Sum n substance:

Thumbs up: Good price,  excellent endurance, good keyboard, loud and clear speakers.

Thumbs down: Graphics performance isn’t that great, glossy screen.

Inside the trunk:
Display Size :13.3
Native Resolution :1366×768
Graphics Card :Intel GMA X4500MHD
Video Memory :132MB
Wi-Fi :802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth : Bluetooth 2.1
Operating SystemMS Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)

THE WHIZ-KID SPEAKS: This one marks the entry of the leaders into the low cost portable notebook market. ASUS is most of the times criticized for their high prices. But with this one it promises high endurance without burning a hole in the pocket. Anyways lets move ahead and take a look at what this  one really has to offer…

Razzle-Dazzle: “ Less is more” and surely with this one I think ASUS is hell bent on proving this one true. As far as the looks are concerned ASUS have definitely gone forward and added a touch of elegance keeping with the minimalistic design. Its got an aluminium lid and fortunately isn’t a fingerprint magnet like most of the other notebooks being launched.

This one isn’t spattered with loads of buttons, instead it just has one button for launching the ExpressGate and another one for the Power on thhe right.

The keyboard has a diamond wave pattern all over it and the keys are evenly spaced which make for a comfortable typing experience. This diamond wave pattern extends all right through the end till the palmrest and throughout the touchpad. One has to be a bit careful while typing though, because one might accidentally just slide his hands over the trackpad. Also what I didn’t like about the keyboard is the single rocker button which atleast I for one am not comfortable with.

Its got a 13.3 inch display which is a bit too glossy, though the 1366 x 768-pixel display is vibrant and the colours are deep enough. It offers a good array of vertical and horizontal angles which are pretty good. Atleast three people can watch a movie comfortably.

As far as the overall dimensions and the aesthetics as concerned this one is quite similar to Apple’s child… the Macbook. At 12.7 x 9.2 inches this one is a bit thicker by .94 inches but that offers space for more ports. It weighs about 4.0 pounds and is pretty much portable, sliding easily into most of the carry bags or pouches. The left side houses the HDMI and VGA ports along with an USB port, while on the right we have the Ethernet, a 5-in-1 card reader, mic and two USB ports.

Inside Dope: The speakers of this one were loud and clear quite contrary to what I expected it to be. Anyways the volume of the speakers even at 50% volume can easily fill up a small room and even when the volume was at maximum it did not create any kind of blaring sounds. This one probably is one of the very few laptops which come along with some real good speaker quality.

The video quality of this one is pretty much average. Streaming a video of the famous ‘70’s show’ was not much of a problem. The video quality though not a total ace was pretty decent. Still I would advice downloading the videos and then watching them for better performance. It comes loaded with a 0.3 megapixel webcamera which again is not that efficient. During video calls there over Skype this one exhibited some video stuttering and the videos were a bit grainy and  choppy.

This one produced average results in our overall system performance test and I would definitely attribute this to the underpowered 1.3-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 ULV processor, 4GB of RAM. This one could definitely been better.

It took 3 minutes and 39 seconds for this one to successfully transfer a folder of  4.97 GB of  mixed multimedia, thanks to the 5,400-rpm, 500GB hard drive which is pretty much above the category average. Multitasking with this one while writing this review was also a pleasant experience.

This being loaded with  Intel’s GMA X4500MHD didn’t exactly have anything much exciting to offer in the graphics department. So I won’t exactly recommend this one if your looking out for some good gaming or video watching experiences.

Living upto its claims of  high endurance, this one offers a battery life of  9 hours and 55 minutes which is simply FANTABULOUS. Its almost double the category average. It took almost 3 hours and 55 minutes to get fully recharged during which it consumed aa power of  36.3 watts.

Nitty- Gritty: This one definitely outperforms most of its competitors. Though this one isn’t exactly for those who are looking out for a high end multimedia loaded performer, this one is for those who want to use a notebook for everyday tasks. Plus at $799 this one is definitely worth every penny being paid for it or even more.

Thumbs up: High quality audio performance, efficient noise cancellation, comfortable.

Thumbs down: Expensive, could be a bit more robustly built, no Bluetooth.

Inside the trunk:

• Design: Over-the-ear
• Color: Silver
• Weight: 0.5 lbs

THE WHIZ-KID SPEAKS: This one from BOSE comes in after the QuiteComfort 2 and the QuiteComfort 3 and surely makes the best even more better. This time BOSE has tried to reinvent its own baby, the noise cancellation feature, to probably punch the ones who tried to copy its invention like Creative and Sennheiser right in the face… and surely this ones going to hurt bad. BOSE has left no stone unturned in making this one an absolute masterpiece.

