Showing posts with label Gadget Zone. Show all posts

Thinking of getting a Tablet for yourself or someone.... Here are the options and things you should consider

In this post we will be considering 3 basic models i.e the Apple Ipad, Samsung Galaxy, Asus Nexus.

No doubt about the fact that apple still has the thinnest and sleekest tablet in the market right about now which is the almighty IPAD AIR, but we shouldn't forget other contenders in the market like the Samsung galaxy models and the Nexus 2013 models too, they are pretty fantastic tablets. But when one wants to get a tablet, there are plenty things to be put into consideration, not just d design or the physical appearance.

Here are some other factors to be considered
  • Price:  First and foremost, you need to decide how much you're willing to spend. While some tablets are available at an extremely low price point, they're usually not what they're cracked up to be. So one has to be careful so as not to purchase a low quality product just because the price is favourable
  • Size: Size is more important than you might think. While cute 7-inch tablets might be right for some, other people really appreciate the increased real estate that large tablets offer. If at all possible, I recommend trying out a few tablets in person. Many stores have floor models, and friends are often eager to share. Different sizes fit different people, so make sure of what you want before diving in.
  • Weight:  What do you plan on doing with your tablet? Are you going to hold it in one hand to read books, or are you going to rest it on the table to watch movies? Your intended uses should inform your purchasing decision. If you're looking for a small device to read and play games on, a small 7 or 8-inch tablet might be right for you. If you're not going to be carrying it around, weight won't be much of a concern at all.
  • Resolution:  Screen resolution is important — especially for heavy readers. The beautiful high-res Retina screens in the third and fourth generation ipads make reading, watching movies and others a joy. If you're planning on using your tablet extensively, stepping up to a better screen can make the whole experience much more enjoyable.
  • Storage:  When you think about storage, think about it as two separate things: internal and external. Spending a little bit more for a tablet with more internal drive space offers more room for videos, photos, apps, and music right out of the box. Some tablets also have SD card slots, and this allows the addition of extra storage. But i personally advice going with one that has expandable memory.
  • Resale value: Traditionally, Apple products tend to hold onto their resale value extremely well. If you plan on selling your tablet a few months or years down the road, keep in mind that an iPad will probably pay you more.
If one is considering price.....A samsung galaxy or a Nexus is preferable.

WHO SHOULD GET THE IPAD?
 http://b-i.forbesimg.com/patrickmoorhead/files/2013/11/iPad-Air.jpg

 
If you want a tablet that just works, and that has all the great user experience, app and game, accessory and services, customer support and iMore community benefits, then the iPad is for you. It's not as cheap as many competitors these days, doesn't have a Wacom-style digitizer built-in, but it remains the single best tablet lineup in the world at what it does, and what it does it does very, very well.
Unless you have a very specific set of requirements or use cases that make something else a better option for you

WHO SHOUL GET A SAMSUNG GALAXY TABLET


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_SrrY14vCqs_ADz3f6VBKu6oesAsGPu9-CbIhud6tQJi2DT5KjsFlXt29PuoYDt5zy6apJkUqEmn1rSECwHiWPAEpAWWTPfAXVEsRm31fCoIXhPUEpF328rAJZN_UX4iD7Mcp2UHddA/s1600/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-3-roster.jpg
  
The Galaxy Tab audience can be divided into two main categories: (1) those who want to use the device for watching movies, reading books, listening to music and playing casual games and (2) those who want to customize their experience or love to tweak their device to get the most out of it.
Android tablets will appeal to those who mostly want to consume entertainment because the initial price tag can be significantly cheaper. This means more money for the good stuff.
Android also provides a more customizable experience. So if the first thing you do when you get a new smartphone or gadget is to hit the settings to get it just right, you might be the perfect Android user. Home screen widgets might intimidate some people, but they can be both useful and pretty cool.

WHO SHOULD GET A NEXUS TABLET
http://www.mobiada.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/nexus-7-2013.jpg The Nexus 7 has just been refreshed with a higher density screen, making an already good tiny tablet even better.
The interface isn't quite as good as the iPad, though it's getting better every iteration, and the tablet-optimized app selection is still a crime against larger screens, but services like Google Now are unmatched on any other platform. Also, Google typically eats profit margins on their hardware (since they make money off advertising in their services), so Nexus tablets can be quite a bit cheaper than competing devices, including and especially Apple's.
If price is your most important feature, and you like stock Android, you'll likely be happy with a Nexus tablet.

 VERDICT
I ended up choosing the Samsung Galaxy tab 3. Overall it is more customizable and has a more personal feel. Once you play around with enough Apple products, they all start to feel the same. And the fact that i can get desired satisfaction from a cheaper product is so cool. not, not forgetting the costs of maintaining this is far cheaper than an ipad where free stuff is so limited. thanks for taking time to read this, hope this helps u out in choosing what tablet to buy- Dizzle 
samsung galaxy note 10.1 tablet

Nokia Lumia 2520 review: Nokia's first tablet










 Nokia’s first entry into the tablet market is a triumph of design and beauty, making Microsoft’s own Surface look clumsy and heavy. It’s a Windows machine, and it makes the new 8.1 software, closely related to Windows Phone with which Nokia has had so much success, looks great.

