VIDEO GOES PERSONAL

Just when you though the next best thing with video will be an even larger screen, companies have started testing the waters for a whole new segment — the personal video player. While music went personal with the Walkman over three decades ago, video is taking this turn quite late in life. Within a month two companies have launched personal video players in India, both capable of playing FullHD video with 3D. A look at the two devices.

HE 3D STARR

The Sony HMZ-T2 has a very sci-fi look to it, as if it is something out of an Isaac Asimov novel. Well, it is cutting edge, no doubt. In fact, this has to be the best rendering of 3D for a consumers at the moment. But this one is just a personal video viewer, though a very good one at that.

HOW IS WORKSS

The design is a bit like a thick sun visor, but worn in front of the eye. You need to adjust the strap on the back and the pad in front to get a perfect fit. Unless the device is in perfect position, you cannot see anything on the small LCD screen inside. But once you start seeing the image, you have adjustments under each eye to get the image in perfect position. The device also has a power button, volume controls and menu buttons with arrows to select. There is a catch though. You need a Blu-ray player – or some other HDMI source – along with a pass through box to see anything on the HMZ-T2. This in many ways relegated the device to something you will have to keep near your TV, or at least wherever the Blu-ray player is. So portability is not a feature here.

SHOULD YOU BUY IT??

The HMZ-T2 is an excellent video viewer and really scores a 10/10 with its 3D. However, that fact that it needs life support from a Blu-ray player or gaming console reduces its practicality a bit. In the end you will need a dedicated space to enjoy this device.

TRULY PORTABLEE

Not much larger than large-size sun glasses, this device gloats over its compactness. In fact, its controller and playback device is not much larger than a smartphone and, not surprisingly, runs an Android operating system. The eyepiece has nose cushions and L-shaped angles that can be used to adjust the position for people using spectacles. The latter can also take the load of your nose by shifting the device weight to the spectacle frame. There are drop down earphones on both sides, a stop button on the main wire and volume controls on the box. Content can be downloaded to the 1GB internal storage or to a MicroSD card for which there is a slot on the device.

HOW IT WORKSS

The eye piece is transparent, and you can see through it when the device has not been powered on. But when Moverio is working, two small LCD panels light up inside. Viewed together they give an image, that is similar to the large screen you have in a movie theatre. You also get a perception of distance, as if you were sitting a dozen rows away from the screen. But since the rest of the eye piece continues to be transparent, you can view what is happening around you as well. This is good to the extent that you are not completely cut off from the surroundings, but on the flip side it is a bit hard to concentrate on the image if the ambient light is too strong.

HOW GOOD IS ITT

It takes about a minute for your eye to adjust to the image in the eye piece, but after that it is unbridled viewing pleasure. At times you feel as if there is a vague line where the two images are meeting, but it does not affect the quality of the overall image. However, the same is more prominent if you are trying to browse the Web through WiFI. Yes, thanks to the Android 2.2 OS, this device can do pretty much everything your smartphone does and that includes browsing. This is not that easy as you have to use the touchpad and arrow keys on the controller to type on the virtual keyboard. But it works and we streamed some HD video from YouTube. The other great thing about the device is the Dolby Mobile surround sound that adds to the overall immersive experience. There is 3D too– even a 2D to 3D convert button, but we felt it lacked a bit of throw though the depth was good. The battery is good for at least four hours after a regular recharge.

HOW GOOD IS ITT

Picture quality is certainly the USP here. The 3D, for instance, is much superior than anything you will get to see in a theatre or in your expensive 3D television. This is truly immersive 3D. The sound is real good, but to experience that you will need to plug in a better earphone than the one that comes in the box. Another good thing about the device is that you can control the playback from the eyepiece and don’t need to turn to the Blu-player remote for everything. The menu also gives you device settings, and make sure that you use this to switch on 3D display which is not default. We guess it will work superbly as a gaming device connected to a PS3 or Xbox. To connect to the Internet or to play files from a USB you will have to rely on the player completely.

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

If you are movie junky and an early adapter for technology this is a great device to have. It gives you the kind of movie viewing experience no large screen or home theatre system can replicate. Plus, as we were fearing, it is not a pain on the nose.

