DECEMBER 2012 • VOLUME 10 • ISSUE 01 • Rs 200

THE FU
UTURE OF PEOPLE
12 AND MACHINEES
12 Tech is jumping from the science
lab to inside the human body.

THE CH
HEAPESST AND BEST
RVICES IN INDIA
3G SER A
www.chip.in

Prepaid or postpaid, we'll find

an affordable option for you.

THE PERFECT
The Perfect PC
| 9 Mega zoom Cameras & 10 Top Smartphones | Rip any Blu-ray Movie

Build or upgrade a PC yourself to

get exactly what you need.
Don’t settle for anything less!
Rs 150

CHIP_COVER_DECEMBER_2012.indd 1 11/23/2012 1:58:41 PM

 EDITORIAL

editor's
letter
Tribute to a legend
A
s we swiftly approach the end of 2012, there’s no better time to look back at a year
that may very well end up being remembered as one of the most intense years for
technology. From path breaking tablet-smartphone-hybrid launches, industry-
changing operating system releases and displays that smashed the 4k barrier, to us becoming
part of a billion-strong social money-making experiment. Phew, the list is practically endless!
And it all happened at a head-spinning, breakneck speed. The frenzy that accompanied many of
the tablet and smartphone launches would almost make you believe that these things are taking
over the world. While reams of paper and tons of pixels have been spent discussing these new
devices, often deservedly so, I think it would only be a fitting farewell to the year if we dedicated
our 9th anniversary issue to high-performance desktop computing. Yes, it still lives on! And
despite the number of times analysts and industry prophets have called the good ol' desktop a
thing of the past—a dinosaur, even—the custom built high-performance PC still continues to
The joy of stand tall and strong. This is the reason we thought it would be ideal if it was showcased on the
tinkering, cover of this special issue. And especially if you grew up as a PC enthusiast, with beautiful big

tweaking, and cases and visceral hardware, all bought by saving money and on shoestring allowances, full of
bustling amateur pride, then this issue is a tribute to you too.
swapping out
old parts for I still remember one of my earliest PC builds. It was raucously noisy with more fans than you can
imagine and full of messy cables running all over, all powered by one of the fastest processors of
new is just off its time. It was, and still is, the ultimate expression of a powerful do-it-all desktop PC. One of the
the charts. many reasons my desktop PC at home is not going anywhere is that it remains my tinkering test-
bed, and keeps getting upgraded every three years or so. The machine doubles up as my main
media server, and is powerful enough to allow me to play Crysis or Skyrim every now and then.
The desktop PC has served me dutifully and diligently in various avatars for nearly 25 years, and
as I have explored the longevity and performance of these machines, I’m always reminded of the
reason I have a special place for it in my heart. Its nearly unchanged form from the outside, for
one, and the fact that it’s the one thing you can build entirely with your very own hands! I still
think many students, especially those learning computer science and allied subjects, should
continue to opt for a desktop PC at home. The utility factor and the joy of tinkering, tweaking,
and swapping out old parts for new is just off the charts.

Finally, as we bid goodbye to this year, I wanted to thank all of you for making 2012 such a
fantastic year for CHIP. We hope you enjoyed this roller coaster year with us, as much as we did
bringing it to you blow-by-blow. I wish all of those who follow the Mayan calendar lots of luck
and goodbye! As for the rest, see you on the other side. Here’s to an amazing 2013!

Hatim Kantawalla

4 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0031212_Editorial.indd 4 11/23/2012 8:27:34 PM

 DECEMBER 2012

Contents
92 COVER STORY

THE PERFECT

NEWSWIRE TEST CENTER FEATURED

16 In the News... 30 Product Spotlight
A round-up of the month's major news stories HP's Envy Spectre XT is a good attempt at
and events. matching Apple's MacBook Air.
22 The Buzz List 32 Hardware Tested
The hottest topics on everyone's minds and the This month's selection of gadgets, components
stories behind them. and accessories.
24 New Products Launched 60 As Good as it Gets
Our picks of the neatest products launched in We test the best smartphones out there to find
India this month. the One phone to rule them all.
28 3G Plans for Metros 68 Go the Distance
3G is great for accessing the Internet on mobile. DSLRs and telephoto lenses too expensive?
Here are some of the best 3G plans for metros. Super zoom cameras might just fit the bill.
DR CHIP 76 Software Spotlight
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 lets you have a
taste of the voice-controlled future of PCs.
92 The Perfect PC
Building your own PC is the way to go. Here's
our guide to choosing the best components for
a custom PC.
102 The Incredible Human-Machine
Medicine's future includes a thought-controlled
robot, a mechanical nose, and a bionic eye.
106 The New World of Robots
Robots are entering our lives as dedicated
helpers, companions, rescuers, and even as dog
trainers.
112 The Road to App Development
Looking to develop an app? Read this for the
professionals' take on the app world and some
great insights and advice.

78 Software Tested
Entertainment, productivity and a few neat
utilities to keep your PC chugging.

6 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0061212_Contents.indd 6 11/23/2012 8:36:54 PM

 Contents
DECEMBER 2012 SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Turn to page 42

32 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE TESTED
The latest hardware reviewed

76 TEST CENTER
SOFTWARE SPOTLIGHT
A great program to control PCs with your voice.

124 HANDS ON
HARDWARE TO MAKE YOUR OLD 2 FREE DVDs
PC WINDOWS 8 READY POWER TOOLS & TOYS
Here's the lowdown on what to buy so you can get
et
the real Windows 8 experience.

HANDS ON REGULARS DVD HIGHLIGHTS

122 How to: Rip a Blu-ray movie
Wanna watch that awesome Blu-ray movie in
full HD as many times as you can? We show
you how to rip movies from Blu-ray discs.
124 Hardware to make your old
PC Windows 8 ready
Windows 8 is here, and we know you want to
run it. Here's our pick of the hardware you
should have to get the best Windows 8
experience.
04 Editorial, 10 Colophon, 12 Letters, RED HOT APPLICATIONS
Autodesk Maya 2013
16 In the News..., 22 The Buzz List, Autodesk SketchBook Designer 2013 and more...
24 New Products Launched, 90 PC Configs,
116 Web Watch, 118 Dr CHIP,
FULL GAMES
Warsow Full Game 1.02, LEGO Wolf3D,
126 Tips & Tricks, 132 Personal Tech, Super Motocross Africa 1.16, Unvanquished 0.8.0,
Street Racer 1.16, SteamPac 1.0, Trial Motorbikes
134 Market Watch 1.16, HMS Diptera 1.01 and more...
COVER CREDITS:
DECEMBER 2012 • VOLUME 10 • ISSUE 01 • Rs 150

THE FU
UTURE OF PEOPLE
AND MACHINEES
GAME DEMOS
Tech is jumping from the science
lab to inside the human body. WRC 3 FIA World Rally Championship Demo,
Photography THE CH
HEAPESST AND BEST
RVICES IN INDIA
3G SER A
Prepaid or postpaid, we'll find
an affordable option for you.
Gas Guzzlers: Combat Carnage, 99 Levels to Hell,
Mexy Xavier Anna’s Quest 1.0, Demon House, Vampires! 1.0,
TIPS & TRICKS THE PERFECT
Assisted by Bust-n-Rush Demo, Mage Tower 1.0 and more...
Neha Mithbawkar,
Joshua Navalker,
GAME TRAILERS
Build or upgrade a PC yourself to
get exactly what you need.
Don’t settle for anything less!

Nachiket Gujar
Doom 3 BFG Edition: Launch, 007 Legends: Launch,
Model Call of Duty: Black Ops II Launch and more...
Natasa@Toabh
Makeup n hair: LINUX TOOLS
Baban Kharat VLC 2.0.4, File Roller 3.6.1, gThumb 3.1.2,
Stylist Tomboy 1.12.1, Python 3.3.0 and more...
Ritcha Verma CHIP_COVER_DECEMBER_2012.indd 1 11/23/2012 1:58:41 PM

8 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0061212_Contents.indd 8 11/23/2012 8:39:08 PM

 COLOPHON

FOUNDER & EDITOR, NETWORK18 GROUP CEO, NETWORK18

Raghav Bahl B. Sai Kumar
PRESIDENT & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, TV18 CEO - NETWORK 18 PUBLISHING
Senthil Chengalvarayan Sandeep Khosla
MANAGING EDITOR
Hatim Kantawalla EVP - HUMAN RESOURCES
hatim.kantawalla@network18online.com Sanjeev Kumar Singh
DEPUTY EDITORS ADVERTISING SALES
Jamshed Avari SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT - SALES
Shayne Rana Siddhartha Chatterjee
DEPUTY EDITOR—TECHNICAL
NATIONAL SALES HEAD
Anand Tuliani Badri Narayan (badri.narayan@ network18publishing.com)
HEAD—TEST CENTER
Rossi Fernandes SALES SUPPORT HEAD
Sagar Salunkhe (sagars@network18publishing.com)
ASSISTANT HEAD—TEST CENTER
Francis D’Sa MUMBAI: Elvin Easo (elvin.easo@network18publishing.com)
HYDERABAD: Rocky Joseph (rocky.joseph@network18publishing.com)
SENIOR REVIEWER NEW DELHI: Zubair Ahmad (zubair.ahmad@network18publishing.com)
Roydon Cerejo CHENNAI: Madhivaanan (madhivaanan@infomedia18.in)
COPY DESK
Sharon Khare, Ramkumar Iyer, MARKETING
Aneez Shaikh, Rohini Lakshane HEAD - MARKETING
SENIOR FEATURES WRITERS Amit Seth
Priyanka Tilve, Nachiket Mhatre SENIOR MANAGER - MARKETING
FEATURES WRITER Nikhil Sharma
Naina Khedekar
NEWSSTAND AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
STAFF WRITERS HEAD (COPY SALES)
Aaron Almeida, Anuradha Shett y, Shunal Doke
Sunil Nair
MULTIMEDIA COORDINATOR
Sachin Haldankar DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER
Manoj Palsay
TEST CENTER COORDINATORS
Gautami Chalke, Rajesh Dsouza West: Mumbai: Soorendra Desai, Sanjay Bhujle, Dinesh Devadiga;
Pune: Sachin Kamble, Nitin Agre; Ahmedabad: Pranav Dave; Nagpur: Abhijeet Roy.
SENIOR ART DIRECTOR North: Delhi: Ashish Chakravorty, Kamal Bisht, Sanjay Sharma, Kamakhya
Ashwin R Boricha
Pandey; Lucknow: Amit Singh.
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR East: Kolkata: Debraj Sur.
Jagdish Limbachiya South: Chennai: Kripanand S, Balaji G; Bengaluru: Devaraju Gowda;
SENIOR DESIGNER Hyderabad: G.S. Mahesh; Cochin: A.K.Shihabuddin.
Hemali Limbachiya CORPORATE (SUBSCRIPTIONS)
DESIGNER ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER
Harshad Gujare Rajiv Mani
SENIOR ILLUSTRATORS
Sachin Pandit, Chaitanya Surpur ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER
Sanjay Elisha
HEAD - INTERNET
Tushar Burman SENIOR MANAGER (SUBSCRIPTIONS)
CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Sheetal Kotawdekar
Mexy Xavier COORDINATORS
PHOTOGRAPHERS Sarita Quadros, Chaitali Parkar, Kamlesh Mathkar, Vaibhav Ghavale, Meena Katt a
Neha Mithbawkar, Joshua Navalkar, Hemal Patel
LOGISTICS TEAM
IMAGE PROCESSING Percy Palkhiwala, Anant Shirke
Sanjay Shelar, Ravi Salian
SERVICES
PRINTING
CIRCULATION SERVICES: If Intelligent Computing CHIP is not available at your
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
news stand, or for other news stand queries, write to manoj.palsay@infomedia18.in
Ananth R. Iyer
ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER - PPC SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES: For subscription queries, write to
Shekhar Khot customercare@infomedia18.in or call +91 22 30034631-34 or toll free 1800 200 1021
PRODUCTION TEAM PERMISSIONS: For permissions to copy or reuse material from Intelligent
Dnyaneshwar Goythale Computing CHIP, write to editor@chip.in
CHIP INTERNATIONAL: Editorial Consultant International - Thomas Pyczak, Poccistrabe 11, 80336 Munchen
CHIP is also published in the following countries: China, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine
Copyright 2004 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
is an internationally protected trademark owned by CHIP Communications GmbH
Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Network18 Media & Investments Ltd (Network18)*, its publisher and/or editors. We at Network18 do our best to verify the information published but do not take any
responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the information. Network18 does not accept the responsibility for any investment or other decision taken by readers on the basis of information provided herein. Network18 does not take responsibility
for returning unsolicited material sent without due postal stamps for return postage. No part of this magazine can be reproduced without the prior writt en permission of the publisher. Network18 reserves the right to use the information published
herein in any manner whatsoever.
Published by Lakshmi Narasimhan and printed by Mohan Gajria on behalf of Network18
Editor: Lakshmi Narasimhan
Printed at Infomedia18 Ltd., Plot No. 3, Sector No. 7, Off Sion-Panvel Road, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 706 & published at Network18, ‘A’ Wing, Ruby House,
J.K. Sawant Marg, Dadar (W), Mumbai 28.
For all international subscription enquiries, contact the Subscription Department, Intelligent Computing CHIP
All editorial queries must be directed to the Editor, Intelligent Computing CHIP, Network18, Special Interest Publications Division,
‘A’ Wing, Ruby House, JK Sawant Marg, Dadar West, Mumbai 28 Tel: (91 22) 30034631-35; Fax: (91 22) 30034499, Email: editor@chip.in
*Ownership of this magazine stands transferred from Infomedia18 Ltd (Infomedia18) to Network18 Media & Investments Ltd (Network18) in pursuance of the scheme of arrangement between
Network18 and Infomedia18 and their respective shareholders and creditors, as approved by the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi and the necessary approval of Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting is being obtained.

10 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0101212_Colophon.indd 10 11/23/2012 8:43:49 PM

 LETTERS

INBOX
Next month's Star Letter wins Video game woes
LE T TER
OF THE
accessories set (worth Rs 5,000) MONTH
Dear CHIP,
I have been a reader of CHIP since I was in 8th standard. Now I am in the 12th and I must say you guys are
really working hard to make us techno savvy. Just like every teenager, I play games too, but I want you
to spread my message to other teenagers. As we can all see, the PC game industry has a new name
these days, the Virtual Violence Industry. I am talking about the violent games that are in great
demand by teenagers. In the October issue, you guys reviewed Hitman, and in the previous one CS:GO,
both of which are violent. A recent study in the US found that children who are exposed to violent
games are more aggressive than other children of the same age. The companies only think of their
profits. The gaming industry should take this problem seriously. We all know that Call of Duty, Playboy,
etc. are rated 18+, but children are purchasing them without any restrictions.
Some time ago, I read that the Indian Censor Board is not telecasting any 'A' rated movies on
television and they have told producers to run "No Smoking" scrolls. I think that this should also be
implemented in games as they also have smoking and drinking scenes, or that scenes should be edited
before giving the game to small children. When I played Max Payne years ago, my dad locked all the
Blood and Intense Violence scenes by applying a parental lock.
One more thing: in the October issue of Insider, there is a picture on page 11 which is not appropriate
for small kids. This magazine is read by my younger brothers too, so please take care of that.
Thanking You,
- SHUCHIN PRAKASH
Sachin Pandit
Hi Shuchin,
Thanks for your letter. We do agree that it's unfortunate that there are inadequate checks on children buying
adult-rated games, but we don't think this should be grounds to have them banned or censored. In fact, we're
strongly against any kind of censorship that treats audiences as though they're incapable of making choices for
themselves. People are responsible for what they do and how they react; it's not the government's job to play
babysitter. Parents are of course encouraged to involve themselves in their children's activities and help them learn
to make good choices as they grow up. By the way, there have been loads of studies linking violence and video
games over the years, many of which contradict each other. While they might establish a correlation, they cannot
prove causation; i.e. violent people might be more likely to play violent games, but that doesn't mean that the
games caused that behaviour. The subject is still quite controversial.
Improvements in graphics and audience sophistication have certainly led to more realistic depictions of violence
in games over the years. All consoles and even PCs now let parents control what their children can do, and many
games have gore settings. Game boxes always carry a rating and describe why they have been classified 18+, so
we encourage you to make your own decisions based on these. Finally, we've noted your feedback on the image in
Insider and will take care to blur or obscure such images in the future.
- TEAM CHIP

How can I sign up?
Dear CHIP,
I am an avid reader of your
magazine. I never miss an issue. I
love technology; basically, I am a
CONTACT INFO
geek and I am not ashamed of
Please send your accepting it. Frankly speaking,
letters to: gadgets excite me more than
editor@chip.in anything else. I play with
with "LETTERS" in technology and am always tinkering
the subject line with new stuff. In short, I want to
be one of you guys who spend day
and night surrounded by these tech
toys, software, apps and games. I
want to know how I can be one of
you. For the record I am a trained
EC-Council certified hacker, a
network administrator and final
year student in college pursuing a
degree in electronics and
engineering, and obviously jobless.
Please help me and guide me.
Believe me, I am pretty desperate
about it.
- MANIK
Dear Manik,
We all love our jobs here, but there's
a lot of hard work and it isn't
always as glamorous as you make it
out to be! Beyond a passion for tech,
you'll need to be able to write well,
communicate your thoughts clearly,
and convey useful information to our

12 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0121212_Letters.indd 12 11/23/2012 8:46:52 PM

 LETTERS

SMS US
Since we like knowing what’s
on your mind and what you
think about our magazine,
we bring you another way
to get in touch. Do you have
something to say about a test
or review? Liked a feature
story? Was the workshop
useful? SMS us your feedback!
readers. You haven't mentioned the city area and hence many of
where you live or when you'll be our students are deprived of this
done with college. If you're really wonderful magazine. I being the
serious about joining us, feel free to literary head of our college
send us your resume and a summary requested the authorities to
of your qualifications and subscribe to this magazine and they
experiences. If or when a vacancy were more than happy. The
arises, we'll call you for a personal response from the students has

For general comments, create
the following message:
ICCO <Your comments here>
Example: ICCO The cover story
was very useful
To rate a story, product
review, etc look out for the
story tag at the base of each
article and type:
ICCO <Story tag> <Rating>
Example: ICCO PWS 5
The “Story tag” is mentioned
at the base of every story in
the magazine and the “Rating”
is on a scale of 1 to 5.
Finally, send your messages to
51818. Cheers!
Please keep comments to
160 characters per message!
Include your email address
to help us reply or check out
the SMS Feedback thread at
www.chip.in/forums
interview and a few tests to see
whether or not CHIP is the right
place for you.
- TEAM CHIP
Nokia's choices
Dear CHIP,
I have been reading CHIP for the
past two years, and believe me, it is
the most outstanding magazine in
the market. This is the sweet fruit
of your labour. Two years ago I had
a little knowledge about tech. But
CHIP has changed my life a lot.
Now, I suggest CHIP to everyone
who is in search of good technology
material like laptops, tablets, GPUs
and more. I have never missed a
single copy since I started reading
this magazine. As this is my first
letter to you, I have a question that
I have always wanted to ask. Why
is Nokia not opting for Android
even after such a huge loss in
market share worldwide? Android
has an easy to understand UI, huge
collection of apps, and is also very
popular in the market.
- ARBOB MEHMOOD
Dear Arbob
Thanks for your compliments; we're
proud to hear that your life has
changed. As far as Nokia is
concerned, it still has the option to
branch out into Android devices.
When it had become apparent that
Symbian was not competitive any
longer and that a new OS was
required, the company management
decided on Windows Phone rather
than Android. At the time, the stated
reason was that Nokia considered
Android too common and too
fragmented. It was unwilling to risk
competing with Samsung, Motorola,
HTC, etc. without significant product
differentiation. Windows Phone
offered an alternative, and the plan
was to ride on Microsoft's massive
global marketing efforts. It was
reported that Nokia had explored
options with both Google and
Microsoft before committing itself to
WP. There is still nothing stopping
them from jumping into this market,
but it's unlikely that Nokia will try
producing an Android phone now,
even despite WP's slow uptake.
- TEAM CHIP
CHIP-o-Mania
Dear TEAM CHIP,
I have been an avid reader and a
great admirer of CHIP since my
school days. I always turn to this
magazine for all my computer and
technology-related needs. I have
always been the tech guru among
my friends thanks to CHIP. My
friends often consult me regarding
the latest gadgets, information, and
buying new products, and CHIP has
always been my friend in these
matters. The engineering college I
study at is located far away from
been overwhelming and it made me
really proud to introduce them to
the guru Of all tech magazines:
CHIP! Most of the students have
benefited a lot from the featured
articles and Dr CHIP. Students have
also formed a group and named it
CHIP-o-Maniacs, and carry out
various workshops from your
issues, and discuss the latest
technology. I would just like to
request you to include a feature
about educational software such as
MATLAB so that students can reap
its benefits and stay abreast with
the latest technologies during their
academic careers. It would also be
great if you include a careers
section and feature some exciting
career options in the fields of
computer science, animation and
game development. I hope you will
consider this. All the very best to
your team. Keep up the good work!
- IPSIT BIBHUDARSHI
Dear Ipsit,
Wow, the whole team is delighted to
hear about the CHIP-o-Maniacs! We
wish them all the very best. We hope
they all see this and write in to us to
share their views about technology,
products, and news. We do cover
careers from time to time, including
major cover stories and profiles of
people who have established
interesting careers in various fields.
We're also taking your idea about
MATLAB and other educational tools
seriously, so you can look forward to
something on that topic soon!
- TEAM CHIP

WRITE TO US! CUSTOMER CARE

Readers' letters, feedback and suggestions: editor@chip.in (Subject: LETTERS) Late delivery, DVD malfunctions, and all subsciption
Industry representatives: editor@chip.in related enquiries

Marketing and sponsorship enquiries: marketing@chip.in E-mail: customercell@infomedia18.in

Tel: +91 22 3003 4633 / 31 / 30
Dr CHIP: drchip@chip.in Fax: +91 22 3003 4499
Tips and Tricks: tnt@chip.in Subscribe online at eshop.infomedia18.in

14 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0121212_Letters.indd 14 11/23/2012 8:48:00 PM

 NEWSWIRE
NEWS SNIPPETS

DANGER PREDICTION IN THE NEWS...

Politically COMPILED BY JAMSHED AVARI
motivated
attacks are likely
to become more SOFTWARE
sophisticated
due to current
global events.
Early Windows 8 sales disappointing; Microsoft
Home users and
individuals are
shakes up management and hints at more hardware
not the primary
targets anymore.

FAKE ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE

2.3 m USA

5,01,119 KOREA

1,07,631 FRANCE

71,715 GERMANY
Early reports from retailers and industry that take advantage of Windows 8. Partners

ITALY
analysts suggest that Windows 8 has not and customers alike have many reasons
54,667
gotten off to a flying start. Sales and to be cautious about Windows 8 adoption,
0 200 400 600 800 1M 1.2M 1.4M 1.6M 1.8M 2M 2.2M 2.4M
activations are far below expectations, with a huge factor being the new Modern UI
Frauds sell virus protection which offers no according to Microsoft insider Paul Thurrot interface, which has evoked mixed reactions
security—over two million people in the USA and Newegg.com, one of the biggest online from customers and the press.
fell victim in the 2nd quarter of 2012
tech retailers in North America. Not sitting still, CEO Steve Ballmer is
SOURCE: SYMANTEC
Sales are steady and the pace is growing, planning more hardware launches that could

HACKERS LOVE MICROSOFT but the initial reaction was nowhere near the
"explosion" that usually accompanies such
further alienate its traditional partners but
help it improve the perception of Windows 8.
INFESTED SYSTEMS IN THOUSAND high-profile launches, according to Newegg. In related news, Windows product group
900
Thurrot reports that Windows 8 is being president Steven Sinofsky, the man who
800
MICROSOFT WINDOWS regarded as a disappointment within the
700 championed the Modern UI, has suddenly
600 highest ranks of Microsoft management. resigned after over 20 years at Microsoft.
500
Microsoft has placed some of the blame This development comes mere weeks after
400
300
on the general decline of the PC market and the launch of his most ambitious project.
ANDROID
200 its hardware manufacturing partners for not Both parties deny the move had anything to
100
OTHERS
bringing enough new products to market do with Windows 8's lukewarm reception.
0
1.Q.2011 2.Q.2011 3.Q.2011 4.Q.2011 1.Q.2012 2.Q.2012

Almost 90 percent of all virus attacks BUSINESS

worldwide still target Windows.
However, Android users are increasingly in
the sights of online criminals. AMD to "explore options", possibly including sellout
SOURCE: MICROSOFT
Things are looking quite cash reserves needed to stay

FIGURE OF THE MONTH dire for AMD. The struggling

chipmaker has appointed
afloat are running low.
AMD is also expected to

65%
JPMorgan Chase to help it
"explore options", fuelling
speculation that AMD might be preparing
to be bought out, or to break itself up into
of Indian marketers feel that digital marketing has the smaller units that can be sold off. Other
ability to better engage and activate audiences. options include selling or licensing assets
SOURCE: ADOBE such as patents. The company's stock value
has crashed by over 60 percent in 2012 and
announce another round of
layoffs in the coming weeks.
Analysts are concerned that a reduction of
engineering staff will leave the company
even further unable to develop competitive
products and adapt to a market that seems
to be turning away from desktop PCs and
towards mobile devices.

16 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP SMS us! ¾ Story code: NSN to 51818

0161212_News Snippets.indd 16 11/23/2012 8:53:39 PM

 NEWSWIRE
NEWS SNIPPETS

HARDWARE HARDWARE

Gamers outraged over Razer's online ARM's "big.Little" architecture will

mouse activation requirement enable power savings in 2014
Gamers have reacted strongly
to news that Razer's most
recent mice require buyers
to be online at all times and
allow the driver software to
collect personally identifiable
information about them, or
face being locked out of
advanced features. Synapse
2.0, the current version of Razer's driver suite, requires users
to create an account in order to store their button profiles and
custom configurations online. Refusal to do so will result in the
functionality reducing to the level of any ordinary USB mouse.
Furthermore, the software requires constant Internet
connectivity, or functionality is reduced again. The issue came to
light during Hurricane Sandy, which caused an outage of Razer's
North American activation servers. The terms of service include
statements such as "the Subscriber agrees that Razer may collect
aggregate information, individual information, and personally
identifiable information. Razer may share aggregate information
and individual information with other parties," prompting
comparisons to invasive spyware and DRM protection methods.
ARM has announced two new Cortex cores, the A53 and A57,
which are the first to use its new 64-bit v8 architecture. The
two processor core designs can be run individually or combined
in a configuration that ARM calls big.Little. This configuration
allows devices to switch between the powerful A57 and the
economical A53 depending on the requirements of the running
tasks. Commercial products such as tablets, smartphones, hybrid
laptops and low-power servers will hit markets in 2012 with
processors designed by ARM partners including Applied Micro,
AMD, Broadcom, Samsung, and ST Microelectronics.
The A57 will be ARM's most powerful core design yet, with
performance touted as three times higher than that of today's
most powerful models. The A53 will be the most power efficient,
delivering performance
comparable to today's
models while consuming
a quarter of the power.
Both are designed to be
scalable and feature a
coherent bus interface
to allow heterogenous
combinations of cores.

MOBILE MOBILE MOBILE SOFTWARE

Apple, Samsung
in CPU price tiff
Samsung has refuted reports
that it will increase the price
of manufacturing Apple's
custom-designed CPUs by as
much as 20 percent. Samsung
is the sole manufacturer of
the ARM-based System-on-
Chip processors that power
its iPhones, iPads and iPods,
putting it in a position of
power against Apple, which is
currently pursuing aggressive
legal action in courts around
the world for alleged copyright
violations. Samsung has also
historically been a major
source of flash memory
and LCD screens for Apple,
which is a significant revenue
source. Apple is reported to
be exploring options such as
TSMC for chip fabrication,
which might happen by 2014.
Office coming to
iOS and Android
Multiple news sources report
that Microsoft is in the final
stages of developing a version
of Office for iOS devices
which will be released in early
2013. It is unclear whether
this would be a full-featured
app or not. Pricing is also not
known, but it is likely that at
least basic document viewing
functions will be allowed for
free, while a subscription will
be required to edit or use
more advanced functions.
Free Office 2013 Web apps
are already available to
SkyDrive users and Microsoft
is experimenting with ways to
turn Office into a subscription-
based service. Further
platform support, including
apps for Android, would
strengthen this position.
Android 4.2 bug End of the line for
erases Christmas MSN Messenger
Android 4.2 includes a baffling
new bug: the interface for
creating reminders and adding
birthdays or other important
dates to a contact is missing
the entire month of December.
Users can still manually type
in the dates they need, but
the simpler selection wheel,
which is much more commonly
used just skips the month.
The bug is unlikely to affect
the delivery of reminders or
alerts for calendar events
in December, but is an
unfortunate and confusing
oversight nonetheless.
Microsoft has announced that
Windows Live Messenger,
which started life as MSN
Messenger, will be folded into
Skype. The company acquired
Skype in 2011 but is only now
starting to integrate it into
Windows, Windows Phone,
Office and its online services.
The move consolidates two
overlapping products, which
should ultimately benefit
users. Users can already merge
their Skype contact lists with
their Microsoft accounts and
message contacts across the
two clients.

18 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0161212_News Snippets.indd 18 11/23/2012 8:54:35 PM

 NEWSWIRE
NEWS SNIPPETS
SECURITY
NEW SECURITY
RISKS DETECTED
AND PATCHED
FACEBOOK
Fake apps send out spam emails and
status updates tempting people to try
out a new "Black profile", including a
screenshot of the supposed new
feature. Anyone who authorises the
app will end up spamming all their
friends and earning money for the
scamsters through paid surveys.
SOLUTION: Users are cautioned not to
believe such scams, and to check
whether or not such communications
are coming directly from Facebook.
.NET FRAMEWORK
Critical vulnerabilities could allow
remote execution of code on a
machine running .Net 2.0 and above
on Windows XP/Vista/7/8/Server
2003/2008 and Windows RT.
SOLUTION: The holes have been patched
as of Microsoft's Security Bulletin
MS12-074. Users are advised to allow
automatic updates.
ADOBE READER
A bug allows attackers to defeat the
sandboxing features that isolates PDF
files from critical parts of the
operating system. Malicious PDFs that
allow banking trojans to be installed
are circulating in the wild.
SOLUTION: Adobe has not yet responded
to reports of this issue.
FIREFOX
Six critical bugs related to memory
handling and deliberately caused
buffer overflows were among 2365
issues fixed in the latest release of
Firefox.
SOLUTION: Update to version 17 to stay
safe from attackers.
20 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0161212_News Snippets.indd 20
SECURITY SECURITY
Fake Apple apps mysteriously New malware
appear in Google Play store hits businesses
Symantec has reported a new
threat named W32.Narilam
that specifically targets
corporate databases. Much
like Stuxnet and Flame were
designed to wreak havoc on
industrial control equipment
in Iran, the vast majority
of Narilam infections have
been recorded in the Middle
East. Narilam propagates via
Security workers at Sophos have reported the appearance removable drives and network
of fake Apple apps including Garageband, iMovie, Pages, shares, and is designed to
Numbers and Keynote, which are exclusive to the OSX infect Microsoft SQL databases.
and iOS platforms. The developer was listed as "Apple Inc" It particularly overwrites
and the contact address was android@apple.com, which is specific entries in databases
extremely unlikely to exist. The apps were removed before with the names "alim",
it could be determined whether they contained any malware "maliran", and "shahd". Some
or were simply put there to trick users into paying for entries are overwritten and
them. Neither Google nor Apple have commented on the others deleted, but no data is
matter. Fortunately, Android users can cancel a purchase stolen or transmitted back to a
and get their money back within 48 hours if dissatisfied. command server.
SECURITY SECURITY
Malware uses Google Drive to Skype accounts
spread and evade firewalls open to attackers
A Trojan horse named
Backdoor.Makadocs has
become the first to
use Google Docs as a
proxy to its command
and control server Skype warned its users in
rather than accessing early November of a massive
it directly, which would security flaw that would
make it easier to trace have allowed anyone to
and shut down. The access their accounts. The
Trojan piggybacks on extraordinarily simple trick
HTTPS traffic going to and from Google's servers and also was possible because Skype
takes advantage of exceptions to home and office firewall allowed anyone to request a
rules that allow users to use the popular online office suite. password reset, which could
Google itself will now have to evolve to filter such traffic. be executed through the
The Trojan works by abusing a Google feature that allows Skype software itself, instead
browsers to display documents stored remotely. The threat of being sent to the user's
itself propagates via the common social engineering trick of secure email address. The
an email attachment or linked document with an interesting issue was reported on Russian
subject line and a misleading DOC or RTF extension. The hacker forums months ago but
malware also includes detection routines for Windows 8 only recently became widely
and Windows Server 2012, making it one of the first to known. Microsoft has patched
specifically check for Microsoft's latest OS releases. the issue since then.
11/23/2012 8:57:20 PM
 NEWSWIRE
BUZZ LIST

HARDWARE MOBILE

Apple might ditch Intel in Jolla phone OS shown off

favour of in-house CPUs for the first time
Apple is reportedly planning to ditch Intel's CPUs as soon as it can Nokia's transition to Windows Phone left a number of promising
produce its own ARM-powered processors. The tech giant mobile OS efforts languishing, but the team behind MeeGo broke
already designs the CPUs which power its iPhone, iPod and iPad away and founded Jolla in order to keep their project alive. Jolla's
product lines. The move would new OS, called Sailfish, builds on a community-driven open-
be consistent with several other source revival of MeeGo called Mer, but also adds a custom user
efforts to reduce dependencies interface. The platform is also heavily based on HTML5, Qt and
on partners, but would involve a QML. Jolla has at least one agreement in place with a Chinese
significant change to the manufacturer, which could allow it to gain a foothold in one of the
architecture underlying its Mac world's fastest growing markets. The interface is based on tiles
line. Computers based on ARM- and widgets, and includes user-friendly interface designs for
based processors have been things such as notifications and multitasking. Privacy has also
proposed from time to time, but been considered in the way that notifications are displayed on
these low-power designs screen. Beyond smartphones, Sailfish could find a home in TVs,
haven't been able to match the appliances, and of
capabilities of traditional X86 course tablets.
processors so far. Apple has made a number

BUZZ
of acquisitions in the chip design space and
recently produced its first in-house custom
CPU design with the A6 series, which
powers the most recent iPhone and iPad.

LIST
Apple used to use IBM's PowerPC
architecture for Macs from 1994 to 2006.

MOBILE MOBILE

Google improves COMPILED BY JAMSHED AVARI

The simple lowdown on Nokia brings its

maps with game what everyone's talking
about this month.
Google has
announced an
unusual new
product—a
mobile game
called Ingress.
Players must
select a team
(there's no
good or bad,
just two different teams) and compete to gain and retain control
of real-world sites by using your Android phone's GPS, camera and
various sensors to record your physical presence there. The game
emphasises walking as a way to generate "energy" needed to
secure your strongholds. An augmented reality display shows you
how well your team is doing. The upshot is that Google gets access
to massive amounts of data about walking routes, including GPS
coordinates, timestamps, and photos. The information will no
doubt be used to improve Google Maps and provide better walking
directions, including shortcuts and paths closed to vehicular
traffic. Players concerned about privacy should understand that
they are allowing Google to track their every move.
own maps to iOS
Nokia doesn't have much going for it
anymore, but the company's in-house maps app has a lot working
in its favour. Microsoft has already ditched its own maps in favour
of Nokia's across all manufacturers' Windows Phone devices, and
now an app called Here is available for iOS; it is expected on
Android as well. Capitalising on the current negative attention
surrounding the native Maps app on iOS, Nokia offers multiple
views, including live traffic and community maps curated by
users. Importantly, Here includes public transportation
information and routing, which is missing in Maps but was offered
by the Google Maps app it replaced. Users will also appreciate the
built-in turn-by-turn navigation, which Android users have been
able to use for a while. Here lets you save maps of entire cities for
offline access, potentially
saving you huge amounts of
money when roaming
abroad. Nokia has
announced it will be
acquiring smaller mapping
companies to improve its
maps further, especially
street-level views.

22 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP SMS us! ¾ Story code: NBL to 51818

0221212_BUZZ LIST.indd 22 11/23/2012 8:59:49 PM

 NEWSWIRE
NEW PRODUCTS LAUNCHED

NEW PRODUCTS LAUNCHED

COMPILED BY JAMSHED AVARI

COOLER MASTER optical technologies, including an smooth cursor control with high-
optimised EXPEED 3 image-processing definition optical tracking.
Affordable gaming engine, based on the one built into PRICE: Rs 1,895

chassis Nikon’s D4 flagship camera. It is an

entry-level D-SLR camera that
WEBSITE: www.logitech.com

meets photo enthusiasts' demands SONY

Cooler Master for full-scale photography
has announced capabilities, offering superior Home cinema
its most
affordable
performance in a compact and
lightweight body. It flaunts a projector
entry-level number of advanced features such
gaming chassis, as 39 focus points, Scene Sony has
the K350. The Recognition System, i-TTL balanced announced its
K350 offers an fill-flash and auto white-balance latest full HD
excellent control. Equipped with D-Movie 3D home cinema
balance of features function, the camera supports projector, the VPL-HW50ES.
and performance at an attractive recording of full-HD 1920 × 1080 50i/60i The VPL-HW50ES sits at the forefront of
price. The aggressive new design adds a movies for sharp HD movies exhibiting advanced Home Cinema Projection. This
touch of class and sets the Cooler Master excellent detail. includes utilising an adapted version of
K350 apart from the crowd. The black PRICE: Rs 46,950 Sony’s clever ‘Reality Creation’
coated interior offers a striking contrast WEBSITE: www.nikon.co.in technology which was developed for
and promises a long, rust-free life. The Sony’s EISA Award winning VPL-
transparent side panel offers gamers an LOGITECH VW1000ES 4K home cinema projector.
opportunity to show their creative and The technology ‘Reality Creation’ employs
geeky side. There is enough space to cram Stylish keyboard
board set an originally developed digital signal
in a long graphics card and a big CPU processing algorithm to restore
cooler. Up front there is a silent 120mm Logitech has infor
any information lost when
red LED fan that also improves the launched the packagi
packaging from original
aesthetic appeal. The tool-less mechanism Wireless Combo conten
content to disc, recreating
makes it easy and convenient to upgrade. MK240. Offering a high quality, colour-rich, full
The K350 supports up to four 120mm wireless mouse HD images. High brightness
fans. e
and keyboard, the o
of 1,700 lumens has been
MRP: Rs 3,999 MK240 combo achieved by improving
WEBSITE: www.coolermaster.in makes a bold statement with color, the light efficiency of
contours and minimalist space-saving the lamp and optimising the optical block.
NIKON design. Featuring a durable, spill-resistant Together with a new Bright Cinema and
design that is built to last, the combo Bright TV Mode, the VPL-HW50ES
Feature-rich DSLR comes equipped with a powerful and achieves 30 per cent greater brightness
reliable wireless connection from up to than the previous model without any loss
Nikon has announced the D5200 D-SLR 10 meters virtually eliminating the in colour reproduction.
camera, a compact and lightweight entry- possibility of dropouts. Adding color to PRICE: Rs 2,59,900
level model that delivers exceptional any stylish setup, the plug-and-play WEBSITE: ap.sony.com
performance via Nikon’s all- combo is the perfect accessory for even
D
new DX-format CMOS the most pressed-for-space workstations. VIEWSONIC
sens
sensor, which has an Its minimalist and space-saving design
e
effective pixel makes it the perfect travel companion for Touch-enabled monitor
count of work and play. The keyboard’s sleek
approximately design are built to provide hours of ViewSonic has announced its latest touch-
24.1 million typing pleasure, while its low-profile keys enabled LED display, the TD2220. The
pixels. The ensure that every keystroke is silent, 22-inch (21.5-inch viewable) TD2220
camera possesses comfortable and quiet. The comfortable display is equipped with advanced dual
gre
greatly enhanced mouse fits like a handshake and delivers point optical touch technology featuring a

24 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP SMS us! ¾ Story code: NPL to 51818

0241212_New Products Launched.indd 24 11/23/2012 9:04:43 PM

 NEWSWIRE
NEW PRODUCTS LAUNCHED
hardened 8H level scratch resistant surface
to ensure high touch accuracy and
durability. With Full HD 1080p resolution,
the TD2220 delivers excellent image quality
for a variety of multimedia content, with a
dustproof surface that is perfect for 2-point
touch control, whether by finger, stylus, or
even a gloved hand. With a USB HID
compliant design, the TD2220 provides
automatic touch functionality via USB
connection under Windows operating
systems. Paired with multiple video sources
(DVI with HDCP and VGA
inputs), and a
20,000,000:1 dynamic
contrast ratio, the TD2220
wing
delivers an immersive viewing
experience that is ideal for blur-
ess
free video and sharp business
graphics.
PRICE: Rs 16,999
sonic.com
WEBSITE: www.in.viewsonic.com
WD
Fastest hard drive
Western Digital is now shipping the new
WD VelociRaptor 1 TB hard drive, the latest
addition to its award-winning drive family,
the largest capacity 10,000 RPM hard drive
on the market today. Designed for high-
performance PCs, Mac computers and
professional workstations that require a
balance of high performance and capacity,
the WD VelociRaptor drive is a favorite
among enthusiasts and creative
professionals. The WD
VelociRaptor will also
come in capacities of
500 GB and 250 GB.
Leveraging enterprise-
class mechanics to
provide 24x7 durability
under high-
performance
workloads, the new WD
VelociRaptor 1 TB hard
26 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0241212_New Products Launched.indd 26
The products and services listed here have not been reviewed by IC-CHIP.
These are not endorsements or recommendations. All prices, specifications
and claims are as stated by the respective manufacturers and publicists.
drive is geared for creative professionals
who demand the ultimate SATA drive.
Creative pros use write-intensive
applications that manage large, dynamic
files; for example, video editing and digital
content creation and management, which
strain storage devices that utilize write-
challenged NAND memory for performance
enhancement.
PRICE: 1 TB: Rs 15,499; 500 GB: Rs
9,299; 250 GB: Rs 6,199
WEBSITE: www.wdc.com
ZYNC
5-inch phablet
Zync has announced
announce its foray into
firs 5-inch dual-sim
phablets; its first
pha
Android phablet Cloud Z5 catering
tec
to the tech-savvy generation.
ta
The tablet comes with SIM
cal
calling and SMS
functionality too. The
Cloud Z5 sports a 5
inch capacitive multi-
touch display with a 480 x 800
pixel resolution and it functions on an
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating
system. It is powered by a 1 GHz single-
core processor and 512 MB RAM. The
device comes with an internal memory of 4
GB and has a Support TF card up that allows
for up to 32 GB expandable memory. The
dual SIM phablet supports 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS,
Bluetooth and FM radio. The device comes
with a 0.3 MP dual front camera and an 8
MP auto focus back camera with flash.
PRICE: Rs 9,490
WEBSITE: www.zync.in
iBALL
Feature-rich tablet
iBall has introduced the Slide 3G 7334
which will be the first dual SIM tablet PC
in the country. In fact, it will be a double
first. iBall Slide 3G 7334 will also be the
first tablet PC in India with built-in FM
Transmitter. At the heart of the new
Slide 3G 7334 is the powerful Cortex A9
1GHz Processor. The first dual SIM tablet
also happens to be with a unique distinction
of both of the SIMs supporting 3G. It will
have high speed 3G support with 7.2mbps
download and 5.76 mbps upload speed. The
3G video call support lets you greet your
loved ones live. More so, their smiles can
be seen vividly on the 7-inch HD WSVGA
(High Definition) screen with a 1024x600
resolution, which is of course muti-touch
and capacitive.
PRICE: Rs 10,999
WEBSITE: NA
KINGSTON
High-performance RAM
Kingston has announced HyperX Beast, the
latest addition to the HyperX product line.
It matches high performance with the
largest available capacities and is XMP
ready. With its eye-catching aggressive
heatspreader design, HyperX Beast is aimed
at hardcore gamers, PC modders, content
creators and overclockers who want high-
performing hardware in an innovative
design. HyperX Beast is part of the
Predator family, the premiere memory line
offered by Kingston for power users.
HyperX Beast features kits up to 2400MHz
for faster processing times in applications
requiring maximum performance, and in
capacities from 8GB-64GB. It is designed to
work with third- generation Intel Core i5
and i7 processors as well as the latest AMD
A-Series processors. For added benefit,
HyperX Beast is Intel XMP ready so users
can easily achieve the best performance
optimization by simply selecting a speed
profile.
PRICE: NA
WEBSITE: www.kingston.com
– jamshed.avari@chip.in
11/23/2012 9:06:50 PM
 NEWSWIRE
3G DATA PLANS

3G Plans for Metros

3G is the way to go for Internet on the mobile. But how do you enjoy it without burning a
hole in your pocket? Simple, by opting for the right plan. We tell you how. BY PRIYANKA TILVE

P
eople are increasingly using their
mobile phones to connect to the
Internet as opposed to standard
PC connectivity over broadband. Thanks
to the reduction in tariff prices this year,
we’re finally at a stage where 3G is so
much more affordable than the plodding
speeds of EDGE. Numbers in mobile
connectivity soared in the first half of 2012
and it’s highly likely they’ll continue to
grow rapidly. After the initial hoopla, 3G
rates have settled to a large extent. We’re
also on the cusp of the 4G, LTE generation
that will bring blazing fast speeds to the
mobile screen. It will, of course, be a while
before 4G makes its way across India, so
3G is the best we’ve got right now.
Naturally, life being as complicated as
it is, looking for the best 3G plan is akin
to finding a needle in the haystack. We
know! It was a task all unto itself just
researching for the data across five of the
Sachin Pandit
country's hubs.
However, before simply jumping onto make sure you’re covered. We’ve narrowed connection for home and office use. If
the 3G bandwagon, there are a few down the field into three types of plans you want a 3G connection for a limited
pointers you should keep in mind. Firstly, – Economy, Mid-Range and one for heavy period, then MTNL has a few decent plans
read the fine print, so to speak. It’ll help data consumption. Here’s a quick brief: you can opt for. Their Rs 175 plan, which
curb the chances of having a heart attack The Economy plan is around Rs 250 gives you a 1 GB data limit, has a validity
when it’s the time of the month when the and gives you a 1 GB data limit. That’ll of three days. There’s also a Rs 449 plan
gentleman called “bill” pays you a visit. cover basic usage like social networking, that provides 5 GB for seven days and
Even with the reduction in tariff, 3G still chats and emails without too many heavy a Rs 849 plan that provides 10 GB of
isn’t cheap, so choosing the best possible attachments. data for 15 days. On the other hand, Idea
plan will ensure that you trim the edges Next up is the 2 GB plan, which is for provides flexible validity plans like prepaid
off the bill a bit and keep it ‘contained’. those who want to stream videos from plans with a 2 GB download limit, but one
It's also important to determine your the Internet or use cloud services. with a validity of 30 days and the second
usage pattern. Decide what you’ll be using And lastly, we’ve got the big data plan. one with 60 days validity. In this case, if
this connection for – watching videos These are for the hardcore Internet user you know your usage, and have figured
on the fly through services like YouTube, who’s constantly on their tablet/mobile, out that 2 GB will easily suffice for two
tethering your handset to your PC, using and frenzily uploads and downloads data. months, go with the latter option. Reliance
it to post pictures on Facebook or some We’re talking abut users who stream and Idea have a pay-as-you use package
other social network, or downloading videos, view image-heavy sites, upload set up if you’re not sure what type of
emails with heavy attachments and or download high resolution images, and plan’s best for you. You can go nuts or be
accessing cloud services for work. Before also use their handsets as ‘junctions’ to conservative and figure out your usage
zeroing in on a plan, check out the 3G trial connect their PCs to the Internet. These based on your bill.
offers. Almost all operators provide 3G plans range from anywhere between Rs Also, keep in mind that the ‘Unlimited’
trial packages that range from one day to 500 to Rs 1000 (+) per month. plans aren’t as unlimited as you’d think.
a week and are priced from Rs 8 to Rs 50. Of course, there are a few plans in These plans have a cap off system where
You can opt for one of these plans and between, besides those offering up to 10 your speeds will drop to 2G speeds or less
give 3G a shot before actually signing up GB of data per cycle, but that’s overkill should you cross your restricted limit of
for a plan. Naturally, you’ll want to test unless you’re one of those who use their usage. No matter what plan you choose,
this in locations you frequent the most to 3G mobile connections as the primary after you exceed your data download

28 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP SMS us! ¾ Story code: N3G to 51818

0281212_3G Plans for Metros.indd 28 11/23/2012 9:08:56 PM

 NEWSWIRE
3G DATA PLANS

limit, you will be charged for usage
and the rates vary drastically between
operators. If being able to download a lot
of data is what you are looking for, then
it makes sense to choose a plan that
offers maximum data download over the
unlimited ones.
So, at the end of the day, we’re looking
at a whole new era of mobile computing.
These are times when we no longer need
to stare aimlessly into an empty screen
with a status bar that fills up in slow
motion. Use the graph as a guideline, but
note that you’ll ultimately need to contact
your service provider to check and see if
these plans are still on the cards or if the
rates and services have been changed.
Tariff rates tend to vary extensively across
the country, so make sure to look it up
before you hook it up.
– priyanka.tilve@chip.in

PRE-PAID POST PAID

SER-
CITY ECONOMICAL ECONOMICAL
VICE MID RANGE DATA PLAN MID RANGE DATA PLAN
PLAN PLAN
Aircel 198/1GB/30 Days 399/2GB/30 Days 697/5GB/30 Days 198/1GB/30 Days 399/2GB/30 Days 697/5GB/30 Days
BANGALORE

Airtel 255/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 750/4GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 675/3.1GB/30 Days
Docomo 255/1GB/30 Days 445/2GB/30 Days NA 199/1GB/30 Days NA 1001/5GB/30 Days
450/2GB/30 Days, 750/4GB/30 Days,
Idea 251/1GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 850/6GB/30 Days
599/2GB/60 Days 1250/4GB/90 Days
MTNL NA NA NA NA NA NA
Reliance NA NA NA NA NA NA
Vodafone 251/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days NA 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 850/5GB/30 Days

Aircel 198/1GB/30 Days 399/2GB/30 Days 697/5GB/30 Days 198/1GB/30 Days 399/2GB/30 Days 697/5GB/30 Days
Airtel 250/1GB/30 Days 451/2GB/30 Days 751/4GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 675/3.1GB/30 Days
CHENNAI

Docomo NA NA NA NA NA NA
450/2GB/30 Days, 750/4GB/30 Days,
Idea 249/1GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 850/6GB/30 Days
600/2GB/60 Days 1250/4GB/90 Days
MTNL NA NA NA NA NA NA
Reliance NA NA NA NA NA NA
Vodafone 249/1GB/30 Days 449/2GB/30 Days 850/5GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 850/5GB/30 Days

Aircel NA NA NA NA NA NA
Airtel 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 750/4GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 675/3.1GB/30 Days
Docomo NA NA NA NA NA NA
DELHI

450/2GB/30 Days, 749/4GB/30 Days,

Idea 249/1GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 850/6GB/30 Days
598/2GB/60 Days 1250/4GB/90 Days
650/5GB/30 Days,
MTNL 250/1.5GB/30 Days 450/3GB/30 Days 250/1.1GB/30 Days 450/2.2GB/30 Days 850/6GB/30 Days
1190/9GB/90 Days
Reliance 247/1GB/30 Days 448/2GB/30 Days NA 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days NA
Vodafone 249/1GB/30 Days 449/2GB/30 Days 650/3GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 850/5GB/30 Days

Aircel 198/1GB/30 Days 399/2GB/30 Days 697/5GB/30 Days 198/1GB/30 Days 399/2GB/30 Days 697/5GB/30 Days
Airtel 250/1GB/30 Days 449/2GB/30 Days 750/4GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 675/3.1GB/30 Days
KOLKATTA

Docomo NA NA NA NA NA NA
450/2GB/30 Days, 750/4GB/30 Days,
Idea 250/1GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 850/6GB/30 Days
599/2GB/60 Days 1250/4GB/90 Days
MTNL NA NA NA NA NA NA
Reliance 247/1GB/30 Days 448/2GB/30 Days NA 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days NA
Vodafone 251/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days NA 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 850/5GB/30 Days

Aircel NA NA NA NA NA NA
Airtel 252/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 750/4GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 675/3.1GB/30 Days
MUMBAI

Docomo NA NA NA NA NA NA
450/2GB/30 Days, 750/4GB/30 Days,
Idea 350/1.5GB/30 Days 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 850/6GB/30 Days
600/2GB/60 Days 1250/4GB/90 Days
MTNL 250/1.1GB/ 30 Days 450/2.2GB/30 Days 750/4.4 GB/30 Days 250/1.1GB/30 Days 450/2.2GB/30 Days 750/4.4GB/30 Days
Reliance 247/1GB/30 Days 448/2GB/30 Days NA 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days NA
Vodafone 251/1GB/30 Days 451/2GB/30 Days NA 250/1GB/30 Days 450/2GB/30 Days 850/5GB/30 Days

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 29

0281212_3G Plans for Metros.indd 29 11/23/2012 9:09:04 PM

 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
PRODUCT
SPOTLIGHT

LAPTOP

HP ENVY
SPECTRE XT
VERDICT: One of the better Ultrabooks that offers the best of all worlds.
FOR: Slick design; decent overall performance; good battery life.
AGAINST: Trackpad could’ve been better; 128GB SSD may not be sufficient.