True, this is the Windows RT version, so you can only download apps from Microsoft’s as yet underpopulated store. But it comes with the key Windows program, Office, already loaded. And it has Nokia’s splendid own-brand apps to help.
The Nokia Lumia 2520 comes in a choice of colours: two are gloss, red and white, while the other two are matte finish (black or cyan). All are made from the appealing-to-the-touch polycarbonate finish that Nokia has dressed most of its Lumia smartphones in. The material and the skilfully curved edges combine to create a gadget which feels great in the hand. Although it’s not as featherweight as the new Apple iPad Air it’s lighter than last year’s iPad. This means it’s comfortable enough in the hand to feel absolutely portable. You won’t want to just use this tablet at home.
The design is sleekly realised in every way. Apart from the power button and volume rocker on the top edge there are a couple of sockets, including power and headphones and a connector on the base for an optional keyboard.
Other than that it’s beautifully simple. To wake the screen you touch the Windows logo that sits on the front. It pulses and the display lights up, which is a pleasant and intimate feeling.
Nokia’s own apps include its excellent free music streaming program Nokia music and Here maps. Beyond that there is a proficient camera app and Nokia Storyteller which is new. This is a program which turns your photos and videos into stories based on when and where they were taken. Very neatly, when you’re looking at a photograph and can’t remember where you took it you can zoom out and suddenly the images are revealed on a map – it’s good fun.
There’s a simple but effective video capture and editing program as well, called Nokia Video Director. Part of the success of this tablet is the range of superior apps Nokia has provided, and doubtless there will be more to follow.
The processor on the Nokia Lumia 2520 is pretty whizzy and means the touchscreen is quickly responsive. The inclusion of the full Microsoft Office suite at your fingertips is very useful. And the Microsoft-owned Skype is right there on the home screen, alongside elegantly designed Microsoft apps such as Bing Food & Drink and Bing Health & Fitness.
With so many good-looking apps available it’s easy to forget that this is not a fully capable computer. But the limitation of installing apps only from the App Store hasn’t exactly held back the iPad which has similar prescriptive rules as to what is compatible. The difference is that Apple’s App Store has 475,000 tablet-optimised apps while here the number is much, much lower, though growing fast.
In the world of tablet computers, so completely dominated by the iPad, the Nokia Lumia 2520 is a breath of fresh air.

GTA 5 preview












Grand Theft Auto 5 (or Grand Theft Auto V, to give it its correct roman numeral-flavoured moniker) is unarguably the most anticipated game of the year. With front-page exclusives, multi-storey murals and millions of web clicks for the slenderest of cut-scene-encrusted trailers, Rockstar Games' September-set new sandbox for Xbox 360 and PS3 is the hottest of gaming properties.

Indeed, GTA V's delay from spring to autumn suddenly feels all the crueler now that spring is actually in the air and not just a word printed on a schedule. It's so close our joypad-calloused hands can almost touch it.

We say "almost" with a heavier heart than most, too, because T3 has had an up-close, behind-closed-doors live demo of its inner workings, the gameplay behind the cinematic trailers; our eyes have gorged on Los Santos's spectacularly detailed locales and multifaceted heist potential, yet said hands stayed firmly controller-less the whole time. "Almost."

GTA 5: Characters

Yet what we've seen has our mitts itching undeniably for a joypad or two, as Rockstar has rethought the mechanics of GTA more than the overly familiar, wise-cracking trailers suggest.

The new three-pronged structure has you jumping between Henry Hill-esque bank robber-turned-witness protection case Michael, car repo man Franklin and war-vet trailer-dweller Trevor with a push of a button, a character wheel jumping up at the bottom right.

This split-personality disorder doesn't just act as a quick way round when exploring the frankly intimidatingly sized city (three and half times the land mass of Red Dead Redemption, reads the post-show fact sheet). It's also used as a strategic device throughout missions, to, say, cover all vantage points or execute actions in different locations simultaneously.

In fact, there are three different types of switch options at play: auto, as some individual missions require completion by a certain character; cut-scene, in which you're prompted to change persona to advance the central plot; and free choice, where you can use any character you wish, dependent on personal taste. We're told there will be plenty of all three.

Interestingly, we notice the character wheel has four divisions, not three, the last one greyed out suggestively. Naturally, we ask why, and are told it's to do with multiplayer, which isn't being discussed.

We can but hypothesise that a co-op campaign with a mate helping you out in heists would be all kinds of ace. Like the second Kane & Lynch's Fragile Alliance multiplayer, but, y'know, good. Well, that's the dream.

GTA 5: Gameplay

In fact, we have a hunch co-operative heists are going to spawn a whole new genre of brag video on YouTube this year. We realise we keep saying heists a lot, and that's because GTA V has taken its predecessor's much-loved Three-Leaf Clover mission not just for its action set-pieces but much of its narrative.

