I5801. So I downloaded the ROM with Android 2.2 meant for Galaxy I5800 which uses the same hardware as I5801. After a few weeks, I came across Kyrillo's ROM on forum. xda-developers.com, which is a custom ROM. It's pre-rooted with Live Wallpapers enabled, unwanted apps removed and some useful additional apps included. It was just what I was looking for; much lighter and responsive than the stock ROM. The developer had also updated Google Maps, included additional apps, wallpapers and ring tones. I started with Kyrillo's ROM version 2.7 and after a few weeks version 3.0 was out with additional tweaks and updated apps. The latest stable version is 5. I update my phone's ROM at least once a month when the next version of the ROM is out. My experience with the Samsung Galaxy 3 is just an example. Custom ROMs are available for all the Android phones by big brands in the market. Phones by HTC are the first to get custom ROMs because of their popularity. The best source for custom ROMs is forum.xda-developers. com. Find your device on the home page and go the Android Development section, which has the ROMs listed. Before going ahead with installing a custom ROM make sure you have backed up your contacts, messages and apps along with their data. SMS Backup Pro is a great app for backing up and restoring your messages. Carefully read the instructions for installing the ROM and make sure your phone isn't low on battery at the time of flashing. Backup/ download your phone's original ROM in order to revert if you aren't comfortable with the custom ROM.
BORED OF YOUR ANDROID PHONE? TRY CUSTOM ROMS!
06/2011
85
TE CENTER T E ST C ENT TEST CE N TE R ES TER

PC CONFIG PC CONFIGS CONFIGS GS
PC CONFIGS
GAMING - ENTRY-LEVEL
Processor Motherboard RAM Hard disk Graphics card Optical drive Monitor Keyboard Mouse Speakers Sound card PC Case Power supply unit Operating system AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Ed, 3.3 GHz Asus M4A88T-M, AMD 880G 2 GB Strontium DDR3-1333 MHz Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 - 1 TB SATA Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 - 1 GB DDR5 LG GH22 SATA 22x DVD-writer Samsung SyncMaster B2030N - 20-inch LCD Logitech G1 Gaming Desktop Included in Combo F&D FD600 Onboard high-definition audio Cooler Master Elite 310 Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus - 460W Windows 7 Home Basic
Rs 42,190
5,200 4,750 1,300 2,750 7,300 950 6,700 1,700 2,990 1,700 2,550 4,300 42,190
GAMING - MID-RANGE
Processor Motherboard RAM Hard disk Graphics card Optical drive Monitor Keyboard Mouse Speakers Sound card PC Case Power supply unit Operating system AMD Phenom II X6 1055T, 2.8 GHz Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H, AMD 890GX G.Skill Rip Jaws F3-12800CL9S - 2 x 2GB Western Digital Caviar Black - 1 TB
Rs 79,600
8,850 8,800 2,600 4,650 12,000 950 12,800 950 1,700 7,500 5,000 2,800 4,800 6,200 79,600
Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Amp! - 1 GB GDDR5 LG GH22 SATA 22x DVD-writer Benq V2200 Eco - 22-inch TFT (LED) Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 Razer Salmosa Altec Expressionist Ultra MX6021 Asus Xonar DX 7.1-channel Cooler Master Elite 430 Corsair CMPSU-550VX - 550 Watts Windows 7 Home Premium
TOTAL
TOTAL
HOME
Processor Motherboard RAM Hard disk Graphics card Optical drive Monitor Keyboard and mouse combo Speakers Sound card PC Case Power supply unit Operating system AMD Athlon X2 250, 3.00 GHz Gigabyte 880GM-UD2H, AMD 880G 2 GB Kingston DDR3-1333 MHz Western Digital Caviar Green 500 GB SATA Onboard graphics LG GH22 SATA 22x DVD-writer
Rs 27,190 HTPC
2,800 4,900 1,300 1,900 950 6,700 795 1,895 1,650 4,300 27,190 Processor Motherboard RAM Hard disk Graphics card Optical drive Monitor Keyboard and mouse combo Speakers Sound card PC Case Power supply unit TV tuner card Operating system AMD Athlon ll X4 635, 2.93 GHz Asus M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3 2x 2 GB Kingston DDR3-1333 MHz Western Digital Caviar Green - 1 TB Sapphire Radeon HD 5570, 1 GB Sony BD-5300S, 12x Blu-ray Writer BenQ V2400 Eco, 24-inch TFT (LED) Logitech Wireless Combo MK320 Creative Gigaworks T3 Asus Xonar DX 7.1-channel Silver Stone LC16B MR220 Corsair CMPSU-430CX - 430 Watts Avermedia AverTV Speedy PCIE Windows 7 Home Premium
Rs 94,395
4,600 6,400 2,600 2,800 3,900 11,000 17,500 1,795 15,000 5,000 11,800 2,500 3,300 6,200 94,395
Samsung SyncMaster B2030N - 20-inch TFT Logitech Deluxe 250 Desktop USB Altec Lansing VS2621 Onboard high-definition audio iBall Pride Included with the PC Case - 250 Watts Windows 7 Home Basic
TOTAL
TOTAL
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LAP P CONFIGS L APTOP CONFIGS LAPTOP CONFIGS PTOP
T EST C E TE S T CEN T ER TEST CE NTE CENTER
LAPTOP CONFIGS
BUDGET
PROCESSOR Intel Celeron, Pentium Dual-Core, AMD Turion X2 MEMORY 1 GB or 2 GB HARD DRIVE 160 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB DISPLAY 14.1-inch or 15.6-inch GRAPHICS On-board WEIGHT 2.3 Kg to 2.7 Kg OTHER Bluetooth, DVD-writer, Wi-Fi b/g, Webcam PRICE RANGE Rs 23,000 to Rs 35,000
MAINSTREAM
PROCESSOR Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5 MEMORY 2 GB or 3 GB HARD DRIVE 250 GB or 320 GB DISPLAY 14.1-inch or 15.4-inch GRAPHICS On-board or Discrete WEIGHT 2.3 Kg to 3 Kg OTHER Bluetooth, DVD-writer, Wi-Fi b/g or n, Webcam PRICE RANGE Rs 35,000 To Rs 45,000
DESKTOP REPLACEMENT
PROCESSOR Intel Core i5, Intel Core i7 MEMORY 3 GB or more HARD DRIVE 500 GB or more DISPLAY 15.4-inch to 17-inch GRAPHICS GeForce GT435M or higher, Radeon HD 5650 or higher WEIGHT 2.5 Kg to 5 Kg OTHER Bluetooth, DVD-writer or Blu-ray, Wi-Fi n, Webcam, TV Tuner PRICE RANGE Rs 45,000 to Rs 1,50,000
LENOVO G460 59-057056 6 Rs 24,000

CPU Intel Pentium P6200, 2.13 GHz; MEMORY 2 GB; HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 14 in; GRAPHICS On-board; WEIGHT 2.3 Kg; OS Free-DOS; OTHER Bluetooth, HDMI, Card reader
SONY VAIO VPCEB44EN Rs 36,990

CPU Intel Core i3-380M, 2.53 GHz; MEMORY 3 GB; HARD DISK 320 GB; DISPLAY 15.6-in; GRAPHICS ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470, 512 MB; WEIGHT 2.7 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Premium; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HDMI, eSATA
HP PAVILION DV6-3124TX X Rs 56,900

CPU Intel Core i7-720QM, 1.60 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB; HARD DISK 640 GB; DISPLAY 15.6 in; GRAPHICS ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650, 1 GB; WEIGHT 2.51 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Premium; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI MI
ACER ASPIRE 5742Z Rs 26,799

CPU Intel Pentium P6200, 2.13 GHz; MEMORY 2 GB; HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 15.6 in; GRAPHICS On-board; WEIGHT 2.6 Kg; OS Linux; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI
HP PAVILION G4-1008TU Rs 39,000

CPU Intel Core i5-480M, 2.66 GHz; MEMORY 3 GB; HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 14 in; GRAPHICS On-board; WEIGHT 2.1 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Basic; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI
LENOVO IDEAPAD Y560 59-052245 52245 Rs 57,000

CPU Intel Core i5-450M, 2.4 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB; HARD DISK 640 GB; DISPLAY 15.6 in; GRAPHICS ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730, 1 GB; WEIGHT 2.6 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Premium; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI
TOSHIBA SATELLITE L640-I5012 12 Rs 29,000

CPU Intel Core i3-380M, 2.53 GHz; MEMORY 1 GB; HARD DISK 250 GB; DISPLAY 15.6 in; GRAPHICS On-board; WEIGHT 2.4 Kg; OS Free-DOS; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam
LENOVO IDEAPAD Z570 59-069601 Rs 39,500

CPU Intel Core i3-2310M, 2.10 GHz; MEMORY 3 GB; HARD DISK 640 GB; DISPLAY 15.6 in; GRAPHICS Nvidia GeForce GT520M, 1 GB; WEIGHT 2.6 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Basic; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI
DELL XPS 15 Rs 65,900

CPU Intel Core i7-2630 QM, 2.00 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB; HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 15.6 in(Full HD); GRAPHICS Nvidia GeForce GT540M, 2 GB; WEIGHT 2.78 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Premium; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Blu-ray combo
DELL INSPIRON 15R Rs 28,900

CPU Intel Pentium P6200, 2.13 GHz; MEMORY 2 GB; HARD DISK 320 GB; DISPLAY 15.6 in; GRAPHICS On-board; WEIGHT 2.64 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Basic; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam, Card reader
ACER ASPIRE 5750G Rs 44,990

CPU Intel Core i5-2410M, 2.30 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB; HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 15.6 in; GRAPHICS Nvidia GeForce GT 540M, 1 GB; WEIGHT 2.5 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Premium; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI
SONY VAIO VPCF136FG/BI Rs 69,990

CPU Intel Core i7-740 QM, 1.73 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB; HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 16.4 in (Full HD); GRAPHICS Nvidia GeForce GT425M, 1 GB; WEIGHT 3.2 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Premium; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Blu-ray combo, eSATA
06/2011
87
CPU GPU GUIDE
HARDWARE
CHIP CPU-GPU Guide

The CHIP guide provides you the necessary perspective on the processors and graphics chips market.
BY MICHAEL ECKSTEIN AND ANAND TULIANI
up. Even though no official launch date for the Llano chips has been declared, many tip-offs indicate the end of third quarter or so. AMD will be launching around eleven dual-core and quadcore Llano APUs in the market. The integrated GPUs from the Radeon HD 6000 series are equivalent to entry-level graphics cards and are clocked at 443 to 594 MHz depending on the model of the processor. The power consumption of the chips should be between 65 and 100 watts, thus, making it at par with Intels Sandy Bridge CPUs.
ntels new Sandy Bridge processors with integrated graphics are a big success. Its high time AMD buckles
fallen signicantly, even though its price-performance index had been excellent. Hence, besides the Intel Core i5-2500K, our purchase tip of the month is the Core i7-2600K. We recommend the AMD Athlon II X2 265 in the entrylevel category. For just Rs 3,500 you get a good dual-core CPU which is perfectly suited for most frequently used applications such as office suites, media players, web browsing, and so on. customers will think twice before investing heavily. For the average gamer, mid-range GPUS are more interesting. With good price-performance index, the AMD Radeon HD 6800 series GPUs shine in their segment. Hence we recommend the Radeon HD 6870, 6850 and 5770 GPUs as our purchase tips. These GPUs are good for those who dont have a high-resolution 30-inch display for gaming. With the Radeon HD 6870, the latest games with intense graphics run smoothly on monitors with resolution of 1920x1200 pixels. 1120 stream processors and support for DirectX 11 are provided for this purpose.
feedback@chip.in
Graphics Cards: Currently Nvidia and

AMD are in a neck-to-neck race in the enthusiast-class GPU segment. Both the GeForce GTX 590 and Radeon HD 6990 are top-end models which can bring high-end power supply units to their knees. Considering the prices of these monstrous graphics cards, even potential
Desktop and Mobile CPUs: Last

month, prices of Intel processors have
DESKTOP CPUs
nd ei nc ex t ke oc typ e N b um er of C re co PU s ks pe ed (GH z) ac 2c he (M B) B s us pe ce pro ss ) (nm mb er o an f tr s( tor sis Ma x. mi llio n) s( TD n Pi s r lo s) (fp g* c.) 24 e in g (se 0 c) 10 ag scod x d i n k n ot h R 1 s ( s e nt an o 0 Va Tr c CPU nc an 28 e 1 en rk o eo rdi ineb ax. III Ma di PC Au C m Vid Go UT tt Wa s)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Intel Core i7-990X XE Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-970 Intel Core i5-2500K Intel Core i7-875K AMD Phenom II X6 1100T BE AMD Phenom II X6 1090T BE Intel Core i5-760 AMD Phenom II X6 1075T Intel Core i7-860 AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE Intel Core i7-920 AMD Phenom II X4 970 BE AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Intel Core i5-2400 Intel Core i3-2100 Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Intel Core i3-550 Intel Core i5-650 AMD Athlon II X4 645 AMD Phenom II X2 565 BE AMD Athlon II X3 450 AMD Phenom II X2 560 BE AMD Athlon II X4 630 Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 AMD Athlon II X3 445 Intel Core i3-540 Intel Core 2 Duo E7600 AMD Athlon II X2 265 AMD Sempron 140
Gulftown Sandy Bridge Gulftown Sandy Bridge Lynneld Thuban Thuban Lynneld Thuban Lynneld Deneb Bloomeld Deneb Thuban Sandy Bridge Sandy Bridge Yorkeld Clarkdale Clarkdale Propus Callisto Rana Callisto Propus Yorkeld Rana Clarkdale Wolfdale Regor Sargas
100.0 96.9 95.2 91.7 84.8 80.5 77.8 77.3 75.2 75.2 73.8 72.8 71.9 70.8 69.7 69.4 66.9 65.7 65.3 62.3 60.0 59.4 58.9 58.2 58.2 58.0 57.6 57.0 56.7 36.1
1366 1155 1366 1155 1156 AM3 AM3 1156 AM3 1156 AM3 1366 AM3 AM3 1155 1155 775 1156 1156 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 775 AM3 1156 775 AM3 AM3
6 4 6 4 4 6 6 4 6 4 4 4 4 6 4 2 4 2 2 4 2 3 2 4 4 3 2 2 2 1
3.46 3.40 3.20 3.30 2.93 3.30 3.20 2.80 3.00 2.80 3.60 2.67 3.50 2.80 3.10 3.10 2.83 3.20 3.20 3.10 3.40 3.20 3.30 2.80 2.50 3.10 3.06 3.07 3.30 2.70
1.5 1 1.5 1 1 3 3 1 3 1 2 1 2 3 1 0.5 12 0.5 0.5 2 1 1.5 1 2 4 1.5 0.5 3 2 1
QPI6400 DMI5000 QPI6400 DMI5000 DMI2500 HT4000 HT4000 DMI2500 HT4000 DMI2500 HT4000 QPI4800 HT4000 HT4000 DMI5000 DMI5000 FSB1333 DMI2500 DMI2500 HT4000 HT4000 HT4000 HT4000 HT4000 FSB1333 HT4000 DMI2500 FSB1066 HT4000 HT4000
32 32 32 32 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 32 45 32 32 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 32 45 45 45
1170 995 1170 995 774 904 904 774 904 774 758 731 758 904 995 504 820 382 382 300 758 300 758 300 456 300 382 228 234 234
130 95 130 95 95 125 125 95 130 95 125 130 125 125 95 65 95 73 73 95 80 95 80 95 95 95 73 65 65 45
1159 1352 1137 1311 1096 1014 922 1085 942 901 993 881 952 829 860 1065 881 993 1065 829 922 850 901 758 778 819 829 942 891 532
* in KB/s
142 143 140 140 138 133 131 138 126 137 136 135 134 123 138 121 126 120 116 110 115 110 112 105 106 109 111 93 95 78
185 172 197 176 195 213 215 203 228 230 213 240 220 235 258 216 263 232 258 259 227 252 232 282 324 259 299 275 245 463
39 48 42 54 56 58 60 72 64 63 75 66 77 69 71 96 79 103 101 94 145 119 149 103 94 123 111 138 154 366
88
06/2011
SMS us!
Story code: HCG to 57007
MOBILE CPUs
00 ex o 1 z) e nd t ) res (GH am e i dized co MB nc ar ed d en U e e( ee ma d od CP Sp Sp ach for stan e-c of ck o us er or lo 2C B C P N L C s) s) (fp (fp s) h ts) PU PU int lt) T lt) lt) T oin 0 W2 xC xC po (p fau M G fau hic fau M G ss t t s ) i t h 6 i n ) U( .1 .4 lo a .5 .5 PU (de grap 1 (de 320 1 (de 330 CP C er W h9 h9 e w (m 0 ce rk0 rce 0 1 et 05 05 nc nc ow in tim ttery ark For ark ips a Fo ark be be ark . p DP n ax (T ru ba CM D M ch 3D M Ge 3D M Ge DM ine ine 3 P M C C 3
n Ra
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ss o
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Intel Core i7-2820QM Intel Core i7-2720QM Intel Core i7-2630QM Intel Core i5-2410M Intel Core i7-920XM Intel Core i7-820QM Intel Core i7-740QM Intel Core i7-620M Intel Core i5-520M Intel Core i5-460M Intel Core 2 Duo T9900 Intel Core i7-640LM Intel Core i3-370M AMD Phenom II X4 N930 Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 Intel Core 2 Duo SP9600 Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 Intel Core i5-2537M Intel Core i7-620UM AMD Phenom II X4 P920 Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 Intel Core i5-520UM Intel Core i3-330UM AMD E-350 Intel Pentium SU4100 AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 AMD C-50 Intel Atom D525 Intel Atom N550 Intel Atom N450
Sandy Bridge Sandy Bridge Sandy Bridge Sandy Bridge Clarkseld Clarkseld Clarkseld Arrandale Arrandale Arrandale Penryn Arrandale Arrandale Danube Penryn Penryn Penryn Sandy Bridge Arrandale Danube Penryn Arrandale Arrandale Zacate Penryn Huron Zacate Pineview Pineview Pineview
100.0 94.8 87.5 73.2 65.4 63.7 63.1 62.2 57.6 55.4 52.9 51.6 48.9 47.3 46.6 46.3 44.6 44.0 39.7 38.2 33.9 31.4 26.7 21.3 20.9 17.6 12.7 10.1 9.6 7.7
4 4 4 2 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1
2.30 2.20 2.00 2.30 2.00 1.73 1.73 2.67 2.40 2.53 3.07 2.13 2.40 2.00 2.53 2.53 2.53 1.40 1.07 1.60 2.10 1.07 1.07 1.60 1.30 1.60 1.00 1.80 1.50 1.67
8 6 6 3 8 8 6 3 3 3 6 4 3 2 6 6 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 1 2 0.5 1 1 1 0.5
DMI 5000 DMI 5000 DMI 5000 DMI 5000 DMI 2500 DMI 2500 DMI 2500 DMI 2500 DMI 2500 DMI 2500 FSB1066 DMI 2500 DMI 2500 HT1800 FSB1066 FSB1066 FSB1066 DMI 5000 DMI 2500 HT1800 FSB800 DMI 2500 DMI 2500 CCI 25GB FSB800 HT1800 CCI 25GB FSB800 FSB800 FSB667
45 45 45 35 55 45 45 35 35 35 35 25 35 35 25 25 25 17 18 25 35 18 18 18 10 15 9 13 8,5 5,5
120 120 120 154 98 120 120 154 154 154 154 216 154 154 216 216 216 318 300 216 154 300 300 300 480 360 600 415 635 800
11391 9969 9604 8340 7955 7725 7648 7105 6803 6788 6922 7027 5713 6020 6514 6512 5866 5122 5076 4810 4401 3812 3642 2800 3121 2150 1792 2145 2142 1497
805 797 695 707 623 611 599 663 576 528 558 513 466 338 467 464 469 445 430 271 369 369 247 216 234 231 118 101 95 93
2859 2706 2363 1452 1563 1494 1501 1339 1187 1168 1034 1003 998 1072 854 847 836 754 811 894 695 553 514 398 410 231 212 265 234 139
22400 22100 21800 19695 13876 13670 13554 13950 13851 13224 11487 11531 12587 13481 10631 10551 10075 12803 8205 10755 6889 7350 6500 4989 3715 4951 3422 1055 1050 1070
12500 12000 11500 11000 8500 8300 8000 7900 7900 7800 5750 5700 5600 5400 7600 6500 5050 4900 6300 6100 9000 4300 3500 7000 3100 3100 3100
28000 27500 27000 24494 22000 21500 21000 20000 19000 17600 17500 17200 17000 16800 16200 15900 15300 16900 13000 11600
42000 41000 40000 36000 35000 34500 34000 33000 32000 29250 29000 28500 28000 27500 27000 26500 25500 28000 22000 19000 ---
1 Mobile CPUs come preinstalled in laptops 2 Typical runtime with integrated graphics, powerful discrete GPUs reduce runtime by 40 percent.
GRAPHICS CHIPS
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
nVidia GeForce GTX 590 AMD Radeon HD 6990 AMD Radeon HD 5970 nVidia GeForce GTX 580 AMD Radeon HD 6970 nVidia GeForce GTX 570 AMD Radeon HD 6950 nVidia GeForce GTX 480 nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti AMD Radeon HD 5870 AMD Radeon HD 6870 nVidia GeForce GTX 470 AMD Radeon HD 5850 AMD Radeon HD 6850 nVidia GeForce GTX 295 nVidia GeForce GTX 465 nVidia GeForce GTX 460 ATI Radeon HD 5770 ATI Radeon HD 4890 nVidia GeForce GTS 450 ATI Radeon HD 4870 AMD Radeon HD 5750 ATI Radeon HD 4770 ATI Radeon HD 4830 nVidia GeForce GT 430 AMD Radeon HD 5570 nVidia GeForce 9600 GT ATI Radeon HD 4670 AMD Radeon HD 5550 nVidia GeForce GT 220
2 x 1536/GDDR5 2 x 2048/GDDR5 2 x 1024/GDDR5 1536/GDDR5 2048/GDDR5 1280/GDDR5 2048/GDDR5 1536/GDDR5 1024/GDDR5 2048/GDDR5 1024/GDDR5 1280/GDDR5 1024/GDDR5 1024/GDDR5 2 x 896/GDDR3 1024/GDDR5 768/GDDR5 1024/GDDR5 1024/GDDR5 1024/GDDR5 1024/GDDR5 1024/GDDR5 512/GDDR5 512/GDDR3 1024/GDDR3 1024/GDDR3 512/GDDR3 512/GDDR3 1024/DDR2 1024/DDR2
100.0 99.0 80.0 72.0 64.3 61.0 56.9 56.0 53.5 51.1 50.5 44.5 44.3 44.0 43.0 36.6 35.6 31.3 28.6 27.0 26.8 24.7 17.1 14.2 11.8 10.9 10.2 9.3 5.8 3.7
50.5 55.2 62.0 50.8 68.1 62.5 78.6 46.9 73.9 43.9 84.5 74.5 47.0 100.0 32.5 58.2 56.5 90.5 53.5 78.1 70.9 78.4 54.2 50.2 57.7 43.3 36.1 39.4 31.0 21.5
607 880 725 772 880 732 800 700 823 850 900 607 725 775 576 607 675 850 850 850 750 700 750 575 700 650 650 750 550 525
1215 1544 1464 1401 1645 1215 1242 1215 1350 1700 1400 1600 1100
3414 5000 4000 4008 5500 3800 5000 3696 4008 4800 4200 3348 4000 4800 2016 3206 3600 4800 3900 3608 3600 4600 3200 1800 1800 1600 1800 2000 800 800
2 x 384 2 x 256 2 x 256 384 256 320 256 384 256 256 256 320 256 256 2 x 448 256 192 128 256 128 256 128 128 256 128 128 256 128 128 128
1024 3072 3200 512 1536 480 1408 480 384 1600 1120 448 1440 960 240 352 336 800 800 192 800 720 640 640 96 400 64 320 320 48
40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 55 40 40 40 55 40 55 40 40 55 40 40 65 55 40 40
6000 5280 4300 3000 2640 3000 2640 3200 1950 2154 1700 3200 2154 1700 2800 3200 1950 1040 959 1170 959 1040 826 956 585 627 505 514 627 486
375 450 294 244 250 219 140 320 180 188 151 215 170 127 289 200 150 108 157 106 157 86 90 80 56 43 95 59 45 58
78 65 60 59 51 52 45 48 45 40 40 39 35 36 47 33 31 27 28 23 26 21 16 15 10 9 12 10 5 5
38 66 51 24 35 18 31 20 18 30 30 15 26 26 13 11 10 18 20 9 19 14 11 9 4 5 4 7 3 1
102 87 63 80 59 67 53 63 60 41 50 51 38 46 41 42 26 30 22 13 13 5
19238 18330 13768 13135 10768 11137 9358 9177 9364 8830 7589 7257 7280 6104 9221 6082 6015 4711 4950 4682 4605 3725 3181 2404 1903 1579 1875 1334 837 668
Enthusiast (100-90.0)
High-end (89.9-75.0) Mid-range (74.9-45.0) Entry level (44.9-0) All valuations in points (max. 100)
COVER STORY
FEATURED
SMARTPHONES
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Chaitanya Surpur
COVER STORY
FEATURED
TAKE OVER
Its time to forget about sitting at a desk or carrying a laptop everywhere you go. Todays smartphones fit into your pocket and can do everything thats needed.
BY JAMSHED AVARI
ts hard to believe that todays phones are just as powerful as desktop computers were less than a decade ago. Apart from the freedom to move around, smartphones add new dimensions to our interaction, through video cameras, environmental sensors, GPS location awareness, and always-on Internet connections. In fact, even if phones werent so powerful, the advent of alwaysavailable online cloud services means you can safely cut the cord and live entirely out of the phone in your pocket. For those occasional times when you need more grunt, many of todays phones can be expanded via video outputs, plug-in keyboards, Bluetooth accessories or even laptop-like docks with full-sized keyboards and screens. For personal entertainment, most of these smartphones have screens in the 3.54-inch range, which is great for watching movies without being disturbed. Huge libraries of streaming audio and video are available online, and if thats too much for your 3G connection, just load up your phone at homeyou wont nd less than 8 GB of storage space today!
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COVER STORY
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ITS ALL ABOUT THE PLATFORM