T
he Ultrabook market has quickly grown in
size over the past few months, and it’s only
going to get bigger now that Windows 8 is
here. Before Ultrabooks became popular, Apple had
their MacBook Air notebooks, which were known
for their build quality and compact size. No other
notebook has come close to that kind of form factor
until now, but HP hopes to change that with the
launch of the new Envy Spectre XT Ultrabook.
Windows 8 has only recently been launched,
but HP brought out their Spectre XT Ultrabook just
before this big launch. This Ultrabook launched
with a price that’s in the same range as some of
the recently-launched MacBook Air models. We can
expect many more Ultrabooks and notebooks of
comparable quality to arrive in the next few weeks.
The HP Spectre XT comes with the Intel Ivy
Bridge class of
processors —
specifically the Core
i5-3317U, which is
a pretty low-power
processor designed
to be efficient. This
dual-core processor
runs at a speed
of 1.7 GHz, and
with Turbo Boost
enabled, it’ll go right
up to 2.6 GHz. The
notebook is based
on Intel’s HM76
The unified touchpad isn‘t the best one around. chipset. There’s
4 GB of RAM on it, along with Intel’s standard
HD4000 series integrated graphics solution. You
also get a 128 GB solid-state drive, which should
help with performance, but won’t be of much use
for data storage. The notebook has a 13-inch screen
with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.
Most of today’s Ultrabooks lack an optical
drive and the Spectre XT is no exception to this
trend. You’ll have to use the USB port to install
applications, besides depending on the Internet,
which shouldn’t be a big problem. The Spectre
XT also has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a memory card
reader. The Ethernet port is typically quite thick, so
HP has incorporated a collapsible port that folds
to fit in well with the body of the Ultrabook when
it’s not in use. There are two USB ports, but we
would’ve been happier if it came with one or two
more. The lack of an optical drive means you’ll
have to use a USB external optical drive to read
DVDs and CDs. The lack of ports tends to limit the
Spectre XT in some ways. There’s only one audio
connector for both audio out and audio in, so you’ll
need to use earphones or headphones with a
built-in mic to use the microphone.
Like with some of its other products, HP
has branded this Ultrabook with Beats by Dr.
Dre, and it comes with Beats audio speakers.
There’s a clear Beats logo present near the
hinge of the screen. HP bundles Windows
7 Home Premium on the Spectre XT.
HP has got the look of the Spectre XT just right.
It’s solid, looks quite stylish, and clearly draws a
lot of attention, as we learnt during the course

30 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP SMS us! ¾ Story code: HCI to 51818

0301212_Hardware Standalones_Part_01.indd 30 11/23/2012 9:11:07 PM


of the review. It’s made mostly of metal and has
the basic look and feel of the MacBook Air. Both
the top and the insides of the notebook have a
brushed metal finish. The edge of the insides of
the Spectre XT has a clean, glossy finish to it too,
which makes it look very stylish and elegant.
The keys are isolated and small, considering the
smaller form factor of the Ultrabook. The spacing
is a tad too much and the feel of the keyboard is
somewhat similar to that of a MacBook Air. Overall,
it’s easy to use and get used to. The keys are also
backlit, so you can turn the laptop on even when it’s
dark and type without making hundreds of typos.
The trackpad has received the same treatment
as the rest of the body. It has no clear buttons for
right and left click. The clicks are pretty tactile,
but we’re not too fond of it; the buttons aren’t soft
enough to be pressed easily, but at the same time
also have a very cheap, hard rebound feel to them.
There are clearly better click buttons on notebooks
out there. For a portable computer that’s meant
to be used on the move, a good amount of time
will be spent using the trackpad, so this is quite an
important component.
An Ultrabook is more than just a fashion
statement; there has to be the perfect combination
of performance and features for a product such as
this to be attractive. In terms of CPU performance,
the Spectre XT is very easily comparable to some
of the other notebooks we’ve tested in this price
range. PC Mark 7 gave the Spectre XT a score of
4925 while 3D Mark Vantage gave it an overall score
of 9084. The Spectre XT doesn’t do so well when it
comes to video encoding and POVRay, though. The
gaming performance isn’t spectacular either. The
integrated HD4000 graphics solution can run older
games without any problems, but newer games
with high-quality graphics might be difficult to run
smoothly.
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 64,990
www.hp.com/in
Dimensions (WxHxD): 327 x 14.48 x 221 mm;
Weight: 1.4 Kg; Processor: Intel Core i5-3317U; RAM:
4 GB DDR3; Storage: 128 GB SSD; GPU: Integrated
Intel HD4000; Screen size: 13-inch; Resolution:
1366x768 pixels.
CONTACT HP India
PHONE 0866-2667272
EMAIL esc_helpdesk@hp.com
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
0301212_Hardware Standalones_Part_01.indd 31
TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
The headphone/mic jack and the memory card slot are
present on the right hand side.
read speeds to be well over 450 MB/s, and write
speeds to be around 250 MB/s. This means you
can rest assured that you’ll have very responsive
application load times. The SSD also helps keep the
Spectre XT cool and lowers power requirements.
The other obvious advance is Intel’s Rapid Start
feature, which allows the notebook to step out of
standby mode in just a second or two. The only
downside to the SSD is the storage space. The
small 128 GB drive is likely to fill up very quickly, and
you’ll have to depend on external storage drives.
There is some heating towards the rear of
the notebook and the device’s bottom can
grow noticeably warm. The Spectre XT is
silent for the most part, but the exhaust at
the rear does get pretty noisy when the load
increases. This is noticed only when you use
heavy applications for long periods of time.
The display quality is decent but viewing angles
are pretty bad, especially when you look at it from
a high vertical angle. Audio quality isn’t too great
and the speakers distort at higher volumes. The
Beats audio solution doesn’t really help a lot and
the overall quality is average. In fact, we turned off
One of the the Beats audio solution while using earphones. The
big performance battery lasted a good two hours during our heavy
boosts you’ll battery test, which is pretty good. The battery on
find, however, the Spectre XT cannot be replaced.
is in the file The HP Spectre XT is a decent Ultrabook. It
system tests. doesn’t match up to the MacBook Air when it comes
The fact that to the refinements that the latter has to offer, but
this Ultrabook is undoubtedly a good attempt. It’s pretty light and
is powered by looks really nice. It isn’t sluggish on the performance
an SSD means front, and the battery life is pretty impressive. Priced
that you get at Rs 64,990 in India, it’s not the most affordable
ridiculous Ultrabook out there, but is surely worth its price if
read and write you’re travelling a lot and need a portable notebook
speeds. In our as company.
test, we found - Rossi Fernandes
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 31
11/23/2012 9:11:40 PM
 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE

MEDIA PLAYER

EPSON MOVERIO
BT-100
FOR: Android media player; high-res LCD; clear projection; good
FO
sound quality.
AGAINST: Heavy; expensive; not very ergonomic.

W
earable displays look super
cool in sci-fi movies, but have
failed to meet commercial
success till now. So far, Sony is one
of the only top brands to bring one to
the market, and now Epson, with its
Moverio BT-100, has decided to tap
into the wearable display market too.
The unit comes packaged in a
sturdy carrying case, which includes the
headset, power cable, the base unit and
interchangeable nose clips. The glasses
are built of plastic and feel quite sturdy.
The headset uses micro-projection
technology with LCD lenses mounted on
the sides in order to distribute the weight
evenly. Instead of a bulb for projection,
Epson uses backlighting and a clever
arrangement of mirrors on the front of
the headset to ‘project’ a virtual screen
in front of your eyes. This projects a
The control unit is easy to use and also houses the floating image of up to 80 inches, which
headphone jack and the rechargeable battery.
appears as if you were looking at it from
a distance of 16 feet. In case there’s too
much ambient light in the room, you get a
lens cover for a clearer picture.
The headset is powered by a control
unit that houses the rechargeable battery.
The unit is small enough to easily fit
in your hand or pocket. It has a nice
SPECIFICATIONS rubberised finish to it, so it’s easy to grip.
Rs 42,900 The unit runs Android 2.2 and Epson has
www.epson.co.in
no immediate plans to upgrade it.
Dimensions (WxHxD): 62.8 x 116.5 x 11.8 mm;
It features a large trackpad (no multi-
Weight: 116 gm; Storage: 16 GB; CPU: 1 GHz Cortex-A8;
Display: 3.7-inch AMOLED, 800x480 pixels; touch) and a navigational D-Pad for
Audio codec: MP3, WMA, OGG, PCM, FLAC and APE; navigating the menu.
Video codec: DivX, XviD, H.264, WMV and MPEG.
The micro-projection LCD has a native
CONTACT Epson India Pvt Ltd
PHONE 080-30515000
EMAIL tushad@eid.epson.co.in VERDICT
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
A VERY GOOD ATTEMPT AT A
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
PORTABLE THEATRE EXPERIENCE.
VALUE FOR MONEY
resolution of 960 x 540 pixels, so, even
at 80 inches, the picture quality is really
sharp and crisp. For spectacle wearers,
there’s a little notch on the inside of
the glasses on which you can prop the
headset. When it comes to apps, there’s
no Play Store present, but you can dump
APKs directly onto the memory card
and install them. Our unit had MX Player
pre-installed, which did a good job of
playing back all our test media files. The
BT-100 easily handles 1080p content,
but just make sure you don’t have any
heavy apps running in the background to
prevent stutter. The UI is extremely easy
to use since it’s Android, so finding your
way around is pretty simple. The audio
quality is also very good. It comes with
Dolby enhancements, which sound really
nice, even with the supplied earphones.
Last but not the least, we also have
Stereoscopic 3D support. This works with
side-by-side 3D videos.
The Epson BT-100 is priced at Rs
42,900 and is currently sold in major cities
in India through select Epson dealers
and stores. While it may seem a little
expensive, there’s simply nothing quite
like it in the market right now. You’ll find
cheaper Chinese alternatives online, but
they obviously lack the high resolution
screen and might even fall apart within
weeks. The BT-100 does an excellent
job of giving you a personalised theatre
experience wherever you are, and the
best part is, it runs Android.
- Roydon Cerejo

32 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0301212_Hardware Standalones_Part_01.indd 32 11/23/2012 9:12:14 PM

 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
DSLR
NIKON D600
FOR: Great performance and build; good price for a full-frame camera.
AGAINST: Controls can be a little difficult; minor issues at high ISO.
T
he Nikon D600 is one
of the newest full-
frame DSLRs to hit the
Indian market. There’s a lot of hype
surrounding it as it’s quite possibly the
cheapest full-frame DSLR out there at
its current price of around Rs 1,35,950.
Its video recording capabilities
are what makes the Nikon D600 so
interesting, especially for a professional.
Here’s a camera that finally challenges the
Canon 5D Mark II in its recording prowess,
as it can record at 1920x1080 and
1280x720 pixels. Another superb feature is
time-lapse photography for a maximum
duration of 20 minutes. It can even output
uncompressed live video streams to
external recorders.
The camera has a rugged magnesium
alloy body on the top and the rear of the
camera, but the front plate is plastic. This
is one of the main reasons why the D600
is so light. It has dual SD card slots with
SDXC and UHS-I support, and an optional
Wi-Fi unit, which allows you to control it
remotely from an Android or iOS device.
The colour reproduction is extremely
good even at higher ISOs. Nikon has
The controls aren’t difficult to learn and get used to. incorporated its new 24.3 megapixel FX
format CMOS sensor (35.9 x 24 mm),
which provides a native wide ISO range
of 100-6400. The ISO can go down to 50
and be pushed up till 25,600, and it will
still retain accurate colours with minimal
SPECIFICATIONS noise. When we tested the camera, we
Rs 1,35,950 noticed some banding at the highest
www.nikon.co.in
ISO, but the image quality was highly
Sensor resolution: 24.3 MP; Sensor size: 35.9 x 24 mm
(CMOS); ISO range: 100 - 6400; Shutter speed range: impressive. The full ISO range can also
1/4000 to 30 sec; Burst speed: 5.5 fps; Memory: SDHC/ be used while capturing HD video under
XC cards supported.
varied light conditions. The impressive HD
CONTACT Nikon India
PHONE 1800-102-7346
EMAIL nindsales@nikonoa.net VERDICT
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
A GOOD BUY FOR BUDDING
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
PROFESSIONALS.
VALUE FOR MONEY
34 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0301212_Hardware Standalones_Part_01.indd 34
video, which has good colour reproduction
and tonal range throughout, helps to
create a true cinematic experience with
full HD video recording.
We did face some issues with usability,
though. For example, the centered
locking pin for changing the shooting
mode was a hindrance. Imagine trying
to switch from manual mode to shutter
priority mode while shooting a busy traffic
scene. Beneath the Shooting mode is the
Release mode. This also comes with a
locking pin. The Release mode will help
you switch to options like Single-frame,
Continuous Low, Continuous High, Quiet
and Self-timer. Continuous High provides
us with a superb 5.5 frames per second,
which makes it faster than the D800.
One can use both DX and FX lenses
on this camera. With the DX lens, the
image will be cropped and you’ll notice
the amount of data lost. It’s only then can
one understand the futility of using them
on the D600. We used the AF-S Nikkor
18-70 mm 1:3.5-4.5G ED lens to test the
DX feature and the 24-120 mm 1:3.5-5.6D
lens to test the FX feature. Both were kept
at 35 mm, aperture at f/4.5 and shutter
speed 1/8th sec, 640 ISO.
The Nikon D600 is quieter than most
other full-frame DSLR cameras, even
when not on the Quiet release mode. And
while it’s obviously not in the same league
as other cameras in terms of build quality,
ruggedness and durability, the Nikon D600
can certainly hold its own when it comes
to cutting-edge features and technologies.
The Nikon D600 is truly a unique blend of
the D7000 and the D800.
- Mexy Xavier
11/23/2012 9:13:14 PM
 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
LAPTOP
LENOVO THINKPAD
X1 CARBON
FOR: Lightweight; keyboard feels good; decent screen and performance.
AGAINST: Slight flex on the body’s insides; surface can attract scratches.
L
enovo’s new ThinkPad X1 Carbon
is powered by an Intel Core
i5-3427U processor that runs at
1.8 GHz, with Turbo Boost taking it to
2.8 GHz. There’s 4 GB of DDR3 memory
and a 256 GB SanDisk SSD onboard.
Graphics processing is done by the Intel
HD4000, which is sufficient for basic
game titles but nothing more. The screen
supports a resolution of 1600 x 900.
The power connector is rather
unconventional; it looks like a USB port.
For connectivity, there are only two
USB ports, one on either side. There
is no HDMI or D-Sub port, but there is
a mini-DisplayPort output. There are
some unique offerings too, such as the
RapidCharge feature, which does charge
very quickly indeed.
The X1 Carbon is built well; it’s slim
and weighs around 1.36 kg, so it’s really
light and easy to carry around. Its surface
is matte-finished with a sort of rubberised
treatment. It provides good grip but
scratches are very clearly noticeable.
The hinge doesn’t seem too strong, and
Basic connectivity options are present on either side. there’s some wobbling noticeable when
you push down on it.
The keys are pretty large considering
the X1’s size and there’s a decent tactile
feel; they aren’t mushy either. Spacing is
SPECIFICATIONS just about right and getting used to the
Rs 1,02,000 layout isn’t a problem. The only problem
www.lenovo.com
we had was with the Function key, which
Dimensions (WxHxD): 331 x 18.85 x 226 mm; Weight:
is placed at the bottom left corner in
1.36 Kg; Processor: Intel Core i5-3427U; RAM: 4 GB
DDR3; Storage: 256 GB SSD; GPU: Integrated Intel place of the Ctrl key. Some keys, such as
HD4000 graphics; Screen size: 14-inch; Resolution: the Pause key, aren’t to be seen either.
1600 x 900.
The Print Screen key is placed at the
CONTACT Lenovo India
PHONE 1800-425-2666
EMAIL smcindia@in.ibm.com VERDICT
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
A BIT EXPENSIVE, BUT HAS DECENT
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY LIFE.
VALUE FOR MONEY
36 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0301212_Hardware Standalones_Part_01.indd 36
bottom, right next to the spacebar.
The trackpad is pretty large and easy
to use. There’s also a pointing stick that
you can choose to use. The only cooling
vent visible is on the left of the notebook;
it’s calm and there’s a gentle stream of
warm air.
While there are few things to complain
regarding the features and build quality
of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, there’s
nothing much that comes in the way of
performance. The Core i5 3427U offers a
decent amount of performance, similar
to notebooks in the Rs 60,000 range.
The overall score for PC Mark 7 is 4371,
comparable to other Ultrabooks. Graphics
performance is limited due to the lack of
a discrete graphics solution.
The area that the X1 excels is in
storage. The 256 GB SSD onboard the
X1 ensures it can read data at ridiculous
speeds. Read peaks out at 469 MB/s
and write speeds peak at 421 MB/s.
Application loading in general is also
swift. No hard drive also means that it’s
lighter, more power-efficient and quick.
The drive onboard is a 256 GB one, so
you get reasonable storage space too.
File compression using 7-zip and
video encoding to x264 formats isn’t
spectacular. Battery life is where the X1
performs; it managed to run a stressful
rendering test for just under 2 hours,
which is very respectable.
All in all, the X1 Carbon is a rough,
daily-use notebook that will keep you
company for many years.
- Rossi Fernandes
11/24/2012 2:35:45 PM
 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
LAPTOP
DELL LATITUDE
E6430
FOR: Solid build quality; has ExpressCard and eSATA ports.
AGAINST: Expensive; average performance; heavy and bulky.
T
he Dell Latitude E6430 is a laptop
made for businesses. It packs a
punch with good hardware, lots
of features and reliable build quality. At
the heart of the 14-inch Latitude E6430 is
Intel’s Core i5-3320M clocked at 2.6 GHz;
it’ll go up to 3.3 GHz with Turbo Boost
enabled. There’s 4 GB of RAM, but Dell for
some reason has shipped it with a 32-bit
version of Windows 7 Professional. This
means the entire RAM can’t be used.
The Latitude E6430 has a pointing
stick like Lenovo’s ThinkPad line. The
pointer is flat and is a little difficult to use
for longer periods, but is accompanied
by a second set of mouse click buttons.
There are also dedicated volume up,
down and mute buttons, so it’s quick to
control the speakers on the notebook.
The status indicators are right above the
keyboard, besides some indicators on
the lid. The DVD drive has a small clip
that springs open and can be used for
removing the DVD drive. You can plug
in any other optical drive in its place in
seconds. There’s also an ExpressCard slot
The notebook has a dedicated Wi-Fi toggle switch on and an eSATA socket for external drives.
the right side. Quite shockingly, the notebook doesn’t
have a webcam, despite it costing close
to a lakh.
The keyboard doesn’t include a
numerical pad, but it’s laid out well
SPECIFICATIONS and because of its width it’s actually
Rs 94,139 easy to use. The keys are firm and have
www.dell.co.in
just the right amount of tactile feel to
Dimensions (WxHxD): 352 x 32.4 x 241 mm; Weight: 2
Kg; Processor: Intel Core i5-3320M; RAM: 4 GB DDR3; them. The size of the keys is larger than
Storage: 500 GB HDD; GPU: Integrated Intel HD4000 most of the notebooks that come with
graphics; Screen size: 14-inch.
the chiclet design. There’s close to no
CONTACT Dell India
PHONE 1800-425-4026
EMAIL NA VERDICT
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
AN EXPENSIVE, AVERAGE PERFORMER
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
THAT’S BUILT TO LAST.
VALUE FOR MONEY
38 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0301212_Hardware Standalones_Part_01.indd 38
spacing between keys, but the chances
of making errors are low. There’s also
keyboard backlighting, so it’s easy to work
when it’s dark. It automatically turns the
backlight off when you don’t use it for
a few minutes; you can also tweak the
brightness of the backlight. The trackpad
is a tad small, but the buttons on it are
really nicely made.
When it comes to performance, the
Latitude E6430 is nothing spectacular. It
matches the performance of notebooks
roughly in the Rs 65,000 range. Tasks
like video encoding and file compression
don’t take too long, but a faster processor
would have definitely helped a lot more. It
comes with only a 500 hard drive, not an
SSD, which hampers performance further.
For example, file transfer tests show
speeds of just 74.08 MB/s while reading
and 61.79 MB/s while writing. Graphics
performance doesn’t impress either. With
just a HD4000 under the hood, this is
not a laptop on which you’ll be running
high-quality games.
When it comes to entertainment,
things are pretty good. The screen has
decent colours and it’s a matte finish,
so there’s hardly any reflection. Viewing
angles aren’t too great, though. The
speakers, although not very loud produce
well-detailed sound.
In our stressful battery test, it lasted
close to two hours on its 6-cell battery.
Things don’t get too hot either. There’s a
large vent on the left side that helps keep
the temperature well under control.
- Rossi Fernandes
11/24/2012 2:36:57 PM
 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
LAPTOP
TOSHIBA
PORTEGE Z930
FOR: Very light and easy to carry; decent performance.
AGAINST: Poor build quality; keyboard not well-designed.
T
oshiba’s Portege Z930-X3430 is
very thin and very light, just like
the Z830. The base of the Z930
is very smooth and flat, as is the top.
However, the lid is very thin and prone
to flexing, while the hinge isn’t very
sturdy. It’s not something that can stand
a good jolt, so you’ll have to be careful.
On the inside, there’s also some flexing
when you press down on the panels.
The keyboard has very little travel and
the keys are small and a bit wide, so you
need to get used to it. It’s not just the
functionality, the keyboard looks odd in
other ways too. For example, the keys are
marked in upper case and Backspace is
written as ‘BACK SPACE’. The spacebar
doesn’t register key presses easily either.
The trackpad’s size is fine, but the
mouse buttons at the bottom can be a
little annoying. They’re small, glossy, and
strangely, there’s a fingerprint scanner
placed bang in the middle.
The USB, HDMI and D-Sub ports on the Z930 are located The Toshiba Portege Z930 has an
at its rear.
Intel Core i5-3427U and 6 GB of RAM.
For graphics, it has the Intel HD4000,
which is sufficient for most tasks and
basic gaming. For storage, there’s a
Toshiba 128 GB SSD onboard, which is
a little small in size. Toshiba bundles a
copy of Windows 7 Ultimate with the
OS, but surprisingly, the OS is of the
32-bit variety, which means only some
SPECIFICATIONS
3-odd gigabytes of RAM are actually
Rs 96,000
www.toshiba-india.com usable. There’s even a D-Sub port,
Processor: Intel Core i5-3427U; RAM: 6 GB DDR3; which is not something you find on
Storage: 128 GB SSD; GPU: Integrated Intel HD4000; Ultrabooks. An HDMI port is also present.
Screen size: 13-inch; Resolution: 1366 x 768.
The Portege gives you plenty of
CONTACT Toshiba India
PHONE 0124-4996600
EMAIL NA VERDICT
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
A LIGHT-WEIGHT ULTRABOOK WITH
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
AVERAGE PERFORMANCE AND BUILD.
VALUE FOR MONEY
40 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0301212_Hardware Standalones_Part_01.indd 40
Function-key shortcuts. One interesting
thing about these shortcuts is that you
can enable them by simply holding down
the Function key; on doing this, an overlay
appears, which can be clicked using the
mouse pointer.
The performance of the Toshiba
Z930 is almost identical to that of
most Ultrabooks using this processor.
Apart from the memory and storage
solutions, most of the other components
are more or less identical. PC Mark 7,
which is a good tool to check overall
system performance, throws up a pretty
good score of 5360. The solid-state
drive onboard the Z930 helps too, with
read speeds reaching 448.7 MB/s and
write speeds touching 369.7 MB/s. File
compression and video compression tests
also show scores very similar to other
Ultrabooks. 3D performance is decent
owing to the Intel integrated graphics
solution onboard the Z930.
In terms of display and audio quality,
the Toshiba Portege Z930 isn’t so
impressive. The screen has a matte
finish, which is alright, but the colours
don’t seem really vibrant. The screen
gets really bright, but it also loses detail
immediately. The viewing angles are
pretty bad too.
Battery performance is decent and
the notebook will last you two hours
when running heavy load applications.
With general browsing and multimedia
playback, you can easily stretch this
number to a few more hours.
- Rossi Fernandes
11/24/2012 2:38:14 PM

PHONE
Sony Xperia SL
VERDICT: The Xperia SL is essentially old wine in a new bottle.
FOR: Excellent camera; good media playback; excellent build quality; NFC.
AGAINST: Expensive; very similar to the Xperia S.
T
he Xperia SL has the same solid
build of the Xperia S, which despite
being plastic, manages to feel
sturdy and well-made. It does appear
a bit blocky, but is comfortable to hold
and carry. It’s slim at just 10.6 mm thick
and it’s pretty light as well at 144 gm. It
has a plastic flap-covered microUSB port
and HDMI port on either side, while the
3.5 mm headphone jack is on the top.
The interface is a lot snappier than the
Xperia S, which is mostly due to the SL
having ICS; not the latest in the Android
world, but we’ll take what we get.
The interface is incredibly smooth and
fluid, and the lag that was present in the
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 12,499
www.spice-mobile.com
Detail Dimensions (WxHxD): 143x77.4x10.5 mm; Weight:
205 g; CPU: Dual-Core 1 GHz ; RAM: 512 MB; Display:
5.0-inch TFT LCD, 480x800 pixels; Camera: 5 MP with
autofocus and LED flash; Storage: 4 GB; Video: VGA; OS:
Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.
CONTACT Spice Mobile
PHONE 0120-4363879
EMAIL parikshit.markanday@spicemobile in
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
FEATURES
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
0301212_Hardware Standalones_Part_01.indd 43
old phone seems to have been ironed out.
The phone is powered by the same dual-
core Qualcomm MSM8260 processor, but
now it runs at 1.7 GHz instead of 1.5 GHz.
Optics is one of the strong suits of the
Xperia SL and the 12 megapixel shooter
excels at macro shots provided the
lighting condition is ideal. While there’s
no doubt that the Xperia SL is a good
performer, we’ve already seen this in a
handset once before - the Xperia S. The
bottom line is, the Xperia SL is a phone
that should never have existed — it serves
no purpose other than that of a filler in
Sony’s pricing strategy.
- Roydon Cerejo
PHONE
Spice Stellar Horizon Mi-500
VERDICT: Not the best in its class, but is worthy of consideration.
FOR: Decent battery; plenty of security apps; decent audio quality; dual SIM.
AGAINST: Poor camera quality; no 1080p playback.
T
he Stellar Horizon Mi-500
from Spice could put the
company on the map again.
It’s a slim, swanky handset with a
squared off iPhone-meets-Galaxy Note
style. Weighty at 205 gm, the Horizon
certainly feels good. The additional rear
panel with an attached flip cover adds a
touch of “leathery” class to the handset.
The 5-inch (not scratch-resistant)
display sports a 480 x 800 pixel
resolution, but the colours aren’t too
vibrant. It comes with 4 GB of internal
storage, of which about 3GB is accessible.
You can add more memory to this Dual
SIM (GSM + GSM) device through the
microSD slot.
A 1 GHz dual core processor runs under
TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 30,999
www.sony.co.in
Dimensions (WxHxD): 64 x 128 x 10.6 mm; Weight:
144 g; CPU: dual-core 1.7 GHz ; RAM: 1 GB; Display: 4.3-
inch LED LCD, 720x1280 pixels; Camera: 12 MP with
autofocus and LED flash; Storage: 32 GB; Video: 1080p
@30 fps; OS: Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.
CONTACT Sony India
PHONE 1800-103-7799
EMAIL sonyindia.care@ap.sony.com
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
the hood pushing ICS in native mode,
but it seems the phone doesn’t utilise
the processor effectively. The overall
user experience, however, isn’t too bad.
The stock player’s media capabilities are
decent, but nothing great; 1080p videos
had issues during playback. A sound
recorder and an FM radio with recording
are also built in.
With Wi-Fi (Hotspot and Wi-Fi Direct),
Bluetooth, GPS and 3G supported,
connectivity was not an issue. NQ Mobile,
Anti Theft and Anti Virus apps are
bundled along with a few other freebies.
The 5 megapixel AF camera comes
with an HDR and Panorama option but
photo quality is just about average.
- Shayne Rana
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 43
11/24/2012 2:39:57 PM
 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE

TABLET

WICKEDLEAK WAMMY DESIRE

VERDICT: An affordable dual-core Android tablet with good battery life.
FOR: Dual-core processor; fluid UI; bundled capacitive stylus.
AGAINST: The build could have been slightly better.

T
he WickedLeak Wammy Desire addition to a Mali 400 GPU. The tablet
offers a better feature set than comes with 8 GB of built-in storage.
SPECIFICATIONS other budget Android tablets. It also has a capacitive stylus, but
Rs 6,499 It’s the most compact 7-inch tablet you’d be more comfortable using your
www.wickedleak.org we’ve come across so far, at just 9.9 fingers. The crisp and vibrant display has
Dimensions (WxHxD): 191 x 116 x 9.9 mm; mm thick. It doesn’t have any physical a resolution of 800x480 pixels, which
Weight: 343 g; Processor: 1.5GHz dual-core: GPU: Mali
or touch-sensitive buttons for Home, is similar to what its competitors offer.
400; RAM: 1GB; Storage: 8GB; Display: 7-inch, 800 x
480 pixels; Connectivity: Wi-Fi, 3G (via dongle), HDMI Menu and Back, but you’ll find the power Thanks to the powerful hardware, the UI
and USB host; Camera: 1.3 MP front; OS: Android v4.1 and volume buttons on the top. For doesn’t feel sluggish even after prolonged
Jelly Bean.
connectivity, it has a 3.5 mm headphone usage. The tablet comes loaded with
CONTACT WickedLeak
PHONE 09324311617 jack, a micro USB port and an HDMI a 3,000 mAh battery that lasted 4.5
EMAIL wickedleakinc@gmail.com port. The back panel has a matte, hours in our video loop test, which is very
rubberised finish with a dimpled texture. commendable. Among low-cost Android
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY The Wammy Desire runs Android 4.1 tablets, we strongly recommend the
ERGONOMICS
Jelly Bean, and is powered by a 1.5 GHz Wammy Desire.
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE dual-core processor, and 1 GB RAM, in - Anand Tuliani
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY

TABLET

ZENFOCUS MYZENTAB 708BH

VERDICT: An overpriced tablet for the feature-set it offers.
FOR: Good quality bundled earphones; five-hour battery life.
AGAINST: Expensive; grainy display screen; low volume built-in speaker.

T
he 708BH is powered by the
Allwinner Boxchip A10 chipset
SOC codenamed Sun4i Crane.
The processor is an ARMv7 clocked at
1 GHz and uses the MALI-400 GPU for
acceleration. The RAM supplied is 512
MB while the internal storage is a good
8 GB. However, of this 8 GB, only 5.35
GB is available for user data while 1
GB is reserved for installing apps. The
display is the regular 7-inch LCD screen
seen on other similarly-sized tablets, and
has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. It
also has a front-facing 0.3 megapixel
camera. The operating system installed
on the 708BH is Android 4.0, ICS. For
connectivity, it has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and
3G support via USB dongle. Lastly, the
tablet is powered by a 3200 mAh battery,
which the manufacturer claims will give
you at least five hours of continuous
usage. The exterior is a matte-finished
steel-gray panel. The shell is firm and
rugged, but not as sturdy as one would
SPECIFICATIONS
expect. The volume rocker and power/
stand by buttons are placed on the
Rs 7,899
www.zenfocus.com
top, while the right side sports all the
Dimensions (WxHxD): 195 x 122 x 11.7 mm; Weight:
necessary interfaces, which include the 347 gm; CPU: ARM V7 1 GHz, GPU: MALI 400; RAM: 512
power and headphone sockets, a microSD MB; Storage: 8 GB; Display 7-inch, 480 x 800 pixels,
Camera: Front VGA; Battery: 3200 mAh; OS: Android
card slot, the mini USB PC interface ICS; Connectivity: mini USB, USB OTG, Wi-Fi b/g/n.
and a mini HDMI port. The tablet plays CONTACT ZenFocus
a large number of media formats with PHONE 0124-4294440
EMAIL info@zenfocus.com
ease. It handled high definition 720p and
1080p videos easily, and the bundled RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
earphones are surprisingly good.
FEATURES
- Francis D’sa PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY

44 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0441212_Hardware Standalones_Part_02.indd 44 11/24/2012 2:42:46 PM

 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 7,999
www.zenmobile.in
Dimensions (WxHxD):238.6 x 148.6 x 11.8 mm;
Weight: 513 g; CPU: ARMv7 Cortex A-8 1.5 GHz, GPU:
MALI-400; RAM: 512 MB, Storage: 4 GB; Display 9-inch,
800 x 480 pixels, Camera: Front 1.3 MP; Connectivity:
microUSB, USB OTG, Wi-Fi, 3G and Ethernet( via
Dongle); Battery: 4000 mAh.
CONTACT Zen Mobile
PHONE 011-29531910
EMAIL samay.sayal@zenmobile.in
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
DIGITAL CAMERA
CANON POWERSHOT SX160 IS
VERDICT: An affordable camera with good optical zoom and manual controls.
FOR: Good colours and details; manual controls; intuitive UI; sturdy build.
AGAINST: Uses AA batteries; poor video recording; colour fringing.
T
he SX160 IS is the successor to
the SX150 IS with subtle design
changes and an improved feature
set. The SX160 IS has better-defined
edges towards the top and along the
bulge that houses the two AA batteries.
The lens has been upgraded too—the
12x zoom lens of the SX150 IS started
from 28 mm and extended up to 336
mm. The SX160 IS goes up to 448 mm,
which translates to 16x optical zoom.
You have complete control over the
exposure thanks to the semi and full
manual modes that allow you to tinker
with various parameters. The SX160 IS
can shoot videos at 720p, and you can
even zoom in while recording.
The camera handled noise quite well
46 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0441212_Hardware Standalones_Part_02.indd 46
TABLET
ZEN ULTRATAB A900
VERDICT: A tablet with good battery life, but low display quality.
FOR: Good price; good performance; good battery life; large display; good build.
AGAINST: Poor display and audio quality.
T
he A900 is powered by an ARMv7
Cortex A9 processor clocked at
1.5 GHz. It has 512 MB of RAM, a
Mali 400 GPU, and runs on Android 4.0
ICS. The tablet offers you 4 GB of internal
storage space. The A900’s display is an
odd and large 9 inches with a resolution
of 800 x 480 pixels. The device comes
with a 4000 mAh battery that claims
to last for an average six hours.
The tablet can play most media types
and content. We did play a few movies
to check if the playback was smooth
enough, and it did not fail us. Media
playback of full HD content was flawless,
but the display is far from perfect with
up to ISO 400, after which you can see
a lot of grain creeping in. Photographs
taken look very pleasing—they’re neither
too punchy nor too drab. Photos have
good contrast and the reproduction of
details even in distant objects is very
good. However, we noticed some colour
fringing around bright areas, which is a bit
of a let-down.
Despite the niggles, the SX160 IS
performs significantly better than other
digital cameras in its class, and even
some more expensive travel compacts.
If you want full manual controls, plenty
of zoom, and stellar performance in
an affordable package, this camera is
certainly worth considering.
- Anand Tuliani
visible pixels, washed out colours and bad
viewing angles.
The tablet’s display issues are also
clearly visible and very distracting while
watching a movie or using it for other
work. The quality of the display is below
average as it has washed out colours and
the brightness levels are lower than those
of any other tablet we have come across.
The video and photo quality on the
display is not as crisp as we expected it to
be. Lastly, the low resolution on the large
display is also a bit annoying as you can
easily notice the pixel grains if you lean in
close for a better view.
- Francis D’sa
SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 12,995
www.canon.co.in
Dimensions (WxHXD): 111.0 x 72.5 x 44.1 mm;
Weight: 291 g (with batteries); Resolution: 16 MP;
Focal length: 28-448 mm (16x optical zoom); Aperture:
F3.5-F5.9; Shutter: 15-1/3200 sec; ISO: 100-160; LCD
display: 3-inch, 230k dots; Video recording: 1280x720.
CONTACT Canon India Private Limited
PHONE 0124-4160000
EMAIL info@canon.co.in
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
11/24/2012 2:44:19 PM
 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE
LAPTOP
L
ASUS G75V
F
FOR: Great performance; decent screen; 3D support; well laid-out keyboard.
AGAINST: Heavy and difficult to carry around; expensive for a notebook.
A
T
he Asus G75V is massive with
its 17-inch display. It’s also very
thick and heavy, weighing at
4.3
4 kg. It has a matte, rubberised finish
on the top. It means no smudges, but
scratches and bumps can be noticed.
The G75V has a large screen, a large
keyboard and large exhausts.
The keyboard on the Asus G75V is
well laid out. There’s a clearly separated
numerical pad too. The trackpad is large,
as are the solidly-built mouse buttons.
There are some minor issues with the
keyboard, though. For example, the Enter
key on the keyboard is smaller than the
right Ctrl key. The Function keys are small
as is the Delete key. The rest of the keys
are standard chiclet-style ones.
The Asus G75V has an Intel Core
i7-3720 processor under the hood. It
crosses all boundaries and Asus is
bundling 16 GB of memory with the
notebook. There’s a 256 GB LiteOn SSD
onboard, along with a Seagate 750 GB
HDD for storage. For gaming, there’s
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M onboard. The
17-inch screen supports a resolution of
1920 x 1080, which is as high as it gets
on notebooks these days. There’s also a
Like everything else, the G75V has state-of-art Blu-ray drive.
connectivity options. The G75V comes bundled with
NVIDIA’s 3DTV Play glasses so you can
game in 3D if you feel the urge to. There’s
even a key on the laptop dedicated for
SPECIFICATIONS toggling between 2D and 3D.
Rs 1,39,999 The G75V performs rather well. It’s
www.asus.in
quick across all the benchmarks and
Dimensions (WxHxD): 415 x 52 x 320 mm; Weight: 4.3
throws up some impressive scores. It’s
kg; Processor: Intel Core i7-3720; RAM: 16 GB DDR3;
Storage: 256 GB SSD / 750 GB HDD; GPU: NVIDIA clearly one of the fastest notebooks
GeForce GTX670M; Screen size: 17-inch; Resolution: around. We gauged the 3D graphics
1920 x 1080.
performance using 3D Mark Vantage.
CONTACT ASUS Technology Pvt Ltd
PHONE 1800-209-0365
EMAIL reachus@asus.com VERDICT
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
AN EXPENSIVE BUY, UNLESS YOU’RE A
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
HARDCORE LAN PARTY ANIMAL.
VALUE FOR MONEY
48 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0441212_Hardware Standalones_Part_02.indd 48
In this test, the G75V reached a score
of 48326, which is way higher than any
other notebook we’ve seen recently. This
performance is all due to the powerful
GeForce GTX670M GPU.
The increase in performance is seen in
other applications as well. For example,
video encoding and file compression
tasks take hardly any time. Video
encoding of a 100 MB clip to x264 using
a double-pass took the notebook 53.7
seconds. The same task would normally
take over a minute and a half on a
mainstream laptop priced around the Rs
60,000 range. The 3D glasses bundled
with the notebook are active ones, so
there is some flickering when you put
them on. The glasses are a tad bulky and
have to be charged via micro USB.
In terms of battery life, the notebook
lasts a little more than an hour, which
isn’t all that great. The screen quality
is good and speakers are loud as well,
so it’s possible to get a reasonably
immersive experience on the G75V while
gaming and watching movies.
Games such as Crysis 2 can run
without any noticeable stuttering at 1920
x 1080 resolution when set to Hardcore
level with 3D enabled. If you’re going to
be playing without 3D, the experience will
only be better. Titles such as Resident Evil
5 run at an average frame rate of 58.1 fps
at 1920 x 1080 32-bit, with image quality
set to extreme levels. Most other titles
won’t be a problem either. Still, the cost
of the G75V is enough for you to be able
to put together a very impressive gaming
rig; one that could effortlessly beat the
G75V’s performance.
- Rossi Fernandes
11/24/2012 2:53:57 PM
 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE

MOTHERBOARD

GIGABYTE
GA-Z77X-UP7
FOR: High-end feature set; good performance; very good bundle;
32-phase CPU power; 4-way SLI and CrossFireX.
AGAINST: Expensive; UEFI BIOS is not the best.

G
igabyte has had some amount
of success with its Sniper series,
but somehow Asus’s R.O.G series
has always been the weapon of choice.
All that could change with its new uber
high-end board, the GA-Z77Z-UP7. This
board comes in a striking black and
orange PCB design with the components
laid out neatly. The PCB doesn’t have
a lot of flex even after installing a large
heatsink. Gigabyte has left plenty of
room around the CPU area, so installing
big heatsinks is not a problem. The CPU
bracket and all the heatpipes for the
heatsinks have anodised plating, making
them more resistant to the elements.
The rear panel sports a total of six
USB 3.0 ports, a PS2 and keyboard and
mouse combo port, VGA, DVI, HDMI and
DisplayPort, Optical SPDIF out, dual-
Gigabit LAN jacks and, Realtek’s ALC898
audio codec for 7.1 channel audio. The
board also supports 4-way SLI and
CrossFireX. Gigabyte has also added a
The GA-Z77X-UP7 features very good set of rear I/O separate PCIe slot for single GPU usage.
ports. As part of the bundle, the board
comes with a Bluetooth 4.0 and a dual-
band Wi-Fi PCIe x1 card. The board also
features dual UEFI BIOS, as well as an
onboard switcher. One of the highlights of
SPECIFICATIONS this motherboard is the 32-phase power
Rs 27,550 distribution along with three phases for
www.gigabyte.in
the onboard graphics and two phases for
Chipset: Intel Z77; Memory: DDR3-1600 (32 GB max);
Expansion slots: 3x PCIE x16, 2x PCIE x1 and 2 PCI; the memory. The board also comes with
SATA: 2x 3 Gb/s and 4x 6 Gb/s; Video outputs: HDMI Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable 5 Technology for
and D-sub; USB ports: 6x USB 3.0 and 6x USB 2.0.
more stable operation under heavy load.
CONTACT GIGABYTE Technology India
PHONE 022-40633222
EMAIL sales@gigabyte.in VERDICT
RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
PACKED TO THE GILLS WITH
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
FEATURES.
VALUE FOR MONEY
The board also features an mSATA
connector onboard, letting you connect
an mSATA-based SSD for Intel ISRT and
Rapid Start. Finally we also have debug
LEDs for quickly checking the system
status or diagnosing problems. This
being a full-blown Z77 chipset, you have
full support for Ivy Bridge and Sandy
Bridge CPUs, up to 32 GB of RAM with a
maximum supported frequency of 2400
MHz, a total of 10 SATA ports and 6 fan
headers on board. Overall, it’s a pretty
feature-packed board, and it comes with
all the accessories you would ever need,
including a front panel USB 3.0 bracket.
In PCMark 7, we got an overall score
of 5670 whereas 3DMark 11 gave us an
overall score of 4678. The performance
numbers were on par with the other
boards we tested. In our real world tests,
the board finished video encoding in
under 21 seconds, and POV-Ray in 13.8
seconds, which is really quick.
At Rs 27,550, this is one expensive
board and is right up there with Asus’s
Maximus V Extreme offering. While both
have a very similar feature set, we do
feel Asus offers you a lot more in terms
of enthusiast-grade features, the OC Key,
for instance. However, the Maximus V
comes at a high price as well. Still, this
is by far one of the best offerings from
Gigabyte so far, and if you’re looking for
an alternative to the Asus Maximus V, this
board fits the bill very well.
- Roydon Cerejo

50 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0441212_Hardware Standalones_Part_02.indd 50 11/24/2012 2:46:01 PM

 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE

MOTHERBOARD

MSI Z77 MPOWER

VERDICT: A robust motherboard for overclocking and high performance PCs.
FOR: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi adapters; dual BIOS; solid build; very good layout.
AGAINST: No PCI slots.

