Technology and review

Light Weaponry
Nikon D3100

Nikon's new D3100 is the lightest digital single lens reflex, or DSLR, camera, which is both a good and a bad thing. A lighter body means you can comfortably lug it around while you are vacationing. But a lighter body also means keeping the camera steady in your hands will not be easy.

Thankfully, the D3100 comes with a Nikor 18-55mm vibration reduction (VR) lens, which significantly reduces the problem as does the new EXSPEED 2 image processor in this machine. The image processor, which helps the 14.2 megapixel sensor capture full high-definition movies, also has an "assist" mode that previews the shot on the chosen settings, and helps even the most amateur photographer take superb images.

• Pros: Affordable, light, excellent image quality
• Cons: Might be a bit too light for some
• Price: Rs 32,950 (Including 18-55mm kit lens)

A Handy Device
Aldiko eBook Reader

T he problem with eBooks is paying for something you cannot tangibly own. After all, a book, to some of us, is a physical thing. The smell of a new book, the fading calligraphy of your grandfather in a book from your childhood, the pleasure of browsing in a bookstore - these are things that you miss in the digital world.

But the Aldiko eBook Reader for Android is special, partly because it has a library full of free, open-source books. For an application that was pre-loaded free on a review piece of the Samsung Galaxy S, it makes eminent sense. There are a lot of very interesting classics of western literature - Plato, Shakespeare, Tolstoy.

Reading a book on a four-inch screen can be disconcerting at times, but when you forget to pick up a copy of that Murakami book for your flight, reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes all over again on your phone is not a bad substitute. The Aldiko eBook reader comes free on Samsung's Android phones, but costs $1.99 otherwise in the Android marketplace.

Web Site
Webcomics to Watch

One of the really nice things about the Internet is that you can read a lot of comics. For free. As more and more newspapers move comics away into the supplements, or do away with them altogether, the online world is becoming the last refuge of the comics nerd.

But much like the Internet gave musicians a whole new avenue to distribute music, it has also created a forum for up and coming, and in some cases, highly successful, comic artists. Here are a few, we think, you should check out.

The Oatmeal (www.theoatmeal.com) XKCD (www.xkcd.com) Cyanide and Happiness (www.explosm.net/comics)