Gadgets & gizmos - AndyLe - May 2016

INTERACTIVE MAGAZINE

May 2016 / `50/ www.gadgetsngizmos.in

Amazon Kindle Oasis: An Expensive Read

Keep your devices safe – be it from thefts or virus attacks

DCP No. F.2(I/I) Press/2009

GG GADGETS AND GIZMOS

CONTENTS

www.gadgetsngizmos.in

Editor-in-Chief: Aroon Purie

Assistant Editor: Nidhi Singal Assistant Art Director: Amit Sharma Senior Visualiser: Raj Verma Production: Surinder Hastu (Chief of

Production), Harish Aggarwal, Vijay Sharma, Naveen Gupta Chief Executive Officer: Ashish Bagga Group Business Head: Manoj Sharma Associate Publisher(IMPACT): Anil Fernandes

IMPACT TEAM Senior General ManaGerS (iMPaCT):

Kaustav Chatterjee (East), V. Somasundaram (Chennai), Jitendra Lad (West), Head (North) – Dipayan Chowdhary Product Head: Jaykumar Mistry

Cover Story

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Stay Safe Protect data and personal information on your devices in the event of theft or virus attack

SALES AND OPERATIONS Chief General ManaGer: D.V.S. Rama Rao Senior General ManaGer (naTional): Vinod Das General ManaGer (SouTh): Deepak Bhatt General ManaGer (WeST): Rajesh Menon reGional ManaGer (eaST): V.a. Chotalia General ManaGer (oPeraTionS): Rakesh Sharma

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Reviews

Amazon Kindle Oasis Google Chromecast Chromecast Audio Fitbit Blaze

Volume 9, Number 01; May - June 2016

Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world.

Reproduction in any manner is prohibited. Printed and published by Ashish Bagga on behalf of Living Media India Ltd. Printed at Thomson Press India Ltd., 18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana), Published at K-9, Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110001. India Today does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited publication material.

Pebble Time Round

@ helpGG IS THE REDMI NOTE 3 ANY GOOD? WHICH ONE IS WORTH BUYING – THE 2GB OR 3GB VARIANT? DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO PURCHASE THE MI PROTECT PLAN?

INTERACTIVE MAGAZINE

SWAPNIL GUPTA, on e-mail

GG

The Redmi Note 3 is a great device; you should go for the 3 GB variant costing `11,999, as it comes with 32 GB of internal storage. The Mi Protect plan for Redmi Note 3 costs `375 only and covers accidental damage caused due to fall, extrusion, collision and liquid.

HOW IS THE NEW GOOGLE CHROMECAST? WHAT OTHER ALTERNATIVES DO I HAVE FOR STREAMING YOUTUBE VIDEOS ON TV?

The 4-inch iPhone: Apple iPhone SE

April 2016 / `50/ www.gadgetsngizmos.in

DCP No. F.2(I/I) Press/2009

ENTER THE VIRTUAL WORLD Virtual Reality is all set to redefine the rules of the game

KESHAV ARORA, on e-mail

GG

The new Google Chromecast is a very good device. It is more compact now and works in a much better way.

You can buy one and use it with the Chromecast app for iOS and Android. We have also reviewed the new Chromecast in this edition of the magazine. Apart from Google Chromecast, you can consider Teewe 2, Amkette EvoTV and Portronics Pandora 2.

I WANT TO BUY THE IPHONE SE BECAUSE OF ITS COMPACT SIZE. WHAT IS ITS SCREEN SIZE? IS THE CAMERA GOOD? DOES IT SLOW DOWN WITH IOS 9?

Changing Times

India has become an important market for technology companies.

I remember the time when we had to wait for months to get hold of new gadgets, because only when the new variants were launched abroad would the older versions come to India. But now, all the latest devices, be it the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 or Apple iPad, are coming to India sooner. I just wish that the prices of these high-profile gadgets come down in future.

AMIT SHARMA, on e-mail

NEERU GANDHI, on e-mail

GG

The iPhone SE comes with the same processor as the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Even while running on iOS 9 or upwards, it doesn’t slow down. The camera is very good and captures good images even in low light.

The iPhone SE comes with a 4-inch display, while iPhone 6s has a 4.7-inch screen.

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HELP AT HAND

Having trouble with your laptop? Would like to boost your cell phone’s capabilities? Want advice on what camera is best for your needs? Write to us with all your queries and we will have experts answer them.

Email us at helpGG@intoday.com

to catch up on tech news, comment on, discuss and read archived G&G stories.

Mail us at

lettersGG@intoday.com All comments and suggestions printed on this page may be edited for length and clarity.

MOTO G4, MOTO G4 PLUS Motorola announced its fourth generation Moto G devices – Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus. The G4 Plus is available in two variants – 16 GB with 2 GB RAM (`13,499) and 32GB with 3GB RAM (`14,499). Both look identical and have a few common features, including 5.5inch full HD display with 401ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and 1.5 GHz Octa-core processor on Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 SoC. The G4 Plus comes with a 16-MP rear camera with laser autofocus and dual LED colour balancing flash, and a 5-MP front camera. You can expand the storage capacity to 128 GB. The device weighs 155gm and packs a 3,000 mAh battery in a 7.9mm chassis. It supports a turbo charger that powers up the phone for 6 hours in just 15 minutes. It also has a fingerprint sensor. The Moto G4, which will go on sale in June, has a 13-MP rear camera, no laser focus or fingerprint sensor. However, the remaining features are the same.The Moto G4 will be available with 16 GB internal storage and 2 GB RAM. Both support dual SIMs – one 4G - and the other 3G-enabled. Both will be available on Amazon India.

