Tag: Exhibit Magazine India

Travel With Tech: Must-have Outdoor Tech Gadgets for Frequent Travellers

The late monsoon and winter season has its high in India. Every hardcore traveller prefers to plan most of the trips in the middle of September and February as these 6-months provide more options for the adventure. Due to the pandemic, most regular travellers have missed their planned trips in 2020 and want to hit back hard to embrace all those much-anticipated trips.

Along with trips, we’ve been waiting for the Covid-19 vaccine since our government declared the first lockdown in-country at the end of March 2020. Thanks to the great scientists, research institutes and modern technology, the most-awaited vaccine has finally arrived, and fortunately, India has fully vaccinated 9.54 crore of its 94.5 crore adult population so far, which is an achievement in itself. 

The government is aiming to vaccinate 300 million people by the end of 2021, while the travellers who’ve taken both doses are planning for a vacation. When it comes to travelling, especially during current days, one should be prepared well as we haven’t travelled in a long time and that’s why we’ve summoned up a list of must-have outdoor tech gadgets for frequent travellers.

GoPro

Since the day GoPro arrived in India, it has created a buzz around the travellers and budding photographers who previously used to carry their heavy DSLR’s during outdoor trips. The attractive action camera is no longer an option to throw in the backpack for a travel adventure. The tiny and rugged camera is lightweight, can go just about anywhere, and offers tons of picture-taking opportunities. The GoPro Hero9 Black is the latest offering from the company, but its predecessor Hero8 Black is still an excellent option, and it costs you less. The everyday camera lags when it comes to battery life and Low-Light Performance, but if you prepare well for the trip, then GoPro’s will never disappoint you.

Noise-cancelling Wireless Headphones

Walking without headphones in a new place is recommended, but it’s suitable only when you’re in a quiet-naturistic place, not when you’re walking down a busy lane or travelling in a bus/cab during peak hours. The best option to block out such annoying and unwanted noises around you is to get Noise-Cancelling wireless headphones. These headphones will make sure you’ll stay away from all the outside chaos and noise. The best thing about owning Noise-Cancelling headphones is that they keep you away from the real-world noise without even having to raise your headphones’ volumes. So, the next time you’re going for a long flight or long train journey, keep these headphones with you to avoid baby cries and passenger snores.

Kindle

We all have listened to the crap from regular travellers complaining about not finding enough time to pick up on reading though they did have all the time in the world to post their exotic vacay photos. Jokes apart, but being a traveller, if you genuinely love reading or want to make your journey memorable, e-books are one of the best options you have as it only takes a little space in your bag and offers tons of writings from various authors. Several companies offer e-book services, but Kindle has its world and benefits as it provides hi-tech features along with customisable text settings and adaptive lighting. Subscribe to Kindle Unlimited to enjoy access to over a million Kindle titles, including e-books, audiobooks, and magazines.

Water Purifier Bottle

When you’re exploring remote places or hiking a trail where nobody often visits, there are chances you might run out of water or not notice any local stores around. A water purifier bottle can be your saviour at such terrible times as these devices can make any water clean; all you have to do is hunt for freshwater resources. Travellers often deal with health problems after or during a trip, most of which are caused by contaminated drinking water, so having your purification system in the form of a bottle is a must-buy gizmo. A water purifier bottle not only provides you with safe drinking water on the go but also saves your money on packaged drinking water.

All-in-one Adapters

Travellers, particularly millennial and solo travellers, can not survive the world without their smartphones and gadgets, especially when they’re outing somewhere, as they’ve to share their recent adventures and shout out to the world through social media apps and stories. Earlier, people have to worry about adapters not matching plug points, and that’s why they used to end up carrying a bag of adapters, especially during international trips, but nowadays travellers needn’t worry about the points or extensions. Thanks to the All-in-one Universal Adapters, they come with a built-in extender and fulfil most of your needs. Get one before you pack for your next adventure to enjoy a trouble-free trip.

Smartphone Gimbal

Nowadays, almost 3 out of 10 people are YouTubers; this is the level of influence YouTube has created on us, but one can not achieve success on a platform without being a creative person and staying ahead of the people. Being a part of the modern world, almost everyone knows how to turn on the video camera, but not everyone knows how to get excellent footage out of it unless you own a smartphone gimbal and have experience in the field. A good smartphone gimbal will help you get smooth and stabilised footage as its ergonomic handle provides a comfortable grip for a steady hold. It can be a game-changer for travel vloggers as the footage that came out of it looks very decent and professional.

Bluetooth Speakers

After the dog, music is the man and woman’s best friend. You can not take your dog out on every tour, but you can take music everywhere. Various devices are available in the market that satisfies our music desires, but having a portable Bluetooth speaker is a must-have gadget for any traveller. It makes sure that you’re having the luxuries of the indoors while travelling outdoors. The Bose SoundLink Mini II Bluetooth Speaker and Sony SRS-XB12 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker are two of the best compact Bluetooth speakers available in India. These two speakers are designed for life on the go and offer excellent sound quality along with waterproof and dustproof characteristics.

