Tech Galore

SAMSUNG E6 READER

Well, this time as I was coming from Kolkata to New Delhi, I happened to spot the new Samsung E6 e-book reader. The woman next to me was just checking it out and without the slightest interest in the instrument. Jokes apart, one might think why we should go for the Samsung E6 book reader when we already have Amazon’s Kindle doing the rounds and Barnes and Nobles Nook. Well, it has its own PODs.

For the first time, an e-book reader comes with a stylus. Unlike other ebook readers, the Samsung E6 and E101 enables writing directly on to the display, thus allowing users to annotate their reading selections, calendars and to - do lists with a built - in electromagnetic resonance (EMR) stylus pen. This dedicated pen prevents mistypes caused by hands and other objects that may graze the screen’s surface. A variety of pen and eraser thicknesses make the Samsung ebooks perfect for drawing and writing. Second, it does not use the backlit technology which is hugely power consuming.

Instead, it uses a new technique which helps its displays to reflect light naturally and deliver an appearance similar to that of printed paper.

The E6 comes in the 6 inch size and the E101 comes as a sleek 10 inch display with a slider. Merely four hours of battery charge is enough for the geek machine to last for nearly two weeks. It boosts of good connectivity both wireless and bluetooth with an inbuilt Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, which allows the user to download books and newspapers from a wireless server and Bluetooth 2. The Samsung e-book reader is a sleek machine and smart looking too. Only the nice looking airhostess was giving it competition for my attention.

There are some limitations as well. The Samsung E6 is available only in two colors- black and white. There is no respite for the people who were waiting for a colored e-book. One more thing that comes to mind is that when it comes to reading, all e readers are quite similar. What differentiates them is from where they outsource their reading material. Samsung has partnered with Google to bring its vast collection of public domain books to the readers whereas Nook and Kindle are backed by Barnes and Noble and Amazon bookstores. By the time the flight landed, I was totally convinced that the Samsung e-book reader is a good investment to make if one wants a gadget which is both technologically advanced and smart too.

It also offers easy navigation, along with different virtual keyboards plus a “soft” track pad that lets you type, click and browse the way one wants to. This ultra mobile PC might be small, but it never shrinks from the task at hand. Powered by Windows® 7 Home Premium, it offers familiar navigation and full multimedia capabilities.

TOSHIBA LIBRETTO W100

Well, looking at the Toshiba Libretto W100, I thought that I must be drunk as it seemed to me like two iPads placed together. But later, I realized there was neither a mirror nor I was drunk. It was the new three-in-one combination of net book, tablet and e-book reader released by Toshiba. Toshiba has yet again proved that yesterday’s science - fiction can be today’s reality. The new Libretto W100 ultra mobile PC multiplies your possibilities by offering dual 7” diagonal multi-touch screens that work horizontally or vertically—virtually perfect for e-books or enjoying movies, music and photos.

It also offers easy navigation, along with different virtual keyboards plus a “soft” track pad that lets you type, click and browse the way one wants to. This ultra mobile PC might be small, but it never shrinks from the task at hand. Powered by Windows® 7 Home Premium, it offers familiar navigation and full multimedia capabilities.

So now one can enjoy many different things—games, e-books, movies, music and TV—all from a single device. Perfect for multi-tasking, it also comes with an energy-efficient Intel® Pentium™ processor. You could be running facebook on the upper screen while checking your mails and working on office documents simultaneously on the lower screen. You could even be reading your daily newspaper; only you would not be having any paper as Toshiba makes it possible with its dual screen Tablet.

Both the screens are LED touch-screens and multi touch at that-just like your smart phones. It has been targeted at the CXO level and its 2 Ghz, 2GB RAM and 62 GB hard disk gives ample processing power for that segment.

The expected price is somewhere around Rs. 80,000 which is quite understandable given the wide range of features being offered. All in all, it is a nice piece of technology to own and flaunt and surely Toshiba will give the iPad a run for their money.

Jayant has done his engineering in Biotechnology from GGSIP University, Delhi. Reading non-fiction books and watching movies while talking non-stop is what he likes doing. People may differ but he believes this package is not complete without his never-ending chatter. Creating humanoids (biotechnological fantasies) is what he claims he does. Coming out of his fantasy world, he managed to write his first "naan-geeky" article which will (hopefully) land us in our own fantasies.