Saturday, March 26, 2016

Nexus 5X : A comparitive review with Iphone 6 and OnePlus 2

Consider the following scenario: Your hard earned, most desired iPhone's display just got shattered to pieces in a single drop accidentally. Your options are to fix the display by shelling out 15-20K in a Apple store or a minimum 8-10K for a duplicate display in a local store. Both options doesn't look good. One is too expensive for just a fragile display while the other is never a reliable one

So your obvious choice is to go for a new phone, preferably in the 20K segment (not again willing to spend on another "Fragile" iPhone) . So the choices are probably narrowed down to just two brands
A LG Nexus 5X and a One Plus 2, both of them touting to be an iPhone killer

Highlighted are some of the key specs that actually matter when choosing a matter and the text highlighted in red gives you a fair understanding of how poorly the iPhone specs fare when compared to the Nexus 5X and OnePlus 2 which really boasts of some top hardware specs

Be it resolution, RAM, battery or compatibility both options are on the higher end of the spectrum

(Click on the pic to enlarge or right click save image to your PC and zoom it )

After using the Nexus 5X for the past 2 months ,its pretty clear why its rated as one of the best phones in the market . With price reductions, the Nexus 5X is a fantastic buy at a 20K price segment without a moment's hesitation

Camera :
The camera quality is fantastic and quite raw without any artificial brightening or effects added on to it, which makes it even more clear and natural. Both front and back camera have good image resolutions(even approved by some of my photographer friends). Don't get misled by the relatively 12.3 MP clarity when other brands offer 16 or 21. This 12.3MP camera has enough power in itself to match even a 21MP camera by any other brand and has some amazing pixel density and clarity when viewed in a PC or a larger screen.

Of course , you have plenty of apps like Instagram and Beautify to brighten or edit the pic as you'd like (even the recently launched  Samsung S7 has only a 12MP but can take some really awesome shots. So never judge a phone on the camera megapixels. Experiment it directly before judging the same)

Battery :
The 2700mah battery for a 5.2' smartphone is pretty standard,non removable and lasts easily a day and half (though it would have been nice to have a 3300mah battery like the Oneplus2)

Connectivity :
Nexus 5X comes with a USB-C connector, which is a good thing for faster charging and easier connectivity. However Nexus has made a blunder here by providing both ends of the cable to be a USB-C format than the standard USB A connector for the other end. So connecting the cable to any laptop is not directly possible. This is however resolved by buy a USB C-USB
A connector from a store nearby for 150Rs and get the work done ( of course it would have been better if the cable came with the phone directly)

Processor & Memory :

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor and 2GB RAM is more than sufficient to play any game that demands a heavy graphic processing capability and you can do that with ease with the Nexus 5X.
Tested the phone with Asphalt 8, Dead Trigger 2 on high graphics mode and it works like a charm without any lag

OS :
The significant advantage of a Nexus 5X however is its Google Android OS. With a direct feed from Google, you can get direct updates for the OS almost instantly and you can always boast of having the latest OS in town than anyone else. The Marshmallow OS interestingly has improved their security policies and control for the user for each of the apps. A feature, similar to Apple, a user can restrict/deny/approve permissions for each app separately 


Summary :
Pros

  • Excellent phone at a 20K price tag
  • Powerful Snapdragon 808 processor and 2GB RAM
  • Google's stock OS without any clutter
  • High resolution Camera
  • USB C connectivity
  • 5.2' is a very ideal size for a smartphone and a perfect fit for the hand

Cons:
  • Requires purchase of separate USBC-USBA cable for 150Rs to connect to laptop
  • Lack of SD card and the 16GB internal store can be a pain for few people who needs extensive memory (However similar to Apple cloud, you have plenty of free cloud backup options like Google Drive and DropBox which can backup pictures and contacts automatically)

Verdict Definite Buy


I'm still split 50:50 on the Nexus 5X and One plus 2 as both have similar features and rock-solid quality, though the Google brand factor pulls me more towards the Nexus




Get the Nexus 5X here : http://fkrt.it/pfQtcuuuuN

OnePlusTwo :  http://amzn.to/1OeDqKI


Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Mi Earphones Basic Review

I have always admired the Xiaomi brand for delivering rock solid phones with excellent quality at a game changing price. Probably they were the ones who influenced other brands to sharply reduce the prices and gave Samsung and HTC's a run for their money. The MI 3 , MI 4 were a huge success when they were launched and the product's quality was proof enough that the brand was serious about quality

With this confidence, I happened to spot the Xiaomi In-Ear Earphones for 299 (+40 Deliver) in the MI.com site . With good descriptions and images, I was quite convinced that they will somehow become a super hit in the earhpones industry as well and challenge Sennheiser , Sony, SkullCandy and the likes. However my joy and expectation was shortlived when I was quite literally vastly disappointed at the earphones I had received.