Solar Charger

While travelling to remote locations or staying in the middle of the woods, we often end up where electricity appears like a guest. Also, some travellers like to explore the unexplored on their own while staying away from plugs of any kind. In such situations, how can you recharge your gadgets? Well, for such concerns, we can stay dependent on renewable energy resources like the solar charger. You can hang the device to your bag while hiking under the sun, and it will charge itself under the sunlight. Solar chargers will help you avoid isolation from the world by keeping your mobile phone, GPS devices, and laptops charged up.

Top 10 Electric Bikes in India

The world is already running out of fossil fuel reserves, and the level of pollution is increasing dangerously day by day, causing trouble in our routine lives. So, making electric vehicles part of our lives is the need of the hour and starting small with buying electric vehicles is a step towards meeting the global goals of climate change. To help you make your e-journey more comfortable, we’ve created a list of Top 10 Electric Bikes in India.

Revolt RV400

  • Range: 150 kilometres
  • Torque: 170 Nm 
  • Battery: Lithium-Ion

If you’re looking for an electric bike for your daily commute, then you should definitely go for a Revolt RV400. It is the first electric motorcycle from Revolt Intellicorp, a Gurugram-headquartered start-up managed by Rahul Sharma, the same man who co-founded Micromax in India. The Revolt RV400 is the first AI-enabled electric motorcycle in the Indian market. The sleek, sporty and muscular e-bike is manufactured on the same lines as Micromax, bringing the Chinese components and Indianising it. 

The design of the RV400 resembles the Chinese-made Super Soco TS1200R e-bike. The RV400 e-bike offers a fully digital instrument panel, a 3.24kW lithium-ion battery, 85km of top speed, an ARAI-certified range of 156km, a combi brake system, and a warranty of 8 years or 1,50,000 km, whichever is earlier. The e-bike is available in two variants; the premium variant is priced at ₹1,02,000, and the standard variant is priced at ₹90,000.

TVS iQube Electric

  • Range: 75 kilometres
  • Torque: 140 Nm 
  • Battery: Lithium-Ion

TVS entered the electric scooter segment with the launch of the iQube Electric scooter. The e-bike is priced at ₹1,15,000 and offers exceptional value for money, along with riding comfort. The TVS e-bike is powered by a 4.4kW electric hub motor and a set of 2.25kWh li-ion batteries. It provides up to 75km of range in one single charge and a top speed of 78 Kmph. The exceptionally refined and silent e-bike has two riding modes – economy and power.

The TVS iCube electric offers a Q-park Assist feature, which helps in forward and backward motion assistance. Also, it offers several other features such as an all-LED lighting system, a TFT instrument cluster and smartphone connectivity. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the expansion of the iCube e-bike, and that’s why it is currently available only in selected cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi, and Pune. The impressive and practical iCube will compete with the Bajaj Chetak, and soon it will be available in more cities by March 2022.

Ather 450X

  • Range: 65 kilometres
  • Torque: 20.5 Nm 
  • Battery: Lithium-Ion

Ather Energy Pvt. Ltd. is a Bangalore-headquartered electric vehicle company founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. The Ather 450X e-scooter is developed and manufactured entirely in India, and it is one of the best e-scooters to hit the market. The 450X was first launched in late 2019 at ₹1,32,000, and it appears very much identical with Ather 450. The stand-out e-scooter is offered in three colours, space grey with a yellow, white body with green accents and mint green with orange accents. Ather 450X supports a 4G sim card, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity, smart helmets, and tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). 

The e-scooter offers three different riding modes, X-Eco, Ride and Sport, with adjustable attributes, making 450X a flawless e-scooter for Indian roads. It also offers one special mode, Warp mode which helps you to accelerate from 0-40kmph in 3.41 seconds. The e-scooter has a battery capacity of 2.9kWh, and it takes about 5 hours and 30 minutes to charge the battery fully when using a standard home-charging point. A fully charged 450X can aid you to achieve the average 65kms of range. Ather Grid, an electric vehicle charging infrastructure, has set up over 120 fast charging points in 18 cities across India as of March 2021.

Bajaj Chetak

  • Range:  95 kilometres 
  • Torque: 16.2 Nm
  • Battery: Lithium-Ion

The Bajaj Chetak scooter has a special place in the heart of the middle-class Indians, the iconic scooter was relaunched in 2020 as an electric scooter, and like the good old days, the scooter grabbed people’s attention. The Chetak e-scooter is priced at ₹1,42,000, and currently, it is available for sale in Pune, Bangalore and Nagpur. The company has plans to expand the sale and make the model available in 22 cities by the end of 2022.

The Bajaj Chetak has a 3.8 kW BLDC motor that offers Eco and Sport riding modes. The e-scooter has a 3kW lithium-ion battery which provides a range of 80 km on a single charge. The Chetak e-scooter is available in urbane and premium variants with 6 colours options. The seamless and stylish e-scooter from the house of Bajaj is designed in metal, which helps it stand apart from the other e-scooters. The Chetak competes against the Ather 450X and the TVS iQube Electric.