T
he Z77 MPower’s heatsinks around outputs, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi adapters.
the CPU socket are connected by With Intel Core i7-2600K and 8 GB
an 8 mm-thick copper pipe for G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3-1866 installed, this
heat dissipation. The top right of the board board logged 5638 points and 4685 points
SPECIFICATIONS
houses LED indicators, and the OC Genie in PCMark 7 and 3DMark 11 respectively. It
Rs 17,900 button, which analyses the installed CPU took 20 seconds to transcode a 1 minute
www.msi.com
and memory and uses optimal values for MPEG video to H.264, and 13.9 seconds
Chipset: Intel Z77; Memory: DDR3-1600 (32 GB max);
SATA: 2x 6 Gb/s and 4x 3 Gb/s; USB 2.0: 8 (six via automatic overclocking. Below this are an to render a test scene in POV-Ray at
headers); USB 3.0: 8 (two via headers); Video outputs: LED debugger, a USB 3.0 header and six 800x600. We found no lag in performance
HDMI and DP; Expansion slots: 4x PCIe x1 and 3x
PCIe x16; Connectivity: Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi and SATA ports (two SATA 6 Gb/s and four and the scores were at par with other Z77
Bluetooth. SATA 3 Gb/s). The Z77 MPower has seven motherboards using the same settings.
CONTACT MSI Computer India expansion slots: four PCIe x1 and three PCIe If you don’t have a high budget for
PHONE 1800-103-6262
EMAIL marketingindia@msi.com
x16. The PCIe slots offer a combined x16 an extremely high-end motherboard and
link. The rear panel is quite chunky, with still want a feature-rich system, the Z77
RATINGS the six USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a MPower won’t disappoint you.
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE Gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI and DP video - Anand Tuliani
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY

GRAPHICS CARD

ZOTAC GEFORCE GTX 650 Ti

AMP! EDITION
VERDICT: A well-designed card with good performance to boot.
FOR: Ergonomic design; good build; good performer; factory overclocked.
AGAINST: A little expensive.

U
nlike the Asus DirectCU II
offering, ZOTAC has sensibly
designed the cooler around the
size of the GTX 650 Ti instead of just
slapping a large one from one of their
high-end cards. The card’s rear ports
include two HDMI and two DVI (one
DVI-D and one DVI-I) ports. There’s a
little vent as well for air circulation.
The GTX 650 Ti doesn’t require an
extravagant cooler to keep temperatures
in check. Nvidia recommends a 400W
the temperature front, the custom cooler
does a good job of keeping temperatures
in check. The card idles at 40 degrees
Celsius while on full load and does not go
beyond 55 degrees Celsius.
SPECIFICATIONS
With an MRP of Rs 12,999 for the AMP!
Rs 12,999
Edition, the ZOTAC GTX 650 Ti is priced www.zotac.com
the same as the Asus card. In fact, the GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti; Core | Memory speed:
street price of the card should be a lot 1033MHz | 1550MHz; Memory: 2 GB GDDR5; Memory
bus width: 128-bit; Video outputs: 2x DVI, 2x HDMI.
lower, which makes it better value as it
CONTACT ZOTAC International (MCO) Ltd
does offer slightly better performance PHONE 0120-4555666
for less money. If space is a constraint, EMAIL sales@adityagroup.com

PSU as the bare minimum. This being the then ZOTAC’s offering is the way to go
RATINGS
overclocked version of the GTX 650 Ti, as it delivers very good performance in a BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
ZOTAC has bumped up the core speed compact form factor.
FEATURES
from the stock 928 MHz to 1033 MHz. On - Roydon Cerejo PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY

52 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0441212_Hardware Standalones_Part_02.indd 52 11/23/2012 8:17:31 PM

 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE

MFP

HP HOTSPOT LASERJET PRO

M1218NFS
VERDICT: An innovative multi-functional mono laser printer.
FOR: Built-in hotspot; fast prints; IPV6 ready.
AGAINST: No USB host or MMC card reader; no duplex printing.

T
he HP Hotspot LaserJet Pro AIO has a built-in hotspot with WPA/WEP,
M1218nfs MFP features a built-in using which you can connect multiple
hotspot, which is the first in its wireless devices and computers which can
SPECIFICATIONS
class. It’s an A4 printer and scanner that also be used as a router. Simply connect
Rs 18,306
www.hp.com/in can print and scan at resolutions of 600 x the Ethernet port to an existing router or
Dimensions (WxHxD): 435 x 306 x 365 mm; Weight: 600 dpi and 1200 x 1200 dpi respectively. a modem and all the devices that can
8.3 Kg; Functions: Print, Scan, Copy, Fax; Resolution: It can also send faxes using the built-in wirelessly connect to the printer can use
Print: 600 x 600 dpi, Scan: 1200 x 1200; Connectivity:
Ethernet 10/100 mbps, Wi-fi 802.11 b/g/n; USB 2.0. 33.6K modem and can store around 500 the Internet and the printer. The printer is
CONTACT Hewlett Packard India pages in its memory. Printing speeds can very compact, lightweight and has a rugged
PHONE 1800-425-4999 go up to 18 ppm, and the first page can and sturdy build. Installing and configuring
EMAIL in.contact@hp.com
be out in as little as 8.5 seconds after it’s the AIO and hotspot is very simple; it can
RATINGS powered on. A toner cartridge costs Rs also be configured via Internet browsers,
BUILD QUALITY
4,018 and can print around 1800 pages, just as you’d configure a regular router.
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE which costs about Rs 2.25 per print. The - Francis D’sa
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY

MONITOR

DELL S2740L
VERDICT: A solid performer with good features and design at a reasonable price.
FOR: Great performance and design; value for money; responsive touch controls.
AGAINST: Glossy screen attracts smudges; rather few connectivity options.

T
he stylish Dell S2740L doesn’t
belong to the Ultrasharp line
of products, but it runs a full
HD 1080p IPS panel and has a refresh
rate of 60 Hz. The power adapter isn’t
built-in, so there’s a separate adapter
block. The S2740L has DVI, D-Sub, and
HDMI ports as well as two USB ports.
The UI is controlled by four touchscreen
buttons that are easy to use. It’s a very
screen to complete black, we expected
some backlighting issues. The screen
doesn’t go too dark, but there are no gray
blobs or patches seen.
Our tests proved it to be a very good
display, which is clear when you play
high-definition content on the screen.
There’s no sign of videos trailing at high SPECIFICATIONS
frame rates, which is good for gaming as Rs 23,000
well. Colours are natural and gradients www.dell.co.in

easy monitor to tweak and customise. are smooth without clear signs of Screen size: 27-inch; Resolution: 1920 x 1080; Refresh
rate: 60Hz; Connectivity: USB 2.0, DVI, D-Sub, HDMI.
The Dell S2740L is pretty impressive banding. Upscaled content also looks
CONTACT Dell India
with regard to performance. We found pretty decent. There’s some fine noise PHONE 1800-425-4026
it to have a contrast ratio of 591:1, which that can be seen, but that again is mostly EMAIL NA

isn’t too shabby. The screen renders due to the sharpness, which is something
RATINGS
colours evenly across the panel and there you can tone down. Text is flawless as BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS
are no smudges and blobs of darker are the images.
FEATURES
shades anywhere. When we set the - Rossi Fernandes PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY

54 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0441212_Hardware Standalones_Part_02.indd 54 11/23/2012 8:19:59 PM

 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE

BT HEADSET ACCESSORY SPEAKER

NOKIA BH-221 LOGITECH ULTRATHIN DIVOOM BLUETUNE-2

VERDICT: This NFC-enabled Bluetooth
KEYBOARD COVER VERDICT: Provisioned for good quality
headset is as rich in features as it is easy audio but lacks true portability.
to use. VERDICT: A well-designed keypad with FOR: Colour options; great bass; easy to
FOR: Available in many colours; quick access for all your typing needs. use.
360-degree rotating clip; Caller ID; NFC. FOR: Sturdy; clips on easily; well-spaced AGAINST: Should have had an option for
AGAINST: Buttons are a little hard. keys; plenty of shortcuts; great battery. battery power.
AGAINST: Slightly expensive.
SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 4,250 Rs 6,599 Rs 5,279
www.nokia.co.in www.logitech.com/en-in/home www.divoom.com

Dimensions (WxHxD): 45.9 x x 18 x 45.9 mm; Weight: 28.5 g; Dimensions (WxHxD): 241.2 x 9.96 x 189.85 mm; Weight: 327 Dimensions (WxHxD): 300 x 140 x 150 mm ; Connectivity:
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP + EDR; Display: 1.0-inch gm; Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1, microUSB charging. Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP + EDR; Display: 1.0-inch OLED;
OLED. CONTACT Logitech India Operating Range: Up to 10 metres; Driver Size:2×2.8 inch.
CONTACT Nokia India PHONE 09810991545 CONTACT Sai Impex
PHONE 022-30303838 EMAIL kdas@logitech.com PHONE 022-24950322
EMAIL NA EMAIL info@saiimpex.co.in
RATINGS
RATINGS BUILD QUALITY RATINGS
BUILD QUALITY ERGONOMICS BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS FEATURES ERGONOMICS
FEATURES PERFORMANCE FEATURES
PERFORMANCE OVERALL RATING PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING VALUE FOR MONEY OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY VALUE FOR MONEY

L ike a few of its predecessors, the

BH-221 is a clip-on style Bluetooth
headset, available in cool colour
options. It features an OLED display
and a 360-degree rotating clip. The
rubberised coating on the front panel
prevents scratches, but the buttons
are a tad hard to press. Nokia’s in-ear
earphones are small but loud.
The BH-221 is also an NFC-enabled
headset. Nokia has thrown in an FM
radio that has an auto scan and save
option. FM reception is fairly clear.
The OLED display is an extremely
handy feature. It shows battery power,
has a caller ID option and shows the
name of the radio station and track ID.
The BH-221 can be charged via
a standard micro USB adapter. It’s
capable of running non-stop for up to
seven hours while within a distance of
10 metres from the source.
- Shayne Rana
L ogitech’s Ultrathin Keyboard cover
features a magnetic clip-to-the-
side style. It weighs in at about 952
gm with the iPad 2 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G.
With the keyboard clipped on and
shut, the package comes up to about
15 mm thick. This keyboard case will
also turn off the display if you shut the
lid. There’s a Bluetooth sync button,
a power switch, and a micro USB
port to charge the case. The bundled
cable is rather short and charging is
quite difficult at times. The membrane
keypad is quite comfortable and the
angle of display is just about right.
The best part is the number/
shortcut that allows single-click
options. The company claims it can run
for 6 months on a single charge if used
for about 2 hours a day. If you own an
iPad and shy away from notebooks,
this is a must-have accessory.
- Shayne Rana
T his neat little oval-shaped
boom box is equipped with two
2.8-inch drivers that are capable
of dishing out tunes to the level
of up to 20 watts (RMS). It comes
in a series of funky colours.
Setting up the speakers is simple
and no codes are needed. The base
has a rubberised surface so it doesn’t
slide around too much.
The Bluetune-2 pushes out a heavy
and well-balanced bass, while the
higher and mid-level tones can easily
be controlled via your handset, tablet
or PC. We tested it with all levels
switched off and flat and were very
satisfied with the quality. You can
also plug in a non-Bluetooth equipped
player to the Bluetune-2 via the Aux In
jack near the power button at the rear.
A cable has graciously been provided
for this.
- Shayne Rana

56 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0441212_Hardware Standalones_Part_02.indd 56 11/23/2012 8:21:23 PM

 TEST CENTER
HARDWARE

EXTERNAL STORAGE POWER SUPPLY UNIT PORTABLE STORAGE

TRANSCEND FSP RAIDER 550 ADATA DASHDRIVE

STOREJET 35T3 VERDICT: A uniquely-designed PSU for
DURABLE HD710
gaming and server rigs.
VERDICT: A good option if you want a FOR: SATA array cable connectors; 120 VERDICT: A rugged, portable storage
hard drive for backups. mm exhaust fan. device for the frequent traveller.
FOR: Compact design; one-touch backup AGAINST: Non-modular designed cables. FOR: Rubberised exterior; shock-
button; good transfer speeds. resistant and waterproof.
AGAINST: None. AGAINST: None.
SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATIONS
Rs 8,000 Rs 4,200 Rs 8,999
in.transcend-info.com www.fsplifestyle.com www.adata-group.com

Dimensions (WxHxD): 44.8 x 172.4 x 152.4 mm; Weight: 1.04 Power rating: 550 watts, power connectors: 1 x 20+4-pin Dimensions (WxHxD): 132 x 99 x 21.5 mm; Weight: 220 g;
Kg; Capacity: 2 TB; Interface: USB 3.0. motherboard power, 1 x FDD, 6 x SATA, 4 x 4-pin molex, 2 x Interface: USB 3.0; Capacity: 1TB.
CONTACT Supertron India 6+2-pin PCI-e; Protection: OCP, OVP, OPP, SCP and UVP; CONTACT ADATA Technology
PHONE 011-41318277 Cooling fan: 1 x 120 mm. PHONE 022-67587046
EMAIL pankaj@supertronindia.com CONTACT FSP India EMAIL sale_in@adata-group.com
PHONE 011-46527092
RATINGS EMAIL eddy@fsp-group.com.tw RATINGS
FEATURES BUILD QUALITY
PERFORMANCE RATINGS FEATURES
OVERALL RATING BUILD QUALITY PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY FEATURES OVERALL RATING
PERFORMANCE VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY

T he StoreJet 35T3 is the USB 3.0

variant of the 35T, with transfer
speeds more than twice as high. It
sports an all-black shell with matte
finish and is slightly larger than a
3.5-inch hard drive. It’s smaller than
other external 3.5-inch hard drives and
can stand vertically too. The design is
simple — the surfaces are plain and the
top, rear and base are grilled to keep
the enclosed hard drive cool. The rear
panel has a USB 3.0 port and a power
jack. It also has a one-touch backup
button and the bundled software can
schedule backups, and synchronise
and encrypt data (256-bit AES). We
tested the 2 TB variant, and it logged
sequential read and write speeds of
125 MB/s. The average price of 2 TB
external 3.5-inch hard drives is around
Rs 7,500. At Rs 8,000, the StoreJet
35T3 is good value for money.
- Anand Tuliani
T he Raider 550 is a 550-Watt PSU
for mid-level gaming PCs and
servers. It is 80PLUS Bronze certified
with a single +12 V rail and SATA array
cable design. It has a large 120 mm
exhaust fan and protections, such
as OCP, OVP, OPP, SCP and UVP.
Connectors available are a 20+4-pin
motherboard main connector, a floppy
drive connector, six SATA connectors,
three 4-pin molex connectors and
two 6+2-pin PCI-e power connectors.
The SATA connectors are fixed on the
cable in an array of four connectors
at 50 mm intervals. It’s designed for
easy HDD installation and increased
airflow. The chassis of the PSU is
completely black and has a powder-
finished exterior. The rear has a power
switch and a power socket. The PSU
is not modular designed, which is the
only downside of the product.
- Francis D’sa
A DATA’s DashDrive HD710 family
is composed of rugged USB hard
drives available in 500 GB, 750 GB and
1 TB storage options. The HD710 series
is built with a military-grade shock-
resistant and waterproof rubberised
body. These drives can survive drops
from around 4 feet and can be
submerged under 3 feet of water for
around 30 minutes. These drives won’t
compromise on performance either, as
they feature a USB 3.0 PC interface.
The internal storage unit consists
of 2.5-inch hard drives (5,400 RPM)
that give you data transfer speeds
of up to 109 MB/s with the USB 3.0
interface. In our tests, we achieved
average speeds of around 98 MB/s.
The USB cable is uniquely designed
to wrap around the body, making it
easier for portability and lowering
the chances of losing the cable.
- Francis D’sa

58 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0441212_Hardware Standalones_Part_02.indd 58 11/23/2012 8:22:39 PM

 TEST CENTER
HIGH-END SMARTPHONE COMPARISON
As good as it gets
10 high-end smartphones, 5 operating systems, but only one winner. Check out which of these
suits your pocket. BY FRANCIS D'SA AND ROYDON CEREJO
Neha Mithbawkar
Y
our mobile phone has come a long way from
its days of monochrome displays and the
ability to just make phone calls, send text
messages and ring like an alarm clock. Over the
years, the mobile phone has evolved into what we
call ‘smartphones’, and the reason for this is, you
can practically fulfill most of your computing needs
using this one device. It’s quite remarkable when
you think about how a device that can fit into your
palm doubles as your digital camera, MP3 player,
PMP, calendar, browser, torrent downloader, instant
messenger, social media hub, and so many more.
The high-end smartphone segment is always
an exciting place. It’s here that OEMs put out the
60 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP Jagdish Limbachiya
0601212_High-end Smartphones Comp.indd 60
absolute best they have to offer in terms of both
technology and product design. We’ve reached a
point where specifications only make up half or even
less of the complete picture, and it’s really the design
and the choice of materials used to make the phone
that determine its true worth. When we talk about
high-end smartphones, certain elements can be taken
for granted, like a dual-core CPU, a 4-inch screen,
plenty of onboard storage, dual-band Wi-Fi, etc. In
fact, when it comes to Android, a smartphone is not
high-end until it has four CPU cores and each one can
run at crazy speeds of up to 1.7 GHz, the HTC One X+
being one such example. And the processors are only
going to get faster as 2 GHz SoCs from Qualcomm
SMS us! ¾ Story code: TSC to 51818
11/22/2012 4:10:01 PM

and Samsung are already in the works.
But it’s not only the CPU that’s evolving
at a rapid pace; GPUs are upping the
ante too. Mobile games have already
reached a point where the quality
is comparable to last-generation’s
consoles or even better. Nvidia’s Tegra
SoC houses one of the most powerful
GPUs today, with 12 cores allowing for
advanced lighting and particle effects
in games.
This comparison aims at rounding up
all the high-end smartphones available
in the market and pitting them against
each other to find the best performer
and one that gives you the best value.
Apart from the objective tests, we’ve
compared the phones based on real
world performance, especially with
regard to multimedia capabilities
and camera performance. Aesthetics
also played a very important role in
picking out a winner, along with the
choice of materials used. A high-end
phone should feel and look premium,
so that’s an important criteria as well.
We’ve brought smartphones together
based on different platforms, which
include Android, iOS, Windows Phone
8, BlackBerry OS 7 and Symbian. Let’s
see how the comparison pans out and
which one rises to the top. But first,
here’s a little lowdown on how we went
about testing these slick smartphones.
Test Process
We had 10 high-end smartphones for
this roundup and they comprised of
five different operating systems, which
included Windows, Android, BlackBerry,
Symbian and iOS. Testing these phones
using a single benchmarking utility
across all the OS platforms is almost
impossible, and hence we decided to
perform some subjective tests. Here is
what we did:
Features: In this section, we listed the
entire feature-set of each phone. These
specifications include the processor
speed, amount of RAM and storage,
camera and display specs, battery
rating and life, functions such as FM
radio and TV out, and a few more. As
all smartphones today have 3G and
Wi-Fi support, we did not bother about
these here. We allotted 40 percent of
the overall score to this section.
0601212_High-end Smartphones Comp.indd 61
Build quality: In this section, we
checked the overall firmness of the
chassis and frame, inspected the button
sizes, checked for the rear panel finish
and quality and noted if there are any
metal parts used in the construction.
Lastly, we gave each phone some points
for its aesthetic appeal. This section
was allotted 10 percent of the overall
scores.
Ergonomics: A phone should be
ergonomic and easily usable. Hence in
this section, we analyzed the overall
size of the physical buttons available
and if the phone featured additional
functionalities such as a stylus or a
keyboard to make productivity easier.
We also checked the grip for each
handset to make sure it is comfortable
to handle when using it for writing or
typing, browsing, and while speaking.
Finally, we also noted if discrete
buttons for the camera, search and
the homescreen are available. The
Ergonomics section was allotted 10
percent of the overall scores.
Performance: This section was highly
subjective as we tested capabilities
such as video playback and recording,
photo viewing and capture, audio
playback quality, the display’s viewing
angles and readability, and the
smoothness of the user interface. Each
phone was put to test for a few hours
and we gauged the quality of the audio,
video and photo. Photos and videos
were shot indoors as well as outdoors,
the display’s quality was checked in
mid-afternoon sunlight, its viewing
angles were examined, and lastly, the
user interface’s fluidity was inspected.
The scores in this section accounted
for 35 percent of the overall scores. 5
percentage points were allotted for the
Warranty offered.
Best Performance award: This
award was given to the smartphone
that offered the highest combined
scores in all the five sections—features,
build, ergonomics, performance and
warranty.
Value For Money award: This award
was given to the smartphone that
offered the most amount of features,
best build quality and ergonomics and
the highest performance in ratio to the
lowest price between them.
TEST CENTER
HIGH-END SMARTPHONE COMPARISON
PERSONAL TAKE
Neha Mithbawkar
FRANCIS D'SA
francis.dsa@chip.in
Opting for the ideal high-end smartphone
can be a pain. As Android is open source, it's
the most flexible operating system for a
smartphone. Windows, iOS, BlackBerry and
Symbian are pretty closed and there is
nothing one can do about it. Many users who
have an Android find it much easier to tweak
and set up as compared to other platforms.
Windows phones need a lot of getting used
to, and BlackBerry has too many settings and
options, which take a while to get acquainted
to. iOS and Symbian are straightforward and
easy to operate. But as far as productivity is
concerned, a large screen, powerful
hardware and smooth UI is necessary. In this
case, the Galaxy Note II is what I would
recommend. If I were to opt for a powerful
smartphone, the Note II, with its powerful
CPU, large screen and great stylus is the only
device I would go for.
ROYDON CEREJO
roydon@tech2.com
If I were to put my money on one of these, it
would hands down be the HTC One S. This is a
highly underrated phone that didn’t get the
attention it deserved due to its high launch
price as well as the fact that the Indian
version of the phone comes with the
Qualcomm S3 SoC instead of the much-
anticipated S4. What I love most about the
One S is its design and build. Its aluminium
finish feels incredible, while the body is
super slim and light. As a bonus, its feature
set is nearly identical to the One X and you
even get the amazing burst mode, all at a
very tempting price. The One S also has a
really good high-resolution screen and the
AMOLED technology really helps with the
viewing angles as well as the sunlight
legibility. The One S was really expensive
when it first launched but now, at Rs 25,000,
it makes a very tempting buy.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 61
11/22/2012 4:12:43 PM
 TEST CENTER
HIGH-END SMARTPHONE COMPARISON

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE II

W
VERDICT
CT hile the Note II does resemble only now it runs at 1.6 GHz instead
ins of
the S III, its feel and finish 1.4 GHz. This gives it the extra oomph
THE BEST is miles ahead. Despite its
plastic chassis and fake chrome trim, it
needed for the split-screen fun
functionality
without even skipping a beat. The

ANDROID
ROID MONEY feels like a premium device and is easily
one of the best-built phones available.
Wolfson audio chip on board ensures
e very
good audio quality through the speakers

CAN BUY! The brushed metal-like finish is coated

with some sort of lacquer, so despite a
glossy finish, it doesn't attract smudges.
The front is dominated by a 5.5-inch HD
Super AMOLED slab that's protected
by Gorilla Glass 2. The sides feature the
power button and the volume rocker,
while the microUSB port is at the bottom
and the 3.5 mm headphone jack is on the
top. The S Pen stylus docks in around the
SPECIFICATIONS back beside the speaker grill.
Rs 40,000 Samsung's Nature UX from the S III
Dimensions (WxHxD): 80.5 x 151.1 x 9.4 mm; Weight: 183 g; CPU: and Jelly Bean make a perfect couple as
Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A9; RAM: 2 GB; Display: 5.5-inch Super
the experience is just as good as stock
AMOLED, 720x1280 pixels; Camera: 8 MP with autofocus and LED
flash; Storage: 16 GB; Video: 1080p @30 fps; OS: Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean. The gallery has been upgraded
Jelly Bean and you can now view your photos in
CONTACT Samsung India funky different ways, the coolest of which
PHONE 1800-266-8282
EMAIL NA is a 3D spiralling view. The S Pen works
based on Wacom’s inductive technology
RATINGS and it’s also a lot more sensitive to
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS finer inputs now. Another reason why
FEATURES
everything runs buttery smooth is due
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING to the mighty quad-core Exynos SoC on
VALUE FOR MONEY board. It’s the same one as in the S III,
as well as the bundled headphones. The
video player supports MP4, MKV and
everything in between. 1080p video just
works and the new Pop up play feature
works as advertised.
The Note II is a quad-band GSM
handset with quad-band 3G support and
LTE. You also get dual-band Wi-Fi with
hotspot capabilities and Wi-Fi Direct, GPS
with A-GPS support and GLONASS, USB
OTG, DLNA, external storage up to 64 GB,
Bluetooth 4.0, and TV out via MHL and
NFC, which covers all your connectivity
options. The Note II comes equipped with
an 8 megapixel camera and an LED flash,
just like the camera in the S III. Other
than the fact that it’s a little difficult to
handle, the Note II stands out as the best
Android money can buy right now.
FOR: Excellent multimedia performance;
superb screen; S Pen stylus works well;
good battery life; good camera.
AGAINST: Not the most ergonomic
design for a smartphone.

62 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0601212_High-end Smartphones Comp.indd 62 11/22/2012 4:21:39 PM


SONY XPERIA SL
T
he Xperia
peria SL has the same solid
build of the Xperia S which despite
g plastic manages to feel
being
sturdy and well made. At 10.6 mm, it's
slim, and at 144 gm, is pretty light as
well. There're
re a microUSB port and HDMI
er side, while the 3.5 mm
port on either
headphone jack is placed on the top. The
4.3-inch HD screen sails past the iPhone
5’s Retina Display with a pixel count of
342 ppi. Coupled with the Sony Mobile
BRAVIA Engine, this makes anything and
everything on the screen look super sharp
and crisp. Colour reproduction is very
good and so is the sunlight legibility. The
display also supports 10 finger multi-
touch gestures.
The interface is a lot snappier than
that of its close cousin, which is mostly
due to the fact that it’s Android 4.0 ICS
this time around. The phone is powered
by the same dual-core Qualcomm
MSM8260 processor, but now it's been
overclocked to run at 1.7 GHz instead of
1.5 GHz. The slight bump in speed helps
get rid of some of the lag in the UI while
giving a little boost to demanding apps
like 3D games and photo/video editing.
This increase in power also helps when
browsing, as image-heavy sites tend to
0601212_High-end Smartphones Comp.indd 63
TEST CENTER
HIGH-END SMARTPHONE COMPARISON
render a little quicker. Audio quality is
VERDICT
very good as well and the music player is
simple and easy to use.
The Xperia SL is a quad-band GSM
A FEATURE-R
FEATURE-RICH
and 3G phone with support for high
speeds like 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.8
HANDSET WITH
W
Mbps HSUPA. We also have the usual
assortment of connectivity features like ONE OF THE BEST
Wi-Fi ‘n’, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, NFC and
Bluetooth v3.0 (Xperia S had Bluetooth CAMERAS IN THE
v2.1). The 12 megapixel camera excels
at macro shots but only if the lighting MARKET.
conditions are ideal. Outdoor shots come
out really well with a lot of detail in the
pictures. You also get plenty of depth of
field effects in close-up shots. There’s
no touch-to-focus since you have a
SPECIFICATIONS
dedicated camera shutter button. As far
Rs 30,999
as battery life is concerned, the 1750 mAh
Dimensions (WxHxD): 64 x 128 x 10.6 mm; Weight: 144 g; CPU:
will get you through the day on a single
dual-core 1.7 GHz ; RAM: 1 GB; Display: 4.3-inch LED LCD, 720x1280
charge. For Rs 30,000, the Xperia SL pixels; Camera: 12 MP with autofocus and LED flash; Storage: 32 GB;
makes a very good all-rounder; it offers Video: 1080p @30 fps; OS: Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich
you very good camera performance as CONTACT Sony Mobile India
PHONE 011-66006600
well as multimedia playback and good EMAIL vikram.sood@sonymobile.com
connectivity options.
RATINGS
FOR: Excellent macro photography; BUILD QUALITY
sturdy design and build; display has ERGONOMICS
FEATURES
vibrant colours; NFC.
PERFORMANCE
AGAINST: Capacitive buttons aren’t very OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
responsive; no expandable memory.
Joshua Navalkar INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 63
11/22/2012 4:23:17 PM
 TEST CENTER
HIGH-END SMARTPHONE COMPARISON

1 2 3

SpecScan

BRAND SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE II HTC SONY XPERIA ION

Model GT-N7100 One S LT28h
Contact Samsung India HTC India Sony Mobile India
Phone NA 1800 266 3566 011-66006600
E-mail NA india_customerservice@htc.com Vikram.sood@sonymobile.com
Price* Rs. 38,900 Rs. 33,590 Rs. 34,990
OVERALL
Features (40%) 84 74 71

Build quality (10%) 63 90 95

Ergonomics (10%) 64 64 77

Performance (35%) 94 86 82

Warranty (5%) 67 67 67

0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100

Overall (out of 100) 83 78 78

Value For Money
FEATURES
Dimensions | Weight 80.5 x 151.1 x 9.4 mm | 183 g 65 x 130.9 x 7.8 mm | 120 g 68 x 133 x 10.8 mm | 144 g
Operating system Android Jelly Bean Android ICS Android ICS
CPU 1.6 GHz, 4 cores 1.7 GHz, 2 cores 1.5 GHz, 2 cores
GPU Mali-400MP Adreno 220 Adreno 220
RAM 2 GB 1 GB 1 GB
Display: Size | Resolution 5.5-inch | 720 x 1280 pixels 4.3-inch | 540 x 960 pixels 4.55-inch | 720 x 1280 pixels
Type | Glass Super AMOLED | Gorilla Glass 2 Super AMOLED | Gorilla Glass LED LCD | Scratch resistant
Storage: Onboard | Expandable option 16 GB | ✔ 16 GB | ✔ 13 GB | ✔
Hot-swap SD card ✔ ✔ ✔
Camera | Flash | Video recording 8 MP | ✔ | 1080p @ 30 fps 8 MP | ✔ | 1080p @ 30 fps 12 MP | ✔ | 1080p @ 30 fps
FM radio | TV-out ✔ | via MHL ✔ | via MHL ✔ | via micro HDMI
PC interface | Data transfer option micro USB | Drag-n-drop micro USB | Drag-n-drop micro USB | Drag-n-drop
Battery rating 3100 mAh 1650 mAh 1900 mAh
Talk time | Standby time (Rated values) 16 h | 890 h NA 4 h | 350 h
BUILD QUALITY
Quality: Shell | Buttons 4.5 | 4 5|5 5 | 3.5
Rear panel: Finish | Sturdiness Glossy | 4.5 Matte | 5 Matte | 4.5
Port flaps | Use of metal in construction ✖|✖ ✖|✔ ✔|✔
Aesthetics 4.5 5 4.5
ERGONOMICS
Overall button size 4.5 5 3.5
Buttons: On panel | For camera | For search Physical and Capacitive | ✖ | ✖ capacitve | ✖ | ✖ Capacitive | ✔ | ✔
Keyboard | Stylus | Handset grip On-screen | ✔ | 3.5 On-screen | ✖ | 4 On-screen | ✖ | 4.5
PERFORMANCE
Audio playback: Built-in speaker | Bundled headset 5 | 3.5 5 | 3.5 3.5 | 4
Video playback: HD 1080p | Smoothness 5|5 5|5 5|5
Image viewing 5 4 5
Photo capture: Outdoors | Indoors 5|4 4|4 5|4
Video Capture (Outdoors) 5 4 4
Readability in sunlight (Text and video) 4.5 4 4
Smoothness of user interface 5 4.5 4.5
Display viewing angles 5 5 4.5
WARRANTY
Warranty period 1 year 1 year 1 year
Scores out of 5 * Prices are indicative and are subject to change, taxes extra

64 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0601212_High-end Smartphones Comp.indd 64 11/22/2012 4:24:29 PM

 TEST CENTER
HIGH-END SMARTPHONE COMPARISON

4 5 6 7

SAMSUNG GALAXY S III NOKIA HTC SONY XPERIA SL

GT-I9300 808 Pureview One X LT26ii
Samsung India Nokia India HTC India Sony Mobile India
NA 011-30303838 1800 266 3566 011-66006600
NA NA india_customerservice@htc.com Vikram.sood@sonymobile.com
Rs. 35,499 Rs. 34,499 Rs. 37,899 Rs. 32,549

81 63 70 66

58 77 80 84

59 78 66 70

85 92 86 83

67 67 67 67

0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100

77 76 76 74

70.6 x 136.6 x 8.6 mm | 133 g 60.2 x 123.9 x 13.9 mm | 169 g 69.9 x 134.4 x 8.9 mm | 130 g 64 x 128 x 10.6 mm | 144 g
Android Jelly Bean Symbian Belle Android Jelly Bean Android ICS
1.4 GHz, 4 cores 1.3 GHz, 1 cores 1.5 GHz, 2 cores 1.7 GHz, 2 cores
Mali-400MP Broadcom BCM2763 GeForce Adreno 220
1 GB 512 MB 1 GB 1 GB
4.8-inch | 720 x 1280 pixels 4-inch | 360 x 640 pixels 4.7-inch | 720 x 1280 pixels 4.3-inch | 720 x 1280 pixels
Super AMOLED | Gorilla Glass 2 AMOLED | Gorilla Glass Super IPS | Gorilla Glass LED LCD | Scratch resistant
16 GB | ✔ 16 GB | ✔ 32 GB | ✖ 32 GB | ✖
✔ ✖ ✖ ✖
8 MP | ✔ | 1080p @ 30 fps 41 MP | ✔ | 1080p @ 30 fps 8 MP | ✔ | 1080p @ 30 fps 12 MP | ✔ | 1080p @ 30 fps
✔ | via MHL ✔ | via micro HDMI ✔ | via MHL ✔ | via micro HDMI
micro USB | Drag-n-drop micro USB | Drag-n-drop micro USB | Drag-n-drop micro USB | Drag-n-drop
2100 mAh 1400 mAh 1800 mAh 1750 mAh
11 h 40 m | 790 h 6 h 50 m | 540 h NA NA

4|4 4|5 5|5 4.5 | 4.5

Glossy | 4.5 Matte | 4.5 Matte | 5 Matte | 4.5
✖|✖ ✔|✖ ✖ |✖ ✔|✖
4 3.5 5 4.5

4.5 4.5 5 4
Physical and Capacitive | ✖ | ✖ Physical | ✔ | ✖ capacitve | ✖ | ✖ Capacitive | ✔ | ✖
On-screen | ✖ | 3.5 On-screen | ✖ | 4.5 On-screen | ✖ | 4.5 On-screen | ✖ | 4.5

4.5 | 3.5 4.5 | 4 5 | 4.5 4.5 | 4

5|5 5 | 4.5 5|5 5|5
5 4.5 5 5
3|5 5|5 4|4 4|3
4 5 3 4
4 4.5 4 4
5 4.5 5 4.5
5 5 5 4.5

1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year

Joshua Navalkar INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 65

0601212_High-end Smartphones Comp.indd 65 11/22/2012 4:25:37 PM

 TEST CENTER
HIGH-END SMARTPHONE COMPARISON

8 9 10

SpecScan

BRAND APPLE IPHONE HTC BLACKBERRY BOLD

Model 5 Windows Phone 8x 9900
Contact Cell Point, Mumbai HTC India Research In Motion, India
Phone 9819031860 1800 266 3566 9892579925
E-mail fmadhiya@gmail.com india_customerservice@htc.com sgayakwad@rim.com
Price* Rs. 47,000 Rs. 35,023 Rs. 34,990
OVERALL
Features (40%) 60 64 53

Build quality (10%) 87 74 86

Ergonomics (10%) 66 84 75

Performance (35%) 90 84 69

Warranty (5%) 67 67 100

0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100

Overall (out of 100) 74 74 66

Value For Money
FEATURES
Dimensions | Weight 58.6 x 123.8 x 7.6 mm | 112 g 66.2 x 132.4 x 10.1 mm | 130 g 66 x 115 x 10.5 mm | 130 g
Operating system Apple iOS 6 Windows Phone 8 BlackBerry OS 7
CPU 1.2 GHz, 2 cores 1.5 GHz, 2 cores 1.2 GHz, 1 cores
GPU PowerVR SGX 543MP3 Adreno 225 Adreno 205
RAM 1 GB 1 GB 768 MB
Display: Size | Resolution 4-inch | 640 x 1136 pixels 4.3-inch | 720 x 1280 pixels 2.8-inch | 640 x 480 pixels
Type | Glass IPS | Gorilla Glass S-LCD2 | Gorilla Glass 2 TFT | NA
Storage: Onboard | Expandable option 16 GB | ✖ 16 GB | ✖ 8 GB | ✔
Hot-swap SD card ✖ ✖ ✖
Camera | Flash | Video recording 8 MP | ✔ | 1080p @ 30 fps 8 MP | ✔ | 1080p @ 30 fps 5 MP | ✔ | 720p @ 30 fps
FM radio | TV-out ✖ | via AV ✖ | NA ✖ | via NA
PC interface | Data transfer option Lightning | iTunes micro USB | Drag-n-drop micro USB | Drag-n-drop
Battery rating 1440 mAh 1800 mAh 1230 mAh
Talk time | Standby time (Rated values) 8 h | 225 h NA 5 h 50 m | 307 h
BUILD QUALITY
Quality: Shell | Buttons 5|5 5|4 5 | 4.5
Rear panel: Finish | Sturdiness Matte | 5 Rubberized | 5 Matte | 4.5
Port flaps | Use of metal in construction ✖|✔ ✖|✖ ✖|✔
Aesthetics 4.5 5 4.5
ERGONOMICS
Overall button size 5 3.5 4
Buttons: On panel | For camera | For search Physical | ✖ | ✖ Capacitve | ✔ | ✔ Physical | ✔ | ✖
Keyboard | Stylus | Handset grip On-screen | ✖ | 4.5 On-screen | ✖ | 5 Physical QWERTY | ✖ | 4
PERFORMANCE
Audio playback: Built-in speaker | Bundled headset 4|4 4.5 | 4 3.5 | 3
Video playback: HD 1080p | Smoothness 5|5 5|5 NA | 3.5
Image viewing 5 5 4
Photo capture: Outdoors | Indoors 4|4 4|4 4|2
Video Capture (Outdoors) 5 4 3
Readability in sunlight (Text and video) 5 3 4.5
Smoothness of user interface 5 4.5 4.5
Display viewing angles 5 5 4.5
WARRANTY
Warranty period 1 year 1 year 1.5 years

66 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP Joshua Navalkar

0601212_High-end Smartphones Comp.indd 66 11/22/2012 6:19:11 PM

 TEST CENTER
MEGA ZOOM CAMERA COMPARISON

Go the Distance
If you love photography and can't find the will to empty your bank balance on expensive
telephoto or macro lenses for a DSLR, these super zoom cameras are the way to go.
BY ANAND TULIANI

68 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP Joshua Navalkar Jagdish Limbachiya SMS us! ¾ Story code: TSC to 51818

0681212_Mega Zoom Camera Comp.indd 68 11/22/2012 8:29:12 PM


S
uper zoom digital cameras are very
different from the usual point-and-
shoot and travel zoom cameras. At
first glance, some of these hefty shooters
come across as DSLRs; they're as large
and also feel like one when held, as the
large telephoto lens contributes to the
majority of the bulk. But thanks to smaller
sensors, digital cameras have an edge
over DSLRs, which have sensors about
eight times larger in area. With smaller
sensors, it’s possible to use smaller optics
to cover a larger focal range. Hence,
the lenses in super-zoom cameras are
all-purpose lenses. A lens can start from
as less as 24 mm and extend beyond
1000 mm. What's more, the same lens
can even take super macro shots. With a
DSLR, you’d need three different lenses
to capture wide, telephoto and macro
shots, the combined cost of which would
run into lakhs of rupees. Larger sensors
and optics in DSLRs yield great results,
and you can change the lenses, but all
that goodness comes with a very high
price tag. If your budget doesn’t allow you
to buy those expensive lenses, but you
want something feature-rich, you should
consider a super zoom digital camera.
With most brands, the only feature
to consistently receive a big update
from previous models is the lens. As
compared to around 30x optical zoom,
the lenses on the newer models can
now extend beyond 40x – the Nikon
CoolPix, for example, has an optical
zoom of 42x and the Canon SX50 HS
goes up to a whopping 50x. To put this
into perspective, if you want 50x zoom
on a DSLR, you'd need a telephoto lens
the size of a bazooka — the kind used
in wildlife photography! Other features
offered by super zooms include filter
effects, panorama mode, RAW support,
GPS and high-speed video recording. You
can shoot in RAW if you want to post-
process, and even add effects to your
images on-the-fly. You don’t necessarily
have to be a pro to use a super zoom
camera; with the intelligent auto and
creative shooting modes, you’ll enjoy
shooting even if you’re a novice.
You’ll be happy to know that the price
range of super zoom cameras starts
from Rs 13,000, while the high-end ones
cost as much as entry-level DSLRs. In
this roundup, we took nine super zoom
cameras for a spin to find out which one
shoots the best.
0681212_Mega Zoom Camera Comp.indd 69
Test Process
The super zoom cameras were tested on
the basis of five parameters – features,
build quality, ergonomics, performance
and warranty.
Features: It is the set of features and
the added functionality that make a
digital camera versatile. We therefore
assigned quite some weightage to the
camera features and awarded greater
scores to those with better specifications.
To start with, we noted the effective
resolution, zoom, focal length, white
balance settings, ISO speeds, shutter
speed and preset scenes. Image
stabilisation also plays a very crucial
role, especially when using the zoom as
the images tend to get very blurry if the
camera happens to shake even a bit.
Other features taken into consideration
were the display type (if it only tilts
or flips out), mode dial type, metering
modes, filters, effects, colour modes and
finally, the video recording resolution.
Before going ahead with the performance
tests, we also checked for the memory
capacity—both internal and bundled.
Cameras that came bundled with extra
memory were awarded higher points.
Build quality: This is considered a very
important factor as far as cameras are
concerned. Since cameras are delicate
devices, the body should be sturdy and
ruggedly built to be able to withstand
occasional knocks when on the road. We
evaluated the quality of construction, and
the firmness of moving parts such as the
battery compartment lid and port flaps.
Ergonomics: A good camera is designed
with the user in mind. A camera should
be designed so that the user finds it easy
to use and navigate between various
functions. Factors that were taken into
account are the overall design, button
size/spacing and the user interface. The
camera should offer a good grip, while
the controls should be easily accessible.
Besides that, a camera should also offer
an interface that is easy to comprehend
and use. The presence of navigational
aids such as directional pads and mode
selection dials were also noted.
Performance: To get a good idea about
the performance of each camera, we shot
an indoor scene that we set up, as well
as an outdoor scene of a playground.
To test the quality of the optics, a noise
test was conducted at three different ISO
levels. To make sure the picture remained
TEST CENTER
MEGA ZOOM CAMERA COMPARISON
PERSONAL TAKE
Neha Mithbawkar
ANAND TULIANI
anand.tuliani@chip.in
If you’re planning to put in more than Rs
20,000 for a super-zoom camera, it better have
a lot of features and good ergonomics. You
should be looking at the optical zoom, keeping
in mind the maximum aperture at the wide and
telephoto ends. Personally, the best is the
Panasonic Lumix FZ-200, which can maintain a
large f/2.8 aperture throughout the focal range
and is extremely comfortable to use. But
unfortunately, it comes at a hefty premium for
what it offers, and the price far exceeds my
budget. For Rs 34,990, I'd rather go for a DSLR.
The next best option is the second best
performer in the roundup, the Nikon Coolpix
P510. I like it for the feature set, which
includes a 42x zoom lens, GPS and a high
resolution display that tilts. It takes great
photos and videos, and most importantly, at Rs
23,950 it doesn’t burn a hole into my pocket. It
would have been even better value for money,
if it had support for shooting in RAW.
consistent throughout the tests, we
used a tripod and shot all scenes using
Program mode and the lowest ISO. We
evaluated the overall replication of colour,
contrast and details that each image
produced. A macro range test was also
carried out where we basically measured
the closest distance at which the camera
could focus. Points were awarded to
cameras that could lock in on the subject
at the lowest distance.
Warranty: Since a super zoom
camera is an expensive investment, it is
important for it to be backed by robust
warranty and support. The warranty
period each camera offered by their
respective manufacturers was noted.
Value for Money: The test was
concluded by computing the overall
“value for money”. This was derived
by stacking the sum of features, build
quality, ergonomics, performance and
features against the price. The greater the
score, the greater the value for money.
Depending on the scores, the cameras
were awarded the Best Performer and
Best Value for Money titles.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 69
11/22/2012 8:30:18 PM
 TEST CENTER
MEGA ZOOM CAMERA COMPARISON
PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-FZ200
P
VERDICT anasonic has got everything
correct with the DMC-FZ200 right
A BRIDGE CAMERA from the design and build to the
overall performance. At 12.1 megapixels,
THAT ANY PRO its resolution is slightly less than that of
some other cameras. However, it has a
WOULD LIKE TO bright lens that shoots comfortably even
in low light. The optics are designed to
OWN. maintain a constant f/2.8 right up to
600 mm. In addition, a large aperture
also results in good background blur. The
FZ200 can shoot videos at 1920x1080
and high-speed videos (200 fps VGA and
100 fps HD) that playback in super slow
motion. There’s also a side zoom lever,
which is more comfortable to use than
the one on the top while shooting videos.
SPECIFICATIONS It is built solidly and the bulge and the
textured rubber lend for good grip. The
Rs 34,990
controls on the top and rear panels are
Weight: 588 g; Resolution: 12.1 MP; Focal length: 25-600 mm; Optical
zoom: 24x; Aperture: F2.8; LCD monitor: 3-inch, 460K dots; RAW easily reachable. Right behind the shutter
support: Yes; Video recording: 1980x1080. release button are buttons for video
CONTACT Panasonic India recording and burst shooting, besides
PHONE NA
EMAIL pi.prdesk@in.panasonic.com the Fn1 button which can be assigned a
function of your choice from the settings.
RATINGS Burst Shooting offers six modes including
BUILD QUALITY
ERGONOMICS 40-shot and 60-shot burst, 12-shot burst
FEATURES
and 5-shot burst with flash. The control
PERFORMANCE
OVERALL RATING panel on the rear has a horizontal dial
VALUE FOR MONEY at the top for navigation and changing
70 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP Jagdish Limbachiya
0681212_Mega Zoom Camera Comp.indd 70
values, a 5-way D-pad, Q.Menu button,
playback button and two more custom
function buttons. The D-pad has
shortcuts for ISO, white balance, self-
timer and AF mode. The EVF mimics the
optical viewfinder in DSLRs, and has to
be activated manually.
Shooting with the FZ200 is fun. The
swivel display allows framing from odd
angles. With Creative Control mode, you
can select from a variety of effect filters
including Retro, HDR, Cross Process, Toy
and Miniature.
The overall performance of the camera
is excellent. It handles noise very well up
to ISO 400 and you have the RAW mode
if you prefer post-processing your photos.
The camera performed well in our video
recording test, but we noticed slight jitter
and focusing issues while panning quickly
and zooming in.
Serious photographers will like the
feature set and the kind of results it
delivers, but at this price, Panasonic
should have included GPS, a higher
resolution display and a larger sensor.
FOR: Excellent lens; RAW support;
excellent user interface; bundled lens
hood.
AGAINST: No GPS; expensive.
11/22/2012 8:35:02 PM

SONY CYBER-SHOT DSC-H100
T
he Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H100
competes with mid-range point-
and-shoots and a few travel zoom
cameras. At the same price point, you can
go in for a travel compact with almost
the same feature set and slightly less
zoom (around 12 to 15x). Its large body
allows for a comfortable grip and a well
laid-out control panel with large buttons.
The grip has a textured, rubberised
finish, and houses four AA batteries.
Now this is an advantage as well as
a downside – AA batteries are easily
available, but a Li-ion battery pack
doesn’t add too much weight and takes
less time to charge.
There’s nothing special about the
25-525 mm lens when compared to the
other cameras in the roundup, but in the
under Rs 15,000 category, the 21x optical
zoom is among the highest. The controls
aren’t as complex as the high-end
models. In addition to the Intelligent Auto
and Program shooting modes, the H100
has Scene, Manual, Sweep Panorama
and Movie mode – semi-manual Av and
Tv modes are absent. The Manual mode
allows you to adjust some parameters,
but doesn’t allow you to tinker much
with the aperture. You can only switch
0681212_Mega Zoom Camera Comp.indd 71
TEST CENTER
MEGA ZOOM CAMERA COMPARISON
between the smallest and the largest
VERDICT
F-value at the set focal length. Being an
entry-level super zoom, video recording is
limited to 1280x720 at 30 fps, along with
A GOOD LOW-COST
optical zoom while shooting.
Considering only the performance,
OPTION, BUT A
the H100 ranks fifth. It performed fairly
well in the indoor and outdoor tests. The TRAVEL ZOOM
reproduction of colours and detail was
very good in images of subjects within WOULD MAKE
close proximity, but finer details in images
of distant objects were not up to the MORE SENSE AT
mark. It handled noise quite well up to
ISO 200, after which the amount of grain
increases significantly. We recommend
THE SAME PRICE.
you don’t go above ISO 400 unless the
lighting is very poor. The quality of video
recording was average. We faced focusing SPECIFICATIONS
issues and the IS mechanism struggled to Rs 12,990
keep the frame steady at full zoom.
Weight: 543 g; Resolution: 16.1 MP; Focal length: 25-525 mm; Optical
Although the H100 is good value for zoom: 21x; Aperture: F3.1-F5.8; LCD monitor: 3-inch, 460K dots; RAW
money, you’d be better off if you spend support: No; Video recording: 1280x720.
a little extra and invest in a good travel CONTACT Sony India
PHONE 1800-103-7799
zoom camera like the Fujifilm F660EXR EMAIL sonyindia.care@ap.sony.com
or Canon SX240 HS – you’ll get a better
RATINGS
feature set and much better results. BUILD QUALITY
FOR: Good build; user-friendly interface; ERGONOMICS
FEATURES
very well priced.
PERFORMANCE
AGAINST: Uses four AA batteries; slow OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
flash recycle; no Av and Tv modes.
Joshua Navalkar INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 71
11/22/2012 9:01:44 PM
 TEST CENTER
MEGA ZOOM CAMERA COMPARISON