As far as the designing is concerned this almost looks familiar to the QC 2 with hardly any difference. BOSE sticks to its iconic design with the over the ear design with earcups which can easily be swiveled around and put into the elegant case that comes along with it. With the headphones in it, the case hardly becomes any thicker than a CD case. And just for the convenience of frequent travelers this comes along with a “high/low” switch.

Though in the QC2’s even when the noise cancellation feature engaged, they had soft cushions which protected the users ears from the ambient noise. Also the QC2’s had the noise cancellation microphones only on the inside. In contrast, the QC15 has the noise cancellation microphones both on the inside and the outside which by the claims of BOSE increases their effectiveness. A few users might feel like they are traveling in a train in a tunnel because of the noise cancellation quality, this is just because there is some pressure created on the eardrums. A few might even find it annoying but once the music starts plugging in that feeling vanishes. And just incase the user finds it increasingly annoying, BOSE offers the 30 days- money back surety.

While on the move this one proves to be quite efficient because the battery life is pretty decent. There is hardly any chance that your music would leave your side while you are on the run. It has a battery life of 35 hours with a AAA battery which is fitted into the  earcup on the right side. For those who still prefer the rechargeable option the Q3’s are always there to the rescue. I personally am a fan of the standard alkaline batteries just because of the fact that you don’t have to carry your charger everywhere you go to.

Since these are over the ear, expect a kind of a moist feeling below the cushions. Also it gets a bit difficult during the hot days to stick onto the cushions. It gets a tad bit too uncomfortable. For all those who love their short naps when on the run, there is good news because the cord can be easily detached and the earcups can be easily used to ward off any kind of noises on the way.

Coming down to the sound quality… the sound quality offered by the QC15 is far more superior than its other siblings. Its comparatively smoother and makes up for the bass mess that the QC2 was peculiar with. The bass and treble are far more crisp and nice. The audio is highly clear. Though at times this offers some sound distortion at the high-maximum volume range, at most of the times the sound is pretty much articulate. However I must add that not many hip hop fans will like this one. But then again its all a matter of choice.

Nitty- gritty: Well when I was handed over this pair my first reaction was “I want to listen to my entire collection with this one.” LOL. Sounds like a kid been given a chance to try all the pizzas in town with a new topping. Anyways moving ahead… this one is the most improved noise cancellation headphones I have come across and is also amongst the best. Like I always maintain that BOSE offers stuff at high prices and this one is no small bargain either. They are anyday better than the $350 QC3 headphone which surely doesn’t match upto this one in anyway. I would recommend this one to all the travelers who are seeking refuge from the noise in the surroundings with added high comfort levels.

This one is the fourth Android phone being launched by HTC. Apart from being an Android phone this one is equipped with the same brilliant Sense UI which made many gadget freak go crazy over the HTC Hero. This handset supports 3G along with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and it comes loaded with a 2.8 inch touchscreen display, FM radio,audio jack, 3.2 megapixel camera. And obviously being an Android phone it supports a lot of google applications.

HTC has started promoting this one as the Android phone for all, and if what it claims is true then possibly this one should be priced at around $100 or less.

Formerly rumoured to be known as the Morrison this one will be introduced by T mobile later this fall during the holiday period. It will be sold worldwide as the Motorola Dext and T-mobile will be launching it in two colours: titanium and winter white.

Standing at  4.49 inches tall by 2.28 inches wide by 0.62 inch thick this one weighs 5.6 ounces. It comes loaded with a 3.1-inch HVGA touch screen with a 320×480 pixel resolution and for all the music lovers, it also has a 3.5mm headphone jack.

This new entrant into the Android arena offers access to various Google services.

It also supports a number of email clients like Yahoo, Windows Live and the other POP3 and IMAP services and it also has the QuickOffice Suite for document processing.

It’s got a 5 megapixel camera along with video recording capabilities. It is also 3G compatible and offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS connectivity.

The thing that sets it apart from the rest of the Android phone clan is the Motoblur interface. What is impressive about the Motoblur is that it streams all your information from Facebook, Twitter and the other email accounts and automatically updates it onto your home screen. This avoids the constant opening and closing of applications. Though it’s a pretty decent feature what is left to be seen is how helpful will it be to the user of the phone. Hopefully this one doesn’t just turn out to be a clutter of updates on the screen. The specs are impressive enough though not astoundingly awesome, sanguinely this one stands out amongst the other Android phones.

Sum n substance:

Thumbs up: combo of a watch and a phone,  dandy designing, surprisingly lightweight, high endurance, excellent touchscreen responsiveness.

Thumbs down: the VGA camera, low resolution display.

