Review: Google Nexus 7 rival Xolo Play Tegra Note

Nvidia showcased its reference design tablet, the Tegra Note, in September and announced Indian device maker Xolo as one of its partners, making it responsible for selling the device in the Indian market. The tablet's headline features include the powerful Nvidia Tegra 4 chip and an intelligent stylus, in addition to some new capabilities that leverage the Tegra 4 chip.

The tablet was priced at $199 (Rs 12,336 approximately at today's exchange rate) in the US, and appeared to be a compelling buy. Of course, we didn't expect it to sell in India at the same price and at Rs 17,999, a price that pitchforks it in the league of Google's new Nexus 7 tablet and Asus's Fonepad 7.

We try to find out if the Xolo Play Tegra Note - without 3G and calling support - offers more bang for your buck than the competing devices in our review.

Build and design
Upon first glance, you might mistake the Xolo Play Tegra Note for an HTC device, thanks to its dual front speakers (more so because there's no branding on the front). The tablet features curved edges at the top and bottom (when held in portrait mode) unlike other tablets that usually have linear edges. The two speakers sit on a plastic frame that houses the 7-inch display panel surrounded by a black bezel. The front-facing VGA camera lens sits above the display.

The right edge features the volume rocker key and a slot for the microSD card, along with a placeholder for the stylus. The top features the Power button, the 3.5mm headset port, the micro-HDMI port and the micro-USB port while the bottom edge features another small speaker outlet. The keys are made of plastic and offer decent tactile feedback, though we felt that the volume rocker key was slightly recessed.

Turn the tablet around, and the first thing that strikes you is the partial rubberized dimpled finish, that gives the illusion of ruggedness (the tablet is not dust or waterproof, mind you). This design is also in line with the positioning of the device as a gaming-focused tablet. The rest of the back is also made of plastic though it sports matte finish, which we found, was prone to scratches. Besides the branding, the back also features a 5MP rear camera.



Overall, the design of the tablet is interesting. We wish the build quality could have been a little better.

Display and camera
The Xolo Play Tegra Note's display is its biggest weakness. The tablet that boasts of relatively high-end hardware, cuts corners in the display department, sporting a 7-inch IPS display with 720p resolution (1280 x 800 pixels). With competing tablets like Nexus 7 (2013) sporting full-HD displays, the low resolution screen sticks out like a sore thumb. Not only is the screen resolution low, the tablet's brightness levels are also sub par. This is worsened by the screen being highly reflective and prone to smudges, though viewing angles are good. We so wish Nvidia had included a better display.



The tablet sports a 5MP rear camera and a VGA front-facing camera. The Tegra Note features the Camera Awesome app which makes its debut on Android with the device; previously, it was exclusive to iOS. This app is indeed the default camera app and is optimized for the Tegra 4 processor that uses Nvidia's Chimera computational photography architecture.

Some of the features that it offers are always-on HDR (through which one can shoot HDR shots in real time without long processing time) and an object tracking feature (to lock focus and track it even if it moves or the camera is displaced) and video stabilization. The camera app offers a number of filters and effects that can be applied after taking shots. The app also offers select settings and options like burst mode and timer shots.

The quality of images captured in daylight was above average, but indoor shots were noisy. At times, colours were also a bit off. While cameras in tablets are still behind smartphones, we expected a better sensor on the Tegra Note as it boasts of some unique camera capabilities that leverage the Tegra 4 processor. The object tracking feature mostly worked but the always-on HDR will arrive with a future software upgrade. The rear camera is capable of capturing 1080p video with results comparable with the still captures. The videos are saved in 3GP, which is an old format.

The front-facing camera is functional at best and can be used for video calling apps.

Software
The Xolo Play Tegra Note runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Nvidia and Xolo sticking to a near stock build of the OS. It does feature some additional apps, including the Camera Awesome app, Xolo Care app, TegraZone, Eden to Green and Zen Pinball HD games, and two apps that can be used with the tablet's stylus, namely Tegra Draw and Write.