1 2 3

SpecScan

NAME PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-FZ200 NIKON COOLPIX P510 SONY CYBER-SHOT DSC-HX200V
Contact Panasonic India Nikon India Sony India
Phone NA 1800-102-7346 1800-103-7799
E-mail pi.prdesk@in.panasonic.com nindsales@nikonoa.net sonyindia.care@ap.sony.com
Price* Rs. 34,990 Rs. 23,950 Rs. 24,990
OVERALL
Features (25%) 81 69 78

Build quality (15%) 100 100 100

Ergonomics (20%) 96 81 80

Performance (35%) 95 87 72

Warranty (5%) 67 33 100

0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100

Overall 91 81 81
Value for money
FEATURES
Dimensions | Weight 125 x 87 x 110 mm | 588 g 120 x 83 x 102 mm | 555 g 122 x 87 x 93 mm | 583 g
CCD size | Effective resolution 1/2.33-inch | 12.1 MP 1/2.3-inch | 16 MP 1/2.3-inch | 18.2 MP
Focal length | Optical zoom 25 - 600 mm | 24x 24 - 1000 mm | 41.7x 27 - 810 mm | 30x
Aperture F2.8 - F2.8 F3.0 - F5.9 F2.8 - F5.6
Shutter speed 60 - 1/4000 sec 8 - 1/2000 sec 30 - 1/4000 sec
ISO range | Increment step ISO 100 - 3200 | 1/3-step ISO 100 - 3200 | 1-step ISO 100 - 12800 | 1/3-step
LCD monitor | EVF 3-inch, 460K dots | y 3-inch, 921K dots | y 3-inch, 921K dots | y
Modes: Auto | Easy/Smart auto | PASM | Custom ✖|✔|✔|✔ ✔|✖|✔|✔ ✔|✔|✔|✔
Metering: Evaluative | Center | Spot ✔|✔|✔ ✔|✔|✔ ✔|✔|✔
No of scene presets 18 16 16
Effect filters: Fish-eye | Selective color | HDR | Miniature ✖|✔|✔|✔ ✖|✔|✖|✖ ✖|✔|✔|✔
Toy camera | Panorama | Others ✔|✔|9 ✖|✔|6 ✔|✔|2
Colour modes: Vivid | Sepia | B/W | Others ✖|✔|✔|1 ✔|✖|✔|0 ✔|✔|✔|0
No of white balance modes | Custom white balance 9|✔ 5|✔ 5|✔
Video: Resolution | Frame rate | Zoom while recording 1920x1080 | 60 fps | Optical 1920x1080 | 30 fps | Optical 1920x1080 | 50 fps | Optical
Hot-shoe for external flash | Bundled lens hood ✔|✔ ✖|✖ ✖|✖
RAW support | HDMI output | GPS ✔|✔|✖ ✖|✔|✔ ✖|✔|✔
Built-in memory 70 MB 90 MB 105 MB
Battery type Li-ion Li-ion Li-ion
BUILD QUALITY
Quality: Shell | Buttons | Port flaps | Battery lid 5|5|5|5 5|5|5|5 5|5|5|5
Aesthetic appeal 5 5 5
ERGONOMICS
Grip | Ease of menu navigation 5|5 4.5 | 4 5 | 4.5
Buttons: Size | Spacing | Tactility 5|5|5 4.5 | 5 | 4.5 4.5 | 5 | 5
Shortcut buttons: ISO | Flash | Self timer | Macro ✔|✖|✔|✔ ✖|✔|✔|✔ ✖|✔|✔|✖
Drive mode | Video rec | EV | Custom ✔|✔|✔|2 ✖|✔|✔|1 ✔|✔|✖|1
PERFORMANCE
Overall contrast: Indoors | Outdoors 5 | 4.5 4 | 4.5 4.5 | 5
Overall capture quality: Indoors | Outdoors 4.8 | 4.8 4.3 | 4.7 2.9 | 3.5
Noise test (ISO): 400 | 800 | 1600 5|5|5 4.5 | 5 | 4.5 2.5 | 3 | 3.5
Video: Image quality | Playback smoothness 4 | 3.5 4.5 | 3.5 5 | 4.5
WARRANTY
Warranty period 2 years 1 year 3 years
Scores out of 5 * Prices are indicative and are subject to change, taxes extra

72 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP Jagdish Limbachiya

0681212_Mega Zoom Camera Comp.indd 72 11/22/2012 8:35:23 PM

 TEST CENTER
MEGA ZOOM CAMERA COMPARISON

4 5 6 7

PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-FZ150 NIKON COOLPIX P500 FUJIFILM FINEPIX SL300 SONY CYBER-SHOT DSC-H100
Panasonic India Nikon India Fujifilm India Sony India
NA 1800-102-7346 0124-4325500 1800-103-7799
pi.prdesk@in.panasonic.com nindsales@nikonoa.net NA sonyindia.care@ap.sony.com
Rs. 23,950 Rs. 20,950 Rs. 19,499 Rs. 12,990

76 65 54 43

100 97 97 91

83 84 79 63

72 79 64 68

67 33 67 100

0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100

79 77 70 66

124 x 82 x 92 mm | 528 g 116 x 103 x 84 mm | 494 g 122 x 93 x 100 mm | 510 g 122.9 x 83.2 x 81.3 mm | 515 g
1/2.3-inch | 12.1 MP 1/2.3-inch | 12 MP 1/2.3-inch | 14 MP 1/2.3-inch | 16.1 MP
25 - 600 mm | 24x 23 - 810 mm | 36x 24 - 720 mm | 30x 25 - 525 mm | 21x
F2.8 - F5.2 F3.4 - F5.7 F3.1 - F5.9 F3.1 - F5.8
30 - 1/2000 sec 8 - 1/1500 sec 8 - 1/2000 sec 30 - 1/1500 sec
ISO 100 - 6400 | 1/3-step ISO 160 - 3200 | 1-step ISO 64 - 6400 | 1-step ISO 80 - 3200 | 1-step
3-inch, 460K dots | y 3-inch, 921K dots | y 3-inch, 460K dots | y 3-inch, 460K dots | n
✖|✔|✔|✔ ✔|✖|✔|✔ ✖|✔|✔|✔ ✖ | ✔ | only P and M | ✖
✔|✔|✔ ✔|✔|✔ ✔|✔|✔ ✔|✔|✔
22 15 17 11
✖|✖|✔|✔ ✔|✔|✖|✔ ✖|✖|✖|✖ ✖|✔|✖|✖
✔|✖|5 ✖|✔|1 ✖|✔|0 ✔|✔|0
✖|✔|✔|4 ✔|✖|✔|4 ✔|✖|✔|0 ✖|✖|✖|0
9|✔ 5|✔ 6|✔ 5|✔
1920x1080 | 60 fps | Optical 1920x1080 | 30 fps | Optical 1280x720 | 30 fps | Digital 1280x720 | 30 fps | Optical
✔|✔ ✖|✖ ✔|✖ ✖|✖
✔|✔|✖ ✖|✔|✖ ✖|✔|✖ ✖|✔|✖
70 MB 102 MB NA 58 MB
Li-ion Li-ion Li-ion 4xAA

5|5|5|5 5|5|5|5 5|5|5|5 5 | 5 | 5 | 3.5

5 4.5 4.5 4

4.5 | 3.5 4.5 | 4 5 | 3.5 4.5 | 4

4.5 | 4.5 | 5 4.5 | 5 | 4.5 5 | 4.5 | 5 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5
✔|✖|✔|✔ ✖|✔|✔|✔ ✖|✔|✔|✔ ✖|✔|✔|✖
✔|✔|✔|0 ✔|✔|✔|0 ✔|✖|✔|0 ✖|✖|✖|0

5 | 2.5 4 | 4.5 3.5 | 4 4 | 3.5

3.7 | 3.1 2.9 | 4.6 3.7 | 3.2 4 | 3.1
5 | 3.5 | 4 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 3.5 | 2 | 1.5 3.5 | 2.5 | 3
4|3 4.5 | 3 3|3 3.5 | 3.5

2 years 1 year 2 years 3 years

Joshua Navalkar INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 73

0681212_Mega Zoom Camera Comp.indd 73 11/22/2012 8:36:38 PM

 TEST CENTER
MEGA ZOOM CAMERA COMPARISON

8 9

SpecScan

NAME FUJIFILM FINEPIX S4500 OLYMPUS SP-620UZ

Contact Fujifilm India Olympus Imaging India Pvt Ltd
Phone 0124-4325500 022-61420500
E-mail NA oimi_customerservice@olympus.in
Price* Rs. 17,999 Rs. 13,990
OVERALL
Features (25%) 48 42

Build quality (15%) 91 86

Ergonomics (20%) 76 53

60 68
Performance (35%)
67 67
Warranty (5%)
0 50 100 0 50 100

Overall 65 61
Value for money
FEATURES
Dimensions | Weight 118 x 81 x 100 mm | 543 g 110 x 74 x 74 mm | 432 g
CCD size | Effective resolution 1/2.3-inch | 14 MP 1/2.3-inch | 16 MP
Focal length | Optical zoom 24 - 720 mm | 30x 25 - 525 mm | 21x
Aperture F3.1 - F5.9 F3.1 - F5.8
Shutter speed 8 - 1/2000 sec 4 - 1/1500 sec
ISO range | Increment step ISO 64 - 6400 | 1-step ISO 100 - 3200 | 1-step
LCD monitor | EVF 3-inch, 230K dots | y 3-inch, 230K dots | n
Modes: Auto | Easy/Smart auto | PASM | Custom ✔|✔|✔|✔ ✖ | ✔ | only P | ✖
Metering: Evaluative | Center | Spot ✔|✔|✔ ✔|✖|✔
No of scene presets 17 16
Effect filters: Fish-eye | Selective color | HDR | Miniature ✖|✖|✖|✖ ✔|✖|✖|✔
Toy camera | Panorama | Others ✖|✖|0 ✔|✔|6
Colour modes: Vivid | Sepia | B/W | Others ✔|✖|✔|0 ✖|✖|✖|0
No of white balance modes | Custom white balance 6|✔ 4|✔
Video: Resolution | Frame rate | Zoom while recording 1280x720 | 30 fps | Optical 1280x720 | 30 fps | NA
Hot-shoe for external flash | Bundled lens hood ✖|✖ ✖|✖
RAW support | HDMI output | GPS ✖|✔|✖ ✖|✔|✖
Built-in memory NA 59 MB
Battery type 4xAA 4xAA
BUILD QUALITY
Quality: Shell | Buttons | Port flaps | Battery lid 4.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 4.5 4.5 | 4 | 5 | 4
Aesthetic appeal 4.5 4
ERGONOMICS
Grip | Ease of menu navigation 4.5 | 3.5 4 | 3.5
Buttons: Size | Spacing | Tactility 4.5 | 4 | 4.5 4 | 3.5 | 4
Shortcut buttons: ISO | Flash | Self timer | Macro ✖|✔|✔|✔ ✖|✖|✖|✖
Drive mode | Video rec | EV | Custom ✔|✖|✔|0 ✖|✔|✖|0
PERFORMANCE
Overall contrast: Indoors | Outdoors 3.5 | 4 4|3
Overall capture quality: Indoors | Outdoors 3.5 | 2.9 3.3 | 3.4
Noise test (ISO): 400 | 800 | 1600 3 | 2 | 1.5 4|4|3
Video: Image quality | Playback smoothness 2.5 | 3 2.5 | 3
WARRANTY
Warranty period 2 years 2 years

74 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP Joshua Navalkar

0681212_Mega Zoom Camera Comp.indd 74 11/22/2012 8:37:16 PM

 TEST CENTER
SOFTWARE SOFTWARE
SPOTLIGHT

SPEECH-TO-TEXT

DRAGON NATURALLY
SPEAKING 12 PREMIUM
VERDICT: A powerful, accurate but expensive way to dictate text and control a PC with your voice.
FOR: Amazing voice command recognition; highly useful for people with injuries or mobility impairments.
AGAINST: Extremely expensive; caused a few freezes on our test machine.

Installation and setup

V
isions of computers in the future always
involve voice commands. Sadly, neither
software nor hardware is currently
intelligent enough to actually understand what
we say; most voice control software lie unused
after the initial novelty wears off, because users
have to learn a very specific set of commands
and constantly deal with misinterpretations.
Beyond that, the awkwardness of saying out
loud everything you want to type when in an
office or at home makes it impractical.
Speech-to-text has thus always been a niche
category, aimed at those with special needs or
injuries caused by poor posture. Thus, we were
curious about the current version of Dragon
NaturallySpeaking. The package promises that
you'll be able to dictate text, control your PC,
interact with common software, navigate files
and folders, post to Facebook and Twitter, and
even use Gmail and Hotmail. The Premium
Edition, which we tested, lets you create
custom commands and also supports wireless
Bluetooth mics and Dragon’s iOS and Android
apps as remote voice controllers.
NaturallySpeaking 12 comes with a simple
headset in the box. Our test machine had a 3
GHz AMD Phenom II X2 CPU with 3 GB of RAM.
We were warned that this might be insufficient
during installation, but were allowed to proceed.
Windows XP SP3, Vista, 7, "and higher” are
supported, so we tried it on Windows 8.
Installation took nearly half an hour, and
creating a user profile involved 15 minutes’
worth of reading sentences displayed on
screen. The software offers to comb through
documents and emails on your PC to analyse
your vocabulary, but doesn’t let you specify
which ones were created by you. It also lets you
train the recognition profile further whenever
you want to, which is better than hours of
calibration at the beginning. An interactive
tutorial then helps you get used to dictating
text, correcting errors and specifying formatting.
Usage
The software takes up far too much of your
computer screen. There’s a bar permanently

You can improve voice recognition accuracy by letting the software go through Searching for images online is as easy as saying what you want out loud. Bing is
your files to get an idea of your vocabulary and speech patterns. the default search engine.

76 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP SMS us! ¾ Story code: TSM to 51818

0761212_Software Standalones.indd 76 11/22/2012 7:15:49 PM

 TEST CENTER
SOFTWARE

ON DVD
docked to the top, besides a thick side panel with
instructions and tips, which is actually useful.
You can turn off the panel once you're familiar
with the commands. We were soon comfortable
switching between windows, launching programs
and searching the Web. The accuracy was DECEMBER 2012
impressive, and we discovered a mind-boggling
number of commands and options beyond the RED HOT
ones exposed through the tutorial and sidebar.
There is a huge limitation with Windows 8—the
e Autodesk Maya 2013 and more...

M Desktop is completely cut off from the Modern UI

apps and Start screen. We can switch to the Startt
screen with a voice command, but once there,
absolutely nothing will work. Nuance can’t do
FULL SOFTWARE
Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows Desktop
much about Microsoft’s decision, which is a pity.
FULL GAMES LINUX Kingsoft Office for Android 5.1
Dictating text into a blank Word document KORa Deluxe RC1
Warsow Full Game 1.02 LINUX DISTRIBUTION
was smoother than we’d hoped it would be, but LEGO Wolf3D UC Browser (Java) and more...
Ubuntu 12.10
still nowhere near Nuance’s “99% accuracy right Super Motocross Africa 1.16
Unvanquished 0.8.0 SECURITY
out of the box” claim. Specifying formatting LINUX TOOLS Malware Inspector 2.11
Street Racer 1.16 VLC 2.0.4
and pausing to say “COMMA” for each comma SteamPac 1.0 Kingsoft Antivirus 2012 SP5.2
File Roller 3.6.1 SUPERAntiSpyware 5.6.0.1010
was a cumbersome process, but we got used Trial Motorbikes 1.16 gThumb 3.1.2
HMS Diptera 1.01 IObit Malware Fighter 1.6.0.8
to it. NaturallySpeaking made a valiant effort to Tomboy 1.12.1 Panda Cloud Antivirus 2.0.1
Fender Bender 1.01 and more... Python 3.3.0
recognise the jargon we threw at it while reading AVG Free Edition 2013 Build
WordPress 3.4.2 2740a5822
out a motherboard review, but ultimately required GAME DEMOS Nautilus 3.6.1 COMODO Internet Security
manual intervention. We found that a slightly WRC 3 FIA World Rally Evolution 3.6.1 and more... Premium 5.12.55693.2551
Championship Demo ZoneAlarm Extreme Security
exaggerated “theatre voice” produced better Gas Guzzlers: Combat Carnage TOOLS 10.2.081.000
results than natural speech. 99 Levels to Hell ClamWin Free Antivirus 0.97.6
Anna’s Quest 1.0
MULTIMEDIA
SMPlayer 0.8.1 Total Defense Anti-Virus
Demon House 8.0.0.215
Performance and Conclusion Vampires! 1.0
GoPro CineForm Studio 1.3.0.162
Digital Patrol 5.5.43
Lost Photos 1.0.1
The software didn’t put too much of a strain Bust-n-Rush Demo Avira Antivirus Premium 2013
Perfect365 1.8.0.1
Mage Tower 1.0 13.0.0.2693 and more....
on our CPU or memory while idle, but we did Ys Origin Demo
Luminance HDR 2.3.0
encounter a number of severe slow downs and XnView MP 0.51 Beta
Bad Piggies 1.0.0 SYSTEM
JetPhoto Studio 4.12
freezes whenever the program was active. Some Vitrum 1.152 Clover 2.0.136
DenoiseMyImage 3.1
Unmechanical and more... OmegaOffice HD+ 2.01.0001
of these might have been because of Windows Photo Card Maker 1.0.3
PhotoMerge 4.0 FileMind 0.6.6.482 Beta
8, but the experience was not reassuring. Beyond GAME ADD ONS PC Inspector File Recovery 4.0
FreeFotoWorks 11.0.6
just text commands, you can control the mouse Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Hornil StylePix 1.11.4.0 Wise Disk Cleaner 7.66.522
Mod Tools Non-English Avidemux 2.6.0 Portable Multi Commander 2.7.2
cursor using grids overlaid on screen, have
Patch 1.1 ffDiaporama 1.4 and more... Build 1200
passages of text read out to you, transcribe System Shock 2 Patch 2.4 Advanced SystemCare Ultimate
existing recordings, and also interact with Max Payne 3 Patch 1.0.0.57 INTERNET 1.0 Beta
BlackShot Online Patch 2.152 TweetDeck 2.0.1 TaskUnifier 3.0.1 Beta
common software, including Web browsers. Evernote
Warsow Patch 1.02 Avant Browser 2012 Build 183
There’s also a lot more that power users can World of Warcraft Mod - Atlas Shareaza 2.6.0.1 r9212 Snapshot doPDF 7.3 Build 387
harness over extended periods of usage. 1.22.1 SimpleTV 0.4.7 b2 NoteTab Light 7.1 and more...
FarmHelper 4.48 Beta and more... VSO Downloader 2.9.11.8
NaturallySpeaking could easily be a life saver
Sothink YouTube Downloader 1.0 MUST HAVES
for someone with physical injuries or impaired Build 438 .NET Framework Version 4.5
GAME TRAILERS YouTube Free Downloader 1.4.0.0 AMD Catalyst Drivers 12.8 XP
mobility. We found it to be more accurate when Doom 3 BFG Edition: Launch
Youtube Video MP3 Downloader AMD Catalyst Drivers 12.8 Vista
reading words steadily off a printed page than 007 Legends: Launch
2.2.0.0 Realtek AC’97 Driver A4.06
Call of Duty: Black Ops II Launch
when trying to Free Download Manager 3.9 Build Realtek High Definition Audio
SPECIFICATIONS Borderlands 2 Mechromancer
compose articles 1249 2.70 XP
Injustice: Gods Among Us GC 2012
Rs 12,995 from scratch. Still, - Catwoman
FileZilla 3.5.3 Realtek High Definition Audio
www.nuance.com/dragon FTPRush 2.1.8 and more... 2.70 Vista and more...
Far Cry 3: The Tribe
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS as useful as it is, Fable: The Journey Launch
System requirements: CPU: 1 GHz; RAM: 2 GB
this program won’t Marvel Avengers: Battle for
MOBILE ADOBE PLAYERS
minimum; HDD space: 4 GB. SnapPea 2.22.0.1582 Beta Adobe Air 3.5.0.460 Beta
magically make Earth Demo
CONTACT ICONS Mobile Master RemoteType 0.9.5 Flash Player 11.5.500.97 Beta (IE)
Injustice: Gods Among Us
PHONE 022-40942600 computers easier Build 212 Beta Flash Player 11.5.500.97 Beta
Green Arrow
EMAIL dmt@icons.net.in Nokia Suite 3.6.21 Beta (Non-IE) and more...
for technophobes Spartacus Legends: Free to Play
Nokia PC Suite 7.1.180.94
to use. Effort is still Street Fighter X Tekken: New
RATINGS Samsung Kies 2.5.0.12094_28
FEATURES
required to bend it
Promotion
Pazera Free Video to 3GP E-BOOKS
WWE 13: WWE Universe Mode
PERFORMANCE Converter 1.2 CHIP ARCHIVES
to your will. Need For Speed: Most Wanted
EASE OF USE smart recovery 4.5 OCTOBER 2011 to SEPTEMBER
(2012) Multiplayer and more...
OVERALL RATING - Jamshed Avarii 2012 (12 months)
VALUE FOR MONEY

0761212_Software Standalones.indd 77 11/22/2012 7:16:07 PM

 TEST CENTER
SOFTWARE

VERDICT

ONE OF THE BEST

FREEWARE
ANDROID PHONE/
TABLET
MANAGEMENT
UTILITIES.

PHONE MANAGEMENT

WONDERSHARE
MOBILEGO
FOR: Extremely easy to use; one-click backup; has all important functions.
AGAINST: None.
MobileGo lets you take complete control of your
smartphone or tablet with its wide roster of tools.

M
obileGo by Wondershare, which
is available for both Android and
iOS, lets you effectively manage
your smartphone or tablet. You have to
pair your Android phone or tablet with the
software via USB or Wi-Fi. On connecting,
it displays the contents of your device
categorised under Music, Videos, Photos,
Contacts, SMS and Apps. You select
the category on the left pane and the
contents are displayed in the right pane.
The UI is so intuitive that you will figure
out things in no time, thanks to the check
boxes and the toolbar at the top that
SPECIFICATIONS lists the functions. It lets you set songs
Freeware as ringtones or alarm tones, manage your
www.wondershare.com contact list, send text messages from
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
your PC (via the phone), install apps,
OS: Windows XP / Vista / 7; RAM : 256MB;
Drive space : 200 MB. move apps to the SD card and do much
CONTACT Wondershare Software Co Ltd more with just a few clicks. It also lets
PHONE +86-755-86117717
you choose multiple items, which makes it
EMAIL via website
easy to uninstall applications.
RATINGS The Toolkit section features handy
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE utilities to manage data on the SD card,
EASE OF USE
OVERALL RATING
back up all data with a single click, and
find duplicate contacts.
The most interesting is the backup
function, which brings up a dialogue box
when clicked. You have to select the
data you wish you back up, and then on
clicking the Back Up button, everything
gets backed up to the specified location
on the PC. An interesting feature
that’s not visible in the main UI is the
notification function, which can be
configured in the settings. The software
pops up incoming call, SMS (with
preview) and battery status (full or
empty) notifications above the system
tray.
The Pro version, which costs $39.95
(approx Rs 2,200) is even more versatile.
It lets you do advanced stuff like
importing and exporting contacts from
Outlook, importing iTunes playlists,
converting music and videos and
exporting music to iTunes.
– Anand Tuliani

78 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0761212_Software Standalones.indd 78 11/22/2012 7:19:23 PM

 TEST CENTER
SOFTWARE

INTERIOR DESIGN

SWEET HOME 3D
VERDICT: Great utility to design and plan your home if you’re the creative type.
FOR: Pretty simple interface; easy to use, free; does a lot.
AGAINST: Could have been more colourful; lacks some refinement.

S
weet Home 3D helps you design of elements with which you can build your
the layout of your home and place home. There’s a massive collection of
furniture. It does this while showing doors, windows, walls, fittings, lights, and
you a 3D render of your home; you can other things that go into a home. You can
walk around in this interactive virtual space. download additional ones from the website
The interface is similar to that of a or even import 3D models created on third-
game level creation tool. There are two party applications.
primary views – one from the top that lets When you’re done creating your home,
you create walls, rooms and doors, and you can export this design to a PDF file. SPECIFICATIONS
an aerial view that shows a real-time 3D The file includes the top view, the list of Free
www.sweethome3d.com
model of the house, which you can also items, and an aerial 3D view. You can
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
use to navigate. The software also lets also render a high-resolution, high-quality OS: Windows, Mac OS X 10.4 to 10.8, Linux and
you design the house, keeping in mind the image. The program is completely free and Solaris.
actual dimensions. This helps make the 3D is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux CONTACT eTeks
PHONE NA
model similar to the real thing. and Solaris. There are also utilities that EMAIL NA
The interface can be a bit complicated allow users to change the texture and look
RATINGS
for someone who hasn’t used such tools of objects, freely available on the site. FEATURES
before. Sweet Home 3D has a large variety - Rossi Fernandes PERFORMANCE
EASE OF USE
OVERALL RATING

0761212_Software Standalones.indd 79 11/22/2012 7:19:52 PM

 TEST CENTER
SOFTWARE

VERDICT

A VERY ROBUST,
EASY AND
STRAIGHT-
FORWARD PDF
UTILITY THAT'S A
MUST-HAVE FOR
EVERY PAPERLESS
OFFICE.

PDF UTILITY

PDF CONVERTER PRO 8

FOR: Ease of use; powerful convertor; auto-formatting; cloud service.
AGAINST: Slightly expensive.

J
ust creating PDF files is too easy
Convert PDFs to spreadsheets with values and for the PDF Converter Professional
formatting retained. 8 from Nuance. The strengths of
this software are rather in its power to
let you edit PDFs. The developers have
incorporated text recognition, which
processes scanned text and lets you edit
it. You can even search through text.
The software converts PDFs into Word,
Excel and PowerPoint files with great
ease. In our tests, even a complex design
with text columns, images and tables was
processed with ease and in an error-free
manner. In addition, the layout was clearly
recognisable too. Just plain, linear text
SPECIFICATIONS hardly poses a problem.
USD $99.99 As with almost any software available
(Approx Rs 6,000)
www.nuance.com nowadays, this PDF converter also offers
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS a connection to the ‘Cloud’. Users can
OS: Windows XP or higher; RAM: 1 GB or higher; Disk
download PDFs from Dropbox, Evernote,
space: 700 MB or higher.
Amazon S3, Google Text & Tables, etc.,
CONTACT Nuance Communications, Inc
PHONE NA process and again save them online
EMAIL NA
without any pauses or intervention
RATINGS needed. This function also works with
FEATURES
newly-created PDFs.
PERFORMANCE
EASE OF USE What's more, the developers allow you
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
to use the speech recognition engine quite
uniquely — comments for a document
can be dictated into a microphone, and
these are then included in the PDF as
notes. However, the user has to speak
very clearly, and the feature should be
considered more of a gimmick rather than
an actual buying criteria.
However, Nuance brings other good
arguments in its favour, with features
such as batch export of form data into a
CSV file, and add-ons for Microsoft Office,
which make creating PDFs from Office
files a breeze.
All in all, PDF Converter Professional
8 is one of the best PDF tools in
the market. Not only can you create
standard-conforming documents, you can
also enrich them with extras like forms
and notes, while being able to edit them
extensively too. This is aided by the really
functional text recognition engine and the
tools for text editing. The connection to
different Cloud services rounds up the list
of great features this tool offers.
– feedback@chip.in

80 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0761212_Software Standalones.indd 80 11/22/2012 7:20:42 PM

 TEST CENTER
SOFTWARE

SYSTEM TUNING

UNIBLUE SPEEDUPMYPC 2013

VERDICT: A very basic utility that doesn’t result in much improvement.
FOR: Good user interface, slight improvement in responsiveness.
AGAINST: Lean on features.

T
he latest version of SpeedUpMyPC
presents optimisation
recommendations in smart drop-
down menus. The tuning options are the
same as in the previous version, including
turning off the services and cleaning up
redundant registry entries. The software
deactivates QoS limitations or moves
the page file, which doesn’t show any
improvement. It would have been more
useful if the software had options to
disable desktop effects and unnecessary
startup services, which it doesn't. It does
turn off services that aren’t used often.
But there’s a catch—it’s advisable to
monitor the list of services because it
even turns off important functions such as
indexing and administrator permissions,
which are required to run certain
programs. On the other hand, it optimises
some background services for improving
performance. Even then, the CPU usage
remained quite high and unchanged under
load. We also found that the system
became slightly slow after logging into
Windows. Overall, SpeedUpMyPC 2013 SPECIFICATIONS
only saves a little disk space by switching $29.95 (approx Rs 1,650)
off unwanted processes. However, boot www.uniblue.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
times and application launches were
OS: Windows XP / Vista / 7 /8; RAM: 512 MB; Drive
slightly faster. For cleaning up and space: 200 MB.
optimising the hard drive, you have to CONTACT Uniblue Systems Ltd
upgrade to Uniblue Powersuite, which PHONE NA
EMAIL info@uniblue.com
costs US $59.95 (approx. Rs 3,300).
It also has more optimisations and a RATINGS
FEATURES
module that updates drivers. PERFORMANCE
- feedback@chip.in EASE OF USE
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY

0761212_Software Standalones.indd 81 11/22/2012 7:21:19 PM

 TEST CENTER
SOFTWARE
MOUSE UTILITY
X-Mouse Button
Control
VERDICT: Brilliant utility that helps you
make the most of your mouse.
FOR: Customisable; light; quite flawless.
AGAINST: None.
SPECIFICATIONS
Freeware
www.highrez.co.uk
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OSL:Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7; Mouse: with 5 buttons
recommended.
CONTACT HighRez
PHONE NA
EMAIL NA
RATINGS
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
EASE OF USE
OVERALL RATING
X -Mouse Button Control is a free,
utility that lets you remap the
buttons on the mouse. It's particularly
useful on mice with more than three
buttons. In Windows, you can assign
buttons or mouse scroll wheel tilts to
perform tasks, ranging from simple
things such as copy-paste actions
to launching applications. You can
even set up buttons for performing
multimedia tasks. One of the neat
options available is the ability to scroll
windows that are under the mouse
pointer, without having to click on
it. The application takes hardly any
memory (roughly 4 MB) and runs
smoothly. You can even set up profiles,
so specific setups for your mouse are
enabled for specific applications or
games. Some other neat tricks include
the ability to reverse the scroll wheel
motion or even set the scroll wheel for
horizontal motion, which can be useful
in horizontally-aligned spreadsheets.
- Rossi Fernandes
82 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0761212_Software Standalones.indd 82
RAM DISK
AMD Radeon RAM Disk
VERDICT: Great utility to set up a RAM
disk on practically any computer.
FOR: Excellent performance; easy to set
up and run.
AGAINST: Not very practical.
SPECIFICATIONS
Free (Paid version: $18.99 -
Rs 1,000)
www.radeonramdisk.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
System: AMD or Intel-based; OS: Windows 8 / 7 /, Vista; RAM:
Minimum 4 GB recommended.
CONTACT AMD
RATINGS
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
EASE OF USE
OVERALL RATING
A MD’s Radeon RAMDisk is a utility
that lets you use your hard disk
space as a RAM disk, which basically
offers much faster data storage than
any SSD or hard drive in the market. A
free version is available that allows you
to create a RAM disk of up to 4 GB in
size if your system has 8 GB of RAM.
The paid version allows you to create
a RAM disk of up to 64 GB in size. The
installation is simple, the software is
easy to set up, and the program takes
no more than two minutes to get
running.
While a typical hard drive offers
read and write speeds of around 100
MB/s, the Radeon RAMDisk takes that
number up to 6,000 MB/s, depending
on the speed of your RAM. It’s a
great utility but not very practical,
considering only games would most
benefit from this, but they’re very large
in size to be accommodated on most
systems.
- Rossi Fernandes
PRIVACY
Total Privacy 6
VERDICT: A very useful utility to
securely wipe Internet history data.
FOR: Simple to use; one-click operation.
AGAINST: Slightly expensive.
SPECIFICATIONS
$ 29.95 (Approx Rs 1,650)
www.pointstone.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OS: Windows XP or higher; RAM: 256 MB; Disk space: 10 MB.
Pointstone Software
CONTACT
PHONE NA
EMAIL NA
RATINGS
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
EASE OF USE
OVERALL RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
M odern Internet browsers tend
to leave behind a lot of critical
information by storing them in cookies,
and history and index files. These files
can reveal a lot of information and
can lead to security issues. To prevent
mishaps, a user needs to wipe all trace
of their activity, and Total Privacy is a
utility that’s designed to do just that.
It automatically erases all Internet
history data with a single click. It also
helps optimise the PC’s performance
by clearing out temporary files and
browser cache. The utility is very simple
and easy to use, but a new user might
find it a bit confusing as it has a lot of
settings and features. The interface
is similar to that of CCleaner, but this
software does a lot more. It can wash
out clipboard contents, windows and
system temp files, Internet cache, IM
messenger cache, third-party plug-in
cache, permanently delete files and
folders, and even wipe free space.
- Francis D'sa
11/22/2012 7:22:17 PM
 TEST CENTER
SOFTWARE

GAME
Jetpack Joyride
Free
iPad, iPhone, Ipod touch; iOS 4.3
OVERALL RATING
Jetpack Joyride is one of the
higher quality free games
available in the App Store. You
can of course pay for extra
credits, but you'll never feel
that you have to. You play as
Barry Steakfries, breaking into a
top-secret lab for an unknown
reason with only your machine-
gun powered jetpack to help
you avoid lasers, missiles and
other obstacles. Along the way
you'll find vehicles to help you
stay alive, and you can earn
powerups by collecting slot-
machine tokens and spinning
for your luck after each
attempt. The coins you collect
can be spent on additional
jetpacks such as the bubble
and rainbow models, which
admittedly add no gameplay
element, but are fun to watch.
There are also a number of
gadgets that actually
do help, such as the
coin magnet and
power shoes. There's
loads of replay
value thanks to the
quirky and irreverent
humour you'll find
in the missions and
achievements.
- Jamshed Avari
GAME
level selection screen. On the
Untangle for iPad other hand, Challenge presents
twenty stages in sequence,
Free starting from the simplest and
iPad; iOS 3.2 ending with the hardest. Once
OVERALL RATING you're done, you have to start
The concept is simple enough: again at the beginning to try
arrange all the dots on your to beat your own high score.
screen such that none of the There aren't any achievements
lines between them cross each to earn, which keeps the game
other. You'll start off simple, simple.
with four or five dots on screen. - Jamshed Avari
By the time you're up to level
20, there are more than ten,
making things a lot tougher.
You'll need logic and spatial
skills to solve the puzzles, and
there isn't only one correct
answer. The game has two
modes: Practice and Challenge.
Practice lets you choose a
level from 1 to 20, and each
time a new puzzle is generated
randomly. However there's no
way to keep playing puzzles
without going through the

PRODUCTIVITY TOOL for later reference, which is GAME buy) credits that let you unlock

CloudClipboard much like advanced clipboard

Rs 110
iPad, iPhone, iPod touch; iOS 5
OVERALL RATING
The thought of being able to
synchronise clipboards across
devices is certainly interesting,
but CloudClipboard cannot
overcome the restrictions of
iOS well enough to deliver on
its promise. On a standalone
device, you can use it to store
a number of recently copied
images, text snippets and URLs
utilities on desktop PCs. The
"cloud" part comes in by
allowing multiple iOS devices
to synch clipboards via iCloud.
This has many potential uses,
but, of course, assumes you
use only iPhones, iPads and
iPod touches. The app would
have been far more useful
with at least a desktop Mac
equivalent (since Windows
support would be too much
to ask for). Sadly, the app's
biggest weakness stems from
iOS's refusal to let such apps
run in the background. It
works for 10 minutes after
you close it, but needs to
be "woken" at intervals
or iOS will automatically
shut it down. So, you
have to remember to run
it when needed or the
whole point is lost.
- Jamshed Avari
Vector
Rs 55
iPhone, iPod touch; iOS 3.1
OVERALL RATING
When thinking of Parkour-
inspired side-scrolling
action games, Mirror's Edge
immediately comes to mind.
Vector looks and acts like
ME, but feels nothing like it.
To begin with, the graphics
are stylised, but a bit crude,
and the controls are nowhere
near as responsive. You play
in short bursts, with an enemy
agent not too far
behind you each
step of the way.
Obviously, you have
to keep running
without letting your
momentum break.
To do this, you
need to earn (or
special moves such as obstacle
vaults and backflips. There are
also gadgets that let you slow
down time and perform other
tricks. These in fact detract
from the experience a bit,
since you don't end up feeling
as though your own skills or
dexterity count for anything.
You also won't be able to
progress without some of the
tricks, forcing you to buy coins
or replay previous levels. There
are three environments to play
through, each with at least 10
levels.
- Jamshed Avari

84 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0761212_Software Standalones.indd 84 11/22/2012 7:24:34 PM


GAME
Word Game
Free
Android
OVERALL RATING
This word game incorporates
some elements of Scrabble.
Like Scrabble, you have seven
letters with which you have to
make at least a three-letter
word. On submitting the word,
the used letters get replaced by
random new letters. The trick is
to make high-scoring and long
words. The score depends on
the letters you use, just like in
Scrabble – Q and Z are worth
10 points, vowels are 1 point
each, J and X are 9 points,
and so on. If you have multiple
repeated letters or don’t need
certain letters, you can swap
them for new ones. The game
uses the word list used in
Scrabble tournaments globally.
MULTIMEDIA
MediaHouse UPnP
/ DLNA Browser
Free
Android
OVERALL RATING
MediaHouse UPnP / DLNA
Browser is an app one step
ahead of its competitors.
The usual features like built-in
music playback, video playback
via external players, server
scanning, play to renderer,
remote control and playlists are
present. But what sets it apart
are features like downloading
and updating album art, movie
names and synopsis, movie
genres, and more. The app
picks up the movie name and
downloads the information
from the online databases. This
makes it easier to know the
movie's genre and actors.
0761212_Software Standalones.indd 85
In the free version, you race
against the clock to make
100 words. The full version,
which costs Rs 138, allows
you to make unlimited words.
If you like playing Scrabble
and solving crosswords, this
game will keep you hooked for
hours.
- Anand Tuliani
The free version has some
limitations, while the paid
version is available for Rs 215.
This is a must-have app if
you're a movie buff and own
a tablet or a large-screen
smartphone.
- Francis D'Sa
TEST CENTER
SOFTWARE
PHOTO EDITING (depending on how powerful
your handset/tablet is) to apply
Sketch Guru the effect. You can further
customise the effect (stroke
Free thickness, density, brightness
Android and hue) by dragging the
OVERALL RATING sliders. The resulting image can
Sketch Guru isn’t as simple as be shared on social networks
other apps that convert photos or via Bluetooth, email and
to sketches with a single click. It messaging.
uses a fairly complex algorithm - Anand Tuliani
to churn out great results. You
can either capture a photo
with the camera or load an
existing photo from the gallery.
Next, you have to select the
aspect ratio (1:1, 3:4 or 4:3) and
then use the markers to select
the area you wish to crop.
The fun starts from the next
step, where you can choose
from 13 sketch effects, which
include Pencil Sketch, Color
Pencil, HalfTone, Comic B&W,
8-bit and Print. On selecting
an effect, it takes anywhere
between 5 to 15 seconds
UTILITY
TouchPal Contacts
Free
Android
OVERALL RATING
TouchPal Contacts allows
you to search contacts on
the dialler. The app sets your
availability, blocks calls, and
integrates Facebook and
Twitter into your contact list.
It also features gesture dialing,
using which you can simply
assign gestures to contacts
and use it on the dialer for
quick dialling. It also features friends' Facebook and Twitter
number attribution, which pages directly from within their
shows the registered location of contact details. You can also
the phone number to help you synchronise your status to
know the caller’s location. The Facebook and Twitter from the
dialler also supports themes app. Synchronising contacts
and skins, which can make it with other users and friends
look more appealing. Using the using TouchPal is also easy and
Facebook/Twitter Integration takes almost no time.
feature, you can access your - Francis D'Sa
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 85
11/22/2012 7:25:10 PM
 HARDWARE
CPU GPU GUIDE

CHIP CPU-GPU Guide

CHIP's guide to CPUs and GPUs will give you an insight into
the processor and graphics chips market.
BY MICHAEL ECKSTEIN AND ANAND TULIANI

Graphics chips: The GTX 690

T
he Nvidia GeForce GTX 680,
which runs the GK104 Kepler reported almost 28,000 points in the
core, is the most powerful single 3D mark Vantage benchmark (Extreme Desktop and mobile CPUs: Intel
GPU solution for gaming. The GTX 690, preset). The dual-GPU Radeon HD tops our list of the best mobile
which uses a pair of GK104 graphics 6990 trails far behind with just 20,000 processors with its Core i7-3720. This
processors, beats all other graphics points. CPU has the best price-performance
cards by a large margin—it lies at the No doubt, the GTX 690 is incredibly ratio among high-end notebooks.
top of our top performing list. powerful, but with a price tag of almost The Core i7-2670QM can handle
AMD hasn’t come out with a rival Rs 70,000, it’s ridiculously expensive. heavy load, but not many notebooks
card to the GTX 680 so far, but a Hence, we don’t think it’s worthy of are currently available with this CPU.
popular graphics card manufacturer, being recommended. On the other The market for desktop processors
PowerColor, has come up with the hand, the GeForce GTX 660 is a worthy is almost unchanged. The prices
Radeon HD 7990 Devil 13. consideration—this graphics card are largely stable. Our purchase
This monstrous graphics card is combines good gaming performance and recommendations—AMD FX-8150
equipped with two Tahiti XT graphics good pricing. and FX-8120—have become slightly
processors, each with a clock rate of Casual gamers who enjoy older more affordable. The AMD FX-6100
925 MHz. The tests reveal that it has action games can look at the older also delivers good performance at an
the potential to cause Nvidia worry for Radeon HD 6850 or HD 7770, which we affordable price.
the GTX 690's fate. recommend. – feedback@chip.in

)
B/s
DESKTOP-CPUs ( GH
z)
a tts
)
erp.
(M
rf.
(fp
s)
o
ati de m) nW Bit /s) S Pe
r r e s - Mo s (n D Pi 4 ( K B fish- G PU . 0 .2 x 10
ex e o ) o s T 6 o ex 1 12
nd an
c
Uc GH
z
urb ) ce s( .5 .01 -Tw nd ge
eI rm CP d( dT KB
)
MB pro los 11 44 ES ei ip nta il 5
r nc rfo yp
e of ee ee e( e( on er c hR x6 .1A nc ch Va Ev
so a p e t t e r s p s p h h c t i o w n R . 7 a i c s k n t
es for
m e mb ck ck -Ca
c
-Ca
c
du xP eb
e A r
for
m ph Ma
r
sid
e
n k c ice ck
Pro
nR eC
Ra Pro Pe Pr So Nu Clo Clo L2 L3 Ma Cin Wi Tru Pe Gra 3D Re
1 Intel Core i7-3960X 100 45.4 2011 6 3.30 3.90 6 x 256 15 32 130 10.43 4144 302 – – – –
2 Intel Core i7-3930K 96.9 71.4 2011 6 3.20 3.80 6 x 256 12 32 130 10.29 3725 300 – – – –
3 Intel Core i7-990X XE 92.0 34.9 1366 6 3.46 3.73 6 x 256 12 32 130 9.19 3828 290 – – – –
4 Intel Core i7-3770K 82.9 72.7 1155 4 3.50 3.90 4 x 256 8 22 77 7.50 3497 228 94.1 HD4000 3960 38.4
5 Intel Core i7-3820 81.2 80.9 2011 4 3.60 3.90 4 x 256 10 32 130 7.23 3529 206 – – – –
6 Intel Core i7-2700K 78.4 70.2 1155 4 3.50 3.90 4 x 256 8 32 95 7.05 3465 201 60.9 HD3000 2192 28.9
7 AMD FX-8150 77.5 100 AM3+ 8 3.60 4.20 4 x 2048 8 32 125 5.98 4103 223 – – – –
8 Intel Core i7-2600K 77.2 69.6 1155 4 3.40 3.80 4 x 256 8 32 95 6.84 3427 196 60.8 HD3000 2191 28.8
9 Intel Core i5-3570K 72.7 71.3 1155 4 3.40 3.80 4 x 256 6 22 77 5.99 3242 171 93.3 HD4000 3946 37.9
10 AMD FX-8120 70.6 95.8 AM3+ 8 3.10 4.00 4 x 2048 8 32 125 5.11 3777 190 – – – –
11 Intel Core i5-3470 69.7 46.6 1155 4 3.20 3.60 4 x 256 6 22 77 5.67 3054 161 48.1 HD2500 1873 21.3
12 Intel Core i7-2600S 69.2 66.1 1155 4 2.80 3.80 4 x 256 8 32 65 5.71 3150 162 37.5 HD2000 1386 17.4
13 Intel Core i5-2500K 67.5 58.5 1155 4 3.30 3.70 4 x 256 6 32 95 5.43 3178 142 49.9 HD3000 1734 24.4
14 Intel Core i5-2400 64.9 65.6 1155 4 3.10 3.40 4 x 256 6 32 95 5.13 3108 134 31.1 HD2000 1065 15.4
15 AMD FX-6100 61.4 78.7 AM3+ 6 3.30 3.90 3 x 2048 8 32 95 4.05 3203 150 – – – –
16 AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 61.2 58.5 AM3 6 2.80 3.30 6 x 512 6 45 125 5.00 2771 150 – – – –
17 AMD FX-4170 56.3 56.0 AM3+ 4 4.20 4.30 2 x 2048 8 32 125 3.44 2854 128 – – – –
18 Intel Core i5-2500T 55.4 36.5 1155 4 2.30 3.30 4 x 256 6 32 45 3.84 2726 100 34.7 HD2000 1258 16.4
19 AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE 53.9 67.3 AM3 4 3.40 3.40 4 x 512 6 45 125 4.00 2338 121 – – – –
20 AMD FX-4100 51.5 58.7 AM3+ 4 3.60 3.80 2 x 2048 8 32 95 2.96 2631 110 – – – –
21 Intel Core i3-2100 49.1 43.9 1155 2 3.10 3.10 2 x 256 3 32 65 3.01 2637 70 30.1 HD2000 1063 14.5
22 AMD A8-3870K 47.8 44.6 FM1 4 3.00 3.00 4 x 1024 0 32 100 3.58 1802 109 100 HD6550D 3972 43.4
23 AMD A6-3670K 45.7 43.2 FM1 4 2.70 2.70 4 x 1024 0 32 100 3.24 1777 99 77.2 HD6530D 2929 35
24 AMD A6-3650 44.8 35.9 FM1 4 2.60 2.60 4 x 1024 0 32 100 3.10 1757 95 66.5 HD6530D 2610 29.2
25 Intel Pentium G850 39.5 37.0 1155 2 2.90 2.90 2 x 256 3 32 65 2.27 1656 50 28.7 HD1000 1045 13.5
26 Intel Celeron G540 35.7 41.3 1155 2 2.50 2.50 2 x 256 2 32 65 1.96 1533 43 25.7 HD1000 898 12.5
27 AMD A6-3500 34.9 26.7 FM1 3 2.10 2.40 3 x 1024 0 32 65 1.93 1357 60 75.1 HD6530D 2746 35.2
28 Intel Celeron G530 34.8 43.0 1155 2 2.40 2.40 2 x 256 2 32 65 1.87 1502 42 25.7 HD1000 896 12.5
29 AMD Athlon II X2 270 34.6 28.2 AM3 2 3.40 3.40 2 x 1024 0 45 65 1.96 1293 61 – – – –
30 AMD A4-3300 29.3 20.5 FM1 2 2.50 2.50 2 x 512 0 32 65 1.42 1012 46 45.3 HD6410D 1621 21.6
* in KB/s

86 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP SMS us! ¾ Story code: HCG to 57007

