Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000: Review

Microsoft recently launched its Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 in India. It can be paired with any Bluetooth enabled mobile phone, notebook, desktop or tablet.

Mobile Keyboard 5000 succeeds company's Mobile Keyboard 6000 and the only major difference between the versions is the missing numeric pad in the former.

Packaging and contents
The red keyboard box is just as sleek as the product. Apart from the Bluetooth keyboard, the package comes with a user manual and two Alkaline AAA batteries that are required to power this device.

Design and build quality
Microsoft's Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 is a visually appealing device. Unlike the competing keyboards that are rectangular in shape, it has a slightly curved design that works in its favour.  Another positive for this keyboard is its slim and light-weight profile.

The keys are large and well-spaced, but unlike other keyboards not all keys on Microsoft's Keyboard 5000 are of equal size. The function keys placed in top row are very small in size; however, as the function keys are hardly used, we did not find it much of an issue.

Function keys aren't the only ones with smaller size on the keyboard. While centre keys such as 'B', 'N', 'G' and 'H' are larger, the corner keys like 'O', 'K', 'L' and 'Q' are smaller. According to the company, this unusual size of keys, and the design of this keyboard, encourages natural posture while typing. That might well be true, but it certainly takes some getting used to.

Talking about the other parts of the keyboard, the battery lid has been placed at the rear along with power button and Bluetooth pairing button. The pairing button is quite small and we found it a little uncomfortable to use. If you plan to pair with different devices on a regular basis, this may be a slight pain-point.

Moving on to the build quality, this keyboard is made essentially of the plastic but it does not look cheap and feels like a sturdy device.

With mere 414 grams weight, the keyboard is quite lightweight, but because of the size, we didn't find portable enough for tablets. To make it more travel friendly, the keyboard should have ideally come with a soft cover/pouch. But, Microsoft seems to have overlooked it.

Further on the downside, there is no indicator for Caps Lock, or the battery life. Company has just given a power indicator, which informs you if the device has been powered on and also blinks while the device is in discoverable mode.

Performance
To use the Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000, all one needs to do is insert two AAA batteries in the keyboard and pair it with a compatible Bluetooth device. We paired it with an Apple iPad and Windows notebook, and in both cases we found the connecting procedure to be similar and fairly straightforward.

In terms of usage, the device is comfortable to use and is very responsive. However, as we have already pointed out, it takes a while to get used to the keys on this one.

Verdict
If you are out in the market looking for a wireless keyboard for home-use, Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 is a decent option, but if you want a portable keyboard for your new tablet, you might find it a bit large.

Pros
Appealing design
Light-weight/Portable
Easy to connect

Cons
Takes a bit of time to get used to the key placement
No battery life/Caps Lock indicator

Price: Rs. 3,350

Ratings:
Performance: 3.5
Price: 3
Ease of setup: 4
Ergonomics: 4
Wow Factor: 3.5

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BlackBerry Curve 9220: Review

n the wake of increasing popularity of Android phone and Apple's iPhone, Research In Motion (RIM) has not been having a good run with its BlackBerry devices. Fortunately for the company, India is one of the few markets in which it is still popular amongst youngsters, thanks largely to the BlackBerry Curve 8520. Launched way back in 2009, 8520 was the first Curve smartphone from the Canadian handset maker and it continues to be their bestselling smartphone in the country. 

The reasons why Curve 8520 proved to be such a big hit are easy to understand. It's the cheapest BlackBerry around, and the go-to option for the young crowd who use BlackBerry Messenger as if their life depended on it. The wide variety of colour options no doubt helped the sales.

Though the Curve 8520 continues to be the top selling model for RIM, it runs on the dated OS 5, has a slow processor and an average battery backup.

This is where the new BlackBerry Curve 9220 steps in. Priced attractively at Rs. 10,990, the company expects it to be as popular as the first Curve and is specifically being targeted at the youngsters. 

Hardware and looks
The first thing that you notice about the new Curve 9220 is that it looks very similar to Curve 8520. However, despite having a larger battery, it is 1.2mm thinner than its predecessor. 
The Curve 9220 also has the full plastic body but the build quality is nice. It feels sturdy and can bear a few falls with without any major damage. 

The big highlight of this smartphone is the presence of a dedicated BBM key. This key is placed on the left side of the handset, and gives instant access to BlackBerry Messenger. However, it works only when the handset is unlocked, so not really a shortcut to access BBM.

Unlike other BlackBerrys, this smartphone does not have any dedicated media keys on the top panel. This clears a lot of space at the top, which now only houses the screen lock key.
The keyboard is pretty much the standard one found on any BlackBerry device and the QWERTY lovers will find it quite convenient to use.

Just like the BlackBerry Curve 8520, the new Curve handset, too, will be available in vibrant colour options such as fuchsia pink and teal blue, apart from the usual black and white.

