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Reviews & Comparisons

Apple iPhone 3G and its Rivals

Sep 17th, 2008 | By Premnath Sah | Category: Gadgets, Hot, Mobile, Reviews & Comparisons

image image image image

We are all mesmerised by the look’s and usability of iPhone. But, We thought lets see who else is in the game to compete with iPhone. You should always remember the disadvantages of owning a iPhone. Lets see who are all in the game.

One of the criteria we have for comparing with iPhone is sufficiently big display minimum of 2.8inch or Touch screen.

This is going to be Apple iPhone vs Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 vs HTC Touch Diamond vs Nokia N95 8GB vs Nokia N96 vs Nokia Tube 5800 vs Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 vs Samsung Instinct vs HTC Touch HD vs LG KC910 vs Motorola ZN4 vs HTC Dream

Read the rest of this entry »



Upcoming cars in India

Aug 31st, 2008 | By Rosh PR | Category: Cars & Bikes, Reviews & Comparisons

Nissan Micra

Nissan Motor Co. said it would begin manufacturing its popular compact car model Micra in Chennai, a step seen as challenging Maruti Suzuki’s dominance in the small car market. Nissan’s new five-door Micra is getting ready for an all-out battle in the light car segment. Powered by a tiny 1.4-litre engine (72kW at 5,600rpm and 137Nm of torque at 3200rpm)

Hyundai i20

Unlike the i10, the new i20 is designed specifically to meet the european consumers(not for indian). But since Hyundai is shifting its small car production to india from korea, Hyundai will offer the new i20 as a bonus to indian consumers. Hyundai’s new i20 hatchback is largely inspired by its premium hatchback i30 (already launched in europe and korea). i20 front is defined with a low slung grille, large headlamps and sporty round fog lamps. The steeply raked winds screen flows smoothly and merges with a novel tail section.

Maruti A-Star

Maruti Suzuki A Star is a A-Segment car as per the European car standards. It will have an all new Euro 5-compliant 1.0-litre aluminium petrol engine with CO2 emissions lower than those of European competitors. It has a bold design language with strong lines and large wheelarches. Clever packaging means a five-door model is on the cards, suggesting interior space will be good.

UPDATE: A Star Released 

Mahindra Ingenio

It’s tipped as the next big sting from M&M after the Scorpio. Code-named Ingenio. Currently its 150,000 units capacity in Nasik is slotted for the Scorpio, Bolero and the yet-to-be-launched Ingenio and Logan while its 70,000-80,000 unit Haridwar plant makes three-wheelers. The 50,000 unit Kandivli plant makes pick-ups and soft tops and the 50,000 unit Zaheerabad plant makes commercial vehicles.M&M is likely to offer the Ingenio as a hybrid option.

UPDATE: Ingenio is now called Xylo check here for more info

Skoda Roomster

Skoda’s first independent project since Volkswagen took over in 1991, the Roomster breaks new ground in several areas. Unlike MPVs or mono-volume cars that attempt maximising passenger space by using a cabin-foward nose section, the Roomster has a prominent bonnet. It doesn’t comply with the three row seating arrangement of this class of vehicle either. Seating is for four or five and flexible; Skoda calls it Vario-Flex, with the rear seats being movable by up to 750mm. Since the Roomster is built on a long, 2.7 metre wheelbase, space between the wheels is very generous despite the short overall 4.2 metre length. In fact, the Roomster almost qualifies for small car excise reduction in India as its overall length is just above the four metre mark.

Skoda Fabia Combi

The new Škoda Fabia Combi will catch your eye at first glance with its harmonious lines and with details that put the finishing touch to the timeless design of the new generation of the most popular Škoda models.
The new model now offers the passengers even better comfort and also more space for the luggage then its predecessor. The boot has grown by 54 litres and its volume is 480 litres now. With the rear seats folded flat, the total size of the luggage compartment is 1,460 litres

Skoda Yeti

Skoda’s junior 4×4, the Yeti, is going to make production, Autocar has learned. The Czech car-maker will develop the new small 4×4, due on sale in mid-2009, using a mix of VW group architecture and componentry, so that when it comes to market, like so many of Skoda’s models.

Toyota  Prius

Toyota has recently revealed its plans to launch the prius in india in CBU format in spite of the high import duty. The happens to be a full blown mass produced hybrid which is powered by a 1497cc petrol motor up front producing 76bhp coupled to a premanent magnet synchronous motor which sits in the rear.