0861212_CPU_GPU GUIDE.indd 86 11/22/2012 6:26:09 PM

 2
TX T
min
)
hic MG MG
MOBILE CPUs ds s ) tery ( t grap e 560 ce 330
fps
)
ex Ind
ex a ss s) ( (fp bat
s) pse For
c For
ind 00 hre r lo Wh int PU Us int chi Ge Ge
ce /t z) we 60- (po 1C CP (po lt) lt) lt)
me n ce to 1 man r e s ( G H
B ) po ) ith U . 5 , , x U fau fau fau
na a d
rm ize
r co ed (M um atts me w CP h9 9.5 CP (de (de (de
so
r de rfo PU pe he axim in W 05 nc ch 05 01 01 01
s co rfo rd Pe fC ks ac unt
i
ark ben ark ark ark ark
nk ce re - Pe anda rice o c - C M P r M e be e M M M M
Ra Pro Co st P No Cl o L2 (TD Ø PC Ci n Cin 3D 3D 3D 3D
1 Intel Core i7-3720QM Ivy Bridge 100 100 4/8 2.60 6 45 120 12998 921 3158 32452 21500 32000 51500
2 Intel Core i7-2760QM Sandy Bridge 90.3 69.7 4/8 2.40 6 45 120 11685 852 2799 29250 12750 29000 44000
3 Intel Core i7-3610QM Ivy Bridge 87.4 66.8 4/8 2.30 6 45 120 11837 848 2897 24568 21000 31500 51000
4 Intel Core i7-2670QM Sandy Bridge 81.5 78.9 4/8 2.20 6 45 120 10343 765 2604 26266 12250 28000 42000
5 Intel Core i7-2720QM Sandy Bridge 78.9 53.7 4/8 2.20 6 45 120 9969 797 2706 22100 12000 27500 41000
6 Intel Core i5-3320M Ivy Bridge 73.3 65.6 2/4 2.60 3 35 154 10223 858 1745 23095 15000 30000 48000
7 Intel Core i7-2630QM Sandy Bridge 72.8 39.7 4/8 2.00 6 45 120 9604 695 2363 21800 11500 27000 40000
8 Intel Core i7-2620M Sandy Bridge 69.3 36.4 2/4 2.70 3 35 154 9762 833 1708 20420 11400 26500 38000
9 Intel Core i5-2520M Sandy Bridge 67.4 51.0 2/4 2.50 3 35 154 9168 719 1935 19882 11250 26000 37000
10 Intel Core i7-3517U Ivy Bridge 61.6 23.4 2/4 1.90 4 17 318 8787 783 1425 18031 17000 – –
11 Intel Core i5-2410M Sandy Bridge 60.9 43.9 2/4 2.30 3 35 154 8340 707 1452 19695 11000 25000 36000
12 Intel Core i5-3317U Ivy Bridge 56.4 27.9 2/4 1.70 3 17 318 8203 668 1308 17312 16500 – –
13 Intel Core i7-2677M Sandy Bridge 50.1 13.8 2/4 1.80 4 17 318 6512 693 1336 12803 13000 – –
14 Intel Core i5-520M Arrandale 47.9 20.2 2/4 2.40 3 35 154 6803 576 1187 13851 8300 19000 32000
15 Intel Core i3-2310M Sandy Bridge 44.5 30.8 2/4 2.10 3 35 154 7045 531 1121 11513 9500 22000 30000
16 Intel Core 2 Duo T9900 Penryn 44.0 5.6 2/2 3.06 6 35 154 6922 558 1034 11487 7900 17500 29000
17 AMD A10-4600M Trinity 43.9 11.8 4/4 2.30 4 35 154 6606 445 1178 13114 22500 – –
18 Intel Core i5-2467M Sandy Bridge 43.2 11.3 2/4 1.60 3 17 318 6164 537 1028 12537 12500 – –
19 Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 Penryn 37.1 8.9 2/2 2.53 3 25 216 5866 469 836 10075 5400 – –
20 AMD A8-3520M Llano 36.2 7.5 4/4 1.60 4 35 154 6020 310 936 12100 17000 – –
21 AMD A6-3420M Llano 34.7 7.3 4/4 1.50 4 35 154 5433 305 905 11900 16500 – –
22 Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 Penryn 28.2 8.7 2/2 2.10 2 35 154 4401 369 695 6889 4900 – –
23 AMD A6-4455M Trinity 26.4 4.3 2/2 2.10 2 17 318 3578 385 503 8543 10500 – –
24 Intel Core i5-520UM Arrandale 26.1 2.6 2/4 1.06 3 18 300 3812 369 553 7350 6300 – –
25 AMD E-450 Zacate 18.5 3.2 2/2 1.65 1 18 300 2888 225 419 5255 9000 – –
26 Intel Pentium SU4100 Penryn 17.4 2.0 2/2 1.30 2 10 480 3121 234 410 3715 4300 – –
27 AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 Huron 14.7 1.9 1/1 1.60 0.5 15 360 2150 231 231 4951 3500 – –
28 AMD C-60 Ontario 11.5 0.9 2/2 1.00 1 9 600 2057 143 225 3204 7000 – –
29 Intel Atom D525 Pineview 8.4 0.3 2/4 1.80 1 13 415 2145 101 265 1055 3100 – –
30 Intel Atom N550 Pineview 8.0 0.2 2/4 1.50 1 8.5 635 2142 95 234 1050 3100 – –
1 Mobile CPUs are mostly only available with a notebook
2 Typical runtime with integrated graphics, powerful discrete GPUs reduce runtime by 40 percent.

s)
GRAPHICS CHIPS MH
z)
1 0(
fps
)
fps
) x 16
(fp
X1
0
e x l in t) m) ss 2x 2( 26 eD
ind ina (Bi (n s) r lo 01 x1 11 em
B) ex ce z) m s n
we X1 01
9
2D
X xtr
(M ind an z) MH (no dth es llio po ) dD X1 irt eE
ip e ed e rm ( MH e d( e ed s wi d er p roc ( mi m atts h ea .D :D tag
ch sp a nc rfo ed pe sp bu ha ion ors u
ix m n W a r .E.R
Ra e
Van
ics ry orm pe sp
e
er
s ry ry dS ct sis
t W L.K M c rk
nk ph mo rf ice re ad mo mo ifie du n Ma DP i sis .A. lin Ma
Ra Gra Me Pe Pr Co Sh Me Me Un Pro Tra (T Cry S.T Co 3D
1 Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 2 x 2048/GDDR5 100 393 915 – 6008 2 x 256 2 x 1536 28 2 x 3540 300 79 73 104 27.851
2 AMD Radeon HD 6990 2 x 2048/GDDR5 847 445 880 – 5000 2 x 256 3072 40 5280 450 70 67 101 19.482
3 Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 2 x 1536/GDDR5 806 384 608 1215 3416 2 x 384 1024 40 6000 375 78 38 102 19.296
4 AMD Radeon HD 7970 3072/GDDR5 792 674 1000 – 6000 384 2048 28 4313 250 76 49 82 18.777
5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 2048/GDDR5 777 604 1006 – 6008 256 1536 28 3540 195 77 38 92 18.547
6 AMD Radeon HD 7970 3072/GDDR5 716 624 925 – 5500 384 2048 28 4313 250 66 46 80 16.743
7 Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2048/GDDR5 682 871 1033 – 6008 192 1344 28 3540 150 69 31 84 16.035
8 AMD Radeon HD 7950 3072/GDDR5 669 724 900 – 5000 384 1792 28 4313 200 62 44 74 15.262
9 Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2048/GDDR5 626 973 1072 – 6108 192 960 28 2540 140 62 31 78 14.074
10 Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 3072/GDDR5 619 471 815 1630 4104 384 512 40 3000 275 65 24 82 13.639
11 AMD Radeon HD 7870 2048/GDDR5 586 911 1010 – 4840 256 1280 28 2800 175 62 32 57 13.240
12 Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 1536/GDDR5 584 509 772 1544 4008 384 512 40 3000 244 59 24 80 13.135
13 AMD Radeon HD 6970 2048/GDDR5 537 457 880 – 5500 256 1536 40 2640 250 53 35 61 11.192
14 AMD Radeon HD 6950 2048/GDDR5 498 774 800 – 5000 256 1408 40 2640 200 50 32 57 9.855
15 Nvidia GeForce GTX 570 1280/GDDR5 496 479 732 1464 3800 320 480 40 3000 219 52 18 67 11.137
16 AMD Radeon HD 7850 2048/GDDR5 473 769 870 – 4840 256 1024 28 2800 130 51 27 48 9.671
17 Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 1536/GDDR5 459 498 700 1401 3696 384 480 40 3200 320 48 20 63 9.177
18 Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1024/GDDR5 436 742 823 1645 4008 256 384 40 1950 180 45 18 60 9.364
19 AMD Radeon HD 6950 1024/GDDR5 433 773 800 – 5000 256 1408 40 2640 200 50 32 13 9.767
20 AMD Radeon HD 6870 1024/GDDR5 424 891 900 – 4200 256 1120 40 1700 151 42 29 51 7.809
21 Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 1024/GDDR5 396 616 820 1640 4008 256 336 40 1950 150 41 17 53 8.446
22 AMD Radeon HD 6850 1024/GDDR5 364 100 775 – 4800 256 960 40 1700 127 36 26 46 6.104
23 AMD Radeon HD 7770 1024/GDDR5 296 962 1000 – 4500 128 640 28 1500 80 31 19 26 6.482
24 AMD Radeon HD 6790 1024/GDDR5 296 705 840 – 4200 256 800 40 1700 150 29 20 36 5.629
25 AMD Radeon HD 6770 1024/GDDR5 264 673 850 – 4800 128 800 40 1040 108 27 17 31 4.869
26 Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1024/GDDR5 258 922 930 1860 4200 192 192 40 1170 110 27 10 36 5.297
27 AMD Radeon HD 7750 1024/GDDR5 220 827 800 – 4500 128 512 28 1500 55 25 14 13 4.678
28 Nvidia GeForce GT 640 2048/GDDR3 175 695 901 – 1782 128 384 28 1300 65 18 9 21 3.812
29 AMD Radeon HD 6570 512/GDDR5 133 864 650 – 4000 128 480 40 716 60 14 9 13 2.621
30 Nvidia GeForce GT 430 1024/GDDR3 97 433 700 1400 1800 128 96 40 585 56 10 4 13 1.903
Enthusiast (100-90.0) High-end (89.9-75.0) Mid-range (74.9-45.0)
Entry level (44.9-0) All valuations in points (max. 100)

0861212_CPU_GPU GUIDE.indd 87 11/22/2012 6:26:18 PM

 TEST CENTER
ANAND'S PICKS

Á Wickedleak Wammy Desire

Rs 6,499
www.wickedleak.org
verdict Powerful, feature-rich and
absolute value for money!
love Dual-core processor; plenty of
storage; good build; great value for money.
hate Awful brand stamp on the rear that
peels off easily.

SPECIFICATIONS
Thickness: 9.9 mm; Weight: 343 g; CPU: 1.5 GHz dual core;
RAM: 1 GB; Storage: 8 GB; Resolution: 800x480; Camera: 1.3
MP front; HDMI: Yes; Android OS: Jelly Bean.

ANAND'S PICKS

BUDGET 7-INCH ANDROID TABLETS

Crunch numbers, watch videos, surf the web and do much more on the go with these low-cost options.

Á Ubislate 7Ci Micromax Funbook P300 Â

Rs 4,399 Rs 6,499
www.ubislate.com micromaxinfo.com
verdict One of the cheapest Android verdict Has been around for quite some
tablets out there. time, and is still selling like hot cakes!
love Compact form; low cost. love Very good build; buttons for Home,
hate The addition of an HDMI port would Menu and Back.
have added value; average battery life. hate A bit expensive for the configuration.

SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATIONS
Thickness: 15.7 mm; Weight: 320 g; CPU: 1 GHz single core; Thickness: 10.5 mm; Weight: 360 g; CPU: 1.2 GHz single core;
RAM: 512 MB; Storage: 4 GB; Resolution: 800x480; Camera: RAM: 512 MB; Storage: 4 GB; Resolution: 800x480; Camera:
1.3 MP front; HDMI: No; Android OS: Ice Cream Sandwich. 1.3 MP front; HDMI: Yes; Android OS: Ice Cream Sandwich.

Á Lava E Tab Z7H Karbonn Smart Tab1 Â

Rs 5,500 Rs 6,990
www.lavamobiles.com www.karbonnmobiles.com
verdict A well-priced tablet with a decent verdict Looks very good, but the
configuration. sluggishness is a bit disappointing.
love Good speaker; very good build; good love Great aesthetics; slim design; 2
battery life; well-priced. megapixel camera.
hate No HDMI output. hate Sluggish user interface; expensive.

SPECIFICATIONS
Thickness: 11.9 mm; Weight: 350 g; CPU: 1 GHz single core;
RAM: 512 MB; Storage: 4 GB; Resolution: 800x480; Camera:
VGA front; HDMI: No; Android OS: Ice Cream Sandwich.
SPECIFICATIONS
Thickness: 11.1 mm; Weight: 344 g; CPU: 1.2 GHz single
core; RAM: 512 MB; Storage: 4 GB; Resolution: 800x480;
Camera: 2 MP front; HDMI: Yes; Android OS: Ice Cream
Sandwich.

88 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0881212_PC + Laptop CONFIGS.indd 88 11/22/2012 8:42:45 PM


PRINTING AIN’T CHEAP
I
'm going bald. Now you'd think
that may have something to do with
growing old or genetics, but I'm pretty
convinced it's caused by exasperation.
You see, I'm tired of fruitlessly convincing
my friends to buy a laser printer whenever
they ask me which inkjet printer they
should buy for home use. So I've adopted
a strategy. Before coming to the budget and
the model number, the first thing I ask is
whether they frequently print colour pages.
In most cases, the answer has been either
a weak "at times" or an almost inaudible
"no" – they need a printer primarily to take
prints of emails and documents. “If that’s
the case, why don’t you buy a mono laser
printer?” I almost shout.
It’s true that inkjet printers are most
affordable and many come integrated
with scanners, thereby adding the copier
function. The average price of entry-level
inkjet multifunction devices is around Rs
4,000. Add a few hundred bucks, and you
can buy a decent mono laser printer. Of
course, you’ll have to forgo the scanner and
the ability to print in colour, and it’s at this
very point that buyers start hunting for an
inkjet MFD. What many don’t consider at
all is the print economy math.
I’ve often seen sales guys at shopping
malls trying their best to convince people
that a single cartridge can print over 150
pages and the cost per print translates to
as little as Rs 2. I’ve also seen customers
arguing that the company’s claims are false
and what they got was less than half the
claimed figure. But you see, the claimed
yields are arrived at using “Draft Mode” and
a 5 percent coverage text document, which
is the standard. In simple terms, this is 5
0881212_PC + Laptop CONFIGS.indd 89
TEST CENTER
ANAND'S
PC CONFIGS
COLUMN
THINK TWICE
BEFORE BUYING AN
INKJET PRINTER OR
MULTIFUNCTION DEVICE!
ANAND TULIANI, DEPUTY EDITOR - TECHNICAL
percent of the entire surface of an A4 sheet
layered with ink, which effectively works
out to a Word document with text in 12
point font covering a third of an A4 page.
Now, this isn’t always going to be the case.
Also, the printing mode is set to Normal by
default, which takes more ink to produce
darker and clearer prints. If you take prints
of pages full of text using Normal mode
instead of Draft mode, it's obvious you'll
get only about half the claimed figures or
even less. And you wouldn’t want to use the
latter all the time, because it yields
drab-looking prints as a result of
using less ink. In such cases, the
MONO LASER
print economy would work out to
Rs 4 per page. I’d rather visit the
PRINTERS ARE THE
local 'Zeroxwala' and get print
jobs done at half the cost. MOST ECONOMICAL
Or, I could invest in a mono
laser printer that would deliver FOR PRINTING TEXT.
almost the same economy! After
refilling the toner cartridge (which I’ve done
several times for a few hundred bucks)
the print economy improves even more. I
haven’t noted much difference in the print
quality when using a refilled toner, either.
But this wasn’t the case when I once refilled
an inkjet cartridge. The results were smudgy
and the colours weren’t as vibrant as the
original cartridges. Fortunately, the cartridge
didn’t leak inside the printer, which is quite
possible. Later on, I found a vendor who
specialised in recycling cartridges and used
imported inks. That brought some relief, but
I eventually decided to let go of my inkjet
printer and opt for a mono laser, just for
the sharper prints, and obviously, the better
economy.
– anand.tuliani@chip.in
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 89
11/22/2012 10:13:10 PM
 TTEST
EESSTT CENTER
CCEENT
N TE
TERR
PC CON
PC CO
CONFIGS
NFIG
FIGS
GS

PC CONFIGS
GAMING - ENTRY-LEVEL Rs 42,550 GAMING - MID-RANGE Rs 71,940
Processor Intel Pentium G630, 2.7 GHz 3,350 Processor AMD FX-6100, 3.3 GHz 7,300
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H, Intel B75 4,350 Motherboard Asus M5A97 Pro, AMD 970 8,350
RAM 4 GB Kingston DDR3-1333 1,200 RAM Mushkin Blackline - 2 x 2 GB DDR3-1600 2,450

Hard disk Seagate Barracuda 7200.14, 500 GB 3,450 Hard disk Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 4,250

Graphics card Zotac GeForce GTX 550 Ti, 1 GB GDDR5 7,850 Graphics card Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Ti OC - 1 GB GDDR5 14,900
Optical drive LG GH22 SATA 22x DVD-writer 950 Optical drive LG GH22 SATA 22x DVD-writer 950
Monitor Dell ST2220L 8,650 Monitor ViewSonic VX2453MH - 24-inch LCD 12,500
Keyboard Logitech Gaming Combo G100 1,700 Keyboard Logitech Media Keyboard K200 400
Mouse Included in combo - Mouse Razer Abyssus 1,750
Speakers F&D A520, 2.1 stereo 1,875 Speakers Sony SRS D8 4,290
PC Case Cooler Master Elite 311 2,200 PC Case Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus 3,750
Power supply unit Corsair CMPSU-430CX - 430 Watts 2,675 Power supply unit FSP Aurum AU-500 4,850
Operating system Windows 7 Home Basic 4,300 Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium 6,200
TOTAL 42,550 TOTAL 71,940

HOME Rs 28,330 HTPC Rs 80,725

Processor Intel Pentium G630, 2.7 GHz 3,450 Processor AMD A8-3850, 2.90 GHz 7,400
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H, Intel B75 4,350 Motherboard Asus F1A75-M, AMD A75 6,500
RAM 2 GB Transcend DDR3-1333 750 RAM 4 GB Corsair DDR3-1333 1,200
Hard disk Seagate Barracuda 7200.14, 500 GB 3,450 Hard disk Western Digital Caviar Green, 1 TB 4,250
Graphics card Onboard graphics - Graphics card HIS Radeon HD 6570, 1 GB GDDR3 4,400
Optical drive LG GH22 SATA 22x DVD-writer 950 Optical drive Sony BD-5300S, 12x Blu-ray Writer 10,100
Monitor Samsung S20B300B - 20-inch LED 6,550 Monitor Dell U2311H 14,500
Keyboard and Keyboard and
Logitech Deluxe 250 Desktop USB 680 Logitech Wireless Combo MK320 1,700
mouse combo mouse combo
Speakers F&D A510, 2.1 stereo 2,050 Speakers Audioengine A2 10,500
PC Case iBall Pride 1,800 PC Case Silver Stone Milo ML03 11,300
Power supply unit Included with the PC Case - 250 Watts - Power supply unit Corsair CMPSU-430CX - 430 Watts 2,675
Operating system Windows 7 Home Basic 4,300 Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium 6,200
TOTAL 28,330 TOTAL 80,725

90 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0881212_PC + Laptop CONFIGS.indd 90 11/22/2012 8:55:34 PM

 TEST
TTE
EST
S T CENTER
CCEN
E NTE
T ER
LAPTOP
L
LAAPT
PTOP
OP
P CONFIGS
CON
CONF
NFIG
IGS
S

LAPTOP CONFIGS
DESKTOP REPLACEMENT MAINSTREAM ULTRABOOK
PROCESSOR Intel Core i5, Intel Core i7 PROCESSOR Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5 PROCESSOR Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5, ULV
MEMORY 3 GB or more MEMORY 3 GB or more MEMORY 2 GB or more
HARD DRIVE 500 GB or higher HARD DRIVE 320 GB or higher
HARD DRIVE 320 GB or higher
DISPLAY 15.4-in to 17-in
DISPLAY 14.1-in or 15.6-in DISPLAY 13.3-inch to 15.6-inch
GRAPHICS Discrete
GRAPHICS On-board or Discrete GRAPHICS On-board or discrete
WEIGHT 2.5 Kg to 4 Kg
WEIGHT 2.3 Kg to 3 Kg WEIGHT 1.5 Kg to 2.2 Kg
OTHER Bluetooth, DVD-writer or Blu-ray, Wi-Fi n,
Webcam, TV Tuner OTHER Bluetooth, DVD-writer, Wi-Fi b/g or n, Webcam OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam, Card reader
PRICE RANGE Rs 45,000 to Rs 1,50,000 PRICE RANGE Rs 35,000 To Rs 45,000 PRICE RANGE Rs 45,000 to Rs 1,00,000

ACER ASPIRE V3-571GG HP PAVILION G6-2106TX

Rs 56,000
CPU Intel Core i7-3610QM, 2.3 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB;
HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 15.6-in; GRAPHICS
Nvidia Geforce GT 630M, 2 GB; WEIGHT 2.6 Kg;
OS Windows 7 Home Basic; OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi,
Webcam, HDMI
6TX
Rs 39,800
CPU Intel Core i5-3110M, 2.4 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB;
HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 15.6-in;
GRAPHICS AMD Radeon HD 7670M, 2 GB;
WEIGHT 2.47 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Basic; OTHER
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI.
DELL INSPIRON 14Z
Rs 45,990
CPU Intel Core i3-3217U, 1.8 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB;
HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 14.1-in;
GRAPHICS Integrated; WEIGHT 1.99 Kg;
OS Windows 7 Home Basic; OTHER Bluetooth, DVD-
writer, Webcam, HDMI.

LENOVO Z580 (59-339355) DELL INSPIRON 15R SONY VAIO T11113

Rs 63,600
CPU Intel Core i7-3612QM, 2.1 GHz; MEMORY 8 GB;
HARD DISK 1 TB; DISPLAY 15.6-in; GRAPHICS Nvidia
Geforce GT 630M, 2 GB; WEIGHT 2.4 Kg;
OS Windows 7 Home Premium; OTHER Bluetooth,
Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI
Rs 40,990
CPU Intel Core i5-3210M, 2.5 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB;
HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 15.6-in;
GRAPHICS On-board; WEIGHT 2.6 Kg; OS Windows 7
Home Basic; OTHER DVD Writer, Bluetooth, Webcam,
Wi-Fi, HDMI.
Rs 49,990
CPU Intel Core i5-3317U, 1.7 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB;
HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 11.6-inch;
GRAPHICS Integrated; WEIGHT 1.42 Kg;
OS Windows 7 Home Premium; OTHER Bluetooth,
Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI.

HP PAVILION DV6-7039TX ACER ASPIRE V5-571G HP ENVY SPECTRE XT 13-2001TU

Rs 67,600
CPU Intel Core i7-3610QM, 2.3 GHz; MEMORY 8 GB;
HARD DISK 1 TB; DISPLAY 15.6-in; GRAPHICS Nvidia
Geforce GT 630M, 2 GB; WEIGHT 2.45 Kg;
OS Windows 7 Home Premium; OTHER Bluetooth,
Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI
Rs 42,023
CPU Intel Core i5-3317M; MEMORY 4 GB;
HARD DISK 500 GB; DISPLAY 15.6-in;
GRAPHICS Nvidia GeForce GT 620M, 1 GB;
WEIGHT 2.3 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Basic;
m, HDMI.
OTHER Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Webcam,
01TU
Rs 64,990
CPU Intel Core i5-3317U, 1.7 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB;
HARD DISK 128 GB SSD; DISPLAY 13.3-in;
GRAPHICS On-board; WEIGHT 1.39 Kg;
OS Windows 7 Home Premium; OTHER HER Bluetooth,
Webcam, HDMI, Beats Audio

ASUS G75V SAMSUNG NP350V5C-S04IN

Rs 1,39,999
CPU Intel Core i7-3720, 2.6 GHz; MEMORY 16 GB;
HARD DISK 750 GB HDD + 256 GB SSD;
DISPLAY 17-in; GRAPHICS Nvidia Geforce GTX 670M,
3 GB; WEIGHT 4.3 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Premium;
OTHER Blu-ray writer, Nvidia 3D Vision, HDMI
IN
Rs 44,999
CPU Intel Core i5-3210M, 2.5 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB;
HARD DISK 1 TB; DISPLAY 15.6-in;
GRAPHICS AMD Radeon HD 7670M, 2 GB;
WEIGHT 2.5 Kg; OS Windows 7 Home Premium;
OTHER DVD-writer, Bluetooth, HDMI, Webcam.
LENOVO THINKPAD X1 CARBON
BON
Rs 1,02,000
CPU Intel Core i5 3427U, 1.8 GHz; MEMORY 4 GB;
HARD DISK 256 GB SSD; DISPLAY 14-in;
GRAPHICS On-board; WEIGHT 1.36 Kg; OS Windows
7 Professional ; OTHER Bluetooth, Fingerprint reader,
HDMI, Wi-Fi

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 91

0881212_PC + Laptop CONFIGS.indd 91 11/22/2012 8:55:56 PM

 FEATURED
COVER STORY

THE PERFECT

0921212_CUSTOM-MADE PC (COVER STORY).indd 92 11/22/2012 3:28:21 PM

 FEATURED
COVER STORY

Branded PCs are for those who accept the second-

best. To get exactly what you need, assemble a
system yourself. Our guide to choosing the best
Photography Mexy Xavier; Assisted by Neha Mithbawkar, Joshua Navalker, Nachiket Gujar; Model : Natasa@Toabh; Makeup and hair: Baban Kharat; Stylist: Ritcha Verma;

components will help you get the most value for

your money.
Denim Romper: Guess; Vest: Mango; Wedge Tall Boots: Nine West; Suede Boots: Aldo; Scarf: Queue-up; Earrings: Queue-up; Watch and Polka Dot Belt: Stylist's own

BY CHRISTOPH SCHMIDT

A
PC is more than the sum of its individual components because
it depends on them working together optimally. This is the
most important thing to be noted by hobbyists who configure
their systems themselves. It is, however, also applicable to people who
want to buy branded, pre-built computers, because they must know
whether the system fulfills their requirements and is providing value for
money. Recent advances in the market make these decisions difficult for
customers who don’t follow tech news daily. Is it better to stick with an
earlier generation of processors, graphic cards and motherboards, or
do the latest versions offer any important advantages?
The process of assembling components is nowhere near as diffi cult
as that of choosing them. That's why we've put together this guide
to the most common misconceptions people have when building or
upgrading a PC. It's crucial to get the correct combination of parts to
avoid bottlenecks and headaches due to incompatibility. Once you begin
to see how the best parts fit together, you'll also be able to spot how
larger manufacturers sometimes cut corners and hide behind numbers
to make their products look better than they actually are. That's how
you make the most of your budget when you buy the components for
yourself and earn the satisfaction of knowing exactly what you've got.
Our guide also includes advice on upgrading notebooks, a possibility
that people often don't consider before buying a new one.

SMS us! ¾ Story code: FCS to 51818

0921212_CUSTOM-MADE PC (COVER STORY).indd 93 11/22/2012 3:28:59 PM

 FEATURED
COVER STORY

THE CORRECT SOCKET FOR EVERY CPU

Every CPU generation changes in size, layout, and power

PROCESSOR: requirements. Therefore there are different sockets for nearly

every processor family from both AMD and Intel.

AMD Socket FM1 AMD Socket AM3+

Intel or AMD?
The CPU is the heart of the computer. It
determines the motherboard you’ll need to
buy, and thus the other components too.
The northbridge is not on the The new FX processors also
In earlier days, raw speed and the number of cores were motherboard but is integrated work in older AM3 boards, but
sufficient to assess a CPU's performance. But today it is more onto the processor die of CPUs only the latest AM3+ boards can
for socket FM1. harness all thier capabilities.
complicated because the processor can have a somewhat
powerful graphics component, or process one or several threads Intel Socket 1155 Intel Socket 1156
per core. What's more, the ratio of the performance to the clock
rate can also be compared only within a CPU family.
The processor is the first thing to decide when building a
PC. It determines the basic power of the system, the power
consumption and the noise threshold. In addition, a processor's
generation and version determine the motherboard that is to
be used. Since the CPUs, sockets and motherboard chipsets of
both AMD and Intel are not compatible and are only suitable The latest socket 1155 works Intel developed socket 1156 for
for different user groups, we will introduce these components with many CPUs but is not the first Core i3 and i5 CPUs.
independently for both manufacturers. compatible with its predecessor, Unfortunately these do not fit
1156, due to minor differences. in newer socket 1155 boards.
AMD: Good performance at a low price
AMD is the smaller of the two PC processor manufacturers
with a desktop computer market share of 26 percent. The
WATER COOLING SYSTEM
company cannot keep up with market leader Intel in terms of
INCLUDED IN THE BOX
AMD's high-end FX-8150 CPU requires a
performance and energy efficiency. But the most powerful AMD
lot of power under full load, due to which
processor costs up to 40 percent less than Intel models with
a normal fan spins loudly. Hence, AMD
comparable performance. Apart from that, motherboards with also offers the processor with a quiet
AMD chipsets are also cheaper. water cooling system.
BASIC AMD has more interesting products than Intel if you
are building a very basic PC. In fact, the E-350 can only be
bought pre-installed in a motherboard (approx. Rs 4,800) or in UNDERSTANDING CPU NAMES: AMD
a barebones mini-PC. The main attraction here is the relatively The cryptic names of AMD processors, including the A series (mid-
powerful graphics component, which offloads the usually range) and FX series (high-end) reveal a lot about their performance.
intensive decoding of HD videos from the rather weak processor
and saves you the cost of a graphics card. The CPU is designed
only for standard tasks though.
A8 – 3 870 K
MID-RANGE AMD’s A-series for the FM1 socket places small CPU CLASS PERFORMANCE
CPUs alongside a powerful graphics core. The performance of A8 = 4 CORES, HD6550D GRAPHICS REPRESENTS PERFORMANCE
A6 = 3–4 CORES, HD6530D GRAPHICS CLASS AND CLOCK RATE:
the processor matches the level of the basic models from Intel, 870, 850, 800, 670, 650, 600,
but AMD offers considerably more internal graphics power. This A4 = 2 CORES, HD6410D GRAPHICS 500, 400, 300
helps with video acceleration, desktop effects and older games. ADD-ON
The top model A8-3870K offers the best performance in this GENERATION K = UNLOCKED MULTIPLIER
3 = CURRENT GENERATION FOR EASY OVERCLOCKING
class.
HIGH-END The latest and most powerful desktop processors
from AMD belong to the FX series for the AM3+ socket. They are
created from two or four modules containing two computation
FX – 8 1 50
modules each. The processing power is sufficient for today’s CPU CLASS PERFORMANCE
demanding games, but the FX CPUs consume about 60 percent FX = HIGH-END CPU MARKS THE FIRST FX
more power under full load than their Intel rivals. Due to the GENERATION
NUMBER OF CPU CORES
low price levels as compared to Intel, we would only go with 4 = FOUR CORES PERFORMANCE
the top-end model FX-8150 here to have more performance in 6 = SIX CORES HIGHER NUMBER FOR
HIGHER CLOCK RATES,
reserve for future applications. 8 = EIGHT CORES CURRENT: 00, 20, 50 OR 70

94 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0921212_CUSTOM-MADE PC (COVER STORY).indd 94 11/22/2012 3:29:15 PM

 FEATURED
COVER STORY

UNDERSTANDING CPU NAMES: INTEL

Intel also names its processors in a specific pattern that explains Intel:high efficiency and top performance
the performance and additional features. Market leader Intel has a very wide range of processors, which
are organised neatly. Celerons were available as cheap CPUs

Core i 5 – 3 570 K but the Pentium models at approx. Rs 4,000 are better value.
The latest Core i3 CPUs cost around Rs 7,000, the mid-end
Core i5 starts at Rs 11,500 and the high-end Core i7 processors
LATEST INTEL CPU CPU PREFIX
go up to Rs 60,000. For the sake of comparison, the top model
PERFORMANCE LEVEL THE HIGHER THE BETTER.
LATEST: 450-570 Core i7-3960X manages to perform 30 to 40 percent better
3 = BASIC
ADD-ON than the fastest AMD FX-8150 CPU, but costs more than five
5 = MID-RANGE
K = INTEL HD4000 GRAPHICS times more. Nevertheless, if you want the best performance,
7 = HIGH-END
S = LOW-POWER you cannot go wrong with Intel’s high-end processors. Intel has
CORE-I-GENERATION
T = ULTRA-LOW-POWER the advantage even when it comes to energy efficiency — the
1 = FIRST GENERATION
P = HIGHER CLOCK RATE latest Ivy Bridge processors are already manufactured on a 22
2 = SECOND GENERATION
(SANDY BRIDGE) X = CAN BE OVERCLOCKED
nanometer process and so are at least scaled down one level
3 = THIRD GENERATION WITH OPEN MULTIPLIER
(IVY BRIDGE) more than AMD. This cuts down up to 30 percent of the energy
consumption for the same processing power, and as a result,
also cuts down on heat and fan noise.
POWER CONSUMPTION AND NOISE BASIC If you want to build a basic PC with upgrade options,
Intel CPUs of the Ivy Bridge generation are produced on a 22- you can profit from the large variety of processors for the
nanometer process which means 30 percent less power is required, socket 1155. Thus, one can first buy a Pentium G850 (approx.
and so it manages to run smoothly with soft, small fans. Rs 3,900), which has at least two cores running at 2.9 GHz. It
is sufficient for most tasks and, along with a graphics card, is
even sufficient for some modern games. If you require more
processing power, you can upgrade to a mid-level or high-end
processor on the same motherboard. Core i3, marketed as basic
CPUs by Intel, are in fact excellent value for money in this class
as they have good performance, but are priced too high for
this category. It is therefore often practical to buy a Pentium
processor and invest the saved money in a small SSD which will
accelerate your computer more than a Core i3 CPU would.
MID-RANGE Intel’s Core i5 processors of the Ivy bridge
generation are hot on the heels of high-end CPUs in terms of
performance. They also have a powerful graphics component
which accelerates video encoding and decoding. The i5 series
converts energy very efficiently into processing power. The Ivy
Bridge CPUs can be identified from the four-digit number after
“i5”, which should begin with “3”. We recommend the Core
i5-3570K CPU, which is slightly slower than the considerably
more expensive i7 CPUs in processing power and have powerful
HD4000 graphics as compared to most of the other i5s. If you
want to make a particularly noiseless computer, you can select
economical versions with low power consumption that perform
slightly lower at the same price. These S-series CPUs reduce

CPU RECOMMENDATION waste heat generation (TDP) and manage approximately 10

percent less performance. The T-series models go one step
The following applies for all three classes - basic, mid-range
further in the same direction, and are thus very quiet to run.
and high-end: If you want to save money, go for AMD and if
HIGH-END The core i7-3770K (approx. Rs 19,700) is the
you give more importance to performance, it is better to
pick Intel at the moment. fastest Core i7 processor that fits in socket 1155 and the most
expensive, but we consider it to have a reasonable price-
THE BEST CPU FOR EVERY PURPOSE performance ratio. In the meantime, there are at present
CPU RECOMMENDATION MODEL PRICE (APPROX) PERFORMANCE INDEX three Socket 2011 CPUs which fit only in much more expensive
AMD E-450 Rs 4,800* = 15 motherboards. They do not have an integrated graphics chip
AMATEUR
Intel Pentium G850 Rs 3,900 = 39.5 and are designed for powerful gaming PCs or workstations
AMD A8-3870K Rs 7,200 = 47.8 only. The cheapest Socket 2011 model, the i7-3820 (approx. Rs
MIDDLE CLASS 18,000) is less powerful than the 3770K. Only the 3930K, which
Intel Core i5-3570K Rs 14,900 = 72.7
AMD FX-8150 Rs 12,300 = 77.5 is already very expensive at Rs 37,000, manages about 30
HIGH-END percent higher than our recommendation. The i7-3960X, at Rs
Intel Core i7-3770K Rs 19,700 = 82.9
60,000, is only about a few percentage points faster, but can
* INCL. MOTHERBOARD
be easily overclocked using the open multiplier.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 95

0921212_CUSTOM-MADE PC (COVER STORY).indd 95 11/22/2012 3:29:24 PM

 FEATURED
COVER STORY THE BEST RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY
DDR3 memory is used in all current motherboards. For mid-range
computers, we recommend the best-selling and favourable

MOTHERBOARD DDR3-1600 memory from any manufacturer. High-end boards

support faster memory up to DDR3-2800, which brings only a little
increase in speed for a hefty price bump.

and chipset Kingston HyperX 2666 MHz

Kingston Value RAM 1600

When selecting a motherboard,it is the chipset
that determines its performance and features.

AMD: Pay attention to the processor

interfaces
Three current standards are available at the moment, and so
the different incompatible motherboard families are in the mix
for AMD processors. AMD has already integrated the important
USB 3.0 interface in its chipsets, but you should pay attention to
whether or not the motherboard has this popular new standard
as well as SATA3 (SATA 6 Gbit/s) for future expansion.
BASIC We have few options in the case of the integrated E-350
and E-450 CPUs. You can only use the AMD A-50M chipset and
motherboard/barebones system on which the CPU is already
One can pay anywhere between Rs 2,100 and Rs 7,600 for 8
GB DDR3 RAM, depending on the speed and rating.
A SUITABLE POWER SUPPLY UNIT
How much power the PSU must deliver depends on whether a
graphics card is installed and how much power the card needs. A
PSU of 300 to 400 watts is sufficient for a system without a
discrete GPU. One must then add between 55 Watts (e.g. Radeon HD

PHOTOS: NIKOLAUS SCHÄFFLER; RAINER KNÄPPER/FREENBSP/ART LICENSE (HTTP://ARTLIBRE.ORG/LICENCE/LAL/EN); D-KURU/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;

soldered. But keep in mind that not all boards have SATA3 (SATA
7750) and 300 Watts (Nvidia GeForce GTX 690) plus a reserve of 20
6 Gbit/s) and USB 3.0.
percent for each graphics card. The efficiency of the power supply
MID-RANGE AMD offers the A55 and A75 chipsets for the
unit should be at least 80 percent.
A4 to A8 processors. We recommend a motherboard with the
modern A75 chipset, which integrates six SATA3 connections
and four native USB 3.0 ports, while the A55 chipset offers only
In case of a high-end
three SATA3 ports and plain USB 2.0 support. The upcoming system, the power
A8x generation will soon replace these and will be backwards supply unit works
compatible with older A-series processors. 50:50 for the graphics
HIGH-END For the AM3+ processors, we recommend a cards and for the rest
motherboard with the AMD 970 chipset. The more expensive of the system.
990X boards can control two graphics cards and the 990FX
boards go up to even four, but this is their only advantage and
are meant for only a few users, such as gamers who play across
several monitors.

Intel: A socket for all processors

The latest i7 series Intel chipsets are state-of-art as far as the CHIPSET
supported interfaces are concerned. Manufacturers often have to
add their own SATA3 and USB 3.0 controllers in case of boards
RECOMMENDATIONS
with older chipsets. Such solutions can be less powerful. The chipset determines which features the mainboard has. The
quoted price is averaged and shows that even the boards are
BASIC Don’t get anything less than a board with the Intel
cheaper for AMD systems than for Intel.
H61 chipset if you want to save costs and still keep the doors
open for a future processor upgrade. Check whether the board
THE BEST MAINBOARD CHIP FOR EVERY PURPOSE
WIKIPEDIA/QURREN, ARTEM S. TASHKINOV; CC BY-SA 3.0

also supports the new Ivy Bridge CPUs. One must, however, do SUITABLE PRICE
CPU RECOMMENDATION MODEL SOCKET
CPUs (APPROX)
without native support for SATA3 and USB 3.0, although the
latter can be added relatively easily with a plug-in board. (soldered AMD E-350,
AMD A50M Rs 4,800
CPU) E-450
MID-RANGE Our chipset recommendation, the Intel B75 Express, BASIC Celeron,
offers a cool feature—Small Business Advantage. It's designed for Intel H61 Express Intel 1155 Pentium, Core Rs 3,700
businesses but is great value for home use as well. With it you i3–i7
can boot various operating systems, schedule maintenance, block AMD A75 AMD FM1 AMD A4, A6, A8 Rs 6,200
USB ports, and take advantage of USB 3.0 and SATA3. MID-RANGE Celeron,
HIGH-END The best socket 1155 boards come with the Intel Intel B75 Express Intel 1155 Pentium, Core Rs 5,000
i3–i7
Z77 Express chipset, which also offers many options for using
AMD FX,
multiple graphics cards, and therefore also addresses the needs AMD AMD 970 AMD AM3+ Phenom II, Rs 8,500
of performance-hungry gamers. HIGH-END Athlon II
Celeron,
Intel Z77 Express Intel 1155 Pentium, Core Rs 8,600
96 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP i3–i7

0921212_CUSTOM-MADE PC (COVER STORY).indd 96 11/22/2012 3:29:34 PM

 FEATURED
POWER HUNGRY GPUS COVER STORY
Graphics cards take down the processors when it comes to pure
processing power with their several hundred parallel computational
units. This is also applicable for the power consumption - the fastest
high-end GPUs need 400 watts of power and more under full load.
For that, it requires a power supply unit with at least 800 watts and GRAPHICS CARD
or on-board GPU
the suitable power connections.

The two manufacturers of graphics card chips

outdo themselves with every generation.
Currently Nvidia’s“Kepler” GPUs are ahead by
a bit.
Dedicated graphic cards are really only required for games and
graphics-intensive work, so be careful before you spend money. In
many cases, the increasingly capable integrated graphics will be
good enough.
BASIC One can pay around Rs 4,000 for a basic graphics card
capable of 3D games but anything lower than an AMD Radeon
HD 7750 is not worthwhile. This card manages games like Skyrim
GRAPHICS RECOMMENDATION and Dirt 3 at resolutions of 1680 x 1050 and beats comparably
If you play 3D games only occasionally, you'd be well-advised to expensive Nvidia models.
go for a dedicated graphics card. It is however, not worthwhile to MID-RANGE New games run perfectly on current-generation
pay less than Rs 7,500. cards. Graphics cards based on the AMD Radeon HD 7870 have
THE BEST GRAPHICS CARD FOR EVERY PURPOSE done well in this price class in the CHIP test center.
GPU PRICE HIGH-END The Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 (approx Rs 67,000) is
MODEL MEMORY PERF. INDEX
RECOMMENDATION (APPROX) the fastest and currently is the best with regard to performance.
BASIC AMD HD 7750 1 GB 25.7 points Rs 7,600 The GTX 680 provides about 30 percent lower performance for
MID-RANGE AMD HD 7870 2 GB 68.7 points Rs 24,000 half the price and is thus our recommendation.
HIGH-END Nvidia GTX 680 2 GB 91.5 points 35,700

IF SATA IS NO LONGER SUFFICIENT

Even basic SSDs transfer data five times as fast as hard disks and
react 100 times faster to requests. But SSDs are normally thwarted
through the SATA connection—even in case of SATA3. The OCZ
SSD INSTEAD OF
RevoDrives handle this bottleneck by fitting directly into a PCI
express slot. It enables three times faster transfer speeds.
hard drives
The RevoDrive 3 X2 from OCZ SSDs are the most effective speed boosters
is the best solution for those in a PC. Their small sizes are suitable for
who need extreme speed, but
regular SSDs will suffice for compact PCs too.
everyone else.
If you have worked with a computer with an SSD even once, you
will not want to use anything else. Since 128 GB SDDs cost just
as much as 1 TB hard drives, you must ask yourself what you
really need: space or speed.
WIKIPEDIA/QURREN, ARTEM S. TASHKINOV; CC BY SA 3.0

BASIC 120/128 GB models currently offer the best value

per gigabyte right now. This is enough space for the OS and

SSD RECOMMENDATION important data. It is fast enough and as a result, the increase in
speed is noticeable as compared to a traditional hard drive.
Even a cheap SSD works noticeably faster than magnetic hard
MID-RANGE Look out for controllers from Sandforce and MLC
disk. More expensive SSDs offer more capacity - the gain in
performance is however no longer dramatically noticeable. flash memory which is better performing than SLC.
HIGH-END PCI Express plug-in cards like the OCZ RevoDrive 3
THE BEST SSDS FOR EVERY PURPOSE X2 240 GB are even faster than SATA SSDs, but impractical for
SSD READ/WRITE PRICE home users on a budget. Note that the controller adds a few
MODEL CAPACITY
RECOMMENDATION SPEED (APPROX)
seconds to the boot time in exchange for data transfer speeds
BASIC Intel 330 120 GB 500/450 MB/s Rs 6,500
approximately twice as much as even a SATA3 drive. You can buy
MID-RANGE Corsair Neutron 240 GB 550/370 MB/s Rs 14,000
a high-end or high-capacity SATA3 SSD for far less.
HIGH-END Intel 520 240 GB 550/520 MB/s Rs 16,100
* INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 97

0921212_CUSTOM-MADE PC (COVER STORY).indd 97 11/22/2012 3:29:43 PM

 FEATURED
COVER STORY
THE UPGRADE MATRIX
Transform your old computer into a fast, mean machine with a neat upgrade. We show you
what works and what does not.
BY CHRISTOPH SCHMIDT
I
n theory, your PCs and notebooks
should be able to perform much better
when you upgrade their components.
But in reality, achieving this is more
complex. Since technical advancements
do not take place in synch with each
other, processors, drives, interfaces and
standards wind up becoming incompatible
with each other. That's why you can plug
a SATA drive into an old motherboard,
but the same board will only accept
specific CPUs. Our upgrade guide will
help you decide what is feasible, how
much performance you can get from a
new component, and which ones can be
modernised. The table shows processors
launched from 2004 onwards as it is not
really practical to consider upgrading to
anything older than that. Our overview
can only give approximate values, so
before you start, make sure you have a fair
idea of how to best spend your money.
First, collect the information you need
to decide what will be most effective.
Collect information
Before you decide to go for a processor
upgrade, you need the exact information
98 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0921212_CUSTOM-MADE PC (COVER STORY).indd 98
about the rest of your system. In Windows,
use the keyboard shortcut [Win] +
[Pause|Break] to show the processor
name and the amount and type of RAM
you have. The tool Speccy (www.piriform.
com/speccy) gives more detailed results.
Clicking on ‘CPU’ in the list on the left
will display the name of the CPU and its
socket type—this will have to match the
socket on the motherboard. Now check
our table to find which processors will
fit in that socket. The reason for this is
that sadly, high-end processors of older
generations are outdated compared to
even the mid-range ones today, but will
still be more expensive. If your existing
processor is already close to the top
model of its generation in terms of the
performance data (the ‘Core’ and ‘Core
frequency’ areas in Speccy will show this),
an upgrade won’t make much sense. If
you decide it makes sense to go ahead,
check the website of your motherboard's
manufacturer to find which is the most
powerful CPU supported.
Since the BIOS of a motherboard can
only handle processors that existed at
the time of its release, you must update
the BIOS before you install a new CPU.
You can see which BIOS supports which
CPUs on the manufacturer’s website for
your motherboard/notebook. The current
BIOS version is displayed in Speccy under
‘Motherboard’.
Upgrading the processor
A faster processor will accelerate all
computing applications and help the
system function smoothly. However,
replacing the processor is tricky and
the upgrade options are limited by the
pace of CPU and motherboard chipset
development. This is even more of a factor
when dealing with notebooks. If you only
rarely encode videos or play high-quality
games, and use your computer mostly for
surfing the Web and office tasks, you will
do fine with a dual-core processor. We
recommend a CPU upgrade if your system
has a very low-end processor with only
one core, which are sold under the Intel
Celeron or AMD Sempron brands. Today’s
operating systems and software work best
when the processor can independently
handle multiple tasks in the background.
The switch to a dual- or even quad-core
11/22/2012 3:29:55 PM
 FEATURED
COVER STORY

DESKTOP
In case of desktop PC, you can easily replace most components, but check the compatibility with the motherboard.
CPU
SOCKET YEAR CPU EXAMPLES RECOMMENDED MAX. CPU BENEFIT (MAX.) MAX. RAM 2 SSD GPU
ATA/ IDE port:
Before Intel Pentium, AGP: Radeon
OLDER – – – – only for IDE
2004 AMD K6-II HD 4670,
drives
Basic PCIe: nVidia
Intel Celeron D/E, As per chipset, Basic SSD, GTX 550 Ti
Intel Core 2 Core 2 Quad
INTEL 775 2004 Pentium D/E, Pentium 4, +44 % e.g. Intel 945: (SATA1 or
Duo E8400 Q9650
Core 2 Duo/Quad 2GB DDR2-667 will do) AMD Radeon HD
7750

PCIe top class:

Core i7-990X, Mid-range SSD,
INTEL 1366 2008 Core i7-9xx Core i7-920 +30 % 24 GB DDR3-1066 AMD Radeon HD
Extreme Edition SATA 2
7970

PCIe mid-range:
nVidia GeForce GTX
Core i7-880, Mid-range SSD,
INTEL 1156 2009 Core i3/5/7-xxx Core i5-661 +32 % 16 GB DDR3-1333 650
i7-870 SATA 2
AMD Radeon HD
7850
Middle to PCIe mid-range
INTEL 1155 2011 Core i3/5/7-2xxx Core i5-2500k Core i7-2700k +30 % 32 GB DDR3-1333 top class or performance,
(even SATA 3) see above
Top class PCIe top class,
INTEL 2011 2012 Core i7-3xxx Core i7-3930K Core i7-3960 +19 % 64 GB DDR3-1600
(SATA 3) see above
AMD Athlon (X2) AMD Athlon 64 PCIe basic,
AMD 939 2004 Anything available – 2 GB DDR-400 Beginner SSD
3/4xxx+1 X2 4800+ see above