The rst question you should ask yourself when considering a new smartphone is whether you need a full keyboard (which then precludes an iPhone) or you prefer a touchscreen (which makes BlackBerrys less likely). Beyond that, its all about the software youd prefer to use. The operating system, tools and downloadable apps are what mainly differentiate the smartphones from different manufacturers today. You get different features and functionality from each of these platforms. We outline their basic strengths and weaknesses below:
mostly painless. Users are bound to come across a number of niggles, mostly ways in which functionality is locked down, but overall, iOS gives users the tools and toys that they need quickly, easily, and without much fuss. The greatest strength of iOS is its App Store. Apple pioneered the very idea of an app store, and has enjoyed many rst-mover advantages. There are literally thousands of apps availableeverything from currency converters to 3D games, network diagnostic tools and interactive magazines. Many are free and of surprisingly high quality. However, power users could easily feel stied. You dont get true multitasking, theres no easy way to store les or share them between apps (unless you have specic apps designed to share specic letypes), options such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth toggles arent available unless you drill down into the settings menu, and unless you want to deal with the hassles of jailbreaking, youre limited to those apps that Apple approves. Smartphone users who choose iOS will appreciate its polish and responsiveness, rich music and movie support, superb built-in Web browser, and the vast array of games and apps available.
any other type. Its the only thing that comes close to iOS in terms of look and feel, and after years of playing catch-up, Android phones are bringing some funky new ideas to the table. Most of the worlds major phonemakers now use Android, and while most models are the classic all-touchscreen candybar shape, a few come with interesting twists including sliding keyboards, huge speakers, and even dedicated game controls. The most important factor distinguishing Android from iOS is that it was designed to be open, exible, and customizable. Thats both an advantage and a disadvantage theres a lot of innovation happening, but some manufacturers and carriers are imposing restrictions on the kind of things youre allowed to do with your phone, such as what software you can install and when youll receive updates. This is leading to a bit of fragmentation in the markettheres no single Android experience, and manufacturers arent always able to release satisfactory updates to older phones. If you want the true Android experience, look for the Nexus line that Google themselves design as showcases for what the stock platform can do. The Android Marketplace is growing steadily, and most popular apps are making their way over. Still, the pace of development is rapid, and the majority of excellent smartphone choices today run some form of Android. In the coming months, new possibilities for connecting accessories
iOS
We can easily divide the history of smartphones into pre-iPhone and post-iPhone eras, and we still wouldnt be overstating the importance of Apples launch to this product category. This is the device that essentially redened the entire category and made it possible for us to expect a level of power and ease of use that we never could before. The iPhones enduring popularity has much more to do with software than it does with hardware. Even four years after the rst iPhone launched, not many competitors have managed to match iOSs nger-friendly interface, multi-touch gestures and overall ease of use. Interacting with an iPhone is
ANDROID
Android wasnt much of a force to reckon with when it rst appeared in late 2008, but more Android phones sell today than
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06/2011
COVER STORY
FEATURED
and controlling home appliances will make Android a serious force to reckon with.
adopting friendlier menus and navigation. You wont nd anywhere near the variety of apps on a Blackberry as you will on the other platforms, and games are rarer still. If you spend more time on Twitter and Facebook than on Angry Birds, youll probably be happy with a Blackberry.
potentially making interactions easier but blurring the lines between casual contacts and close friends. To its credit, Microsoft has managed to build not only a whole new OS from the ground up, but also a new way of thinking about what a smartphone should be. Wed wait at least till the much-awaited Mango update is released later this year, but you should still consider WP7 if you want something stylish and unique.
BLACKBERRY OS
Research in Motion is the only company apart from Apple to maintain complete control over both the hardware and the software that goes into its devices. Blackberry phones used to be the slickest and smartest around, but that was when smartphone meant only good for business. Large corporations still swear by the Blackberry ecosystems brilliant email and messaging features, so if youre getting one from work, chances are you wont have much of a choice. The messaging feature, a sort of exclusive instant messaging community, is probably the biggest reason people are buying Blackberrys today. If youre buying a BB just because friends are pressuring you to join the gang, you might even nd that the cost of a phone plus the data plan required make the free service more expensive than regular SMSes. On the consumer side, Blackberry phones now come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Their keyboards are probably the best in the business, but their touchscreens havent been well received so far. Their upcoming Bold 9900 model should combine the best of both worlds, with a standard BB keyboard and layout, plus touch functionality on the screen. BlackBerry OS denitely feels dated in comparison to todays frontrunners, and the company has only recently started
WINDOWS PHONE
To be honest, Windows Phone 7 feels more like a placeholder than anything else. Microsoft needed to compete in a changed world where people dont want to poke screens with a stylus anymore, but it feels like theres just too much missing for it to be a serious contender right now. Microsoft needed something to sell, however, so lets hope that todays Windows phones will be upgradeable when the inevitable updates do come out. On the plus side, Microsoft has laid down the law in terms of hardware requirements, so WP7 devices are slick and powerful. The user experience is fresh and uniquerather than mimicking real-world objects in its icons and app layouts, the Metro experience is unashamedly modern, electronic and eccentric. In fact were all a bit tired of seeing grids of icons now, so were excited to see where WP7 will go. We also like the use of homescreen tiles which combine shortcuts and status updates for individual contacts or sections, and hubs, which combine actions such as social networking and contact management,
OTHERS
Symbian is still popular in India, and Nokia will continue to release a few new models till its nally laid to rest next year. The platform has a lot going for it, including Nokias dependable hardware, but the lack of a clear future makes it almost certain that app developers will stop spending time and effort on it, so youre doomed to a life of limited options. That said, Nokias latest devices are still excellent choices today, and Symbian will most likely live on in lower-end phones for a while to come. WebOS was supposed to usher in a new dawn for the beleaguered Palm, but sadly, that was never meant to be. HP now owns it, which we hope will result in those phones launching in India, unlike Palms own Pre and Pixi that never took off here. WebOS has a brilliant multitasking system and handles notications like no other. Well wait and see how its new owners capitalize on it, and whether app makers will nally jump on board.
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COVER STORY
FEATURED
LEAVE YOUR LAPTOP AT HOME

Todays smartphones are capable of doing anything you might need your laptop for on a business trip or holiday, plus much more. You can not only stay in touch via email and surf the Web without wires and dongles, but also capture HD video and play intense 3D games. Save yourself from shoulder aches and leave the bulky laptop behind. These are the best phones available anywhere in the world today.
BASIC PHONE AND TEXT COMMUNICATION:

Voice clarity and battery life are important, considering your phone is still also a phone. See how the phone feels in your hand and choose one with a comfortable weight and grip. BlackBerrys are usually the styled well and are comfortable for long periods. The physical keyboard might make texting and typing more comfortable, but thats an individual preference. BEST PICKS: BlackBerry Bold 9780, Samsung Nexus S
WEB SURFING:
Theres nothing quite like breaking free from crippled mobile sites and browsing the full Web on your phone. Most handle Web surng with ease, though the main pain point is still Adobe Flash support. Still, better standards mean you wont really miss it much these days. BEST PICKS: Apple iPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy S II
EMAIL AND BUSINESS:

Surprisingly, Microsofts own Windows Phone devices arent the best when it comes to syncing with a corporate Exchange server for mail, schedules and business collaboration. If you need to punch out lots of long emails, a physical keyboard will most likely be more comfortable in the long run. BlackBerry phones win this round hands down, followed by Nokias E-series. BEST PICKS: BlackBerry Bold 9870, Nokia E7
CLOUD SYNC AND BACKUP:

Android was designed around the Web, and even though others try to integrate Web-based storage and backup features, it pays to have it all built in. When Googles music and movie services launch later this year, these phones will be even better poised to take advantage of the cloud. BEST PICKS: HTC Sensation, Samsung Nexus S
SOCIAL NETWORKING:
Get all your updates live and in real time! Chat with Facebook friends and send photos to Twitter without the hassle of logging into their websites or waiting for them to load. Social networking should be seamlessly integrated with the phones main functions, which is what the latest crop manage to do quite well. BEST PICKS: BlackBerry Torch 9800, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
BLACKBERRY TORCH 9800
Big screen plus keyboard
HTC SENSATION
Sleek multimedia powerhouse
APPLE IPHONE 4
Gorgeous Retina Display
SAMSUNG NEXUS S
Unadulterated Android
NOKIA N8
For brilliant stills and video
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06/2011
COVER STORY
FEATURED
AUDIO, VIDEO AND STREAMING:

Considering how many iPods theyve sold, its no surprise that Apples iPhone has the best media functionality. ali lit li i Youre stuck with iTunes for desktop syncing, but navigation and playback are easy as can be. Its only if you need a much larger screen or advanced format support that you need to look elsewherethe Nokia N8 for instance has HDMI output and can read les from USB pen drives (dongle required). BEST PICKS: Apple iPhone 4, Nokia N8, HTC Desire HD
GAMING AND ENTERTAINMENT:

Again, just the sheer number of games available makes Apple stand out. The iPhone 4 has a tilt sensor, accelerometer and gyroscope, making control fun and intuitive. Sony Ericssons foray into serious mobile gaming on a phone has been a bit of a slow starter, but the Xperia Play should pick up steam soon. BEST PICKS: Apple iPhone 4, Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
PRODUCTIVITY APPS:
iOS rules the roost in terms of polish and variety again, but Android is fast catching up. Productivity apps include schedulers, note takers, document editors, le storage and security tools, and even utilities that sync with online services. BEST PICKS: Apple iPhone 4, LG Optimus 2X
RAW POWER AND EXPANSION:

Although it depends on the OS and software youll be running, the raw processing power of a phone greatly improves your chances of keeping up with the latest upgrades. To make sure you have enough grunt going forwards, dual-core CPUs are becoming the norm. For sheer oomph, the Atrix is a rst-of-itskind phone that can be docked into a laptopsized shell for more comfortable use.
STYLE:
Theres no point having a supersmart phone if you cant whip it out and catch people staring in awe. If you want to look just as good as youll feel, there are plenty of slim, sleek choices available. Dress your phone up with any of the dozens of covers and accessories available for even more oomph. BEST PICKS: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, HTC Sensation
LG OPTIMUS 2X
Dual-core processing power
BEST PICKS: LG Droid X2, Motorola Atrix 4G
SONY ERICSSON XPERIA ARC HTC DESIRE HD

Global roaming in style
MOTOROLA ATRIX 4G
Docks with a laptop-like shell
Super slim and super stylish
SONY ERICSSON XPERIA PLAY

PSP-quality gaming
06/2011
95
BROWSER COMPARISON
FEATURED
Browser Browsing
Five major browsers are pitted against each other as we find out which one works best.
BY PRANAV TONSEKAR
he Web, once frowned upon by many for its security and safety concerns, has been
is capable of handling and rendering relevant Web elements. The SunSpider test was run on every browser to benchmark their Javascript engines and to nd out how well each handled it, since JS is used on almost every website. HTML5 is a new revision for the hypertext markup language, used to code websites. It can embed audio and video directly, eliminating the need for third party players or additional codecs. This effectively makes the Adobe Flash Player redundant. Youtube was one of the rst few websites to embrace HTML5. Apart from media streaming, HTML5 can be used to develop Web applications and games. Most modern browsers boast of complete support and compliance with the HTML5 specications. These claims were put to the test using the HTML5 benchmark to nd out how 'future proof' the browsers actually were. The browsers were also benchmarked using Futuremarks Peacekeeper test, which gives an index of the browsers performances in various tests dealing with the likes of Javascript, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Document Object Model (DOM) and HTML5. Memory usage is also of great importance. You wouldnt want all your memory to be hogged by a browser. Hence, we noted
how much memory each browser consumed at startup and again at a point when the browser had considerable load with ten tabs open and with video being streamed. A decent browser also needs an interface thats clean and unobtrusive, yet intuitive enough to let you play around with settings and navigate with ease.
accepted for what it is into our daily lives. You download music, stream videos, play games, catch up with friends and the rest of the world, all over the Internet. The bookshelf full of chaste encyclopedias has made way for Wikipedia and other reference sites. Newspapers and magazines have been replaced by blogs and RSS feeds. The Internet has most denitely changed. Yet what we use to access it has been around for the longest of time and has proven almost indispensable the browser. The year 2000 was a blissful time; Internet Explorer 5 dominated as the standard Web browser. Those willing to explore beyond the Explorer had the dying Netscape Navigator at their disposal. Cut to 2011, and you have ve browsers vying for your attention. If that wasn't enough, each browser comes with a number of versions. On the bright side, there's a lot on the menu to choose from. But with so many browsers to choose from, how do you pick the perfect one? The perfect browser must be able to render all your pages right and support the newest web standards. We ran every browser through the ACID3 test that checks if the browser
Opera 11.11
Opera 11.11 has subtle, under-thehood changes over Opera 11. A critical vulnerability has now been xed; the Presto rendering engine has been updated. The most known feature of Opera is the Speed Dial home screen, which gives you quick access to your most preferred websites. The interface has more controls you can play around with, yet it doesn't look too cluttered or obtrusive. When played around with, Opera is a powerful browser and can suit every need of a power user. You can edit frames and play around with how you see the layout on any page. Speed Dial, now updated to version 2.0, is a lot more exible and congurable. Previews can be made to update in real time, no longer being mere thumbnails. If youre using a slower Internet connection, you will nd Opera Turbo to be handy. Turbo compresses images and content via
Opera 11.11 features a new and improved Speed Dial, which can be configured and customized with a background image and size of tiles, rows and columns.
Every tab in Opera can be played around with, arranged, cascaded and tiled. You can also view two tabs simultaneously to compare them.
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06/2011
SMS us!
Story code: FBB to 51818
BROWSER COMPARISON
FEATURED
SpecScan 1
BROWSER
Version Peacekeeper Overall Rendering Social networking Complex graphics Data DOM operations Text parsing Sunspider ACID3 HTML5 Test RAM consumption On Startup (approx.) With Load (approx.) 60 MB 412 MB 40 MB 469 MB 21 MB 458 MB 42 MB 454 MB 79 MB 240 MB 11429 10864 8004 24206 8866 11072 22848 229.8ms 100 258 10846 6287 4941 18887 36880 6702 19555 240.1ms 100 293 7031 7057 3474 13302 15352 3323 13746 209.1ms 95 130 5658 3171 4433 10347 10361 4963 8025 214.6ms 97 255 5507 2517 3922 5689 8005 7517 8533 293.3ms 100 228
2
CHROME
11.0.696
3
INTERNET EXPLORER
9.0.8
4
FIREFOX
4.0.1
5
SAFARI
5.0.5
OPERA
11.11
Operas servers and chops off a great amount of time spent in loading pages. Opera consumes a substantial amount of memory even at startup. However, even when ten tabs were opened, it showed no signs of slowing down. Every tab loaded quickly. Mouse gestures and voice commands make usability much easier. For those who like toerr cover their tracks, you can quickly start browsing in a private tab, just the way you open a new tab. If convergence, specically an all-in-one client, is what you seek, Opera Unite will solve that. Unite is one amazingly exible and nifty tool, which
tries to fulll all your Web needs within Opera itself. Streaming music, uploading pictures, instant messaging, you name it, and you've got it. You also have an email client and a bit-torrent client. Opera 11.11 is a powerful, quick and featurerich browser packed into just a 7 MB executable le!
of the Opera UI; a single button, single menu interface. The title and menu bars have been replaced by the tabs that stay on top of the window. You can revert to the old menu bar look. Look to the right of the tabs and you nd a tiny icon that takes you to a Tabs Group menu. A lot like Expose on Mac OSX, you have a quick view of all tabs open as thumbnails. You can then arrange them in groups, only open that group or open only one out of the many tabs; play around all you want. Add-ons and extensions are many. Ad-Block is a handy extension that does best what
Mozilla Firefox 4
The rst Firefox 4 beta appeared sometime in July 2010. The nal version, however, released eight months after on March 22, making the Firefox 4 release cycle the longest. The UI is reminiscent
With tab groups in Firefox 4, you get an overview of all the tabs open on Firefox. You can group, close, or open any tab or tab group from here.
Internet Explorer 9 features a brand new user interface and an integrated download manager.
06/2011
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BROWSER COMPARISON
FEATURED
Google Chrome can run Web applications and games, which you can buy or install from Chrome's very own Web Store. Oh, and there's Angry Birds too!
The Top Sites screen on Safari 5 gives you a sleek, Cover Flow-like overview of your most visited websites.
its name suggests. Firefox is the most customizable and extensible because of the large number of add-ons that it has. Personas and themes are another highlight you might want to explore if personalization is your thing. The add-on bar below can be removed too, making way for those extra pixels. The UI has generally been made a lot more exible to suit every need. Speeds are nothing phenomenal, nor are they abysmally low. In fact, migrating from 3.6 to 4 doesn't really give you that noticeable boost. In the benchmarks too, Firefox 4 does not score all that well. One of the downsides of Firefox is that its a memory hog, and often tends to get sluggish after long hours of use. When the ten tabs were opened, Firefox did end up using RAM, but tab loading was quick. Private browsing can be activated through settings. Live bookmarking has been one of the unique Firefox features. It lets you bookmark feeds and view them in real time, allowing you to go to the latest post on the feed as soon as its up. By default, the bookmarks toolbar has the Latest Headlines button which is a live bookmark. Firefox 4 is a decent browser with a lot of customization options, yet it isn't the fastest browser around, nor is it light on resources.
search from here as well as use it as a traditional address bar. Options are simple to use and play around with. Google Chrome is often said to be a lot like an operating system, with its ability to run applications. Needless to say, it comes with a WebStore of its own, with a number of extensions, themes, apps and games. Angry Birds fans rejoice! You now have a new variant of the popular game for Chrome. Another nifty add-on is the Chrome Instant, which like Google Instant, auto-completes text on the Omnibar and gives you a live preview of the result. Chrome too allows for privacy browsing with its Incognito Window that can be opened from the settings menu. Much like an OS, it comes with a task manager which displays the amount of resources every tab occupies and lets you kill any tab or app. Chrome is light on resources, but when a large number of tabs are opened, the memory usage begins shooting up. Though the user interface didn't slow down, it stuttered with the loading of two tabs, refusing to load them until they were refreshed. It scores well in the benchmarks, second in Peacemaker only to Opera. Chrome bagged the highest points in the HTML5 test. At the end of the day, Google Chrome was just as quick and user friendly as its quirky viral videos claimed it to be.
remains are the back, forward buttons and the home, favorites and tools buttons. The address bar and search bar have been combined into a singular bar, much like Chromes Omnibar. This bar is on the same row as the tabs, making it slightly congested when more tabs are opened. However, that can be sorted by checking Show tabs on a separate row. Pinned sites and jump lists are new features that integrate IE9 with Windows 7. You can pull out entire tabs, drag them to the taskbar and pin them, like you would pin any program. IE9 recognizes the site and gives a jump list with content-specic tasks. If you pin Twitter to the task bar, right-clicking on the shortcut gives you a list of tasks like new tweet, mentions, etc. The browser only has around 50 add-ons. IE9 features a new Javascript rendering engine, Chakra. It surprisingly outperforms Firefox 4 in the Peacekeeper benchmark and aces the SunSpider test with the lowest response time. This result was mired in controversy as one Mozilla developer claimed that Internet Explorer cheats on the SunSpider test. However, this result is attained because Chakra uses dead code elimination optimization. Simply put, the engine identies lines of code that have no effect on the nal result and ignores it completely. Internet Explorer 9 is denitely a major improvement over its awed predecessors, and is performs far better too.
Google Chrome 11
Based on the open source Chromium browser and the WebKit rendering engine, Google Chrome 11 came just a month after the release of Chrome 10. The UI is clean and uncluttered, as always. The Omnibar is what will take you everywhere; you can Google
Internet Explorer 9
Having been synonymous with disastrous, terribly rendered and sluggish browsing, Microsoft intends to change the picture with its new Internet Explorer 9. IE9 has a brand new interface. All that
Apple Safari 5.0.5

Touted by Apple to be the fastest browser in the world, Safari 5, based on the WebKit layout engine, has been
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FEATURED
around since nearly a year. The interface, though not Aqua, is reminiscent of the Mac OS X user interface. The Top Sites page is visually appealing, and like Chromes Most Visited section or Operas Speed Dial, it shows your most visited sites in a layout akin to the Cover Flow view. Safari got its own extensions gallery in July last year, and has a large collection of extensions to offer, albeit not as many as those available for Firefox or Chrome. Javascript is handled by the new Nitro Javascript engine, which has been claimed to make Safari 5 run 30 percent faster than its predecessor. Rendering is perfect and Safari 5.0.5 scores a perfect 100 on 100 in the ACID3 test. However, it logged some of the lowest scores on the Peacekeeper benchmark and had the highest response time on the SunSpider test with 293.3 ms. On the HTML5 test too, Safari failed to impress. On ring up Safari 5, it consumed nearly 79 MB of RAM, but as the number of tabs increased, it didn't end up consuming additional resources. Overall Memory usage was just around 240 MB, but the loading of
tabs did slow down, almost coming to a halt. The Apple Safari 5 fails to perform or impress, and unless you are a rabid Apple loyalist, give this one a miss.
THE WAY AHEAD

As you pick your favorite browser, developers are at it, churning out alpha, beta and nightly builds of the next version, and some of them are already open for public download. These are meant for testing and feedback only. You still might want to check out some of them for purely experimental purposes. While you check out Firefox 4, Mozilla already has its Aurora and Nightly builds up for download and testing. Aurora is the codename for Firefox 5 and a beta build was made public on May 17. Google has its Chrome Canary Build, while Opera hosts its 11.50 and future builds on the Opera Next section. Hot on the heels of the Internet Explorer 9 release, Microsoft previewed Internet Explorer 10 for developers and soon it was open to the world for a Test Drive. Each of these experimental browsers carries a distinctive name so that you can install and run a stable browser simultaneously with a newer beta build of the same browser. So if you are feeling brave and looking for something new, go ahead; try them out!
Verdict
When it comes to speed, Opera 11.11 trounces every other browser out there, acing every test. It gives you a great package too, with an integrated bit-torrent and email client. Additional features can be added using Opera Unite. Opera 11.11 is a browser we would most certainly recommend for daily use. Chrome isn't far behind in terms of speed. The people at Google were right; Chrome is indeed a fast browser. It's not just a browser, but also a platform for Web applications, a feature that makes it more unique and worth your consideration. Internet Explorer 9 deserves a mention because it too has been quite an impressive browser, with its fancy new UI. This browser drives home the point that the age of the badly rendered, slow loading websites is behind us.
feedback@chip.in
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PRO TIPS FOR YOUTUBE
FEATURED
Pro Tips
for YouTube
This is how you deal with country bans, find the relevant videos quickly, and use 3D.
BY DOMINIK HOFERER
Search easily
Our search tips simplify y hunting around in the huge video archive
Extra options
Choose the default quality of the videos you watch, and whether or not they play automatically
Without Flash
Many clips run even without the Flash plug-in: just visit youtube.com/ html5
ouTube has earned its place as a huge source of entertainment on the Internet, as it offers enough material for hours and hours of enjoymentif only it
wasnt so clunky to use. To make it more enjoyable, we can add a remote control with which you can upgrade the page with a number of interesting and useful functions. Youll be able to nd the best clips quickly, view videos banned in India, avoid age checks without logging in, and download your favorite clips. Most of the tricks work across Firefox, Chrome or Opera; only Internet Explorer and Safari have trouble with these functions.
Control buttons
New convenience features can be added with the You Tube Enhancer extension
Find videos faster

