Review: Asus Transformer Prime [year]

Review: Asus Transformer Prime 2025

July 5, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

When the Asus Transformer Prime hit our desk, it was like Christmas, Diwali, New Years and all our respective birthdays had arrived at the same time. If that doesn't tell you how eager we were to get our grubby mits on this tablet, we don't know what will. The Transformer Prime was launched earlier on in parts of the world, but India is finally catching up with the tablet. We got one in our hands and we put it through its paces and here are our observations.
Hardware
The Transformer Prime created waves across the 'tabletverse' when it was announced. Powered by the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core chip, the device is the only quad core tablet in the market. Another noteworthy addition to the hardware list is the new Super IPS display under a Gorilla Glass panel. The screen acts not only as a major fingerprint magnet, but is also highly reflective, meaning it has a major glare problem. This is where the Super IPS display comes in. Once enabled, the screen's brightness ch..

Xiaomi Mi Pad [year] Review

Xiaomi Mi Pad 2025 Review

April 9, 2019 Richard Gomez 0

After taking the smartphone world by storm, Xiaomi is trying to repeat its success where tablets are concerned. We've been almost universally impressed by what the Chinese company has managed to produce given the prices it charges, and the rest of the industry has had to scramble to match this new competitive force. As customers and compulsive bargain hunters ourselves, Xiaomi has brought nothing but good news this past year.
Recent launches haven't had as much of an impact as the first few did, but that's set to change again with the new Xiaomi Mi Pad. While there are plenty of Android tablets in this price range already, the company is promising high-end features and the kind of quality that competitors do not deliver. Apple, in particular, stands out as the prime target – not the horde Android manufacturers offering oversized phones.
Xiaomi's biggest constraint has been its strategy of hosting weekly online flash sales, which might be great for generating some in..

Review: Sony Tablet P [year]

Review: Sony Tablet P 2025

June 21, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

In recent times, we've seen the tablet market overflow with devices claiming to be 'iPad killers'. Every other tablet just wanted to prove itself to be better than the iPad but while none have been better, only few such as Motorola (Xoom) and Samsung (Galaxy Tab 10.1) can claim to have come anywhere close.
And then there was Sony. It did not claim to be the next iPad killer, rather tried to innovate and come up with something new that would grab the attention of the tablet market. Sony finally launched the Tablet S, with a foldable magazine-like design and the Tablet P, which folds in the centre like Nintendo's 3DS console. Today we review the PlayStation certified Tablet P and find out if it is worth your time.
Design & Build
On first impressions, the device looked like the Nokia communicator on steroids which isn't a good thing. The unique clamshell design is what caught our interest. The tablet folds right in the middle supported by two hinges on either side..

iPad Air 2 [year] Review

iPad Air 2 2025 Review

January 2, 2019 Richard Gomez 0

This year, unlike the iPhones that went through a plethora of changes in design, the world's most popular line of tablet computers – iPad Air – only received an incremental facelift. The latest iPad now features Apple's proprietary Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the home button which was introduced with the iPhone 5s. Otherwise, the design language remains almost untouched save for a few changes.
While not much has changed in the overall appearance of the iPad Air 2, it is now just 6.1mm thin; this actually makes it 1.4mm slimmer than its predecessor, and more importantly it also undercuts the thickness of both the iPhone 6 (Review | Pictures) and the iPhone 6 Plus (Review | Pictures). We'll let you take a moment for that to sink in. One of the reasons this is possible is that Apple's engineers have managed to reduce the gap between the protective glass, touch sensor and the actual LCD. This 'no-gap display' has been carried over from the iPhones.
The int..

Review: Beetel Magiq [year]

Review: Beetel Magiq 2025

June 21, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

With the pricey iPad still at top spot, tablets have yet to acquire the kind of mass market appeal that the mobile phone does in India. This seems to be possible only if companies manage to break the Rs. 10000 price barrier. After Reliance broke ground with a Rs 13,000 tablet, Beetel has boldly gone where no tablet-maker has been before with a tablet that costs Rs. 9999. But is it worth buying or are you better off saving up for the iPad?
Packaging and content:
The packaging of the device reminded us of our first Beetel landline phone – a slightly jazzed up yet simple box. The box houses the tablet along with the battery, one USB data cable, charger and user manual.
Hardware and styling:
For a 7-inch tablet that costs Rs. 9999, expectations aren't very high. At the very least, we'd like a responsive, averagely built but well performing Android device, like the Reliance tab.
The device is really heavy and the build quality feels good. The trade-off is its weight and the width..

iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3 [year]

iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3 2025

November 18, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

If I've seen you taking photos with a tablet computer, I've probably made fun of you (though maybe not to your face, depending on how big you are). I'm old school: I much prefer looking through the viewfinder of my full-bodied, single-lens reflex camera, even though it has a large LCD screen.
But as I tested out Apple's new iPad Air 2, I see why people like to shoot pictures with a tablet. Images look great on the large screen, and there's less guesswork about whether or not small details, such as lettering on a sign, will be in focus.
And what you see – and get – with the iPad Air 2 is a better camera. The rear one now matches the iPhone's 8 megapixels, up from 5 megapixels, and incorporates features such as slow-motion video. Packed with a faster processor, the 9.7-inch tablet is also 18 percent thinner and 7 percent lighter than the previous model, at about a quarter of an inch and just under a pound.
Apple is also updating its 7.9-inch iPad mini, thoug..

Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 [year]

Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 2025

May 27, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

On January 27, 2010 Apple boss Steve Jobs introduced the world to a little something called the iPad, and suddenly tablet became something other than what you take when ill. A flotilla of other tablets, mostly Android, followed but failed to crash Apple's party. Samsung, with its original Galaxy Tab starring a 7- inch display and Android Froyo, led the charge but to no avail. A year later, here are the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9, both are running Google's tablet OS, Honeycomb. But are they any different from the slew of Honeycomb tablets already flooding the market?
Packaging and Content
Our jaws dropped when we first saw the packaging – a humongous cube like box. Clearly, size does matter to Samsung. The box could probably fit two full frame DSLR cameras. But we are not complaining! The outsized packaging makes the device supremely secure – so secure, it would probably survive even if thrown out of a moving vehicle. Overall, the packaging was very similar to that of the Galaxy ..

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 - [year] review

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 – 2025 review

August 18, 2017 Richard Gomez 0

On the heels of Apple's new, lighter iPad, Amazon has come out with a full-size tablet that weighs even less yet sports a sharper display and a lower price tag. Although Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 hasn't received as much attention as the iPad Air, it is emerging as the strongest challenger yet to Apple's device.
The new Kindle shares many of the features found in a smaller version that came out Oct. 18.
A row of tabs at the top of the screen gives you quick access to Amazon services such as e-books, music, video and shopping. Recently used apps and content appear in the middle so you can return to them quickly. The bottom row has icons for frequently used apps such as email and the camera.
Need help? Just hit the “Mayday” button. You'll be connected within seconds to a live customer-service representative, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You see the representatives in a video box, but they can only hear you and see what's on your screen. They can also..

HTC Flyer [year] Review

HTC Flyer 2025 Review

March 16, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Introduction
Introduced at the Mobile World Congress in February HTC took a different approach towards tablet design. The Flyer was unique amongst its Android brethren from the moment of inception, featuring a 7-Inch display, Android Gingerbread instead of Honeycomb, and a stylus.
The question is, do these make the Flyer a better tablet device in comparison to the competition?
Packaging and Content
Device presentation has always been HTC's forte and with their flagship tablet HTC pulls all stops. Normally, tablets are pricey and don't come with a decent amount of usable accessories. But HTC provides a suave leather case for the device, lined with felt-like micro-fibers, headphones, the HTC Magic Pen, the USB cable, the charger and the Flyer itself.
Hardware and Styling
The Flyer features a uni-body design,which is immensely classy. If you happen to miss the large HTC logo on the rear, you could easily mistake it for an Apple product. The back is covered by a layer of aluminum..

Zync Quad 9.7 [year]

Zync Quad 9.7 2025

July 10, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

While the market is flooded with 7-inch tablets, there's still some space for good quality 10-inchers. The Zync Quad 9.7 tablet promises to bring a high resolution 'Retina' display to the Android world at an unbelievable price. But does it deliver on performance and usability? We try to find out.
Design/ Build
From the front, the Zync Quad 9.7 looks roughly similar to the Apple iPad except that there's no hardware button. The front features a 9.7-inch screen surrounded by a black bezel. Interestingly, the iPad also features a 9.7-inch screen. The placement of the front facing camera is a little unconventional – it's located at the top right corner (looking at the tablet in landscape mode).
The tablet has rounded corners and there's a white plastic frame between the front and the back of the tablet. The back of the tablet has a brushed aluminium finish and while we're not sure of the material that it's made of, it does exude a feeling of durabilit..

Review: HP TouchPad makes a mediocre tablet

Review: HP TouchPad makes a mediocre tablet

March 9, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

A year after Hewlett-Packard Co. purchased flailing Palm, the technology behemoth is rolling out the first tablet that uses Palm's webOS operating system.
The July 1 release should be a triumph for HP, showcasing its ability to compete in the increasingly crowded tablet market. Yet while the TouchPad's software is beautiful and intuitive, overall the tablet is more of a “meh-sterpiece” than a masterpiece.
The TouchPad looks a lot like its peers: It's black and shiny with just a few buttons dotting its frame. The screen, 9.7 inches at the diagonal, is the same size and resolution as Apple's iPad.
At $500 for a model with 16 gigabytes of storage or $600 for one with 32 GB, the price is essentially the same, too. The device I tested used Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet; HP says a version will work on AT&T Inc.'s wireless network later this summer.
At 0.54 inches thick, the TouchPad is fatter than the iPad. It's heavier, too, at 1.6 pounds. With its rounded ..

Google Nexus 10 review [year]

Google Nexus 10 review 2025

February 22, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

When I first turned on Google's new tablet computer, I immediately thought of it as a mere conduit to Google services.
Besides giving you quick access to Gmail and YouTube, the Nexus 10 steers you to digital movies, books and other content available for sale through Google's online Play store.
Because of that, I wasn't thinking of the Nexus 10 as an alternative to Apple's general-purpose iPad – even with a price tag that's $100 cheaper, starting at $399. It took more thought and time with the Nexus to change that perception. After all, apps available for Android smartphones work on the tablet as well.
Still, the Nexus really shines when it comes to media – especially content bought through Google.
For the past year, Google has been trying to challenge Apple and Amazon by selling digital content.
The Play store is Google's version of iTunes for Apple devices. There, you can get a variety of apps, some free and some for a small fee. You can buy or rent movie..