Review
A new laptop from the Acer stable and the fourth iteration of the BlackBerry Bold.
Mint on the Decade (Apple iPad, free)
One of the first iPad applications targeted at an Indian audience. Kudos to Mint for creating the fi rst iPad application by an Indian media organisation. In terms of design and layout, the application is very good, particularly with navigability. There are some problems, though. Pinch-to-zoom does not work, though the font size is reasonably good. A reason behind that could be the highly visual design of the content. Zooming could have created havoc with the layout. All the content downloads when you install the app. This does mean that the install time is unduly long, even on a relatively fast Wi-Fi network.
Acer Travel Mate 8472
Most laptops these days have become commoditised. Unless you own a MacBook. But that said, this new laptop from Acer does try hard to stand out. And it does that by simply being fairly good at what it does. The Windows that it comes with still has far too much bloatware (useless software that takes up disk space), but the device itself is fairly good. Performance is surprisingly zippy, and the battery does not give up its ghost for a long time even when running videos non-stop. It has a magnesium alloy skeleton that not just makes the body fairly light but also keeps the hard disk shock-proof. You could consider buying one.
+ve: Light, durable, long battery life
-Ve: Looks ordinary
Price: Rs 44,000
This is the fourth iteration of the Bold since it was launched in 2008. But it is the first to get the new BlackBerry OS 6.0 previously seen on the Torch, and also looks closer to the second-generation Curve than to its Bold predecessors. A bigger change, though, is in terms of performance. The new BlackBerry OS 6.0 is a lot better and comes with a far improved scrolling and web experience and a much better media player. It also continues to do the things it should do well, such as e-mail. If you want a BlackBerry and have some money to spend, this is the device to buy. But if you already have a recent version, the 9780 does not make a compelling argument for you to upgrade your phone.
+ve: Improved operating system and sleeker looks
-ve: No compelling upgrade BlackBerry argument
Price: Rs 27,000
Compiled by Kushan Mitra