No other video portal has such a large collection of video clips, but unfortunately, this comes at the cost of sorting through them all! However we must remember that the video portal is run by Google, so its only logical that the search eld should be able to handle complex requests. but the function is useful nonetheless. To use it, log on to youtube.com/topics. As this option is only available in the US version, you will rst have to change the language to English (US) using the menu on the bottom of the page, and then click to activate it.
PRO SEARCH: YouTube understands many of the advanced

operations that Google uses for searching. With the command allintitle: inserted before the term, YouTube nds only videos that have that specic word in the title. If you cannot remember the complete title of a clip, insert a * between search terms and you will soon nd something. You can exclude certain words by inserting a minus sign before the search word, like so: -searchword.
Sidestep bans
If theres something that irritates us on YouTube, its the note: This video is not available in your country. We show you how you can deactivate this permanently, and even deal with the age verication process.
REMOVE HURDLES QUICKLY: Not all clips are allowed to be

displayed in all countries; usually because the music and movie industries lock out a lot of videos. But with a small trick, you can view all videos that YouTube has in its collection. Simply copy the URL of the video, open the site ktunnel.com, and paste it there to mask your country of origin.
CLEVER SUGGESTIONS: With a new feature, YouTube Topics,

the video site additionally suggests suitable keywords during a search. This function is useful, for example, when you are hunting for a band, since YouTube lists similar sounding groups. Topics is currently in the Beta phase and works only in English,
Intelligent search The new feature YouTube Topics returns suitable keywords for a search term and classifies them in categories.
Avoid age verification Insert 'nsfw' in the domain name so that you can
view videos with age verification without an annoying login process.
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PRO TIPS FOR YOUTUBE
FEATURED
Download
Directly download videos from the browser to the PC, after check
DOWNLOAD VIDEOS QUICKLY AND EASILY

Drill into YouTube with free scripts from userscripts.org. The most useful one, called YouTube Enhancer (see image below) gives the site new control options with which you can download clips faster. Add the scripts to your browsers as below:
FIREFOX
Subtitles
You can download subtitles on to your PC using instructions from mike.thedt.net/ytsubs
Install the add-on Greasemonkey via addons.mozilla.org. Search through userscripts.org for YouTube Enhancer and click install.
waiting for you
CHROME
Its a bit easier; just search for the YouTube Enhancer on userscripts.org and install the script. Chrome can handle it on its own.
Videos in 3D
youtube.com/3d shows only clips in 3D, so, keep your 3D glasses ready!
OPERA
Visit userscripts.org, search for YouTube Enhancer, and click install. A JS file will be downloaded, which you will have to save on your computer. If its displayed on screen, just hit [Ctrl]+[S] on the keyboard. Now go to Menu | Settings | Settings | Advanced | Content | JavaScript options in Opera where youll see the path to Operas User Javascript folder, or can specify one yourself. Paste the downloaded JS file into this folder, or save it there directly.
Best resolution
Use our tips to view HD videos in the best available quality immediately
BREAK ALL BARRIERS: The free browser Mgeni, which

works in combination with the anonymous browsing tool Tor, is also suitable for sites like the American TV portal Hulu. For that, start Tor, click on the globe button next to the URL eld in Mgeni, and follow the instructions of the browser. The advantage is that Mgeni uses Tor only for identication, your origin is masked. It doesnt run the actual video and other traffic through the Tor network, which means videos will play back without delay, but it isnt actually doing anything to protect your privacyso dont rely on it for anything else! also be started in the small-screen player in HD with a trick. For that, you will have to use the script YoutubeHD from userscripts. org (see box) in the browser.
CONTROL TIME: Some clips are not perfectly scripted or

edited. It takes a few minutes till you arrive at the exciting parts. If you want to show just these scenes to your friends, the URL extension #t=XmYs helps. Thus, if you want to jump to the 30-second mark, add it on to the URL, such as in this example: youtube.com/watch?v=_Ay01M1g8os#t=0m30s.
REMOVE AGE VERIFICATION: Some clips are protected

by an age verication lter. You need to log in to prove your age and view the clip. If you substitute nsfwyoutube for youtube in the URL bar (see below), you will reach an unaffiliated website on which the video is played, even without age verication. But be warned: the page on which you land contains extremely adult-themed advertisements.
RUN FORWARD: With the row of [1]-[9] keys, you can step
through points in the timeline from 10 to 90 percent of the clips length, in 10 percent increments.
JUKEBOX: Enter the name of your favorite band on youtube.

com/disco, and YouTube will deliver a playlist of suitable clips.
feedback@chip.in
Convenient hidden functions

Viewing videos in the best quality, picking out only highlights and navigating fastthats all possible with these tricks.
HD QUALITY: HD videos on YouTube are more fun

in fullscreen mode. If you have a high-speed Internet connection, you can congure the player such that it automatically runs the highest resolution if you select fullscreen display. To do that, log in and click to the right of your user name, go to Account | Settings for playback | Video playback and enable the corresponding function. Clips can
Disco The Party

mode delivers a stream of Music clips of your favorite band
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3D STREET VIEWS
FEATURED
The pictures: Passenger cars with cameras, GPS transmitters and lasers
Special cars survey their surroundings with the help of 360 degree camera units.
UltraCam mobile
Every four meters, a 12 megapixel camera with six lenses shoots six images, each around 16MB large and with a color depth of 16 bits.
Lidar A laser scans

the surroundings and measures the distance to all objects in its path. The latest generation scans 1.5 million unique points in each panorama.
The Streets Are Yours to Wander

Google isn't the only one photographing everything in sight. Microsoft has been sending its own camera-equipped cars around the world, just as discreetly.
BY MARKUS MANDAU
When a Streetside car scans the surroundings, it limits itself to three types of data: GPS coordinates, photos and laser-enhanced distance measurements (Lidar: Light Detection and Ranging). The six lenses that are on the UltraCam, mounted on the top of the car, create a 360-degree snapshot from six individual images with a nominal resolution of 2048 x 2048 pixels each. The high performance camera was developed by the Austrian company Vexcel, which was taken over by Microsoft exclusively for the purpose of creating Streetside. The real highlight, which is necessary to create the 3D effect in the browser, is the Lidar, which concurrently takes laser measurements.
bis 100 Terabyte pro Woche.
Lidar determines the distance of all surrounding objects by sending out laser beams and measuring how long they take to be reected. In normal, narrow city roads, the camera shoots an all-round view every four meters; on wider roads, only every eight meters. They thus produce up to 250 panorama pictures from 1,500 individual samples for every kilometer traveled. Besides, the cars travel only between 10 am and 2 pm and only when the weather is good, so that all pictures are created with roughly the same lighting conditions. Then the hard disk with the data processing center in Boulder, Colorado, which processes all data centrallyin all 50 to 100 terabyte per week.
PHOTOS: MICROSOFT
People around the world are becoming uncomfortable with the amount of detail Google's street view cameras have been collecting, but they're not the only ones doing it. Microsoft has launched a rival project called Streetside, for Bing Maps. At present, it concentrates mainly on the USA, but Streetside cars will also soon travel through Europe and Asia, photographing every major city and town. The expenses that both Microsoft and Google are incurring are just as enormous as the amount of data they now process. Microsoft, though, seems to have learnt from its competitor's many faux passes and is being careful of anything that might be interpreted as invading people's privacy.
photos is sent by courier to a
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3D STREET VIEWS
FEATURED
Data processing: From panorama photos to completed cube files in three steps
Here, coherent photos are made from individual images, simplied space coordinates are derived from laser points, and the people in the photos are made anonymous.
B Browsing: 3D surfing in 3 the city area th
COMBIN COMBINING INDIVIDUAL IMAGES

First, the six individual images are put together as a panorama. Microsoft acheives this using the code of its own Photosynth software, which has been available for quite some time now. This tracks similar features in the images to join them together, and simultaneously balances the color and brightness differences. Then the software cuts the panorama image into a cube with six "sides", which account for the perspectives required to generate the immersive 3D images. In addition, it creates at least one more reduced-quality version of each of the six images at a lower resolution. The process that combines all the various perspectives and resolutions is based on Seadragon technology, which was another Microsoft research project just like Photosynth. This is the main reason why Streetside requires the Silverlight browser plug-in. Seadragon was first implemented in Silverlight, which was Microsoft's answer to Flash, to display
Processing takes place in the t background when you surf through Streetside
interactive media and high-quality video through the browser without much loss in quality. The software saves all individual images as files shaped like unfolded cubes in the last step. It is then available as a large JPEG file and is ready for the next stage, which creates the final 3D view.
Streetside Interface Users control

navigation using the on-screen controls to guide the image of a small blue man
In Bing Maps, you can switch on the Streetside View by clicking the small blue man. By doing so, the software presents the area's cube file at its lower resolution. Only when you zoom in to the details does browser spring to the point of the cube file at which detail is saved at a higher resolution. The small blue figure, with which you navigate through Streetside, always runs on the street surface using the underlaid spatial coordinates. When you navigate along a street, you move from one cube file to the next. The loading process can be detected by the fact that the image is not sharp for a brief time. The data processing center delivers cube files for new locations every two weeks one package comprises 400 hard disks totalling 100 to 160 terabytes which cannot all be stored in Webaccessible locations for security reasons. The data is then mirrored on Microsoft's servers all around the globe by an online data processing center. If a user calls up the Streetside function, then he might receive data from a number of different locations, each of which store different subsets of the whole cityscape. This decentralized distribution is intended to guarantee a short reaction time of less than 20 milliseconds, so that for the user the impression should be of a smooth transition.
feedback@chip.in 103
CALCULATING THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE
1. Lidar raw data The laser measurements are saved as Depth Maps with up to 1.5 million spatial points per panorama image. A simplified 3D model of the photographed surrounding is created in this way.
2. Simplified structure The software works out a simple polygon model of the street image from the large amount of raw data. For that, it only considers data which identifies the edges of houses, walls or the street itself.
3. Three-dimensional model The program marks the surfaces of the polygons as streets or house fronts and saves the edge points. If they are overlaid with the images in the cube file, users get the impression that he can move in the space.
MAKING THE PICTURES ANONYMOUS

The software masks all the faces of passersby as well as the license plates of cars in the panorama images. For that, the software lays the raw Lidar data as a Depth Map over the photo. With the help of this, it can then identify people as well as cars and can also differentiate whether the picture concerns a real person or, for example, models on billboards, which need not be made anonymous. Faces are recognized in just the same way as normal image processing tools work: with the help of the typical color values of human skin tones.
ORIGINAL
PROCESSED
POWER BATTERIES OF TOMORROW
FEATURED
2015 Virus battery

Cellphones last for a week with viruses improving the batteries' electrodes
Power Batteries of Tomorrow

Cellphones, notebooks and electric carsall mobile devices need better batteries. CHIP takes a look at the latest advances in this field.
BY ANDREAS WINTERER
battery-operated Audi A2 created a sensation in October 2010 by managing to run just under 600
spite of their vastly different purposes, there are quite a few similarities between cars and notebooks. The electric Roadster, a sportscar made by US company Tesla Motors, is driven by so-called 18650 batteries. These are lithium ion batteries in the form of a cylinder measuring 18 x 65 millimeters (hence their name), which were actually rst developed with notebooks in mind. 6,831 of these batteries are interconnected to generate the amount of power the Tesla Roadster needs. The battery can store 56 kilowatt-hours of energy, allows the car to travel a range of 340 kilometers per charge, and weighs approximately 450 kg.
Volume vs energy: concentrated power

This shows the requirements of the future: batteries must not only become smaller and lighter, but also store more energy at the same time. Scientists all over the world are conducting research in order to achieve this. They are planning to store power with the help of nanotechnology and virusesor literally take it from the air. In spite of the high demand requirements, their starting point today. Lithium batteries in different shapes are widely used at present. They offer the highest energy density and thus
PHOTOS: MICROSOFT
kilometers from Munich to Berlin without a recharge. No electric car before this had been found to be suitable enough for daily use and cover a longer stretch than the specially converted vehicle. Although the authenticity of the recordbreaking drive was debated among experts, the fact that it represented a huge advancement in the eld of battery technology was indisputable. Not only car manufacturers, but even notebook and smartphone makers are desperately searching for new methods of storing more energy in less space. In
is mostly the lithium ion technology used
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TECHNOLOGY GETS CHARGED UP

2017 Fuel cells
Electric cars run on fuel cells which can be recharged quickly and allow you to cover greater distances
Batteries inevitably become empty and need to be plugged to a socket. However, your devices might soon manage without a power cable.
UNIFORM CHARGERS
The good news first: while were stuck with chargers for a while still, the plug chaos for smartphones and MP3 players could end soon. The microUSB plug will take the place of all the different charger types as a uniform standard in Europe, and will surely spread to the rest of the world. This is still wishful thinking in case of notebooks because of the different sizes and types of models available, which all have different battery types and power requirements. It will possibly take another couple of years till the standard power adaptor becomes widespread.
2020 Air batteries

Notebook runtimes double because their batteries breathe oxygen from the air
CHARGING WITHOUT CABLES

It will not be long before we start charging our devices without cables. Electric toothbrushes already receive their current via induction without cablesthis principle is also going to be used for smartphones, notebooks and electric cars in future. Even today, devices such as Powermat (powermat. com) and WildCharge (wildcharge.com) give the option of charging smartphones by simply placing them on a charging area. The disadvantage is that you currently need to put a special skin on your iPhone or BlackBerry before charging. This is because these devices absorb the wireless power and transmit it to the charging socket of the cell phone. Other efforts go to the extent of converting unused kinetic energy into a current for charging. Designers have developed systems on paper, which redirect the kinetic energy generated during dancing directly into a persons cellphone. Last year, Brother introduced batteries of the AA and AAA sizes, which could be charged by being shakenthis has been possible for a long time and used in flashlights and radios.
save the most energy per unit of weight. For comparison, whereas an outdated nickel cadmium battery (NiCd) has an energy density of approximately 40 Wh/ kg, a lithium ion battery (Li-Ion) achieves between 100 and 245 Wh/kg. In addition, the latter does not suffer from the common memory effect which tends to deplete the capacity of a battery which is not discharged completely before being recharged. In spite of this, the Li-Ion batteries absorb only about 1,000 charge cycles before its capacity drops by 20 to 50 percent. Even if new technologies are being researched, the basics of battery technology remain unaffected: when charging, they convert electrical energy into chemical energy like any other battery. When discharging, the reaction is then reversed, and the battery releases electrical energy. The amount of energy that can be stored depends on the materials of the electrodes and the electrolytes between them. Scientists have increased the energy
density of the Li-Ion batteries time and again by improving the chemicals; in most cases, the electrolyte. However, this frequently has undesired side effects: as the chemical process releases heat when charging and discharging, which can overheat and cause the batteries to burst. There have been a few examples in the past few years of notebooks and cellphone batteries catching re, or in the worst case, exploding. Hybrid car pioneer Toyota presented its research into prototypes of new solid lithium batteries at the end of 2010. Their electrodes comprise lithium cobalt dioxide and graphite; the electrolyte is stable and heat-resistant. The batteries thus dont need to be cooled actively, unlike the current lithium batteries in cars.
USE SOLAR ENERGY

A few designers have designed notebooks which work entirely on solar ely energy, and Apple has patented a ted method of supplying solar electricity to notebooks. With the h E1107 model, Samsung already ady has a solar cell phone in the pipeline. Upgrading is also a very affordable option in this s case: external solar panels in n the form of a case can be seen en at sunbagshop.com or offgridsystems.ch for instance.
Lithium technology: still some scope

The material of the electrodes can also be improved. For instance, in many tests, graphite has been replaced with silicon, which has increased the storage
FEATURED
New approaches: Miniaturization has great potential

THE SMALLEST BATTERY IN THE WORLD
Sandia National Laboratories in the USA have built the smallest battery in the world for basic research. Its anodes comprise a nanowire made of stannic oxide. The wire doubles its length during charging as it gets accumulated with lithium ions.
NANO TURBO FOR BATTERIES

Nanoscoops are tiny, cone-like structures on battery anodes. Since they expand during charging and shrink during discharging, they can be charged about 40 to 60-times faster and can generate currents.
1. Empty and short The anode is basically short and straight under the electron microscope 2. Full and long When charging, the wire absorbs lithium ions and doubles in length
Silicon The material absorbs lithium ions during charging and expands Aluminium The link layer absorbs the mechanical load when expanding
VIRUSES INCREASE THE CAPACITY

Researchers at the Maryland University add mosaic viruses, which grow on tobacco plants, on the surface of electrodes before they are coated. This increases the surface of the electrodes and thus the capacity of the battery built.
Bigger surface The structure of the tobacco mosaic virus helps to increase the reactive surface of battery electrodes
Carbon When discharging, the complete structure shrinks along with its carbon base the battery can thus perform better
Thus, charging times of the battery can be made quicker and life span higher by factors of 40 to 60.
capacity many times over. There are hardly any limits set to fantasy: IBM and the Scottish University St Andrews are researching a lithium oxygen battery which is believed to have ten times the energy density of current Li-Ion batteries. As usual, this air battery uses an electrode comprising lithium; however, a porous carbon membrane, which is suffused by oxygen from the air, serves as the second electrode that reacts with lithium. The oxygen is released again during power fuelling. However, one problem with lithium is that it must never come in contact with water, not even with atmospheric humidity. The advantages of higher energy density are somewhat nullied owing to the costs of treating air that would be required, but the researchers are still expecting such batteries to go into series production in 2014 or 2015 at the earliest.
roughening up their surface so as to increase the effective surface area for reaction processes. The efforts of a research group at the Maryland University, which used biological viruses in batteries, seem spectacular. In this process, cultures of the tube-shaped tobacco mosaic virus, which has been popular with nanotech researchers in recent years, are captured in electrodes and coated with metal. As a result, you get an electrode with microscopically ne surface structures, which increase the capacity of the battery many times over. The viruses only serve as molds for the nanostructure in this case; they are not directly involved in the processes in the battery later on. Their performance is impressive: the infected battery manages six-times the capacity of comparable virus-free models. At the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, researchers are using classic nanotechnology under the guidance of Professor Nikhil Koratkar. They coat electrodes with so-called Nanoscoops: atomic, cornet-shaped silicone batteries, which can expand and contract unscathed during the course of charging and discharging. That way, they retain the mechanical charge which develops due to storage of the lithium ions when charging and release of the ions when discharging.
Paper-thin tech: printed batteries

What is useful in electric cars would also be desirable for notebooks and smartphones: for charging to take considerably less time than what it does today. Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder have developed a lithium-ironphosphate battery at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which charges to full capacity in less than a minute, without being damaged due to overheating. Even Sony has introduced different batteries on the basis of this material. Whether notebooks will really be able to harness this technology is a completely different story. At present, the lithium-iron-phosphate batteries have lower energy densities than li-ion batteries in particular. On the other hand, in model airplanes, where maximum capacity is less important, they are already being used as boost chargers. In addition to higher energy densities, battery researchers also have their sights on new designs and production methods. For instance, printable batteries, were jointly explored in 2009 by the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems (ENAS), Chemnitz University
Modern electrodes: more reaction surface

Another way to increase energy density is to make the electrodes thinner. If the electrodes are rolled into narrow bundles, it will be possible to accommodate more electrode surface area in the same space. As a result, the energy density of the battery increases. The same effect can also be achieved by leaving the electrodes as big as they are, but
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FEATURED
of Technology and a company called Menippos founded by the students there. They weigh less than a gram and are thinner than a millimeter. Even the lithium-polymer battery at the Advanced Materials Innovation Center (AMIC) in Japan is half a millimeter thick. These thin batteries could be integrated on the rear of solar modules or extremely thin e-paper displays for instance. And this can be implemented such that it is absolutely harmless to the environment: In Sweden, a group of researchers at the Angstrm laboratory at Uppsala University are experimenting on batteries created on the basis of algae cellulose. The battery performs better after a coating owing to the nanostructure of the algae. This energy density is a bit less than that of current batteries, but they can be fabricated into textiles or paper packaging.
Mobile mini power stations as battery replacements

For years now, the fuel cell returns as hype in the media. What does the eco-friendly super battery contain?
Like an internal combustion engine, a fuel cell consumes fuel. During a chemical reaction in the cell, it releases its energy. Hydrogen is used as tank contents in most cases. It reacts with oxygen and the waste-product is thus eco-friendly water. Even the Apollo missions of NASA flew to the moon with fuel cells, and the Germany Navy operates submarines of the 212 A type which are considered to be the first air-independent submarines, thanks to the fuel cell drive for silent running. Even everyday operations are stirring up. With FCHV, Toyota is producing a fuel cell vehicle in a limited series. And Mercedes, with its test drive going on since the 30th of January (around the world in 125 days), wants to prove that the FC technology used in F
the B-class concept F-Cell is suitable for daily use. However, car companies are expecting to start production only by 2015.
THE FUEL-CELL CELLPHONE

It sounds fascinating: just insert a hydrogen cartridge into your smartphone or notebook and it starts running. Such notebooks were announced way back in 2003, but are not available even today. The technology is still very difficult to implement, also because the cell becomes extremely hot in use. The USbased company Lilliputian Systems generated the most recent hype when it was praised by Intel at the end of 2010. However, concrete products have still not been announced.
POWER-PACK TO GO
One of the first applications of the fuel cell for individuals could be an external battery charger so as to be able to recharge smaller electronic devices on journeys. The 99-Dollar fuel cell Horizon MiniPAK (horizon fuelcell. com) is already available; it generates 2 Watts (400 mA at 5 V) which is enough for a very basic cellphone. Its exchangeable hydrogen cartridges are supposed to be filled at home using a charger which splits tap water into oxygen and hydrogen.
Cellphone boom: the biggest requirement

A breakthrough in battery technology would probably result in a boom in demand for certain chemicals, which stock markets all over the world are already considering. Experts are warning of an imminent scarcity of lithium, which would result in rapidly increasing prices of the raw material. In any case, sensible use of batteries is also a matter of infrastructure. If it is very difficult to increase the capacities of batteries, it will be a problem if they cant be charged very quickly. Standardized charging stations will need to be available across the world, not just for cars, but also for portable electronics that require a lot more power than batteries can hold. Battery specialists all over the world are continuing with their experiments, but are understandably keeping their cards close to their chests. For instance, the electric Audi A2 went up in ames after its record journey, and various sources are
Mobile power station The US manufacturer Horizon offers a fuel cell system for charging cell phones & co.
Mobile power station American manufacturer Horizon offers a fuel cell system for charging cell phones etc.
wondering whether there was something about the test ride that needed to stay unkown. The battery manufacturer has asserted his innocence, but the rumor mills are spinning conspiracy theories
involving everything from scams to fuel lobbies which want to hobble potential rivals. Improved mobility will be a hardwon ght.
feedback@chip.in
06/2011
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ONLINE REVIEWS
FEATURED
Chaitanya Surpur
Online Reviews: The Consumers Verdict

In todays digital age, the Internet has evolved into the ultimate source of information, and playing a crucial role are online review sites that strive to present the real picture.
BY PRIYANKA TILVE
f youre planning a vacation and need to book a hotel, you will nd plenty of information on several
Zomanto. Sites like MouthShut.com provide reviews across categories, right from restaurants and hotels to electronic appliances and movies. These sites have pioneered the concept of user reviews and perfected it over the years. The phenomenon of online review sites is not new, but what has changed now is the perception of people; the consumers as well as the brands and service providers. While some may argue that these reviews are often paid for by the brands themselves, thats not the case. These online review sites are an ecosystem that works like
a community. If one user was to upload a review for a restaurant, it will then be rated by other users for its usefulness. If they have had similar experiences, they would echo his/her sentiments, but if not, they will voice their opinions. Thus, you will be presented with both sides of the story and have an unbiased overview.
websites, but very few will show you the real picture. Thats when you go to sites like Tripadvisor, where you will nd hotel reviews written by the people whove stayed there. This information is crucial as it comes straight from the people whove stayed there and used its facilities, which may paint a different picture than what you saw on the hotels website. Similarly, if you want to nd a good restaurant, then you can check out sites like Burrp! or
What Makes Them Popular?

Faisal Farooqui, founder of Mouthshut, which was amongst the rst online review sites to go live in India in 2000, is of the opinion that real buying happens
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good experience? The reason for this, he says, is that users realize that others could benet from their reviews. Antoine, on the other hand, says that its a mix of vanity and ego. According to him, users want their opinions to be heard, and the impact to be felt, even if theyre hiding behind a pseudonym. The Internet, he feels, is the worlds truly democratic soapbox; almost everyone has the opportunity to be heard. Posting reviews is about more than just helping others. The Internet today is a powerful medium and the brands conscious of their image can no longer afford to ignore it. Initially, it was only
Burrp! is one of the most popular websites for listings, recommendations, and trusted user reviews on restaurants across India.
the big brands that were present on the Internet, but now almost every brand, big or small, is exploring ways of engaging people online. This also means that any negative review posted about a brand is immediately noticed and efforts are taken to rectify it. If you were to post a negative review, be it about a restaurant or a service or a brand, rest assured that you will hear from them. You will often be offered discount coupons or other benets if your claims are justied. In fact, reviews offer valuable feedback to the brands, as they can gauge what their customers think about them. Based on this, they can improve their services and implement suggestions. For people like you and me, these reviews will help us to make an informed decision. Usually when you want to buy a new gadget, try a new restaurant or book a hotel, you tend to ask your family members and friends for their opinions. Online reviews take this a step further, and you can now benet from the experiences of the community at large. One may wonder how far the reviews can be trusted, as they could be biased and/ or written in the heat of the moment. To address these issues, reviews on most of the popular sites are moderated and other members are encouraged to rate them for their usefulness. Higher ratings would mean a high rate of accuracy, which means that the review can be trusted. Also, sophisticated algorithms, along with manual intervention, fork out biased reviews or reviews that seem to have been uploaded by brands. So go out there and voice your opinion. Just as a review has helped you, your review can make a difference too.
when people consult other people, and not necessarily through the medium of advertising. He says, When I returned from the US, I didnt see anything even similar to Mouthshut. There were no independent review sites, so I went ahead and built a platform, which slowly started growing. Our goal was to provide an opportunity for Internet users in India to share their opinions of products and services. Its a basic human need to talk to somebody before they buy something, especially in India. We are a little averse to risk and not a very impulsive buying society. We tend to do a lot of homework and a lot of research before buying. Even women, who may be impulsive shoppers in India, haggle to try and get the best deal. I think Indians spend their money very consciously, and so sites like Mouthshut play a crucial role in helping them decide. Antoine Lewis, Editor of Burrp!, feels that people favor online reviews, as unlike print media, they are a permanent repository with fresh reviews added by the minute. He says, Whether its for a product or a business, I'd say people take online reviews a lot more seriously than ever before, particularly when it's a non-mainstream media platform and there are multiple opinions available. I think people are looking for honest, unbiased reviews from people like themselves, who may not be experts on the subject (they actually don't value the 'expert' anymore), but have experienced something special (be it good or bad) and feel that it is important enough to communicate to others. It's has a certain
word-of-mouth appeal, with the mouths now extending beyond the immediate circle of friends and acquaintances. Also, the technology is constantly being updated, so users can access reviews from a variety of devices.
How Effective Are They?

