Amkette Air wireless mouse – Stylish little mouse [Review]

For a price of Rs 949, the Amkette Air wireless mouse makes for a good deal. It isn’t very expensive, is solidly built, extremely comfortable to use and looks good- it seems as if this mouse has everything going for it. Check it out, if you need a wireless mouse for your PC or laptop.

Pros

• Solid build quality
• Extremely light
• Fits well in the hand
• Not very expensive

Cons

• Not very expensive

 

 

 

For most laptop users, a touchpad is not the most comfortable or convenient thing to use, and prefer using a full-fledged mouse as and when possible. The desktop users, on the other hand, seem irritated with a wired mouse. The wire snaking from behind the PC cabinet is just becoming annoying, mostly due to the limited range (dependent on the length of the cord).
A wireless mouse is the way to go, particularly because they are not as expensive as they used to be. And the convenience offered by them is immense. Amkette’s new Air mouse is from the wireless category, and attempts to offer the solution at a not-so-expensive price. Let us find out if it delivers on the performance front as well.



First Impression: Sleek and slim!
When you look at the Amkette Air wireless mouse, still packed in the original packing, you can be forgiven for assuming that it is just another run of the mill wireless mouse. However, what you still haven’t noticed, probably, is that the shape of this one is a lot different from a lot of the other ones out there. Take the Air out of the packaging, and this is when you realize that this one has a shape that is essentially flatter on the top surface, more than any other wireless mouse we have seen.
The finish of the mouse is largely matte black, with a strip of colour on the front panel and the front side of the two sides. Multiple colour options available for this one, so you can select one that suits your laptop’s colour, room décor or even the nail polish colour (ladies only, I assume; at the time of purchasing this!). While the mouse is completely made of plastic, the build feels solid and no rough edges can be found. Except probably that the on/off button could have been a bit more in line with the overall surface of the lower panel, making it easier to reach without the need to deploy the nails!
On the lower panel are the battery bay, the on/off button and a tiny place where you can fit the nano receiver, when needed.

Features: Simple, and then some
The Air mouse is extremely simple to use. Slot in the battery, plug in the receiver into a USB port on the PC or laptop, slide the power button to the “on” position and let the mouse do its own thing. The Air will install he drivers itself, with absolutely no user interference needed at all. We managed to get this one to work, with equal ease, on both a Windows based laptop as well as a Macbook Pro.



Performance: No airs about the package!

The Amkette Air mouse, once installed, is ready for use. This one is very much at ease with or without a mousepad, with the precision not getting impacted. Despite the flat top surface, the mouse fits well in the palms, and the size is big enough for the fingers to reach the two buttons with a lot of ease. Some people may not be very comfortable with the lack of elevation, but we believe that this one is more comfortable for the hand, after use for a long duration. The palm and the fingers stay straight-ish, which reduces the stress on the hands in general.
The pointer precision is accurate and the mouse behaved well throughout the tests, scrolling was smooth and the buttons gave a good feedback with a reassuring “click”. However, this isn’t a gaming mouse by any stretch of the imagination, since the default setting of 800dpi is largely meant for non-gaming purposes.
The best part is the dedicated on/off button, which allows you to turn off the mouse when not in use, thus saving battery power. While the single AA battery keeps the mouse weight down, it would have been ideal to have a single AAA battery powering the Air, reducing the weight, just a bit, even more.

Our Take: Inexpensive brilliance
The Amkette Air is a ood performer. Straight out of the box, the uncomplicated performance, sleek looks and the price make this a good deal. If you are comfortable with the flat top design, then this one is worth checking out. Also, the Air comes with a small carry case, as a part of the package, to enable safe transport of your mouse, whenever you take it with you. For this price, you can also get the wireless mouse from iBall, with similar features. However, that one looks bulky when compared to this.