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FIRST TAKE PEBBLE LAUNCHES IN INDIA

A pioneer in smartwatches, Pebble Technology, announced its oficial entry into India through Amazon.in. Although late, Pebble has introduced its compete range, which includes Pebble Classic, Pebble Time, Pebble Time Steel and Pebble Time Round. Available in Red, White, Black and limited versions in Pink, the Pebble Classic comes with a 1.26-inch ePaper display – an ultra-lowpowered Sharp LCD with 144x168-pixel resolution. The battery backup is of seven days and has a motion-sensing accelerometer and Ambient Light Sensor. It is waterproof and offers basic music control from a paired iPhone or Android mobile. It can also fetch notifications for calls, texts, emails and messages. Classic is priced at `5,999.

The Pebble Time, along with similar features of the Classic, supports voice message replies, and has a thinner, ergonomic design. The Pebble Health feature tracks steps, sleep and can get personalised insights. It is available for `9,999.

The Pebble Time Round priced at `13,599 has a 7.5 mm circular dial and weighs 28 gm. It is the thinnest and lightest smartwatch in the world and comes in 14 mm and 20 mm band sizes with a quickrelease mechanism that lets users swap bands in seconds. There are apps and watch faces that can be added to the Round.

The most expensive, the 10.5mm Pebble Time Steel, comes with 10 days battery backup and a personalised mode. It has ergonomic profile and a stainless steel band. It supports everything – from notifications, calendar events and incoming calls, to fitness and music playback. It is water resistant for up to

CREATIVE SOUND BLASTER ROAR 2

Creative's Sound Blaster Roar 2 portable Bluetooth speaker will be available on Amazon India from midMay for `16,999. Smaller and lighter than the Classic Sound Blaster Roar, it features five speaker drivers, electrical design and an inbuilt battery. It can be placed horizontally for room-filling and balanced audio, or vertically for louder and more directed audio. It also has passive bass radiators. The speaker features an integrated MicroSD WMA and MP3 player for playing music directly from a microSD card. There is a built-in microphone for clear 360° voice pickup for answering calls over the Bluetooth speaker. It also features an integrated voice recorder.

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SANDISK FLASH DRIVE

SanDisk's iXpand Flash drive is for iPhones and iPads. This mobile storage device is designed to help people quickly and easily free up their iPhone and iPad storage. Available in four storage capacities – 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB. The company claims to have reinvented the iXpand Flash drive. It is slim and sleek, and is easy to plug into an iOS device. It does not even block up a second USB port on the laptop and comes with a flexible connector design that makes it convenient to connect with most iPhones and iPads.

IDEA AND GOOGLE ANNOUNCE PLAY STORE CARRIER BILLING IN INDIA Idea Cellular, in association with Google Play, announced the launch of carrier billing for purchasing content in India. A consumer can now purchase a paid app, books, videos and more from the Google Play Store without entering any band account or credit card details.

The services will be available to both prepaid and postpaid subscribers. India becomes the 41st market to receive carrier billing.

To activate direct carrier billing, Idea subscribers will have to turn on the option by visiting settings in the Play Store over an Idea Cellular network. The activation cannot be initiated on WiFi. However, subsequent purchases can be made over a WiFi network.

An option of Idea billing will appear while purchasing paid content and the user will be able to complete the transaction by entering their Google password. Idea will apply a convenience charge of 15-16 per cent on the total purchase amount.

In case the consumer is not happy with the purchase, they can return the app within two hours and the convenience charge will be refunded. The customer also

receives an SMS confirming the purchase.

The whole idea of launching carrier billing is to enable more smartphone users, who are apprehensive in sharing their credit or debit card details on the Play Store, to purchase paid content. Users now will be able to pay using their prepaid balance or postpaid bills without entering card details.

The company claimed that 25 per cent of its subscribers use data and the average data consumption per subscriber is 641 MB per month.

Says Mike Hayes, Director, Business Development, Android and Chrome Partnerships, Google: "This collaboration with Idea Cellular is the first time Google Play has offered direct carrier billing in India. Like with lower minimal piercing for apps and prepaid vouchers, we hope to make it easier for people to pay for the content they want on Google Play."

Recently, Google introduced lower minimal pricing in India (first time globally) where the apps can be priced for as low as `10.

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XIAOMI SELLS SIX LAKH UNITS OF REDMI NOTE 3 IN INDIA IN TWO MONTHS Launched in March this year, Xiaomi has managed to sell six lakh units of the Redmi Note 3 in 60 days. Hugo Barra, VP, Xiaomi, announced the same on Twitter, thanking Indian Mi fans. It is the company’s biggest record yet. Xiaomi is selling the Redmi Note 3 in two variants – 16 GB variant with 2 GB RAM priced at `9,999 and 32 GB variant with 3 GB RAM for `11,999. The device is only available on mi.com and Amazon.in through weekly sales. It features a 5.5-inch screen with full HD display.