Okinawa iPraise+

  • Range: 139 kilometres
  • Torque: 40 Nm
  • Battery: Lithium-Ion

The name Okinawa may sound similar to Japanese or Chinese background, but Okinawa is an Indian company started in 2015. The Gurgaon headquartered company manufactures India’s fastest and most advanced e-scooters, and Okinawa iPraise+ is one of them. Okinawa e-bikes witnessed massive price cuts following the Fame II subsidy scheme in 2020, and that’s why the e-bike iPraise+ is now priced at ₹99,708, about ₹17,892 less expensive than the previous price.

The Okinawa iPraise+ is identical to its elder sibling iPraise, but the new plus version e-bike uses detachable lithium-ion batteries and gets premium features such as geofencing, virtual speed limit, find my scooter, battery health tracker, maintenance/insurance reminder, and vehicle status. The e-bike is powered by a 1000w BLDC motor that can make up to 2500w power to reach a top speed of 58kmph. The iPraise+ is claimed to be charged in 4 to 5 hours and provides you 139Km of range in one go.

Hero Electric Optima HX (Dual Battery)

  • Range: 122 kilometres
  • Torque:  N/A
  • Battery: Lithium-Ion

Hero is one of India’s most popular and trustable bike brands, and only the name is enough to make sure this scooter will be reliable and suitable for the average Indian biker. Hero has several e-bikes in their lineup, but if you’re looking for an electric bike that will best fit the city roads in India, then Hero Optima HX (Dual Battery) is the best option for you. The e-bike offers a Telescopic Suspension to help you avoid rough and bumpy rides; the suspension assures you a smooth and jerk-free ride. 

The 12-inch alloy wheels in Optima HX make your vehicle lighter and more stable. The 550/1200 Watts of Motor Power allows you a top speed of 42kmph. The lightweight frame Optima HX (Dual Battery) is claimed to be charged fully in 4 to 5 hours and provides a 122 Km range in a single charge. The e-bike arrives with a shiny body design, along with a spacious comfortable seat. The Optima HX (Dual Battery) is available in four colour options and is priced at ₹59,000.

Ultraviolette F77

  • Range: 108 kilometres
  • Torque: 90 Nm
  • Battery: Lithium-Ion

Ultraviolette F77 is India’s first sporty electric motorcycle and brings its design inspiration from the aviation space. The e-bike offers innovative engineering from the inside out along with intelligent interfacing. The F77 is powered by a 27kW electric motor producing 33.5bhp and 90Nm of torque to provide you with 0-100kmph in just 7.5 seconds. Currently, Ultraviolette F77 is the most powerful on sale electric motorcycle in India, giving you a top speed of 147kmph. 

The F77 motorcycle houses three removable lithium-ion batteries of 4.2kWh each to allow you to cover the range of 150km on one single charge. The electric motorcycle also supports fast charging to give you 0 to 80 per cent in just 50 minutes. The F77 offers smart features such as LTE connectivity, Adaptive dashboard brightness with Ambient Light Sensor, GPS/GLONASS positioning for real-time velocity, Shock and Impact sensors and Customisable Performance Profiles. The freaky and sporty looking e-bike is priced at ₹3,00,000.

Joy e-bike Monster

  • Range: 75 kilometres
  • Torque: 30 Nm
  • Battery: Lithium-Ion

Joy e-bike Monster is one of the most stylish products offered by the Gujarat-based two-wheeler manufacturing company Joy e-Bike. The Monster e-bike is inspired by the Honda Grom 125, and at the same time, its design looks quite similar to the Ducati Monster. The sleek and stylish petrol free bike runs on a powerful 72V/39Ah Lithium-Ion battery and hydraulic suspension. The e-bike takes 4 to 4.5 hours to charge from flat to 100% and offers 75km of range in one charge. The Joy e-bike Monster is powered by 250 Watts Brushless Hub motor and priced at ₹1,06,000.

Pure EV Epluto 7G

  • Range: 90-120 kilometres
  • Torque: 60 Nm
  • Battery: Lithium-Ion

The Pure EV Epluto 7G is a premium looking e-bike that offers a serene ride with an emission-free and anxiety-free experience. The e-bike is specially made for Indian roads and matches some of the best options on the list. The design of the Epluto 7G is modern and attractive, which resembles the Vespa models and Bajaj Chetak. The e-bike generates 1500W power from its BLDC motor to get a top speed of 65kmph. The high-speed electric scooter helps you achieve a speed of 0-40 kmph in just 5 seconds and offers a range of around 90-120kms in one full charge. The bike accommodates Anti-theft Smart Lock and a ladies footrest option. The e-bike is available in 6 colour options and is priced at ₹83,999.

Hero Electric Photon HX

  • Range: 108 kilometres
  • Torque:  N/A
  • Battery: Lithium-Ion

The new Photon HX is a high-speed electric scooter from the house of Hero electric. The e-scooter is offered in a single variant – HX and three colour options. The Hero Photon HX generates 1200W power from its motor to provide you with a top speed of 45kmph. The e-scooter arrives with powerful LED headlamps to help you ride safely, even in the dark and 10-inch alloy wheels to make your vehicle lighter and more stable. The Hero Electric Photon HX takes 5 hours to charge the battery fully and offers 108km of range in one go. The e-scooter is priced at ₹71,440 and can be a valuable option for any rider.

