What to buy...
Good Deal
The compact USB card reader, which weighs less than 19 g, has finally made it to India. It supports the SD/SDHC, microSD/SDHC, MSPD, MS Pro HG Duo, and M2 formats, but doesn't support a compact flash card. Unlike other card readers, it has a USB port, so you don't have to lug an extra cable. And it was voted one of the best travel gadgets of 2009 by Time. Need we say more?
Good Deal
For those who covet the Kindle but can't afford it, here's a chance to own a clone (minus the keyboard) at almost half the price. Pi is barely 10 mm thick, weighs 180 g, has a 6-inch E-ink display, four font sizes and supports Indian languages. It has an internal memory of 512 MB and a microSD card slot that can take it up to 4 GB. This means you can store up to 3,000 ebooks. And if you want a break from reading, you can hum through Pi's music library.
Good Deal
The Canon G11 is a topnotch point-and-shoot camera and comparable with the entry-level DSLRs. It has a 10 megapixel resolution, 5x optical zoom, a high ISO of 3200, optical image stabiliser, 17 different scene modes and a wide-angle zoom lens (28-140 mm). It has a 2.8-inch flip-out swivel LCD screen that makes it easy to shoot self-portraits. Though there are better cameras that score on individual qualities, the G11's strength is its all-round capability, from image quality and superb battery life to high levels of manual control. The only drawback is the lack of high-definition video recording.
Good Deal
Ford seems to be pulling up its socks in India with the launch of the Figo, a hatchback designed specifically with Indian consumers in mind. The features and pricing make it one of the most appealing cars in its segment, which includes frontrunners Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20, Volkswagen Polo and Chevrolet Beat. The car has a 5-speed manual transmission, and at 3,795 mm, is one of the biggest B-segment cars with a large boot. As for the gadget geeks, the high-end variants come with Bluetooth connectivity. The mileage for the petrol variants is expected to be about 15 kmpl.
...And what not to
Bad Deal
This is the second version of the Xmini capsule speaker. The bonus is a 2 GB Kingston SD card (can be upgraded to 8 GB) at the base of one of the speakers, which turns this tiny device into a portable music player. Unfortunately, there is no improvement in the sound system. There is no audible distortion and the mids and highs are fine, but the lack of bass will keep most audiophiles away. Also, the price doesn't justify the lack of features when you can get the Creative Zen Stone Plus, with inbuilt speakers, radio and voice recorder, for Rs 3,699.
Bad Deal
If you are in the habit of misplacing your mobile phone, here's a nifty solution—strap it to your wrist. Voila, you have the LG watch phone. While the innovation appeals, this watch (or phone?) has the usual features—touchscreen, MP3 player, camera—that are available for a much less price in other phones. Besides, it has a measly 80 MB memory and there’s no Net browsing facility. So buy it only if you want to play James Bond. If not, stick to the cheaper and more practical BlackBerry and HTC Touch.
Bad Deal
For its price, the phone has decent features, such as voice recording and FM radio. However, the sound quality is not good and video recording is below average. So why is it a bad deal? Two GSM and one CDMA SIMs are an overkill. The idea seems fascinating, but do you really need three numbers? Also, as the phone works hard to keep you connected to three networks, its battery life is short, offering less than four hours of talk time.
Bad Deal
Let's give credit where it's due. This is the only netbook in India with an in-built 3G modem. Beyond this dubious advantage, the Olive has nothing much to offer. It has an Atom N270 processor, 1 GB memory and a 160 GB hard disk drive. It comes with Windows XP, which is surprising because new netbooks have the Windows 7 platform. As for the modem, it uses a Tata Photon connection, which isn't the best. There are faster connections as well as cheaper plans to choose from.