It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor, has a finger print sensor, a 16-MP camera with LED flash and a, 4,000 mAh battery.

GOOGLE TO LAUNCH ALLO AND DUO Google has announced two new messaging apps, Allo and Duo. The Allo app, based on your phone number, has been designed to take on WhatsApp. One of the main highlights of the Allo app is its ‘WhisperShout’ feature which lets you change the size of the text according to the tone you use. Duo is a video calling app. One of its features, called ‘Knock Knock’, shows you a live video preview of the caller before you pick up the phone. These apps will be launched sometime this year. Users will have to pre-register to download these apps whenever Google launches them.

You can pre-register on the Play Store right away. Google will notify you when the apps are available for download.

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APPLE ANNOUNCES APP DEVELOPMENT ACCELERATOR IN BENGALURU Apple has announced its plan to establish a Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru, an initiative to support engineering talent and accelerate growth in India’s iOS developer community. The facility is expected to open in early 2017. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said, “With the opening of this new facility in Bengaluru, we’re giving developers access to tools which will help them create innovative apps for customers around the world.” Each week, Apple experts will lead briefings and provide one-on-one app reviews for developers, and provide guidance on Swift, Apple’s programming language created to build apps.

SANJAY KAUL IS THE NEW COUNTRY HEAD OF APPLE INDIA Sanjay Kaul has been elevated as the Country Manager for Apple India. Although there has been no official communication from the company, Kaul’s LinkedIn profile has been updated with the same.

A Canadian citizen, Kaul has been with Apple since November 2011 and has been taking care of Apple’s iPhone business. He takes over from Manish Dhir who quit the company in January this year. Before Apple, Kaul was associated with BlackBerry as Director – Channel Sales for India, for over two years. He holds an Msc (Tech) degree from BITS Pilani, and an MBA in International Business from Gustavson School of Business, Canada.

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Cover Story

Save Your Droid Android devices are prone to malware attacks intended at stealing your personal and financial information. Read on to know how to prevent them. By Nidhi Singal

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Cover Story

Attackers are no longer eyeing only your desktops and laptops to steal data. Smartphones, which are loaded with your personal details, are on their radar, too. Apps and pop-ups can have malware and viruses installed on your smartphones, even before you realise it. iOS and Windows devices are not as much at risk as Android devices. Given the penetration of Android phones in the market – according to research firm Gartner, Android dominates the smartphone market with 80.7 per cent share (in the fourth calendar quarter of 2015) – Google has been working continuously to enhance security for Android users using improved machine learning and event correlation to detect potentially harmful behaviour. According to the Google Security 2015 Annual Report, the company checked over six billion installed applications per day to prevent users from malware and other Potentially Harmful Apps (PHAs).

There is a host of security protections and controls in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, including full disk encryption, Android security patch, verified bootloader and more; but only 7.5 per cent of Android smartphones run on Marshmallow OS. The rest still run on Lollipop and lower versions. Since your safety lies in your own hands (fingertips, actually), here’s how you can protect your smartphones from malware, viruses and harmful apps.

Avoid installing apps from unknown sources: Most of the viruses and malware are installed on Android devices through apps. Unlike Apple’s iOS, it isn’t restrictive in nature. You can install apps from Google Play Store, a third party store or even install 10

.apk files. By default, Android devices have the option of installing data from unknown sources turned off, but can be turned on with a single tap. You should always install apps from Play Store or Amazon App Store because the incidence of downloading malicious apps on these stores is low. You should also avoid downloading .apk files of popular paid games and apps from Torrents and other sources, as there is a high probability of such files being harmful. They can gain access to your photos, contacts and personal information on other apps. You can prevent accidental app downloads from unknown sources by heading to Settings on your device, scrolling down to Security, and locating the option labelled Unknown Sources.

Uncheck the box and you are done.

A little research about the app developer can avert a possible threat.

Check app permissions: While downloading an app from the Play Store, a ‘Permissions’ window appears which we seldom pay attention to. Mostly, the permission window is not asking, but only informing you of the other data the app will access. For instance, if a battery app wants to access your contacts, photos and e-mails, it is unusual. Avoid installing such apps.

Avoid opening unknown links: The Internet is a scary place. You leave traces of your personal information as you browse. Based on your search history, content is pushed to you through ads and sponsored posts, which you end up opening – something you should absolutely avoid. Opening links from unknown and dubious sites tend to install malwares without seeking your permission. They also direct you to a false screen – that looks similar to the real one – where you end up entering your credentials.

The bot stores this information which is later misused.

Keep OS updated: An OS update

Why iOS and Windows are less vulnerable to attacks: Unlike Google, where you can install third party apps that are not listed on Play Store, Apple and Microsoft are restrictive in nature. They don’t allow users to download apps from sources apart from Apple App Store and Microsoft Windows Marketplace, respectively.