Apart from the apps, the software offers all standard Android Jelly Bean features, including Daydream and support for wireless display mirroring via Miracast standard.

The stylus
The Tegra Note comes with a chisel tip stylus featuring Nvidia's DirectStylus technology. Though the tablet's display panel doesn't feature a digitizer unlike the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the stylus works exclusively with the Tegra Note screen and offers a similar solution. It's sensitive to pressure and even detects and prevents accidental touches when the stylus is being used.

A launcher is displayed as soon as one removes the stylus from its holder with the shortcuts to the Write and Tegra Draw apps. The Write app lets you jot down notes and even integrate pictures with them. It doesn't, however, support text conversion. So you can't use an email address that you jot down as a contact entry. The Draw app, as the name implies, lets you make simple drawings.

The tablet displays two additional buttons on the navigation bar when the stylus is used, namely the stylus-only mode toggle and the lasso-tool button. The stylus-only mode makes the screen reject touch other than that of the stylus, while the lasso tool lets you take a screenshot and annotate.

Xolo Play Tegra Note

Nexus 7(2013) vs Xolo Play Tegra Note

Performance
The heart of the Xolo Play Tegra Note is its 1.8GHz Tegra 4 processor with 72-core GeForce GPU and quad-core Cortex-A15 CPU with a fifth battery-saver core. Nvidia's hardware is known for superior graphics performance, and the Tegra Note's USP is its gaming prowess.

The tablet comes with the Nvidia Tegrazone, highlighting games optimized for Nvidia Tegra devices. The experience while playing games like Dead Trigger 2 and Shadow Gum was better than most other Android devices, with no lag or dropped frames. The loading times of games was also lesser compared to the Nexus 7 (2013).

Navigating through the phone's menu and launching apps was a breeze thanks to all the power under the hood. The tablet was able to play HD video clips very smoothly, supporting all major video file formats.

The battery lasted a good 10 hours with continuous video playback. It will last about a day and a half with moderate to mixed usage, including some web browsing, casual gaming and video playback.

The quality of sound delivered through the front stereo speakers was excellent and we feel that it's one of the loudest compared to other tablets.

The microSD card slot can be used to expand the tablet's 16GB internal storage.

Verdict
The Xolo Play Tegra Note aspires to be a high-end tablet with a mid-range price point. While it creates benchmarks in terms of CPU and graphics performance, the tablet is marred by its low resolution display. In our opinion, for a large number of users, the tablet's display matters the most as the primary use case for them is reading and viewing multimedia content.

The camera on the Tegra Note is also nothing to write home about. Another factor that goes against the tablet is the Xolo branding. We're not sure if a prospective customer would choose an Indian brand, relatively less known in the tablets segment, at a price point of nearly Rs 18,000 over Google's Nexus 7 or a Samsung tablet.

The lack of a 3G variant is also a big letdown as public Wi-Fi networks in India are far and few. Unless you carry a Wi-Fi hotspot or use your mobile phone as one, you'll not be able to connect to the internet. Tablets like the Asus Fonepad 7 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 fare better in this department.

We'd recommend the Nexus 7 (2013) over the Xolo Play Tegra Note.

IT Industry Must Provide Training to Govt Business Teams

There is a need to implement IT enabled processes to provide transparency and accountability.

Gone are the days when to be part of the IT services team that handles government clients (state or central) all that you needed are contacts and an ability to handle the various bureaucrats.

“A greater understanding of the processes and procedures of the various government departments is essential,” observes Vivek Atray, Secretary to Government of Haryana, IT and Communications. “Even today the IT industry is yet to master this. The manner in which working with various governments from planning for the bid, to delivery and post implementation hand holding, requires greater understanding of the nuances.”

IAS officers today are often IIT and IIM alumni, and come with corporate experience. With knowledge of working on both sides, they highlight several key areas that need to be addressed within the government business team of IT companies.