While one may think that most of the reviews posted online must be negative, you will be surprised to know that this is not the case. At Mouthshut, for instance, Faisal says approximately 60 percent of the reviews are positive, recommending a product. When you have a bad experience with a product or a service, its natural for you to air your grievances, but why do that when you have had a
OFFBEAT
Ranting about your boss or your job on social networking sites is not a good idea. Instead, go to rateyourjobrateyourboss.com, and vent your frustrations anonymously. Professors and students often share a love-hate relationship. You can now rate your college professor on an egg scale at myfaveteacher.com. Not satisfied with the remuneration and perks offered in your company? Log on to talentequity.in to rate your company. On ratemds.com, you can rate doctors and medical professionals. Its also a great place to find out the best doctor in town on the basis of the reviews uploaded by other members.
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ANDROID LAUNCHERS
FEATURED
Seeking a New Android Home?

There are numerous Home replacements for Android phones and tablets on the Market, but which one is the best of them all? We give you 10 options and let you decide.
BY FRANCIS DSA
environment is usually great eye candy, but may not be efficient in terms of processor and memory usage. Most often they are heavily loaded with useless widgets and additional settings just to make the phone look good. Most might be customizable, but are too tedious, cluttered or heavy for the OS itself. You do have an option to replace these Home launchers and optionally uninstall the original Home app by rooting your phone. There are several home replacement applications available and most are free. They give you an option to change the whole look and feel of your device by allowing various customization methods and settings such as drawer animations, themes, skins, icon replacements, shortcuts, animated and live widgets, and more. The more you customize it, the better it gets, and makes operating the device simpler and faster. We have put together a collage of the different home replacement launchers available on the Android Market.
hen you step out to buy an Android-based smartphone or tablet, the stock Home
customizable home launchers, ADW is quite similar to Launcher Pro, and is widely used by custom ROM developers and modders. The Home is pretty tiny and offers plenty of settings and tweaks under the hood. Hiding icon labels, auto-stretching of icons, wallpaper scrolling hack, desktop speed and desktop overshooting are some of its screen options. Drawer settings can be switched only between horizontal and vertical in the free version, while the paid version offers Vertical 4D scrolling. Separate catalogs with names can be applied and applications can be set according to their categories. Trash can positions can also be set to the top or sides, unlike other launchers which have them at the bottom. Screen gestures make operating the device even more convenient; swipe up or down gestures can be customized to start frequently used applications. Settings and desktop congurations can be backed up on the SD card. Plenty of free and paid themes are also available, which can change the skins and icons to make your desktop look extraordinary.
standard system applications and a simple dock bar. Settings can be backed-up and restored too.
dxTop Lite (FREE)

A great home launcher for those who want a blend of looks and functionality. It features ve desktop screens in a diamond-shaped layout. It also features three separate dock bars. The app drawer is pretty neat as it categorizes
91 Panda Home 2 (FREE)

This home replacement app is heavily customizable, with support for up to 11 multi-screens, six dock bars and ve drawer styles. App icon hiding, widget management, dockbar sounds, app drawer, menus, themes, etc can be further customized. Themes are available for enhancing the look and you can also use themes built for other home replacements such as aHome and OpenHome with Panda Home. The Dynamic Theme option allows you to randomly change themes on-the-y by simply shaking the phone. Overall, this is a pleasant home replacement with minimal settings to tinker with.
the applications alphabetically, with alphabets placed along the side of the screen for easy listing. Unlike other home launchers, it allows you to customize the wallpaper selection with formats such as square, landscape, portrait and highdenition. Screen transitions such as slide and squish are available, while the Pro version also offers the cube, twist and fade effects. The launcher also has a built-in auto-saving screenshot feature by switching the cameras physical button to screenshot mode. Icons of apps can be changed with custom icon packs or photos. The launcher can be themed and free and paid themes are widely available.
Crazy Home Lite (FREE)

This Home features three separate desktops and ve screens on each desktop for a total of 15 screens to play around with. Each desktop can be skinned with individual themes, which also supports third party themes from ADW, aHome and others. Icons can be customized, app icons can be hidden, app titles can be changed, individual desktops can have separate wallpapers, the notication bar can be hidden and widgets can be resized. The desktop looks pretty good, with rich icons for
ADW.Launcher (FREE)
One of the most renowned and highly
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in the look of the dock bar. This home
with the start icon as the app drawer and other app shortcuts as quick launch icons. The taskbar shows the date, time, volume, battery and network, just like Windows. The desktop has the standard wallpaper and icons from Windows too which are Computer, Documents, Settings, Browser and More Apps, The launcher is pretty similar to a Windows 7 PC environment and makes you feel at home if you are a Windows user, but the launcher is not at all comfortable to use on a smaller screen and is a bit clumpsy with portrait mode on a larger screen.
Go Launcher EX (FREE)
Go Launcher Ex features up to 30 desktop screens for those who need a lot of desktop space for apps and resizable widgets. Additional free widgets for task manager, contacts and message are available for free. Unlike other launchers, the app drawer consists of three sections, namely all apps, recently used apps, and presently running apps. The dock bar is scrollable and can be completely customized with app shortcuts. A huge list of settings in the preferences menu can get you a bit dizzy, but it does contain several customization options. Some of these features include wallpaper scrolling, continuous screen scrolling, transition effects for desktops, ing speed and elasticity, apps and
replacement app stands out from the rest by removing all customization options and making the home launcher simple and straight-forward. HeLauncher is a great for those who like a simple interface.
HelixLauncher (FREE)
This is a fast and easy-to-congure launcher. The application features up to ve desktop screens and a removable dock bar. It also supports app icon and notication bar hiding. Additional unique features include enabling double tapping to show screen previews and the ability to disable long press on-screen to stop loading the option for wallpapers and shortcuts. The app drawer does not feature a horizontal scroll, but only a vertical scroll and also does not feature any animations. A useless feature included here is to show the FPS (frames per second) of the launcher, which is displayed on the top left corner of the desktop and continuously highlights the speed of the desktop in use. Helix may be noncustomizable, but is certainly faster.
LauncherPro (FREE)
This is one of the most popular and heavily customizable apps used by ROM developers. The launcher has lots of settings to help customize the look and feel. The interface is pretty simple and easy to congure. Most of the settings and functions are similar to ADW. Desktop screens are limited to seven and transition effects such as scale, rotate, ip and cube are available. The app drawer can be styled as 2D or 3D with y-in effects. The dock bar is also scrollable with three bars that can be customized with a personal choice of application shortcuts. The launcher is powerful and is a must-have if you prefer lots of animations, styles, features and a non-system-heavy application.
SPB Shell 3D (Rs 668) Launcher7 (FREE)

The launcher simulates the Windows Phone 7 UI, which allows you to add tiles and place them wherever you icon label hiding, dock settings, gesture conguration, theme preferences and backup and restore. want on the screen. The tiles are of two sizes - half and full sized. The top right corner of the screen has an arrow icon for the app drawer. You can lock the tiles layout, change the background colors, add wallpapers, adjust animation options for home, scrolling and orientation of tiles, add Windows-styled notication bar, and backup or restore the settings. The launcher is pretty smooth with no hiccups whatsoever. We also found the CPU utilization to be an average of 14 percent. SPB Shell 3D is a true 3D launcher. One look and you will denitely want to aunt it on your phone. Sadly, there is no trial or free version available, and the paid version costs a steep Rs 668. The launcher has very few customizable options. It features up to 16 3D desktop panels that can revolve around in a circle with a 3D effect. The launcher works brilliantly even on a 600 MHz processor. When left idle, it starts a demo of its features. The dock bar features the desktop scrolling icon along with three user-selectable shortcut icons and the app drawer icon. The app does not need any third party widgets as it contains built-in 3D live widgets such as tool buttons, weather, Facebook, Flickr, messaging, time zone, clocks, calendar, contacts, and gallery. High memory and CPU consumption, high price, and lack of a trial version are a few drawbacks.
francis.dsa@chip.in
HeLauncher (FREE)
HeLauncher is a very simple home replacement with absolutely no customization settings whatsoever. The application consists of just a dock bar, an app drawer, and ver desktop screens. Neither can you add anything to the dock bar, nor can you add or remove desktop screens. The great feature it sports is the swipe up/down feature to hide or show the notication bar and make your desktop look bigger. The only customization option is a change
Android Seven (FREE)

This one is completely skinned to simulate the Windows 7 PC UI. The dock bar represents the Windows 7 task bar,
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WEB WATCH
FEATURED
Web Watch
Here are some interesting websites you might want to visit.

COMPILED BY PRIYANKA TILVE
GET A HEADSTART
a chance to intern at a reputed and well established rm, then you are sure to get a headstart in your career. Depending on your performance, the company may even hire you. However, receiving details of the internship offered by various companies can be quite an uphill task. Thanks to various portals, this task has been made considerably easier, and taking this a step further is internfever.com. Here you can create a prole, upload your details, select an area of interest, check the available internships, and apply to the one that most interests you. However, the difference here is that Internfever will do the initial level screening and only send ahead those candidates most suited for the job. Apart from this, Internfever also provides guidance and counseling to students who are confused about what role to look out for. In order to identify and encourage the entrepreneur in you, Internfever has an Entrepreneurship Spirit Development program to connect students and start-ups. Internfever also gives you the opportunity to earn some money by becoming Internfevers brand ambassador in your college. This not only presents you with an opportunity to earn, but also allows you to hone your leadership skills. They currently have a presence in over 30 major engineering and management institutes and are looking to expand further.
he internship plays a crucial role in establishing your professional career. If you are able to bag yourself
FREELANCING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS
ONE-STOP SHOP
reelancing when studying is always a good idea. Not only do you get to earn some money, but you can also
fairly new, there are some that have been around for quite sometime. One such online shopping site is LetsBuy.com. Set up in 2009, LetsBuy aims to be a one-stop site for electronics, gadgets and appliances. It was in the news recently because it received $6 million in venture capital funding from Helion Venture Partners, Accel Partners and Tiger Global. This funding will further strengthen their position in the market. Right now, the site features a wide range of products across mobile phones, computers, home appliances, digital cameras, electronics, gaming, and health care categories. The site sells products from leading brands like Apple, Sony, Samsung, Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, Nokia, Acer, HP, Nintendo, iBall, etc. The site includes in-depth product specications and in some cases it even includes videos explaining the product features. Its also possible to compare various products before buying. The site has a wide array of accessories to choose from, like Bluetooth headsets, batteries, cleaning kits, USB hubs, universal remotes, etc. Letsbuy.com has forged partnerships with several brands, which allows them to offer great discounts. If you register on the site, you will receive exclusive deals and discounts. The site offers free home delivery and multiple payment options, including cash on delivery. All products come with warranty and in-transit damage insurance.
he recent boom in e-commerce has ushered a wave of online shopping portals. While some of them are
hone your skills. It also adds to your knowledge and makes for an impressive addition to your resume. Finding freelance work is not as difcult as you might think, especially if you are adept with computers and the Internet. These days, lots of start-ups are looking for people to do small jobs for them. The reason these start-ups prefer outsourcing the job is that they usually function on shoe-string budgets. One website that offers you the opportunity to apply for such freelance jobs is StalkNinja.com. Set up by IIT Madras alumni, its the perfect portal
for IT students who are looking to earn some money. The portal follows some strict rules and access to the work is restricted. Even the projects uploaded are only from trusted sources, and the students have to pass a Ninja Challenge to be able to compete for the projects. To ensure the completion of projects, the start-ups are currently being charged a premium over and above the project money. In the future, the site plans to start a subscription plan for startups. The service is currently free for students, and you can make anything from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 depending on complexity of the project. Some of the projects oated on the site include bug xing, clearing junk les from a Web server, PHP developer, etc.
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SOCIAL NETWORKING ON SMARTPHONES HAS BECOME THE NORM, BUT IT ALSO LEAVES US VULNERABLE.
PRIYANKA TILVE, SENIOR FEATURES WRITER
VOICE YOUR OPINION
like newspapers or even television news channels, as we are more likely to get breaking news as it unfolds by the minute via news websites or social networking sites. But there are still many amongst us who cannot start their day without reading the daily newspaper. While this may be true, there are very few of us who would take the trouble to write a letter to the editor of a publication to voice their opinions about something that was reported. Even if you do shoot off an email, there is no guarantee that it will be published, or even read. However, if you wish to be heard, then PublishaLetter.com is a great way to go about it. Simply click on Write a letter to the Editor on the sites homepage. Here, you will have to select the country, select the publication, compose the letter, ll in your details, and click send. Your letter will be sent to the editor of the publication you have selected. At the end, you have the option to send the letter to the publication and simultaneously publish it on the site, or send it only to the publication and publish it on the site after seven days. Select the second option if you want to see if the letter is published by the publication rst. On the site, you can also browse through the recent letters written by people across the globe by category, topic, country, etc. You can even comment, rate and share them on popular social networking sites.
he digital era has changed the way we consume news. We no longer have to rely on traditional media
SECURE YOUR PHONE

ecently, there was a report where a college girl was harrowed with the distasteful messages regularly being sent to her friends from her Facebook profi le. She initially thought that someone had hacked into her account, and so she changed her password. But the messages continued. When matters got worse and the girl was about lodge a complaint, her friend owned up to sending the messages just for fun. The girl used to access her account from her mobile phone and she had saved her login details. Her friend would often use her phone under the pretext of accessing his account. These days, accessing social networking sites from smartphones has become the norm, and in fact, there are phones that are being touted as social networking-friendly. These phones come pre-loaded with apps for the most popular social networking sites, so you can access your account in a jiffy. Since these phones are mainly for personal use, we tend to get a little careless about security. Many of us log in to our accounts and save our login details so we dont have to key in the details every time. This makes it easy for anyone who has access to your phone to log into your account. And even if you dont save your login details, how many of us really log out before closing the window? It is equally unsafe as saving your login details, as
if you simply exit the app instead of logging out, the next time when you open the app, it will directly open your account. So if someone simply starts the app, they will be directly taken to your profi le. Startlingly, most smartphone users do not log out from their accounts, in order to have quick access later or at times due to pure negligence. Apart from this, there are also many third party apps for social networking sites that integrate all your accounts, so that you have easy access. Though this may seem great, the fact is that not all of them allow you to log out of your account. When you sing in to your accounts for the fi rst time, that information will be permanently saved. For instance, TweetDeck, which is a popular app for Twitter and Facebook, does not allow you to log-out of your Twitter account. You have to sign out of TweetDeck itself, but many simply tend to exit the app. While one may argue that phones are strictly for personal use, so its a perfectly safe practice, thats not the case. What if you were to lose your phone or misplace it? If you do not have a lock code that restricts access to your phone, then it will be like an open invitation for others to access your account and the damage done can be irrecoverable. So think twice before saving your account details. Its better to be safe then sorry.
- priyanka.tilve@chip.in
06/2011
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HANDS ON
DR CHIP
Dr CHIP
SEND YOUR QUERIES TO: drchip@chip.in
Sachin Pandit
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP. My system

has following conguration - Intel processor and motherboard, 2 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard disk. My system suddenly turns off completely when I am working on it. What could the problem be? Eeshwar
heatsink paste between the processor and fan heatsink and clamp the fan assembly properly on the processor. Make sure there is no play in the processor fan assembly. Now check your system for the same problem. If the problem persists, then you should have the power supply unit inspected. Try changing the PSU and see if the issue continues. If the problem still persists, then you should troubleshoot further. You might need to have your motherboard checked for problems. Also check your system for viruses. Viruses can also be a cause for system reboots and erratic shutdowns. more details.
Stellar is renowned worldwide for its data recovery tools and utilities.
[Q] Dear Sir, in the CHIP issue of

July 2007, there was an article Data recovery for free. There was an application mentioning a name of the
If dust clogs the processor fan and chipset heatsink, the PC can heat up due to poor airflow.
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP, I am not much

of a computer geek. Recently, I read an article on the internet stating that our IP address is available to everyone over the internet. It also said that its really dangerous because my IP address is really vulnerable to hackers. They also recommended an application which hides my IP address, and I downloaded it. Now I am a bit paranoid about this application. Should I go and install the software? And even if I install it, will it really hide my IP address? Will it slow down my Internet speed or do some kind of damage to my system? I have done everything I knew to satisfy myself that the software is not laden with viruses and even scanned the link with Dr Web Antivirus link checker and found it to be clean. Please help me with my issue. Yours truly, Arnab Choudhury
site as http://raid2raid.com. I tried getting on to this site, but was unable to download the software. Please suggest a new website as the website is showing that the domain is up for sale. Please suggest another authentic site or another solution to recover deleted mail from Outlook. Thanks. S.N.Ojha
[A] Hello Eeshwar. The main reason

for your system turning off on its own can be the power supply unit or possibly the processor or motherboard chipset heating over its handling temperature. To conrm this, I would recommend that you check the processor fan and the motherboard chipsets heatsink to know if the temperature is too high. If there is dust clogging the processor fan and the chipset heatsink, the temperatures can rise out of control for want of proper air ow for sufficient cooling. Make sure that the fan is spinning properly and the heatsink is not clogged with dust. Remove the fans and heatsink and clean them thoroughly. Apply a fresh coat of
[A] Hello Mr Ojha. You can download

the application from www.diskinternals. com. You can also download Outlook Recovery from the same website for recovering emails from MS Outlook. A powerful application for recovering and managing emails for Outlook is also available from Stellar Phoenix. Check out their website www.stellarinfo.com for
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[A] Hello Arnab. Yes, your IP address is

available for everyone on the Internet, but it purely depends on your Internet service provider. If your Internet service provider is providing you with a live internet IP address, this IP can be visible all over the internet and a hacker can get through your PC using this IP address. But if your ISP is providing you with an IP address from their server, then you are not using a live IP address. To know this, you can check the status of your network card, which connects the Internet to your PC. If the IP address is in the series of 10.xx.xx.xx or 192.xx.xx.xx, then you are relatively safer as your IP address is not visible to everyone across the globe, but only to those who are using the same Internet service. You can also cross check your LAN cards IP address with the one that is showing up on the Internet by logging on to the website www. whatismyip.com. Here, the IP address shown on the website is the one of your service provider and the one which is set for your LAN card should be different. So you are relatively safer. You can use third party applications and proxy servers to hide your original IP address from others in order to be safer on the Internet. You can use plug-ins for Firefox or the application CyberGhost VPN 2011 to hide your IP address, but in both ways, your Internet connection speed will be slower than usual as you are now tunneling your Internet usage using some other servers Internet connection. In order to be safe on the Internet, have maximum internet speed and restrict hackers from entering your PC, you should use a good Internet security suite and maintain the updates. Norton Internet Security, McAfee and Quick Heal are some of the internet suites that you can opt for to keep your PC secure..
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP. I am a regular reader

of CHIP Magazine and nd your articles very useful. I have two computers connected using Wi-Fi and am using Tata Docomo 3G Internet connection on one computer. I want to know if I can use the Internet on both the computers at the same time. If yes, please suggest me the possible steps. Thanks. Sagar Goel
Some manufacturers provide a Windows-based utility to flash the motherboards BIOS.
[A] Hello Rajesh. The Security Service

Center is not starting because the service itself has been stopped. You will need to manually start the service. For this, start the command prompt and type the command services.msc and press [Enter]. You can also run the command from the Run window by pressing the
Share the Internet connection for the other PC to access it, and tweak the IP addresses accordingly.
key combination [Win] + R. This will pull up the Services window where you will have to locate the line Security Center and double click on it. In the pull down list of the Startup Type select Automatic (Delayed Start) and save the settings. Restart the computer and the Security Center will automatically start with Windows. As for your second query, updating the BIOS is a very risky procedure, which can render your motherboard useless or dead if done incorrectly. You will need to download the latest BIOS rmware le and the BIOS ashing tool from the respective manufacturers website. Run the application by referring to the instructions for the given application and ash your motherboards BIOS.
[A] Hello Sagar. Since you are using

two computers in Wi-Fi, I assume that you are either connecting them using a router or using the ad-hoc solution. In both cases, you will need to either install a proxy server or startup internet connection sharing on the main PC that is using the TATA Docomo 3G Internet connection. You will need to share the Internet connection for the other computer to access the Internet, and accordingly tweak the IP addresses of the other PC. As this cannot be completely explained via email, you will need to help me with your present connection scenario in detail. You can also refer to the website http://unlockforus.blogspot. com/2008/10/vistaxp-how-to-shareinternet.html for a similar workaround.
Note: Make sure that you do not reset

or power off your computer when ashing the BIOS. This can damage the motherboard permanently. If you are not sure you can do this yourself, get help from an experienced service engineer, who can help you do it. You should ash your motherboards BIOS rmware only if you are facing a problem with your motherboard.
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP. My PC conguration

is - Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 processor, Intel motherboard, 3 GB of DDR2 RAM, 500 GB of hard drive and an ATI Radeon HD 4350 graphics card. I have Windows 7 Ultimate operating system installed. Windows is now notifying me that the Windows Security Service Centre is turned off. When I click to turn it on, it states that the Security Service Centre cant be turned on. The rewall has also turned off. How can i x it? My other question is, how do I
[Q] Dear Dr CHIP. Thanks for helping

in my previous queries. I have a question regarding one of my friends PC and need your help. He has an Asus motherboard and dual core Intel processor. The problem is that only one of his stereo speakers, which
Use proxy plug-ins for Firefox or use CyberGhost VPN 2011 to help you stay anonymous online.
update the BIOS? Rajesh
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DR CHIP
are connected to the PC, is working. But the volume control switch on the speaker works perfectly ne. He got the speakers checked by an electrician and conrmed that there was absolutely no problem with it and all circuits within were working. Then where is the problem? Is it with the rear audio port? Also, his front speaker port is not functioning. Please help him out. Thanks. Arjun V Prakash
did not work, neither did making any changes to the registry. Moreover, Windows states that there is an HD audio hardware present in the device manager. The installation of the driver stops at around 86%. Please also help me with some way of resetting the password from the BIOS. I have tried removing the CMOS battery and the laptop battery, but it doesnt help. Thanks in advance. Vishwa Inder Singh
the Linux-based CD bootable utility called PCCMOSCleaner.iso which can be downloaded from http://www.mediare. com/?mwzdynmxvyz.
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP. Firstly, I would like

to congratulate CHIP for their huge success and thank you guys for providing us with so much knowledge about technology in our day-to-day lives, especially regarding computer technology. I have been regularly reading CHIP since four years now and its only because of CHIP that I was able to convince my father to buy me a high-end gaming computer, advancing from Pentium D straight up to Core i7. So I would really like to appreciate the good work. I would be getting my new PC the following month and I really want to make the best use of my old PCs components. I wanted to know if it would be necessary to use Windows 7 instead of Windows XP. I am really
[A] Hello Arjun. Firstly, your friend

has to make sure if his speaker set is functioning properly. He will have to connect it to another audio source, such as an MP3 player or a mobile phone, to make sure that both the speakers and the volume control are perfectly working. This will conrm if the problem is with the speakers or the motherboards sound card section. If the problem is with the motherboard, you will have to repair or replace it, or simply opt for an audio card, which is a cheaper alternative. The front audio ports might not be connected to the motherboard or might not be enabled in the system BIOS settings. Make sure he checks all these factors too. There can be a possibility of the rear audio jack being faulty. Try enabling the front audio jacks and try the speakers there.
Plenty of free utilities to reset the motherboards BIOS passwords are available online.
comfortable in using Windows XP but not Windows 7. Also, I wanted to make use of my old hard drives. So is there a way of using my old hard drives in my new system by just removing old drivers of components and installing new ones and still use Windows XP? I am planning to buy a new video card (Zotac GTX 560 TI Amp Edition). Can I run the card with my existing GeForce 9600GT? The conguration for my new PC would be Core i7 - 2600k processor on an Asus Sabertooth P67 motherboard with Corsair 4 GB RAM kit and Cooler Master CM690 II advanced cabinet with Cooler Master Silent Pro M700 power supply unit. Please suggest if I would be able to make the best use of my old components. Regards. Sarvsareshth Malhotra.
[A] Hello Vishwa. You should format