Inside the trunk:
Price at launch £500.00
Dimensions 49 x 39 x 13.8
Features Videocalling / VGA camera
Weight (g) 84.00

THE WHIZ-KID SPEAKS: Finally the much awaited watchphone from LG has seen the light of the day. Though it was expected that this one would cost around 500 euros, this one has been launched for a lesser price than what was being assumed. Well, I am pretty excited to review this one just for the fact that it is loaded with a touchscreen, Bluetooth and yeah not to forget a camera too. What waits to be seen is whether this one is just a imposture or if it truly stands true to the claims that it is making. Anyways I guess by the end of this review the answer to this one would be crystal clear… so moving ahead…

This one is quite a sleek one, considering all the features that it encapsulates this one for sure is worth all the talk. Its got a leather strap which has to be strapped around the wrist using a clamp in kind of a fit. The major drawback with this one is that the clamp keeps on getting loose again and again and has to be tightened regularly. Its got a small 1.4 inch touchscreen which I guess is small for all those who have been using the regular 3 inch touchscreen, but then again I must add that working with the smaller one is quite more comfortable.

The SIM card slot has been placed behind the battery at the back of the watch. And trust me, I wouldn’t advice anyone using this one to keep on fiddling with the SIM card plainly because it is quite a difficult process to remove it again and again and plus it would require a coin or something like a coin too actually blow the lid off the battery.

This one has 3 buttons on the side, the talk button, the end button, and the navigating button. Using the talk button the menu page can be opened and it can be used for selecting the other applications. The end button simply takes you back to the main screen and the toggle button helps you scroll back and forth. The glitch being that at times you might just pull out some of your arm hair while trying to get your fingers on the tiny buttons. LOL.

It’s quite a lightweight number considering all the stuff it has been loaded with. I could easily just use it as a watch without even bothering about the weight of it. Plus to add  to the set of the features, the charging facility provided with this one is quite fascinating. The charger has an absolutely astounding design which fastens the phone to a metal plate and then even connects it to a USB charger for computer compatibility.

If you are expecting any thing more than calling, texting and possibly listening to some music then I am sorry to say this one isn’t for you. But y would anyone want a watch to do anything more than this?? Anyways the interface of this one is quite a basic one. The reason being the size of the screen. I mean c’mon… how much do you want on a 1.4 inch touchscreen?? Obviously no one would want a mess right on their wrists.

Well, it’s quite difficult to imagine talking through the phone… I mean imagine talking through the phone and shuffling it between your mouth and ears just because the speakerphone isn’t all that great. By the way, I must add that thankfully this one has a not so great kind of a speaker just because talking in public with the angle of the watch near you struggling to talk would do nothing, but just make you look like a complete whack-job. I would recommend using a Bluetooth headset. Any Bluetooth headset syncs in perfectly with this one. And the quality of voice with this one using Bluetooth is also pretty much clear. With hardly any static or interference and also the callers had no complains.

You could use the phone when making video calls. But I suggest taking it off your wrists and then using it for the video calls. The video quality isn’t all that great but its quite distinctive and that’s all you could expect from the VGA camera that this one comes along with.  The 3G coverage on this one is pretty exceptional as well, I hardly had any problems no matter where I was.

Using the messaging service on this one was quite damn easy, unlike what I expected it to be. I hardly faced any problems using it with the T9 option that comes along with it. It also has the regular multi tap option. One teeny weeny complain that I have with this one is that the message doesn’t start with a capital letter so I kind of had to fiddle around a bit to get that fixed.

Before I move on to the camera, I just need too add that the camera surely is just a piece of add-on. I think it was placed there just because there was some more space to be filled and what else better than a camera to fill in a few blank spaces. LOL. Anyways the clarity of the camera is hardly anything to talk about, plus you could hardly use it just to probably click pictures of your own self, nothing much or nothing less. This one surely wasn’t placed in there as a highlight or probably one of the reasons to buy the phone. Obviously this small device can’t live up to al your whims and fancies.

The music payer that this one comes equipped with is quite a decent one. The sound quality is also quite clear and also navigation through the music player is quite a pleasant experience thanks to the superbly responsive keys.

It doesn’t have much of multimedia features to like keep you really busy or possibly even entertain you when you are bored, but then again its got some really nice organizational features like the calculator, to do list, alarm clock and a memo function. On a lighter note I would recommend this one to all the mathphobic kids out there. What could possibly be more fascinating than having a calculator right on your wrists. LOL.

Coming to the battery life, this one was alive for about three days in a row without having to be recharged. Yeah I did use a bit of the music player and yeah the Bluetooth connectivity for making calls. And its endurance is pretty much impressive for me atleast.

Nitty-gritty: The most astounding fact about this one is that it’s a combo of a watch and phone which makes it a killer on itself irrespective of the other features it comes along with. Yeah some of the people might find it quite ridiculous to have a phone on your wrist, paying a huge amount for it, when you could easily buy a separate watch and a phone with better features at almost the same price or even less than it.

But then this one is a real cool find. And probably if you’re Paris Hilton… go ahead splurge on this one. LOL…