CLASSY SOUNDS

It is an accepted fact that

music often touches the soul. But unless you are witnessing a live performance, the equipment used to recreate the

music plays a crucial role in whether your listening experience can be raised to a spiritual level.

The Sennheiser Momentum is one device that seems to have channel open to the heavens. With a stainless steel headband and supple leather ear cups, design is standout all the way. It is also very practical and soon after wearing the device you realise that it is almost feather weight. This means you are just listening to your music and not conscious about the headset. Its ear cups, which can be adjusted separately if needed, are very soft on the ear and cooler than most closed circumaural models. On the single wire is a stainless steel controller, that is sturdy and easy to use, as well as an adjustable 3.5mm jack. The Momentum also comes with a 6.3 mm adapter jack and a leather carrying case.

If the design is great, then the music is better. We tried the headphones with a PC, smartphone and tablet and everywhere the output was pretty much what we would expect from a top of the range device. With flac files we could make out every pick on the guitar, every slip on the violin, as we were there where the artistes were playing. Soft highs, robust middles, accentuated lows, the Momentum reproduces music as it was intended to be heard. We could not complain about anything as far as audio quality is concerned.

We wouldn’t, however, suggest this device for people who intent to use it only with an Android device. You need to change the cables for some Android devices and the on-cord controls for the handsfree seem to work only on Apple and Blackberry products. While the mic is good enough to catch your voice in noisy surroundings, it also creates some noise of its own when rubbing on clothing. The headphone is compact enough to be used with mobile devices, but we suggest you keep this precious device at home. After all, great things in life don’t come cheap.

CUBIC MUSIC

LG’s latest, the ND8520 music dock, seems like it has been designed in Scandinavia and not South Korea. It is undoubtedly one of the most radical designs we have seen on any product in recent times. It looks like a Rubik’s Cube, with the all the cubes a bit out of alignment.

At first look it is hard to imagine this as a speaker sock. In fact, this device is much more. Yes, it can dock the iPhone, iPod and iPad on top. But it can also link to Apple devices through AirPlay, as well as Bluetooth. There is also a USB port if you are a pen drive music hoarder. And for the old fashioned there is always the FM tuner and the portable in. We doubt if there is any other dock that gives users so many features.

Setting AirPlay is a pit tough though and possible only with the help of the manual. For everything else there is the cube in the middle of the top row, what LG calls the Smart Square. This is actually a touch based screen that lets you navigate and control the speaker dock. This is very easy once you figure out tiny icons that appear in red. You have to use this screen to select the input source. There is also a remote.

The sound quality is good. Maybe we should highlight that it very loud. You cannot play anything in full volume without the risk of shattering glass in the house. It is that loud. And we mean it in a good sense. Though the device itself is the size of a small fruit carton, the actual 20W speakers are just two small cubes in middle. The subwoofer is below facing the floor. Together they work to create good quality sound, which we thought was slightly partial to bass by default. But there is an equaliser with four presets, which can be accessed only with the remote. If you are thinking of going wireless with your music this is one dock you should seriously look at just because of the options it offers. You can also hook it up to your DVD player or old music system.

PERFECT FIT

There are very few headphones that are drastically different in design from the rest of the pack. The harman/kardon CL is among the ones with rare squarish ear cups and a full aluminum headband.

But the design while being modern is very practical too. The leather band under the metal is elastic and holds the entire thing in place – actually, everything sort of strives for the perfect fit. Since the metal band is also tight on your ears, it is able to keep out most external noises. The ear cups can also fold flat, which is good for people who carry their music wherever they go. There is an extra pair of metal headbands in case this one doesn’t fit you. We feared the tight on-ear cups will have you sweating and fuming near the ears in a few minutes, but the soft retention foam used in the cups increases your comfort level substantially. Within minutes you feel as if the headphone is no longer there, and this we think is the measure of a good device. Then, the CL does not have wires hanging down from both sides, there is just a single cord and that is much more convenient than a Y-type design.