Online Photo editors: Adobe Photoshop Express vs Picture2Life vs FlauntR vs Picnik vs Splashup

Aug 31st, 2008 | By Rosh PR | Category: Applications, Hot, Reviews & Comparisons, Software

Adobe Photoshop Express

Pros

Cons

  • Uploads limited by file size and dimensions

Express offers only a smattering of effects, compared with the dozens found in most of the services reviewed. You can’t even add text to an image, let alone frame your picture in a border. And you have no way to layer multiple photos. It feels as if Adobe has halfway completed a potentially top-notch photo editor (at this writing, Photoshop Express is still labeled as a beta). Read More

Picture 2 Life

Pros

Cons

  • Frustrating user interface
  • Sluggish

Picture2Life is full of stuff, including one of the longest special effects lists among the editors in our chart. A unique collage creator. Picture2Life’s Flickr-import interface is so confusing that I thought I’d failed to do the job when I’d actually succeeded. Picture2Life automatically downsamples your high-res photographs, a step that speeds up image processing; you can override it, but only up to 1600 by 1200 pixels. I wouldn’t bother, though, since other services match most of Picture2Life’s capabilities without the hassles. Read More

Pros

Cons

  • Byzantine interface
  • No undo for some features

FlauntR is a veritable eye-candy store crammed with effects, fonts, clip art, borders, and other tools. It can create slide shows and prep images to be social-network avatars or cell-phone wallpaper. You can apply color schemes from famous paintings to your images, create electronic greeting cards, or even slap your photo on a mock magazine cover. FlauntR works only on Windows PCs. FlauntR is nowhere near as frustrating as Picture2Life, but it lacks the elegance and efficiency of FotoFlexer, Photoshop Express, and Picnik. At least FlauntR doesn’t claim to be ready for prime time: Although it appeared in 2007, it’s still labeled an alpha release. Read More

Picnik

Pros

Cons

  • Color and exposure auto-fixes are conservative

Picnik certainly takes its name to heart: Its sleek tabbed interface has a blue-sky background and blades of grass, and it claims to be picking blackberries, buttering sandwiches, and cueing up birdsongs as it loads. But the service’s playful personality belies its serious capabilities. In fact, of the six online photo editors I reviewed for PC World, Picnik’s free version is my top pick–even without some features available only in the $25-a-year Premium edition. Read More

SplashUp

Pros

  • Photoshop-like layer and selection tools.

Cons

If an award existed for “Web Image Editor Most Likely to Be Mistaken for Photoshop,” Splashup (formerly known as Fauxto) would win in a cakewalk. Drop-down menus, floating tool palettes, and multiple features are located exactly as in Adobe’s flagship product. That’s not an inherent plus, though–after all, Photoshop is notorious for having a less-than-intuitive interface, and I found FotoFlexer and Picnik easier to navigate.

Splashup was less sprightly and more glitchy than some rivals. Images in a Flickr album appeared slowly, and sometimes didn’t open at all. Splashup’s creators say a new version is in the works. But for now, unless you’re a fanatical devotee of the Photoshop approach to things, FotoFlexer and Picnik have more to offer. Read More

Every other applications has itz on pros and cons, FotoFlexer and Picnik seam to be leading the race with some better known features. Let us all wait for there final release to decide on the best from the list.



Tata Indica Vista vs Maruti Swift vs Hyundai Getz Prime vs Skoda Fabia

Aug 30th, 2008 | By Premnath Sah | Category: Cars & Bikes, Reviews & Comparisons

Fightimage

After Tata unveiled Indica Vista, B Segment Diesel Hatchback group has got a very competitive entrant with lots of features to muscle with the international players. One of the main feature of the New Indica Vista is the new award winning lightweight Fiat diesel engine which is under the hood.

Indica Vista not only comes with new Fiat engine but also with Fiat’s gearbox making it a car which is delight to driver. New Indica also packs lots of luxury features which are going to be deal breaker and shall make some serious dent in Swift Diesel sales.

Lets look at the comparison of the New Tata Indica Vista (both variants) with the other players in the field namely Competent All Rounder Swift from Maruti, Very Powerful Getz Prime from Hyundai and Luxurious Fabia from Skoda.

