The Gadgets We Used This Month

Another one of those hastily put together feature courtesy of those guys in the FHM tech lab (Just kidding its just two bald dudes)

01 Transit by Soen

We had previously come to the conclusion that most portable speakers lack an overall immersive sound experience, but this marvel from Soen Audio made us think about it again. Don’t be fooled by it’s size limitiation. This rubber armoured product, despite the volume or the kind of bass sensitivity of the song, will not vibrate or skip around the desk. Compared to the SoundLink Mini, the Transit is taller, but less wide. Transit also exhibits minimalism with the port placement and the limited hardware keys on the speaker itself. Another brilliant feature is the kickstand which that lets you keep the Transit at a slightly reclined angle, exhibiting a better sound output. ₹12,990

Read FHM India in the digital libraryEvery issue, every shoot, on TCG Media.

02 F&D A530U

Just because something doesn’t cost a bomb doesn’t mean it can’t be good. That’s the case with this 2.1 speaker system that isn’t heavily priced but delivers a decent performance and is easy to use. Its sub-woofer comes with a 6.5 inch full-range driver and the speakers are powered by 3-inch full range drivers that are meant to deliver high performance sound quality. It doesn’t really deliver that clear a sound, but it is surely loud enough to keep the party rolling. Not to forget, the metal grills on the woofer add bling to the product. It can directly stream music from the USB too, which is always useful. ₹5,000

03 Sennheiser CX 275s

How does one choose an earphone when there are a billion options available at your disposal? It’s simple — you choose a renowned brand and check its output and price. Now these in-ear earphones are a treat for those who are looking for a decent mobile and communication experience. The earpiece pairs with almost all makes of smartphones. The build quality and design is sturdy with a wavy pattern on the backside of speakers, which as perceived purely by looks, does not contribute to any sort of audio enhancement The sound quality is above average though. In fact, if you are a heavy bass lover, then this is the product you’ve been looking for. ₹2,990

04 Moto G

For all these years, we were made to believe that Motorola had lost its plot during the transition to the smartphone era, but now they seem to have cleared up the air about their ambiguous stance in the rapidly growing smartphone market with this entry-level smartphone. On first appearance the Moto G’s design doesn’t look new or exclusive, but at this price, it’s definitely a showstopper. Under its hood, it flaunts a 1.2 GHz quad core processor with 1GB RAM, which is definitely not the best but surely outruns other mid-range smartphones. The phone comes with a 8GB internal memory sans memory card support, which would sound meager to those who haven’t hopped on cloud services yet. The phone that was introduced on Android 4.3 has already been upgraded to Android Kit Kat. Its biggest flaw comes in the form of the camera though, which could leave you in despair, but besides that, the phone is a definite steal. ₹12,499 (8GB phone)

05 Oppo N1

We live in times of inordinate convenience, more often than not bordering on the lazy. These are times when flipping over a phone to scroll through your picture gallery might cause you massive blood loss and substantive monetary delays, which is why the Oppo with its swiveling camera hits the nail bang on the head. Armed with the stinger missile of all mobile phones — the Oppo has a touch sensitive sensor on the rear (wonder why no one thought of this yet) which can perform the exact same functions the one in the front can perform — how about that. So now, without moving your finger from the back of your phone to the front, you can change movies, music and other allied stuff. And it’s a handy deal at 6 inches. True, it packs in some smashing great specs, but a six inch phone that costs 40 grand is great value only if it can also do the dishes. ₹39,999 (16GB phone)

06 Micromax Turbo Mini

Mini is the new cool and Micromax, like other smartphone makers, has unveiled a stellar product from its stable called Turbo Mini. The Mini is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, which needless to say, performs really well. It packs 1GB of RAM and runs on Android 4.2.2, which is not the best out there, but is far from being the worse too. The phone not only fits perfectly in your hands, but it also weighs 110 grams, which makes it appear light as a feather against its competitors. Despite the aluminum plastic build, the device looks premium. The 4.69” LCD screen delivers a good resolution and thanks to this, watching movies and playing games is a treat. The phone is also equipped with a 5MP front facing camera and an 8MP rear camera, both of which are capable of delivering decent captures. Also, the phone was initially launched at for just under 15 grand, but upon Moto G’s launch, the prices were revised. So now you can take your pick, for cheaper. ₹12,999 (8GB phone)

From the March 2014 issue of FHM India.