your entire hard drive after creating necessary partitions and reinstall Windows to make sure there are no bad sectors on the hard drive and your system is also virus free. Once this is done, you should install the drivers from the original driver CD which came along with the laptop. If you have not received this disc, misplaced it or damaged it, you should download the latest drivers from the Internet and install it. Make sure you have an antivirus installed and updated before you transfer any data to your laptop. To reset the BIOS password of the laptop, you should unplug the power adapter, remove the main battery, and then disconnect the CMOS battery. Keep the battery disconnected
Most motherboards and audio cards have a front panel connector for headphones.
for around half an hour till the entire stray power from the motherboard is drained. This should reset the CMOS values and password completely. If this does not work, you can download a few tools from the internet which can reset the BIOS values and passwords from the DOS prompt. You can download any or all of the following utilities and try them. BIOS320.exe from http:// www.mediare.com/?yymgczylmz2, cmospwd-5.0.zip from www.cgsecurity. org or CmosPwd-4.8.zip from www. softpedia.com. You can also try using
External hard drive cases or docking stations are best suited for additional hard drives to your PC.
[Q] Dear Dr CHIP, I am facing a

problem with my HCL notebook which is about a year and a half old. Its specications are 80 GB hard drive, Intel dual core 1.8 GHz processor, 1.5 GB of RAM and Windows XP SP2 operating system. Ever since I reinstalled Windows completely, I am not able to install the sound cards driver by any means. Even the driver updates available from the Internet
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[A] Hello Sarvsareshtha. You can make

use of your older hard drives on your new system, but I would suggest that you use them for your backup purposes or as a secondary hard drive only. If you use it as a primary hard drive, you would lose out on performance from your new PC as older hard drives are slower than newer ones. All new hardware is advised to be used on Windows 7 as support and drivers for Windows XP is not available any more. You will nd it difficult to get the appropriate drivers for Windows XP. Hence, I would advise using Windows 7 instead of Windows XP. As far as your older 9600GT graphics card is concerned, you cannot use it in SLI mode with your GTX 560 as they are not compatible for SLI. You can make use of it as an additional GPU for your new PC and make use of it for multi-monitor support. Check your motherboard for additional PCI Express slots and also conrm if your power supply unit can handle the extra power requirement.
Entry-level PC cases usually come with 350W or 400W PSUs, which is insufficient for high-end rigs.
[A] Hello Amish. The problem could be

a loose or faulty RAM slot, or your RAM stick leads are corroding. The corrosion can also be due to an air condition in your room, which is cooling the inside temperature more than necessary and causing the water vapor in the air to condense on the RAM slots. Make sure the PC is not placed directly in the path of the air conditioners draft. Try temporarily replacing the RAM sticks with other ones and check if the problem persists. You might need to replace your motherboard if the issue is not resolved.
[A] Hello Pratik. You have rightly guessed

the problem. Your systems power supply unit is the cause for the problem. The power rating of the power supply is around 350 Watts and is not sufficient to handle the power requirement of the graphics card and the additional hard drive put together. The graphics card requires a higher rated power supply unit. I would suggest you opt for a 600 Watt or higher power supply for your system. Cooler Master and Corsair offer good PSUs, but are quite expensive. Make sure you increase your budget and dont compromise on quality.
[Q] Hello Francis. The motherboard

in my desktop PC is an Axper XP-M5VM800. I needed a new hard disk and therefore recently purchased a Seagate 500 GB hard drive. But I am not able to install it along with my older hard disk with the existing cable. One of my friends told me that a SATA cable is required in order to connect my new hard disk. Do I really need a SATA cable or will some other connecter also be required? Please help me with this. Can I even use my hard drive on my system or not? Bhushan Mehar
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP, I have a problem

with my PC. Around three months ago, I had purchased an XFX ATI Radeon HD 5670 1 GB DDR5 graphics card. I installed that card on my PC and it is working perfectly ne. But the problem I am facing now is that my PC crashes sometimes and also the power turns off anytime. This has started happening only after I have installed the graphics card. Before installing the card, I havent faced any problems like this one. Is this because of low-end power supply unit? I dont have a bigger CPU cooler either. My PCs conguration is as follows - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53 GHz processor, Gigabyte GA G31M S2L motherboard, 2 GB of DDR2 RAM, Seagate 1 TB, and Seagate 160 GB hard drives, XFX ATI Radeon HD 5670 1 GB DDR5 graphics card, 2.1-channel Altec Lansing speakers, LG DVD writer, iBall PC case without fans, iBall power supply unit with the case, Samsung 17-inch CRT monitor, and Windows XP SP 2 operating system. Presently, I have connected both my hard drives and the graphics card inside the PC case. I hope that you can help me out with a good solution. I am awaiting your reply. Thanks. Pratik Sawant
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP. I have a problem

with my desktop computer. Whenever I shut down the PC and start it the next day, my monitors power LED glows orange instead of green. The problem resolves when I clean the systems RAM sticks thoroughly with the help of a clean cloth. Since the past three days it has been hectic for me to run the errands all over again. Every single day I have to open my PC cabinet, clean the RAM sticks and then it starts working properly. Please help me out of this problem. Thanks in advance. Amish
All motherboard manufacturers include at least one SATA data cable in their package contents.
[A] Hello Bhushan. Since PATA hard

drives are now obsolete, newer hard drives are only available with SATA
connectivity. Since your motherboard is compatible with SATA, you would need a SATA data cable and SATA power cable to connect the drive to the motherboard. Your motherboards original box contents included a SATA data cable. If you have lost it, you can get one from a computer store or ask a friend, as all motherboards come with extra SATA data cables.
Frequent removal and re-insertion of RAM sticks can ruin the slot connectors or slots themselves.
Send your queries to Francis DSa at drchip@chip.in
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Total Android Management

Manage your contacts, messages, apps, and files, and do a lot more with just one application.
BY ANAND TULIANI
Jagdish Limbachiya
ndroid phones are highly versatile communication devices, and theyre expensive too. You might
be safe than sorry, and so its critical that you back up your phone data from time to time. And to do that, you need a good suite with which you can manage your contacts, messages, calendar events, les and apps with great ease. Some Android phones come with a suite. For example, Samsung offers KIES, which works with all their Android devices, but its crippled in more ways
than one. For example, it doesnt allow backing up and restoring messages. Some phones dont even come with a suite. My Phone Explorer is an extensive suite that works with all Android devices and offers all the features that a good suite should. You can download it from www.fjsoft.at/en. Heres what you can do with this powerful suite and how to go about it.
be able to afford to lose your handset, but the data on your phone may be more precious. Losing thousands of contacts, important calendar events, huge archive of messages, photos, and les stored on the memory card can be a nightmare. As they say, its better to
Device connection
First activate USB debugging on the device by pressing the Menu button and navigating to Settings | Applications | Development. Then connect your Android phone to your PC and start My Phone Explorer. Go to File | Connect and the software will push My Phone Explorer Client to your phone. To pair up your phone with the software you have to run the client on your phone and connect via the software. The connection can be established via USB data cable, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
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Manage your contacts

The contact manager comes in very handy for adding, deleting and editing the contacts on the phone; very useful for adding multiple contacts. Double-clicking a contact allows adding details such as address, phone numbers (mobile, home and work), email address, contact thumbnail, etc. You can also backup the entire phonebook or selected contacts to VCF, CSV, XML or LDI formats. Sending messages to single or multiple contacts also becomes a breeze. Simply select multiple contacts, click the New Message button on the toolbar, compose your message (emoticons available) and hit the send button.
Managing calendar events

The Organizer section helps managing calendar events and alarms. By default, events are added to the phone, but you can change it to get added to your Google account. The Calendar management interface has the hours of the day to the left and the days of the month to the right. Double-click on a day of the month to create an event. Specify the time of the event, alarm duration, subject and the type of event (Birthday, Recurring event). You have to synchronize the calendar for the changes to take effect. Just like contacts and messages, the entire calendar or selected events can be backed up.
Managing SMSes
The messages section has links to view threaded conversations, individual inbox items, drafts and sent items. Hovering on the messages displays the entire message. Right-clicking on a message allows replying and forwarding messages. Messages can be exported to CSV, XML, HTML or TXT les. The toolbar on top has buttons for ltering messages by user-specied keywords and moving selected messages to archive on the PC. Archiving messages is useful for backing up and restoring messages to the phone.
HANDS ON
File Manager
The Files tab has links to manage les on the phone memory and memory card. However, you can only view the les on the phone memory because write access is not permitted for the purpose of security. You have full read and write access to the memory card and the les and folders can be managed just like how you manage les in Windows. You cannot drag and drop les onto the window, but you have to right-click in the opened folder, select upload les, and specify the les you wish to upload to the memory card.
App Manager
The Applications link lists the apps installed by the user along with the installation size and date. Right-click on the installed app and you can choose to uninstall it. Installed apps can be backed up to APK les on the PC. Backed up APK les and downloaded apps can also be installed to the phone. You have to specify the le you wish to install and proceed with the installation of app on the phone.
Extras
The additional features arent listed in the left pane, but can be accessed via the Extras menu. The Load screenshot option is useful for grabbing screenshots of the phone screen. The Image Wizard helps scaling down high resolution images on the PC for using them as contact images and home screen wallpapers. Images can be zoomed in/out, rotated, ipped and cropped. With the useful backup tool, you can back up contacts, events, SMS, les on phone memory and memory card and installed applications; very handy for migrating data after a factory reset or installing a custom ROM.
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HANDS ON
Documents on the Go
Get Goog e Docs play nice with Get Google Docs to play nice with e Google oc o g pla nice it lay la your A d id smartphone, Android id t h
BY PRANAV TONSEKER
there is a lot you can do with your device. Gaming, Web browsing, and video playback are all handled well by any Android smartphone. But what happens when youre travelling, have no access to your personal computer, and you need to mail across that important Word document with minor changes here and there? You could use applications like Quick Office or Documents to Go, but they would come at a price. You can fall back on Googles cloud document editing service, Google Docs, and now, its on Android. No longer just a browserbased application, the new Google Docs for Android application is a native app. Google Docs for Android saves les and accesses them from the cloud, so you will need your documents to be saved on your Google Docs account. This also means the application needs an Internet connection. The advantage of using a cloud service is that once uploaded, your documents can be accessed from your tablet, PC or phone without the need to mail or transfer them over and over again. Google Docs gives you a gigabyte of storage for all your documents.
ith an advanced operating system like Android,
By default, Google Docs is simple to the extent of being a heavily limited application. Editing documents is possible, but you cannot format them. Unlike other office applications, you cannot directly access a text document or spreadsheet from Google Docs without uploading it rst. Neither do you have Gmail integration, like saving an attachment to Google Docs or directly opening it from there. However, there are workarounds, and in this workshop, we are going to look at how to get the most from the Google Docs for Android application. To get Google Docs on to your Android device,youre going to need an Android device with at least clair (2.1). Head to the Android Market, search for Google Docs, and install the free 0.99 MB application. Once youre done downloading and installing, head to the applications, and re up Google Docs. Youll be welcomed by a simplied and minimalistic dashboard. The app will sign in to the default Google account your Android device is synced to. To sign in through another account, simply go to Options and click on Switch Account. It isnt easy downloading
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an attachment from the native Gmail application on an Android device. To download a document you have on mail, youll need to have an application called Download All Files. Get it from the Market and run Gmail. Open your mail with the attachment and click on Preview. If asked, Complete Action Using, select Download All Files. This application will save your le to sdcard/download. Once you have the le saved on to your phone, you will need a le manager to upload and access it on Google Docs. Look around on the Android Market. For this workshop, we will stick to the File Expert le manager; its light and free. Install File Expert or the
le manager of your choice. Open the app and head to the sdcard folder on your phone memory and nd the document you need to access. Now opening the document with Google Docs directly isnt possible, so a single tap on the le wont help. Youll end up receiving an error. Long tap on the le, you get a menu full of actions or operations you want to perform on the le. Pick Share and select Share to: Docs. On prompt, check Convert to Google Docs document and upload. Your le should now get uploaded to the Google Docs server. On uploading the le, open Google Docs, and go to Documents or All Items. The app will refresh the list
of documents and it should nd your newly uploaded document. You can now view it as it is or click on edit to make changes. You can also quickly create a new document from Google Docs for Android. If you want to jot down notes that you want to access later from a computer, create a new document by clicking on the New Document icon on the top right of the dashboard. You can make a new text le or a spreadsheet. You can also use the optical character recognition function by selecting create document from photo. This takes you to the default camera app. Youll need a decent camera with autofocus for OCR to function correctly. Click a picture and select OK. The application will convert the photo to text using OCR and upload it back to the Google Docs account. Google Cloud Connect is a helpful add-on for Google Docs that auto uploads every Microsoft Office document from your PC to the Google fr Docs account. Get Google D Cloud Connect from tools. C google.com/dlpage/ cloudconnect. Open an Office application, sign in with your Google Account, grant the required permissions, and you're set. You now have full access to your documents on-the-go from your Android device for free. Not a bad deal after all!
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ANDROID BACKUPS MADE EASY
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Jagdish Limbachiya
Android Backups Made Easy

Many of you may have been victims of important data loss, either due to loss of your phone, during a firmware update, or simply when replacing it with a newer one. We show you how you can take backups and easily port the data from one phone to another.
BY FRANCIS D'SA
cases inevitable. There is always a high risk of losing important data such as contacts and text messages in the process. In this workshop, we show you how you can take a complete backup of your important data, including phone contacts, text and multimedia messages, calendar data, applications, application data and settings, and settings for such as alarms, network, etc. The backed-up data is stored in a separate folder on your SD card and can be restored on your new phone. The whole process takes a few minutes (depending on the amount of data and type of data selected). There are a few backup applications available online and presently two well-known utilities seem the most powerful Titanium Backup and MyBackup Pro. While Titanium Backup features a lot more than just backup and restore, it is not as simple as MyBackup Pro. The two applications cost nearly the same. In this workshop, well walk you through he backup process on MyBackup Pro. MyBackup Pro is a very simple and powerful backup application that supports various mobile operating
ith everyone changing phones frequently these days, data loss is possible, and in many
systems, such as Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Blackberry. You can easily backup and restore data and settings on the same OS platform or even across other OS platforms depending on the application and data support for the phones and the operating system. The application can be downloaded from the Android market or from the website www. rerware.com for just Rs 223. We will be using the Android version of the application. Other mobile platform users can follow the same procedure, but other versions may have minor differences. Download and install MyBackup Pro from the Android market. Start up the application and you will be greeted by the home screen, which has all the necessary options Backup to create backups; Restore to restore previously backed up les; Manage to view and delete stored backups; View to view
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stored backup contents; Schedule for scheduling automatic timely backups; and MyToolbox, where you can select system apps and non-system apps and clear their cache or data. NOTE: MyBackup Pro will work on all Android mobile devices regardless of whether or not they have root access. Users who have a rooted phone can backup apps, individual data and settings as well as Market links. To begin with, click on MyToolbox and select the system apps you also wish to backup. This is purely optional as some users might want to backup their system apps and data too. Once done, go back to the main menu and click on Backup. Here, you have a choice to select Applications & Media or just the Data. Select the Applications & Media and the next screen will prompt you to select the destination for the backup les. Those who prefer Online may do so, else, select Local, wherein MyBackup Pro will store the backups in a default folder Rerware under the /mnt/sdcard folder. MyBackup Pro will scan all the apps on your phone and highlight Apps and Photos on screen. Since the photos are already on your SD card, we can skip them unless you want to back these up online. Remember that you get only free 100 MB space online for your backups and can purchase more if needed. Backups take up a lot of space, so select your backups accordingly. You can either select the checkbox that will select all apps or you can click on the pull-down menu to select individual apps. Once done, click OK and the next screen will prompt you to give the backup a name. The next screen will prompt you for the type of backup you want. Select between APKs, Data or APKs + Data accordingly. The app will start backing up data content and storing it on the destination folder, which will take a few minutes. When its completed, a summary of the apps and their data and any other issues will be listed on the screen. If an app is not installed via the Android Market, youll get an error stating that the market link is not valid or available. This is normal. Thats it! Your data is backed up and you can simply copy the contents of the folder to the other phones memory, or simply swap the memory cards. To restore, start the Android Market, download MyBackup Pro and select the restore option. Follow the on-screen wizard and restore your data on the new phone. Using the scheduler option, you can create a rule to backup data automatically at a given time. Select the time and day for the backups and choose the number of data backups to keep.
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TIPS & TRICKS
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Tips & Tricks

JUNE 2011
SHARE YOUR TIPS. Write to: tnt@chip.in
Sachin Pandit
WINDOWS
without disrupting work in your active window. This also helps you in times when Windows 7s transparency effects are distracting you by letting inactive background windows shine through.
options tab in the Mouse panel. You will reach the same place by double clicking on Mouse in the classic view of the Control Panel. Activate the option Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key in the section Visibility. Conrm this action by clicking on OK. Now, the next time you nd yourself searching for the mouse cursor, simply press the [Ctrl] key. Then Windows shows clearly visible rings around the mouse cursor, which move wherever the cursor goes. Thus the operating system helps you nd the current position of the cursor, and you can again concentrate on your actual job.
Windows 7
Minimize inactive windows in a quick and simple manner
You want to create space on your desktop and minimise all the inactive windows at one go. You are searching fast and simple way preferably with a shortcut. Sometimes the mouse cursor is hidden If you are distracted by multiple windows on a large monitor, jus use the button combination [Win]+[Home] to minimise all windows except the currently active one in a single stroke. You can use the same button combination a second time to immediately restore the hidden windows again in their positions on the desktop. This allows you to quickly see whats happening on your desktop, Open Start | Control Panel in Windows. Click on Hardware and sound (or under XP on Printers and other hardware). Finally open the Pointer on the desktop and you cannot nd it. Then you need to shake the mouse violently or move in the direction of a corner of the desktop just to nd it again. Now there is a smart solution.
Windows XP, Vista 7

Find mouse cursor anytime even on big desktops
Windows 7
Obtain additional information for installed applications
You want to check when you installed an application and exactly which version. Moreover you are also interested in other information like its memory location, product ID or a support link. Open Start | Control Panel. Click on Programs and nally on Programs and Features. If you use the classic view of the Control Panel, you will reach the
Multiple windows open in the background can cause havoc due to Windows' transparency effects.
Never lose track of your cursor! This simple option will locate it for you anytime.
same window directly through Programs and Features.
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In Vista/7 change to the Updated keyboard settings section. Mark the entry Advanced key settings in the area and then click on change key sequence. Change other options respectively to not assigned and conrm it with OK. Under XP click in the area Regional and Language Settings in the Keyboard section, mark the entry Input languages and click on change key sequence. Now deactivate the options change input area scheme and change keyboard layout and conrm it twice with OK. Then change to the register language bar and change the option on hide. If you do not work with various languages, then you can remove the unwanted languages from the system as well. Thus the language bar also vanishes automatically from the taskbar. In the same dialog box, change to the section General or Settings under XP. Click in the lower area on the nonrequired languages. A click on Remove deletes this language from the system. Later you can Add more languages using the same settings, though you might need to insert your setup DVD.
Select additional parameters from the dialog box as shown above.
Make sure none of your important programs will be affected by a system restore.
Windows 7 describes all the installed programs and applications youve added over time. The operating system presents the information in columns including Name, Publisher, Installed on, Size and Version by default. You can add other columns and thus additional information. Click with the right mouse button on any of the column titles and select the context command Others. Windows presents all the available columns in the dialogue Select details. Activate the desired choices by ticking the respective terms. To suppress a column, remove it. You will also nd columns for product ID and support link amongst others. The term location refers to the installation folder of the application
reversed by the loading of recovery point. Windows presents this information in the dialog box that pops up subsequently.
Windows XP, Vista, 7

Ban the language selection toolbar permanently from taskbar
As you do not work with various languages, you can choose to hide the EN icon for language switching that wastes space in the taskbar. You would like to make space for more useful things. The EN icon in the taskbar allows quick switchovers of input language and keyboard layout. If you can do without this function, then you should not only hide the icon but also deactivate this function yourself. Otherwise an unintentional keyboard shortcut could cause a language change in Windows, resulting in major inconvenience and confusion. It is especially irritating if you dont know whats gone wrong and your typing is suddenly lled with errors. First click on the EN icon in the taskbar with the right mouse button and select the context command Settings.

Read your Windows license key in a quick and simple manner
HINT: If Windows does not show

information for a particular program, then the setup has not deposited it during the installation.
While working with many computers you do not know which license is assigned to which computer. But you need the correct details for a new installation. You must keep the installation CD and the Windows licenses carefully and distinct from one another for each computer, to be ready for an eventual new installation. In case you have
Windows 7
Analyse recovery points in detail before applying them
Windows 7 generates recovery points at regular intervals. Before loading of a recovery point you want to know which applications are affected by it. Open Start | All programs | Accessories | System programs | System recovery. You must authorize this instruction by choosing a user account with administration rights and entering the respective password if prompted. Then click on Next and mark the desired entry for loading in the following list of the offered recovery points. Finally, click on the button Search for affected programs to see which program installations and uninstallations are
Disable the annoying Language Bar and reclaim valuable screen space.
Sort out your licensing issues by using this tool to validate your keys.
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forgotten the distribution of licenses, then you can ascertain the current status in the system. From Windows Vista rst click on system and security in the control panel and nally on system. The subsequent dialogue presents the status and the product ID of your respective Windows version below in the paragraph. Then you can simply enter a new license key over a mouse click on the link product key. The user account control check requires your approval after the rst click on Next. If the license key was changed then the system nally requires the renewed activation of its Windows license.
QUICK TIPS
DEACTIVATE AERO PEAK
Click with the right mouse button in Windows 7 in the furthest corner of the taskbar and deactivate the Peek at desktop.
are closed, as the temporary les deleted by it are necessary during operation. Start the batch le by a double click. You can also store a shortcut on the desktop for frequent operation.
MANAGE Shared FOLDERS

You can easily oversee the status of shared folders by typing the command fsmgmt.msc in the Start menu.
Windows Vista, 7
Trace the biggest files
You are searching for the biggest space hog in a particular folder structure, but wish there was a tool or method with which you can identify the biggest les on a drive.
SHOW TASKBAR Icons

Press [Windows]+[B] and [Enter] for display of hidden taskbar icons in Windows 7.
ACCELERATE CHECK DISK START

Open Start | Run... and use the command chkntfs / T:3 for starting after 3 seconds.
NOTE: This retrieval and even the

alteration of the license key is possible directly in the control panel under Vista and Windows 7. Under XP you need additional tools, like for example Magical Jelly Bean Keynder or License Crawler, to determine the license key from the registry. Both the tools are available online.
CHECK PRODUCT ACTIVATION

Open Start | Run... and use the command %systemroot%\system32\32\oobe\msoobe. exe/a.
the backup folder of the document. You need to delete these once in a while, as

Remove document residue from Office easily and thoroughly
the data residuals occupy unnecessary space and tend to accumulate over time. Typical les of temporary copies begin with ~$ followed by the normal le name. Numbered les with ~WRL at the beginning of the name are saved copies of the contents of the clipboard. The simplest way is to delete these les with the command del (delete) from the command line. Thus to have the correct instructions on hand, generate a small batch le using a text editor like Notepad. Enter following command lines:
This example lists all the files in a particular folder and its subfolders, as per instructions given.
This job is easily possible with Vista/7 with Windows tools. Use Windows PowerShell for that, which you can run using the search eld of the Start menu. Thus you can automate the respective query by sorting and ltration. Principally, we want to rst generate a list of all the les in a folder including the sub-folders. Then sort this list as per the size of the le and nally allow only the rst elements of it to be displayed. In PowerShell you can connect all the necessary commands and create a single line to type in. You can generate the list of all the les of the respective folder including the sub-folder with the command Get-ChildItem [folder]-recurse. The parameter -recurse includes all sub-folders in the search. Instead of Get-ChildItem you can also use the usual alias dir (directory). In the next step sort the contents in descending sequence as per the size of the le via Sort-Object length descending. You must connect both the commands with the pipe symbol | in a line, so that the result of the rst command is at disposal of the second command. Similarly lter the rst twenty events with Select-
If an Office document is not closed properly then a backup le remains in the system. You delete this data trash manually once in a while, but want to automate this job. While opening a document, Word and its counterparts generate temporary les for their work, for backup copies and for the contents of the clipboard. Properly closing programs and documents deletes these temporary les automatically. However after a computer crash the temporary les are hidden in
Cd /d D:\myworkfolder Cdl /s /ah ~*.*