Athlon 3/4xxx+1, X2
AMD xxxx/e/+, Sempron LE- AMD Phenom X3 Phenom II X6 Mid-range SSD, PCIe basic,
2006 +35 % (AM2+) 16 GB DDR2-1066
M2(+) 1xxx, xxxx+, Phenom X3/4 8600 1100T SATA 2 see above
xxxx/e, Phenom II X4 9xx
Athlon II X2/3/4 xxx/e/u,
AMD Athlon X2 5200+, Phenom Top class PCIe top class,
2009 FX-6100 FX-8150 +60 % 32 GB DDR3-2133
AM3(+) II X2/4/6, Sempron 1xx, (SATA 3) see above
FX-xxxx
Middle to top
PCIe mid-range,
AMD FM1 2011 A4/6/8-xxxx A6-3650 A8-3870K +39 % 64 GB DDR3-2250 class
see above
(even SATA 3)
1) This is for AM 939 or AM2: ensure info about socket 2) As per motherboard and/or CPU

NOTEBOOK
With the exception of graphics cards, a few system components can be replaced – but CPUs are harder to find as compared to
PCs.
CPU
SOCKET YEAR CPU EXAMPLES RECOMMENDED MAX. CPU MAX. RAM SSD (SATA)
Before Intel Mobile Pentium MMX, AMD Only used CPUs are Only used CPUs are
OLDER As per notebook Old or budget SSD
2006 Athlon XP-M/64, Turion (64) available for upgrade available for upgrade

Intel: Core Solo T1xxx, Duo T2xxx/E,

INTEL M 27 W TDP: Core Solo T1400, eBay Old or
2006 Core 2 Duo T5/7xxx/E, Celeron M see max. CPU 4 GB DDR2-667
(PPGA478) 35 W TDP: Core 2Duo T5500 budget SSD
4/5xx (1)

Intel Celeron M 5xx1, Chipset 91x: 4 GB DDR2-400

INTEL P Core 2Duo T7700, 25 W TDP: Core 2 Duo P8800,
2006 Core 2 Duo, Chipset 94xM: 4 GB DDR2-667 Basic SSD
(PGA478) approx. €160 35 W TDP: T9800
Pentium Dual-Core Chipset Gx9xx: 8 GB DDR2-800
Core i5-540M:
Intel Pentium/Celeron P4x00,
INTEL G1 35 W TDP: Core i5-540M, 35 W TDP: i7-2640M, 8 GB DDR3-1066 Mid-range SSD,
2009 Celeron B8xx,
(PGA988A) 45 W TDP: Core i7-720M 45 W TDP: i7-2860M Core i7-2860QM: SATA 2
Core i3/5/7-xxxM/QM
16 GB DDR3-1333
Core i5-2520M: 16 GB
Mid to top class
INTEL G2 35 W TDP: i5-2520M, 35 W TDP: Core i7-3612QM2; DDR3-1333;
2011 Intel Core i3/5/7-2xxxM/E/QM/QE (chipset QM67:
(PGA988B) 45 W TDP: i7-720M 45 W TDP: Core i7-3820QM2 Core i7-3920XM: 32 GB DDR3-
SATA 3)
1600
2006 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Only used CPUs are Only used CPUs are DDR2 – SDRAM,
AMD S1 Basic SSD
onwards (Mobile), Turion 64 X2 available for upgrade available for upgrade As per the notebook
2011 AMD Ax-xxxxM/MX, Only used CPUs are Only used CPUs are
AMD FM1 DDR3-1333 Mid-range SSD
onwards E2-3300M available for upgrade available for upgrade
1) Celeron M5xx: This is for socket M and P, ensure info about socket 2) Not yet available

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 99

0921212_CUSTOM-MADE PC (COVER STORY).indd 99 11/23/2012 10:51:15 AM

 FEATURED
COVER STORY
processor would surely bring noticeable
improvement in performance and overall
stability.
In contrast to desktop PCs, which
are designed to allow the CPU
and motherboard to be upgraded
independently of each other, the most
recent Ultrabooks, sub-notebooks,
netbooks and even normal notebooks are
often built with the processor soldered
directly to the board. This is identified by
the character string “BGA” (Ball Grid Array)
in the socket name or with the suffix “ULV”
in the CPU name. Even if it is swappable,
you will have to disassemble the entire
notebook piece by piece to get to the
CPU, and the process varies by brand and
product series. Furthermore, it is hard to
get hold of notebook processors in the
retail market — though Intel processors are
easier to find than AMD processors. A few
CPUs such as the Atom series by Intel, or
the “E-xxx” processors by AMD are always
going to be soldered on directly. More
difficulties arise when it seems that you
can replace the CPU of the notebook, but
not its specially-fitted cooling system. That
will mean you'll have to only upgrade to
CPUs whose heat dissipation (TDP) does
not exceed that of the original CPU.
Increasing the RAM
A low amount of RAM affects your
performance as soon as you open a large
number of programs or websites. This is
because the system slows down when
the contents of the fast RAM overflow to
the slower hard drive. You need at least
4 GB of RAM for Windows 7 or Vista and
at least 2 GB for Windows XP (preferably
double those figures). For desktop PCs,
you simply add new DIMM RAM modules
of the right type into empty RAM slots,
but in the case of notebooks, you need to
place the smaller SO-DIMM RAM modules
into their slots. The high price for older
memory standards is another problem.
The older DDR2 RAM costs twice as much
as DDR3 memory does, while the more
ancient DDR-RAM costs around four times
as much. This could make upgrading older
systems unprofitable. Speccy again helps
you find the correct memory standard
needed for the upgrade. Click on ‘RAM’ in
the component list in the main window
and the tool displays relevant information
on the right. A click on the small blue
triangle in front of a memory slot displays
the details about the module used in it.
100 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
0921212_CUSTOM-MADE PC (COVER STORY).indd 100
To upgrade, use
memory that
complies with the If you upgrade to a high-end
same standard graphics card with its own
12-volt power sockets, you need
(SDRAM, DDR, a power supply that delivers at
DDR2/3) and form least 600 Watts.
factor (DIMM for
desktop PCs or SO-DIMM for notebooks).
The clock rate (400, 667, 800, 1066, etc.)
must be same or higher than the current
sticks, but within the motherboard’s
tolerance. To avoid such problems, you
look for more of the modules you already
have. Some manufacturers explicitly list
compatible modules in their manuals or
on their websites. Compact motherboards
and notebooks often have only two
banks — if these are already full, you must
replace the existing modules instead of
adding to them. You might also have to
match old and new modules in specific
banks depending on the instructions in the
motherboard manual.
Adding a Solid State Drive
The positive effect of a Solid State
Disk (SSD) on speed is often the most
noticeable of all upgrades. As compared
to conventional magnetic hard drives, flash
drives have 135 times faster access times,
which means much shorter wait times
before data transfers begin. Therefore,
data flows faster to the motherboard as
compared to a conventional HDD.
SSDs break open the bottleneck
presented by older drives on every
computer. If you have a dual-core system
with adequate RAM, then an SSD is the
most effective upgrade and is also very
simple to install. All notebooks and PCs
from 2006 onwards have at least one
SATA port, which is required for an SSD.
Even if you want to buy a completely
new computer in the foreseeable future,
we recommend that you buy the latest
generation SSD for your older computer,
since a SATA 3 SSD runs without problems
on older SATA 2 ports. If and when you
buy a new computer, you can use the full
speed of the SSD. Speccy displays the
currently available SATA standard after a
click on the system drive under ‘Drives’.
For older systems, which may still have
a SATA 1 port, an entry-level SSD such
as the ADATA S599 is more suitable. In
a more recent desktop PC, a mid-end
model with at least 128 GB of space,
such as the Samsung SSD 830 series, is
most practical, so your operating system
and programs have enough space. You
can save user data on the old hard drive
which you continue to use along with the
SSD. Larger high-end SSDs with 256 GB
or more space, such as the Plextor M3
Pro, achieve more operations per second
(IOPS) and faster data transfers. With their
higher capacities, they are well-suited for
notebooks in which a second drive cannot
be accommodated. You can install the
SSD like a hard drive. The biggest effort
will be the reinstallation of the operating
system and programs, but even this is
helpful in clearing up software-related
garbage that accumulates over the years.
Swapping the graphics card
Graphics cards can be upgraded somewhat
easily when it comes to desktop PCs
thanks to the long-running PCIe standard,
but for notebooks, the graphics chip is
hard-wired. Graphics upgrades are most
practical for gamers or if you use the GPU
for video encoding. You need not worry
about slots in computers that are up to
six years old, since the current PCI Express
standard replaced the AGP standard in
2004 and has remained constant. Very old
PCs can still be upgraded with a handful
of available AGP cards (such as the HIS
Radeon HD 4670, 1 GB). This could allow
you to use HDMI and DVI for TV sets and
projectors, but be warned that gaming
performance will only improve up to a
point, as it's beyond the capability of older
CPUs. While upgrading graphics cards,
the balance between the CPU and GPU
is important — a high-end graphics card
also requires a modern high-end CPU
to be able to take complete advantage
of its capacity. Cards based on mid-end
GPUs like the GTX 560 are adequate for
CPUs, which are one or two classes lower
in terms of performance or one to two
generations behind the latest high-end
processors in terms of age.
After the upgrade, you won't get a
brand new PC, but it will still be a lot
faster and will be able to run most other
applications for the next two or three
years.
– feedback@chip.in
11/22/2012 3:31:20 PM

SYSTEM ANALYSIS:
Use info tools to see exactly what’s what
Along with the clearly-arranged tool
Speccy, there are a few other tools you
might want to use, as in some cases not
all tools will be able to detect obscure
hardware. The best tool is CPU-Z (www.
cpuid.com), which only displays basic
information about the CPU,
motherboard, memory and graphics
card. It is still very reliable, easy and up-
Concise: Speccy
OPTIMISING COOLING FOR DESKTOPS
If you’re changing the processor in a
desktop PC, it is best you ensure good
cooling. Your CPU seldom runs at full
load, so the supplied heatsink and fan
cooler is adequate for everyday work.
An additional fan on the chassis is
recommended to reduce the thermal
load on the motherboard. These are
inexpensive and not too loud either.
Connect your chassis fans to the 3-pin
headers on the motherboard so that the
system can manage their speed.
If your usage is performance-heavy,
like gaming or video encoding, an after-
market CPU cooler makes sense. This
will cool your PC much better under
higher load and will be more quiet than
Find obscure parts on ebay.com
0921212_CUSTOM-MADE PC (COVER STORY).indd 101
to-date. The package “PC Wizard 2012”
by the same manufacturer, CPUID, is
very extensive, but is a bit poorly
designed.
The program HWiNFO displays links
to manufacturers’ websites, so clicking
on the motherboard name for example
leads directly to the relevant site for
updates and CPU and memory
Simple: CPU-Z
the bundled model. You cannot go
wrong with such products from reputed
manufacturers such as Arctic, Cooler
Master, Scythe, Thermaltake and
Zalman. The clusters of components in
rows near the CPU socket on your
motherboard are voltage regulators
which also need adequate airflow — for
this reason, a fan that blows
perpendicular to the CPU rather than
straight down is helpful. If the voltage
converters are covered by a heat pipe, a
chassis fan which blows air across the
motherboard can also be used. An
intake in the front and an exhaust at the
back will keep air moving over the
critical components.
TAKING CARE OF COMPONENTS
In newer desktop computers, it is easy
to find components to replace. You won’t
have much trouble finding compatible
hardware at the local computer store or
at established online shops. But
searching for CPUs or RAM modules that
are some generations old can be quite
frustrating. Areas such as Lamington
Road in Mumbai and Nehru Place in New
Delhi will have specific dealers who
specialise in spare parts and older
FEATURED
COVER STORY
compatibility lists. You must install the
correct version for 32- or 64-bit
systems.
The most comprehensive package is
the system analysis suite SiSoft Sandra
Lite (www.sisoftware.co.uk), which gives
exhaustive information about the
hardware of the computer and even
includes a few benchmarks.
Detailed: HWiNFO
Third-party heatsink/fan cooler.
hardware. The price might not always be
reasonable when measured against the
performance of such old parts. If what
you need is not available, search on
www.ebay.com and check out the
international shipping quotations. By
rummaging around in categories like
“Electronics | Computers | Components |
CPUs”, you might find a specific second-
hand processor for the socket and TDP
you need.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 101
11/22/2012 3:39:50 PM
 FEATURED
HUMAN BODY

BRAIN PACEMAKER
In Parkinson's disease, tremors
(shaking) and depression stimulate
or disable electrodes.

BIONIC EYE
A camera, processor and controller
work together to balance out the
effects of retinal diseases.

ARTIFICIAL NOSE
Highly sensitive biosensors from
frog cells and insect DNA could
replace noses.

PRINTED ORGANS
Cells and blood vessels produced by
3D printers and molten sugar are
used to manufacture organs.

ThE InCrEdIbLe
HuMaN MaChInE
Smart appliances and high-tech materials will one day be able
to replace every part of our bodies. But how far has the medical
industry progressed? BY MANUEL KÖPPL

ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS
A glucose sensor and an insulin
pump are controlled by an algorithm
to secrete insulin automatically.

CLEVER PROSTHESESS
A high-tech finger with mul
multip
tiple
l
sensors can detect the text
xture
ure an
and
d
temperature of surfaces.

102 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP Jagdish Limbachiya

SMS us! ¾ Story code: FHB to 51818

1021212_Human Body.indd 102 11/22/2012 2:54:42 PM

 FEATURED
HUMAN BODY

Brain Sensor: THOUGHT CONTROLLED ROBOT

A team of researchers at Brown University in Providence has
been testing brain sensors and robotic arms for years. The

Mental powers interface is expected to be available in about ten years.

Something that used to sound like science fiction has now

become reality. Thanks to a brain implant and a robotic arm,
American citizen Cathy Hutchinson, who is paralysed from the
neck down, can now drink out of a bottle without anybody’s
help. Hutchinson suffered from cerebral apoplexy in 1997.
She has been paralysed since then and cannot speak. After
the stroke, Hutchinson could draw attention only with eye
movements. Her mind is healthy, but she is trapped inside her
own body. Recently, the 58-year-old regained the ability to
move her head slowly and sometimes also shake her arms.
In 2005, a brain sensor was planted in Hutchinson’s cerebral
cortex. The 4x4 mm implant contains 96 capillary electrodes
that trigger electric activity in the nerve cells they are tapped
into. “She could pick something up all by herself for the first
time after almost 15 years”, said neurologist Leigh Hochberg,
who participated in developing the BrainGate 2 system.
The BrainGate 2 electrodes were placed in positions where Paralysed Cathy Hutchinson
impulses for voluntary arm movements are generally triggered. uses only her thoughts to
PHOTO: ANIMAS, BROWN UNIVERSITY; ISTOCKPHOTO / JANA BLAKOVÁ, JORDAN S. MILLER; PERATECH; REPRAP.ORG; UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES,

For many years, the researchers have been looking for a way raise a bottle to her mouth.
to assign correct movement patterns to nerve signals so The nerve signals that her
thoughts create are routed
that patients like Hutchison could control robotic limbs and
through a minicomputer on
apparatus through their thoughts.
the robotic arm.

CHIPS PROJECT IMAGES

BIONIC EYE: The Bionic Eye 2's camera transmits captured images to an
external processor which processes and sends the image to a
microchip in the eye. The chip converts the data into electrical

A new view pulses that are sent to the brain via the optic nerve.

CAMERA MICROCHIP
The significance of this development speaks for itself.
Australian researchers at Bionic Vision have been working
for many years on a bionic eye that supposedly restores
UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA ILLUSTRATIONS: HARRY FOX HOLE

basic vision in patients suffering from retinal diseases. The

latest Bionic Eye 2 includes several components: a camera
embedded in a glass jacket, an external processor, and a
diamond microchip implanted in the eye. Experts claim that
the Bionic Eye 2 can easily match the computing power of a
smartphone.
The images filmed by the camera are transferred to the
external processor via a radio. After processing the image, data PROCESSOR
is transmitted wirelessly to the microchip fitted in the eye. The
chip is placed in the outer layer of the choroids and converts
data into electrical pulses. The information reaches the brain
through connections to the optic nerve.
The bionic eye developed for far-sightedness is based on
The microchip in the
98 electrodes for stimulating retina nerves. Believe it or not,
choroid transmits the
one version for sharper vision uses 1,024 electrodes. Although image information as
this lets you see detailed images, it limits the field of vision. electrical pulses to the
The researchers want to introduce a new version for both far- retinal nerves.
sightedness and near-sightedness.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 103

1021212_Human Body.indd 103 11/22/2012 2:54:52 PM

 FEATURED
HUMAN BODY

ARITIFICIAL NOSE: SMELL LIKE INSECTS DO

Japanese researchers have developed an artificial nose from
frog eggs and insect DNA, that is more sensitive than

A tireless helper previous systems.

Someone who wants an artificial nose will have to get used Whenever the robot
to the idea of relying on fish eggs. Japanese scientists have detects a scent, it shakes its
developed an artificial nose from fish egg cells, which can head. The objective behind
supposedly detect scent better than existing artificial systems. embedding such receptors
in capsules with liquids is
However, the inspiration for this bio-sensor were actually
to forward electrical pulses
insects. Scientists at the University of Tokyo used the egg
to electrodes.
cells of an African Clawed Frog to apply the genetic makeup
of a silk moth, a diamondback moth and a fruit fly. Simply
put, the scientists used a part of the DNA which controls the
sense of smell in insects. The egg cells built those receptors
such that insects could smell through them. These genetically
modified cells are used in a capsule with a conductive fluid
that is connected to electrodes. When the molecules reach the
receptors, they react with an electrical pulse that is created
by electrodes. Artificial noses built into robots have already
been tested. If the bio-sensor detects particles carrying an
odour, then the robot acknowledges this by shaking its head.
The leading scientist, Shoji Takeuchi, thinks that the common
sense of smell between humans and robots could one day
“revolutionise the relationship between robots and us”.

PANCREAS SUBSTITUTE: AUTOMATED INSULIN INJECTION Under development by an international research project, a mobile
phone using a glucose sensor and an insulin pump automatically

Precise pump regulates the blood sugar levels of diabetic patients.

According to the World Health Organisation, approximately

346 million people around the world suffer from diabetes,
mainly Type 1 diabetes. In this form of the disease, the body
completely stops producing insulin and this condition is
difficult to treat. An artificial pancreas that automatically
control the blood sugar level of diabetes patients is now being
developed. This development is an international collaborative
project by the Universities of Charlottesville and Santa
Barbara as well as Montpellier, Padua and Pavia. The system
incorporates a conventional insulin pump and a glucose sensor.
Both these parts are implanted in the patient. The third part is
a mobile phone. The research team has transformed a regular
smartphone into the brain of the system. It controls the blood
sugar level with the help of the glucose sensor and also gives
the insulin pump commands to inject the insulin. Justin Wood
A smartphone is
(40) from Charlottesville was the first person on whom this
equipped with special
system was tested. “It automatically did many things which I software (top) that
had to do until now”, says Wood. He noticed that he could eat controls an intelligent
more flexibly thanks to this system, which was controlled by algorithm. The insulin
an algorithm. This invention is set to undergo further tests in pump (left), pumps in
the USA, France and Italy next year. the required amount
of insulin as directed.

104 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

1021212_Human Body.indd 104 11/22/2012 2:55:05 PM

 FEATURED
HUMAN BODY

CLEVER PROSTHESES: ART WITH FINGER SENSORS

Developed by U.S. scientists, the BioTac finger has a lot of
sensors that can detect the texture, temperature and even the

An awesome feeling pressure exerted on the fingertip.

HEAT CONDUCTOR ELECTRODES PRESSURE SENSOR

A large number of sensors are incorporated in the new (UNDERWATER MICROPHONE)
robot finger “BioTac”, which scientists from the University
of Southern California have recently introduced. The most
astonishing feature of BioTac is that the high-tech finger can
identify textures, that too more accurately than humans. A
video made by the developers demonstrates that out of 117
surfaces, the BioTac could recognize 111, making its strike rate
95 percent. BioTac essentially mimics a human finger. It has
soft skin with a finger-like surface. A hydrophone resides within
CONDUCTIVE FLEXIBLE SURFACE
the liquid core of this high-tech finger. Whenever the finger LIQUID
touches a surface, the artificial skin vibrates. These vibrations
are picked by a hydrophone. A comparison of its values
helps the BioTac narrow down which surface it is in contact
with. Besides this, BioTac also has sensors that can answer
questions and detect from where and to what extent any kind When anything touches
of force is generated as well as how hot or cold an object is. the liquid-filled BioTac,
Currently, researchers are looking to market the artificial finger an underwater
in collaboration with the start-up, SynTouch. BioTac will most microphone registers the
vibrations. Due to its
probably be used in prostheses and industrial robots in the
sensitive sensors, BioTac
future.
can be mounted onto
robotic arms, and can
even be used to handle
very sensitive objects.

ARTIFICIAL ORGANS: ORGANS FROM A 3D PRINTER

U.S. scientists are currently trying to use "printed" blood vessels
to produce entire organs. Melted sugar is used as the modelling

Like a print out material.

This mission is like looking for the Holy Grail. Scientists from the
University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) want to “print” organs in the future. Yes, you
read that right. These scientists have created a blood vessel
model for a 3D printer that would help them to manufacture
organs, a liver for instance. Sugar was used as a model for
developing this technology. In this process, the tissue structure
is built with artificial cells, layer by layer. There is a problem
with this procedure, however; the synthetic cells often die even
before the tissue is formed.
Sugar may correct the problems, though. According to MIT
researcher Sangeeta Bhatia, the sugar procedure is similar to
that of the formation of a vase made of wax. The wax model
is surrounded with molten material and then the wax is melted For the production of
blood vessels, the
away. Bhatia explains that in theory, every type of tissue can
researchers used an
be produced with the help of a 3D printer. “We tried to make
evolution of the open
a liver, so we surrounded them with liver cells, but one could source RepRap 3D
do this with any other tissue,” she said. But it would be quite a printer (above). The
challenge to produce fully functional cells for organs. 3D template of
– feedback@chip.in printable blood
vessels (left) serves
as a building block
for all the organs.

1021212_Human Body.indd 105 11/22/2012 2:55:15 PM

 FEATURED
THE NEW WORLD OF ROBOTS
ASIMO
USE Designed to be a domestic helper,
specializes in human-robot interaction.
FACTS Speed of movement: 9 kmph;
height: 130 cm; weight: 48 Kg; capable
of face recognition.
SIMUS
USE A substitute for ornamental fish and
a project for studying swarm behaviour.
FACTS 9 cm long; 3D printed covering
and fins; cost of materials: approx 22
Euros.
106 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
1061212_The new world of Robots.indd 106
LS3 "ALPHADOG"
USE Accompanies infantry; drags and
loads equipment.
FACTS Daily reach: around 32 Km;
carries upto 200 Kg; propulsion: petrol
engine.
SMARTBIRD
USE Research project; can exactly
simulate the flying ability of a seagull.
FACTS Wing span: 2 metres; weight: 450
gm; power: 23 Watts.
SAND FLEA
USE Suitable for military, police or
rescue missions; can clear hurdles.
FACTS Jump height: 8 m with CO2 canon
on the back; length: 33 cm; weight:
approx 5 Kg.
PARO
USE Helps in the psychological care of
patients suffering from dementia.
FACTS Over 1,700 seals in use
worldwide; weight: 2.7 Kg; length: 57cm.
RIBA II
USE Supports geriatric nursing; helps
physically handicapped senior citizens.
FACTS: Lifts upto 80 Kg; mass production
from 2015; cost: approx 60,000 Euros.
CARE-O-BOT 3
USE Assistance for patients in hospitals
as well as in private homes.
FACTS Weight: 180 Kg; height: 145 cm;
three laser scanners; 3D camera; eight
engines.
EINWEGROBOTER
USE Rescue missions; preliminary
investigations of unknown terrain.
FACTS Costs only approx 500 Euros; the
robot’s brain is inside a mini PC or
Android phone.
SMS us! ¾ Story code: FSR to 51818
11/22/2012 2:56:54 PM
 FEATURED
THE NEW WORLD OF ROBOTS

ATLAS
USE Humanoid rescue robot, can clear
debris and carry the injured.
FACTS Still under development; objective:
speed of 15 Kmph and lifting capacity of
450 Kg.
ROMO
USE Robotic vehicle for smartphones,
self-programmable using an SDK.
FACTS Controlled by an app; operated by
iOS and Android; cost: approx 100 Euros;
length: 12.4 cm.

ROMEO QUINCE RHEX

USE Private domestic help for physically
handicapped patients.
FACTS Height: 143 cm, weight: 40.5 Kg,
14 engines; runs using ROS operating
system.
USE Sturdy rescue robot used in the
contaminated Fukushima reactor.
FACTS Sensors for heat, radiation and
gas; 3D laser scanner; weight: 27 Kg.
USE Cleanup and rescue operations in
marshy terrain.
FACTS Transmission range: 700 m,
dust-proof and waterproof; infrared
camera.

The new world of

ROBOTS
They rescue us and also take care of
us. They fly, spy, and crawl. And they
deal with every kind of job without any
complaints whatsoever! BY MARKUS MANDAU

I
n the beginning, humanoid robots were a product of our
fantasies and science fiction. However, they have grown
to become part of our lives today, and not just on factory
assembly lines. Over the past few years, domestic robots in the
form of small disc-shaped vacuum cleaners have become quite
common. There are over eight million households in the US
alone where these robots use their servo-engines to perform
one of the most menial chores. There are also thousands of
other devices that wipe floors, clean windows, and mow lawns.
But this is only a modest beginning. The current high cost of
developing and producing robots will go down and the number
of them in use will increase further. The technology that
enables them, such as position sensors and gesture or face
recognition is already powerful enough. The iPhone, which is
already equipped with a camera and speech recognition engine
lacks only the mechanical parts to move around on its own, or
it would be as powerful as a domestic robot needs to be. The
American start-up Romotive sells Romo plus, which is an app
for around $150.
Many prospective employers are also looking forward to
a future where robots are viable. Jobs ranging from nursing
the ill to disaster prevention would be best suited for these
new "employees”, since they are dangerous or unpleasant
for humans. Modern robots hence don't need to resemble a
human. More interesting models such as birds, fleas or fish
often prove to be more versatile in these situations. We explore
the various fields in which robots are likely to become common
soon, and what exactly the future holds.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 107

1061212_The new world of Robots.indd 107 11/22/2012 2:57:24 PM

 FEATURED THE SEAL “PARO” AS A THERAPIST
THE NEW WORLD OF ROBOTS
Paro responds with a satisfied purr to gestures like
stroking and hugging. It will be used for the psychological
care of patients suffering from dementia.

DAILY ROUTINE
of the friend and helper
Robots are entering our homes in the form of
dedicated counsellors and domestic helpers,
either for the duration of an illness or as
permanent companions.
Can you imagine smiling and shaking hands with a machine that
looks and talks just like we do? It may sound remarkable to us,
but for the Japanese it is a concrete part of their foreseeable
future. This is what Asimo by Honda does. It specialises in
human interaction and carries out various duties for its owners.
It can not only identify faces and voices, it can move through
a crowd of people too. But it has one more important function THE ROBOTIC NURSE CARE-O-BOT IN DETAIL
that will soon be put to the test — that of caring for the elderly.
The body of this device by Fraunhofer is made of
Japan, the land where the average age of the population is over components from industrial robots. It has been pieced
65 years, offers us a glimpse into our own future. The Japanese together with common consumer PC hardware, optionally
Ministry for Economic Affairs pegs the market for robotic including Microsoft's Kinect sensor.
caregivers at over $636 million (approx. Rs 3,500 crore).
EXTENDABLE
ARM SENSOR HEAD
From petting seals to robot butlers WITH 3D CAMERA
Firms like Toshiba and Panasonic, and some universities, GRIPPING DEVICE
regularly come up with such devices. Riba ll carries patients WITH THREE JOINTS FOR
FINGERS HEAD AND ARM
with physical limitations, and MySpoon feeds disabled people.
Panasonic offers a robot bed that transforms into a wheelchair
TACTILE MOVABLE
whenever required. Only a few projects manage to make it SENSORS FIXTURE
to the retail market though, one of the reasons for this being TOUCHPAD
LOUDSPEAKER
the high cost of early models. But the seal-inspired Paro is an
exception to this generalisation. This robot has a very bright
future in the global market. Denmark is currently undertaking a
COMPUTER BAY
FOR THREE
clinical study of the effects Paro has on patients of Alzheimers CONTROLLERS LITHIUM-ION
BATTERY
disease and dementia. Over 200 Paros are being used in this
study. More than 30 organisations in Germany are working MOBILE
BASE THREE LASER
with Paro. The artificial seal reacts to gestures of affection, like SCANNERS
ruffling its fur or stroking it, with a satisfied purr. The feedback
from affectionate gestures and the resulting purring goes down
well with the patients. “A success rate of 70 percent is achieved
in case of patients suffering from dementia", says Tobias
DARWIN, THE DOG TRAINER
Bachhausen, a care-giver who works with Paro. “The patients
A Microsoft developer has built his
experience considerable satisfaction and calm. Sometimes, it
own dog trainer on the Edie Platform
also works for speech activation; some patients even begin to
with Kinect. The gripping arm throws a
express themselves verbally." ball. When the dog returns with the
Service robots that are able to move very flexibly—like ball, a portion of dog food falls out of
Romeo by the firm Aldebaran and Care-O-Bot by Fraunhofer the tube as a reward.
IPA—were actually very difficult to create. The Care-O-Bot is
supposed to deal with everyday tasks for patients with physical
movement restrictions. This includes tasks like clearing a table,
bringing a book from the bookshelf, or even serving drinks. The
scope of its use stretches from hospitals to providing care in
private residences. Though this is technically possible, it is very
expensive. The current Version 3 costs around $318,000, and
the only customers are other research institutes, because the
Care-O-Bot works using a uniform programming platform based
on the open source robot operating system, ROS.

108 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

1061212_The new world of Robots.indd 108 11/22/2012 2:57:53 PM

 A SNAKE-CAMERA IN THE RUINS
The Active Scope Camera is supposed to look for people
who may have been buried alive in debris. The engine
inside the robot camera reproduces the movements of a

RESCUE operations
snake, which results in propulsion through tiny spaces
when the external body compresses and expands.

PLIABLE

in dangerous places EXTERNAL HAIR

Natural disaster sites can become robots'

natural environment. Rescue robots can reach
places where we would not even survive.

They search through mountains of debris, climb into houses that

have caved in, look out for car bombs, and remove mines from VIBRATION MOTOR
minefields. Rescue robots have been in use across the world for CAMERA
several years. The American firm iRobot has dispatched 3,000
ACTIVE SCOPE WITH
of its mobile helpers to the war front. In fact, the US military is CONTROL STATION
its biggest customer. The 1995 Kobe earthquake was a trigger
for the Japanese to develop robots that could move inside
ruined houses. The robots also had to be able to move through ROBOT QUINCE IN THE FUKUSHIMA REACTOR
rubble that could prove to be fatal for human volunteers. Thus, Two devices were needed to analyse the site of the
radiation-affected reactor. Quince 1 took photos and
PHOTOS: BEZIEHUNGEN PFLEGEN; FRAUNHOFER; INTERNATIONAL RESCUE SYSTEM INSTITUTE, RIKEN RTC; PHOTO COURTESY (C) 2012 RICH HARMAN; W&G2

the Active Scope Camera came into being at Tohoku University.

radiation measurements, while Quince 2 served as a
This robot-camera can actually wind its way into a disaster site
power station outside the reactor.
like a snake through the narrowest of passages.

INSIDE THE NUCLEAR REACTOR WIRELESS

Reactor accident as an acid test VDSL/CABLE
The Japanese rescue robot Quince looks just as unglamorous
as the American minesweeper robot. It is hardly one metre MOBILE UNIT
in length and moves ahead on tracks or chain wheels.
Nevertheless, these devices are worth way more than their plain
looks let on. Not only is Quince dust-proof and waterproof, it
can also wash dangerous chemicals off itself. Quince’s greatest
hour was in 2011, during the Fukushima nuclear disaster. It
so happened that only Quince was able to enter the higher QUINCE 1 QUINCE 2
floors of the nuclear reactor to measure the extent of radiation
that had leaked. Fukushima was a test that showed what OUTER WALL OF THE REACTOR
the rescue robots still lacked and what their limitations were.
OUTSIDE THE NUCLEAR REACTOR AIR SHAFT
These can be very minor things like being able to climb steps,
which is precisely where the US military robot PackBot failed in
Fukushima. Quince, on the other hand, faced no such problems CONTROL STATION 1 CONTROL STATION 2 MOBILE UNIT
thanks to the traction drives installed at its front and rear.
Nevertheless, contact with a Quince unit was once lost when
the cable connection broke. The concrete walls of the nuclear
reactor also prevented wireless communication. Finally, two
robots had to be linked to each other and sent inside.
A European robot similar to Quince can cost up to 70,000
Euros. “One would definitely not like to lose it," says Professor COORDINATED RESCUE MISSION
Surmann of FH Gelsenkirchen and employee of the EU project Three robots of the FH Gelsenkirchen in use: The vehicle to
Nifti. His idea is to build a reasonably-priced single-use robot to the left serves the purpose of preliminary investigation.
first explore the target area, build a network in that place and The orange aerial robot to the right is used to get an
overhead view. Additionally, the robot with treaded
send pictures of the disaster to a team of rescuers. The more
wheels goes directly inside the danger zone.
expensive robots are then sent to that area. These robots are
connected to the single-use robot by radio signals. The model
by Gelsenkirchen costs only 500 Euros because some of its
components are off the shelf: a model car chassis, router, and
a small PC or smartphone. It is operated on the ROS operating
system platform. ROS can read the sensors from Android
smartphones. This inexpensive robot can be put to use to
monitor dangerous buildings that might collapse during rescue
operations.

1061212_The new world of Robots.indd 109 11/22/2012 2:58:03 PM

 FEATURED
THE NEW WORLD OF ROBOTS THE CHEETAH AMONG ROBOTS
Boston Dynamics was inspired by the locomotive system
of this animal while building its Cheetah robot. Currently
the fastest robot ever built, it can reach a speed of 30

RESEARCH Km/h on a treadmill. The fact that it has been fitted with
a flexible back also helps.

that imitates nature

Fleas, fish, dogs, and seagulls—bionics
engineers look to nature for models based on
which flexible and sturdy robots can be built.

It crawls, swims and even flies, despite it not being an animal! We

must prepare ourselves for such strange sights, since these robots
are faster and more skillful than humanoid robots, as humanoid
bots must constantly try to maintain their balance. One such bot,
the AlphaDog is very efficient. It can carry equipment weighing
up to 200 Kg, runs on four legs, and thanks to position sensors,
it can run even on unstable surfaces. If one of its legs slips, it
automatically stabilises itself. The AlphaDog will be put to use
SMART BIRD: MOBILE LIKE A BIRD
in the US army if the field tests to be undertaken this year are
This aerial robot by Festo consists of dozens of
successful. It has been built by Boston Dynamics with generous
components, which when taken together, do not even
financial support from the US military. It is no wonder that the weigh 500 gm! The secret of its bird-like flight lies in the
firm already has one more model in its portfolio, AlphaDog’s mobility of its joints, with the help of which the robot
six-legged younger brother, RHex, which can even wade through can imitate the wing motion of birds during flight.
mud. The Sand Flea springs above eight-meter-high obstacles
with the help of air pressure cannons, while the Cheetah holds the
record for being the fastest robot with a max speed of 30 Kmph.
The Italian Institute of Technology has built a small brother of the
BigDog in association with HyQ. This particular robot has been
built for rescuing victims of natural catastrophes.

Spiders and fish: hot off the press

The general trend in bionics is moving away from metal frames.
Researchers at Stuttgart's Fraunhofer Institute of Production
Technology and Automation (IPA) have built an eight-legged
robotic spider. A 3D printer produces its individual components,
which makes the development of prototypes easier and cheaper.
Likewise, the 3D printer of the Fraunhofer Institute produces
autonomous robotic fish. They are made up of porous and
permeable Polyamid and they orient themselves in water with
infrared sensors. The software simulates the behaviour of a swarm
and uses an ATmega 8A microcontroller that costs 2 Euros. In all,
the cost of the fish is 22 Euros. Project Director, Andreas Fischer, SWARMS OF FISH FROM A 3D PRINTER!
can therefore justifiably imagine mass production as a substitute These robot fish by Fraunhofer IPA orient themselves in
for ornamental fish or an open source learning project, too. water with the help of infrared sensors in their eyes.
The software in their microcontroller simulates the
German specialists in automation technology have formed
behaviour of fish in a swarm. A Lithium ion battery lasts
a research team that selects successful concepts from nature
for four hours, and after the battery runs out, the fish
as models. They have built machines that can grip gently like must be recharged for 45 minutes (inset).
an elephant’s trunk; machines that can cling to surfaces like
a gecko; and machines that can grab things firmly like a bird's
beak. The most astonishing bot though, is the SmartBird, which
perfectly imitates the flight of a seagull; it can actually fly.
However, us humans, as a biological model, are not obsolete
yet. The US military authority DARPA is holding a contest in
2012/2013 which uses the Atlas, developed by Boston Dynamics,
as its base. The aim is to develop a humanoid rescue robot
that can search through a disaster area, clear obstacles and
transport wounded people.
- feedback@chip.in

110 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

1061212_The new world of Robots.indd 110 11/22/2012 6:29:38 PM

 FEATURED
APP DEVELOPMENT
The Road to
App Development
Developing an app isn’t easy. Your idea needs to be strong, have an intuitive design and, it
should communicate clearly with your target audience. BY PRIYANKA TILVE
A
pps are what make your
smartphone really smart. Today,
you can find an app for just
about anything. You want to kill some
time, book a flight, shop at the mall,
find your way in a new city, check which
wine to pair with the cheese, see what
restaurants serve your significant other's
favourite meal, book movie tickets, or even
sound out a mighty whiplashing sound
to a buddy who’s just been henpecked
by the missus, there’s an app for it.
In some cases, like with iOS, apps are
specially designed or upscaled to support
tablet displays. Little wonder then that
apps are growing in popularity and every
business, be it big or small, has its own
app. The app ecosystem is such that there
is always space for more. There’s always a
need, as weird as it sometimes might be,
112 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
1121212_The Road to App Development.indd 112
to fill. To put this into perspective, we’ve
showcased some of the skills you’ll need,
the platforms to look at and things you
need to consider if you’re trying to break
into the biz.
Where to begin
Knowledge of coding is a prerequisite.
However, lack of technical knowledge
shouldn’t really pose a problem,
particularly if you’re willing to learn the
programming language. And you could
easily do so, courtesy of the many online
resources. But before you start burning the
midnight oil designing and building your
app, there are a few things you should
consider –
The first thing is to realise what unique
need your app will address. Copies of
existing apps, unless they successfully
manage to offer more, don’t do too well.
If there are apps that are similar to what
you’re working on, you should definitely
figure out features you want to add to set
your app apart from the rest. Fill in the
holes, so to speak. You could then focus
on developing and making those features
the strong points of your app. Secondly,
identify the target audience for your app,
as this will be handy when zeroing in on
the platform you want to build on.
Siddhartha Banerjee, a self-taught
app developer who developed his first
app, MeterDown, for the iOS platform,
has a word of advice for independent
developers who want to test the
waters — “Somebody who doesn’t know
development, but has a great idea for an
app should spend time researching their
target audience. They should figure out
SMS us! ¾ Story code: FAD to 51818
11/22/2012 2:59:00 PM

what kind of phone they are using. If their
research shows that their target audience
is using more iOS handsets, then obviously
it makes much more sense for them to
develop on that platform. Then they can
go about learning the coding, but that’s
not so easy. Alternatively, they can hire
somebody to create the app for them. So,
for an independent developer, it is very
important to do research, understand the
feasibility, and if they really feel that the
idea is strong enough, go ahead and take
the plunge.”
Knowing the platform
Each platform has its own strengths and
is defined by its users. So, once again,
the target audience is a key factor. From
a business point of view, some platforms
are also more lucrative than others. iOS
is considered to be the most monetisable
platform; this is mainly due to the fact that
iOS users are more likely to pay for apps
than others.
Rohit Singal, Founder & CEO,
Sourcebits, which specialises in developing
apps for the iOS platform, points out the
advantage of iOS. “Developing an iOS app
can have several benefits depending on
the application and the target market. In
many cases, it's easier to develop on iOS
because you only have to worry about
developing for and supporting a limited
range of devices compared with the huge
number of Android devices, all of which
have different specs. iPhone users also
tend to be better long-term customers for
paid or freemium applications, and they'll
spend more on average than Android
users,” he said. That's true too; a recent
report by Localytics revealed that the app
retention rates on iOS were 52 percent
higher than those on Android.
But getting your app published on
Apple’s platform isn’t simple as Apple
has a stringent selection procedure.
Rohit explains, “Apple has relatively high
standards for applications released on
the App Store, and it has helped them
protect the value of the store to their
consumers. There are certain things that
Apple provides guidance on which will
clearly get your app rejected by the App
Store. Some of the rejection triggers
include using Apple's name, integrating
with private APIs, creating something that
portrays Apple, the App Store or iOS in a
bad light, applications with limited user
functionality (demo apps, for example),
1121212_The Road to App Development.indd 113
Windows 8 has got everyone excited and Microsoft
is going all out to promote it.
apps that copy an existing pre-installed OS
app, poor privacy policy, and issues with
inappropriate language or user generated
content.” But if you manage to get your
app cleared, then get ready to reap the
benefits as the App Store gives 70 percent
of revenue from an application to the
developer — of course, if your app clicks.
Android’s appeal lies in the fact that
it’s an open source platform. Munish
Bansal of Mobicules Technologies, which
is into developing apps for Android, points
out that it’s very easy to get an app
published on the Android platform as
compared to others. Speaking about its
popularity, he says, “The Android platform
today has built outstanding careers in
technology innovation and application
development. This platform caters to
developers who can think differently and
A customer doesn’t
know how good your
code is; he sees the
user interface. 60% of
time should go on UX
and 40% on coding.
— Siddhartha Banerjee,
Independent App Developer
FEATURED
APP DEVELOPMENT
Windows 8 is
really the single
biggest developer
opportunity; it is
designed to be fast
and fluid.
— Pratima Amonkar, Director,
Audience Marketing, Microsoft
build small applications quickly. Since
it's open source, the scope to learn and
work is infinite. For a developer who has
excellent coding knowledge and can
think out of the box, Android is the best
platform to be on. It is no surprise that
Android keeps adding to the largest pool
of developers worldwide each day. Besides
this, developers can take advantage of
the Google Developers Academy and the
Google Developers University Consortium,
aimed at improving relationships and
encouraging creation of apps and services
based on Google’s platforms.”
The good news for Indian developers is
the fact that they can now charge for the
apps they publish on the Android platform
where it could reap big benefits in the
financial sense.
The Symbian platform may seem
sidelined at the moment, but it’s definitely
not one to be ignored. With the Nokia
Store available in over 150 countries,
of which 90 percent are served in
local languages, Symbian presents a
huge opportunity for developers. Vipul
Mehrotra, Director & Head, Smartphone
Devices, Nokia India, says, “Nokia Store
(Qt and Series 40) and Microsoft
Marketplace (Windows Phone) offer a
unique opportunity for developers to
reach a large number of users in the
market. Symbian Series 40 offers you
two great development technologies:
Java and web apps. Choosing either gives
you access to the world's most widely-
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 113
11/22/2012 2:59:17 PM
 FEATURED
APP DEVELOPMENT
used mobile platform, with hundreds of
millions of phones in use every day. The
latest full touch Series 40 phones bring
a smartphone-like experience to the
mass market, complementing the range
of Series 40 phones that deliver to many
mobile consumers their first Internet
experience. Up until recently, developers
for Series 40 typically had two business
models to choose when distributing
their apps — distributing them for free or
monetising them through paid downloads.
Nokia is now expanding their options with
solutions for In-App Advertising and In-App
Purchasing with phones such as the new
Nokia Asha 303, the first Series 40 phone
designed to support In-App Purchasing.”
BlackBerry, with its positioning as a
business phone, also has its own legion
of followers. And this, it partly owes to
the popularity of BBM. With BlackBerry 10
OS peeking out from behind the curtain,
RIM is making efforts to resurrect its
app world in a big way. A huge step was
opening up all the APIs. Annie Mathew,
Head of Alliances, Research In Motion
(RIM), India, outlines the virtues of the BB
10 platform for developers: “BB 10 is truly
an open source platform and a developer
can easily develop on it, irrespective of the
skill-set they have. Also, we have opened
up APIs to the developers. Earlier there
was only a certain subset of APIs that was
open to third party developers, but today
all APIs are open to them. This means
developers can now do native integration,
with the help of which they can make their
Android is for
developers who can
think differently
and build small
applications quickly.
—Munish Bansal, Mobicules
Technologies
114 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
1121212_The Road to App Development.indd 114
iOS is considered to be the most monetisable
platform, as users are more likely to pay.
applications more useful for the end-user.
They now have the option to integrate
the app into email, calendar, even BBM,
and all the services that are there on the
BB platform. This will help developers
build apps that are intuitive, are fast
and responsive, and integrated well with
everything else they are using.”
RIM has also announced the ‘Built for
BlackBerry’ certification to help developers
differentiate their app from the rest. Going
beyond the smoke test, they now have a
process in place to test the efficiency of
the app, based on which the certificate is
granted. Mathew says, “When you submit
an application into the BB app world, it
goes through a testing process at the
back-end. We will check if it is using all
the relevant APIs, and makes sure that the
application is more efficient, as in it's using
less power, is more natively-integrated
The advantage of the Android platform is that it is
open source and you can reach large numbers.
It's easier to develop
on iOS; you only
have to worry about
developing for and
supporting a limited
range of devices.
—Rohit Singal,
Founder & CEO, Sourcebits
and things like that. If the application
complies with a certain set of criteria and
uses the native prescribed API, then we
give it a Built for BlackBerry stamp. This
helps the developer differentiate his or her
application from the run-of the mill kind,
and on the other hand, it also acts as an
identifier for the user, which helps them
when choosing the app.”
The current revenue sharing model of
BlackBerry for app developers is 70/30,
i.e. 70 for developers and 30 for RIM.
BlackBerry has also announced a 10K
Developer Commitment scheme, under
which developers who earn $1,000 on their
app within a year (but less than 10,000
USD), will be paid the difference between
the revenue earned and $10,000 by RIM.
All those who submit and get their app
approved by January will be eligible for this
scheme.
And now for Windows 8, a platform
that everyone is quite excited about. Seen
as a tough competitor to the Android and
iOS platforms, software giant Microsoft
is going all out to promote Windows
8. Pratima Amonkar, Director, Audience
Marketing, Microsoft, tells us why app
developers should care about the Windows
platform. “What we find is that even
though app development is very much a
nascent opportunity today, the ecosystem
is really expanding. Developers face a
lot of challenges as it’s still a new and
evolving concept here in India. Therefore,
11/22/2012 2:59:25 PM