Things You Should Know About All-New Hyundai i20 N Line

Premium hatchback offerings have reduced drastically in recent years, but the segment maintains its popularity among Indian consumers, and that’s why Hyundai Motors has come up with the i20 N Line. The original i20 was and still is one of the most popular hatchbacks in our country, but having a sportier and premium version of the i20 is a dream come true situation for many Indians looking for a small car with a premium design and features.

Hyundai has been enjoying success in the Indian car market for over two decades, and now the company is prepared to bring N Line products here, which it sells abroad. The N Line cars are equipped with styling and high-performance upgrades that set them apart from conventional vehicles. The company recently launched the much-anticipated i20 N Line car, the first hatchback from the N Line segment to be launched in India.

What does ‘N’ stand for?

The company will launch more full-blown N performance cars in the future, but what does ‘N’ in the N Line stand for? The N represents Namyang, an R&D Center in South Korea, where Hyundai and Kia test many of their new vehicles. Hyundai Motors established the N segment in 2019 by resembling BMW’s M and Mercedes’ AMG segment. The sportier i20 N Line stands apart from the regular i20 with some light performance upgrades to areas like the brakes and suspension.

Engine

The all-new i20 N Line is going to be one of the most fun-to-drive cars in India with its 120hp, 172Nm, 1.0-litre Turbo GDi Petrol engine. The engine arrives with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT) or a 6-Speed intelligent manual transmission (iMT). It may sound normal as the i20 N Line has the same engine we have heeded on the regular i20, but according to Hyundai, the i20 N Line can deliver 0–100 Kmph acceleration in just 9.9 seconds. Well, that sounds like a premium.

Variants

The company is offering a new i20 N Line in two variants, N6 and N8. Both the N Line trims come with a stiffer suspension, paddle shifters, rear disc brakes and has been claimed to have a fuel efficiency of 20 kmpl. The sportier car is available for sale in four monotone paint options, Thunder Blue, Fiery Red, Titan Grey, and Polar White and two dual-tone paint options, Thunder blue with Phantom black roof and Fiery red with Phantom black roof.

Exterior

Hyundai has worked really hard on the new segment and that’s why they are advertising it boldly as a performance-oriented car. The new i20 N Line is all about styling and showing sportiness along with ample enhancements. The car has a sportier dual-tone bumper with red inserts. The front bumper of the i20 N Line features a revised all-black grille with a Chequered Flag inspired design that displays the N Line logo. 

In profile, the car gets 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels with an N Logo that sets the car apart from the regular i20. The sportier car also features a side sill garnish with red front brake callipers. On the rear side, the car gets a newly designed bumper along with a roof spoiler with side wings finished in black. It gets a triangular rear fog lamp and the N Line emblem on the tailgate.

Interior

On the inside, the i20 N Line gets black interiors with athletic red inserts and Chequered Flag design leatherette seats with N Logo, sporty metal pedals, red interior highlights embedded with the ‘N Line’ branding on the air vents, door handles and gear lever, red ambient lights, a bespoke 3-spoke steering wheel and an N-branded iMT/DCT gear knob. The overall dashboard layout is very identical to the standard car, but all these things make the i20 N Line a little different from the regular i20.

Features

The original i20 already comes loaded with a lot of features and apart from those, the new i20 N Line gets an extra Sports Mode button and a sportier instrument cluster. The car also gets a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging, digital instrument cluster, automatic climate control, a single-pane sunroof, air purifier, connected car technology and a 7-speaker Bose sound system. The car additionally gets new voice recognition functions along with an updated Bluelink app, and for safety, it offers 6 airbags. Overall, the N Line gets only cosmetic changes and doesn’t get engineering alterations of the proper N series, which might piss some of the buyers.

Final Verdict

The hot hatch starts at a price of ₹9.84 lakh (ex-showroom) and stretches all the way to ₹11.75 lakh (ex-showroom). If you’re looking for a sportier-looking car with a few mechanical upgrades to the suspension and steering, better-appointed interiors and better safety, then, of course, go for i20 N Line; it is one of the best premium hatchbacks available in the market.

What Pointers You Should Consider Before Buying A Gaming Laptop?

Gaming laptops are not created and manufactured for every consumer; instead, they are built for a target audience seeking a laptop for a pure gaming experience. Generally, when gamers are looking for a gaming laptop, they don’t focus on just specs but look at a whole computer, including overall performance, display, built quality, and technical abilities. The process of investing in a good gaming laptop gets more challenging when you are confused about where to focus, on the processor or the cooling system or the keyboard? Well, relax! Don’t stress out more. We’re here to help you with essential pointers to keep in mind before buying a gaming laptop.

Let’s start with what kind of games do you play often? Every gamer has a preference when it comes to playing games. Some like to play Real-Time Strategy games such as Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, Age of Empires, and Starcraft, which require lower computing power than other games, while some like to play the latest triple-A titles games which require the latest-gen graphics card, a powerful CPU, and a good chunk of RAM. So, before spending your hard-earned money on a gaming laptop, ensure that it has everything you’re looking for while playing your favourite games.

