5 Impressive Windows Phone Powered Smartphones
Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile OS has gained a lot of mileage in the last couple of weeks, courtesy Nokia unveiling its Lumia 800 smartphone. While the Lumia 800 is an impressive device, That’s not the beginning and the end of mobile phones based on Microsoft's Windows Phone platform. There are a couple of other Windows Phone powered smartphones just out in the market or waiting to get launched, which also deserve attention.Here we take a look at five such Windows Phone powered smartphones that aren't the Nokia Lumia 800.
1. HTC RadarSo far HTC has impressed with its Windows Phone smartphones. The HTC Radar looks set to join that club with impressive specs and performance. The Radar has a 3.8-in SLCD display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels and a 5MP autofocus camera. The Radar runs on a 1GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor and Adreno 205 GPU and offers 8GB of internal memory.
Price: Rs. 23,990
Availability: Available in India right now.
Why You Should Care: The Radar's 3.8-in SLCD display sounds like a very good proposition. The Radar is also DLNA compatible which is a great feature to have if you have multiple DLNA-compatible gadgets in your home.
2. Samsung Omnia WCurrently, the Samsung Omnia W is the only Windows Phone smartphone from the Korean handset manufacturer to get an official release in India. The Omnia W sports a 3.7-in Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels and a 5MP autofocus camera. The Omnia W is powered by a 1.4GHz processor and comes with 8GB of internal storage.
Price: Rs. 19,990
Availability: Available in India right now.
Why You Should Care: The Omnia W's 3.7-in Super AMOLED display hits all the sweet spots in terms of size and display quality. At 1.4GHz, the Omnia W's processor is also one of the most powerful you will find on a phone priced below 20K.
3. Samsung FocusWhile the Samsung Focus was released a year back in the U.S. and was never officially released in India, it's surprisingly popular on eBay India. The Focus has a 4-in Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels. It runs on a 1GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor and an Adreno 200 GPU and has 8GB of internal memory. Imaging is taken care of by a 5MP autofocus camera. While the Focus was originally launched with Windows Phone 7, a 7.5 (Mango) update has been made available for it.
Price: New unlocked models are listed from Rs. 14,800 to Rs. 20,770 on eBay India.
Availability: Not officially launched but available on eBay India
Why You Should Care: At that price, the question is: why shouldn't you? If you look past the fact that the Focus is a year-old phone, you will realize that it represents excellent value for money in terms of specs (4-in AMOLED display, 1GHz processor et.al).
4. HTC TitanThe HTC Titan is certainly a Titan when it comes to specs among Windows Phone smartphones. It sports a massive 4.7-in SLCD display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels and an 8MP autofocus camera. The Titan is powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor and an Adreno 205 GPU and has 16GB of internal memory.
Price: Rs. 40,000 (approx. excluding shipping charges) from the U.S.
Availability: No word yet on India launch. Launched in the U.S. in October.
Why You Should Care: If you're a fan of the big numbers, then the HTC Titan will interest you. Everything from its screen size to internal memory to processor speed to battery capacity is the highest among Windows smartphones. Also, there aren't too many 8MP cameras on phones out there.
5. Nokia Lumia 710With all the hype surrounding the Lumia 800, it's easy to forget that the Nokia Lumia 710 is also about to hit the market. Its specs make it appear to be an ideal candidate for a sub-20K Windows Phone. The Lumia 710 has a 3.7-in display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels and a 5MP autofocus camera. It runs on a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor and an Adreno 205 GPU and has 8GB of internal memory.
Price: Expect it be around Rs. 19,000
Availability: Launched in India but no concrete date on when it will hit stores.
Why You Should Care: There is of course the hype surrounding Nokia's first Windows phones, so you probably already do. Nokia understands the mid-range market as well as the best of them, so the Lumia 710 already looks like a good VFM product. It's not miserly in terms of specs either as the 3.7-in display and the 1.4GHz processor proves.
2. Great Build & Looks: The Lumia 800 felt like one of the best phones I had ever handled. The phone has a polycarbonate body which was unlike anything I have seen on any other phone. The phone's body felt really solid and very smooth to the touch, similar to the aluminum casing on the Nokia N8 and the HTC Legend without compromising on slimness or weight.