Microsoft is looking at a multipronged
approach, where we are committed
to providing the developers with world
class software that will support the app
development ecosystem. Windows 8
itself is really the single biggest developer
opportunity; it is designed to be fast and
fluid. It works seamlessly across multiple
coding languages, as well as across
different devices. This kind of flexibility is
quite unmatched. Also, we launched Visual
Studio 2012, which supports modern app
development. So we have a clear roadmap
for supporting app development.”
This approach is also evident when
it comes to publishing on the Windows
8 platform, where every app is reviewed
and feedback is provided to the developer.
Speaking about the initiative, Amonkar
says, “Globally, every app submitted on
the Windows 8 platform is thoroughly
reviewed and the feedback is sent to the
developer. An app developer will receive
feedback in case there is a problem, or
if something needs to be fixed. They can
then rectify the problems and re-submit
the app. I think this is a great thing and we
have received positive feedback from the
developers as well. It’s helping them with
ease of adoption; they are able to convert
their knowledge and idea into an app with
greater speed and efficiency, than on most
other platforms.”
In terms of monetisation, Microsoft has
a process in place wherein once the app
crosses the $25,000 mark, the developers
will get to keep 80 percent of the
The latest Series
40 phones bring a
smartphone-like
experience to the
mass market.
— Vipul Mehrotra, Director & Head,
Smartphone Devices, Nokia India
1121212_The Road to App Development.indd 115
BlackBerry, with its positioning as a business
phone, enjoys a legion of followers.
download revenue generated by it.
RIM and Microsoft have initiated several
programs globally to woo developers. From
hackathons and app fests to giving out
alpha devices and providing mentorship,
you can gain a lot from their initiatives
if you’re keen on developing for these
platforms.
Recipe for success
Irrespective of the platform, the success of
your app depends on a number of things,
and all those we spoke with unanimously
agreed that at this point in time, the
most important factor that will determine
the success of your app is the UI/UX
interface and design. Banerjee stated,
“Indian developers are very strong with
their technology; they are essentially good
coders. But the biggest thing they miss
out on is the user interface. A customer
The advantage of Symbian is its presence in 150+
countries and local language support.
FEATURED
APP DEVELOPMENT
Earlier, there was
only a certain subset
of APIs that was
open to third party
developers, but today
all APIs are open to
developers.
— Annie Mathew, Head of Alliances,
Research In Motion (RIM), India
doesn’t know how good your code is, he
sees the user interface. For them, what
matters is how easily they can move from
one page to another and things like that. I
would say 60 percent of the time should
go on UX and 40 percent on coding.”
The design element goes further than
merely the user experience and can also
determine the popularity of the app, as
Singal points out. “To succeed these days
in the App Store, no matter what it is,
your app has to be beautifully designed.
When your app focuses on brilliant design,
it becomes your marketing, and your first
users become your advertising," he says.
Singal goes on to add that it's also
important to spend a lot of time thinking
about and designing an icon. "A great icon
will draw people to your application —
many times, that little square is your only
advertising. If you don't have the design
capabilities yourself, find someone who
does and who you can work with. No
matter how brilliant your app's concept or
engineering is, if users don't understand
it and love it from the first screen, it will
struggle. And above all, be original. Be
innovative,” he said.
Apart from all of the above points,
factors like native integration, meeting a
local need, intuitiveness and unique ideas
will help you achieve success no matter
for which platform you decide to develop
an app.
- priyanka.tilve@chip.in
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 115
11/22/2012 2:59:33 PM
 FEATURED
WEB WATCH
Web Watch
APPMAKR
C Y
reating an app has literally become
child’s play thanks to the plethora
of online tools on the Internet.
What’s more, you can use these
tools to create apps with absolutely
no coding knowledge whatsoever.
AppMakr is one of the most popular
sites for creating apps. Over ten
thousand apps have been successfully
created using this platform. It lets you
create apps for the iOS, Android and
Windows platforms. With a free account
you can create a basic classic-styled
app, and you will have to pay a small
fee if you want more features and
customisation options. AppMakr will
guide you each step of the app creation
process; the result of every step that
you select will be reflected in the
simulator on the right side of the screen.
This will enable you to see the app as it
progresses through the various stages of
development.
You can add images, text, video,
audio, HTML, etc. Once you are done
with creating your app, AppMakr will
also help you with publishing it on the
app stores. You can test the app and
even update it after it is published.
While developing an app using the
AppMakr platform is free, you will
have to bear with the ads included in
your app. If you do not wish to include
ads, you will have to opt for the paid
service. With the paid service, you can
monetise your apps too; you can add
your own channel or select from the list
of available channels. AppMakr is perfect
for creating RSS feed-based apps for
your website, blog, etc.
116 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
1161212_Web Watch + Priyanka Column.indd 116
Here are some interesting websites you might want to visit.
COMPILED BY PRIYANKA TILVE
INTERVIEWSTREET
ou may be a good coder, but your
resume may leave a lot to be
desired. However, thanks to the
latest trends, companies are increasingly
looking beyond traditional means when
hiring, especially when it comes to
IT. One such platform employers are
turning to is InterviewStreet.com.
Launched in 2009, InterviewStreet
was co-founded by Vivek Ravisankar and
Harishankaran K, who sought to set up
a forum to conduct mock interviews for
filtering candidates. Its roster includes
companies like Zynga, Facebook, Amazon
and even NASA. These companies use
the platform to recruit programmers
who have to take up a coding challenge,
and based purely on the score, an offer
is made. Interviewstreet periodically
conducts coding competitions too.
CodeSprint is a successful coding contest
that attracts recruiters and programmers
alike. CodeSprint 3, which was open to
programmers from all over the world,
attracted companies like Quora, Palantir,
Coursera, OpenTable and RocketFuel.
CodeSprint involves basic programming
problems, AI and algorithmic challenges.
Going forward, InterviewStreet plans
to conduct CodeSprint every month.
It’s usually held over the weekend; the
participants are alerted by email at the
start of the contest and they can begin
solving the problems. They earn points
for solving problems correctly; these
points then determine their standing, on
the basis of which companies contact
them. When a participant is hired by
a company, then he/she has to pay a
certain amount to InterviewStreet.
ALISON
I
f you are a working professional,
staying abreast with emerging
technologies can prove to be quite a
task. In this scenario, online education
sites can come to your rescue.
Advance Learning Interactive Systems
Online (or Alison, as it is known) is one
of the largest education resources on the
Internet. It offers over 400 vocational
courses, which are updated on a regular
basis. These courses cover diverse topics
like IT, English Skills, Languages, Business
Law, Accounting, Health Safety, and
Human Resources. Under IT training, you
can enroll for courses ranging right from
Web Development and Adobe Photoshop
to App Development, Fundamentals of
HTML 5, Programming, and even Cloud
Computing.
The courses offered by Alison are
also good for those who want to learn
new skills, and not necessarily as just
a job requirement. Courses are divided
as diploma and certificate courses, with
certificate courses usually requiring up
to two hours of study and the diploma
courses requiring up to eleven hours of
study.
While these courses are offered
free of cost, if you wish to get a
certificate as proof that you have taken
a course from Alison, then you will
have to shell out around Rs 1,600 for
a paper certificate. And if you opt for
a parchment certificate, it will cost you
approximately Rs. 6,400. Alison has
courses geared towards specific job
requirements too, which is something
that will add to your existing degrees
and give you an edge over others.
SMS us! ¾ Story code: FWW to 51818
11/22/2012 3:01:13 PM
 FEATURED
WEB WATCH

THERE IS A WAY OUT

TO GET RID OF THE
PESKY SMS AND
PROMOTIONAL CALLS
PRIYANKA TILVE,
SENIOR FEATURES WRITER

GAMESALAD
EMAIL’S THE WAY
I
f you are looking to create games,

then look no further, as GameSalad is
by far the best online tool for creating
gaming apps. You can create gaming
apps for iOS, Android Windows and
HTML5. You can get started by clicking
on the Creator tab and downloading the
GameSalad Creator tool depending on
the platform you want to develop the
game for. The next step is to provide
the name, description and instructions,
after which you can move to the actual
game development. From the Scenes
tab, you will have to add scenes or the
different levels your game will have,
like the introductory screen, the menu
and the various levels. Next up is the
Actors tab, which allows you to add the
various elements like the characters,
control, action, background, etc. to your
game. Each of these can be individually
customised. Once you are done, you
can test your game on devices of
your choice to fix any issues that you
may encounter. After you are satisfied
with the game, you can go ahead and
publish it on the GameSalad platform
as well as on the OS’ platforms. Any
further updates that you make to the
game can be easily rolled out. The best
part is that you can achieve all this
without coding knowledge. However, it
is not as straightforward as it sounds,
and it’s better if you start with going
through the tutorials provided online.
With the free account, you will be
able to create your game, test and
publish it on the iOS platform, but to
publish it on the Android platform,
you will have to get the pro account.
A
re you tired of getting SMS’
from telemarketers at odd
hours? Well, you are not alone,
as even the Telecom Minister
Kapil Sibal isn’t spared the nuisance.
He recently declared that he too was a
victim of pesky SMS’ and received one
every two minutes. If you fi nd yourself
a victim of telemarketing too, right now
the only solution is opting for DND.
As per TRAI’s regulations, if your
number is registered under DND and you
continue to get promotional messages
and calls, the telco will have to take
action against the errant telemarketer.
But DND isn’t really fool-proof, and
you’ll still receive some messages, if
not calls. Many of us choose to put up
with the menace to avoid the hassle
of dealing with helpline numbers.
It requires tremendous amounts of
patience to connect and explain your
predicament, let alone answering the
multitude of questions before your
complaint is fi nally registered.
However, all is not lost and there’s
an easier way out, as I just found out. I
had opted for DND almost a year ago,
and after the initial period of respite,
the promotional SMS’, though few in
number, slowly made their way back. I
ignored them, but one particular type
of SMS did get on my nerves. It was
from some religious group, but what
was particularly annoying was its
timing. I would get these messages early
in the morning and it was incredibly
annoying to read them whenever I
switched on my phone. When I called
the helpline to complain about the SMS,
I went through the rigmarole and was
assured that after investigating the
matter, suitable action would be taken
against the telemarketer. I wasn’t given
a time frame and was informed that I
would be notified of the progress. Not
surprisingly, I didn’t receive any response
and stopped following up after a while.
After a particularly annoying day,
when I received like five messages, I
decided to complain via email. I wasn’t
too hopeful this time either, but was
pleasantly surprised when I got a
response from the telco requesting some
details. They wanted to know the exact
content of the SMS and the time it was
received. Nearly four days later, I got
an email saying that they had tracked
the telemarketer and taken up the case
with them. I certainly wasn’t expecting
such swift action. But what was a little
creepy was the fact that I received a call
from the telemarketer requesting me to
withdraw my complaint as they would
have to shut down their operations.
They claimed that my number was
registered with them, possibly by the
person to whom the number belonged
before me, and assured me that they
had deleted my number from their
database so I wouldn’t be getting any
more messages. And true to their word,
I haven’t received a single SMS so far.
This experience has restored my
faith in the abilities of the telecos.
Have you had a similar experience?
Or am I the chosen one?
- priyanka.tilve@chip.in

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 117

1161212_Web Watch + Priyanka Column.indd 117 11/22/2012 3:01:45 PM

 HANDS ON
DR CHIP
Sachin Pandit
[Q] Hi, I recently purchased a
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos GT-S6802.
It runs on Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread.
On using it, I realised that I am not
able to play videos in its own browser,
Opera Mini or Opera Mobile. Also, the
Adobe Flash Player from Google Play
is not compatible with my phone. Is
there any way that I can install Adobe
Flash Player or is there any other web
browser with flash support that I can
install on my phone? Thanks and
regards,
– Jimi
Flash and Android are no longer playing nice with
each other. It's HTML5 all the way.
[A] Hi, Jimi. Adobe Flash should be
supported on your handset as we’ve
tested it on lower grade Android devices.
However, seeing as you’re unable to
download it off the Play Store, we
suggest looking for the .APK file and
installing it through the memory card.
Look for Adobe Flash Player version 10
118 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
1181212_Dr_CHIP.indd 118
Dr CHIP
for Android – version 11 won’t work. With
regard to the browser, it is possible that
you would need to make some manual
changes to the settings to allow Flash
content to be played. Check out the
browser’s settings page and look for
Flash content. There typically should be
a check box to activate Flash. In some
browsers, it’s not checked by default so
that pages open faster.
[Q] Hello, Dr CHIP. I have recently
started reading your magazine and it
has been very helpful for me. I own
a Nokia N900 with Maemo operating
system. The problem is that someone
accidentally dropped water on my
handset and since then, it has been
working all right, but a few months
ago, its backlight went off. I’ve tried a
variety of options, but nothing works.
When I restart, it lights up a bit for
about 2 hours and then the light goes
off again. I hope you can help me.
Thanks in advance.
– Yash.
[A] Hello, Yash. I am sorry to hear about
the accident with your phone. However,
if the issues are cropping up after a
few months of the water falling onto it,
it’s quite unlikely that the problems are
connected. Firstly, most mobile handsets
can withstand a little bit of water distress
as long as it didn’t fall in a puddle, wasn’t
held under a shower, or a glass of water
wasn’t emptied on it. If your handset was
working properly after the incident, then
SEND YOUR QUERIES TO: drchip@chip.in
Display issues are a real pain and could be
hardware, and sometimes software-related.
it’s almost certainly not the cause of your
current problem. In some cases, it could
be an issue with the display panel itself.
The panel might have been damaged
from a bump or drop (if that ever
happened) or there could be a software
glitch, since you mentioned the handset
goes off a while after it's switched on.
A third possibility is that it could be a
battery-related issue. Do check to see
if your battery gets depleted each time
the handset goes off. Also, try using the
handset with the charger plugged in. If it’s
stable for over 2 hours, then it just might
be your battery. If you’re able to receive
calls even though the display is off, or
the keypad lights up, then you’ve got a
hardware or display-related issue. You
might want to get that checked from an
authorised service centre.
[Q] I would like to gift a cell phone
to someone and need your help. I’m
SMS us! ¾ Story code: HDC to 51818
11/24/2012 4:17:38 PM

looking for a handset that has the
following features - Android device
under 16K, with ICS and at least a 1
GHz processor. It would be used for
games, music and videos. Can you
please suggest a model?
- Abhyuday Sharma
The large screen makes games and videos more
enjoyable despite the low resolution.
[A] Hi, Abhyuday. There are quite a few
choices in this price bracket that you
could opt for. For starters, if you’re going
to be using the device for games and
videos, you should go in for one with a
large screen. The Micromax Superfone
Canvas A110 would be apt. It has a 5-inch
display and runs stock ICS on a Dual-
Core 1 GHz processor. It’s also equipped
with an 8 megapixel camera and is also
a Dual SIM handset. Of course, you don’t
necessarily need to use two SIMs. It’s
priced at about Rs 12,000. It’s quite in
line with the Note II from Samsung in
terms of looks and Micromax also tends
to thrown in a few extras when it comes
to handy applications. The display has a
resolution of 480 x 854 pixels which in
spite of it seeming not too high, is not a
problem for watching videos and playing
games. Get yourself an 8/16 GB microSD
card and you should be good to go.
[Q] Hi, I am going buy an Android
tablet for below Rs 10,000. I am a
student and will use it mainly for net
1181212_Dr_CHIP.indd 119
surfing (through Wi-fi and Tata photon
plus) and to watch movies. I will
occasionally play a few games. Which
is the best tablet for me in terms
of performance, ease of use, rough
handling use and after sales service. I
have shortlisted a few tablets. Please
select the best. Suggestions are
welcome:
Zync Z990 Plus
Berry Auxus AX01
Berry Auxus AX02
Micromax Funbook
I would like to get user and expert
reviews.
- Nithin John Mathews
The Android tablet market is crowded, but a few
models do stand out.
[A] Hello, Nithin. From your list, the
Funbook would be the best choice.
However, we suggest an option not your
list that will be perfect for what you
need. Wickedleak’s Wammy Desire 7-inch
tablet will able to do all that you need
very easily. It runs Android Jelly Bean
on a 1.5 GHz dual core processor and 1
GB RAM, making it one of the fastest
devices in its class. It also supports USB
on-the-go and support for a USB Data
Dongle, which is what you need as well.
Wi-Fi is also part of the furnishings so
no issue here. It also has a 1.3 megapixel
front camera for video calls via Skype or
any other service you may choose to use.
Aside from this, the Wammy Desire also
HANDS ON
DR CHIP
has a pretty decent battery life, which
is also an important aspect to consider,
especially if you’re a student. The build
quality of the Desire is also quite unlike
most of the others in this segment and is
quite sturdy with its rubberised surface
for a firm grip. It’s priced at about Rs
7000, making for quite an affordable
piece of portable hardware.
[Q] I have a unique problem for
you. I have an HP LaserJet Pro M1136
Multifunction Printer. This printer
does not support network connected
printing or e-printing. I would like this
printer to print wirelessly because my
PC and printer are in separate rooms.
So how can I wirelessly connect my PC
to the printer? Is there any device, that
would let me print easily, wirelessly,
happily?
– Rajesh Aggrawal
Many routers today allow you to plug a printer in
via USB and share it on your home network.
[A] Hello, Rajesh. Since your printer
is not network-enabled and does
not feature any Ethernet or wireless
interfaces, it cannot serve as a network
printer. However, converting it into a
network printer is not impossible. Doing
that is easy and all you would require
is a wireless router with a USB port
that is capable of sharing a USB printer.
Configure the router to connect the
printer to it, connect your computer or
11/24/2012 4:19:17 PM
 HANDS ON
DR CHIP

handheld device to the router via an
Ethernet cable or wireless network and
install the necessary drivers. You could
also use dedicated wireless networking
print servers for the purpose. Check
out the leading wireless peripheral
manufacturer’s websites for a compatible
router.
[Q] I have a problem - whenever I
am multitasking on my PC (Windows
7, 64-bit) it tends to give me a
Blue Screen after a while. I use an
assembled PC with the following
config -
Intel DH67CL Motherboard
Intel i5 Processor
Seagate Barracuda 7000.12 500 GB
Hard Disk
Transcend 8 GB of RAM
I Ball Cabinet
Samsung Sync Master S22B370
Monitor
Microsoft Wireless Keyboard And
Mouse
Can you please help me find a
solution?
– Ashwin
A methodical approach will help you eliminate all
the possibilities one by one.
memory and processor fan. After you are
sure you have cleaned the PC properly,
check if you are still getting the BSOD
errors. If you do, move on to the next
phase. Next, make sure you have a clean
operating system without any viruses.
After that, delete all junk and unwanted
files and programs and scan your hard
drive for any errors. Later, defragment
the hard drive. If these issues don’t solve
the problem, move on to the next phase.
Update the operating system from the
Internet completely. Make sure all the
hardware drivers are up to date. If you
are still not able to solve the problem,
I suggest you take a complete backup
and reinstall the entire operating system
and all the programs once again. If the
problem continues, then it is a hardware
issue and you would need to get
replacement parts to check which one
is failing. You might need to rope in a
computer technician at this stage.
[Q] I have an HCL ME U1 tablet and
it's locked because I had attempted
too many patterns to unlock it. It's
now asking to sign in with my Google
account but not giving any option to
activate my Wi-Fi, so I’m stuck. Could
you help me with this please and could
you also let me know if the device has
support for MTS’ Blaze USB dongle?
- Deep Singh
use it normally again and reload all you
apps and files. If this does not work out,
you should call up the HCL help desk for
assistance.
[Q] I have tried many ways to install
a .tar file on Ubuntu 11.10 OS, which
I’m currently using, but I’m unable to
install it. Can you provide me with
some assistance with this?
- Debjyoti Basu
Accessing and installing software is simple on the
Ubuntu Software Centre.
[A] Hi Debjoyti. Firstly, we suggest
upgrading to the latest version of
Ubuntu. The latest one is 12.10 and it
was launched in October. The easiest
way to install software on Linux is to
use the Software Center. If the particular
software isn’t available there, then you
could try finding Ubuntu (DEB) binaries
that make installation simpler. TAR files
are compressed archives that have to be
extracted. There can also be binaries that
you can run directly, or you might need to
compile them. You can extract files using
the command: tar -xvf yourfile.tar. You
can also use third-party utilities such as
p7zip if necessary.

[Q] Hi, I’d like to know how I could

[A] Hello, Ashwin. The blue screen secure/lock a pen drive.
errors you get are known as Blue Screen - Manoj Kashyap
Of Death or BSOD. These errors can
be related to a number of reasons. The
problem could be with the processor, XXXXXXX

motherboard, memory, hard drive,

operating system or due to viruses. You
would have to try solving the issues
one at a time. Firstly, make sure your
computer hardware is clean. Open the
PC case, blow away any dust you see
using the blowing mode of a vacuum
cleaner. If you are careful and know how
to handle computer parts and assembly,
you could use a brush and clean out
every part such as the motherboard,
[A] Hello, Deep. The only way you
can get the tablet working again is to
reset it from the recovery mode. Switch
off the tablet, then press and hold the
volume down button, and then press
the power button until you get to the
recovery mode. Once you have gotten
the tablet into this mode, choose the
factory reset option and reset the entire Pen drives with hardware-level encryption are
available but are more expensive.
tablet to factory defaults. Then you can

120 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

1181212_Dr_CHIP.indd 120 11/24/2012 4:19:43 PM


[A] Hi, Manoj, There’s no straight-
forward way to lock down a pen drive
unless you buy one with hardware
encryption built in. These models tend to
be expensive. Alternatively, you can install
software that lets you do that. A popular
software is TrueCrypt, which encrypts all
the data on a drive. You can download it
for free from www.truecrypt.org.
[Q] How do I share data on two
computers using an Ethernet cable or
Wi-Fi?
- Daksh Khorana
XXXXXXX
[A] Hi, Daksh. First, make sure both the
PCs are connected to the same router.
Once you have this, you can simply go
to the Network option under Windows
Explorer. If both PCs are part of the same
Homegroup or Workgroup, you’ll be able
to see the shared folders. To create a
new shared folder, simply right-click on it
and click Properties.
Sharing files and folders on Windows
takes only a couple of steps:
Click on the Sharing tab and click on
Share. You can also add permissions by
clicking on Advanced Sharing so that only
specific users or groups can access the
shared files. You can also share files by
pressing Windows key + R, then typing
\\<PCNAME> to see the list of shared
files and folders.
1181212_Dr_CHIP.indd 121
[Q] I had installed Windows 7 over
XP on one of my friends’ computers. I
extracted the ISO image and the EXE
file. It was installed safely on another
partition. My friend did not want XP
there anymore after so using Windows
7, he deleted the XP files. The partition
was clear but it still shows XP and 7
in the dual boot screen. How can we
remove the XP partition from the boot
menu?
- Daksh Khorana
Fix your boot menu using Windows' built-in
configuration utility.
[A] Dear, Daksh. The problem is that
deleting files on your hard drive won’t
change the options in the bootloader.
You will have to do this manually. The
simplest way is to run the System
Configuration Utility by using the
[Win]+[R] shortcut to bring up the ‘Run...’
dialogue box and then typing ‘msconfig’.
The second tab in the utility helps you
set boot options. You can simply highlight
the entry for XP here and click ‘Delete’.
Make sure the Windows 7 entry is
labelled as the Default OS.
[Q] Hi, I’m currently using a Compaq
Presario CQ3420IX desktop PC with
the following configuration. CPU:
Pentium dual core E5500, 2.80 GHz;
RAM: 1 GB single channel DDR3, 400
MHz (6-6-6-15); Motherboard: Foxconn
2A8C, Intel G41 Express chipset,
HANDS ON
DR CHIP
onboard graphics; OS: Windows XP Pro
SP3. I think the PSU output is 250 W. I
want to upgrade this PC to an average
gaming rig so that I can play every
game at minimum settings. Could you
suggest a better set of specs?
- Aman Bhati
Upgrading one component might require others to
be upgraded in order to support it.
[A] Dear Aman, it isn’t always easy
to upgrade a branded PC on your own.
Because of its age, you’re going to have
to upgrade nearly every component, so
you might want to consider buying a
whole new PC and retaining only your
monitor, keyboard, mouse, hard drives,
DVD drive, etc.
For a simple upgrade, you should get 4
GB of RAM, a graphics card based on an
Nvidia GeForce GT 640/AMD Radeon HD
6570 or above. You’ll definitely need to
bump up your power supply to at least a
400 Watt model. You could also consider
trying to find a new or secondhand Core
2 Duo/Quad CPU and matching cooler,
but this won’t make much sense if the
cost exceeds that of a new Core i3 CPU.
Make sure you check whether these
components will fit within the Compaq
chassis and if there are adequate
provisions for cooling. For further options,
consult our PC Configs page in the Test
Center section.
- Send your queries to
drchip@chip.in
11/24/2012 5:09:12 PM
 HANDS ON
WORKSHOP
HOW TO:
Rip a Blu-ray
movie
Learn how you can rip a Blu-ray movie and keep the original
quality in the smallest file size possible. BY FRANCIS D'SA
I
f you want to enjoy full high-definition
1080p videos, Blu-ray discs are
currently the medium of choice.
However, to watch Blu-ray movies, you will
need to invest in a Blu-ray drive on your
PC or a Blu-ray player for your TV, and for
good measure, surround sound speakers.
It is a one-time investment, since you
wont be upgrading that often, but Blu-ray
titles are not cheap, and depending on the
release date or the popularity of a movie,
you could be spending thousands on each.
You may borrow discs from friends, but you
will have to return them eventually. Well,
there's also a way to copy your favourite
movie to your hard drive and watch it over
and over again or whenever you want to.
Blu-ray may be the best quality movie
format available, but it also carries more
copy protection than DVDs, which limits
you to play it only on your PC, or Blu-ray
player provided the region code matches.
We show you how you can easily bypass
this copy protection, rip your favourite
Blu-ray flicks and store them on your hard
drive. You will not need to have your own
blu-ray player or Blu-ray ROM for playing
ripped movies. The movies will be in
full HD 1080p and you can also include
subtitles and chapters.
Ripping Blu-ray titles to keep a backup
122 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
1221212_Tip a blu-ray movie.indd 122
of your original discs is a good idea, but
sharing the rips is actually considered
illegal because you are breaking the copy
protection on the disc. But legal issues
aside, decrypting protected content is not
so simple. It involves a few utilities that
can do it for you. There are several such
CD, DVD and Blu-ray disc rippers available
online, some of which are free, while
others are paid versions. In order to rip a
BD or DVD, you would need two utilities
— one to help bypass the protection and
the other to convert the Blu-ray disc into a
single file on the hard drive. We show you
three simple options for ripping a Blu-ray
movie.
Option 1: Completely free,
but totally time and space
consuming
This method involves using two freeware
utilities, but it takes a lot of time and the
disk space needed is enormous. For this,
you will need two utilities — MakeMKV
from www.makemkv.com and HandBrake
from www.handbrake.fr. MakeMKV is
a simple one-click transcoder that can
convert an encrypted disc (DVD or Blu-ray)
into an MKV file. The file is large and
completely uncompressed. It stores the
files into a single MKV format or container
1 2
file that has the ability to store multiple
audio tracks and preserve chapters. The
final file is equal to the original M2TS file
itself and can be anywhere between 24 GB
to 50 GB in size. The file's size may turn
out to be even larger depending on the
movie time and quality. This file needs to
be further compressed into a smaller size,
but ensuring that the quality is more or
less the same as the original. HandBrake
handles this compression procedure
well. It is an open source GPL-licensed
multi-platform and multi-threaded video
transcoder.
We suggest starting this procedure
when you have some free time as it takes
a lot of time. After you have installed the
two utilities, simply insert the Blu-ray disc
into the Blu-ray ROM and run MakeMKV.
The utility will detect the inserted disc
and display the details of the type, label
and protection involved on the disc. Just
hit the Blu-ray to HDD icon on the main
window and go find something else to
do. MakeMKV will automatically list the
tracks and chapters on the Blu-ray and
save them on your hard drive as individual
MKV files. The utility will bypass the
encryption and store the MKV file onto
your hard drive. You can specify where
the file's output is to be stored using the
SMS us! ¾ Story code: HBR to 51818
11/22/2012 3:03:20 PM

preferences section.
The output file is a large uncompressed
file stored onto your hard disk with all the
information stored within. The time taken
to rip the contents of the Blu-ray disc will
depend purely upon the speed of your PC
and the Blu-ray ROM. At an average, it will
take your system around 1.5 to 2 hours
to finish the process. Now we need to
compress the file.
MakeMKV has done its job and you can
now close it. Start up HandBrake, click on
the source button and choose the file(s)
you created using MakeMKV. You don't
need to do much after this as the utility is
pretty much configured for optimal results.
However, you can tweak the settings as
you wish. Choose the chapters you want
to convert and select the container as
MKV. Next, choose the preset ‘Normal’
from the right side. Then let the video
size (resolution) be as it was originally
(1920 x 1080). Lastly, you can choose to
insert subtitles and select the audio track.
Once ready, hit the Start icon and let
HandBrake transcode your movie. This can
take a while and expect it to take around
two hours on an average. In our tests, we
ripped a 1 hour 37 minute animated movie
to an uncompressed 32 GB MKV file in 1
1221212_Tip a blu-ray movie.indd 123
3 4
hour 42 minutes using MakeMKV and then
later transcoded it into a 3.5 GB MKV file
using Handbrake in another two hours. The
whole process of ripping a single Blu-ray
disc will take you an average four to five
hours even on a fast enough PC. Our
test rig had an Intel Core i7 2600K CPU
clocked at 3.4 GHz, 8 GB of RAM, AMD
Radeon HD 6870 and a 250 GB SATA6
SSD. The Blu-ray drive used was a Buffalo
6x Portable USB 2.0.
Option 2: Part free, part paid
utility. Less time and lower space
needed
This is a fairly simple and straightforward
process and does not involve the initial
dumping of the decrypted disc on the hard
drive. Therefore, we can do away with the
MakeMKV section above. For this method,
you will need a utility called AnyDVD.
Download the utility from www.slysoft.
com. It is a 21-day trial utility and you can
buy the full version for around Rs 4,000.
All you need to do is install AnyDVD and
keep it running in the system tray—you
don't need to specify any settings. AnyDVD
works in the background to automatically
and transparently access the contents of
a movie DVD or Blu-ray disc as soon as it
is inserted into the
4 drive.
You can then
use any utility to
rip or copy the
contents of the
disc. Once AnyDVD
is running in the
background, you
can use HandBrake
and set the source
as the Blu-ray disc
itself. The rest of
the settings can
be tweaked as per
your choice. This
procedure lets you
HANDS ON
WORKSHOP
cut down the required time to almost half
the time required in option 1. Instead of
HandBrake, you can use another free utility
called Freemake video converter, which
can be downloaded from www.freemake.
com. Select the source by clicking on
the +Video icon, then select the MKV file
format preset from the list of scrollable
preset icons on the bottom. On the next
screen, choose HD1080p. You then have
options to further tweak the MKV preset
with respect to frame size and audio/video
codecs. Finally, choose the destination
folder and click convert.
Option 3: The easiest, but a fully
paid version
The third option involves just a single
utility that can handle the encryption
portion. This utility is DVDFab Blu-ray
ripper from www.dvdfab.com. It costs
around Rs 3,600, which might seem
expensive, but is a one-time investment for
high-quality movie ripping. It has loads of
other features under its belt. It can handle
3D movies and takes the advantage of
Nvidia's CUDA technology and Intel's Quick
Sync to speed up the transcoding process.
Each of the above options gives you
the choice to convert rips into smaller files
or lower resolution movies. Head to the
options of the respective transcoding utility
and choose to limit the output file size or
downscale the resolution. For example,
you could convert your Full HD 1080p
movies into 720p or 480p videos to cut
down the output file's size by a massive
amount or keep the resolution the same
and limit the output file size. However,
you would end up losing the original high
quality of the movie. You can later choose
to store multiple movies on a single DVD
or a pen drive too. Additionally, the options
mentioned here can be used for ripping
DVDs and transcoding pre-ripped movies
and videos.
- francis.dsa@chip.in
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 123
11/22/2012 3:03:55 PM
 HANDS ON
WORKSHOP

Hardware to
make your old PC
Windows 8 ready
Want to try out Windows 8?
Get some of these goodies to
make the most of Microsoft's
latest OS.
BY ROSSI FERNANDES

Buy a touch mouse

W
ith the launch of Windows
8, a lot of people are curious
about its offerings and the
new interface so many people are talking
about. The world's most-used operating
system undergoing a serious UI overhaul
is quite an intriguing topic and it's pretty
natural you'd want to try it out too.
But what about the hardware, you
ask? Well, you might want to upgrade your
hardware depending on what you already
have. Pretty much every PC built in the last
four to five years should have enough juice
to run Windows 8. Memory, if at all, might
be the only thing that you might need to
upgrade.
One of the biggest things that Windows
8 brings along is its Modern UI, which is
best experienced using touchscreens. But
if you’re using a notebook or a desktop
PC, then you’ll find the need for a touch-
enabled screen. Unfortunately, there have
been few to no touchscreen monitor
launches in India. But we’ll have to wait
a while before we can see some of these
products entering the Indian market. If
you’re hell-bent on trying out touch on a
screen, you can try out DIY-projects that
let you attach a panel to your existing
screen and get a somewhat satisfactory
touchscreen experience.
But since there are no touchscreen
monitors available, you'll have to make
do with peripherals that let you use the
OS properly. Here are some of our tips for
a better Windows 8 experience:
While not every user can upgrade their
monitor to a touchscreen panel, we've
thought of a more affordable option.
It’s touch mice, quite a few of which
are showing up in the market. Microsoft
itself has a few products available, and
one of the most popular is the elegant
Touch Mouse that sells at an MRP of Rs
3,999. It was launched for and made to
work on Windows 7, and it behaves like
most other mice, except it has a touch
sensitive surface – something that can be
useful for navigating the tiled interface of
Windows 8. The Microsoft Touch Mouse
is a wireless device. But Microsoft isn’t the
only one making touch mice for Windows
8. Logitech, the popular peripherals

MICROSOFT TOUCH MOUSE LOGITECH TOUCH MOUSE M600 LOGITECH ZONE TOUCH MOUSE T400

124 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP SMS us! ¾ Story code: HW8 to 51818

1241212_Hardware to make your old PC Windows 8 ready.indd 124 11/22/2012 3:05:32 PM


manufacturer, also has a few products up
its sleeve. Its wireless Touch Mouse M600
is not just designed to be extremely sleek
and elegant, it’s also functional and works
well with Windows 8. You have the usual
left and right mouse buttons, but there’s
a touch sensor instead of the scroll wheel
for vertical and horizontal scrolling. You
can even use gestures to swipe between
windows quickly. The Logitech Touch
Mouse M600 has the same price as that
of the Microsoft Touch Mouse.
For those looking for something a
little cheaper, there are mice such as the
Logitech Touch Mouse T400, which is a
tad cheaper at Rs 2,895. For that sum,
you get a traditional wireless mouse
with two standard buttons and a touch
sensitive scroll area that lets you swipe
and perform gestures.
Get yourself some touchpads
Laptops are often better equipped to
make complete use of Windows 8’s
touch gesture support, owing primarily
to their touchpads. But if you’re using an
old desktop, you can choose to go for
one of the touchpads made specifically
for PCs. Logitech has one called Wireless
Rechargeable Touchpad T650. The great
thing about it - like its name states - is the
ability to place the touchpad anywhere you
want without long messy cables tripping
you up. The trackpad has a rechargeable
battery and can be charged using a USB
cable. Logitech claims that you can go a
month on a single charge. When you see
the battery indicator dip, you can simply
plug in the USB cable and continue using
it. There are 13 different gestures that you
1241212_Hardware to make your old PC Windows 8 ready.indd 125
HANDS ON
WORKSHOP
can use with this touchpad. Another great RAM: 2 GB
of memory
thing is that you could pair it up with a
should easily
Windows 8 or Windows RT tablet for more run Windows 8
flexibility. smoothly.
Install more memory
Installing RAM is really simple and it can
really get your PC Windows 8-ready, as the
processor requirements as such are really
basic. RAM modules come quite cheap
too, with 2 GB of DDR3 RAM costing barely
Rs 700. So get some modules from the
local computer store or get a technician
to install a couple of RAM sticks in your
computer.
Plug in an SSD, boot faster
While SSDs seem out of place compared
to some of the peripherals we’ve
mentioned, it’s something that helps really SOLID STATE DRIVE:
speed things up with Windows 8. Although A SSD can really
speed up shut down
Windows 8 itself boots up really quickly, an and start up times.
SSD can help your system go into standby
and wake up within a second or two.
The OS itself hardly takes a few seconds
to do a cold boot. A small little SSD to
house your Windows installation can really
do wonders, and it’s an upgrade worth
considering.
WINDOWS 8 PRO:
Upgrading is simple.
Upgrading to Windows 8
Once you have your hardware in place, it’s
time to get Windows 8 running. If you’re
already a Windows 7 user, then it’s really
simple to upgrade, not very expensive
either. Simply head over to Microsoft
India’s website and you will find the option the upgrading utility, which will then run
to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro. It is a the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant. This
limited time upgrade available for Rs 1,999, program checks if your system is capable
until January 31, 2013. Simply download of upgrading to Windows 8. You should
then be prompted to back up documents
LOGITECH TOUCHPAD T650 from your existing installation of Windows.
The next step is actually purchasing
the product – in this case, Windows
8 Pro. Once you click on checkout,
Windows takes a little less than a minute
to take you to the billing form. Just key
in your essential details and proceed.
Confirm your order and recheck all
details. Microsoft will send you an email
receipt, provide the product key and
your computer will begin downloading
Windows 8 Pro. Note down the product
key for further reference.
You’re now a proud owner of a
Windows 8 system that has most of what
a brand new PC might have to offer. Oh,
A no-nonsense touchpad
touchp for and now you have bragging rights too.
desktops and tablet
tablets alike.
- rossi@tech2.com
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 125
11/22/2012 3:06:28 PM
 HANDS ON
TIPS & TRICKS
Sachin Pandit
WINDOWS
WINDOWS 7
1 Shut down your home PC on a
schedule
1 before shutting down, in seconds. The
Use this simple command to determine a time
interval after which the PC will shut down.
You tend to leave your computer
alone during tasks that take a lot of
time, and often the system continues
to run even after completing the tasks.
However, you can shut down your PC
after a specified time using the command
“shutdown.exe”. Click on “Start | All
programs | Accessories | Command
Prompt” with the right button of the
mouse and start the command line with
“Run as administrator”. Then select an
account with administrator rights and
enter the associated password before
confirming with “Yes”. Then type the
command “shutdown.exe -s -f -t
3600” for example, behind the prompt.
Confirm this with [Enter].
The option “-s” causes Windows to
shut down your system. Replace “-s” with
126 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
1261212_Tips and Tricks.indd 126
Tips &
Tricks
SHARE YOUR TIPS. Write to: tnt@chip.in
“-r”, to automatically restart the system.
With “-l”, Windows only logs out the
current user. The option “-f” force-closes
the running applications without any prior
warning. Then, you require the option
“-t” which helps you set the waiting time
instructions given as example affect the
shutdown of the system after 3,600
seconds, i.e. one hour.
NOTE: Ten minutes before shutdown,
Windows alerts the user via a simple
dialogue. If necessary, the action can be
prevented with the command “shutdown.
exe -a”.
WINDOWS 7
2 Set a greeting message that
appears before the desktop
2 “legalnoticetext”. After that, double
Use the Legal Notice fields to display a customised
message while starting up.
Would you like to display a
message before the desktop appears
every time you boot? You can do this
in almost no time with a small change
in the registry. Click on “Start” and
DECEMBER 2012
enter the term “regedit” under “Search
programs/files”. Windows presents the
search result directly in the Start menu.
Under “Programs”, click on “regedit.
exe” with the right button of the mouse.
In the context menu, select “Run as
administrator”. If required, authorise this
instruction by selecting a user account
with administrator rights and entering the
required password.
After that, in the left pane of the
registry editor, navigate to the key
“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\
Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\System”. Now, you will see the
character strings “legalnoticecaption” and
“legalnoticetext” in the right section.
Using “legalnoticecaption”, define
a title for your message, and enter
the actual message text under
click on the value names and enter your
details under “Value” in the following
dialogue “Edit string”. Finally, close the
registry editor and restart your PC for the
settings to take effect.
WINDOWS Vista/7
3 Enhance your desktop with
trendier visuals
The free tool Rainmeter, which
you can download from www.rainmeter.
net/cms, provides special skins for your
desktop; you can have it display the
current CPU and hard disk utilisation as
well as display the time.
SMS us! ¾ Story code: HTT to 51818
11/24/2012 1:55:47 PM

3
A variety of customisation options can be seen at
the Rainmeter website.
Open the website, click on the
Rainmeter link and save the file
“Rainmeter-2.3.3.exe” to any folder on
your system. Start the installation by
double-clicking on the downloaded
file and follow the instructions of the
installation routine. After the installation,
activate Rainmeter through “Start | All
programs | Rainmeter”.
Now if you click on a skin with the
right mouse button, you will see a
context menu for configuring the current
skin and Rainmeter itself. To influence
the skin behaviour, activate, for example,
“Click-through” in order to be able to click
through the skin on your desktop. Now
you cannot reach Rainmeter anymore
and must use the relevant icon in the
notification area for further changes.
With the command “Rainmeter”, you
can change entire themes or activate
additional elements from a theme that is
not up-to-date.
You can close the tool using
“Rainmeter | End.” “Close skin” removes
the skin from your desktop. In addition
to the standard skins, you can download
more skins from the internet. You can
find the best upgrades at the website by
clicking on “Discover”.
You can use the new look of Windows
8 even with Windows Vista or 7 with the
skin "Omnimo for Rainmeter 5.0". For
this, download the file “omnimo_5_0_
for_rainmeter_by_fediafedia-d2mhn7l.
1261212_Tips and Tricks.indd 127
zip” from the website www.omnimo.
info/download.html. Unzip the ZIP file,
then double-click in Windows Explorer
on “SETUP.rmskin”, and then on “Install”.
Follow the prompts of the setup wizard.
During the course of the installation,
select a schema like “Windows Phone 7”
or “Windows 8 Start Screen”.
WINDOWS XP/Vista/7/8
4 Directly integrate Google Drive
with your system
4 5
Download Google Drive to integrate your shared
files with Windows Explorer.
If you have already registered
with Google Drive and received the 5
GB of free storage space, then all your
documents till date are automatically
transferred over from Google Docs.
The service is primarily used from
the browser using the web interface.
But for more comfortable use, get the
online storage space directly on your
local computer with “Google Drive for
Windows”. This functions like Dropbox with
a local folder for Google Drive, which you
can then use in Explorer.
The tool can be found at drive.google.
com. For installation, run the MSI file by
double-clicking on it in Windows Explorer.
You must log in with your Google account
for the setup. The subsequent request for
a mobile phone number can be ignored.
Click on “More”, and on “Advanced setup”
in the second step, which then enables
you to “Change” the local folder for
HANDS ON
TIPS & TRICKS
Google Drive.
Otherwise, this folder is directly set up
in your user profile. In case you want to
select a folder, ensure that the folder does
not overlap with other cloud services like
SkyDrive. With “Start synchronisation”, you
are ready to start synching your docs.
WINDOWS XP/Vista/7
5 Prepare screenshots of entire
documents
Take screenshots of documents and websites that
are larger than your screen can display.
Sometimes, you need screenshots
of the contents of large windows, like,
for example, an entire webpage. Though
greatly reducing the zoom level will bring
the contents onto the screen, it renders
them unreadable. The tool FastStone
Capture however captures complete
documents in one step.
The free version, which is sufficient
in most cases, can be found at www.
faststone.org. After the program starts,
click on the Settings icon to the right
in the small dialogue. In the “Output
folder” field, define the target folder for
storing the file, and the “Output format”.
Miscellaneous specifications for keyboard
shortcuts, mouse pointer or a delay,
among other things, are also configurable
in this section. Confirm with “OK”. The
combination field to the left sets the
target. Here, adjust the setting “To Editor”
in order to be able to check and re-work
11/24/2012 1:55:09 PM
 HANDS ON
TIPS & TRICKS
the result.
This software is particularly important
for screenshots of oversized windows.
To take screenshots of large windows,
select “Capture Scrolling Window” and
click on the desired area indicated by the
red border. FastStone browses through
the window till the end and generates
an overall image. However, this does not
work with every program and assumes
that the coverage ends where the
scrollbars end. In the browser, you should
mask all borders as far as possible or use
Internet Explorer for website screenshots.
Your images might be partially cut off
or begin only from the current position,
which is why you should sometimes
experiment a bit.
WINDOWS XP/Vista/7
6 Quickly and easily reduce the
size of large image files
6 Although Windows 8 doesn’t
The free tool TinyPic lets you quickly process
images to make them suitable for sharing.
If you want to upload photos to
a website or send them to friends, you
might have to first reduce their size. All
well-known graphics programs can do
this, but the process can be cumbersome
and long, no matter how many images
there are. You can make this a bit easier
with batch processing in IrfanView or use
the simple and popular TinyPic. You can
find this free tool at www.tinypic.com.
After installation, using TinyPic
is child’s play. Select one of the five
pre-determined sizes. Now drag all
the pictures you want from Windows
Explorer into the lower area of the
window. The converted images
automatically migrate back into the
original folder in JPG format with a
prefixed name. The target folder can be
changed in the combination field “Filing”.
You can also specify the images using
“File selection”, which can select all
established graphics formats. And that
128 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
1261212_Tips and Tricks.indd 128
is all. The tiny tool meticulously fulfills
its tasks with no problems. This way
you save a lot of time when you want to
quickly email a set of pictures to anyone.
WINDOWS 8
7 Automatically recreate the
classic desktop with a trick
7 with “OK” and restart the system for
Use this script to automatically launch the classic
desktop in Windows 8.
allow you to boot straight to the classic
desktop, this can be done with a trick.
You have to go through the new tiled
interface and automate the change to
the desktop using a script. Open any
folder in Windows Explorer for this
purpose, right click with the mouse
button on a free space to the right and
select the context command “New |
Text document”. Then open the file for
editing and add the following lines:
Set WShShell = WScript.
CreateObject(“Wscript.shell”)
WshShell.sendkeys
“desktop{Enter}”
Now save and close the text file. Your
settings will cause the desktop to be
called up as if you had invoked it yourself.
Next, change the name of the text file, to
“Desktopstart.vbs”. The extension “vbs” is
important here, so that Windows treats
the text file as script. Confirm the warning
regarding renaming with “Yes”.
All you need to do now is copy the
VBS file to the Startup folder. However,
the process would be more streamlined
as a scheduled task. To do this, click
on “System and Security” in the Control
Panel, then on “Administrative tools” and
finally double-click on “Schedule task”.
Begin on the right with “Create task”.
In the “General” pane, type in
“Desktopstart” for example, as the name
and activate it under the option “Run
with highest privileges”. After that, switch
to the tab “Trigger” and click on “New”.
At “Start task”, select the setting “At log
in” and confirm with “OK”. Now switch
back to the tab “Actions” and click on
“New” again. Leave the action “Start
program” selected and click on “Browse”.
Now, navigate to the VBS file, open it,
and confirm the action with “OK”. Further
“Conditions” and “Settings” are mostly
not necessary. Now, generate the task
testing. From now on, though you will
briefly see the tiled interface, you will be
taken to the desktop directly.
WINDOWS XP/Vista/7
8 Provide names for removable
storage media
8
Give each removable drive a unique name to make
it easier to keep track of them.
When you plug in SD cards and
USB sticks, they are automatically
recognised and displayed as drives
in Windows Explorer. However, they
are generally named as removable
storage media or by the name of the
manufacturer. This makes finding and
remembering which drive contains what
more difficult.
As every USB device has a distinct ID,
the system recognises it and can again
identify the device later on. Provide
distinctive names to your SD cards, like
“Vacation2012” for example, so that you
find long-term reference easier. To do
this, connect the USB storage device
to the computer and search for the
allocated drive in Explorer. After that,
right-click on the drive icon and select
the context command “Properties”. In
the “General” tab, enter the desired
name; keep in mind that it should have a
maximum of eleven characters. Confirm
your entry with “OK”. If you later wish to
blank out the name, simply delete the
characters from here.
11/24/2012 1:56:07 PM