CPU & GPU

What’s under the hood is what always counts, and that’s why CPU & GPU are two of the most prestigious performance drivers in a gaming laptop, and having a powerful CPU & GPU increases your gaming laptop’s overall performance. So, if you’re craving a lag-free gaming experience, then look for a 10th or 11th Gen Intel Core-i7 processor or AMD Ryzen 9-series processor. Also, if you don’t want to spend too much money, go for at least a dual-core i5 processor.

The high-intensity triple-A titles games like Assassin’s Creed, Cyberpunk 2077, or Watch Dogs need a lot of power and are GPU-dependent, making GPU the essential factor in gaming laptops. Currently, the Nvidia GeForce GTX or RTX GPUs are the appropriate GPUs in the market. GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 are the best ones to go for, and if you’re looking for a good middle-of-the-road, go for at least GTX 1060 and GTX 1050 to enjoy a fairly similar gaming experience.

RAM & Upgradability

The higher the RAM, the better the gaming quality. RAM plays a crucial role in a gaming laptop, and you should have at least 16GB of RAM in a gaming laptop. A gaming laptop with 8GB of RAM will work fine, but it won’t be a good investment for a gamer as it will not satisfy a gamer’s hunger after a while. Despite this, if you’re planning to get a gaming laptop with 8GB of RAM, then consider going for the one that comes with upgradeable RAM options so you can upgrade it in the future.

Display

What influences your gaming experience? A decent display with a faster refresh rate and higher resolution. If you’re dreaming about enjoying super-cool gaming sessions, then never go for less than a 1920 x 1080 display, as that’s the minimum resolution one should go for to enjoy gaming smoothly. Some gaming laptops offer a display of QHD (2560*1440) and 4K (3840*2160), but it costs you a hefty amount.

Keyboard

One of the most important components to consider before buying a gaming laptop is the keyboard, especially when you play a lot of shooting or strategy-based games. Check out whether it offers a decent key travel or not as it’ll help you reach the keys in a fraction of seconds and make sure whether it has an Anti-ghosting and n-key rollover or not, as it allows you to press and register multiple buttons at once. Also, check out how it feels to touch and ensure that the keys are neither too soft nor too hard to press. Finally, go for the one that offers all these things along with RGB backlighting keys as it allows you to play your favourite even during dark hours and customization on a per-key basis to ensure smooth gameplay.

Storage

When looking for a gaming laptop, consider buying the one that offers both SSD and HDD options. Go for at least 1 TB of HDD as most gamers save their progress of a lot of the games, which needs ample storage. A larger SSD will cost you extra money, but it will keep you away from the loading times.

Battery Life

One can not count a gaming laptop as a portable device as it requires a plugged in to get the full performance out of your GPU. So, try not to focus on battery life. A high-end laptop without a plug-in will manage to stay alive for 8 hours, but while gaming, it will last only an hour or two. So, the battery is not a concern until and unless you’re dealing with frequent electricity outages.

Nothing Ear (1) Review – Nothing Extraordinary

Nowadays, almost every other company wants to venture out into the earphones/headphones field, and that’s why the competition in this market is at its greatest. Hype is the most common thing that always works in the market, make an impressive product with stand-out design and add a little hype to it- it’s one of the easiest ways to grab people’s attention, and Nothing, a new company created by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei did its best job in terms of building hype.

Nothing Ear 1, the company’s debut product, created so much buzz before and during its launch. The company made us believe that it isn’t another affordable truly wireless earbuds like others and played a mind game by hyping more about its attractive design. The well-designed earpods are priced at ₹5,999 in the Indian market and have the potential to grab everyone’s attention from miles.

Design, Features & Negatives

The earbuds and charging case both have a unique transparent design, and they look as iconic as Apple’s AirPods. Each earbud weighs 4.7g, while the charging case weighs 57.4g. Nothing Ear 1 offers several unique features, including active noise cancellation, wireless charging, IPX4 water resistance, and in-ear detection, which you usually don’t get in a ₹5,999.

The earbuds don’t have the regular right (R) and left (L) initials; instead, they have a red dot to signify the right side and a white dot to represent the left side. The square-shaped case has a clamshell-like opening scenario, and on the side, it has a USB Type-C port for charging and the pairing button. Along with all the features, you can even customize and control specific settings and features of the headset with the help of the Nothing Ear 1 app, available for iOS and Android.

The tiny earbuds from Nothing have 11.6m dynamic drivers, and it uses Bluetooth 5.2 for connectivity. The feature-rich earbuds offer support for ANC, wireless charging, fast charging, and a claimed battery life similar to the AirPods Pro. When it comes to performance, the Ear 1s stands tall in a storm against more premium competition, but there are a few setbacks too.

The touch controls are buggy, and you will be obligated to tap hard to play or pause the music. The touch controls are customizable but offer limited possibilities for controls. The Nothing Ear 1 sports a 5.7-hour battery life from the earbuds themselves, and the charging case provides 28-hours of music backup with ANC off. The overall battery backup increases up to 34 hours if you leave ANC off.