The sound quality is really good and robust, and we think that is due to the large 40mm drivers. The bass is really good, better than most other units in this range. The voice clarity also comes out well. The audio range on the device is good enough to satisfy most users. There are some goodies for those who would yoke this to Apple products as there is a remote with microphone. And, because of the mic, the remote on the cord is position almost at the level of your mouth, which is an awkward position if you want to adjust the volume. This gives you great volume precision.

CLEAR PICTURE

There is some awkwardness when you see Micromax written on a screen that is larger than seven inches. Yes, there is a Micromax that is larger than a tablet. Yes, Micromax now has a television.

We were excited to test how this popular Indian phonemaker’s entry into televisions would pan out. And we were not all that disappointed. At least, there is nothing bad about the unit that we test. In fact it is good enough to be recommended to anyone who wants a large screen LED and is not really bothered about getting a big brand home.

The unit on the whole is quite thin and neatly de- signed. It is easy to set up and took us about 20 minutes to unbox and install. As the white Micromax homescreen comes alive, you realise that the 1080p Full HD LED screen is very clear – it is actually a zero dots LED panel. The viewing angles are very good, though we though the bezel could have been thinner. You can play around with the picture with a handful of preset modes. The zoom is also good and gives you multiple options, which can be handy when the broadcast stars to pixellate. The sound is very loud and is again aided by a set of presets. The TV also has a good built-in media player, which can be accessed through the DMP button on the remote. For video, it gives much more controls than the average nonsmart television models. It can also open picture as well as some types of text files. The TV also accommodates a lot of sources, including three HDMI, two USB and a VGA input. But all this is pretty standard in most television sets these days.

While there are no surprises with this LED TV, it is among the cheapest available in the market for this size. Buy this if you want a good picture and the regular movie player functions. You can get the brains for the television separately.

will easily slip into your jeans pocket. It is actually as portable as a phone and weighs just 100 grams. The LCD is 2.7 inches and 230k pixels. This is the sort of camera you would get a teenager as a birthday present. For it has every feature they would want. There are dozens of modes to play around with the picture, even before you start clicking. The zoom is just 5x, and considering the quality of the optics on the camera this is about the best it could do.

While you can really play around with shooting options and preset modes, the ul- timate picture is not all that impressive. In fact, the image quality reminded us a lot of the Canon A400 which was among the first digital cameras to find mass base in India. The pictures are good if you plan to share it on social networking sites, but lack a bit of subtlety. Thanks to the 14MP you will be able to get decent sized prints from this camera. But low-light isn’t one of its strong points.

But the HD video with watercolour mode will keep a lot of users happy. Such settings are usually seen for stills, rarely for video.

PROTECTION EVERYWHERE

We are all increasingly becoming multi-device personalities. As we wait for that super device that will fold all our smartphones, tablets and computers into one, we keep on adding new devices into our digital lives. The proliferation of these devices is also increasing our exposure to the multiple security threats out there. The scary part is that while we are very careful about protecting our computers, we do not seem to be that serious when it comes to our smartphones, tablets and other connected devices which are also equally vulnerable.

Norton 360 Multi-device is a unique solution for this unique problem of our times. This Norton product comes in the form of a single license to protect up to five different devices. And these devices could be on platforms as diverse as Windows, Mac OSx and Android. We tested the device on a Windows 7 desktop, a Windows 8 laptop and an Android connected device.

Norton 360 protects your device against all kinds of threats, without actually slowing it up as we have noticed with many other such solutions. It was no surprise that the programme was able to detect and sanitise all EICAR test files we tried to download. It also kept warning us of suspicious websites that we tried to open. But you expect a premier Norton programme to do this and much more.

Well, it does. If you are a Windows user, the programme will keep you PC tuned up removing unnecessary files and also let you snoop into the online activities of your kids. There is also a 25GB online backup. On an Adroid phone or tablet it lets you lock and wipe your device in case it is stolen or lost. It also blocks spam messages, which will be a big relief to most of us. It can also protect your iOS device.

But what the Norton 360 Multi-device really gives you is a dashboard to control the security of all your devices running the software. The management tab in the software shows you all the devices running the same license and their current status. We could see all our three devices, though we could not do much more than since there was no threat there. It lets you install Norton programs remotely into these devices. There is also a web console which you can log and see the status of your devices.