Nokia Lumia 800 Review

Features and Performance

Interface

Powered by a 1.4GHz Scorpion processor and running the Windows Phone Mango (7.5) OS, the Lumia 800 is a seriously speedy handset. When it comes to functionality, as limited as the OS itself may be, the Lumia 800 manages to do everything it’s capable of extremely well. WP7’s stripped down; visually simplistic user interface is what keeps most of their handsets, irrespective of processing power, running quite smoothly. The Tile and Hub set up is really what makes WP7 so attractive. Unfortunately for Nokia though, this fantastic piece of hardware can’t live up to its true potential that’s curtailed by the OS. The Linpak Benchmark test we subjected it to gave us a score of 49.3 Mflops, which is impressive as far as mobile handsets go. Multi-tasking was, of course, a non-issue.

Simple and easy to mange UI

Although WP7 is a user-friendly system, like we’ve said many times before, it’s still in its nascent stage and will require a considerable amount of tweaking before it can really give Android or iOS a run for their money. The few things about the Lumia 800 we took issue with, included the fact that Nokia has decided to go Micro SIM on us and also leave out the external memory support. Like the N8, the uni-body design translates to; should your phone hang, restarting it will not be as easy as it used to be. Thankfully, the Lumia 800 functioned without any “hang-ups”. But it seems like a - if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em - type of sentiment is at play here.

What we also noticed with the otherwise crystal clear display was that whites usually took on a slightly yellowish tone. This was especially noticeable on websites with white backgrounds. Other than that, visibility in broad daylight from any angle was top-notch.

Media

It was quite surprising to see that Nokia missed on including any audio enhancements for the 800 and that is a major downer. Audio quality was consistent with any other high-end smartphone, but it could have surely been better with a few options to personalize the output. We did find the decibel level a tad low, especially in crowded areas. The speaker phone was also a little too low for our comfort level. The built-in FM radio was just fine and even managed to pick up signals quite well on a daily commute through the city. Nokia has pre-installed TuneIn for Internet radio options as well.

The audio quality would have been so much better with some enhancement options

Once again, we were plagued with the Zune menace, meaning we had to make sure that our videos were first compatible with the software, before it could take its own sweet time transferring to the handset. Once on the handset, the picture quality, Nokia’s Clear Black Display enriched the colors. 16Gigs of internal storage space is also quite a bit to keep media lovers fairly satisfied, even if they can’t extend it any further.

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Microsoft Explorer Touch Mouse launched in India

The Blue Track Technology claims to distinguish it from the ordinary optical and laser-based mice. This technology enables one to use the mouse on just about any surface - wood, marble, granite, or even on a carpet. The Explorer Touch Mouse comes with five customizable buttons for everyday tasks like cut, copy, paste and open new window. It also comes with scroll speeds, which use haptic feedback (light vibration that signals scrolling speed). The ambidextrous design allows using it with both hands. The battery life stretches up to 18 months, while the two- coloured battery indicator will alert you when the batteries need to be replaced. It has a snap-in nano transceiver, so you can either leave the transceiver plugged-in to the computer or conveniently store it in the bottom of the mouse.

Announcing the launch, Satish Parreddi, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Retail Sales & Marketing, Microsoft India said, “With the launch of the Explorer Touch Mouse, Microsoft has now brought into India its complete family of touch mice including the previously launched Touch Mouse and the Arc Touch Mouse. The Explorer Touch Mouse responds to the lightest swipe, flick or touch of a single finger paving the way for effortless navigation. Not only is it stunning to look at, but is also specially designed keeping in mind today’s aware PC user who wants a fun, easy and convenient way of interacting with a mouse.”

The Explorer Touch Mouse is priced at Rs. 2,399.

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Samsung ML-2951ND Printer

Design and Build Quality

Grey and uninspiring are two words that might describe this printer. It looks like one of those devices that might be catching dust at the back of your office. But guess what, at least it’s not yellow or purple! To us at least, it looked dapper in that grey outfit, with the grills on the side and the flaps only adding to the look. This one is professional, conservative and classy. It’s got a boxy design, but a pretty tiny footprint, so you’ll have plenty of space to clutter your workspace with other stuff.

