HYBRID DUAL PEN DRIVES
The Hybrid dual Pendrive can connect to a USB device and also directly to a smartphone or tablet without an OTG cable as it also has a built in micro USB connector.
KINGSTON DATATRAVELER MICRODUO
8GB: Rs. 400; 16GB: Rs. 630; 32GB: Rs. 950; 64GB: Rs. 1600
FEATURES
* 2 in 1 USB Supports Phones, Tablets and PC
* Windows, Mac, Lunix OS supported
* Supports devices with Android 4.0+
* Capacity: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB
PROS
* Convenient physical file transfers
* Plug & play supported
* Extremely versatile
* Small and portable with superior built quality
* Potential for multiple uses
CONS
* Check phone compatibility support
SANDISK ULTRA DUAL ON-THE-GO PENDRIVE
16GB: Rs. 650; 32GB: Rs. 1069; 64GB: Rs. 1980
FEATURES:
* 2 in 1 USB Supports Phones, Tablets and PC
* Windows and Mac OS supported
* Capacity: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB
PROS:
* SanDisk Memory Zone app enables you to organize files
* Plug & play supported
* Quite small in size
CONS:
* Poor Speeds
* Build quality of Micro-USB casing is very average
* You might need to remove your phone’s case to get it hooked
IBALL MINI HYBRID PENDRIVE
8GB: Rs. 375; 16GB: Rs. 700; 32GB: Rs. 1200
FEATURES:
* 2 in 1 USB Supports Phones, Tablets and PC
* Windows OS supported
* Capacity: 8GB, 16GB and 32GB
PROS:
* Plug & play supported
* Small and portable design
CONS:
* Limited device compatibility support
* Limited 2 Year Warranty
* Built Quality is just average.
* Gets heated up quickly
SONY USM-OTG UTILITY PEN DRIVE
8GB: Rs. 750; 16GB: Rs. 900; 32GB: Rs. 1500
FEATURES:
* 2 in 1 USB Supports Phones, Tablets and PC
* Windows and Mac OS supported
* Supports devices with Android 4.0.3+
* Capacity: 8GB, 16GB and 32GB
PROS:
* Plug & play supported
* Good built Quality
* Extremely Small and portable
* Has an LED Indicator and a lock
CONS:
* Check phone compatibility support
* Key chain attachment recommended
* Limited 1 Year Warranty
* Expensive pricing compared to rest
FINAL VERDICT: The Kingston DataTraveler microDuo is a USB drive for PCs, phones, and tablets. Its simple, compact design is one of the best of the lot. And its pricing, overall support and performance is much more consistent and superior compared to rest. It is definitely a product to invest in.
FREE APPS of the MONTH
WAKE ME UP!
Rise and shine with these fun alarm apps
WALK ME UP!
Platforms: iOS, Android Walk Me Up unlike any other alarm app, stops ringing only when you have walked a certain number of steps. That’s right, it ‘walks’ you up! And this app also has intelligent algorithms to detect shaking. So, if you try to cheat, the app wouldn’t hesitate to punish. All those sleepy heads out there who find it difficult to get out of bed, this is the perfect alarm for you.
ALARMY (SLEEP IF U CAN)
Free on Android
Alarmy is the innovative solution for those who just can’t seem to get up on time, even with an alarm clock. This app has been cleverly designed to force you to get out of bed. You set it up by registering a photo of an area or room in your house. Then once the alarm is set, the ONLY way to make it stop ringing is to get out of bed and go take a photo of the registered area. It’s been awarded as the World’s Most Annoying Alarm App by various websites.
ALARM CLOCK FREE
Free: Android and iOS
Alarm Clock Free turns your phone into a beautiful digital clock and alarm clock for free! It even displays live, local weather conditions and temperature that makes you know about the weather immediately when you wake up. It’s a beautiful traditional alarm clock that showcases its simplicity with its ‘shake to snooze’ feature.
ALARM CLOCK XTREME
Free: Android
Another great example is Alarm Clock Xtreme, a service which first started to capture attention thanks to their math-based wake-up techniques. This app will only deactivate alarms if the user solves a couple of simple mathematical questions to prove he is awake. Other features allow users to set a random song from the playlist as the alarm and various snoozing options.
SLEEPBOT – SLEEP CYCLE ALARM
Free: Android, iOS
SleepBot is an intuitive smart alarm and beautiful sleep cycle tracker that lets you record movements and sounds throughout the night along with performing tasks of waking you up. Customise how you want to sleep and wake up gently each morning during your lightest sleep phase. Listen to soothing ambient soundtracks as you fall asleep or when you get up. Use SleepBot to see what disturbances are causing you to wake up at night, or to help you fall asleep. Share your sleep stats for fun online, or even for diagnostics with doctors.
TECH ADVICE
IS IT SAFE TO BUY THE CHINESE BRAND, XIAOMI PHONES?
Chinese brand Xiaomi and its smart phone series has been creating waves in the gadget market for some time now. Reason: latest features retailing for an extremely affordable price. So, is it safe to invest in a technologically advanced phone irrespective of the Chinese market it is manufactured in?
Xiaomi has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. The Indian Air Force has warned its officers and their family members against using Xiaomi smartphones citing security concerns. The IAF suggested that Xiaomi devices send data to the Chinese establishment. Despite these security concerns, as a civilian, I’d still say it’s safe to buy Xiaomi phones. It might be a Chinese brand, but they have not compromised on the quality of their devices. Chinese apps like WeChat and UC Browser made their impact on the Indian market a while ago. However, when it came to phones, Chinese products were dismissed as being cheap or fake.
In China, Xiaomi is a smartphone company which has always been compared to the likes of Apple. It’s China’s third largest smartphone maker and has transformed Xiaomi into a company that doesn’t operate like a typical smartphone vendor, but is still successful enough to become one of China’s top tech firms. Its business model is the ‘Xiaomi’ model which sells phones in predefined lots online only. This is one of the reasons why the company is able to avoid 20% to 30% costs on distribution and logistics. It also has a very minimal profit margin over the cost. Unlike other rivals, neither does Xiaomi spend money on traditional advertisements nor does it have a major network of its own physical stores that it needs to maintain. Instead, it has done away with those costs selling its phones directly to consumers through e-commerce. Another notable detail, some of the senior most executives at Xiaomi have worked with Microsoft, Motorola, Yahoo and Google’s Android team. Hence they know the OS inside out. Qualcomm is also an investor in the company, so it is able to procure components easily and probably also optimise the OS properly for Qualcomm chipsets. Their phones offer the best possible hardware at that particular price point.
Xiaomi prides itself in the fact that it offers what some call a ‘living OS’, which gets updated on a weekly basis improving the hardware experience over the products’ lifecycle. Although the software and hardware are great, the availability and after-sale services have proved to be a big challenge for Xiaomi. However, the bright side is that Xiaomi has set up 36 service centres in India including two exclusive Mi centres in Delhi and Mumbai. Indeed, it is a Chinese brand, but they don’t sell typically Chinese phones.
Volume 4 Issue 5