Specifications:
Wireless mouse, USB 2.0 based, Nano-sized receiver, 2.4GHz frequency, 800dpi, 4 buttons including 1 scroll wheel, powered by 1 AA battery, works with Windows and Mac

Ratings:
Features: 7
Performance: 8
Build: 7.5
Value: 8
Overall: 7.5

Contact: Amkette India
Phone: 1800119090
Email: techsupport@amkette.com

Price: Rs 949

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Philips showcases a new HD Media player and other products while launching its “Obsessed With Sound” campaign

Philips has traditionally always been associated with Audio (right from the invention of the erstwhile audio cassette), and in continuation with this legacy, it has aggressive plans to consolidate its position by introducing newer innovations. Philips is currently the leader in the entry level home theater segment in India and with its newer range of products, wants to look at managing content better.

“Philips has played a significant role in the entertainment segment for many decades, and throughout has used its competence and capabilities to bring content to life,” said Weibo Vaartjes, Senior Vice President, Philips Consumer Lifestyle. “There’s a lot of content available now-a-days; its in your phone, in your portable media players, on the cloud. It’s everywhere. But once you get your content, consumers want to experience it as the artist intended. Especially when it comes to audio,” he added.

We saw a lot of products on display at the press conference in Mumbai. Some of them such as the Go Gear PMPs, Home Theater Systems and Blu-ray players are already in the market, whereas newer ones such as a range of Fidelio iPod docks, a new DVD player-cum-gaming console among others are slated for launch in the coming months. One of the most interesting products (and a new product category for the Dutch giant), was an HD Media Player dubbed HMP 3000. Details about products are given below. Be sure to watch the video hands-on with the HMP 3000 player.

Philips HD Media Players
For us the most interesting device showcased at the event was the HMP 3000. A nice looking device, hopefully it will be as impressive a performer as it seems on paper. You can connect a flash drive via USB or read data off an SD card slot. The device is capable of full HD 1080p (with upscaling). Apart from strong file format support, the most unique feature was the ability to load ISO image files. Some of the files formats supported include DivX HD, MKV, RMVB, MP4, etc.

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Cooler Master launches entry-level cabinet in India - CMP-350

Cooler Master has introduced a new mid-tower chassis, the CMP-350, a low-end cabinet that is targeted at the first-time PC buyer. Aiming to offer a quality product at a low price, the Cooler Master CMP-350 cabinet costs Rs. 2,950, including a Cooler Master PSU.
The CMP-350 has been designed with cooling efficiency in mind, and has excellent airflow with active front, side and rear ventilation systems. The rear vent comes with a 120mm fan attached, and a similar unit can also be attached at the front vent. Cooler Master is also detailing a stamped back plate for improved structural rigidity and optimum motherboard support. The front also has a blue LED light for design purposes.

A mid-tower chassis, the CMP-350 large enough to accept most ATX motherboards, and its front-side panel as slots for two USB 2.0 jacks, apart from microphone and headphone jacks. The CMP-350 chassis can accommodate up to six hard drives and four optical drives. The power supply it ships with has a lifetime of 100,000 hours or a 2 year warranty, with circuits for Over Voltage, Over Power and Short Circuit protection -  a first for the price. Note: The chassis carries a one year warranty. Two years warranty on PSU equals first year unit replacement and second year repair warranty.

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Jabra Wave - The new communication wave! [Review]

 

At Rs. 3,899, there's very little to complain about with the Jabra Wave, other than the fact that the secureness of the fit needs to be reworked every hour or so. It performs well, is reasonably sleek and will pair with 2 devices simultaneously. A good buy if you're in a market for a wireless headset, but do remember this one in mono only.

Pros

• Attractive looking
• Reasonably sleek
• Priced well

Cons

• Fit could have been more secure and marginally more comfortable
• The device could have been a little smaller
• A little more range would be useful

 

 

 

Jabra has been churning out Bluetooth headsets for quite a while now, and we've reviewed our share of them, some good, some not so good. Bluetooth headsets aren't as popular in India and most people simply prefer to use their bundled headsets for music and such making products such as the Wave a niche.