For Rs.349 , this definitely was one of my biggest mistakes in trusting a brand without reading extensive reviews of it. The earphone was white in colour and had a flat wire which claimed to be non-tangled one.

The first time I heard a few songs , connected through my phone, I realized that this is a bad investment. Though the sound clarity was fine, the earphones provided absolutely no boost or any effect to the song. Both Bass and Treble was completely absent and I had the feeling of listening to a FM radio when in fact a a nice EDM track with 320 KBPS was playing in my phone.

The song was flat , with 0 bass and you could hear the thumping beats and punchy sounds getting dissolved in the background and what you could hear was an average audio quality of the song

Another key issue while buying directly through MI.com was the fact that there is no return policy on this one. They replace if there are any defects but no returns if you dont like the product

Verdict : Do not buy!!

There are plenty of phones in the 300-400 Range in Panasonic, Philips and Creative that offer . If you can go a little higher you can even get a Sennheiser brand :  Sennheiser MX170 for 600rs which is a fantastic buy

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Audio Technica - ATH-M20x : Hands-on Review

My search for an ideal professional grade Studio quality headphones finally came to an end,post my purchase of the Audio Technica ATH M20X. When my existing Philips and SkullCandy headphone began to wear out, splurging on this 3000rs headphone seemed to be the most ideal thing to do



The below review is posted after using it extensively for more than a month, every day and passed the burn-in period

Costing Rs.3000 , this is one of the best choices for a over the ear headphone in the 50$ segment and definitely great value for money. Audio Technica may have other cheaper models in the sub 1500Rs segment offering much lower quality and prone to criticism of their brand. But with the M20X , they have hit it right on target and delivers superior quality of music, that's probably heard only in very expensive premium headphones costing 10K+, such as Beats, Sennheiser and JVC.

The other 2 variants in the ATH MX series apart from the M20X include the M30X(Rs.4000 ~ 60USD) and the M50X(Rs.10,000 ~ 150USD). These two variants offer far higher resistance and nearly double the power input of M20X. Sensitivity and frequency response however remains almost identical to all three variants and so do the appearance

The M20X offers the most ideal mix of bass and treble naturally and doesn't require any advanced equalizers to fine tune the audio. The sound output is crystal clear and you can get to hear those special instruments chirping away in the background very clearly. The songs are not distorted by extra punchy bass but at the same time it reproduces the sound effects quite vividly, including the intended bass available in many tracks

Not just songs, but this can be a great choice for watching movies in laptops as well. The flatness in the audio with support for almost all frequency ranges. I played a wide genre of songs in different languages and till now yet to find a track that wasn't justified by the Audio Technica M20X. Even if the track was just 256-320KBS and not necessarily a FLAC/Lossless WAV format, it played it with perfection

The noise isolation was 100% as it complete encompasses your ear and makes you forget the world completely. However person next to you can slightly overhear you if the volume is kept at a slightly higher level



Other Alternatives :

The only 2 other choices that is often considered,in this price range includes the Sony MDR-XB450  and BeyerDynamic.
  •  Sony MDR XB450 costs around 2000 and is strictly marketed for "Bass heads" and offers the extra punchy bass along with an excellent depth of quality. But its definitely not for the average music listener or the "purists", who expects to listen the raw version of the song without being distorted by extra high sounding bass.
  • BeyerDynamic costing almost similar to the ATH M20X at around 3K INR, it offers a decent alternative to Audio Technica. With similar open back design, swivelling ear cups, Beyerdynamic is modelled along the lines of the former,with similar frequency response and slightly higher bass. 

However, when faced with a choice I'd stricly go for the Audio Technica, primarily because of its military grade quality in both the ear piece as well as its thick insulation cable that stretches to nearly 2-3m. The popularity of the Audio Technica brand among musicians, primarily for studio monitoring purposes thanks to its pure crystal clear sound output, can be a great factor while choosing this headphone

Summary

Pros:
  • Outstanding clarity and purity of sound
  • Military grade encasing of the 3M Chord with neodymium magnet
  • Pricing is quite optimal at the 3K (and definitely offers quality that of a 10K Rs. headphone)
  • Best Studio Monitor Headphone in the market
  • 100% Sound Isolation
  • Also contains an additional 6.5MM jack to connect to Amps

Cons:
  • Not foldable and can be quite bulky while travelling.
  • Not ideal for jogging/walking (but of course these are meant to be for home use/studio use)
  • Can become slightly difficult while listening to it for a stretch ( better to take a few minutes break now and then )
Verdict : Definite buy !!

You can buy it here in Flipkart : http://fkrt.it/SHq2euuuuN