TechTalk: Exploring the Latest Technology News, Updates, Reviews, and Gossip

Recently I showcased some color screen mobile handsets priced below the Rs 5000 mark. Of course, there are even cheaper color handsets with even fewer features. There are plenty of mobile users who wouldn’t mind a minimalist handset with simple features – they make great gifts for first-time mobile users and for those who lead uncomplicated lives. Here are a few color display handsets that will get the essentials done and won’t cost you more than Rs 3000. During my daily commute I get ample opportunity to see mobiles used in their most natural habitat – and here are some that pop up most frequently. Intex IN 2222 – Rs 1999 A well-equipped entry level handset, the IN 2222 has a sleek black form factor with a 1.5 inch CSNT display, sporting a resolution of 128 x 128 pixels and 65K colors. It has plenty of media functionality in terms of an audio player and an integrated FM radio, and photo and video caller tone support. The In 2222 supports GPRS and comes with a few games and a flashligh...

The 4 GB flash drive has a retractable USB connector and measures 40.6mm long by 18.4mm wide and 7.2mm thick. Each JetFlash V95 comes with a leather carrying-strap and is available in Onyx Black (JFV95C) and Satin Red (JFV95D), both with 4GB memory capacity. Austin Huang, Regional Head - Sales, SAARC and APAC, Transcend, "The JetFlash V95 is an innovative marriage of fashion and technology that not only offers elegant distinctive styling and ultra-portable convenience, but also performs brilliantly as an advanced storage device". Users can download and install Transcend's JetFlash elite data management tools onto the JetFlash drive to enhance their mobile productivity. JetFlash elite can turn the JetFlash V95 into a key to automatically log on to website accounts, or even temporarily lock the computer to prevent unauthorized access. Users can also browse their bookmarked websites and check their email from any compatible computer with the Internet Favorites and Mobile Ema...

Nokia is launching its N96 in Delhi today a few days before the iPhone 3G is launched here in India. The N96 was initially set to launch first in the UK on the first of October. But Nokia seems to have changed their plans and are launching it here first. The timing is so wickedly correct. Even as we wait for the iPhone, Nokia is dropping this fully loaded beauty into our laps and we estimate the price to be somewhere in the vicinity of Rs. 36,000. The quandary about what phone to buy just got bigger and more complicated with these two behemoths launching so close together. The Indian market is truly getting to be the biggest mobile market on the planet and personally, being spoilt for choice, we have no complaints whatsoever.

Nokia has introduced the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte, a new premium mobile phone engineered from carbon fibre, titanium, polished glass and stainless steel. The 8800 is custom built to ensure the precision engineering that these materials require. The minimalistic and seamless surfaces, slide mechanism and light weight of the phone all feature throughout the Nokia 8800 Arte line. Also available on the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte are soundtracks and wallpapers created exclusively for the range. The Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte offers the tap-for-time feature - consumers can tap the steel surface below the display twice and a clock appears on the screen. Background images organically change during the day, giving a unique appearance to the display. The turn-to-mute silencing mechanism allows individuals to silence incoming calls by turning the phone over, screen-side down. In addition to 3G capabilities and a 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera, the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte has an OLED display and built-in me...

Long weekend coming up, so why don't I sign off with a bang? The latest LCD TV models from Samsung and LG have already been reviewed by us, and while they proved competent, neither was perfect in all respects. So it should be fun to play god and pit the 42-inch LG Scarlet against the 40-inch Samsung Series 5. On we go... Aesthetics and Form The LG Scarlet has become quite famous for its red back panel, which no doubt looks beautiful, but it’s at the rear! Are any consumers going to fall for this? There's no sensible explanation for putting the most striking design element where it's least likely to be seen. It must be some inside joke on LG’s part. The on/off button on the Scarlet is an awesome piece of work – no doubt about that. It’s a hole carved through the bezel’s bottom panel, which has a transparent ridged rim. It is touch-sensitive, and lights up subtly when on. On the other hand, the Series 5 is basic, with the high gloss black finish all over and a thin metallic s...

Palm is really getting very friendly on the Windows Mobile Platform as we see yet another handset to be launched with the Windows Mobile OS. The Palm Treo Pro is quite a snappy looking handset dressed in black. According to reports, the handset will support HSDPA, Wi-Fi, microSD external memory support, infrared, Bluetooth and a 3.5mm earphone socket. The same reports also state that the Treo Pro comes equipped with a 320 x 320 pixel touch screen, built in GPS (seems like that’s becoming a pre-requisite) and comes preloaded with Adobe Reader and Telnav. It has 256MB ROM and 128MB RAM.

Enter the BlackBerry Gold in all its splendor. RIM has finally launched their latest handset - The Bold. The handset is RIM’s first smartphone to support HSDPA and has features that include a half-VGA LCD display (480 x 320 resolution at 217 ppi), a 624 MHz processor, integrated GPS and Wi-fi support as well as 1GB internal storage memory and a microSD/SDHC expansion memory slot. The Bold also features a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability, built-in flash and digital zoom. The advanced media player can display pictures and slideshows and play movies in full screen mode (thank goodness). Audio can be played over the handset's dual speakers stereo sound, and when using headphones or external speakers, the media player gives the user an equalizer with 11 preset filters. With the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution, users can stay easily connected to their email, calendar, contacts and other corporate applications in IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise e...