Apps submitted to Apple are thoroughly reviewed for malware and viruses before they are approved to be listed on the App Store.

However, jailbroken iPhones can be prone to such attacks and risks. Apple has combined software, hardware and services designed to work together for maximum security and a transparent user experience. The system also enables apps to run securely, without compromising on platform integrity.

Windows OS, too, is secure as Microsoft has added security features within the API for app developers. All apps listed under the marketplace go through a certification process post submission. The app packages are checked for security tests including viruses and malware, along with technical compliance tests.

Beware of Pop-ups Warning of Virus Attacks Do you see messages on your smartphone browser cautioning you about your phone being infected with a virus, directing you to the Play Store to download a particular app or taking you to an unfamiliar web page? It’s a ploy to take over the DNS settings on your WiFi router. It makes browsing on mobile almost impossible. When you encounter such a problem, be sure to clear all your cache memory and browser history, reset your WiFi router and reconfigure it. Although there isn’t a concrete solution to such a problem, ensuring that your router has the latest firmware installed can be helpful.

You can check and install the latest firmware by visiting the website of the router manufacturer. Log in to the router settings and reset. To do this, you can seek help from your broadband company’s customer support. Make sure you change the password and the DNS settings.

means improved software which includes fixing numerous security bugs and openings in the software.

So, if you are still using an outdated OS, your device is more prone to attacks. Updating to the latest version will keep you safe.

Install anti-virus and ad-blockers: The golden rule to keep PCs virus-free applies to smart devices, too. Installing anti-virus, ad-blockers and pop-up blockers will save you from virus attacks and phishing.

Norton Security, the most popular one, can be installed on a single device. One can go in for a deluxe or premium option which allows installation on up to 10 devices. Avast Mobile security includes device scanning, app scanning, and realtime protection, as also consistent anti-virus database updates, antitheft features, and the ability to remote-lock your device in case you lose it. You can block pop-up ads on Android using your built-in browser settings or by downloading a third-

party ad-block browser or apps such as Ad-Blocker Plus.

Recently, Opera integrated a native ad-blocker to its browser for Android smartphones which also makes browsing faster.

Log out of sites after transactions: Transactions on websites or mobile phones, although convenient, can pose a high risk.

Always ensure that you enter your bank, credit or debit card details on verified sites only. Log out of the websites and close the window once the transaction is complete.

Browse in incognito mode: The incognito mode in the Chrome browser allows private browsing, without storing browsing history. Use this mode to log in to your bank account or a website on which you will be making a payment and entering your personal details. It is also advisable to delete your browsing history from time to time.

Change passwords regularly: Having the same password for all your accounts – including social networks, e-mail, and wallets – is a recipe for disaster. If someone gets hold of the password for one account, all your accounts are at risk. It is wise to have different passwords – unique passwords that no one can crack – for all your accounts. You should also consider changing your passwords every three months for security reasons. Never reuse your password. You can rely on password manager apps, as they lock your passcodes within an encrypted vault in order to minimise your vulnerability against attacks. They store all your passwords and all you need is the master password to get into it.

Some of the popular password manager apps are LastPass, KeePass and Dashlane.

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Cover Story

Don’t Lose It! Losing your phone or tablet can mean extreme inconvenience and breach of privacy.

But fret not, these apps and features can track your device and secure it, too.

By Nidhi Singal

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Cover Story

A lost mobile phone is not just a loss of money. Any misuse of our personal and professional data stored on devices could mean real and virtual mayhem. While we can be extra careful to not leave devices anywhere unattended, being prepared for the worst case scenario can be helpful.

This includes activating important settings and features built in the device and downloading apps to track the device on the map, enabling a loud alarm and even remote-wiping the device if it cannot be recovered. It is paramount that you create a cloud back-up of all the data. If backed up using automatic cloud backup, you can fetch your data on the new device with a single login into the cloud service. Leading players including Apple, Google and Microsoft offer these features either through built-in services or apps. You can also avail of third-party apps.

APPLE’S FIND MY IPHONE: Apple has built a robust tool in iOS that not only keeps your data safe, but also makes the device unusable if you end up losing it. If you are using any of Apple’s devices – iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch or Mac – this service can be a boon. The app, if set up and activated, can locate lost devices, disable them and even fully erase data using the iOS app or through iCloud on a computer. With iOS 7, Apple added an Activation Lock that makes the iPhone unusable without the owner’s Apple ID or password.

So, if the phone is stolen, the iPhone remains tied to your Apple ID and can’t be used with any other account. Even when the iP14

hone is completely wiped, it will be locked down, rendering it useless.

You can activate it under Settings, by scrolling down to iCloud and tapping on ‘Find my iPhone’ and turning the toggle on (in green). Turning on ‘send last location’ sends the last location of the iPhone to Apple when the phone is low on battery.

The two-factor authentication process adds an extra layer of protection. But, for ‘Find my iPhone’ to work, your phone must be on and connected to a cellular network or WiFi. Then by logging in to the iOS app or iCloud on the web and selecting the ‘Find iPhone’ option locates the approximate location of the iPhone. You can also Play Sound to locate it, select lost mode that locks the device and even erase the iPhone. This feature also shows the battery level on the phone. When setting up the new device, you can rest assured about your data.