Verdict

Despite being the first product from the company, the earpods have done a tremendous job. At just ₹5,999, Nothing Ear 1 provides a good audio experience, but they are still at the primary level and don’t offer any extraordinary features. If you’re looking for stand-out earpods which offer extreme comfort, then go for Nothing Ear 1, but if you’re a carefree user and looking for excellent audio quality, then Nothing Ear 1 has Nothing to satisfy you.

LG’s Humongous 325-inch 8K TV Weighs 2000 Pounds & Costs Over ₹12 Crore

If you’re one of those zealous people who are missing cinema hall escapades due to ongoing pandemic restrictions and can’t wait to watch your favourite movie star on a big screen instead of small smartphone/laptop screens. In that case, LG has something to cure your inner cravings.

The South Korean multinational electronics company have announced a new lineup of Direct View LED (DVLED) home cinema displays, ranging from a massive 108-inch HD panel to a humongous 325-inch 8K panel. As per the CNET report, the biggest one in the lineup weighs over 2,000 pounds and costs $1.7 million (roughly ₹12.5-crore).

What is DVLED?

Direct view LED video walls, also called DVLED display, is a video display technology that uses light-emitting diodes to produce bright, vibrant colours. Their pixel is the smallest element of a picture, creating a single part of the colour with true pixel and virtual pixel configuration. 

All of the DVLED Extreme Home Cinema screens with the 0.9mm COB LED Package type use MicroLED, and they can adapt to any indoor and outdoor environment. DVLED’s are seamless, bezel-free, and a better place to install them is design rooms, museums, galleries, board rooms and hospitality.

LG DVLED TV’s

Earlier, people had only a few options, such as Samsung’s The Wall and Sony’s Crystal LED TVs, but now they have one more option to consider in the name of LG. The company has previously reserved these massive displays for commercial buyers, but now they’re making them available for regular buyers who are ready to spend lavishly.

According to a CNET report, LG is using small-sized LEDs, similar to what we’ve witnessed in Samsung’s The Wall and Sony’s Crystal LED TV’s instead of an LCD layer to create pixels and deepest black levels without the risk of burn-in, a challenging task for anyone in the business.

In general, most of the screens offer a regular 16:9 aspect ratio, but LG is also selling 32:9 versions if any consumer wants to watch two video feeds side by side at one time. The company has successfully executed one of their best innovations with the launch of LG’s massively priced DVLED TV sets, which now makes $1,00,00 rollable OLED TV sounds more affordable.

LG’s new DVLED displays can easily replace the decade-old high-end projectors, but only if you’re ready to deal with its expensive price. Clearly, these massive home theatre displays won’t be making it into the living rooms of most households, but we have to appreciate the efforts as creating such an enormous display is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium Successfully Commences its Ambitious VLOS & BVLOS Drone Trials

Blue Dart, a Mumbai-based logistics company and a part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL), recently announced that it has successfully commenced its ambitious Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) drone delivery trials under the Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium in Vikarabad, Hyderabad, on September 9th, 2021. Blue Dart, one of India’s leading express logistics service providers, is proud to be given the first opportunity amongst various consortiums to initiate the Drone trials.

Balfour Manuel, Managing Director, Blue Dart, attended the launch as the organization furthered its technological prowess. The initiative was launched under Telangana Government’s ‘Medicine from the Sky’ project; these trials have delivered promising results, bringing the country one step closer to ensuring the last-mile delivery of vaccines, emergency medicines, medical samples and other healthcare items in India. Along with these, Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) trials was initiated on September 11th, 2021 and will continue till the end of the week.

This event was graced by Sri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India, Shri KT Rama Rao, Hon’ble Minister for ITE&C, I&C and MAUD, Govt. of Telangana, Shri Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India, Smt. Rama Devi Lanka, Director of Emerging Technologies, Govt. of Telangana, and Smt. Nikhila, Collector & District Magistrate, Vikarabad District.

The Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium was formed earlier this year with the mission of revolutionizing the delivery of vaccines and emergency medical supplies to the remotest parts of India with Drones. Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium is a part of the ‘Medicine from the Sky’ project in collaboration with the Government of Telangana, World Economic Forum, Niti Aayog and Healthnet Global.

Commenting on the launch, Balfour Manuel, Managing Director, Blue Dart, said, “Blue Dart is championing future-ready technology; and collaborating with the Government of Telangana in its ‘Medicine from the Sky’ project, provided us with a perfect opportunity. The initiative is aimed at creating a robust healthcare infrastructure for last-mile delivery in the interiors of India, providing every individual with the healthcare they deserve. As we witness the marvel of drone technology, we look forward to extending this service across the nation and bringing the world closer to these remote areas.” 

Ketan Kulkarni, CMO and Head – Business Development, Blue Dart, shared his thoughts on this event, saying, “technology has become the backbone of not just the logistics industry, but of almost every industry across the world. At Blue Dart, technology continues to be an important pivot for our business and these drone trials are just the beginning of what we aim to explore. In line with our organization’s ‘First In Last Out’ policy, we have created these opportunities to contribute to the development of our nation while we achieve our business goals. Blue Dart will leave no stone unturned to make logistics in India remarkable and trustworthy.”

The Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium drone delivery trials currently involve delivering vaccines from Vikarabad to the primary health care centre in Sidduloor using a multi-rotor drone. A total of 6-7 trials for VLOS operations (up to 1km) and 4-5 trials for BVLOS operations (up to 9kms) were conducted per day. Operated by remote pilots, the drone can travel up to 10kms in a single run, at a speed of 32 km per hour. 

These Unmanned Aircraft Systems or drones can even handle Blue Dart’s specialized Temperature Controlled Shipments with a payload of up to 5kgs and are equipped to pick up and deliver the shipment from the distribution centre to the towns that need the medical supplies and vice versa. The task to bring vaccines and such emergency supplies to remote areas at perilous heights and volatile terrains is not easily achieved without technology. These trials mark the beginning of advanced age in logistics for the nation.

Leading the Express Logistics industry for close to three decades, Blue Dart’s Reliability, Resilience and Responsiveness enabled it to continue fulfilling its role as the Trade Facilitator to the nation during these challenging times. Blue Dart played an active role in the nation’s fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic by partnering with the Government of India’s ‘Lifeline Udan’ initiative to deliver mission-critical supplies, including essentials such as PPE kits, enzymes, Blood samples, medicines, respirators etc.

On the international front, Blue Dart has also been operating cross border to China (Guangzhou and Shanghai) to support the carriage of medical supplies and expanded its charters to Myanmar, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh. Blue Dart has also facilitated the movement of crucial shipments for COVID-19 related clinical trials, COVID samples, and vaccines against the virus domestically while also aiding the first-mile movement of these shipments across borders to Bhutan and Albania, amongst other nations. 

Apart from this, Blue Dart is also flying its charters to carry oximeters, ventilators, and oxygen concentrators. The Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium Drone flights will deploy an immersive delivery model to optimize the current healthcare logistics within Telangana. Leveraging an efficient system of this kind, Blue Dart intends on supporting and improving the healthcare logistics infrastructure to be faster and more efficient, especially in rural & deep rural interiors of the nation.

Everything You Need To Know About iPhone 13 Lineup

Apple and September have been paired together for a long time, and why Apple always prefers September to launch its major products ​is no longer a topic of discussion. Just like every year, Apple endured its tradition and launched a number of gadgets in a jam-packed ‘California Streaming’ virtual launch event, including iPad, iPad Mini, Apple Watch Series 7, and one of the most-awaited smartphone series, iPhone 13.

The new iPhone 13 lineup was the lead performer of the event, and it successfully seized all the attention like its predecessors. As expected, following last year’s tradition, Apple launched four new iPhone 13 models- iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max with the exact screen sizes and very identical designs honed with smaller notches to the iPhone 12 lineup.

Chipset, Connectivity & Availability:

The entire iPhone 13 lineup is powered by the cutting-edge A15 Bionic chipset, the fastest processor in smartphones, almost 50% faster than top competitors. The iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Mini get the 6-core CPU and 4-core GPU options, while the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max features the 6-core CPU and 5-core integrated GPU. 

The iPhone 13 lineup gets the new 16-core Neural Engine as standard, which helps them perform better and offer innovative camera features like Smart HDR 4 and Cinematic mode. The iPhone 13 lineup supports dual SIM via the physical SIM + eSIM route, but they all also have dual eSIM functionality for the first time, along with 5G connectivity options.

The iPhone 13 lineup will be available for pre-order on the Apple India Online Store from 5:30 pm on September 17, and the sale for the same will go Live on September 24. Also, if you haven’t noticed, for the first time, Apple is making its newly launched phones available for sale in India, at the same time as other markets, including the US.

Display, Design & Colour Options:

The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini sports a 6.1-inch and a 5.4-inch display, respectively, while iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max boast a 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display, respectively, along with ProMotion. Sadly, only the Pro models get the new adjustable refresh rates that can scale from 10Hz to 120Hz, but the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini are still stuck at an old 60Hz refresh rate.

The iPhone 13 lineup gets a flat-edged design, the same as the iPhone 12 but with a 20% smaller notch than the iPhone 12. The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini get flat-edge aluminium frames with Ceramic Shield material on the front, while the Pro models feature surgical grade stainless steel with a custom finish resistant to abrasion and corrosion. The camera placement is also changed diagonally instead of straight, as seen on the iPhone 12. 

Apart from these changes, the rest of the phone is very similar to its predecessor. The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini are available in Starlight, Midnight, BluePink and Product Red, while the Pro models are available in Silver, Graphite, Gold, and Sierra blue.

Camera Upgrades:

Apple brings breakthrough camera innovations with an improved 12-MP primary camera, a night mode, a better ultrawide lens and a sensor for the iPhone 13 lineup. In particular, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini gets a 12MP wide lens with an f/1.6 aperture that can offer 47% more light-gathering than the iPhone 12 and a 12MP ultra-wide lens with an f/2.4 aperture along with sensor-shift optical image stabilization, Smart HDR 4 and Cinematic video mode with Dolby Vision support to make your videos appear like films. 

As for the Pro models, they feature an ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto lens along with other camera features such as new apertures for telephoto, 6x optical zoom range instead of 5x, digital zoom up to 15x instead of 12x, Photographic Styles along with Smart HDR 4 and Cinematic video mode. Along with all of these features, the iPhone 13 lineup also supports 4K video recording up to 60fps on all cameras.

