A feature-rich prosumer camera and the new King of Android Hill

Mirror Magic

It might look like a single-lens reflex, or SLR, camera, but when you pick one up, you realise that it is not one. What Sony has done with its series of cameras - the smaller a33 with a 14.6 megapixel sensor and the larger a55 with a 16.1 megapixel sensor and added GPS - is move to the "translucent mirror" technology. This has been done while retaining the option for users to still use Sony's line interchangeable lenses on this camera. The changing of the mirror does not make pictures any worse but allows this entry-level product to shoot at an incredible seven frames per second. The cameras are loaded with a host of features like the capacity to shoot full highdefinition video. The 18-55mm kitlens that the cameras come with is nothing spectacular, but gives an idea of how to deal with cameras of this nature. The only problem is that the a33 is 10 to15 per cent more expensive than the entry-level products from Canon and Nikon DSLR.

+ve: Lightweight, extremely high shooting speed, 3D videorecording
-ve: More expensive than Canon and Nikon products
Price: Rs 37,990

Incredibly Fast

This non-tablet Android phone from Samsung is simply the best in the Indian market today, as far as pure technical specifications go. It is incredibly fast out of the box. Though we are pretty sure users will find ways to slow down the performance of this phone, the Galaxy S2 is the Sebastian Vettel of the smartphone world. Technically, it has dethroned HTC as King of the Android Hill. Put mildly, the kind of performance witnessed under this thin sliver of plastic, glass and metal was unavailable on high-end desktops half a decade ago.

The desktops did not even have touch screen applications, video camera and global positioning which this phone has. However, there is no HDMI output port and while the build-quality is solid, the phone still feels quite plasticlike. Yes, technology will march relentlessly onwards, and in time the Galaxy S2 will be consigned to the dustbin of gadget history. But until then enjoy the speed. And invest in an application killer.

+ve: Excellent performance and super AMOLED screen
-ve: No HDMI-output port
Price: Rs 32,890

-Compiled by Kushan Mitra