Here's a quick tour of the printer. The top consists of power ON button, the Cancel button, the demo page button, an Eco mode button and two LEDs – the first one shows the status of the machine and the second shows the status of the toner. The back consists of the LAN port, the USB connector and the power cord.

A complete grey outfit

The output tray is located at the top, alongside the control panel buttons. The front consists of the cover, to input the cartridge and there’s a paper level indicator located at the bottom, next to the first tray. There’s a manual feeder above it as well. The back consists of the last flap that is a paper width guide on a manual feeder.

At 7.2 kg, it’s definitely lighter than the Epson photo printer, which we reviewed recently. This monochrome printer has a quite a bit of plastic in its build, and it may come off as little flimsy, but considering it’s going to just sit out there minding it’s own business, we don’t see too much of an issue.

A manual feeder and a feeder tray

Features

The printer is powered by a 533 MHz processor with 64 MB of storage, which is pretty much adequate for your network printing needs. The printer is capable of printing at a resolution of 1200 x 1200 dpi and has PCL6 / 5e and SPL emulation. It supports a wide variety of media formats, including A4, A5, A6, Letter, Legal, Executive, ISO B5, JIS B5, Envelope and Postcard. A good variety of media types are supported as well, which include Cotton, Recycled, Bond, Thick, Envelopes, Cardstock and Transparent.

A small footprint

According to Samsung, the printer can print up to 28 papers per minute in A4 and 29 letter papers per minute. It’s got a first print out time of less than 8.5 seconds from ready mode. We’ve put that to test in our performance section. Installation of the single cartridge is easy. Flap out, cartridge out. Paper placement is pretty easy as well and the printer has been designed keeping speed and efficiency in mind.

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Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 features

Features

In terms of system configuration, the 15.6-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 isn’t too impressive. It only runs an Intel Core i3 2310M processor that operates at an average 2.1 GHz. It’s based on the new Sandy Bridge architecture, so clearly laptops using the new platform have started returning to the market. There’s 3 GB of DDR3 memory and Lenovo has bundled the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Basic on the laptop. There is no discrete graphics solution provided, though. This makes it clear the Z570 is no way prepared for any serious gaming. But, it does have many other nifty features. There is a large 640 GB hard drive in it, which means space for a ton of media. There is 802.11n WiFi supported through the Atheros AR9285 adapter. HDMI connectivity is also present. Suddenly, the IdeaPad Z570 comes alive with all sorts of features you don't expect in a laptop this cheap.

Design and Build Quality

The IdeaPad Z570 although in the lower end bracket of laptops, is an attractive thing to look at. The colour on the model we received isn’t too great but the finish on the lid and the Lenovo badge does makes it stand out. It’s not the slimmest of laptops and it’s by no means light-weight. The weight is probably has to do with its build quality, which is pretty good for a laptop that costs less than Rs. 35,000. The top for example, is made of metal and has a very sturdy feel to it.

Chiclet-style keyboard on the IdeaPad

Finer aspects of the design and build quality can be seen when you open the lid. The line of touch-sensitive buttons give it a very elegant look. The buttons are meant for controlling the volume of the speakers, setting screen profiles and cooling modes. The software works well with the touchscreen buttons. Operation is extremely simple. The power button too looks great and looks like it came out from a really high-end laptop. We really like the look and feel of those buttons. The tiny, but bright, backlight used for these touch sensitive buttons and also the activity indicators looks very nice indeed. Another set of indicators are positioned next to the large trackpad. These are primarily to display the power on status, charging status, wireless connectivity and trackpad status.

Speakers and the well designed power button

The keys are scalloped and have a depression in them. At first, using it feels a little awkward but the keys do have a nice feel to them. There is a little bit of feedback and the keys wobble a little bit if you press them on one corner. The speakers are positioned on the same panel as the touch-sensitive buttons.

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