I've concluded that you can find decent virtual help on an Android phone, but the assistants available likely won't be as smooth and capable as Siri. Siri is like the classic executive secretary, always well-dressed and possessed of an elephant's memory and a dry wit. Android assistants are more likely to show up with their shirttails hanging out occasionally. They don't know how to do some things that Siri can do, and they usually won't get your jokes. But that doesn't mean they aren't helpful.
I spent a lot of time last week talking to my phone and I found it oddly helpful that the free Speaktoit Assistant presented me with an actual (albeit animated) person that I could talk to. You can alter your assistant's appearance in myriad ways, including changing his/her sex, hair style, and nose size. Female assistants can wear anything from a formal gown more appropriate for a red-carpet event to a skimpy vest-and-tie combination that looks as though it belongs (temporarily) on a stripper.
Most virtual assistants claim that they can figure out what you want regardless of how (within reason) you phrase your requests. Google's free Voice Actions assistant--part of its Voice Search utility--demands a more consistent approach. To use this app, you must employ Google's set phrases. To play music, for instance, you have to say "Listen to Benny Carter" rather than "Play Benny Carter." Google's app is somewhat more limited in what it can do, too: In addition to playing music, it can send texts and email, make calls, map a location, give directions, write a note, search the Web, and go to a specific site.
Vlingo is one of the few Android assistants that doesn't rely exclusively on Google's voice recognition system. You can choose to use Google's system or Vlingo's home-grown processing. My advice is to stick with Google. I tried Vlingo's voice recognition and found it generally disappointing.
Up until about a week ago, this app was called Voice Actions, just like the Google app. To end the confusion, the third-party developer, Pannous, changed the name of its app to Jeannie (it still shows up on my phone as Voice Actions, however, even though I've updated the app). Jeannie is free. Alternatively you can purchase a $3 (~Rs. 147) Voice Actions Plus app with the same capabilities. Pannous says that the Plus version of the app should process your speech more quickly.
Eva is like a job applicant who seems brilliant in the interview, but who you end up wanting to strangle after a couple days of frustrating collaboration.
You might imagine that any one of those would be close enough for an intelligent assistant to figure out. But Eva's reaction was "I'm sorry, I heard what you said but I don't know how to interpret it. Please try again."
The Browser now supports incognito mode and your bookmarks from the Chrome browser on desktop are now synced to the Browser in ICS. Google adds support for tabbed browsing, and you can quickly view which tabs are open, each with a live preview of that page. As with the notifications and Recent Apps list, you can quickly close tabs by flicking them away.
The camera on the Galaxy Nexus has zero shutter lag -- and demonstrators proved it by rapidly taking a series of photos just seconds apart. We still aren’t sure if that is a feature of Android 4.0 or if it’s exclusive to the Galaxy Nexus, but it was impressive nonetheless.
By going to Settings>Data Usage, you can see a chart of how much data you have used that month as well as an estimate of your expected usage. You can also set limits and alerts so that you know exactly when you exceed your data limit, so you don’t get hit with overages. You can also select specific sections of the chart to see which apps used the most data that day. The phone will show you a breakdown of how much data that app uses, and allow you to restrict the app so that it uses data only when you want it to.
Samsung Galaxy S II: Undoubtedly, the best smartphone in the market, the Galaxy S II combines a massive screen, ultra-speedy processor and fantastic usability in a single device. If you're also looking for excellent multimedia performance in terms of audio and video playback and imaging, then the Samsung Galaxy S II won't disappoint you.
Apple iPhone 4S/iPhone 4: With the new iPhone 4S hitting stores in the U.S. and other countries, it is clearly the best iPhone to buy. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't offer universal warranty on iPhones which means that buying an iPhone 4S from abroad is a risk without warranty cover in India. However, the 
Samsung i9003 Galaxy SLCD: The more tempered version of the original Samsung Galaxy S, the Galaxy SLCD represents superb value for money for features, specs and performance that belong on a phone much more expensive than it. The Galaxy SLCD has everything going for it including a great display, a powerful processor and a price-tag that's not going overboard.
LG Optimus One P500: At one point the Optimus One was just a good mid-range smartphone but now with a new anorexic price-tag, we can't help but recommend this phone. The Optimus One is a great example of how Android can work on inexpensive phones without taking a massive chunk out of usability. 
Apple iPad 2: Were you seriously expecting anything else? The iPad 2 is by far the best tablet in the market today and although it definitely commands a hefty price, it gives you the optimum tablet experience. And if you want, you can improve that experience by buying some cool accessories, including the neat smart covers and the keyboard dock.