Battery Backup:

Apple is infamous for its quick battery drains, but this time, the company has worked hard on this section and provided longer-lasting batteries to all four iPhone 13 models compared to its counterpart iPhone 12 lineup. The iPhone 13 gets about 2.5 hours more battery life than iPhone 12, while iPhone 13 Mini gets 1.5 hours more battery life than its predecessor. The same happens with the Pro models- the iPhone 13 Pro gets 1.5 hours, and iPhone 13 Pro Max gets 2.5 hours more battery than its counterparts.

Price:

The iPhone 13 lineup has borrowed almost every feature from the last year launched iPhone 12 series, and that’s why it’s tough to find a difference between iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. It is the same phone with minor design changes, a better processor, a cinematic video recording mode, overhauled cameras and narrower notches, improved battery life and of course, a new name.

The base model of the iPhone 13 Mini with 128GB storage is priced at 69,900, while the prices start from Rs 79,900 for iPhone 13. While the Pro models, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, are priced at Rs 1,19,900 and Rs 1,29,900, respectively. The storage capacities for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are available in various options- 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.

Xiaomi Showcased Its Debut Smart Glasses Inspired By Iron Man’s EDITH

Xiaomi has revealed its first pair of new smart eyewear, Xiaomi Smart Glasses, right before the one day of its mega event to steal attention from Apple’s thunder. The ordinary-looking smart glasses from Xiaomi are actually beyond the ordinary; they are loaded with various smart features, including navigation, real-time text translation and MicroLED optical waveguide technology.

The Xiaomi Smart Glasses weighs only 51 grams and can display messages, notifications, make calls, help you navigate using augmented reality (AR), capture photos and even translate text. Recently, Facebook also launched similar smart glasses called Ray-Ban Stories in collaboration with RayBan and, before even landing on buyers eyes, raised a privacy concern.

Design:

Xiaomi defines the recently revealed Smart Glasses as “an engineer’s look into an advanced future”. The Xiaomi Smart Glasses have a squarish round frame with a metal bar on top, making them appear more like Iron Man’s smart glasses ‘EDITH’. In contrast, Facebook’s Ray-Ban Stories has adopted the iconic Ray-Ban Wayfarer design that first appeared in the late ’80s.

Display:

The Xiaomi Smart Glasses adopt the MicroLED backlighting technology to lower the design space and overall weight. The monochrome display can reach a peak brightness of 2 million nits to save you from looking at harsh sunlight directly. The display chip measures only 2.4mm x 2.02mm, and it’ll appear roughly the rice-grain size under the microscope, with individual pixels sized at 4μm.

Features:

The left hinge of the Xiaomi Smart Glasses packs a 5MP camera which can also be used as a scanner for real-time translation. The company also states the Smart Glasses can transcribe audio into text with translations in real-time. The Smart Glasses runs on an Android operating system and have a built-in microphone.

It is also equipped with a quad-core ARM processor, battery, touchpad, and support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The pricing and availability information of Xiaomi Smart Glasses is not revealed yet, but the company might launch the glasses first in the Chinese market before hitting on the Global market.

Facebook Launches ‘Ray-Ban Stories’ Smart Glasses That Can Capture Photos & Videos

After establishing itself as one of the most popular social media services and ruling the social media world by acquiring WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook started venturing out for more. And now, the California headquartered company has entered into a world of smart glasses by collaborating with one of the best glass wear companies, Ray-Ban.

The Facebook sunglasses are designed on the iconic Ray-Ban Wayfarer design that first appeared in the late ’80s. The company has named its debut smart glasses as Ray-Ban stories, and these smart glasses are paired with cameras to shoot photos and up to 30 seconds of videos. The sunglasses feature two 5MP cameras, built-in speakers, a touchpad on the temple, three microphones, and a charging case.

The company has taken the necessary precautions to avoid the misuse of smart glasses. The 5MP cameras at the right corner of the eyewear have an LED light to indicate that you are recording someone. Also, you can only record videos for up to 30 seconds which means the smart gadget is made only for the Facebook Stories feature.

One can turn on the camera by pushing the side-framed button, but the images captured by the smart glasses are not high-quality images like those you click on smartphone cameras. The company has developed a dedicated app Facebook View to see photos before you upload them anywhere. The smart glasses have built-in storage for 500+ pictures and around 30 videos.

Facebook is not the first to come up with built-in camera sunglasses; Google and Snapchat have already done that. The Facebook Ray-Ban sunglasses aren’t equipped with AR features, but it comes with many other day-to-day features like taking phone calls and listening to podcasts or music. The company uses beamforming technology for calls, which ensures an “enhanced calling experience” like headphones.

On the other hand, Apple is working on AR and VR based headsets, which may even come in the form of smart glasses, but that’s not on a card right now. The smart sunglasses made by Facebook will appear in classic Ray-Ban styles like Wayfarer, Meteor and Round. The Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses are priced at $299 (roughly ₹22,000) and are available for sale in limited countries.

Exit mobile version