First a look at Performance numbers

Specification Tata Indica Vista (TDi) Tata Indica Vista (Quadrajet) Maruti Swift (diesel) Hyundai Getz Prime (diesel) Skoda Fabia (diesel)
Engine TDI Quadrajet DDiS CRDi TDI PD
Displacement (cc) 1405 1248 1248 1493 1422
Cylinders 4 4 4 4 3
Max Power (PS @ rpm) 70.7 @ 4500 75.2 @ 4000 75 @ 4000 110 @ 4000 68 @ 4000
Max Torque (NM @ rpm) 135.4 @ 2500 190 @ 1750 190 @ 2000 235.2 @ 1900 - 2750 155 @ 1600-2800
Gears 5 5 5 5 5
Suspension (front) Independent, lower wishbone, McPherson Strut with coil spring Independent, lower wishbone, McPherson Strut with coil spring McPherson strut and coil spring Mc Pherson Strut with Torsion bar & coil spring McPherson suspension with lower triangular links and torsion stabiliser
Suspension (back) Semi-independent, Twist beam with coil spring and shock absorber Semi-independent, Twist beam with coil spring and shock absorber Torsion beam and coil spring Dependent Torsion beam axle & coil spring Compound link crank-axle
Brakes (front) Disc Disc Disc Disc Disc
Brake (back) Drum Drum Drum Drum Drum
Tyres Radial tubeless, 175/65 R14 Radial tubeless, 175/65 R14 - 175/65 R14 185/60 R14
Fuel Capacity (litres) 37 37 43 45 -
Length (mm) 3795 3795 3695 3825 3992
Width (mm) 1695 1695 1690 1665 1642
Height (mm) 1550 1550 1530 1515 1513
Wheelbase (mm) 2470 2470 2390 2455 2462
Ground Clearance (mm) 165 165 170 160 146
Kerb Weight (kg) 1265 1270 1,065 kgs (LDi), 1,075 kgs (VDi) 1137-1169 -

Here Performance wise Getz Prime is clear winner which shares the drive-train with its elder sibling Hyundai Verna. Maruti Swift and Indica Vista shares the second spot in performance as both these cars have similar/same engine. Fabia comes in last when it comes to performance inspite of its 1.4 lt displacement.

Features:

Lets look at the features provided by these players. Comparing only top end models so that we can know whether a feature is available or not.

Feature Tata Indica Vista (TDi) Tata Indica Vista (Quadrajet) Maruti Swift (diesel) Hyundai Getz (diesel) Skoda Fabia (diesel)
Front fog lamps Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Rear fog lamps No Yes Yes No Yes
Body color bumper Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Door handles Black Body color Body Color Black body Color
Outside Rear View Mirrors (ORVM) Body color Body color Body Color Black Yes
Rub rails Black Body color - - Yes
Seats Full fabric Full Fabric Full Fabric Semi Fabric Full Fabric
Dashboard Dual tone (grey) Dual tone (beige) Single tone (grey) Dual tone (beige) Dual tone (beige)
Central instument control Yes Yes No No No
Tachometer (rpm meter) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Power Window Front doors All Doors All Doors All Doors All Doors
Rear Window Demister Yes Yes No No Yes
HVAC (heating, ventilating, air conditioning) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Steering Wheel 3 Spoke 3 Spoke 3 Spoke 3 Spoke 4 Spoke
Alloy Wheels No No No No Yes
Parking Sensor (rear) No No No No Yes
Electrically adjustable ORVM No No No No Yes
Heated Mirrors No No No No Yes
Automatic Climate Control No No No No Semi Auto (climatic)
Parktronic Display No No No No Yes
Single CD/MP3 player Yes Yes No No Yes
Auxillary Audio Input No No No No Yes
Electric Sunroof No No Opt No Yes
Front cup holder Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Height Adjustable front passenger seat No No No No Yes
Boot Lamp No No No No Yes
Immobiliser No No No No Yes
Remote keyless entry No No No No Yes
ABS Soon Soon Yes No Yes
MSR (engine drag torque control) No No No No Yes
Dual rate brake assist No No No No Yes
Dual Air bags Soon Soon No No Yes
Tilt Adjustable steering Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Hydraulic Power Steering Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Height Adjustable Driver seat No Yes No No Yes
60:40 flip & fold rear seat No Yes No Yes Yes
Light intensity control for instrument cluster Yes Yes No No No
Central Lock Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
3 Point ELR Seat belt Yes Yes No no Yes
Warning Buzzer No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Child safety rear doors Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Skoda’s featurelist is huge and it is clear winner when it comes to luxury features and build quality. Tata Indica Vista comes in second with lot more feature than the other two. Few deal breaking features like inbuilt car stereo, airbag (coming soon) are present in Indica Vista but not in Swift VDi or Getz prime.