Change the path in the rst line so that it refers to the folder where you usually save your Office documents. The option /d is necessary so that even the drive can be changed. The command options for del take care, that Windows includes all sub-folders (s) and restricts the choice of les with the attribute hidden (ah). The characters ~*.* tell the command to select all le names beginning with the tilde. Save the le with a recognizable name, such as officeclean.bat and take care that the BAT extension is correct.
ATTENTION: Never forget the tilde, or all

les matching the hidden criteria will be
Type the instructions as shown and save the result as a BAT file which you can run anytime.
deleted by mistake. Before executing the batch le ensure that all the programs
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HANDS ON
Object-rst 20, thus showing you the 20 biggest les. Finally add the command WriteOutput for display. The complete command is as follows: Get-childitem [folder] recurse | sortobject length descending | select-object rst 20 | write-output
Computer folder in the Advanced settings area.
and then from here you can either remove an individual Sparkline or remove the entire group.
APPLICATIONS
10
Excel 2010
Visualize data values in worksheets individually
11
Word 2007, 2010

Import the auto text data from the older version of Word.
NOTE: You can copy the complete

command from a text le in the clipboard, instead of entering it newly. Then change to PowerShell. Paste the content by a right click with the mouse instead of the usual button combination [Ctrl]+[V]. One of the great features of Excel 2010 is the inclusion of Sparklines that allow you to visualize the data of the selected cells in the form of charts. It makes it easier to analyse the data and spot trends. When working in Word over time you will have created many autotext options that simplify your job. And when you upgrade to the newer version you would want to retain them.
11 10
Windows 7
Display all your drives in Explorer
Sometimes a drive is not visible in the Explorer even if it is available. You want to know where it lies and how the error can be rectied.
9
You can visualize various data trends in an individual row with the new Sparklines. You can manually import the autotext data saved from the previous version of Word to the new one.
From Word 2007 onwards the Sparklines is the newest, most interesting feature of Excel 2010. It allows you to simultaneously visualize your data in the form of bar, prot or loss displays in the same sheet. It also includes various other options that further increase its efficiency. Mark the desired series of data and go to the Insert tab here you will nd the Sparklines option next to the Charts. Here select the display option from Row, Column or Prot/Loss. Once you select
Windows tries to make things clean and easy, but you might need some manual intervention.
concept of autotext has changed in the form of versatile building blocks. You can import your data from the older version of Word to building blocks in the newer version instead of normal.dotx to avoid duplications and errors. First search for the le normal.dot from the backup of your old installation and copy this on the present hard disk. You will nd the same in the default location in C:\Documents and settings\ [user name]\application date\Microsoft\ Templates. Open the old normal.dot in the new Word. Conrm the macro access with a click on activate content. Then click on Insert in the main menu. Then click on quick parts in the text area and select the command Building Block Organizer. The Templates column will help you identify the auto text data from the old normal.dot. Now here you can click on each element to determine whether you need it or it can be deleted. If you need it then click on the button Edit Properties and change its setting to Building Blocks.dotx and save the same. Repeat the procedure for all the auto texts elements that you have transferred in the new version.
an option you will see a box Create Sparklines, you will nd your selected data range now feed the location range i.e. the area where you want the display the Sparklines. Conrm with OK and the Sparklines will be displayed in the desired area. This will also activate the Sparklines Tools under the Design Tab, which allows you to make changes to the Sparklines. You can display the Sparklines according lowest or highest points, negative points, rst or last points etc. You can also change the colour for each Sparkline or even individual Markers. If you wish to delete the Sparklines you can do so as well. You also have the option to Group the Sparklines together
The reason for this effect is the default activated option for hiding empty drives. This behaviour is planned by Windows and takes care of clutter, as lots of empty drives of a card reader are otherwise visible and confusing. Thus even empty, newly created partitions also disappear, or data storage devices in other unusual cases. It is better to deactivate this function to be able to see of all the available drives. Use the command Organise | Folder and search options in Windows Explorer and change to the tab View. Deactivate the option Hide empty drives in the
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TIPS & TRICKS

Word 2007, 2010
Activate the option to overtype
Earlier you could change the writing mode to Overtype by simply activating the option in the status bar at the bottom. However, 2007 onwards there are no such options available in the status bar.
HANDS ON
12
lines visible, as it makes reading the table an easy task. Even when you scroll through the table you have the headline and other explanations intact.
click start to begin. It will show results for System Vulnerabilities as well as Vulnerable Applications. You can x the System Vulnerabilities by clicking on the Fix it button. While for the Vulnerable Applications you can check the details and if the application is safe then you can create an exclusion rule by clicking Add to Exclusions.
13
12
15
Outlook 2007, 2010

Increase the duration of desktop notifications as well as change their position
In Outlook, you get a desktop

The Freeze Panes option makes working on large tables an easy task.
notication for any new email received. Normally this is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen. If you want you can change that as well as the duration for which it is displayed. Open the menu command Tools | Options in Outlook 2007. Under the Preferences Tab in E-mail click on E-mail Options then select Advanced E-mail Options. Here select Desktop Alert Settings and drag the tracker to increase duration. Click on Preview you will see the notication appear on the left hand corner, now if you wish to change its position you can simply drag and place it in the new location. Click OK to conrm the changes. In the current version 2010 activate the option File in the multi-function bar. Select Options under that select Mail. On the right hand side you will nd several options, select Message Arrival and then click Desktop Alert Settings. Increase the duration with the help of the tracker and as in 2007 version click on Preview and then drag the box to x its position. Click OK to conrm the changes.
The newer versions of Excel have the same function for xing particular areas in Excel as in the old
You can activate the Overtype option by rightclicking on the status bar.
versions, but it has been updated. Even the location of the command has been changed in the menu. To Freeze Panes, place the cursor at the left hand corner of your data, for instance place the cursor on B3, if the rows 1, 2 and the column A has to be xed. To Freeze Panes go to View then click on Freeze Panes. Additionally, in the new version you also have the option to just Freeze Top Row or the First Column. When you no longer need it you can click on the option Unfreeze Panes.
The newer versions of Word do not have the Overtyping option by default in the status bar nor can it be activated by clicking Insert key. Overtyping is most practical when you have to rewrite chunks of text when working. You can activate the Overtype option by right clicking on the status bar and then activating the Overtyping option. You can deactivate the option by right clicking on the status bar and unchecking the Overtype option. Alternatively, if you often need to use the Overtype option then you can alter the setting to use the Insert key to activate overtyping. To do this click the Office button, then go to Word options and then select Advanced. Under the Editing Options on the right you will see numerous options, from there check the box Use the Insert Key to control the overtype mode. And if you want to the overtyping option to be always active then you can select the option Use overtype mode. Conrm the changes with OK for the setting to be effective.
14
Kaspersky Internet Security

Trace weak points in your system
Kaspersky Internet Security software not only provides automatic protection from viruses and hackers, but additionally also allows you to scan for vulnerabilities. Apart from inadequate virus protection and missing updates even unsuitable settings in the system can expose it to unnecessary risks to some extent. The tool, which is integrated in Kaspersky Internet Security, for Vulnerability Scan helps you to nd and search such harmful settings. To run the Vulnerability Scan open the main window of the Kaspersky software and go to Tools tab. Here you will see the Vulnerability Scan button,
15
13
Excel 2007, 2010

Always keep the headline and margin line of a table visible
When working on large tables its always advantageous to have the headings as well as the margin
You can change the duration of the notification by simply dragging the tracker.
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Outlook 2010
Resend Email
HANDS ON
16
17
Bookmarks. Under that select the option Import and then select the HTML le from the location where you have saved it.
If you do not receive a response to an email you sent, you would want to resend the email as a reminder. You can easily do so in the 2010 version.
19
Google Chrome, Firefox

Set direct access for your favourite pages
16
For ease of use, you create browser bookmarks for the pages that you access regularly on the Internet. These
Encoded HTTPS-Everywhere protects against identity theft and hacker tool Firesheep.
bookmarks can be further modied to make the process simpler and more organized.
and grant the required permission by clicking on install now. Restart Firefox. The tool is automatically activated and requires very little conguration. Firstly open the command Tools | Add-ons,
The option to recall an email from the Sent items and resend it comes in very handy.
19
and click on the respective options button. You will see an overview of all the present unprotected websites. It contains important portals like Google Search, Microsoft, Mozilla, Twitter and Facebook. You can deactivate rerouting for a particular website, if there are problems with the protected connection. For instance, if you buy often at Amazon, you need to activate the option Amazon (buggy), so that the access on the pages of the online store takes place in the encoded form. Finally conrm the dialogue with OK. Rerouting to the encoded websites takes place automatically; you need not enter the special HTTPS address. The bookmark bar is a practical and helping tool for directly jumping to your favorite websites. However, even then, bookmarks cannot be adjusted in it in normal case. With a trick, you can practically accommodate all the websites important for you and these are just a click away for access. Switch on the bookmark bar. Click on the Settings icon and then select Tools option. Here, activate the option Always show bookmarks bar. In Firefox, go to View select the Toolbar option and activate You have been using the Opera browser, but switched to Mozilla Firefox for some reason. You had saved many bookmarks and you want to import them. Importing your bookmarks form Opera to Firefox should be fairly simple. Firstly, create an HTML le of your bookmarks in Opera. This can be achieved by exporting the bookmarks. Open Opera, go to File, under that you will nd the option Import and Export. Click on it and then select the option Export bookmarks as HTML. Select a location and save it. Now open Firefox, select the Bookmarks tab. Here you will see the option Organize Bookmark Toolbar. For managing the bookmarks in a better and more organized manner, you can choose to display only the icon or logo of the website instead of the whole name. To achieve this in Firefox, right-click on the bookmark, then go to Properties, and delete the name of the website in the name eld. Save the changes. In Chrome, right-click on the bookmark, and select Edit. Here, you can delete the name in the name eld, and save to conrm the changes. The bookmark icons can be rearranged by dragging them to the desired location.
Compiled by Team CHIP send your tips to tnt@chip.in
You can save the bookmarks as icons for easy access.
The command to Resend the message is somewhat hidden in Outlook 2010. To do so rst open the email message that you want to resend from the Sent folder. Now under the Message tab go to the Move section. Here click on Actions and the from the drop-down menu select the option Resend this Message. Outlook will now send the email to the same recipients list, with the same body and subject text as the original message. If you wish you can add additional text before sending it.
17
Mozilla Firefox
Use automatically encoded connections
18
Import bookmarks in Firefox

You can easily import bookmarks from Opera .
Whenever possible you use the versions of websites which are protected with HTTPS. But sometimes you do not know whether a protected version of a site is available. With hacker tools like Firesheep readily available, it becomes easy even for a layman to break into unsecure HTTP sessions on many websites. There is a high risk on many big web portals or pages of a social network through such an identity theft. Thus such sites must be used only with encoded HTTPS connections. You can use free browser updates like HTTPSEverywhere, to automate the safe encoding process as far as possible. Go to www.eff.org/https-everywhere
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FEATURE
UNWIND
MANIA
Its quite difficult to find a person who hasnt played or at least heard about Angry Birds. Here are some fun facts about the game that has captured the imagination of millions worldwide.
BY PRIYANKA TILVE
Pigs may seem like an odd choice of adversary for birds, and you've probably wondered why pigs would steal birds' eggs in the first place. The addition of pigs was apparently inspired by the swine flu epidemic that was rampant at the time when the original Angry Birds game was in development.
Rovio has released over five episodes of Angry Birds, introducing new levels as well as new birds. Apart from this, there are special Angry Birds Seasons editions for Halloween, Christmas, Valentines Day, St Patricks Day and Easter. Recently, we saw the release of Angry Birds Rio, a standalone release, which was launched as a promotion for the animated film Rio.
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FEATURE
What drives a game developer to come up with a concept that involves killing pigs using birds flung out of a slingshot? The story goes that Jaakko Iisalo, a games designer at Rovio, while thinking of concepts for the team's next project, had an idea and sketched a character of an angry bird. When he shared the sketch with his directors, they liked the character and then a gameplan was developed.
UNWIND
Trying to cash in on the craze of Angry Birds, several other game developers have launched games inspired by Angry Birds. These include Cannon Cadets, Bullistic, Trucks and Skulls, Pandas vs Ninjas, Chicks 'n' Vixens, Boss Launch 2, and Angry Farm just to name a few.
Since its release for Apples iOS in December 2009, Angry Birds has been downloaded more than 10 million times from the Apple App Store itself. After its version for the Android and Symbian platforms was released, the game has been downloaded more then 50 million times. It's so popular that it was hailed as the most downloaded app in most countries across the globe by the recently released 2011 Games Edition of the Guinness World Records.
On Youtube, you will find several videos on Angry Birds. While most of them teach you tricks and help you pass a level, one particular video particularly stands out. Search for 'Playable Angry Birds birthday cake' posted by Electricpigtv. The Angry Bird cake created by Mike Cooper for his sons sixth birthday didnt just look like the Angry Bird playfield, but you could actually play it.
Angry Birds has quite a celebrity fan following as well. It's celeb fans include David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and prolific writer Salman Rushdie. Angry Birds has also been the talking point on several TV shows, and it was even featured on an Israeli comedy show that depicted the angry birds in peace negotiations with the pigs!
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GAME REVIEW
UNWIND
RATING 5/5
Another Valve masterpiece!

BY MURALI VENUKUMAR
aming is a strange beast for those of us who choose to look beyond the visceral thrills
escape to the surface. The tackily furnished vestibule you were holed up in has clearly been ravaged by time, and Wheatley takes it upon himself to free you from your prison the hard way. What follows is a short, but memorable, on-rails sequence (apparently every great Valve game has to begin this way) that drops you back into Aperature Labs, the devious military contractor-cum-conglomerate that designed and ran the testing facility that held Chell prisoner. The place has obviously seen better days, what with GlaDOS out of operation and the maintenance systems acting up. Right about here is where youll notice two things. Wheatley just wont shut up! But
rather than annoying the living hell out of you, youll begin to notice that the AI has been given an actual well-rounded character. Brilliantly voiced by The Offices Stephen Merchant, the lovable little runt is clearly British and has a great sense of humor. In fact, youre recommended to stay put at spots just so youll hear the extra lines hell spout. This non-stop chatter is so well written, and delivered with such terric comictiming, that youll soon miss him when he goes off on random errands. Aside from Wheatley, youll also notice that the game isnt rushing you forward. The rst set of puzzles are harmless enough, seemingly there to introduce you more to the universe and the mechanics of gameplay. The derelict and relatively simple stages soon open up just as the rst major plot point hits you (hint: shes
of shooting an overpowered weapon or comparing kill-death ratios. It can be so much more; transporting you to brave new worlds and weaving interactive, involved narratives that other media could never hope to match. And while present day macroeconomic vagaries try their darnedest to stie creativity, theyd only need to look to games like Portal 2 to see where a good idea can take you. The original Portal was a short experimental title that was bundled into Valves Orange Box suite in 2007. Far from being overshadowed by Half-Life 2 and its episodes, which it shared case-front credits with, the rst-person puzzler held its own and generated passionate word-of-mouth buzz from practically everyone who played through it. Unexpected success aside, it was still a surprise when Newell and crew announced a standalone sequel to Portal rather than the next episode in the Half-Life saga. Would the same formula work a second time? Could they populate the de-humanized Portal universe with enough interesting characters to hold your attention through a full-length standalone game? Portal 2 is a simple game to summarize: it consists of a series of test chambers that you enter and then must exit using the tools provided to you. You play as Chell, a mute vessel protagonist in the tradition of that other legendary Valve hero (a certain Mr Freeman), who awakens from an undetermined period in stasis at a giant underground research facility owing to a goof-up by Wheatley, the resident caretaker robot-on-a-rail. For the newbies among you, the rst game had you defeat GlaDOS, the malevolent resident AI that seemed so obviously pleased with having you run from one deadly gauntlet to the next, all the while scuppering your plans of
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back!). Without divulging any more of the story, suffice to say that youll go places and learn more about the Portal universe and its characters than you ever expected to. Theres also a signicant chunk of back story to be enjoyed. Youll want to look in every nook and cranny of the levels for obscure voice snippets, paintings and other Easter eggs abound. Portal 2s gameplay revolves around the concept of entry and exit portals that you shoot out of your portal gun. Once shot onto strategic portal holding walls and walked into, they can be used to traverse large spaces and otherwise impossible gaps. Dont let Portal lure you into a false sense of security, however. After the rst third of the game, youll be faced with a steady introduction of new variables that youll need to utilize to solve each new puzzle room. These include liquid gels that speed up movement, increase your jump height, and one that lets you shoot portals on previously inert surfaces. There are also red lasers that can be redirected, energy walkways, tractor beams and springloaded plates that launch you into the air. The game never burdens you by throwing in more elements than youre able to take in. It expertly designed, paced and checkpointed, and barring
a few puzzles towards the end, youll never feel like youre in over your head. The game is a visual marvel, and while it may not stand up to the likes of Crysis 2, the attention to detail and massive evolving environments more than make up for it. The in-game music by Mike Morasky switches between serenely contemplative to tracks that subtly aid in your puzzle solving. Its wonderful to hear the score dynamically evolve as it adds new layers each time you complete a part of a puzzle. Aside from Wheatley, there are also standout performances from Ellen McLain, J.K. Simmons and Nolan North. It isnt often that you come across a game that has you laughing all through the boss ghts. The game also comes with seamless Steam integration on the PS3, allowing you to play the eshed out co-op mode online on the PS3 or cross-platform with a willing accomplice on the PC. The co-op mode has a separate set of puzzles and story, and even lets partners point objects of interest out to each other. Barring minor issues, such as frequent loading times and a lack of traditional leaderboard support, Portal 2 is as close to perfection as a video game can get. Clocking in at twice the length of the previous game
(and that isnt even counting the co-op mode), theres a tremendous amount of replay value to be had from redoing the chapters, just enjoying the story and dialogue or listening to Valves commentary track. With an endearing, bittersweet story that delves into depths you wouldnt expect of it, Portal 2 is not only a must-have but also an example of what the medium is capable of when in competent hands. Consider the bar well and truly raised.
feedback@chip.in
RATINGS
PUZZLE
Portal 2
PRICE PUBLISHER DEVELOPER DISTRIBUTOR PHONE E-MAIL PLATFORM
Rs 2,499 (PS3), Rs 1,999 (Xbox 360), Rs 699 (PC) EA Valve Milestone Interactive 022 42764000 sales@milestoneinteractive.com Xbox 360, PS3, PC
FOR
Excellent presentation, hilarious script and voice acting, involving gameplay, satisfying story.
AGAINST
Frequent loading.
GAME REVIEW
UNWIND
This is the Mortal Kombat youve been waiting for.

BY AVINASH BALI
the 21st century, Ed Boon and this team decided to break away from the games violent roots. Thankfully, newly founded NetherRealm has taken MK back to its hyper violent and totally over-the-top roots. This is the Mortal Kombat youve been waiting for, and its worth the wait. MK is essentially a ghting game, where your goal is to kick the living crap out of your enemy and then humiliate him/ her using insanely violent nishers called Fatalities. Older versions made players memorize tons of complicated moves, but this time, controls have been streamlined, making it accessible to newcomers. The tutorial will teach you how to pull off basic moves as well as combos. Theres even a practice mode for Fatalities, where you can master every characters Fatality before jumping straight into the deep end. Mortal Kombat made a name for itself thanks to its ludicrous Fatalities that have you ripping, tearing, cutting, maiming, and stabbing all sorts of body parts. You can now do all that in glorious HD. This game introduces X-Ray moves that allow players to inict heavy damage in X-Ray vision. Unlike fatalities, these can be pulled off during a ght itself by building up your energy meter. Inicting or receiving damage will build
ts impossible to have grown up in the nineties not having heard of Mortal Kombat (MK). But as we entered
up this meter, which when full, can be used to unleash these devastating moves. They dont kill your opponent (unless their health is real low) but will eat into a signicant chunk of their health bar. But be warned, these moves can be blocked. After training, you can head into the games robust career mode. This allows you to experiment with every ghter, and by the end of the story, youll have chosen your favorite for the long haul. Im not too well versed with MK lore, but Ive spoken to a few vets and they were very happy with what the game brought to the table. The only issue I had with the campaign was the erratic difficulty that randomly kicked in from time to time. Due to the PSN outage, I couldnt take this game online, but thankfully, the game ships with a ton of content thatll keep you busy for days. First up is your standard Ladder mode, where players progress through a bunch of ghters, eventually facing off against Shao Khan. After that, you have the Challenge Tower, where youll undergo 300 diverse challenges. While some of them may be the standard kick his ass before the time runs out, some are crazy innovative and hilarious like armless Kombat or topsy turvy Kombat (not their real names) that literally turn the game on its head. Credits earned through every mode in the game can be used in the Krypt to purchase alternate costumes, concept art, new fatalities, levels, etc. Progressing through the Challenge Tower will also allow players to unlock fan favorite mini-games like Test Your Might, Test Your Sight, etc. Visually, MK is one of the most gorgeous ghters on the block. Thanks to the Unreal 3 engine, the detailing on each ghter is impressive. Fatalities and bonecrunching X-Ray moves look absolutely horric (in a nice way, of course). During combat, every ghter bears testament to sustained damage via cuts, bruises, and tons of the red stuff. Levels also pack in a ton of detail and theres always something going on in the background. The only aspect of the game I missed from older outings was environmental destruction, where you could send enemies through roofs or walls to unlock new areas. To sum it all up, Mortal Kombat is a game that can be enjoyed by all (except the squeamish kind). Its ridiculously violent, gorgeous, packs in an insane amount of content and will provide players with hours of entertainment both online and offline. It is accessible to newcomers, but at the same time capable of providing vets with a solid challenge.
avinash@tech2.com
RATINGS
FIGHTING
Mortal Kombat
Rs 2,499 Warner Bros. NetherRealm Studios E-Xpress Interactive 022 29661017 info@expressgames.in PS3, Xbox 360
FOR
Brutally satisfying gameplay, glorious violence, tons of content, accessible to newcomers
AGAINST
Lack of environmental destruction, erratic difficulty spikes in campaign
RATING 4.5/5
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GAME REVIEW
UNWIND
Dont even bother.
BY AVINASH BALI
RATING 2/5
whole one-bullet-kills-players bit; I really am. In fact, after soaking up a gazillion bullets as a human sponge in games like Call of Duty, Operation Flashpoints USP is somewhat of a pleasant change of pace. It ensures that you dont just dash onto the battleeld with reckless abandon; instead moving ahead carefully and making every shot count. Unfortunately, the game is such a horribly unpolished mess that it ends up just embarrassing itself, and the rest of the shooter fraternity. OFP:RR takes place in Tajikistan, where you and your team of hardened marines are sent to save the day. Throughout the game, youre given orders by one of the most annoying characters in videogame history. Not only does he spout expletives like a 15-year-old whos just learnt to abuse, but his idiotic and terribly lengthy monologues about being the baddest badass in all of badassland cannot be skipped. The OFP series is known for its realizm and authenticity, and while Red River continues that tradition, it seems to be having an identity crisis as the game tries to walk the thin line between authenticity and CoD-esque explosive fun, failing on both counts. How else can you explain the ability to sprint aimless for miles on end? Also, why is it that I am shot in the same place every time? No matter where I get tagged from, my character always undergoes the same animation when shot. You probably think Im nitpicking, but games like Battleeld and Modern Warfare embrace their over-the-top shenanigans, while OFP:RR tries be all
peration Flashpoint: Red River is a game that prides itself for being authentic. And Im down with the
hardcore and so all these gameplay designs strike me as odd. For a game that relies heavily on tactical, squad-based action, Red Rivers AI is a complete mess. Your team will rarely listen to commands and will almost always run in front of your line of re. I guess they missed the part in military school where they were trained to avoid re. There were instances when they handled themselves just ne in battle, but most of the time, they proved themselves useful only to distract enemies so you could ank them. They will also never revive you in battle, walking past your dying corpse like nothings wrong. Sometimes I feel they just dont like me. Enemy AI is equally horrible. In most cases, youll actually witness enemies dart out from cover into the open and just wait there while you pick them off. Enemies never use any sort of tactics or even bother anking you. Red River is a painfully linear game that immediately orders you to get back on track if you try deviating from the set path. You can forget about surveying the game world to get a drop on your enemies; you have to follow the path laid out for you by the game via its painfully annoying bread-crumb trail. But instead of embracing its linear design, it likes to present an illusion to players that theyre playing an open-ended game where tactics are welcome. Throughout your many painfully long and meaningless hikes, the only thing youll be doing is marveling at this games awful visuals. Its that ugly. Oh, and the game employs an annoying auto-save system, which means that when you die, you will have to back track like crazy. Youre probably thinking I didnt like
RATINGS
FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER
Operation Flashpoint: Red River

Rs 2,499 (consoles), Rs 999 (PC) Codemasters Codemasters Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd. 022 39816600 helpdesk@zapak.co.in Xbox 360, PS3, PC
FOR
Gameplay can be intense at times, co-op is fun.
AGAINST
Retarded AI, horrible visuals, lack of identity, annoying voice acting.
this game at all, and yes, it was a painful experience, but somewhere deep down, theres some semblance of an enjoyable game. Its exciting to plan your attack carefully, knowing well that a stray bullet could end your life immediately. It provides a sense of tension absent in some of the more recent shooters. As always, the games a lot better in co-op. While I couldnt play the campaign in co-op, I could re up a few FTE (Fire Team Engagement) rounds, which is like the Horde mode from Gears of War, where you and a team of three must survive waves of enemies while fullling certain objectives. Unfortunately the few plus points are outweighed tremendously by the games negatives, and youll have to wade through too much crap to get to those parts. With the plethora of options for shooter fans today, theres really no incentive to put up with Red Rivers numerous short comings.
avinash@tech2.com
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06/2011
141
GAME REVIEW
UNWIND
Fun as always, but fails to keep up with the competition.