Backing up data on iCloud lets you retrieve photos, mails, contacts, calendars, reminders, Safari, notes, wallet, etc, with a single tap.

ANDROID DEVICE MANAGER: Google, too, offers a one-stop solution for a large number of Android devices. The Android Device Manager app, which can be installed from the Google Play Store, helps locate and remote-wipe a lost or stolen phone. To set it up, you need a Google account. The tracking and wiping can be done by logging in to www.google.co.in/android/devicemanager from the web using the same Google account.

This service can track your device’s location on Google Maps, sound an alarm on the phone, lock and erase provided the phone is turned on and connected to the internet. Location services, too, need to be turned on.

For data back-up, Google Drive offers 15 GB of free storage with support for different types of files including photos, contacts, docu-

ments, excel sheets, etc.

OTHER APPS THAT CAN COME IN HANDY:

MICROSOFT’S FIND MY PHONE: Microsoft has the ‘Find My Phone’ service for its Windows smartphones. For Windows laptops and tablets, Microsoft has a similar service but it only helps in locating the device, not wiping it. The user needs to turn on the master location setting, log in to his/ her Microsoft account and even switch on the ‘Find My Device’ setting. In case of loss or theft, visiting account.microsoft.com/devices and logging in using the same Microsoft account can help in tracking the location of the device. A user can set up ‘Find My Device’ to save the device’s location every few hours, so it becomes easier to locate it.

The device’s location is saved to OneDrive, which is Windows’ cloud back-up service, from time to time.

However, Microsoft Intune for enterprises provides mobile device management, mobile application management and PC management capabilities from the cloud. Using this service, organisations can provide their employees with access to corporate applications, data and resources from virtually anywhere on almost any device, while helping to keep corporate information secure. With Intune, administrators and users can protect corporate information through selective wipe of managed apps and related data when a device is unenrolled, no longer compliant, lost, stolen or retired from use.

There are other popular independent applications (listed on the right) such as Dropbox that are commonly used for data back-up on the cloud. For security and remote wipe, services such as F-Secure, Avast and Norton can be used to protect the device against viruses.

These also provide remote wipe option, in case there is no way to recover the device.

F-SECURE Safe is a security app developed for Android, iOS and Windows devices that helps in locating and erasing data on missing smartphones and tablets. It also claims to protect personal content on the device. Additionally, you can block unwanted callers, scan and clean the device from harmful applications, making it secure for banking services over Google Chrome, Safe Browser and Dolphin Browser.

AVAST ANTI-THEFT is a specialised anti-theft solution provider. This, too, allows you to protect the device as well as data. The free version of the app allows you to find the lost phone and remotely lock it or wipe all data on the device through web-based interface or SMS. It also enables remote listening – remotely have the phone call you elsewhere, with screen blacked out, so you can listen to the phone's surroundings; SIM card change notification; stealth mode; forwarding calls and messages to people and remote lock, among other features. Available only for Android devices, there is a premium version of the software that offers features such as remote data retrieval and Geofencing.

LOOKOUT is a neat app available for both iOS and Android for protection from data loss, theft and other threats that put your personal information at risk. It helps in locating the lost iPhone or iPad from anywhere on any device connected to the internet. It automatically saves the device’s last location before the battery runs out and even shows the distance between the iPhone and the Apple Watch when they are about to lose the connection. The app backs up contacts automatically and also notifies about out-of-date or insecure version of the OS. DROPBOX is the most popular cloud storage service offering 2 GB free cloud storage to start with.

But using friend referrals and liking its social media page can help you increase the storage space by up to 20 GB. It lets you back up images, videos, documents and more, and can be used for sharing files with your contacts without sharing them publicly. Dropbox is both Android and iOS compatible.

BOX is a popular cloud storage app, available for Android and iOS, that securely stores, manages and shares files, photos and documents, and offers 10 GB of free cloud storage. The in-built sharing feature lets you share links instead of heavy files. It also gives offline access to files and folders. Box Notes helps in taking notes and working in real time with other users. Additional features include real-time search, search within PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, Word docs, etc.

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SMART AUDIO treaming music wirelessly is convenient. But if your speaker doesn’t support wireless connectivity, you can turn to Chromecast Audio. Google’s dongle for wireless audio – Chromecast Audio – can be used to stream music wirelessly over any speaker.

Although most of the portable speakers available today support wireless connectivity, it also works well with the old speakers.

It is a wireless music adaptor that works with a wide range of audio systems including speakers, soundboard, docks, AV receivers, etc, and comes with an auxiliary port. The vinyl shaped dongle is just 2 inches in diameter and half-inch thick, and hides behind the speaker, however small it may be. It comes with a 3.5-mm analogue cable which plugs into the stereo’s 3.5-mm jack. The dongle has a microUSB port, too, as it needs to be connected to a power source. If you have a spare USB port in the system, it can draw power from the same. Or else, you can plug it into charging socket.