Google Picasa vs Microsoft Live Photo Gallery vs Adobe Photoshop album starter edition

Aug 20th, 2008 | By Premnath Sah | Category: Reviews & Comparisons, Software

picasa.jpg VS image VS photoshop.jpg

Google released Picasa for free after acquiring a startup which built this software, It becamse instantly popular for its ease of use and feature set. Now the other biggies Microsoft and Adobe have unveiled their answer to immensely popular Google Picasa.

Microsoft has released Microsoft Windows Live Photo Gallery. Adobe’s has naturally released a software since Google is trying to enter its forte of image manipulation domain. Lets see how the three stack-up with each other.

Download Size:

Picasa Live Gallery Photoshop Album SE
5.8 MB 15.3 MBm 7.8 MB

In download size Google Picasa is the smallest. Let’s find out whether the competition packs extra features for the extra space they need.

Live Gallery Download is not direct download. We need to download a 2.3 MB Windows Live installer and followed by downloading Live Gallery using the Installer just downloaded. Windows Live Installer is a application which can be used to install any application which is part of Windows Live Suite. Interestingly when we download using Live installer the progress bar moves very fast at start and waits at 99% for very long time, This means the progress bar actually does not check how have been really downloaded.

Feature Set:

Feature Picasa Live Gallery Photoshop Album SE
Organizing Features
Image Tagging No Yes Yes
Image Collection/Album Yes No Yes
Datewise Sorting Yes Yes Yes
Image Editing Features
Auto Fix Yes (I’m feeling lucky) Yes Yes
Auto Color Yes No Yes
Auto Levels No No Yes
Auto Contrast Yes No Yes
Auto Sharpen No No Yes
Red Eye Correction Yes Yes Yes
Manual Color Adjustments Yes Yes No
Manual Sharpness No Yes No
Cropping Photo Yes Yes Yes
Manual Brightness/contrast etc Yes Yes No
Image Viewing
Zooming Yes (good) Yes (good) Yes (limits max zoom size)
Slideshow Yes Yes Yes
Image Acquiring
Camera / Memory Card Yes Yes Yes
Scanner No Yes Yes
Storing / Sharing
Burn to CD Yes Yes Yes
Upload to web to PicasaWeb to Live Spaces / Flickr to Kodak easy share / Flickr
Extra Features
Collage Yes No No
Creating Video from photos Yes Yes (uses Windows Movie Maker) No
Calendar No No Yes (Third party service)

Lets look at our experience using these softwares for organizing our images.

Lets start with Google Picasa, we can say that Picasa has lots of features, looks good and is very easy to use.

Picasa:

Where Picasa Rocks?

  • Ease of Use
  • Search Feature
  • Supports jpg, gif, tif, bmp, psd, png, raw, avi, mpg, asf, wmv, mov file formats
  • Good UI
  • Versatility

Where Picasa sucks?

  • Load time
  • Cant upload to flickr

Windows Live Gallery:

Where Windows Live Gallery Rocks?

  • Speed
  • Complete manual image editing features

Where Windows Live Gallery Sucks?

  • Needs more features in editing section

Photoshop Album Starter Edition:

Where Photoshop Album SE Rocks?

  • Provides Tagging and Album feature
  • Complete Automatic image correction

Where Photoshop Album SE Sucks?

  • No manual image correction
  • Image manipulation features is slow
  • Image size in the window is smaller than other apps.
  • Adobe Photoshop Album SE (starter edition) annoys you by asking to register repeatedly.

What do you think of these apps? which is your favourite app? let us know by commenting below.



Nissan 350Z 2008 reviewed

Aug 12th, 2008 | By Premnath Sah | Category: Cars & Bikes, Reviews & Comparisons

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Nissan 350Z is a cool looking 300 plus horse sport’s car. 2008 Model of this beast has been reviewed here. take a look.

Specification & Features:

  • Available in Coupe & Roadster trims
  • Engine: VQ35HR 3.5 L (210 cu in) V6
  • Power: 306 bhp (228 kW) at 6,800 rpm
  • Torque 268 ft·lbf (363 N·m) at 4,800 rpm

image image

more here