BY SAMEER DESAI
RATING 3.5/5
allots you represents
tickets, and each ticket a xed number of moves
with Move is nowhere near as fun as Table Tennis from Sports Champions, which remains the gold standard when it comes to racket sports with Move. One area was VT4 scores over Top Spin 4 is the player roster. Its expansive and features nearly every major star from both the ATP and WTA circuits, and some former stars, including my childhood favorite Stefan Edberg, who is only featured on the PS3 version. Visually too, VT4 holds up quite well. The player models are quite accurate, but the bizarre facial animations dont do justice to them. The player customization is also quite disappointing, with very few options and nowhere near the kind of depth found in Top Spin 4. Top Spin 4 threw down the challenge earlier this year, and while Segas reply is a fairly decent one, it doesnt quite match up. Its still a great pick-up-and-play game, but if youre looking for something deeper, go with 2K.
sameer.desai@chip.in
irtua Tennis is one of those video game franchises that no matter how many new iterations it
you can make forward, and each time you use a ticket, a new one is added. Its a bit of a lottery and takes some planned use of tickets to get to where youd like to go. Its surely a refreshing change and after some initial apprehensions, I started to enjoy the new career format. As I said, the gameplay hasnt changed much over the years, but one new addition is the super shot, which utilizes an on-screen power meter. When full, the camera will zoom into your player in slow motion as you unleash a thundering stroke that is nearly impossible to return. The zooming in can get a little distracting for the opponent, but these super shots are only seen once in a while, so it doesnt get too annoying. But while VT4s style of gameplay is still a lot of fun, especially for short, pick-up-and-play sessions, the advancements in Top Spin 4 do make it look a bit dated. Shots feel a little scripted at times, and the game often determines the exact direction of your strokes for you in the interest of creating long tense rallies. It takes skill out of the equation a little bit in favor of fun and accessibility. In a bid to make VT4 even more accessible, the developers have included motion control support. Since I was playing the PS3 version, I had the opportunity to try it out with Playstation Move. The responsiveness and accuracy was quite good, but the biggest aw is in the design. The camera sticks to the standard back-of-the-court TV camera when your opponent is playing, but when its your turn, it switches to a rst-person view, and this constant switching of camera angles gets quite disorienting and can even throw you off your game. On the plus side, it is possible to apply spin on your strokes, so you can play slices and top spins by turning your wrists accordingly. Still, VT4
spawns, it will never deviate a whole lot from the core gameplay it established years ago. Sega got it right the rst time, and over the years, theyve been smart not to try and x what wasnt broken. Some might consider this stagnation, and you wouldnt be entirely wrong, but there is an addictive charm to VTs arcade gameplay that shines through today even though it hasnt changed a whole lot since Virtua Tennis 3 in 2007. So why even make another one, you ask? VTs gameplay may not have changed a whole lot, but the industry sure has, and Virtua Tennis 4 seems like Segas attempt to t the old formula into whats expected of games today, namely 3D and motion controls. But just throwing in motion controls and 3D support isnt going to be enough to challenge 2Ks Top Spin series, which quite contrary to VT, has been quite willing to shake things up, as we saw from the brilliant and unusually accessible Top Spin 4. So Virtua Tennis 4 features a completely overhauled career mode thats broken up into four seasons. It plays out a bit like a board game, moving through various countries. Each tile on the board represents a different city, either containing a tournament, one of the many mini-games the series is known for, promotional events, exhibition matches, or rest spots, where you can rebuild lost stamina. The game
RATINGS
SPORTS
Virtua Tennis 4
Rs 2,499 Sega Sega AM3 E-Xpress Interactive 022 29661017 info@expressgames.in Xbox 360, PS3
FOR
Accessible pick-up-and-play fun, good player roster, unique career mode
AGAINST
Not enough depth for experienced players, Move implementation underwhelms
142
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Jagdish Limbachiya
SMS us!
Story code: UVT to 51818
GAME REVIEW
UNWIND
Pick this one up for its multiplayer only.

BY AVINASH BALI
RATING 3.5/5
RATING 3.5/5 RATING 3.5/5
OCOM 4 (called SOCOM: Special Forces in India) would have been a cool game had it released
pre-determined path, you will be spotted immediately and gunned down like a dog. Visually, the games a good ve years behind its time. Theres hardly any anti-aliasing, textures are low res, and character models are just average. Theres little environmental damage and whatever does explode looks unimpressive. The games also excessively dark. Even during some of the day missions, I had to squint to gure out where I got shot from. This becomes a noticeable issue in multiplayer, where campers and excessive foliage in some maps make it tough to spot enemies. But things do fare a lot better on the multiplayer front. Before you jump into the competitive modes, you can party up with up to four players to tackle the co-op mode; standalone missions with a bunch of preset objectives. If thats not your thing, jump straight into the online arena where you can choose from a bunch of modes like Suppression (deathmatch), Uplink (capture the ag), Bomb Squad (search and defuse), etc. My rst few hours in multiplayer were utterly miserable. I kept playing it like Call of Duty, sprinting into combat, and I just kept getting shot in the face. Thats when I realized that this game is a whole new beast. Run-and-gun players must be
willing to change their style up. Even if you dont play as a team, you still have to be extremely careful, taking cover, crouching, and going prone at times. The game ships with a healthy arsenal, and most maps are huge, making sniper ries somewhat of a necessity. It also encourages you to stick to one weapon, as the more you use it, the cooler mods you unlock for it. SOCOM 4 is not a bad game at all, but it doesnt have a single OMG I need this game quality. It does, however, offer a lot of content in the form of a lengthy campaign, co-op modes, and a satisfying multiplayer component that could keep you busy for days on end.
avinash@tech2.com
ve years ago. Today, its nothing but a generic tactical shooter. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with it; its just that gamers today are pampered by so much variety, that SOCOM feels redundant. Now, SOCOM games generally dont have a single player campaign, so the one in SOCOM 4 is kind of an added bonus. The story is non-existent and so is the voice acting. The action is your standard third-person cover-based fare, using your team to ank and outwit enemies. I breezed through most of the campaign without any tactics as the games pretty
easy and the AIs pretty dense. The cover system feels quite stiff and cover objects dont degrade over time, so you can hide behind that wooden barricade with reckless abandon as enemies abuse it with bullets. Between bouts of running and gunning, youll experience the games broken stealth system as Lt Park, a butt-kicking Korean hardass. While I have no problem with the way she goes about doing things, its the enemy AI that behaves excessively retarded. The route youre supposed to take is linear, so if you dont stick to the
RATINGS
THIRD-PERSON SHOOTER
SMS us!
SOCOM: Special Forces

PRICE PUBLISHER DEVELOPER
Rs 2,499 (PS3) Sony Zipper Interactive
Story code: USC to 51818
FOR
Addictive multiplayer, brings a ton of content to the table.
AGAINST
Stealth sections suck, dated visuals, campaign feels pretty generic.
PREVIEW
UNWIND
of the very motorsport discipline that had got the franchise this far rally. Fans were understandably up in arms over Codemasters ill-treatment of rally and they made themselves heard on forums and blogs. Fortunately, their complaints didnt fall on deaf ears, and when Dirt 3 was announced, one of the rst details the developers released was that 60 percent of the career would be comprised of rally. I recently had the opportunity to take a pre-release build of Dirt 3 through its paces. It comprised of just the rst season of the career mode, and it gave me the opportunity to see if Codies had kept their promise. They have. Most of the events the careers were rally, while the rest were broken up into race types that Dirt 2 players will be familiar with. These include rally cross (standard track-based races), land rush (standard races with pick-up trucks), drift events with a point system like the PGR games Kudos, and one-onone events. There isnt much of an overhaul in the way the game plays. The cars still feel oaty as ever, and thanks to the twitchy controls, they drift around corners effortlessly. Gentle nudges of the analog stick and constant feathering of brake and throttle are vital for success in Dirt 3. But
irt 2 was a great all-round off-road racing game, but it was guilty of one terrible crime; the omission
dont let that intimidate you because all it takes is 15-20 minutes to come to grips with it. Speaking of grip, track surfaces now have a more pronounced effect on car handling. Driving on dirt, gravel, tarmac and snow all feel different and youll need to make the necessary adjustments when you move from one to the other. Codemasters racing games have always had the best damage models, and Dirt 3 doesnt disappoint either. With every impact with other cars or trackside objects, dents form, panels fall off, and splinters of metal and carbon ber y in every direction. Theres performance damage too, but its far more forgiving and nowhere near as elaborate, but getting too friendly with tree trunks will end your race prematurely. Lets get back to rally though. Now, while what I saw of the career events was dominated by rally, even after playing the game, I still wasnt sure of how deeprooted the rally implementation really is. Yes, the stages look great and the layouts are fantastic, with lush foliage around, appropriate elevation and drops, and a healthy mix of straights and hairpins, but a lot of rally actually takes place off the course. See, rallies play out over multiple stages, which often vary in nature from each other. Switching your cars setting between stages could prove crucial. Cars also tend to pick up damage progressively over stages and using the limited time
between stages to perform repairs is also vital. But since the rally events in the career so far have only comprised of two stages each, there hasnt been much scope to see if either of these strategic elements comes into play. Thats not to say that they havent been implemented. If anything, the brief intro video did allude to their inclusion, but I didnt really have the opportunity to test it out myself. Hopefully the events later in the career will consist of multiple stages for a more fullling rally experience. If youre just looking for more of what Dirt 2 brought to the table, dont let all the rally talk above turn you off. Theres still plenty of opportunity to partake in the several other off-road racing disciplines, both in the career and outside it. Dirt 3 also adds a split-screen multi-player mode, something more racing game devs need to implement in their games. Then of course, theres the heavily publicized Gymkhana mode, which unfortunately, we didnt have access to in this build. Its a freestyle mode that rewards drifting, jumps and basically any form of stylish driving. So if you thought Dirt 2 had a great mix of off-road events, Dirt 3 is set to take things several steps further.
sameer.desai@chip.in
Dirt 3 is available now for Xbox 360 (Rs 2,499), PS3 (Rs 2,499), PC (Rs 699).
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Jagdish Limbachiya
SMS us!
Story code: UD3 to 51818
COLUMN
UNWIND
AFTER ALMOST A MONTH OFFLINE, THE PSN IS FINALLY BACK, BUT SONY STILL HAS A LOT TO ANSWER FOR.
SAMEER DESAI
THE PSN OUTAGE

he Playstation Network, which enables PS3 and PSP players to play games and buy content online, was taken offl ine by Sony for over 20 days after hackers had breached through its security and gained access to the personal details of over 100 million PSN users. While details such as names and address were surely compromised, hackers may also have been able to steal users credit card details. The service is fi nally being resumed gradually, and to make up for the downtime, Sony is offering each PSN user free games and a months free access to the premium PSN service, Playstation Plus. But that is in no way going to regain our trust. The fact that the PSN had such glaring holes in its system; Sonys inability to ensure the security of its users private information; and the companys lack of transparency during the downtime, mean that Sony still has many questions to answer. The PS3 was hacked recently, allowing users to run custom fi rmware on the console. This is nothing new. The Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii were also hacked soon after they hit shelves. In fact, the PS3 managed to keep its defenses up for years before hackers found a way to mod it. Its possible that the hackers used a variation of custom fi rmware to breach PSN security, and thats the most worrying part. The Xbox 360 has a similar online service Xbox Live, which is even more popular than PSN and has an even more elaborate digital distribution service. Even though the console itself was hacked, allowing users to play pirated games, Xbox Live has remained impenetrable. The same applies to Apples iPhone. It was jailbroken
soon after release, and jailbreaking it was even made legal in the US, but none of the hacks allowed unauthorized access to the iTunes store, where user data could be compromised. Thats why the vulnerability of Sonys system is so worrying for its millions of users. The fi rst thing Sony did after bringing PSN back online was to prompt users to change their passwords, but a glaring security hole was even found in the simple password reset system, prompting Sony to once again disable the password reset and user login features on its Playstation websites. Since the reset system only required the users email address and current password, it could easily be exploited by the hackers, whove already got access to these details. Sony is said to have hired multiple security fi rms to rebuild the PSNs security framework from scratch, and they've even assured several concerned governments that security of PSN users' personal data is a top priority. Even as parts of PSN begin to come back online, the Playstation Store, the breach point for the hackers, remains offl ine. When it is back up, users will surely think twice about using their credit cards online again, but this isnt an issue in most of the world, where Sony also offers prepaid PSN cards. Unfortunately, Sony doesnt offer these cards in India, so until they do, they can kiss their online revenues goodbye.
EVEN ONCE THE PSN STORE IS BACK ONLINE, USERS WILL THINK TWICE BEFORE USING THEIR CREDIT CARDS ONLINE AGAIN.
- sameer.desai@chip.in
06/2011
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PROCESSORS: Intel
NAME Intel Core i3-540 Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 Intel Core i3-550 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Intel Core i5-2300 (Sandy Bridge) Intel Core i5-661 Intel Core i5-760 Intel Core i5-2400 (Sandy Bridge) Intel Core i5-2500 (Sandy Bridge) Intel Core i7-950 Intel Core i7-2600 (Sandy Bridge) Intel Core i7-875K Intel Core i7-960 PRICE (Rs) 5,644 5,778 7,276 9,951 10,379 10,754 10,968 11,235 12,305 16,371 19,474 21,507 28,623 CPU SOCKET LGA 1156 LGA 775 LGA 1156 LGA 775 LGA 1155 LGA 1156 LGA 1156 LGA 1155 LGA 1155 LGA 1366 LGA 1155 LGA 1156 LGA 1366 NUMBER OF CORES 2 2 2 2 4 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 CLOCK SPEED 3.06 GHz 2.93 GHz 3.20 GHz 3.0 GHz 2.8 GHz 3.33 GHz 2.80 GHz 3.10 Ghz 3.30 GHz 3.06 GHz 3.40 GHz 2.93 GHz 3.20 GHz MFG PROCESS 32 nm 45 nm 32 nm 45 nm 32 nm 32 nm 45 nm 32 nm 32 nm 45 nm 32 nm 45 nm 45 nm TDP 73 W 65 W 73 W 65 W 95 W 87 W 95 W 95 W 95 W 130 W 95 W 95 W 130 W
PROCESSORS: AMD
NAME AMD Sempron 145 AMD Athlon II X2 250 AMD Athlon II X2 245 AMD Athlon II X2 255 AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE AMD Phenom II X2 555 BE AMD Athlon II X4 645 AMD Phenom II X4 945 AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE AMD Phenom II X6 1055T AMD Phenom II X6 1075T AMD Phenom II X6 1090T BE PRICE (Rs) 1,873 2,943 2,996 3,076 4,441 4,601 5,725 7,062 7,223 8,881 9,924 12,091 CPU SOCKET AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 NUMBER OF CORES 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 6 6 6 CLOCK SPEED 2.80 GHz 3.00 GHz 2.90 GHz 3.10 GHz 3.10 GHz 3.20 GHz 3.10 GHz 3.00 GHz 3.20 GHz 2.80 GHz 3.00 GHz 3.20 GHz MFG PROCESS 45 nm 45 nm 45 nm 45 nm 45 nm 45 nm 45 nm 45 nm 45 nm 45 nm 45 nm 45 nm TDP 45 W 65 W 65 W 65 W 80 W 80 W 95 W 95 W 125 W 125 W 125 W 125 W
MOTHERBOARDS: AMD - IGP

NAME ECS A740GM-M Biostar A780L ECS A785GM-M3 ECS A885GM-A2 Biostar TA880GB+ Gigabyte 880GM-UD2H Asus M4A88T-M Gigabyte GA-880GM-USB3 MSI 880GMA-E45 Biostar TA890GXE ECS A890GXM-A Asus M4A89GTD PRO PRICE (Rs) 1,873 2,568 2,943 4,253 4,280 4,441 4,976 5,671 5,671 6,858 7,570 8,532 CPU SOCKET AM2+ AM2+ AM2+ AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 CHIPSET AMD 740G + AMD SB700 AMD 760G + AMD SB710 AMD 785G + AMD SB710 AMD 880G + AMD SB850 AMD 880G + AMD SB710 AMD 880G + AMD SB710 AMD 880G + AMD SB710 AMD 880G + AMD SB710 AMD 880G + AMD SB850 AMD 890GX + AMD SB850 AMD 890GX + AMD SB850 AMD 890GX + AMD SB850 MEMORY SUPPORT DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 D-SUB | DVI | HDMI || || || || || || || || || || || || PCI X16 | PCI | SATA | USB 1|2|6|4 1|2|6|7 1|2|6|4 2|2|0|6 1|2|6|7 1|2|6|6 1|1|6|6 1 | 2 | 5 | 12 1|1|0|4 1|2|5|6 3|1|0|6 2|2|0|6
NOTE: Street prices (incl. VAT) as on 10 May 2011.
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CHIP brings you a roundup of all the latest and greatest products on the market.
MOTHERBOARDS: AMD - Non-IGP

NAME Asus M4A87TD/USB3 Asus M4A87TD EVO MSI 870A FUZION MSI 890FXA-GD70 Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5 PRICE (RS) 5,725 6,902 10,700 10,700 12,198 CPU SOCKET AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 AM3 CHIPSET AMD 870 + AMD SB850 AMD 870 + AMD SB850 AMD 770 + AMD SB710 AMD 890FX + AMD SB850 AMD 890FX + AMD SB850 MEMORY SUPPORT DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 PCIE X16 SLOTS 1 2 2 5 2 PCI | SATA | USB 0|6|2 0|6|2 1|6|6 1|6|6 1 | 6 | 14
MOTHERBOARDS: Intel - IGP

NAME ECS G41T-M5 Asus P5G41C-M LX Intel DG41WV ECS H55H-CM Intel BOXDG43RK Asus P7H55-M Intel BLKDH67CL Asus P8H67-M Gigabyte H67MA-UD2H Asus P8H67-M PRO Asus P8H67-M EVO PRICE (Rs) 2,006 2,756 3,050 4,093 4,655 4,725 6,260 7,918 8,212 8,346 9,175 CPU SOCKET LGA 775 LGA 775 LGA 775 LGA 1156 LGA 775 LGA 1156 LGA 1155 LGA 1155 LGA 1155 LGA 1155 LGA 1155 CHIPSET Intel G41 + ICH7 Intel G41 + ICH7 Intel G41 + ICH7 Intel H55 Intel G43 + ICH10 Intel H55 Intel H67 Intel H67 Intel H67 Intel H67 Intel H67 MEMORY SUPPORT DDR2 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 D-SUB | DVI | HDMI || || || || || || || || || || || PCIE X16 | PCI | SATA | USB 1|1|2|4 1|2|4|8 1|2|4|4 1|1|6|6 1 | 2 | 4 | 12 1|1|6|6 1|3|3|6 2|1|4|6 1|0|3|4 2|2|4|4 2|1|4|4
MOTHERBOARDS: Intel - Non-IGP

NAME ECS P55H-A Intel BLKDP67BA MSI P55A-G55 Asus P7P55D Pro Gigabyte P67A-UD3R MSI P55A-GD65 MSI X58 Pro-E Asus P8P67 Asus Sabertooth X58 Intel DX58SO Asus P8P67 Pro Intel BOXDX58SO2 Asus Rampage III Gene MSI Big-Bang X-Power Gigabyte P67A-UD7 PRICE (Rs) 6,554 7,062 7,330 9,122 9,470 9,898 10,700 11,850 12,038 13,268 13,536 14,900 15,330 18,565 20,036 CPU SOCKET LGA 1156 LGA 1155 LGA 1156 LGA 1156 LGA 1366 LGA 1156 LGA 1366 LGA 1155 LGA 1366 LGA 1366 LGA 1155 LGA 1366 LGA 1366 LGA 1366 LGA 1155 CHIPSET Intel P55 Intel P67 Intel P55 Intel P55 Intel P67 Intel P55 Intel X58 + ICH10R Intel P67 Intel X58 + ICH10R Intel X58 + ICH10R Intel P67 Intel X58 + ICH10R Intel X58 + ICH10R Intel X58 + ICH10R Intel P67 MEMORY SUPPORT DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 PCIE X16 SLOTS 2 1 2 1 2 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 2 6 4 PCI | SATA | USB 2|6|8 3|3|6 3|6|8 2|7|8 2 | 6 | 14 2|2|5 2|2|6 3|4|6 1|6|6 1|6|8 2|4|6 1|6|6 1|6|7 6|6|4 2 | 8 | 10
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GRAPHICS CARDS: ATI
NAME Asus EAH5450 SILENT/DI/1GD3 Sapphire HD 5670 Powercolor AX5750 1GBD5-H Sapphire HD5750 11164-00 Powercolor AX5770 1GBD5-H XFX HD-577X-ZNFK MSI R6850-PM2D1GD5 Powercolor AX6850 1GBD5-DH XFX HD-685X-ZDFC Asus EAH6850 DC/2DIS/1GD5 XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Powercolor AX6870 1GBD5-2DH Sapphire HD 5850 Sapphire HD 6950 MSI R6970-2PM2D2GD5 Sapphire HD 6970 PRICE (Rs) 2,782 5,404 6,206 6,420 7,356 8,025 10,352 10,807 12,091 12,599 14,231 14,285 15,274 16,672 21,694 22,310 RADEON DIRECT X GPU HD 5450 HD 5670 HD 5750 HD 5750 HD 5770 HD 5770 HD 6850 HD 6850 HD 6850 HD 6850 HD 6870 HD 6870 HD 5850 HD 6950 HD 6970 HD 6970 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 MEMORY TYPE DDR3 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 MEMORY | BUS WIDTH 1 GB | 64-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 256-bit 1 GB | 256-bit 1 GB | 256-bit 1 GB | 256-bit 1 GB | 256-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 256-bit 2 GB | 256-bit 2 GB | 256-bit 2 GB | 256-bit STREAM PROCESSORS 80 400 720 720 800 800 960 960 960 960 1120 1120 1440 1408 1536 1536 CORE | MEMORY SPEED (MHZ) 650 MHz | 800 MHz 775 MHz | 1000 MHz 700 MHz | 1150 MHz 700 MHz | 1150 MHz 850 MHz | 1200 MHz 850 MHz | 1200 MHz 775 MHz | 1000 MHz 775 MHz | 1000 MHz 775 MHz | 1000 MHz 790 MHz | 1000 MHz 900 MHz | 1050 MHz 900 MHz | 1050 MHz 725 MHz | 1000 MHz 800 MHz | 1250 MHz 880 MHz | 1375 MHz 880 MHz | 1375 MHz
GRAPHICS CARDS: Nvidia

NAME Palit NE221000FHD56 Asus EN9500GT/DI/1GD2/V2 Asus Nvidia ENGT220/DI/1GD2 MSI N430GT-MD1GD3/OC/LP Sparkle GeForce GT220 Sparkle GeForce GT240 Asus ENGT240/DI/1GD3/A XFX GT-240X-ZHFC XFX GT 240 GT-240X-ZHFC Sparkle SX98GT1024D3G-VM Palit Geforce GTS450 SONIC Zotac GeForce GTS 450 Asus ENGTS450 DIRECTCU/DI/1GD5 Zotac GeForce GTX 460 Palit GeForce GTX 460 Smart MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC Sparkle Geforce GTX470 Zotac Geforce GTX 570 MSI N570GTX M2D12D5 Zotac Geforce GTX 580 Asus ENGTX580/2DI/1536MD5
PRICE (Rs) GEFORCE GPU DIRECT X 2,434 3,317 3,665 4,120 4,280 5,350 5,484 5,511 5,511 6,527 6,928 6,982 8,801 9,229 10,138 10,914 19,902 21,748 22,470 29,880 32,421 210 9500 GT GT 220 GT 430 GT 220 GT 240 GT 240 GT 240 GT 240 9800 GT GTS 450 GTS 450 GTS 450 GTX 460 GTX 460 GTX 460 GTX 470 GTX 570 GTX 570 GTX 580 GTX 580 10.1 10 10.1 11 10.1 10.1 10.1 10.1 10.1 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11
MEMORY TYPE MEMORY | BUS WIDTH DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR3 DDR3 DDR2 DDR3 DDR5 GDDR5 DDR3 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 512 MB | 64-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 256-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1 GB | 128-bit 1024 MB | 128-bit 768 MB | 192-bit 1 GB | 256-bit 1 GB | 256-bit 1280 MB | 320-bit 1280 MB | 320-bit 1280 MB | 320-bit 1.5 GB | 384-bit 1.5 GB | 384-bit
STREAM PROCESSORS 16 32 48 96 48 96 96 96 96 112 192 192 192 336 288 336 448 480 512 512 512
CORE | MEMORY SPEED (MHZ) 589 MHz | 800 MHz 550 MHz | 800 MHz 625 MHz | 800 MHz 785 MHz | 1000 MHz 625 MHz | 700 MHz 550 MHz | 850 MHz 550 MHz | 850 MHz 550 MHz | 800 MHz 550 MHz | 900 MHz 550 MHz | 900 MHz 930 MHz | 1000 MHz 810 MHz | 900 MHz 850 MHz | 900 MHz 375 MHz | 900 MHz 650 MHz | 850 MHz 725 MHz | 900 MHz 607 MHz | 837 MHz 732 MHz | 950 MHz 732 MHz | 950 MHz 772 MHz | 1002 MHz 782 MHz | 1002 MHz
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EXTERNAL DRIVE
NAME Buffalo HD-PETU2 HD-PET320U2/L Western Digital Elements Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex STAA320301 Transcend StoreJet 25M Buffalo HD-PVU2 HD-PV500U2/BK Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex STAA500302 Toshiba Canvio USB 3.0 Transcend StoreJet 25M Western Digital My Passport Elite Western Digital My Book Elite Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex STAA1000301 Hitachi XL Desk 0S02485 Western Digital My Book Elite LaCie Rugged PRICE(Rs) 2,568 2,595 2,862 2,943 3,050 3,371 3,397 3,424 3,692 5,243 5,297 6,206 7,758 8,828 CAPACITY 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 500 GB 500 GB 500 GB 500 GB 500 GB 1 TB 1 TB 2 TB 2 TB 500 GB INTERFACE USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB 3.0 USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB 2.0 FORM FACTOR 2.5-inch 2.5-inch 2.5-inch 3.5-inch 2.5-inch 2.5-inch 2.5-inch 2.5-inch 2.5-inch 3.5-inch 2.5-inch 3.5-inch 3.5-inch 2.5-inch
USB FLASH DRIVE