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GG GOOGLE

CHROMECAST AUDIO `3,399

Plus: Compact, adds wireless connectivity Minus: Requires constant power

BAG IT OR JUNK IT:

Converts a dumb speaker into a smart, wireless one

The device can be set up using the Chromecast app for iOS and Android devices – the same app that is used for Chromecast dongle.

After setting up the device, music can be streamed from audio apps such as Spotify. There is a cast icon on the app, just the way it appears for apps to stream content on TV, using which music can be streamed

to the connected speaker. The app continues to stream music even as you work on your phone. You can play and pause the music, change tracks and even control volume from the app itself.

Within the Chromecast app, there are music streaming apps such as Saavn, Wynk Music, Google Play Music and Music

Player that support the cast feature. Google has also released an API using which developers will be able to add the cast button to their apps.

For a surround-sound like experience, you can connect multiple Chromecast Audio dongles to different speakers and club them all together in a group within the

Chromecast app. All the speakers will start playing the same music.

You can also play the same music over multiple speakers placed at different locations in a room. The music is streamed over the Internet, so even if you start streaming and step out of the house, the music will continue to play without any interruptions.

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TEST BENCH

BAG IT OR JUNK IT:

Having made significant improvements, Chromecast is a good streaming device. But it faces competition from other dongles available in the market

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New & Improved hen it was launched a couple of years ago, Google Chromecast was a great way to convert your regular TV into a smart one, without spending much. The big USB-type dongle could be plugged into the TV’s HDMI port and paired over the Google Cast app to stream content wirelessly from the smartphone on the TV. But it wasn’t perfect and had its share of drawbacks. Google has now launched the new Chromecast with better and smooth functionality.

DESIGN: While the older generation Chromecast was big and looked like a USB dongle, the new Chromecast has a circular design that can be neatly tucked behind the TV. It has a flexible HDMI cable and a micro USB port for drawing power. While a power adapter has been added to the box, it can even source power from a spare USB port on the TV. PAIRING: After connecting the Chromecast to the TV, you will need the Google Cast app to pair the dongle. Chromecast creates its own Wi-Fi network to pair with the app and the pairing process is really simple.

When paired for the first time, the Chromecast updates itself and, yet, is ready to use in five minutes. Google has added dual-band networks to the hardware, which enhances the overall casting/ streaming performance. Technically, Chromecast doesn’t do anything on its own apart from having a few images as the screensaver. Everything – be it streaming or controlling – is done using the GOOGLE compatible app. It is compatible with iPhone, iPad, CHROMECAST Android smartphones and tablets, Mac, Windows and `3,399 Chromebooks.

APPS: Google has improved the cast app significantly Plus: Design, and now has a list of apps with cast compatibility performance across entertainment, gaming, music, video, photogMinus: Price raphy, TV shows, etc. Within the Google Cast app, there are three tabs – What’s On, Devices and Get

GG

Apps. What’s On shows trending content that can be streamed.

The Devices tab helps in pairing as well as controlling the Chromecast, while the Get Apps section features various apps with Cast support. The number of apps compatible with the Chromecast is much higher in comparison to the first generation Chromecast. Popular names with cast compatibility include YouTube, Netflix, Hooq, Saavn, ErosNow, Viki, Twitch, TED, NBA and Pixlr, among others.

PERFORMANCE: After pairing, I started streaming videos to Chromecast using the YouTube app. The cast feature instantly throws the content onto the TV, without any buffering or lag. I was also able to stream offline videos stored within the app. You can add content to the queue and exit the app to use the phone for other things. When I exited the YouTube app on the iPhone SE, the Chromecast continued to play the video.

Later, I was able to stop the video from the Cast app. When used on Android phones, it can also mirror the phone screen on your TV. 19

TEST BENCH

here wasn’t much to complain about the Kindle Paperwhite. But then came the Kindle Voyage which was thinner, lighter, with adaptive built-in light and PagePress sensor. The latest from Amazon, Kindle Oasis, is a remarkable e-book reader, but not significantly better than the Voyage.

Kindle Oasis is small, compact and light as feather. It has a 6-inch e-ink display with 300 ppi, exactly the same as on Paperwhite and Voyage. However, it weighs only 131 grams – 55 grams lighter than its predecessor. It has a tapered hand grip on one side such that the thinnest part measures 3.4 mm, while the one with the hand grip goes up to 8.5 mm. Amazon claims that this new design shifts the centre of gravity to the palm, making it rest in the hand like a spine of the book. These aren’t false claims and it is indeed designed for single-hand reading.

Interestingly, there is no right way of holding the Oasis – it instantly changes the orientation irrespective of whether it is held in the left or right hand. Instead of capacitive page turn buttons, it has two sleek buttons on the side of the display. The top jumps to the next page and the bottom turns it back. The orientation of the buttons change when the Oasis is flipped. The page can also be turned by touching the screen – a gesture similar to flipping the pages of a book.

Design aside, the experience of reading books on Kindle is still very much the same. While it takes a few seconds to wake up the device, it turns the page quickly. The home screen has icons on the Home, Back, Settings, Goodreads, Store and Search icons at the top. On the home page, the top left is dedicated to ‘My Library’, whereas the right has ‘My Reading Lists’ and at the bottom are book suggestions. It has a built-in light that can be accessed from Settings.