Sure, there's loads of other stuff to do on your own, as ever. One side mission sees Michael outrun the paparazzi to rescue an A-lister from their prying zooms (was the $150 tip necessary, though? Doesn't she know who I am?).

There are even self-contained hunting and base jumping mini-games, among others, and we spied a Blazing Tattoos, ink fans. Yet the story is pushed forward by these bringing togethers of the three protagonists.

We're promised the full Reservoir Dogs routine: hiring goons by skill set (up to 12 a team), location scouting, escape planning, getaway car stealing and costume sourcing (bagsy the Ex Presidents masks), even Joe Cabot's ageing whiteboard.

Do you pick an all-round strong team, or select a talented weakling who can crack a safe but get offed in gun fire so you can make off with a heftier cut? In our mind we're planning a devilish Dark Knight-esque scheme of last-man standing, but Rockstar won't confirm if this will be possible. Go on, you know it makes sense.

Our interest is certainly piqued at this strategic, Football Manager-esque take on the crime underworld, the return of San Andreas' upgradeable stat system adding another layer of RPG-esque depth and mission ownership underneath the action (a brief foray into scuba-diving shipwrecks amid sharks explaining why you would ever max out "lung capacity"). But unsurprisingly it's action our eyeballs are given.

GTA 5: Combat

We're thrust straight into the heat of one particular heist, straight out of, er, Heat (the old "block the road with a big van and ram them with another big van" routine), weapons of choice some dust trucks, boiler suits and a set of horror-film masks. Apparently it's a "Blitz Play", not an actual "Heist" – they are differentiated in- game by the amount of planning required and the size of the payoff – but it looks like one.

Rather than played for japes as the cut-scenes suggest, though, the tension builds like a scene from Drive, all pulsing bass lines and light blurs, an atmospheric '80s-esque soundtrack rising and falling contextually. We can only guess how affecting it will be when you're not only controlling it, but have personally planned all aspects of the heist you're executing.

With the security van blown and goods commandeered, it's into a police stand-off. Michael has scarpered with the package, so the remaining two fight off the fuzz from in and around industrial estate architecture, environments exploding around them.

The use of the character-switch button becomes apparent immediately, the player skipping between their perspectives smoothly to first fend off and eventually corner enemies, effectively controlling both team-mates at once. The toggled-off character turns to AI support act when not controlled, hiding and firing in cover in self-preservation.

Noticeable firefight refinements show a wider field of vision when lining up a mark over your shoulder, a handy Max Payne 3-esque combat roll for evading an onslaught, and an even handier little 'X' appearing over the reticule to signify a dead enemy. Any clarification we can get in the heat of battle is gratefully received, thank you very much.

Just when we think the police may be taking control, the player switches to Michael, now miles away with a very good quality sniper scope in his possession, and takes out the remaining coppers. For a finishing touch, the old-reliable rocket launcher comes out to destroy the chopper overhead. It's a classic GTA moment re-imagined, and it's exhaustingly good entertainment, even as a viewer.

GTA 5: The World

Throughout our hour-long demo, Los Santos feels truly alive, whether you're paragliding above dirt tracks coursing with ATVs as adrenaline junkie Franklin, grabbing an abandoned speedboat, Far Cry 3-style, as Trevor after waking amidst a passed-out throng of familiar biker gang The Lost, or just being over-run by night-walking weirdos on Vinewood Boulevard. These feel like lives being lived; over-the-top, occasionally homicidal lives, but lives all the same.

Unusually, the entire city is available from the start, rather than held back for you to unlock, showing confidence in its confines, a want for it to be explored and enjoyed as a realistic space.

Similarly, your smartphone is again the natural hub of much of your non-action activity, but this too is ramped up. Your iFruit (ho ho) can now access the internet directly and take photos, popping up organically on-screen for a snap that can be shared on Rockstar's Social Club instantly as you would any real-life social-networking app (take that, PS4 Share button).

Sure, we're inevitably thrust back into "game" world with talk of "special abilities" that can be built up for each character, but even these have a touch of heightened reality about them.

War vet Trevor can dish out and take more damage than anyone (fair dues), speed demon Franklin can slow time when in cars for last-minute U-turns (makes sense), while Michael indulges in a familiar bit of a bullet time gunfire-dodging (because, well, he looks a lot like Max Payne).

While you expect depth from a developer who's made creating sprawling virtual cities its living, GTA 5 hints at more. Not just in sheer size, but in interaction, the random residents and oddballs that send you off on sub- mission tangents less scripted diversions, more part of the ebb and flow, each of the three-amigo protagonists' lives moving on dramatically while you're choosing to control another.

GTA 5: Verdict

Yet these are still just hints, small tasters of what Rockstar has under the hood, and all our strained peepers can garner in a 60-minute sitting. Hopefully in the coming months our hands will be able to join in the fun and we can judge whether the most anticipated game of the year is on its way to being the best. But our eyeballs say it's looking good.