Canon IXUS 220HS: Canon makes some of the best point-and-shoot cameras available in the market today. And the 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1: With a point-and-shoot like design, interchangeable micro four thirds lenses, 720p HD video recording and at the low price that doesn’t compare the features, the Lumix DMC-GF1 is the camera you should be buying this Diwali. 
Sony HX100V: The three cameras that were in the race were the Canon Powershot SX230 IS, Sony HX100V and Nikon Coolpix P500. 
Acer Aspire 5755G: Acer has, for quite some time, been one of those laptop manufactures who you can expect to provide very good configuration at very reasonable rates. And with the 5755G, Acer provides such a versatile product. It comes with a 2nd Gen Core i5 processor, 15.6 glossy screen - which can tilt back almost 160 degrees backward, 4GB RAM as well as featuring a 2GB NVidia GeForce GT540M graphics card and some handy USB3.0 and HDMI ports. For gaming on the native screen at 1366x768 resolution, the 1 GB of graphics memory would suffice. However, say you were to connect the Acer 5755G to an external monitor source through HDMI, and watch a video or play a game at a resolution that is much higher than the screens native resolution, then the 2GB graphics memory will factor in and enable you to do so more effectively. Moreover it features a very responsive full-sized keyboard - with a dedicated numpad, good audio and viewing 720p or 1080p videos won't be an issue. The Acer Aspire 5755G hits just about all the right spots for users looking to buy a very good multimedia laptop. 
Acer Aspire TimeLineX 5830TG: We have yet another Acer unit in the listing and this is because, well, it provides a good combination of features for users, like students, who might want a good performing laptop, but one that can also be used on the move as well, for a comfortable enough period of time - without having to resort to plugging the laptop to a nearby power outlet. Its futuristic design, along with the black-blue-silver colour tone, makes it stand out from the rest of the mainstream laptop crowd. It also features a very good audio, and if you want to finely balance performance and battery life, relative to what you normally find for a mainstream laptop, then this unit is a very good choice for you to opt for. 
The Lenovo IdeaPad Z570: Coming for a price of Rs. 29,605, this unit has all what a budget user will need for getting through his/her daily chores - a second generation core i3 processor, 3GB RAM, 640GB Hard Disk and Intel HD 3000 graphics. I have tested a Lenovo Z570 unit, which save for the GT520M graphics card, had the exact same hardware configuration as this model mentioned here. The unit has a good build quality, and as far as performance goes, it should perform well enough to get through most chores except the more intensive activities such as gaming - which given that it only has Intel HD 3000 graphics is understandable. So if you're in the market for getting the right bang for the buck, you should definitely check out this unit.
Apple MacBook Air (2011): This is one truly elegant machine that packs quite a performance punch. If there was one unit which would embody what an ideal ultraportable should be, that would be the MacBook Air. From looks to portability to performance, the MacBook Air is a niche product that is worth buying.
Transcend Jet Flash 700 USB 3.0 16 GB: Owning a good pendrive can have unexpected benefits, such as the time when you use it on a USB 3.0 enabled laptop or when copying large number of files onto it. The 16GB capacity of this drive, and an affordable price means that you will feel glad about your purchase for quite a while to come. Don't let its looks fool you, the JetFlash 700 is not any normal pendrive, it offers great read speeds when used on a USB 3.0 port. On older computers with USB 2.0 ports, it will still be one of the fastest around.
Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 2TB: Having extra storage space never hurt, did it? When looking at a desktop-style external hard-disk, we suggest getting plenty of space from the get-go. The Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 2TB is priced at the same level as other brands, but offers a bunch of extra benefits of its own. One such GoFlex benefit is the ability to switch data interface - to USB 3.0, eSATA or FireWire. If you own a desktop, we can't understate the merits of being able to unplug the USB adapter and connecting it directly as an internal SATA hard drive for superfast file copying. You can enjoy all the benefits of an internal HDD, and yet be able to cart it around as a portable HDD when required.
Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-portable 1TB (USB 3.0): This drive is our suggestion if you want a physically smaller form factor that can fit in your shirt pocket. The GoFlex Ultra-portable does not need a separate power adapter, so that helps reduce clutter for laptop users. A whole Terabyte is still plenty, in addition to the flexibilty of usage that GoFlex drives offer. You'll find the extra Rs. 500 pricing to upgrade from the USB 2.0 to USB 3.0 variant of this product, to be well worth it.