Amazon has added a protective leather case, too, that bundles up as an extra battery pack.

The case magnetically snaps to the rear of the Oasis, near the hump, adding to its weight. The protective case is capable of giving the Oasis a full charge. Thankfully, you don’t have to charge the case separately as both the Oasis and the case (when snapped) get charged simultaneously from the USB. This makes it a perfect travel companion. Even after a week of testing, the Oasis held full charge, while the case lost only 10 per cent charge.

My review unit was WiFi+ 3G-enabled, which implies an extra `4,000 for accessing 3G on the Oasis; valid, however, for the lifetime – there are no monthly or annual contract fees attached.

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GG KINDLE OASIS `27,999

BAG IT OR JUNK IT:

The best e-book reader available; but way too expensive

Plus: Design, battery, protective case Minus:Price

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TEST BENCH

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More About Fitness Than Smartness opular name in fitness wearables, Fitbit has launched a smartwatch, Blaze. But can this new watch compete against popular ones such as Apple Watch, Samsung Gear S2 or Motorola Moto 360?

UNINSPIRING DESIGN: Smartwatches look good. At least, the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear 2 with broad, rectangular designs. To charge the watch, you need to take the square plastic panel out of the stainless steel frame and plug into the separate square casing to charge. There are buttons on the sides – one on the left and two on the right. The left one is the back key, whereas the two on the right come handy during workout sessions. I showed the Fitbit Blaze to many and no one really liked the deFITBIT sign. Someone had a comment: "my Casio calculator BLAZE watch looked much better than the Fitbit Blaze". While the Blaze is light, I wasn’t really excited about wear`19,990 ing this smartwatch. It has a responsive touch screen Plus: Fitness display, but it isn’t as good as the one on Apple Watch tracking, battery or Gear S2. It has a 1.25-inch, 16-colour display.

PAIRING TAKES TIME: Just like any other smartMinus:Restricted smartwatch watch, even Fitbit Blaze has to be paired with a features, design compatible app. Available for iPhone and Android OS, it took close to 20 minutes to set up this smartwatch, BAG IT OR which is unusually long compared to other smartJUNK IT: watches.

Good at MORE FITNESS, LESS SMART: Most of the functionalmonitoring ity of the Fitbit Blaze is similar to its earlier fitness fitness activities, but bands. The Blaze is good at keeping track of footsteps, not really a active exercise calories burnt, quality of sleep, resting smartwatch time and more. Tracking fitness activity is Fitbit’s forte and Blaze does a good job. It managed to track my sleep and middle-of-the-night wake up sessions with accuracy. It even has an inbuilt heart rate sensor that

GG

measures the heart beats. Most of the time, the heart rate monitor works well, but sometimes it is iffy. Under exercise tracking, it has options for running, cycling, weights, treadmill and elliptical.

It doesn’t come with inbuilt GPS; for using Fitbit’s Connected GPS feature, you will have to carry your smartphone along.

It fetches incoming call notifications, shows text alerts and calendar reminders. There is also an option to control music from the watch. But the list of smartwatch features ends here.

There are no apps that you can connect it with or any WhatsApp or Facebook notifications, as you get on most other smartwatches today. This makes it more of a fitness watch and not a smartwatch capable of handling communication. The Fitbit app is well designed. It offers a lot of details about the workout sessions and daily activities.

BATTERY: The most impressive feature of the Blaze is the battery.

Unlike other smartwatches, you need not charge it every day. On one charge, it lasted me over five days during the testing period.

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TEST BENCH

Falls Short

fter launching the K5 Note and the flagship Vibe X3, Lenovo is now looking at the budget smartphone market with the Vibe K5 Plus. Pegged to be the successor to the company’s own A6000, the Vibe K5 Plus isn’t alone and faces tough competition.

The Lenovo K5 Plus has a decent build and design. It has a lightweight aluminium casing with the back trying to mimic metal finish. It is 8-mm thick and has round edges. The front is dominated with a 5-inch full-HD display with three capacitive touch keys. Rear is neat and houses the camera module, Lenovo branding and speaker grills. Power key and volume key are placed on the right edge and the 3.5-mm jack and charging port at the top. The rear panel, which has the battery and dual SIM card slots, is removable. Overall, the K5 Plus has a neat design, making it comfortable to hold.

Running on Android 5.1.1, the Vibe K5 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 processor and is paired with 2GB of RAM. It doesn’t have the

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vanilla Android user interface.

There isn’t any app tray; all the apps are placed on the home screen. Being a budget phone, it comes with 16GB of internal storage with support for expandable memory. It is LTE-enabled and other connectivity options on board include WiFi and Bluetooth.

Overall, the experience of using the K5 Plus was a pleasant one.

