Top 10 Gadgets of 2013

The year 2013 witnessed a slew of gadget launches. While some were better versions of existing gadgets, many showcased innovations and new possibilities.

Here's our pick of ten best gadgets of the year 2013.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

The third-generation of Samsung’s popular Note range of phablet devices, Galaxy Note 3 offers a brilliant full-HD screen, a powerful Exynos Octa processor and a whopping 3GB of RAM. Its best feature though is its unique S Pen stylus that takes scribbling notes and creating other content to the next level.

The international version of the Note 3 even offers 4K video recording.

Apple iPad mini with Retina display

The first iteration of Apple’s compact 7.9-inch tablet had everything a best-seller could offer barring a low-resolution display. The year 2013 saw the Cupertino giant close the gap by bringing its Retina display (2048 x 1536 pixels) to the second-generation iPad mini, and give it brand new internals.

The iPad mini with Retina display is powered by the same 64-bit A7 chip that drives the iPhone 5S. It still retains the premium aluminium chasis.

HTC One

At a time when most flagship Android smartphones offered flimsy plastic bodies, the HTC One emerged as the answer to the iPhone with its solid aluminium frame and chamfered edges.

Its dual front stereo speakers and the first ultrapixel camera lens was among the phone’s major USPs, along with Blinkfeed that brought news and socialmedia feeds to the home screen.

Sony PlayStation 4

Sony’s much awaited new-generation gaming console got an overwhelming response selling more than 2.1 million units after less than three weeks. The PlayStation 4 is powered by an eight-core AMD Jaguar CPU and features 500GB hard drive, 8GB of unified memory, built-in Blu Ray drive and the new DualShock 4 controller.

The PlayStation 4 also features 802.11 b/g/n WiFi connectivity option, an Ethernet port, Bluetooth 2.1, and two USB 3.0 ports. It also features more entertainment and social features.

Apple iPhone 5S

In 2013 Apple launched iPhone 5S, which the company calls its most forward thinking phone. One of the first phones to be powered by a 64-bit processor, the iPhone 5S comes with a major performance boost, an improved camera, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor for authentication and better battery life. It also comes in a brand new Gold colour variant. 

Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9

Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 tablet features an 8.9-inch display with a resolution of 2560x1600 pixels resolution and pixel density of 339ppi leaving behind the iPad Air.

Under the hood, the tablet is powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM, and runs the new Fire OS 3.0 which is based on Android Jelly Bean. It also comes with Mayday, a unique button that offers a 24x7 connection to Amazon’s customer support.

Google Chromecast

One of the major USPs of Google’s new small thumb drive-like media player is its $35 price tag. The other is the ease with which it can be configured and used.

You can just plug it into a TV’s HDMI port and access internet video services such as Netflix and YouTube, and content from Google Play, beaming the content through smartphones, tablets and personal computers connected to it. The content is beamed via the internet and not mirrored unlike the Apple TV.

Google Nexus 7

Google upgraded its popular 7-inch tablet, the Nexus 7, bestowing it with a high-resolution 1920 x 1200 pixels display, and an even more compact form factor. It also got a rear-camera for casual photography. The Nexus 7(2013) is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor running at 1.5GHz and 2GB of RAM and offers great performance.

Google’s latest tablet is a complete package, with relatively good hardware, a brilliant HD screen and the promise of the latest software updates.

Nokia Lumia 1020

After bidding farewell to Symbian, Nokia decided to bring its oversampling technology first seen in the PureView 808 to Windows Phone, putting the 41MP sensor on the Lumia 1020. With lossless zoom, that lets one take a big image and crop it without compromising on the quality, the Lumia 1020’s camera is undoubtedly the best compared to the ones on other phones, available at the moment.

Other hardware specs of the Lumia 1020 include 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+ Amoled display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB RAM, 2,000mAh battery and 32GB internal storage.

Curved TVs

While 4K TVs are still in the process of infiltrating our drawing rooms, electronics giants LG and Samsung have already announced giant 105-inch ultra-HD TVs with curved screens.

The two launched Curved OLED TVs with full-HD resolution, earlier in the year. The companies claim that a curved display panel offers equal distance from all parts of the screen to the eyes resulting in better viewing angles, less colour distortion, consistent contrast and an immersive TV viewing experience.

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Nokia Lumia 925 and Lumia 625 officially launched in India

Nokia Lumia 925

Finally, the waiting time is over. Nokia has launched its much anticipated smartphone, the Lumia 925 in India for Rs. 33,499. The Finnish handset maker has also launched its large screen mid-range Lumia device, the Lumia 625 for Rs. 19,999.

The Lumia 925 had been listed on Nokia's official website with a price tag of Rs. 34,169. However, the MRP of the phone was listed as Rs. 38,529.

The Nokia Lumia 925 was introduced back in May at an event in London and was seen as a new interpretation of company's flagship phone, the Nokia Lumia 920.

The Nokia Lumia 925 is a premium smartphone and sports a metal frame with a polycarbonate back. As far as the specifications go, it comes with a 4.5-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display with a resolution of 768x1280 pixels and Gorilla 2 Glass. It is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor alongside 1GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It has an 8.7-megapixel PureView rear camera and 1.2-megapixel wide-angle front camera. Nokia claims that the Lumia 925's camera is better than the one featured in the Lumia 920. The Nokia Lumia 925 is available in two colour variants Black and Grey. It comes with a 2,000 mAh battery and runs Windows Phone 8. A wireless charging cover can be attached with the phone, available in Yellow, Red, White and Black colours.