Look and feel

The Wave is neatly packaged and comes with its charger, a couple of soft eartips, and a small foam cover for the mouthpiece since this tends to collect dust when travelling. The Wave is stylish looking and reasonably sleek, but we find the body a bit thick and feel this part could be slightly slimmer, especially looking at the Plantronics Discovery 975. Although the Wave could have been a bit smaller, it doesn't weigh much at 13 grams. The earpiece consists of soft transparent silicone eartips and you get two types - one with longer protrusion that intrudes just inside you ear canal while just rests on your ear. Wearing the Wave isn't easy until you figure out that the soft armature that goes behind your ear, needs to be bent inwards towards your ear. Once you figure this out, it's easy to get the Wave working, and it must be said that while the thought of bending something sounds uncomfortable, we got used to the Wave sitting on our ear pretty quickly. The armature can bend either side, so the Wave will work with both left and right ears, and the fit is pretty firm, without being uncomfortable in the least. However, gradually, the Wave seems to loosen in its position, a function of the bent armature straightening a bit, therefore every hour or so, you will need to re-seat it properly, and we wouldn't want to travel on a bike with the Wave for fear of it falling off.

The surface of the Wave is completely black except for some grey lettering and a grey-silver trim that runs around the body. The power button and volume rocker button are located on the top just before the curving portion that goes around your ear. The call cancel button is located on the tip, where the mouthpiece is, and is very easy to use courtesy a nice positive feel. Only the power button is difficult to locate with the device plugged into your ear; the volume rocker on the other hand is quite intuitive and has good feedback.

Features

The Wave supports pairing with two Bluetooth devices simultaneously. For those who carry two cellphones this is a blessing since the Wave will pair with both of them at the same time. Up to eight devices in total can be paired. Power it on for the first time and the Wave automatically enters pairing mode with the Bluetooth symbol on the body flashing. The indications on the body show battery status as well as connection status, and these indicators are nothing but translucent sections in the body with tiny LEDs embedded underneath, but they're very legible. The Wave boasts of noise reduction as a feature, something that most such headsets feature these days. This is useful if you are on the move in the open, where wind can obscure what you are trying to say.

Performance

Voice quality is pretty good for a fair distance of up to around 6 feet. At 10 feet or greater a bit of distortion creeps in. Mind you, these figures are only valid if the Wave has a clear line of sight to your phone, with even a wooden partition in between, the distance falls to around 4-5 feet. The Wave seems to boost the vocal range of the spectrum a bit, and therefore voices tend to sound a little more husky, or bass heavy, but not unpleasantly so, and the difference is subtle. This is better than some headsets that sound tinny. Volume level is good, and unless you are in a really noisy place, you will not miss what is being said, and neither will you need to use the earpiece at its maximum volume.

We tested the wind noise reduction feature, and this works pretty well, unless you plan on chatting while doing 60 kmph on a motorbike, in which case you'll keep needing to reseat the Wave in your ear as well. For the most, the person on the other side could pick up what we were saying, with only a bit of sporadic wind noise being picked up. Standby time was good, and the Wave will easily last up to 2 days with a fair bit of calling, approximately 2 hours or so per day.

Our take

The Wave is priced at Rs. 3,899 (MRP), which was cheaper than we expected it to be. Bluetooth headsets have become cheaper, and the Wave looks and feels a costlier device, which is always a good thing. Performance is good, but the fit of the device in ones ear does have one niggle of it periodically getting loose, even though it is comfortable. If you're looking for a Bluetooth headset capable of pairing with two phones, the Jabra Wave is a reasonably priced, reasonably stylish and comfortable device that does all it's advertised to do.
Specifications: Bluetooth version: 2.1 +EDR; weight: 13 grams; talktime: 6 hrs; standby time: 8 hrs
Rating:
Features: 7
Performance: 7.5
Build: 7.5
Value: 7
Overall: 7.5

Contact: Jabra
Website: www.jabra.com
Email: echou@gn.com
Phone: NA
Price: Rs. 3,899 (MRP)

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Intel Insider to launch soon, brings exclusive digital content to Sandy Bridge owners

Intel has launched Intel Insider, a hardware-tied digital content platform that is available only to those users with a second-generation Intel Core or Sandy Bridge processor in their machines. Built-in to the chipset, the Intel Insider hardware will give you access to view, purchase, or rent digital content from numerous providers across the world, as well as most relevantly, Bollywood and other Indian content.

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