The call clarity was good. It was able to handle YouTube video streaming and app downloads without any lag. Multi-tab browsing on the Chorme browser was

BAG IT OR JUNK IT:

Spend a bit more and get the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 for `9,999

GG LENOVO VIBE K5 PLUS `8,499

Plus: Display, sound Minus:Camera

smooth. It handled casual games such as Candy Crush, Temple Run, etc, without any lag. But, at times, it lost a few frames. The device started heating up after long sessions of streaming and gaming. It comes pre-loaded with apps such as Syncit app for backing up contacts, SMS and call logs; Shareit app for sharing files; Lenovo’s companion app, Theme Center, and more. It also supports Theatre Max technology for ANT Virtual Reality headset.

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus packs in a 13-MP rear camera and a 5-MP

front-facing camera. The camera performance is just about average.

It captures decent images, although nothing extraordinary. The camera takes time to process an image and get ready for the next shot. It isn’t a great performer in low light either. The sound output on the K5 Plus is loud and clear, especially for its price. It is equipped with Dolby Atoms, which offers controls, too, in select apps.

With a 2,750-mAh battery on board, the Vibe K5 Plus managed to last me a day with average usage.

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Simply

Stylish he latest Pebble smartwatch is not a fancy piece of hardware. Time Round is simple, good-looking and functional. It is the company’s first watch with a circular dial. Sleek, at 7.5-mm thickness, weighing only 28 gms, it is lighter than any smartwatch, but lacks touch display. Instead, to register input, there are small easy-to-use side buttons – a back button on the left hand side of the watch and three navigation buttons on the right. It comes with an always-on e-paper display with an LED backlight which is, alas, nowhere close to the brightness you get on OLED display on the Apple Watch. While the non-touch display was a bother at first, with time I started liking it.

To start using Pebble Time Round, you need to pair it with the Pebble App available for both iOS and Android. It instantly syncs with the smartphone and fetches all the notifications including text, e-mails, events, WhatsApp, Facebook notifications and more.

The calling notification doesn’t work quite well. If the BAG IT OR JUNK IT:

Falls short when compared to the Apple Watch or Samsung Gear S2, but works as an extension of your smartphone

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caller’s name is saved in the phonebook, it displays the same; unknown numbers get split into two lines.

The watch vibrates for every incoming notification.

The Pebble app gives access to a wide range of watch faces and apps. Unlike Apple and Android – the big companies behind Apple Watch and Android Wear OS, respectively – Pebble started small with a KickStarter campaign, and despite that has managed to host a wide collection of apps. However, only select apps and watch faces work on Time Round.

Focused towards fitness, the Health app tracks your footstep count, and collects sleep data, which was pretty accurate. It also shows details including calories, distance and active time. But, unlike the Apple Watch or Samsung Gear S2, it does not have a built-in heart rate monitor or GPS. Time Round can be used to control music on the smartphone. The biggest plus point of a Pebble watch is its long battery life. However, in this one, the battery life has been compromised for a sleeker design; but is still superior to other smartwatches. The Time Round lasts close to two days on a single charge. The proprietary charger magnetically snaps to the watch and offers quick charging. A fifteen-minute charge tops it enough to last a day. The smartwatch is available in 14-mm and 20-mm bands, which are easily changeable.

GG PEBBLE TIME ROUND `13,599

Plus: Weight, battery Minus:Price, lacks touch display

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TEST BENCH

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BAG IT OR JUNK IT:

For Fitness

Only for those who like to keep a tab on their workout sessions

Freaks GG TOMTOM SPARK `17,999

Plus: Accurate in tracking data Minus:Design

earable devices are a rage these days. While most of them are getting smart and stylish, GPS manufacturer TomTom has launched a no-nonsense watch. The Spark fitness watch is focused towards tracking only fitness activities. But it isn’t the best looking watch available in the market today.

After getting used to the touch interface for close to a decade now, including on smartwatches for the last couple of years, going back to a non-touch watch was not pleasant. Spark has a big, backlit monochrome LCD screen. After all, it wasn’t just meant to display time but do a lot more. It is quite a tech-driven watch with inbuilt GPS tracker, a heart rate sensor and 3GB internal space for storing music. But for navigating through the options and the menu on the phone, there is a physical four-way button below the display. Hard to press at first, I got used to this UI within a couple of days.

While I wasn’t really convinced about this hardware button, the company believes it is easier to access data on the watch using the button, over touch display, during a workout.

Unlike many other fitness tracking bands and watches, TomTom is not just about

tracking footsteps and sleep. It does a lot more and is pretty accurate at doing these.

It can track almost any kind of workout including running, swimming, cycling, treadmill workout or indoor workout. The watch strapped on the wrist also records heart rate during workout sessions. All the different modes store data according to the nature of the activity and the information displayed is tailored based on the same.

For instance, for gym workout sessions, the watch displays heart rate over the duration of the session. In case of swimming, it displays the length. There is additional information that you can feed in – for instance, the length of the swimming pool. The watch allows you to set goals and targets. The additional feature of the Spark is the onboard music storage which, the company claims, can store up to 500 songs on the 3GB storage. While transferring the songs to the watch is a cumbersome process, including connecting the watch to the PC, the music can only be listened over a Bluetooth headphone. The MySports app is pretty neat and simple, displaying all the information for quick understanding. However, it is a sports watch and not a smartwatch that can fetch notifications from you smartphones for incoming calls and messages.

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