NAME ADATA AC906-4G-RBK iball Ultra Strong Transcend JetFlash V70 Corsair CMFUSBMINI Sandisk Ultra Backup iball Ultra Strong Corsair CMFUSB2.0 Touchmate TM-USB8GBPB Transcend JetFlash 500 Sandisk Cruzer Slice Sandisk Ultra Backup CAPACITY 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 8 GB 8 GB 16 GB 16 GB 8 GB 32 GB 32 GB 64 GB PRICE (Rs) 303 358 455 908 910 1,210 1,403 1,980 2,408 3,023 5,671
CAMCORDERS
NAME Canon Legria FS 305 Sony Handycam DCR-SX44E Samsung K44 Sony Handycam DCR-SX63E Sony Handycam DCR-SR68E Canon Legria HF R17 Canon Legria HF R18 Canon Legria HF M300 Canon Legria HF M31 Sony Handycam XR 550 PRICE (Rs) 11,821 15,345 16,205 17,408 20,460 32,285 42,020 44,110 53,900 59,400 RESOLUTION OPTICAL ZOOM 1024 x 768 37x 720 x 480 60x 720 x 480 52x 720 x 480 60x 720 x 480 60x 1920 x 1080 20x 1920 x 1080 20x 1920 x 1080 15x 1920 x 1080 15x 1920 x 1080 10x
PROJECTORS
NAME LG BS275 Sony VPL-EX100 Projector Mitsubishi EX200U Sharp PGF312X LG HS201 G Viewsonic PJD5352 Sony VPL-EX120 Projector Viewsonic PJD6531W Sharp XGC435X Mitsubishi XD600U Mitsubishi HC6800
PRICE (Rs) 33,110 36,960 39,105 44,055 44,110 45,743 50,710 53,566 74,250 97,873 143,660
TYPE DLP LCD DLP DLP DLP DLP LCD DLP LCD DLP DLP
BRIGHTNESS 2700 Lumens 2300 Lumens 2300 Lumens 3000 Lumens 2000 Lumens 2600 Lumens 2600 Lumens 3300 Lumens 4000 Lumens 4500 Lumens 1500 Lumens
NATIVE RESOLUTION 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1024 x 768 1024 x 768 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1024 x 768 1280 x 800 1024 x 768 1024 x 768 1920 x 1080
CONTRAST RATIO 2200:1 2200:1 1250:1 2200:1 2000:1 2600:1 2500:1 2800:1 550:1 2000:1 30000:1
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MARKET WATCH
LAPTOPS
NAME iball Lilbook Lilbook-1026 Toshiba Netbook NB250-A1110 Lenovo S-Series S10-3C 59-051325 iball Lilbook Lilbook-1044 HP Mini 210-1085tu Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Asus Eee PC 1215T-BLK005W Asus 1215P-BLK019S Lenovo S-Series S10-3s 59-043055 HP Presario CQ42-300 CQ42-372TU HP Mini 210-1095TU Asus Eee PC PC 1201T Acer Acer Aspire 4736z HP Compaq Presario CQ40-748TU Sony Vaio VPCYB15AG Dell Vostro 1015 HP Compaq Presario CQ42-355TU Acer Acer Aspire AS 5742z Acer Acer Aspire AS5742 Toshiba Satellite C650-P5210 Asus K42 Series K42DR-VX059D Asus A42 Series A42 SeriesF-VX130D MSI Classic CR420 Toshiba Satellite C660-I5013 Acer Acer Aspire AS 5745 Lenovo G Series 59-052056 Toshiba Satellite C650-I5011 Toshiba Satellite C660-P5210 MSI Classic CR620 Fujitsu Lifebook A Series AH530 Sony Vaio VPCEA42EG Lenovo Z-Series Z-560 59-045432 HP Compaq Presario CQ42-273TU Sony Vaio VPCEB42EG HP Pavilion DV6-3004TU PRICE WEIGHT (Rs) 16,006 1.22 Kg 16,271 1.18 Kg PROCESSOR Intel ATOM Intel Atom Intel Atom Intel ATOM Intel Atom Intel Atom AMD Athlon II Intel Dual Core Intel Atom Intel Pentium Intel Atom AMD Athlon Neo Intel Dual Core Intel Pentium AMD Dual Core Intel Core 2 Duo Intel Pentium Intel Pentium Dual Core Intel Core i3 Intel Pentium AMD Danube Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 Intel Pentium Dual Core Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 MEMORY 1.6 GHz 1.66 GHz 1.66 GHz 1.6 GHz 1.66 GHz 1.66 GHz 1.7 GHz 1.50 GHz 1.83 GHz 2.0 GHz 1.66 GHz 1.6 GHz 2.3 GHz 2.2 GHz 1.60 GHz 2.20 GHz 2.0 GHz 2 GHz 2.53 GHz 2.2 GHz 2.1 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.13 GHz 2.53 GHz 2.26 GHz 2.10 GHz 2.26 GHz 2.13 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.26 GHz 2.53 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.26 GHz 2.53 GHz 2.26 GHz CHIPSET 1 GB 1 GB 1 GB 2 GB 1 GB 1 GB 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB 1 GB 2 GB 2 GB 3 GB 1 GB 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB 3 GB 3 GB 2 GB 2 GB 4 GB 2 GB 2 GB 3 GB 3 GB 2 GB 2 GB 4 GB 2 GB 2 GB 3 GB 2 GB 2 GB DISPLAY 10.1-in 10.1-in 10.1-in 10.1-in 10.1-in 10.0-in 12.0-in 12.0-in 10.1-in 14.0-in 10.1-in 12.1-in 14.0-in 14.1-in 11.6-in 15.6-in 14.0-in 15.6-in 15.6 in 15.6-in 14-in 14.0-in 14.0-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 14-in 15.6-in 14.0-in 15.5-in 15.6-in HDD 250 GB 250 GB 250 GB 500 GB 160 GB 250 GB 320 GB 320 GB 250 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 160 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 500 GB 500 GB 320 GB 320 GB 500 GB 250 GB 320 GB 500 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 500 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB OPTICAL DRIVE
No No No No No No No No No DVDRW No No DVDRW DVDRW No DVDRW DVDRW DVD-RW DVD-RW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW
OS DOS Win 7 Starter Win 7 Starter Linux Win 7 Starter Win 7 Starter DOS Win 7 Starter Win 7 Starter DOS Win 7 Starter Win 7 Starter Linux DOS Win 7 Starter Linux DOS Win 7 HB Linux Win 7 HB DOS DOS Win 7 HP DOS Linux DOS DOS Win 7 HB Win 7 HB Win 7 HP Win 7 HB Win 7 HB DOS Win 7 HB DOS
17,331 1.50 Kg 17,490 1.22 Kg 18,020 1.22 Kg 18,497 1.37 Kg 20,034 20,396 1.45 Kg 1.45 Kg
21,730 1.50 Kg 22,525 2.20 Kg 22,578 1.22 Kg 22,601 1.50 Kg 24,885 2.30 Kg 25,758 2.36 Kg 26,497 1.46 Kg 27,030 2.30 Kg 27,030 2.20 Kg 27,563 2.60 Kg 27,825 2.60 Kg 28,090 2.60 Kg 28,647 2.20 Kg 28,673 2.00 Kg 29,389 2.00 Kg 29,521 2.40 Kg 29,663 2.60 Kg 31,800 2.60 Kg 31,800 2.60 Kg 31,800 2.40 Kg 32,277 2.48 Kg 33,602 2.75 Kg
34,545 2.35 Kg 34,556 2.90 Kg 35,192 2.20 Kg 35,522 2.7 Kg
35,722 3.00 Kg
150
06/2011
LAPTOPS
NAME HP Pavilion XJ419PA HP Presario 621-DOS HP Pavilion XV675PA Dell Inspiron 15R MSI F Series FR600 Lenovo Z Series Z560 59-052666 Acer Aspire AS 5742G Sony Vaio Y Series Toshiba Satellite L640-X4310 HP Compaq Presario G62-361TX Acer Aspire AS 5739G HP Pavilion DV6-3009tu Fujitsu Lifebook A Series A530 Dell Inspiron 15R Asus K52 K52JR Sony Vaio Y Series VPCYA17GG/B Acer Aspire AS 4820TG HP Pavilion XG241PA Sony Vaio VPCEA3BGN Samsung N Series NP-R580-JT01 HP Pavilion DV4-2112TU MSI F Series FX400 Samsung N Series NP-SF510-S01IN Asus B43 B43F-VO023V Dell XPS 15 MSI F Series FX600 Sony Vaio VPCEB3AGG Asus U45 U45JC-WX016X Lenovo Y Series Y560 59-055616 HP Pavilion DV6-3052tx Asus N53 N53JQ-SZ103V Dell Alienware M11x Toshiba Satellite A660-X5310 Dell Alienware Alienware M15X Dell Alienware M15X PRICE WEIGHT (Rs) 36,040 36,135 38,372 38,690 39,061 39,220 39,485 39,644 40,280 40,492 40,545 40,916 41,340 41,764 42,294 42,612 43,725 43,884 44,626 45,050 47,965 48,522 48,866 49,823 51,304 51,304 52,523 53,875 58,671 60,632 63,839 70,698 80,030 99,646 99,646 2.45 Kg 2.50 Kg 2.49 Kg 2.50 Kg 2.30 Kg 2.60 Kg 2.60 Kg 1.46 Kg 2.26 Kg 2.50 Kg 2.80 Kg 3.00 Kg 2.75 Kg 2.60 Kg 2.10 Kg 1.46 Kg 2.11 Kg 2.10 Kg 2.40 Kg 2.60 Kg 2.20 Kg 2.20 Kg 2.40 Kg 2.48 Kg 2.96 Kg 2.41 Kg 2.70 Kg 2.14 Kg 2.00 Kg 3.00 Kg 2.90 Kg 2.00 Kg 2.62 Kg 5.30 Kg 4.08 Kg PROCESSOR Intel Core i3 Intel Core 2 Duo Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i3 Intel Core 2 Duo Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i7 Intel Core i7 Intel Quad Core i7 Intel Core 2 Duo Intel Core i5 Intel Core i7 Intel Core i7 MEMORY 2.26 GHz 2.10 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.53 GHz 2.26 GHz 1.33 GHz 2.66 GHz 2.4 GHz 2 GHz 2.40 GHz 2.4 GHz 1.6 GHz 2.53 GHz 1.33 GHz 2.60 GHz 2.26 GHz 2.40 GHz 2.40 GHz 2.26 GHz 2.6 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.53 GHz 2.66 GHz 2.6 GHz 2.66 GHz 2.4 GHz 1.73 GHz 1.60 GHz 1.73 GHz 1.3 GHz 2.66 GHz 1.73 GHz 1.6 GHz CHIPSET 3 GB 2 GB 3 GB 3 GB 3 GB 3 GB 3 GB 2 GB 3 GB 3 GB 4 GB 2 GB 2 GB 3 GB 4 GB 2 GB 3 GB 3 GB 2 GB 4 GB 3 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB DISPLAY 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 11.6-in 14.0-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 11.6-in 14-in 13.3-in 14.0-in 15.6 in 14.1-in 14-in 15.6-in 14.0-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.5-in 14.0-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 11.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in 15.6-in HDD 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 500 GB 500 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 320 GB 500 GB 320 GB 320 GB 500 GB 320 GB 500 GB 320 GB 320 GB 500 GB 500 GB 500 GB 500 GB 500 GB 500 GB 500 GB 320 GB 320 GB 500 GB 640 GB 640 GB 500 GB 500 GB 500 GB 500 GB OPTICAL DRIVE
DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW No DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW No DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW No DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW
OS DOS DOS Win 7 HB Win 7 HB Win 7 HB Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HB Win 7 HB Win 7 HP Win 7 Pro Win 7 HB Win 7 HP Win 7 Pro Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 Pro Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 Pro Win 7 Pro Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP Win 7 HP
06/2011
151
DIGITAL CAMERAS
NAME Nikon Coolpix L23 Fujifilm FinePix AV200 Sony Cybershot DSC S3000 Kodak Easyshare M532 Sony Cybershot DSC-S2100 Olympus FE-4020 Canon Powershot A3100 IS Canon Digital IXUS 105 IS Nikon Coolpix S3100 Casio Exilim EX-Z90 Fujifilm FinePix JZ300 Casio Exilim EX-Z280 Sony Cybershot DSC-W360 Kodak EasyShare M590 Casio Exilim EX-Z550 Fujifilm FinePix Z700 EXR Olympus SP-600 UZ Sony Cybershot DSC-H55 Canon Digital IXUS 210 IS Sony Cybershot DSC-TX9 Nikon Coolpix S8000 Sony Cybershot DSC-WX1 Nikon Coolpix S1100pj Samsung EC-ST5500 Samsung EC-WB650 Casio Exilim EX-H10 Canon Powershot SX210 IS Olympus MJU-Tough 8010 Canon IXUS 300 HS Canon Digital IXUS 1000 HS Canon Powershot S90 Canon Powershot SX30 IS Canon Powershot G12 PRICE (Rs) 4,670 4,708 4,895 5,564 6,078 7,040 7,194 8,223 8,266 9,020 9,680 10,010 10,258 10,615 10,945 12,595 12,980 13,283 13,833 14,953 15,043 15,345 16,913 17,217 17,217 17,930 18,645 18,920 24,530 25,493 26,378 28,380 31,350 RESOLUTION OPTICAL ZOOM 10 MP 14 MP 10.1 MP 14 MP 12 MP 14 MP 12 MP 12 MP 14 MP 12.1 MP 12 MP 12 MP 14 MP 14 MP 14.1 MP 12 MP 12 MP 14 MP 14 MP 12.2 MP 14.2 MP 10 MP 14.1 MP 14 MP 12 MP 12.1 MP 14.1 MP 14 MP 10 MP 10 MP 10 MP 14 MP 10 MP 5x 3x 4x 4x 3x 4x 4x 4x 5x 3x 10x 4x 4x 5x 4x 5x 15x 10x 5x 4x 10x 5x 5x 7x 15x 10x 14x 5x 3.8x 10x 4x 35x 5x WIDE ANGLE 28 mm 32 mm 28 mm 28 mm 26 mm 26 mm 35 mm 28 mm 26 mm 35 mm 28 mm 26 mm 26 mm 35 mm 26 mm 35 mm 28 mm 25 mm 24 mm 25 mm 35 mm 24 mm 28 mm 31 mm 24 mm 24 mm 28 mm 28 mm 28 mm 36 mm 24 mm 24 mm 28 mm APERTURE F2.7 - F6.8 F2.9 - F5.2 F3.0 - F5.7 NA F3.1 - F5.6 F2.6 - F5.9 F2.7 - F5.6 F2.8 - F5.9 F3.2 - F6.5 F3.1 - F5.9 F3.3 - F5.6 F2.6 - F5.9 F2.7 - F8.0 NA F2.6 - F5.9 F3.9 - F4.7 F3.5 - F5.4 F3.5 - F5.5 F2.8 - F5.9 F3.5 - F4.6 F3.5 - F7 F2.4 - F5.9 F3.9 - F5.8 F3.3 - F5.5 F3.2 - F5.8 F3.2 - F5.7 F3.1 - F5.9 F3.9 - F5.9 F2.0 - F5.3 F2.8 - F5.6 F2.0 - F4.9 F2.7 - F5.8 F2.8 - F4.5 LCD SIZE 2.7-inch 2.7-inch 2.7-inch 2.7-inch 3.0-inch 2.7-inch 2.7-inch 2.7-inch 2.7-inch 2.7-inch 2.7-inch 2.7-inch 3.0-inch 2.7-inch 2.7-inch 3.5-inch 2.7-inch 3.0-inch 3.5-inch 3.5-inch 3.0-inch 2.7-inch 3.0-inch 3.7-inch 3.0-inch 3.0-inch 3.0-inch 2.7-inch 3.0-inch 3.0-inch 3.0-inch 2.7-inch 2.8-inch SHUTTER SPEED NA 8 - 1/1400 sec 2 - 1/2000 sec 8 - 1/1600 sec 1/4 - 1/2000 sec 1/2-1/2000 sec 1 - 1/1600 sec 1 - 1/1500 sec 4 - 1/2000 sec 1/4 - 1/2000 sec 8 - 1/2000 sec 4 - 1/2000 sec 2 - 1/1600 sec 1/2 - 1/1200 sec 4 - 1/2000 sec 4 - 1/1000 sec 1/2 - 1/2000 sec 2 - 1/1600 sec 1 - 1/3000 sec 2 - 1/1600 sec 4 - 1/1000 sec 2 - 1/6000 sec NA 1/8-1/2000 sec 1-1/2000 sec 4 - 1/2000 sec 1 - 1/3200 sec 1/4 - 1/2000 sec 15 - 1/2500 sec 1 - 1/2000 sec 15 - 1/1600 sec 15 - 1/3200 sec 15 - 1/4000 sec
06/2011
153
MONITORS
NAME BenQ G610HDA Asus VH162DE LG W1643C AOC F19S BenQ G925HDA Philips 191EL1SB Acer S191HQL Samsung SyncMaster 2030N AOC e2043Fs LED Dell IN2020M Samsung SyncMaster B1931N LG W2243 Samsung SyncMaster B2230N Asus MS202N ViewSonic VX2250wm Philips 241E1SB BenQ G2420HD BenQ LED V2200 Eco ViewSonic VX2439wm Acer B243H ViewSonic VX2739wm BenQ M2700 Asus VK266H-BK BenQ XL2410T LED Dell U2711 PRICE (Rs) 4,400 4,620 4,923 5,665 5,720 6,078 6,270 6,985 7,040 7,176 7,205 8,690 8,745 9,323 9,378 11,550 12,760 13,035 13,745 14,543 24,365 25,960 26,923 30,910 46,750 SCREEN WIDESCREEN SIZE 15.6-inch 15.6-inch 15-inch 18.5-inch 18.5-inch 19-inch 18.5-inch 20-inch 20-inch 20-inch 18.5-inch 21.5-inch 21.5-inch 20-inch 22-inch 24-inch 24-inch 21.5-inch 24-inch 24-inch 27-inch 27-inch 25.5-inch 23.6-inch 27-inch NATIVE RESOLUTION 1366 x 768 1360 x 768 1360 x 768 1366 x 768 1366 x 768 1366 x 768 1366 x 768 1600 x 900 1366 x 768 1600 x 900 1366 x 768 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080 1600 x 900 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1200 1920 x 1080 2560 x 1440 RESPONSE TIME 8 ms 8 ms 8 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 2 ms 2 ms 1 ms 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms 6 ms D-SUB DVI HDMI
CABINETS
NAME iBall NetTop 009 iBall Cabinet 6363 Circle Cosmo Circle Royal Gigabyte Setto 1000 Cooler Master Elite 335 Thermaltake Matrix VD2000BNS Cooler Master Gladiator 600 Cooler Master RC690 Antec Six Hundred Thermaltake M9D Gigabyte Poseidon 310 LanCool PC-K62 Cooler Master HAF 932 Cooler Master Cosmos S
PRICE (Rs) 1,435 1,445 1,770 2,195 2,200 2,420 2,833 3,905 5,225 6,050 6,353 6,463 6,765 10,450 16,500
TYPE
ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX ATX
POWER SUPPLY
5.25-INCH BAYS 1 3 3 1 4 4 4 5 5 3 6 5 5 6 7
3.5-INCH BAYS 4 6 6 5 6 1 4 5 5 6 3 3 4 5 4
NUMBER OF FANS 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 5
06/2011
155
PERSONAL TECH
THERE'S AN UNDENIABLE GENERATION GAP WHEN IT COMES TO BEING COMFORTABLE WITH TECHNOLOGY. BUT THOSE OF US WHO GREW UP WITH PCs MIGHT FIND IT ESPECIALLY HARD TO LIVE WITHOUT THEM.
JAMSHED AVARI, DEPUTY EDITOR
THE NEW NORMAL

T
he tablet experience has been a bit of a mixed bag for me. Ive tried carrying an iPad around with me on a daily basis, and Ive spent a fair bit of time trying to use the various Android models that have passed through our Test Center. Im not yet convinced that I can manage my entire digital life from one of themand Im curious to see how the perception that one can and should do so might lead to a massive change in our relationship with computers and smart devices in the long run. As far as portability goes, the iPad has so far been unmatched. Ive tried a variety of laptops ranging from the hulking three-and-ahalf-kilo Dell that I carried throughout college to a couple of tiny Asus netbooks and even a Macbook Air, and each one of them has either given me a strained shoulder or has been too weak to use. The iPad isn't so light as to be unnoticeable, but its never caused discomfort. On the other hand, I dont find myself using a tablet as often as I used to use the laptop, so even that little weight is beginning to feel a bit pointless. In situations where I would have typed out a quick note or checked in on my mail, I've wound up simply making do till I'm back at my desk. Today, if I need to look something up quickly or put something up on Facebook or Twitter, chances are I can do it using my phone in a fraction of the time. Now that the initial curiosity has worn off and I've played all the cool games everyone has talked about, I agree with everyone who's already opined that iPads aren't all that great for productivityand even the promise of an always-on, instant-wake device hasnt been enough to make me want to keep it handy all the time. Even though there are apps that do let me get work done, the lack of a keyboard, inability to balance it on my lap, and simple familiar software and multitasking have left me wanting much more. On the Android side of things, most of the pre-Honeycomb models Ive spent any time with havent even pretended to want to help me get stuff done, and the Acer Iconia, sole bearer of the 3.0 torch so far, has also been just a bit too chunky, heavy, and fiddly to use fulltime. Heres where things do get interesting thoughgames, movies, books and passive surfing. When I feel like sinking into an armchair or lounging in bed instead of sitting at a desk, theres nothing like having a tablet at hand. Ive read more ebooks in the last three months than I have physical ones all of last year, simply because theyre just there. Ive seen a number of journalists using tablets in the field. Many have elaborate folding stands and wireless keyboards. Im not sold on the idea of paying laptop-level prices for a device that needs a whole raft of expensive accessories and in the bargain misses its original purpose of being lightweight and simple to use. Tablets definitely aren't the entire future of personal computing, but what if they become the de facto computing devices in homes? Im sure loads of people who use their PCs only for surfing, chatting and music wouldnt mind slim tablets instead of huge desktops. The next generation of children might grow up in homes without PCs, which would shape their views and understanding of technology in unimaginable new ways. I wonder whether people will feel the same level of wonder and curiosity that I remember feeling, but with different experiences and different expectations. Given how computers are an inescapable part of life today, how will the future take shape?
- jamshed.avari@chip.in - twitter.com/ja140
162
06/2011

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JUNE 2011 VOLUME 8 ISSUE 7 Rs 150

SMARTPHONES TAKE OVER

Smartphones Take Over

| 8 Android Tablets & 10 Budget Laptops | Back Up Your Phone

JUNE 2011 VOLUME 8 ISSUE 7 Rs 150

SMARTPHONES TAKE OVER

Smartphones Take Over

| 8 Android Tablets & 10 Budget Laptops | Back Up Your Phone

Is Android the next Windows?

Jamshed Avari editor@chip.in

20 The Buzz List

22 New Products Launched

56 Stylish, Affordable, Powerful

100 Pro Tips for Youtube

26 Social Gaming: Join the Club!

102 The Streets Are Yours to Wander

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108 Online Reviews: Your Verdict

112 Seeking a New Home?

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144 Dirt 3 (Preview)

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JUNE 2011 | VOLUME 8 | ISSUE 07

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