PHOTOGRAPHY
CAMERA PROTECTION
9 Inexpensive items to protect
your camera
9 and brings the subject in focus.
Freezer bags make for good camera raincoats.
You don’t want to risk subjecting
your camera to potential damage.
Here are a few worthy but inexpensive
additions to your photography gear:
A microfiber cloth to wipe dust or
moisture from the lens and camera body.
A small cloth bag filled with beans or
lentils are good protection for tripods
when you’re shooting with the camera
placed on the ground or held against
rough surfaces.
Keeping a cloth pouch filled with
silica granules with the camera provides
protection against condensation and
moisture. Medium-sized plastic and
freezer bags make for a good camera
raincoat when shooting in the rain.
SHOOTING TIP
10 Eliminating distracting
elements in the frame
It's natural that you avoid shooting
subjects against backgrounds with
too many distracting elements. But if
that’s unavoidable, you can eliminate
distraction using background blur. For
this, open the image in Photoshop,
1261212_Tips and Tricks.indd 129
10
Blurring the background eliminates distractions
cut out the subject using the Lasso
tool, invert the selection and blur the
background using filters. This way, the
subject in the foreground is in sharp
focus and the background elements don’t
distract the viewer. In order to enhance
this effect, you can reduce the saturation
of colours of the faded background. You
can use layers to preview the effect each
time you make adjustments.
SOCIAL NETWORKING
GOOGLE+
11 Navigate comfortably through
posts on Google+
Navigating on Google+ can be a
little cumbersome when using the mouse
to navigate. A simple solution is to use
keyboard shortcuts. To move from one
post to the next, use the key (Y). With
(C), you can move to the previous post.
To scroll down use [Space] and to scroll
up, use [Shift] + [Space].
GOOGLE
12 Find out what Google knows
about you
You may find yourself in a catch-22
situation with every app on the Internet
requesting you to share information.
If you wish to know what information
related to you has been collected by
Google, then you can do so by using
Google Dashboard.
Go to www.google.com/dashboard,
and log in using your Google credentials.
HANDS ON
TIPS & TRICKS
12
Google dashboard will provide you with
information about sites linked to your account.
Once you log in you will be able to view
all your data linked to various Google
services. You will find information for
services like Google+, Picasa, Google
Maps and YouTube. You can then review
the information shared and change the
settings for each entry. This will help you
greatly maintain your privacy.
FACEBOOK
13 Upload photos and videos
easily on social network sites
13
Free Uploader will automatically upload your
images and videos to Facebook.
If you upload a lot of images
or even videos to Facebook, then you
can benefit from free uploading tools.
One such tool is Free Uploader for
Facebook from DVDVideoSoft and can
be downloaded from www.dvdvideosoft.
com/products/dvd/Free-Uploader-For-
Facebook.htm. When installing the tool,
11/24/2012 1:56:23 PM
 HANDS ON
TIPS & TRICKS
ensure that the preset option for “Linkury
smartbar” is deactivated and make sure
that “Do not install PC speed-up” is
selected; now click “Next”.
The tool can be accessed from
the Start menu from “Programs |
“DVDVideoSoft | Programs via Free
Uploader for Facebook”. You will have
to sign-up using your Facebook account
and register the same. Next, you must
provide it certain permissions like “Post
in your name,” activate the option and
then click on “Allow”. You can then
start using the tool to upload images
and videos to your Facebook account.
You can do this by clicking on “Add
files”. Then select the files you want
to upload and confirm by clicking on
“Open." When you click on “Upload”, it
will start transferring the files to your
Facebook page. You can then check
your Facebook page if the transfer was
successful. However, it’s very important
to note that by default the visibility
setting for all the images and videos
that you have uploaded using this tool
will be “Public”. You will have to change
this setting directly from your Facebook
page and set the visibility as you wish.
TWITTER
14 Display how long you've been
on Twitter
14
In case you are curious, you can easily find the
year you have joined Twitter.
It’s easy to find out when you
have joined Facebook, but in the case of
Twitter knowing this is difficult. However,
there are several online tools you can use
to know the day you started tweeting.
One site that lets you know this is www.
howlonghaveyoubeentweeting.com. Go
to the site and simply enter your twitter
handle. The advantage here is that while
other sites may ask you to log in, this
site does not ask anything of you. This
works well, because specifying your login
130 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
1261212_Tips and Tricks.indd 130
details on unknown sites isn’t a good
idea. Once you have entered your Twitter
handle, click on ‘Go’ and the results will
be displayed.
GOOGLE+
15 Sending out party invites using
your Google+ account
15
Just like Facebook, you can use Google+ for
sending quick and easy invitations for parties.
Even though Facebook Events is
most used for inviting people for parties
or social gatherings, you can also use
Google+ to do the same. For this, log
into your account and select the 'Events'
option on the left pane. Now click on
‘Create Event’ and add the necessary
details in the subsequent window. You
can add the start and the end time, the
location and then invite people by adding
circles or email addresses. Additionally,
unlike Facebook, you can even select
a theme image by clicking on the top
banner of the Events window. This gives
the invitation a more stylish look, and if
you don’t like any of the in-built themes,
you also have the option of uploading
your own image.
Once you have added the details, you
need to check the ‘Event Settings’ as this
will determine who can view and share
the invite. You can do this by clicking on
the ‘Event Options’ tab next to the ‘Event
Title’ field. Click on the drop-down arrow
16
If your Twitter profile is linked with Facebook, you
can post selective tweets to Facebook.
and you will see several options like
‘Guest can invite other people’, ‘Guest can
add photos’ and ‘Hide guest list’. Check
the options you wish to select. You can
see the details of the events you have
planned from the ‘Overview’ tab.
FACEBOOK
16 Specifically link your Facebook
account with Twitter
You can automatically forward
all your tweets to Facebook by linking
your Twitter and Facebook accounts, but
there's no way for you to control which
tweets will be published on Facebook
if you do this. However, there is one
Facebook app that lets you specify
which tweets are published on your
Facebook wall. Log into your Facebook
account and open apps.facebook.com/
selectivetwitter/. Here, under the ‘Your
Profile’ tab, select the input field ‘The
one and only step’, enter your Twitter
username and click on ‘Save’. You'll have
to provide the necessary authorisations
so that the app is able to post on your
wall. Confirm by clicking on ‘Allow’. Now,
whenever you compose a tweet and
want it to be posted on Facebook, simply
include the #fb hashtag in the tweet. The
app will detect this and publish the tweet
on your Facebook wall. You can choose
from the 'Settings' tab if you want to
set the hashtag at the end of a tweet
or anywhere in a tweet. You can even
control whether you want it to display the
message as forwarded from Twitter and
if the tweet should contain a link to your
Twitter profile. After this, whenever you
post on Twitter, you can simply add the
#fb hashtag and the tweet will be posted
on Facebook.
SOFTWARE
17 Find alternatives to software
If you are looking for an alternative
to Excel for your iPad, or say you want to
know the alternative browsers available
for BlackBerry, then you can save time
hunting for them on the web by using a
simple tool. www.alternativeto.net is a
web tool that allows you to search for
software and apps not just by functions,
but based on platforms too.
For example, you can look up
alternatives to Excel under ‘Utilities’ or
search for tools available for particular
11/22/2012 4:01:51 PM

17
Find alternatives to applications across various
platforms with alternativeto.net
platforms like Mac, Windows and
Android. You can select the platform
and then narrow down your search by
selecting the functions. On entering
the search term in the search field, the
results will show you alternatives for the
software you have specified and for the
platform you have selected.
You can then find further information
about the tools by clicking on them, and
in case you like an app, you will also
find a link to download it. You can also
contribute using ‘Create an account’ and
registering. Registered users can edit
contents, suggest alternatives and also
report unsuitable content.
COMMUNICATION
WORD 2003 / 2007 / 2010
18 Insert blank pages in
documents
In case of documents that have
double-sided printing, it creates a
distinctly better impression when a new
chapter begins on the front side of a
page, particularly on an odd-numbered
page. However, if the previous chapter
ends on a front page, you have to
paste an empty page behind it. But you
can let Word automatically take care
of this task and dynamically adapt in
case of changes to the document. For
this, position the cursor before the first
1261212_Tips and Tricks.indd 131
18
Begin a new chapter on a front page in case of
double-sided printing
character of a chapter heading. In case
of current versions of Word, click on the
multi-function toolbar on ‘Page layout
| Breaks | Odd page or Even page’. In
case of older versions of Word, click on
‘Insert | Page Break’. In the subsequent
dialogue, click on Odd page or Even
page’. The empty pages inserted this way
are completely empty and do not contain
any header or footer.
OUTLOOK
19 Link messages with notes
Although it is possible to classify
received messages with labels, they
cannot be linked with notes. The note
function in Outlook only saves them
separately. However, notes can also
be appended to emails. For this, you
can use the less-known function for
public messages, which has been
primarily conceived for collaboration
19
Provide own notes to emails received
HANDS ON
TIPS & TRICKS
20
You can call, block, locate your phone and even
erase phone data via the web.
by project teams in an Exchange server
environment. You can reach this function
fastest using the key combination
[Ctrl]+[T] in a message folder after
marking the desired email.
In the subsequent message window,
type in the subject, as well as the note
in the body. Finally, click on Post. The
note then appears as a self-message
in chronological sequence. As long
as you have configured the view as
per conversations, this note is exactly
allocated to the message selected before.
NOKIA LUMIA 800
20 Find your lost smartphone with
Windows Phone 7.5
You can find interesting ways to
remotely access your smartphone on the
web at www.windowsphone.com. Log in
to the Windows Live ID you use on your
smartphone. Then go to ‘Find, call or
erase phone’.
Provide your mobile number when
you’re prompted, and your phone will
start ringing loudly even if you’ve kept it
on Silent mode. The map in the lower
area displays the current location of
the smartphone. You can block access
to your smartphone or even delete the
content on the smartphone by clicking the
appropriate links.
– Compiled by Team CHIP
send your tips to tnt@chip.in
11/22/2012 4:02:10 PM
 PERSONAL TECH
REC
RRECENT
RECE
ECE
ECE HISTORY IS FULL OF EXAMPLES OF
COMPANIES
COM
CO
COMP
OMP
MP AND INDIVIDUALS LOSING ALL
HE SSUPPORT THEY'VE EVER EARNED.
THE
THE
A SHEE AVARI, DEPUTY EDITOR
JJAMSHED
JAMSHE
JAMS
AMSHE
ARROGANCE
rrogance can bring down any tech
A giant. You’re only really allowed to get
away with it when you’re the underdog
or when your products or personality
are truly spectacular. You can ride to success
by being perceived as bold, different or even
revolutionary, and people will love you for it. But
the second you cross the line into arrogance, the
backlash will begin and you’ll be knocked off
your perch.
The best example today is Apple. It has
shaken up plenty of product categories since
1998. It killed the floppy drive and the DVD;
it has redefined user experiences; it has
pioneered material design and engineering;
it has sent competitors scrambling back to
their drawing boards—and it's been adored
by fans, customers and the media. No matter
how difficult or disruptive Apple’s moves,
practical criticism has often been drowned out
by admiration. Now, in the past year, it would
seem like it can’t do anything right. The
iPhone 5 was heralded as “nothing surprising”,
the tight control over Lightning adaptors and
peripherals is widely seen as a greedy move,
and the latest Retina MacBook Pros don’t have
a clear target market. The court cases against
Samsung and others have made Apple look
like a petulant brat (even more so after the
childish non-apology posted online and the
attempts to hide it from visitors). Worst of
all, the iOS 6 maps debacle has opened the
company to ridicule and derision. More than
anything else it could have done, choosing
to ditch Google maps in favour of such a
disastrously inadequate alternative because
of an unrelated feud made customers and
insiders alike begin seeing the company
as prideful, high-handed and arrogant.
The tide is swiftly turning against Apple.
Reactions have been vicious and critics are
132 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
1321212_Personal_Tech (Jamshed).indd 132
becoming emboldened. Apple’s stock price,
inflated by its string of successes over the
years, seems to have peaked. The latest
products to be launched have been criticised
for the fact that they sold things in new
sizes rather than revolutionary new things,
even though people have been perfectly
happy with every preceding generation of
refreshes. The iPhone 4 “antennagate” issue
a few years ago could have turned out far
worse for the company than it eventually did,
thanks to callous comments such as “You’re
holding it wrong”, but it blew over eventually.
Apple was perceived very differently then.
This holds true for many other companies
and individuals as well. Microsoft has tried
to push its weight around often enough and
even Intel has been pulled up by various
courts of law. Nokia and RIM both thought
the iPhone couldn’t possibly upset their
positions in the global smartphone market,
and look at them today. Sony is a shadow
of its former self; MySpace is trying out
yet another reinvention; and even Facebook
is beginning to alienate businesses.
Press reports suggest that Scott Forstall
and Steven Sinofsky departed Apple and
Microsoft respectively for the very same
reason. Both have been described as
impossible to work with, which might
contributed to their exits despite both being
projected as longtime CEOs-in-waiting.
Admittedly, it takes a strong personality to
break the status quo. But even revolutionaries
sometimes become mainstream, and rebels
become the majority. When that happens, it’s
easy to become complacent and arrogant.
Perhaps, this holds true in all spheres
of life; not just technology.
- jamshed.avari@chip.in
- twitter.com/ja140
11/23/2012 7:53:05 PM
 MARKET WATCH

MARKET WATCH
PROCESSORS: Intel
NUMBER OF
NAME PRICE (Rs) CPU SOCKET CLOCK SPEED MFG PROCESS TDP
CORES
Intel Pentium G620 3,708 LGA 1155 2 Core 2.60 GHz 32 nm 65 W
Intel Core i3-540 5,562 LGA 1156 2 Core 3.06 GHz 32 nm 73 W
Intel Core i3-2120 7,416 LGA 1155 2 Core 3.30 GHz 32 nm 65 W
Intel Core i5-2320 11,176 LGA 1155 4 Core 3.00 GHz 32 nm 95 W
Intel Core i5-3450 12,051 LGA 1155 4 Core 3.10 GHz 22 nm 77 W
Intel Core i5-2400 12,618 LGA 1155 4 Core 3.10 GHz 32 nm 95 W
Intel Core i5-3550 13,236 LGA 1155 4 Core 3.30 GHz 22 nm 77 W
Intel Core i5 2500K 13,339 LGA 1155 4 Core 3.30 GHz 32 nm 95 W
Intel Core i7-2600K 18,643 LGA 1155 4 Core 3.40 GHz 32 nm 95 W
Intel Core i7-3820 19,055 LGA 1155 4 Core 3.60 GHz 32 nm 130 W
Intel Core i7-2700K 19,467 LGA 1155 4 Core 3.50 GHz 32 nm 95 W
Intel Core i7 3770K 21,424 LGA 1155 4 Core 3.50 GHz 22 nm 77 W
Intel Core i7-3960X 59,740 LGA 2011 6 Core 3.30 GHz 32 nm 130 W

MOTHERBOARDS: AMD
CPU PCIE X16 | PCI |
NAME PRICE (RS) CHIPSET MEMORY SUPPORT D-SUB | DVI | HDMI
SOCKET SATA | USB
Jetway N68M 2,369 AM3 Nvidia GeForce 7025 DDR3 ✔|✖|✖ 1|1|4|8
MSI 760GM-P33 2,472 AM3 AMD 760G + SB710 DDR3 ✔|✖|✖ 1|1|6|8
Asus M5A78L-M LX 2,730 AM3+ AMD 760G + SB710 DDR3 ✔|✖|✖ 1 | 1 | 6 | 10
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 2,833 AM3+ AMD 760G + SB710 DDR3 ✔|✖|✖ 1|1|6|8
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2PT 2,936 AM3+ AMD 760G + SB710 DDR3 ✔|✖|✖ 1|1|6|8
Asus M5A78L-M LE 3,090 AM3+ AMD 760G + SB710 DDR3 ✔|✔|✖ 1 | 2 | 6 | 12
Jetway TA55M-L 3,245 FM1 AMD A55 DDR3 ✔|✔|✖ 1|1|4|8
Gigabyte GA-A55M-DS2 3,296 FM1 AMD A55 DDR3 ✔|✔|✖ 1|1|4|8
Asus F1A55-M LE 3,889 FM1 AMD A55 DDR3 ✔|✔|✖ 2 | 1 | 6 | 12
Gigabyte 880GM-D2H 4,017 AM3+ AMD 880G + SB710 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1 | 2 | 4 | 12
Jetway TA98MG 4,223 AM3+ AMD 880G + SB710 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1|1|4|8
Digisol DL-A75M 4,816 FM1 AMD A75 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1 | 2 | 6 | 14
Gigabyte GA-880GM-USB3 5,150 AM3 AMD 880G + SB710 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1 | 2 | 5 | 14
Asus M5A88-M 5,794 AM3+ AMD 880G + SB710 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1 | 1 | 6 | 14
Asus F1A55-M 6,155 FM1 AMD A55 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 2 | 1 | 6 | 14
Asus F1A75-M LE 6,206 FM1 AMD A75 DDR3 ✔|✔|✖ 2 | 1 | 6 | 14
Asus M5A97 6,824 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 DDR3 NA 2 | 2 | 6 | 14
Asus F1A75-M 6,901 FM1 AMD A75 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 2 | 1 | 6 | 14
Asus M5A97 Pro 8,318 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 DDR3 NA 2 | 2 | 6 | 16
Asus M5A88-V Evo 8,575 AM3+ AMD 880G + SB850 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 2 | 3 | 5 | 14
Asus F1A75-M Pro 8,627 FM1 AMD A75 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 2 | 1 | 6 | 16
Asus M5A97 EVO 8,704 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 DDR3 NA 2 | 2 | 6 | 18
Asus F1A75-V Pro 9,245 FM1 AMD A75 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 2 | 1 | 6 | 16
Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 9,940 AM3+ AMD 990X + SB950 DDR3 NA 3 | 2 | 6 | 18
Asus M5A99FX Pro 11,614 AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950 DDR3 NA 3 | 1 | 8 | 18
Asus Sabertooth 990FX 14,189 AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950 DDR3 NA 3 | 1 | 8 | 18
Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5 14,266 AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950 DDR3 NA 3 | 1 | 8 | 18
Asus Crosshair V Formula 17,407 AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950 DDR3 NA 3 | 1 | 7 | 18

NOTE: Street prices (incl. VAT) as on 20 November 2012.

134 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0001212_Market Watch.indd 134 11/22/2012 12:47:56 PM

 CHIP brings you a roundup of all the latest and greatest products on the market.

PROCESSORS: AMD
NUMBER OF
NAME PRICE (Rs) CPU SOCKET CLOCK SPEED MFG PROCESS TDP
CORES
AMD Sempron 145 2,266 AM3 1 2.8 GHz 45 nm 45 W
AMD Athlon II X2 270 3,580 AM3 2 3.4 GHz 45 nm 65 W
AMD A6-3500 4,429 Socket FM1 3 2.1 GHz 32 nm 65 W
AMD Phenom II X2 560 4,661 AM3 2 3.3 GHz 45 nm 80 W
AMD FX-4100 6,773 AM3+ 4 3.6 GHz 32 nm 95 W
AMD A6-3670 6,901 Socket FM1 4 2.7 GHz 32 nm 100 W
AMD FX-6100 7,983 AM3+ 6 3.3 GHz 32 nm 95 W
AMD FX-8120 9,940 AM3+ 8 3.1 GHz 32 nm 125 W
AMD FX-8150 11,897 AM3+ 8 3.6 GHz 32 nm 125 W
AMD FX-8320 14,742 AM3+ 8 3.5 GHz 32 nm 125 W
AMD FX-8350 15,366 AM3+ 8 4.0 GHz 32 nm 125 W

MOTHERBOARDS: Intel
PCIE X16 | PCI |
NAME PRICE (RS) CPU SOCKET CHIPSET MEMORY SUPPORT D-SUB | DVI | HDMI
SATA | USB
Biostar G41D3+ 2,590 LGA 775 Intel G41 DDR3 ✔|✖|✖ 1|2|4|8
Asus P5G41T-M LX 2,987 LGA 775 Intel G41 DDR3 ✔|✔|✖ 1|2|4|8
Gigabyte G41MT-S2PT 2,987 LGA 775 Intel G41 DDR3 ✔|✖|✖ 1|2|4|8
ASRock H61M 3,198 LGA 1155 Intel H61 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1|2|4|6
Asus P8H61-M LX 3,245 LGA 1155 Intel H61 DDR3 ✔|✖|✖ 1 | 0 | 4 | 10
Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2H 3,272 LGA 1155 Intel H61 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1|2|4|8
Biostar H61MHB 3,348 LGA 1155 Intel H61 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1|2|4|8
Intel DH61WW 3,863 LGA 1155 Intel H61 DDR3 ✔|✖|✖ 1|1|4|6
Asus P8H61-M Plus V2 4,429 LGA 1155 Intel H61 DDR3 ✔|✔|✖ 1|1|4|8
Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H 4,481 LGA 1155 Intel B75 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 2 | 2 | 6 | 12
Digilite DL-H67M 4,532 LGA 1155 Intel H67 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1 | 2 | 6 | 14
Digilite DL-B75M 4,764 LGA1155 Intel B75 + No DDR3 ✖|✔|✔ 1 | 1 | 6 | 10
Gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H 6,273 LGA 1155 Intel H77 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 2 | 1 | 6 | 14
Asus P7H55/USB3 6,670 LGA 1156 Intel H55 DDR3 NA 2 | 2 | 6 | 12
Gigabyte GA-H61N-USB3 6,747 LGA 1155 Intel H61 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1 | 0 | 2 | 10
ASRock H77 Pro4 6,798 LGA 1155 Intel H77 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 1 | 0 | 8 |10
Intel DZ68DB 7,983 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ✖|✔|✔ 1 | 3 | 5 | 12
Asus P8H67-M 8,369 LGA 1155 Intel H67 DDR3 ✔|✖|✔ 2 | 1 | 6 | 14
Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H 8,601 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 2 | 1 | 6 | 14
ASRock Z77 Pro 4 8,640 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 2 | 2 | 8 | 11
ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 10,660 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 2 | 2 | 8 | 10
Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z 13,983 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ✖|✖|✔ 2 | 0 | 6 | 16
Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 17,047 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ✔|✔|✔ 3 | 2 | 8 | 16
Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 18,025 Socket 2011 Intel X79 DDR3 NA 4 | 1 | 10 | 18
EVGA Z68 FTW 18,643 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 NA 5 | 0 | 6 | 14
EVGA X79 SLI 18,978 Socket 2011 Intel X79 DDR3 NA 3 | 0 | 8 | 10
Intel DX79SI 21,115 Socket 2011 Intel X79 DDR3 ✖|✖|✖ 3 | 1 |6 | 18
Asus P9X79 Pro 22,609 Socket 2011 Intel X79 DDR3 NA 4 | 0 | 8 | 18
Asus Sabertooth X79 24,386 Socket 2011 Intel X79 DDR3 NA 3 | 1 | 8 | 20
Asus Rampage IV Formula 25,261 Socket 2011 Intel X79 DDR3 NA 4 | 0 | 8 | 18
Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z 28,068 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 NA 4 | 0 | 8 | 19

NOTE: Street prices (incl. VAT) as on 20 November 2012.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 135

0001212_Market Watch.indd 135 11/22/2012 12:48:18 PM

 MARKET WATCH

MARKET WATCH
GRAPHICS CARDS: AMD
PRICE MEMORY MEMORY | BUD
NAME RADEON GPU DIRECT X SHADERS CORE | MEMORY SPEED
(RS) TYPE WIDTH

Asus EAH6450 Silent|DI|1GD3 2,601 HD 6450 11.0 DDR3 1 GB | 64-bit 160 625 MHz | 600 MHz
Sapphire Radeon HD 6450 2,730 HD 6450 11.0 DDR3 1 GB | 64-bit 160 625 MHz | 667 MHz
Sapphire Radeon HD 6450 3,399 HD 6450 11.0 DDR3 2 GB | 64-bit 160 625 MHz | 667 MHz
Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 4,867 HD 6670 11.0 DDR3 1 GB | 128-bit 480 800 MHz | 800 MHz
XFX HD-667X-ZHF2 4,919 HD 6670 11.0 DDR3 1 GB | 128-bit 480 800 MHz | 800 MHz
XFX HD-657X-CNF3 5,228 HD 6570 11.0 DDR3 2 GB | 128-bit 480 650 MHz | 500 MHz
Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 5,253 HD 6670 11.0 DDR3 2 GB | 128-bit 480 800 MHz | 800 MHz
Asus HD6670-2GD3 5,305 HD 6670 11.0 DDR3 2 GB | 128-bit 480 800 MHz | 900 MHz
Sapphire Radeon HD 6750 5,691 HD 6750 11.0 DDR3 1 GB | 128-bit 720 700 MHz | 800 MHz
XFX HD-675X-ZNLC 6,773 HD 6750 11.0 DDR5 1 GB | 128-bit 720 700 MHz | 1000 MHz
Asus HD7750-1GD5 7,365 HD 7750 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 128-bit 512 820 MHz | 1150 MHz
HIS H775F1GD 7,571 HD 7750 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 128-bit 512 800 MHz | 1125 MHz
Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 7,674 HD 7750 11.0 DDR5 1 GB | 128-bit 512 850 MHz | 1000 MHz
HIS H677FN1GD 7,777 HD 6770 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 128-bit 800 850 MHz | 1200 MHz
HIS H679F1GD 8,843 HD 6790 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 256-bit 800 840 MHz | 1050 MHz
Asus HD7770-DC-1GD5 9,348 HD 7750 11.0 DDR5 1 GB | 128-bit 640 1020 MHz | 1150 MHz
Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 9,888 HD 7770 11.0 DDR5 1 GB | 128-bit 512 800 MHz | 1125 MHz
HIS H687QN1G2M IceQ 12,386 HD 6870 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 256-bit 1120 900 MHz | 1050 MHz
XFX HD-687A-ZNFC 13,975 HD 6870 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 256-bit 1120 900 MHz | 1050 MHz
HIS H785F2G2M 16,583 HD 7850 11.0 GDDR5 2 GB | 256-bit 2048 860 MHz | 1200 MHz
XFX HD-695X-ZNFC 16,661 HD 6950 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 256-bit 1408 800 MHz | 1250 MHz
HIS H787Q2G2M 23,768 HD 7870 11.0 GDDR5 2 GB | 256-bit 1280 1000 MHz | 1200 MHz
Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 24,540 HD 7870 11.0 GDDR5 2 GB | 256-bit 1280 1000 MHz | 1200 MHz
HIS H795F3G2M 26,471 HD 7950 11.0 GDDR5 3 GB | 384-bit 1792 800 MHz | 1250 MHz
XFX HD-697A-CNDC 27,424 HD 6970 11.0 GDDR5 2 GB | 256-bit 1536 900 MHz | 1400 MHz
Asus HD7950-DC2T-3GD5 29,433 HD 7950 11.0 GDDR5 3 GB | 384-bit 1792 900 MHz | 1250 MHz
Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 35,123 HD 7970 11.0 GDDR5 3 GB | 384-bit 2048 925 MHz | 1375 MHz
HIS H797F3G2M 35,947 HD 7970 11.0 GDDR5 3 GB | 384-bit 2048 925 MHz | 1375 MHz
XFX FX-797A-TNFC 40,454 HD 7970 11.0 GDDR5 3 GB | 384-bit 2048 925 MHz | 1375 MHz

EXTERNAL DRIVE
NAME PRICE(RS) CAPACITY INTERFACE FORM FACTOR
Transcend StoreJet TS500GSJ25H3P 3,708 500 GB USB 3.0 2.5-inch
Seagate Free Agent GoFlex 4,041 500 GB USB 3.0 2.5-inch
Transcend StoreJet TS750GSJ25H2P 4,223 750 GB USB 2.0 3.5-inch
Buffalo HD-PXT500U2/B 5,050 500 GB USB 2.0 2.5-inch
Seagate Free Agent GoFlex 5,950 1 TB USB 3.0 2.5-inch
Western Digital My Passport Essential 6,356 1 TB USB 3.0 2.5-inch
Buffalo MiniStation PNTU3 7,056 1 TB USB 3.0 2.5-inch
Western Digital My Passport Essential 7,999 2 TB USB 3.0 3.5-inch
NOTE: Street prices (incl. VAT) as on 20 November 2012.

136 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0001212_Market Watch.indd 136 11/22/2012 12:48:35 PM

 CHIP brings you a roundup of all the latest and greatest products on the market.

GRAPHICS CARDS: Nvidia

MEMORY | BUS
NAME PRICE (Rs) GEFORCE GPU DIRECT X MEMORY TYPE SHADERS CORE | MEMORY SPEED
WIDTH
Asus EN210 Silent/DI/1GD3/V2 1,880 210 10.1 DDR3 1 GB | 64-bit 16 589 MHz | 600 MHz
Forsa GeForce GT610 2,987 GT 610 11.0 DDR3 2 GB | 64-bit 48 810 MHz | 650 MHz
Asus ENGT520 SL/DI/1GD3 3,039 GT 520 11.0 DDR3 1 GB | 64-bit 48 810 MHz | 600 MHz
Asus GT620-1GD3-L 3,451 GT 620 11.0 DDR3 1 GB | 64-bit 96 700 MHz | 600 MHz
Forsa GeForce GT620 3,837 GT 620 11.0 DDR3 2 GB | 64-bit 96 710 MHz | 650 MHz
Forsa GeForce GT630 3,940 GT 630 11.0 DDR3 1 GB | 128-bit 96 780 MHz | 650 MHz
Zotac GeForce GT 620 Synergy Ed 4,046 GT 620 11.0 DDR3 2 GB | 64-bit 96 810 MHz | 533 MHz
Zotac GeForce GT 630 Synergy Ed 4,326 GT 630 11.0 DDR3 2 GB | 128-bit 96 810 MHz | 667 MHz
Asus GT630-2GD3 4,944 GT 630 11.0 DDR3 2 GB | 128-bit 96 810 MHz | 910 MHz
Zotac GeForce GTS 450 6,592 GTS 450 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 128-bit 192 1620 MHz | 902 MHz
Forsa GeForce GT640 6,592 GT 640 11.0 DDR3 2 GB | 192-bit 384 900 MHz | 900 MHz
Zotac Geforce GTX 550 Ti 7,828 GTX 550 Ti 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 192-bit 192 900 MHz | 1025 MHz
EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 8,807 GTX 550 Ti 11.0 GDDR5 2 GB | 192-bit 192 900 MHz | 1002 MHz
Asus GeForce GTX 550 Ti DirectCU 8,936 GTX 550 Ti 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 192-bit 192 910 MHz | 1026 MHz
Zotac Geforce GTX 560 11,356 GTX 560 11.0 GDDR5 1 GB | 256-bit 336 820 MHz | 1002 MHz
Asus ENGTX560 DirectCU 12,747 GTX 560 11.0 DDR5 1 GB | 256-bit 336 810 MHz | 1002 MHz
Zotac Geforce GTX 560 Ti 16,480 GTX 560 Ti 11.0 GDDR5 2 GB | 256-bit 384 822 MHz | 1000 MHz
EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti SuperClocked 16,712 GTX 560 Ti 11.0 GDDR5 1024 MB | 256-bit 384 900 MHz | 1053 MHz

PROJECTORS
NAME PRICE (RS) TYPE BRIGHTNESS RESOLUTION CONTRAST RATIO
Mitsubishi ES200U 25,622 DLP 2400 Lumens 800 x 600 2000:1
Viewsonic PJD5152 30,720 DLP 2600 Lumens 800 x 600 3000:1
Sony VPL-EX100 31,415 LCD 2300 Lumens 1024 x 768 2200:1
Sharp PG-D2500 38,754 DLP 2500 Lumens 1024 x 768 1100:1
Acer P1101 39,269 DLP 200 Lumens 800 x 600 4000:1
LG BX275 39,849 DLP 2700 Lumens 1024 x 768 2200:1
Sony VPL-EX120 41,715 LCD 2600 Lumens 1600 x 1200 2500:1
Viewsonic PJL3211 45,192 LCD 2500 Lumens 1024 x 768 500:1
Mitsubishi EX320U 45,372 DLP 3000 Lumens 1024 x 768 2000:1
Acer P1201 45,643 DLP 2700 Lumens 1024 x 768 3700:1
Viewsonic PJD6531W 51,578 DLP 3300 Lumens 1280 x 800 3200:1
Sharp PG-D3010X 53,586 DLP 3000 Lumens 1024 x 768 2000:1
LG BX286 55,492 DLP 2800 Lumens 1024 x 768 2100:1
Acer K330 59,548 DLP 500 Lumens 1280 x 800 4000:1
Sony VPL-EX175 61,285 LCD 3600 Lumens 1024 x 768 4000:1
Sony VPL-SW125 63,345 LCD 2600 Lumens 1280 x 800 3800:1
Acer S5201 69,977 DLP 3000 Lumens 1024 x 768 4500:1
Acer P5206 75,770 DLP 4000 Lumens 1024 x 768 4500:1
Mitsubishi XD600U 79,259 DLP 4500 Lumens 1024 x 768 2000:1
Mitsubishi WD570U 83,585 DLP 3500 Lumens 1280 x 800 3000:1
Viewsonic PJL9371 99,086 LCD 4000 Lumens 1024 x 768 2000:1
NOTE: Street prices (incl. VAT) as on 20 November 2012.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 137

0001212_Market Watch.indd 137 11/22/2012 12:49:08 PM

 MARKET WATCH

MARKET WATCH
LAPTOPS
PRICE HARD OPTICAL
NAME WEIGHT PROCESSOR SPEED RAM DISPLAY OS
(RS) DISK DRIVE
HCL Series 1044-AE1V3224-I 19,990 2.15 Kg Intel Celeron B815 1.60 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 250 GB DVD±RW DOS
Asus X53E-SX1556D 20,600 2.45 Kg Intel Celeron Dual Core 2.80 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 320 GB DVD±RW DOS
HP Compaq CQ43-412TU 21,991 2.20 Kg Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.00 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 320 GB DVD±RW DOS
HP Compaq CQ43-300TU 22,506 2.20 Kg Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.00 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
HP Compaq CQ57-300TU 23,021 2.50 Kg Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.00 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Samsung NP300E4Z-A06 23,175 2.10 Kg Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.10 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 320 GB DVD±RW DOS
Lenovo B570 59-306815 23,793 2.44 Kg Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.00 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Asus A43SJ-VX503D 23,948 2.44 Kg Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.00 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Toshiba Satellite L750-P5210 25,750 2.45 Kg Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.20 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
Lenovo G560 59-318295 27,192 2.45 Kg Intel Core i3 2.53 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Fujitsu Lifebook LH531 27,295 2.20 Kg Intel Core i3 2.30 GHz 4 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
LG ED530-G 27,809 2.66 Kg Intel Core i3 2.10 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Toshiba Satellite L750-i5010 28,840 2.45 Kg Intel Core i3 2.30 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Samsung NP300E5Z-A07IN 29,304 2.30 Kg Intel Core i3 2.20 GHz 3 GB 15.6-inch 640 GB DVD±RW DOS
Toshiba Satellite C640-X4013 29,355 2.10 Kg Intel Core i5 2.40 GHz 4 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Sony Vaio E14112 30,005 2.40 Kg Intel Core i3 2.40 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 320 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
Lenovo B570 59-307494 30,231 2.45 Kg Intel Core i3 2.20 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Sony Vaio E15113 30,973 2.70 Kg Intel Core i3 2.40 GHz 2 GB 15.5-inch 320 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
HP Pavilion DM1-4014TU 31,518 1.60 Kg Intel Core i3 1.40 GHz 4 GB 11.6-inch 500 GB No Win 7 HB
LG E530-G 31,673 2.66 Kg Intel Core i3 2.10 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
Toshiba Satellite L740-X4010 31,930 1.45 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
HCL Series 1024-AE1V3232-I 32,290 2.60 Kg Intel Core i5-2450M 2.50 GHz 4 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Lenovo G570 59315902 32,342 2.44 Kg Intel Core i3 2.10 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 320 GB DVD±RW DOS
Fujitsu Lifebook LH531 32,703 2.20 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 4 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
HP Pavilion g4-1200tu 32,703 2.10 Kg Intel Core i3 2.20 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 Starter
Samsung NP300E5Z-A0HIN 32,909 2.30 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW DOS
Samsung NP350U2B-A08IN 33,733 1.40 Kg Intel Core i3 2.20 GHz 4 GB 12.5-inch 500 GB No Win 7 HB
HP Pavilion G6-1301TX 34,196 2.30 Kg Intel Core i3 2.30 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
Toshiba Satellite Pro C640-i4411 35,020 2.10 Kg Intel Core i3 2.10 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 320 GB DVD±RW Win 7 Pro
LG S530-G 35,535 2.60 Kg Intel Core i3 2.10 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
Lenovo IdeaPad Z370 59-313716 35,793 2.44 Kg Intel Core i3 2.20 GHz 2 GB 13.3-inch 320 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
Samsung NP300V5A-A07IN 35,844 2.45 Kg Intel Core i3 2.30 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 3254-D2Q 35,896 2.60 Kg Intel Core i3 2.30 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 320 GB DVD±RW DOS
HCL Series 2025-AE1V3124-X 36,490 2.60 Kg Intel Core i5-2450M 2.50 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Lenovo Z470 59-313567 36,565 2.30 Kg Intel Core i3 2.20 GHz 4 GB 14.0-inch 750 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
Lenovo G570 59-329524 36,977 2.45 Kg Intel Core i5 2.00 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
HP G6-1200TX 37,286 2.30 Kg Intel Core i3 2.20 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB

NOTE: Street prices (incl. VAT) as on 20 November 2012.

138 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0001212_Market Watch.indd 138 11/22/2012 12:49:25 PM

 CHIP brings you a roundup of all the latest and greatest products on the market.

LAPTOPS
PRICE OPTICAL
NAME WEIGHT PROCESSOR SPEED RAM DISPLAY HDD OS
(Rs) DRIVE
Lenovo G570 59-318794 37,286 2.45 Kg Intel Core i5 2.40 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 59-306861 37,595 2.45 Kg Intel Core i3 2.20 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW DOS
Lenovo IdeaPad Z370 59-314056 38,110 2.60 Kg Intel Core i5 2.40 GHz 2 GB 13.3-inch 750 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
LG S530-K 38,625 2.60 Kg Intel Core i3 2.10 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 640 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
LG S530-K 38,625 2.60 Kg Intel Core i3 2.10 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 640 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
Samsung NP350U2B-A09IN 38,625 1.40 Kg Intel Core i5 2.30 GHz 4 GB 12.5-inch 500 GB No Win 7 HB
Samsung NP300E5Z-S08IN 38,831 2.30 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW DOS
HCL Series 2035-AE1V2885-X 38,990 2.60 Kg Intel Core i3 2.10 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
Samsung NP350U2B-A0AIN 39,655 1.40 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 4 GB 12.5-inch 1 TB No Win 7 HP
Fujitsu Lifebook LH531 40,042 2.20 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 4 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 Pro
LG P420-N 40,170 1.99 Kg Intel Core i5 2.30 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 3254-D7Q 40,505 2.30 Kg Intel Core i5 2.40 GHz 2 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW DOS
Asus K53SM-SX010D 41,046 2.60 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW DOS
Fujitsu Lifebook SH531 41,355 1.90 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 4 GB 13.3-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 Pro
Toshiba Satellite Pro S750-I5430 41,612 2.45 Kg Intel Core i3 2.20 GHz 2 GB 15.6-inch 320 GB DVD±RW Win 7 Pro
HCL Series 2035-AE1V3127-X 41,990 2.60 Kg Intel Core i5-2450M 2.50 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
HP Pavilion g4-1201tx 43,415 2.10 Kg Intel Core i5 2.40 GHz 4 GB 14.0-inch 640 GB DVD±RW Win 7 Starter
Toshiba Portege R830-i3310 43,724 1.39 Kg Intel Core i3 2.30 GHz 4 GB 13.3-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
Samsung NP300V5A-S0CIN 44,548 2.45 Kg Intel Core i7 2.20 GHz 6 GB 15.6-inch 1 TB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 59-315960 45,320 2.60 Kg Intel Core i5 2.40 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW DOS
LG P530-K 45,835 2.16 Kg Intel Core i5 2.30 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 640 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
HP Pavilion dv6-6154tx 48,359 2.63 Kg Intel Core i5 2.30 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
HP Pavilion DM4-3010TX 49,440 1.40 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 6 GB 14.1-inch 640 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 3254-A24 49,955 2.70 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 4 GB 14.0-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 Pro
Samsung NP530U3B-A02IN 49,955 1.42 Kg Intel Core i5 1.60 GHz 4 GB 13.3-inch 500 GB No Win 7 HP
Toshiba Satellite L750-X531B 51,758 2.45 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 6 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
Sony Vaio S13112 53,242 1.72 Kg Intel Core i5 2.50 GHz 4 GB 13.3-inch 500 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HB
Samsung NP530U4B-S02IN 54,075 1.79 Kg Intel Core i5 1.60 GHz 6 GB 14.0-inch 1 TB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 59-315953 54,590 2.60 Kg Intel Core i7 2.00 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
Toshiba Satellite L750-Y5310 55,105 2.45 Kg Intel Core i7 2.20 GHz 6 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
HP Pavilion dv6-6165tx 60,719 2.63 Kg Intel Core i7 2.00 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 750 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
LG A520-D 61,028 2.50 Kg Intel Core i5 2.30 GHz 4 GB 15.6-inch 640 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
HP Folio 13-1017TU 68,186 1.49 Kg Intel Core i5 1.60 GHz 4 GB 13.3-inch 128 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP
HP Folio 13-1017TU 68,186 1.49 Kg Intel Core i5 1.60 GHz 4 GB 13.3-inch 128 GB DVD±RW Win 7 HP

NOTE: Street prices (incl. VAT) as on 20 November 2012.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 139

0001212_Market Watch.indd 139 11/22/2012 12:49:46 PM

 MARKET WATCH

MARKET WATCH
MONITORS NATIVE RESPONSE
PRODUCT TITLE PRICE (Rs) SCREEN SIZE D-SUB DVI HDMI
RESOLUTION TIME
Samsung S19A10N 5,459 18.5-inch 1366 x 768 5 ms ✔ ✖ ✖
Asus VH197T 6,077 18.5-inch 1366 x 768 5 ms ✔ ✔ ✖
Samsung S20B300B 6,541 20-inch 1600 x 900 5 ms ✔ ✔ ✖
Benq G2222HDAL 8,240 22-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✔ ✖ ✖
Dell ST2220M 8,755 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
AOC e2243Fw2k 8,910 22-inch 1920 x 1080 2 ms ✔ ✖ ✔
BenQ GL2250HM 9,064 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
LG E2242C 9,785 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✔ ✖ ✖
BenQ G2420HD 10,146 24-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
ViewSonic VX2253MH 10,378 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 2 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
Philips 246EL2sbh 11,124 23.6-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✖ ✖ ✔
Acer D240H 11,588 24-inch 1920 x 1080 2 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
ViewSonic VA2448M 11,794 24-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✔ ✔ ✖
ViewSonic VX2453MH 12,000 24-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✔ ✖ ✔
BenQ GL2450HM 12,618 24-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
AOC i2353Ph 12,721 23-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✔ ✖ ✔
Acer H243H 14,420 24-inch 1920 x 1080 2 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
BenQ LED V2400 Eco 15,450 24-inch 1920 x 1080 5 ms ✔ ✖ ✔
Asus ML248H LED 17,356 24-inch 1920 x 1080 2 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
Asus PA238Q 19,776 23-inch 1920 x 1080 6 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
Benq GW2750HM 20,085 27-inch 1920 x 1080 12 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
ViewSonic VX2753MH 23,227 27-inch 1920 x 1080 1 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
Asus VK278Q LED 26,626 27-inch 1920 x 1080 2 ms ✔ ✔ ✔
ViewSonic VP2655WB 45,835 26-inch 1920 x 1200 5 ms ✔ ✔ ✖
Dell U2711 47,895 27-inch 2560 x 1440 6 ms ✖ ✔ ✔

CABINETS USB FLASH DRIVE

PRICE PRICE
NAME NAME NAME PRICE (Rs) CAPACITY
(Rs) (Rs)
Zebronics CC-20R King 1,159 Cooler Master Gladiator 600 4,301 SanDisk Cruzer Fit 206 4 GB
iBall i2241 1,751 Lian Li Lancool First Knight Series PC-K62 4,507 Transcend JetFlash 500 246 4 GB
Circle CC 512 1,829 Thermaltake M9 VI1000BWS 4,841 ADATA UV100 Series 283 8 GB
Circle CC 515 1,854 Thermaltake Element T VK90001N2Z 5,125 Sandisk Cruzer Blade 284 8 GB
Zebronics CC-219B Adorn 1,906 NZXT Tempest 410 Elite 5,459 SanDisk Cruzer Switch 284 8 GB
Circle Lush 2,112 Antec Six Hundred 5,614 Transcend JetFlash 500 307 8 GB
Circle CC Stick 2,163 Cooler Master CM 690 II Advance 5,715 Sandisk Cruzer Blade 490 16 GB
Cooler Master Elite 311 2,163 BitFenix Survivo 6,000 SanDisk Cruzer Switch 490 16 GB
Cooler Master Elite 335 2,369 NZXT Phantom 6,000 ADATA UV100 Series 515 16 GB
NZXT Gamma 2,498 Thermaltake V9 VJ400G1N2Z Black Edition 6,361 SanDisk Cruzer Edge 567 16 GB
Cooler Master Elite 311 Plus 3,193 Cooler Master HAF 912 Advanced 7,133 Transcend Jet Flash 700 670 8 GB
Cooler Master Elite 431 3,193 Thermaltake Xaser VI MX Series VH9000BWS 7,133 Silicon Power Touch 835 799 16 GB
Lian Li Lancool Dragon Lord PC-K56W 3,322 Antec Dark Fleet DF-35 7,854 Corsair Flash Voyager Mini 850 8 GB
NZXT Vulcan 3,425 Cooler Master HAF XM 9,991 SanDisk Cruzer Switch 1,082 32 GB
Zebronics Reaper 3,451 Cooler Master HAF 932 10,970 Sandisk Cruzer Blade 1,082 32 GB
Thermaltake Wing RS 301 Vl60001N2Z 3,657 Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 11,536 ADATA C008 Series 1,185 32 GB
Lian Li Lancool Dragon Lord PC-K58W 3,811 Antec Lanboy Air 11,742 Corsair Flash Voyager USB 3.0 1,211 8 GB
Antec Three Hundred 4,017 Cooler Master HAF X RC-942-KKN1 13,674 Corsair Flash Voyager USB 3.0 3,141 32 GB
NOTE: Street prices (incl. VAT) as on 20 November 2012.

140 12/2012 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

0001212_Market Watch.indd 140 11/22/2012 12:50:07 PM

 CHIP brings you a roundup of all the latest and greatest products on the market.

DIGITAL CAMERAS
PRODUCT TITLE PRICE(RS) RESOLUTION OPTICAL ZOOM WIDE ANGLE APERTURE LCD SIZE SHUTTER SPEED
Canon PowerShot A1200 3,837 12.1 MP 4x 28 mm F2.8 - F5.9 2.7-inch 15 - 1/1600 sec
Olympus VG-150 4,146 12 MP 4x 27 mm F2.9 - F6.5 2.7-inch 1/2 - 1/2000 sec
Nikon Coolpix L26 5,014 16.1 MP 5x 26 mm F3.2 - F6.5 3.0-inch NA
Fujifilm FinePix JX500 5,073 14 MP 5x 26 mm F3.5 - F6.3 2.7-inch 8 - 1/1400 sec
Canon PowerShot A2200 5,202 14.1 MP 4x 28 mm F2.8 - F5.9 2.7-inch 15 - 1/1600 sec
Sony Cybershot DSC S5000 5,290 14.1 MP 5x 28 mm F3.2 - F6.5 2.7-inch 2 - 1/2000 sec
Nikon Coolpix S2600 5,474 14.0 MP 5x 23 mm F3.2 - F6.5 2.7-inch NA
Sony Cybershot DSC-W610 6,268 14.1 MP 4x 26 mm F2.8 - F5.9 2.7-inch 1 - 1/1600 sec
Olympus VG-170 7,339 14.0 MP 5x 26 mm F2.8 - F6.5 3.0-inch 1/2 - 1/2000 sec
Sony Cybershot DSC-W630 7,736 16.1 MP 5x 28 mm F2.6 - F6.3 2.7-inch 2 - 1/1600 sec
Nikon Coolpix S6300 9,154 16 MP 10x 25 mm F3.2 - F5.8 3.0-inch NA
Fujifilm FinePix T350 9,270 14 MP 10x 28 mm F3.4 - F5.6 3.0-inch 1/4 - 1/2000 sec
Canon PowerShot SX150 IS 9,322 14.1 MP 12x 28 mm F3.4 - F5.6 3.0-inch 15 - 1/2500 sec
Nikon Coolpix S100 11,914 16 MP 5x 28 mm F3.9-F4.8 3.5-inch NA
Nikon Coolpix S8200 12,374 16.1 MP 14x 25 mm F3.3 - F5.9 3.0-inch NA
Nikon Coolpix L810 12,834 16.1 MP 26x 22.5 mm F3.1 - F5.9 3.0-inch 4 - 1/1500 sec
Fujifilm FinePix S4500 13,468 14 MP 30x 24 mm F3.1 - F5.9 3.0-inch 8 - 1/2000 sec
Olympus SZ-14 13,493 14 MP 24x 25 mm F3.0 - F6.9 3.0-inch NA
Fujifilm FinePix F660EXR 14,420 16.0 MP 15x 24 mm F3.5 - F7.1 3.0-inch 8 - 1/2000 sec
Nikon Coolpix S9300 15,594 16.0 MP 18x 25 mm F3.5 - F7.0 3.0-inch NA
Fujifilm FinePix SL300 15,604 14.0 MP 24x 24 mm F3.1 - F8.0 3.0-inch 8 - 1/2000 sec
Sony Cybershot DSC-HX10V 16,450 18.2 MP 16x 26 mm F3.3 - F5.9 3.0-inch 4 - 1/1600 sec
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30 17,871 14.1 MP 20x 24 mm F3.3 - F6.4 3.0-inch 15 - 1/2000 sec
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ47 18,901 12.1 MP 24x 25 mm F2.8 - F5.2 3.0-inch 60 - 1/2000 sec
Sony Cybershot DSC-HX20V 19,287 18.2 MP 20x 25 mm F3.2 - F5.8 3.0-inch 4 - 1/1600 sec
Canon Powershot S95 20,214 10 MP 3.8x 28 mm F2.0 - F4.9 3.0-inch 15 - 1/1600 sec
Fujifilm FinePix HS25EXR 21,167 16.0 MP 30x 24 mm F2.8 - F11.0 3.0-inch 30 - 1/4000 sec
Nikon Coolpix P510 22,034 16.1 MP 42x 24 mm F3.0 - F5.6 3.0-inch 4 - 1/2000 sec
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150 22,660 12.1 MP 24x 25 mm F2.8 - F5.2 3.0-inch 15 - 1/2000 sec
Olympus SZ-31MR 22,995 16 MP 24x 25 mm F3.0 - F6.9 3.0-inch 1/4 - 1/1700 sec
Olympus XZ-1 22,995 10 MP 4x 28 mm F1.8 - F2.5 3.0-inch 60 - 1/2000 sec
Canon Powershot G12 29,536 10 MP 5x 28 mm F2.8 - F4.5 2.8-inch 15 - 1/4000 sec
NOTE: Street prices (incl. VAT) as on 20 November 2012.

NOTE: Street prices (incl. VAT) as on 20 November 2012.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 12/2012 141

0001212_Market Watch.indd 141 11/22/2012 12:50:38 PM