Hitachi has introduced the DZ-BD10HA - a Blu-ray Disc Hybrid Camcorder with the ability to record onto the Blu-ray. The DZ-BD10HA contains several new features and improvements including a newly developed 7 mega pixel CMOS image sensor, which captures videos and stills in FullHD (1920 x 1080). It can also record up to 4 hours 20 minutes of 1920x1080 video or 8 hours 40 minutes of 1440x1080 video onto the built-in 30 GB HDD. Additionally, the built-in SDHC card slot provides added flexibility by allowing for Full HD video and still recordings. It also offers a dubbing function that allows Full HD video to be transferred with a single push of a button from either the HDD or SDHC card to the BD drive, all within the camcorder, without having to connect to a PC. Editing functions such as split, splice, delete, merge, and transitions can also be performed within the camcorder before dubbing for additional functionality. The Transcoding feature allows for the camcorder to transfer full HD vi...

Transcend has introduced a new 64 GB high speed SLC 2.5-inch Solid State Disk (SSD). Austin Huang, Regional Head - Sales, SAARC and APAC, Transcend, said, "Transcend's 2.5" SSD can be used in most notebook computers and mainstream PCs just like a regular hard drive. When it comes to performance, Transcend's new SLC flash memory-equipped 64GB SSD offers data transfer rates that greatly surpass even the fastest 2.5" hard drives, delivering data read/write speeds of up to 119MB and 64MB per second, respectively. With these high-speed transfer rates and virtually non-existent (less than 0.1ms) latency, Transcend's SSD accelerates computer boot-up times, makes games and applications open faster and run more smoothly, and improves overall system responsiveness." Transcend's Solid State Disk's integrated ECC (Error Correction Code) ensures reliable data transfer and increases system integrity. Its built-in wear leveling technology also guarantees ultra-...

Lenovo, in its capacity as an official sponsor of the Olympic Games has released a couple of limited edition USB drives. These drives have been released under the Mascot series and are priced at $29 for 4 GB. In all, six drives have been released with their front side printed with a Fuwa image. Apart from this, the company is offering a 1 GB titanium limited edition drive that comes with a swiveling USB plug in a special mahogany box. Considering the amount, the company has probably already had to spend, it may be brave enough to venture a guess that we just might see an Olympic branded laptop sooner or later.

Intex Technologies (India) has announced nine new notebooks - Intex Lifestyle Book, Gaming Book, Tablet Pad and 3 variants each of Business book and Education book - to cater to varied consumers like working women, gaming and fashion enthusiasts, professionals, students, etc. All the notebooks are Wi-fi and Bluetooth enabled. The Intex Lifestyle Book has been put together with the working woman in mind and features a 12.1'' TFT-LCD screen. The laptop weighs 1.8 kgs, comes in 3 color options - pink, black and white and runs on Intel's Dual Core processor. This model has been priced at Rs. 33,000. The Intex Gaming Book is as the name suggests designed for high end gaming and complete entertainment. The machine is features Intel Centrino technology, Nvidia Graphic power, SRS WOW technology-based speakers and an inbuilt hybrid TV Tuner. It costs Rs. 75,900. The Intex Tablet Pad is features a 12.1" TFT touch screen which can rotate at 180 degrees, weighs 2.1 Kg and is price...

Catering to its Indian patrons, Logitech has announced the launch of its Tri Color optical mouse in time for our Independence Day. The new mini optical mouse that adopts the colors of the Indian flag is a simple plug-and-play device and comes with an all-terrain optical sensor. The mouse also has Logitech's integrated cord wrap feature that enables the user to wind the cord neatly into the mouse for easy packing. The Logitech Tri Color Mouse is priced at Rs. 640, is available at all leading electronic stores and has a replacement warranty of 3 years.

Samsung Telecommunications India (STI), has announced the launch of its full touch screen, ultra-slim lifestyle segment mobile phone – the Samsung TouchWIZ (F480)- in the Indian market. The TouchWIZ is being launched to coincide with the Olympic Games 2008. Announcing the launch of this new phone, Sunil Dutt, Country Head, Samsung Telecommunications India, said, "Given the growing consumer interest in touch screen phones , the Samsung TouchWIZ offers a brilliant full touch navigation experience; widgets with 'Drag and Drop' technology and User Interface with Haptic Feedback which makes the experience of using the phone highly interactive and easy." The TouchWIZ has 'drag and drop' technology, which allows widgets to be selected from the left panel of the screen and dropped anywhere on the home screen. Since the Widgets comprise widely used applications like clock, calendar, alarms, music player, FM, games and profiles, this equips the user to set hotkeys on th...