Display
The BlackBerry Curve 9220 comes with 2.44-inch TFT LCD display with 320x240 pixels resolution. When pitted against the other Curve devices at similar price point, Curve 9220 scores better than the rest in terms of display. Having said that, the display of this handset is still nothing to rave about when compared to other smartphones.

Camera
BlackBerry Curve 9220 sports a 2.0-megapixels fixed focus camera. The images captured through this camera in proper light conditions were at the most average. Needless to add, the quality deteriorates even further in low-lighting conditions.

Considering that RIM is trying to catch the fancy of the young consumers through this handset, we feel that the camera should have been better. Most devices at this price point come loaded with at least 5-megapixels primary camera. 

Another downside of this smartphone is the fixed-focus nature of the camera rather than auto-focus found on other smartphones. The quality of videos recorded through this handset is also average. 

Software/ Interface
Curve 9220 comes loaded with the latest BlackBerry OS 7.1, which makes it the first handset at this price point to do so. To put things in perspective, the more expensive BlackBerry Curve 9300 (commonly referred as Curve 3G) and BlackBerry Bold 9780 handsets are still running on the older BlackBerry OS 6.

When compared with BlackBerry OS 5 and OS 6, the new operating system seems far sleeker, faster and more user-friendly.  Also BlackBerry OS 7.1 brings mobile hotspot, universal search, BlackBerry tag and FM Radio support, which were in the earlier version.

The addition of Social Feeds in an entry-level device is handy, especially when it is targeted to young users. We liked the experience of using Facebook through Social Feeds more than the native Facebook app. One of the most important aspects of any BlackBerry device, without any doubt, is its BBM experience. We found the experience of using this app on Curve 9220 to be almost identical to other BlackBerry OS 7 devices.

Performance/ Battery Life
RIM is tight lipped regarding the processor inside BlackBerry Curve 9220, but irrespective of the which processor has been used in this phone; we found that this smartphone was pretty smooth in terms of functioning. There were no lags in transitioning between different apps; neither did we encounter any unusual crashes.

Another addition in this handset is the FM radio. The radio app is quite basic with no frills attached. The voice quality and music playback quality on the handset, both through loudspeaker and earplugs, is good.

The best part about this smartphone is the battery-life. The Curve 9220 comes with a 1450 mAh battery, which easily lasted for a day with frequent app use and web browsing without needing a charge. 

In terms of connectivity, this mobile handset comes with a Wi-Fi and 2G but lacks 3G support. It's a bit disappointing to find a device at this price point of Rs. 10,000 that does not have 3G support.

Verdict
The biggest drawback for BlackBerry still continues to be its inability to excite the developers to create apps for its platform and the BlackBerry Curve 9220 is unlikely to change that. However, if you are not into the apps and are looking for a budget BlackBerry smartphone to connect with your BBM friends, then Curve 9220 is worth considering. It is also be a good upgrade for users of BlackBerry Curve 8520 as it offers an updated OS and better battery at a similar price point. 


Pros
Battery life
Affordable BlackBerry OS 7 device

Cons
2.0 MP Camera with fixed focus
No 3G

Price: Rs. 10,990

Ratings:
Design: 3
Display: 2.5
Camera: 2
Performance: 3.5
Software: 3.5
Ecosystem: 1.5
Battery Life: 4
Value for Money: 3
Overall: 3

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HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE for Verizon hands-on at CTIA 2012 (update

This handset didn't surprise anyone when it was officially announced at CTIA Wireless 2012, but we're still happy to spend time with the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE for Verizon Wireless regardless. After catching enough glimpses of the smartphone over the past few months, we already had a good idea of what to expect: Big Red's latest LTE device will have Ice Cream Sandwich dressed in Sense 4, a 4-inch Super LCD qHD panel, a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 (Krait), 1,700mAh user-removable battery, microSD support and an 8MP BSI f/2.2 camera with a 28mm lens.

If you're familiar with either the OG HTC Droid Incredible or its sequel, you'll instantly recognize the trusty hump on the back of the third iteration -- Verizon and HTC haven't strayed too far from the design formula here. Aside from the Sense 4 firmware hiding inside the phone, the Incredible 4G LTE has little in common with its cousins, the One X and One S. Frankly, we're still left pondering if the carrier will come out with a version of its own, since we've seen the other three national powers get a high-profile device from the Taiwanese manufacturer.

We had a very similar feeling when holding the new Incredible, one easily related to how we felt with its predecessors. It's quite light, and it actually feels thinner than it really is. All in all, the phone is very comfortable to hold, and from our few minutes of using it, it seemed to be rather smooth. Naturally, as we expected, Verizon reps warned us that it's running on preliminary firmware at the moment, so we don't take a lot of stock in its performance, good or bad. All in all, it's exactly how we thought it would be -- a refreshed version of the Incredible 2, with a much better processor and a few other notable bumps in specs. Head below to check out a few images of Verizon's newest darling.

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