The Google Nexus 7

Google's foray into the tablet world met with a red carpet welcome, with the 1.5Ghz, Quad-core tablets selling off the shelves like hot cakes. The Android based was announced in June and launched in July; however, as Indians we had to wait for a delayed launch unlike any other non-Chinese offering. The Asus made Nexus 7 was conceived as a direct competitor to Amazon's Kindle Fire and to be a pain-point to the iPad Mini (currently in pipeline).

Reception in India

Meanwhile, desi trade pundits started commenting on the plausible defects with the Nexus 7 and how it would not suit the Indian market. The primary concerns were cited as follows:

• Non-availability of Google Play for India
• Absence of a mirco-SD card slot
• No 3G option. Only Wi-Fi

In spite of this, the tablet has been quite successful with the desi comsumer market with added help from the recent surge of e-commerce websites in India which have opened the window wider for the Google Nexus 7 tablets. With the US price being $199 (roughly Rs. 11,000) the Indian market price ranged around Rs. 17,000 for the 8GB version. Google on its part, took no half measures in marketing the device, which was directly promoting and establishing Google Play in the apps arena.

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Current buying options in India

• grabmore.in (8GB Version for 16,499)
• HomeShop18 (8GB Version for Rs. 17,884)
• ebay.in (8GB Version for Rs.17,995)
• ebay.in (16GB Version for Rs. 19,795)
• Indiatimes Shopping (16GB Version for Rs. 21,465)

The 3G Version

The last couple of days have been abuzz with rumour on Asus working on a 3G version of the Nexus 7. Reliable inside information point to the updated device launching in few weeks. The good news is that India will see this launch along with other countries. Now with Google Play available in India, and a 3G version, the tablet will definitely make more sense and appeal to the Indian market. The only drawback of a MicroSD card slot can be overcome with the umpteen cloud storage services offered for free. With that, we keep our fingers crossed and await the inevitable rumour-come-true.

LG in April released their first Smart TV to the Indian market. This will facilitate Indian users to access thousands of flicks, customizable apps, besides allowing users to browse the internet.Worth noting is that the Smart TV interface overlays live TV so users don’t have to switch video inputs as you would if you were using an attached Apple TV device, for example. It should be noted that LG Smart TV will be supported by a numbers of local content providers, which includes big names such as NDTV.com, Zapak.com, Indiatimes.com and Hungama.com.

Pricing:
LG Smart TV’s are now available in India for sizes 32 inch to 55 inch with prices ranging from Rs. 43,000 to Rs. 1,80,000.

It has a feature called LG Smart Shar which gives you access to all your favourite music, videos and photos, all from the comfort of your own sofa. Not only does it send content directly from your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone to the big screen, but it’s wireless as well.

Watch the demo at CES 2011.

For all those biting their nails for the 8th July launch of inFAMOUS 2 for Sony PlayStation 3, Sony India has put up a 32" Bravia LCD TV up for grabs. All you need to do is to pre-order the game and take part in the lucky draw to win the TV along with two inFAMOUS 2 limited edition PUMA trainers, and 50 3D game posters.

Any one of the three editions namely Standard Edition, Special Edition, and Hero Edition  is acceptable taking part in the lucky draw. just e-mail your details to contests@playstation.net.in to gain eligibility for the contest.

Pricing:
The pricing for the three versions available in India are as below:

Standard Edition	Rs. 2,499/-
Special Edition	Rs. 2,799/-
Hero Edition	Rs. 7,990/-

Contest Locations:

Here's a list of online and brick-and-mortar retailers accepting pre-orders:

Mumbai/Pune

Reliance Digital (Physical store)

Landmark (Physical store)

Souvenirs (Physical store)

Kavita Toys (Physical store)

E Mart Games (Physical store)

Origin Games (Physical store)

Game 4 U (Online + physical store)

Intencity (Online + physical store)

Flipkart (Only Online)

E-lounge (Only Online)

Navkar Collections (Only Online)

Bangalore

New Games & Gadgets (Online + physical store)

Console Interactive (Online + physical store)

Landmark (Physical store)

Reliance Digital (Physical store)

Venus Games (Physical store)

Crazy Deals (Only Online)

Kolkata

Planet M (Physical store)

Reliance Digital (Physical store)

Music World (Physical store)

Crossword (Physical store)

Emami Starmark (Physical store)

M3 (Physical store)

Rhythm (Physical store)

Gamers of India (Only Online)

New Delhi

Landmark (Physical store)

Reliance Digital (Physical store)

New Planet (Physical store)

GVP Video (Physical store)

Gupta Brothers (Physical store)

Next World (Physical store)

Game 4 U (Online + physical store)

Zupitex Private Ltd (Online + physical store)

Rigged entertainment (Only Online)

Gridiron Gaming (Only Online)

D2D Game (Only Online)

Mercury Online (Only Online)

Chennai

Landmark (Physical store)