Nokia Lumia 925

With the launch of the Lumia 925, the company also introduced the new Nokia Smart Camera mode that offers an easy way to capture ten images at once and edit the pictures with options like Best Shot, Action Shot, and Motion Focus.

Nokia Lumia 625

Meanwhile, the Nokia Lumia 6250 has also been officially unveiled after being listed on an e-commerce retailer's website, earlier this week for Rs. 19,499.

Nokia had announced the launch of the Lumia 625 sporting a 4.7-inch LCD screen, its biggest one on a smartphone yet, last month. The specifications of the Nokia Lumia 625 include a 1.2GHz dual-core processor alongside 512MB RAM and 8GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 64GB via microSD card. It comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front-facing shooter. The 4.7-inch screen sports a 480x800 pixel resolution. The device runs Windows Phone 8. The phone will be available in Orange, Yellow, bright Green, White and Black colours.

Nokia Lumia 625

Nokia Lumia 925 key specifications

• 4.5-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display with 768x1280 resolution
• 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB of internal storage
• 8.7-megapixel PureView rear camera
• 1.2-megapixel wide-angle front camera
• Windows Phone 8
• 2,000 mAh battery

Nokia Lumia 625 key specifications

• 4.7-inch 480x800 resolution
• 1.2GHz dual-core processor
• 512MB RAM
• 8GB internal storage, expandable by up to 64GB
• 5-megapixel rear camera
• VGA front camera
• 2,000mAh battery
• Windows Phone 8 with Amber update

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NOKIA LUMIA 1020 WITH 41 MP CAMERA REVIEW

This post is for all the camera admirers out there. NOKIA announced a smartphone with the finest camera quality in a suitable range. So, if you want to check it out, just read this post….

Well, Nokia announced Nokia 808 PureView sometime back, it surely made a lot of waves in the smartphone world but faster than that was the starting of speculations of a 41MP PureView Lumia smartphone. Nokia used the PureView technology in Lumia 920 and 925 but it wasn't at the scale of Nokia 808. They have remedied this by announcing Nokia Lumia 1020 smartphone with a huge 41 MP PureView camera module.

The highlight of this smartphone is its camera for sure so first let’s see what Nokia has installed this time. It has a 41 MP PureView auto-focus camera with 1/1.5" (slightly smaller than 1/1.2" sensor of Nokia 808 PureView), 6 Lens Zeiss lens, and optical image stabilization on-board and proper Xenon flash with LED Flash for videos coming to the party as well.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 can shoot 40MP as well as 5 MP snaps at the same time - 40 MP one with the sensor and 5 MP one after Nokia's Super Sampling algorithm has done its magic. To make things even better, it comes factory equipped with Nokia's Pro Camera and Smart Camera lens applications which allow pro users to fiddle with the settings and get the best out of this camera-phone. Interestingly, it also has a manual mode which is a very unusual thing for a product of this niche. It can shoot 1080p as well as 720p videos with lossless zoom of up to 4 times and 6 times respectively thanks to its high resolution camera sensor.

Apart from the camera, there are not much bells and whistles incorporated into the smartphone. Internals wise is a brother of Nokia Lumia 925 with 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor. But to complement the high resolution camera correctly, Nokia ships it with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory.

It has a beautiful 4.5" 1280 x 768 Clear Black AMOLED display with Corning's Gorilla Glass 3 present on top of it for its protection and it comes with Super Sensitive Touch loaded as well. On connectivity side, it comes with standard suite - BT 3.0, NFC, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, GPS with GLONASS support and 42 mbps UMTS / HSPA, and LTE support.

It comes equipped with a 2000 mAh battery and weighs at 158 gm which is lighter than its predecessor - the Nokia 808 PureView. On software front, it comes equipped with Windows Phone 8 (as expected because of the Lumia moniker) along with its Amber update. Although it might seem to be a thick phone, its thickness comes at a very normal 10.4 mm but has a protruding camera sensor which might lead to seem scratching. Thankfully, Nokia has taken care of this by equipping the Camera Sensor with a cover.

Now, let's look at the specifications in a listed way:

Specifications

• Display

1. Display size: 11.43 cm
2. Display technology: ClearBlack, AMOLED 
3. Touch screen technology: Super sensitive touch 

• Photography

1. Main camera sensor: 41 MP, PureView 
2. Flash type: Xenon flash 

• Power management

1. Talk time (2G): 19.1 h
2. Talk time (3G): 13.3 h
3. Music playback time: 63 h
4. Wireless charging: Yes, with accessory cover 

• Processor

1. Processor name: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ S4 
2. Processor type: Dual-core 1.5 GHz 

The Nokia Lumia 1020 had hit AT&T on July 26 in yellow, white and black variants at a price of 299.99$ with a two-year contract. It is expected to slowly move into the markets of India, China and some key European markets by the end of this quarter.

So, if you want to have a smartphone with a fine camera quality in a suitable range then THE NOKIA LUMIA 1020 IS JUST FOR YOU.

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