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Nokia Media Streamer – Android TV
I have written in the past about my experience using the various Android based Media Streaming devices like Firestick, Google Chromecast & NVIDIA Shield Player: the best player out there; and about a new SONY 43 inches Android TV I had bought. Disclosure: I write reviews about products that I have bought for my usage and paid in full. There were no sponsorship or advertisement or commission of any sort involved in this post. My son has a six-year-old Toshiba 46 Inches TV, he has an XBOX One connected to it, but he is missing streaming apps like Disney+ Hotstar on the platform, so he wanted me to get him…
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Microsoft Surface Duo Phone
After nearly five years of exiting the Phone market with their last Windows Phones, Microsoft has re-entered the market with a new phone, the Microsoft Surface Duo, which is branded as a “Productivity device with Telephony built-in!” by Microsoft. With dual-screens and running the Android OS, the device is awesome and practical. I have been using Two Monitors in my desk for years, so I can clearly see the huge productivity and ease-of-use that comes with two screens over a single screen. Surface Duo has the potential to kill the iPad (& the Android tablet) along with the ultra-portable laptops. With a two-generation old processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 that’s…
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Saramonic Blink 500 B6 – A wireless microphone
Let me get this out – I hate Air Pods and clones being used for non-personal video calls, more so when I see them used in TV interviews! I had been looking for a microphone that can record clear audio with noise reduction. I wanted one that I can connect to my laptop, to be used for video calls and webinars. Superior quality microphones don’t come cheap, so it will be great if the same could be used with my iPad Pro or Samsung Phone for recording videos capturing crisp audio. I didn’t want to invest for the Pro condenser microphones used by popular podcasters as they were expensive, and…
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Sony KD-43X8000G Smart TV for my home
Prelude Home entertainment has come a long way from the days of having (say) Orson Colour TVs and VCRs to the state of the art Smart-TVs. In my house, I have a decent home theatre equipped with a large screen, projector and sound system, but that’s used mostly for watching movies, Star Trek (the only TV Show I make an exception) and family videos. With regards to TV, we have three of them in our house of four people: A Toshiba 46 inches LED TV (Non-Smart) that I got six years ago for my son’s room for INR 52,000 (USD 690) A decade-old Sony Bravia 32 LED TV that is…
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Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
I bought a new phone, Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite and I have been using it for over a month now. For two years (from Nov’ 2017) I have been using a Google Pixel 2, I like the phone – it takes amazing photographs and you get the best experience possible with Android in any phone – the phone never lags on day-to-day tasks, at 5 inches it is compact and delivers a decent battery backup. The shortcomings with the phone were signal quality and the speakers. Last month, I noticed in Flipkart an offer for a new phone – Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite and at a price of Rs.39,999 (USD…
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Android TV is still not a good experience
As Steve Jobs is reported to have said in 2011 to Walter Isaacson, [para-phrasing] “no company has managed to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use“. Recent versions of Apple TV box are good but it works well within the Apple ecosystem only. From the time it was called Google TV (which I had bought in 2010), Google’s strategy for Television has been a mess. Over the years I have tried: Google Chromecast – v1, v2, which are good to cast something from the phone to TV, not for playing audio or video. Smart TV from Vu – This one was ok for its time. Most…
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Make and receive phone calls from your PC
I didn’t imagine it to be so convenient. I am talking (pun intended) about the Call feature in Windows 10, called the “Your Phone” App that allows you to make & receive telephone calls from your PC. The PC has to be connected via Bluetooth to an Android phone. Once I got it working, it was super cool. Thanks, Microsoft. Already “Your Phone” app allowed you to send and receive text (SMS) messages, access photos from your smartphones. The calling feature is a recent addition to the list. Apple fanboys can save their energy-I am aware that this feature has been available for iOS & macOS for quite some time. Before…
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The podcasts I listen to, and the best app for playing them is now free!
What’s a Podcast? A podcast is an episodic series of audio or video files which a user can download in order to listen. Next, to messaging & listening to music, I use my Smartphone for listening to Podcasts. For nearly a decade now, they are my companion during my evening walks and commute – helping me to relax, learn and catch up on the happenings effortlessly. Earlier I have written about the podcast episodes I have listened to: Listening to the (late) Sci-Fi author Jerry Pournelle, and reading his classic “The Mote in God’s Eye“ Listening to Rob Reid and then reading his Sci-Fi comedy book “Year Zero” which was about…