Reliance Digital (Physical store)

ARAS (Physical store)

Game Shoppee (Physical store)

Gypsy (Physical store)

Game Flash (Physical store)

Blur (Physical store)

Game Gears (Online + physical store)

Hyderabad

Landmark (Physical store)

Reliance Digital (Physical store)

Ashoka Information Systems (Physical store)

Access 2 Future (Physical store)

Comprint (Physical store)

Apple's dumping ground in the past (India in the case of the iPhones, iPods and iPad) is changing trends. We have been  receiving  these much sought after gadgets when the world was close to getting their next generation versions. It is the yet to be launched iPad 2 in 12 countries including  Japan, India, Hong Kong, Israel, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey and UAE. It is been a surprise that we are getting it here just a month after its launch in the USA.

Pricing:
From April 28, 2011, Apple official launching iPad 2 in India. It will available in All Apple store. Apple iPad 2 will be available in two models, with 3G and without 3G.

Apple iPad 2	16GB	32GB	64GB
Wi-Fi	Rs. 29,500/-	Rs. 34,500/-	Rs. 39,500/-
Wi-Fi and 3G	Rs. 36,900/-	Rs. 41,900/-	Rs. 46,900/-

Key Features:

9.7 inches LED-backlit Multi-Touch display
IPS technology , Fingerprint-resistant coating
Dual core Processors – Dual-core A5 chip
up to 2x faster CPU
Up to 9x faster graphics
Low power consuming processor
8.8mm thick ! – that is 33% thinner
Lighter – up to 15% lighter
Two colors – Black and White
Up to 10 hours battery life
One month standby
WiFi + 3G connectivity (in iPad 2 3G model)
Dual Camera – Front and Rear
FaceTime HD
Sensors : Gyro, accelerometer, and compass
iPad Smart Cover – Available in various vibrant colors

LG Cookie Flip GD580 is the latest 3G Phone from LG to be launched in India. It is a clamshell phone that despite its big size is sleek and extremely impressive to look at. It is available in three colors, Cute Pink, Aqua Blue and Boyish Titanium. Focussed at today's hip and happening women, the highlight of the phone lies definitely in its good looks. The LED lights that blink on the outer panel are simply bewitching.

These lights are customisable; users are allowed to create their own patterns and set them for a particular function such as incoming or outgoing calls, missed calls, messages, etc.

Pricing:

The new LG Cookie Flip GD580 price in India is around Rs.8,500 in India.

Overview:

LG Cookie Flip GD580 sports a 7.11 cms TFT display with 240×400 pixels screen resolution, a 3 MP Camera with digital zoom, Music Player, FM Radio, FM Radio on Speaker phone, 50MB internal memory and comes with external memory card slot. Preloaded with Google Search, Google Maps and RockeTalk SNS App, It has a Music Player & FM Radio with Wi-Fi.

Supplied Accessories:

Battery, Charger, Data CD, Manual, Stereo Ear Microphone, USB Data Cable.

Samsung is creating a demand for its compact range point and shoot cameras, targeting most casual users in the market. Samsung’s ST range of cameras (which includes the ST95, ST 90, ST65) are high on style and design and pack in quite a number of impressive high-end features. Samsung ST93 is an upgrade of the previously successful model Samsung ST90 with a CCD sensor of 16.1 MP and it also offers a 26 mm wide-angle lens with a 5X optical zoom feature. Otherwise, there isn't much difference between the two on the outside as much of the improvement had been done under the hood. This camera definitely looks and feels solid and its stylish as well, with curvy edges which not only makes it look better but also enables the user to grip the camera better.

Overview:

The Samsung ST93 includes what the company calls "Dual IS", a two-pronged approach to fighting blur from camera shake, consisting of optical image stabilization, and digital techniques that likely work by raising ISO sensitivity and/or performing deblurring. Like the earlier camera, the Samsung ST93 forgoes any optical or electronic viewfinder, providing only an LCD display of unspecified size and resolution on which to frame and review your shots.

The Samsung ST93 includes the company's Smart Filter 2.0 function that offers special effects such as Vignetting, miniature, half-tone dot, palette, and a new soft focus effect. There's also a Magic Frame function that overlays templates such as Wall Art, Retro Film, Ripple, Full Moon, Retro Record, and Classic TV on your photos. The ST93 also has a panorama shot function, and includes 720p movie recording, although we don't currently know the frame rate or codec used.

Specification:

16 mega pixel CCD image sensor

26mm wide angle

5x optical zoom lens

Dual Image Stabilization; Optical and Digital Image Stabilization

Record 720p HD video at 30fps

5 Way UI Key

Panorama Shot Mode

Smart Filter Lens

Up to 3200 ISO Sensitivity

Soft Focus Function

Magic Frame Feature

Sound Alive Feature

Record Pause Function

Dimensions 89.6 x 54.8 x 17.5 mm