Hyderabad most googled city in India this year

Mana city emerged the hot favourite among Indian netizens this year as it turned out to be the most 'searched for' city on search engine giant Google in 2013, beating other metros like Mumbai and Bangalore. Events that made Hyderabad the most sought after city in the virtual world were the Dilsukhnagar twin blasts in February that killed 17 people and injured more than 100, the Telangana crisis, which reached its peak during July, August and then again in September, the IPL matches held in the city, the questioning of terrorist Yasin Bhatkal by theHyderabad police and the Volvo bus tragedy in October that killed 45 people.

These details were revealed by Google India's Year End Zeitgeist report, which laid out the hottest trends, people, places and events that captured the world's attention in 2013.

"Hyderabad has been in the national news for a while now, with the bifurcation issue no more restricted to only the state. People from other cities are also curious about Osmania University(OU) and other educational institutes of Hyderabad," said educationist G Haragopal.

Meanwhile, Tollywood stars such as Mahesh Babu, Kaajal Agarwal and Samantha were the most searched for local personalities on the internet.

Interestingly, politician Akbaruddin Owaisi was the only non-film personality to figure on that list.

Owaisi's virtual popularity peaked when he was admitted to hospital early this year and then again in August when he along with his brotherAsaduddin Owaisi announced expansion plans for their party, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), and the possibility of contesting elections in other states as well.

Not so surprisingly, the MIM chief's hate speech delivered in 2012 saw the maximum number of hits in any news relating to the politician right through the year. OU, the hotbed of the Telangana agitation, was the most looked up educational institution in the city, followed by JNTU, Andhra University and Kakatiya University. Not really searched for its academic courses, hits for OU were the maximum during the clashes between the university students and the police on the Telangana issue.

The place that was enquired about the most in Hyderabad was the Big Cinemas multiplex, which was in the news in May after it was announced that the chain of theatres will be thrown open to retail clothes stores.

Ramoji Film City became a popular search topic in November when it entered into a pact with IRCTC to promote tourism in the state.

"It is the composite cultural environment of the city that draws people to find out more about Hyderabad as and when events occur here," Haragopal added. 

LG announces world‘s first Chrome-based desktop

LG has announced the world's first Google-powered Chromebase All-in-One PC.

The Linux-based operating system used to come pre-installed on laptops or boxes that required similar monitor, however, it would be a first PC to incorporate the system.

According to the BBC, Chrome-based computers tend to be cheaper than Windows-powered systems, in part because Google does not charge manufacturers to include its software.

Being cheaper has its drawbacks as the operating system runs only a limited range of applications and popular apps like Skype, Powerpoint, Photoshop and iTunes are unavailable, but can be downloaded from Google's free or paid web-based alternatives.

The LG Chromebase desktop computer measures 21.5-inch with a 1080p full-HD screen that resembles Apple iMacs, HP's Spectre One range and Dell's Inspiron One family, which cost 700 pounds or more.

According to the report, the Chromebase PC has just 16GB of storage, which is relatively a very low amount as Google intends to encourage users to store their data on cloud, thereby reducing costs.

LG Chromebase desktop computer is expected to be launched in January at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegasadded.

Wipro launches online programme for students

Indian IT bellwether   Wipro unveiled an online programme to train undergraduate students in finance and accounts to enhance their job skills in both subjects, the company said Wednesday.

"We have started imparting skills online to final year students of commerce and business administration in select degree colleges across Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad to enhance their employability in finance and accounting," Wipro back office global head Subhasish Biswas said in a statement here.

The online course has been designed in two parts - basics of finance and accounting and corporate readiness training.

Successful students will be certified after assessing their skills for a placement in the global software major.

The 24-hour programme consists of modules, which give students flexibility to work over two months along with their graduation course.

The course modules are in a video-based PowerPoint presentation format to understand the concepts.

"As we need readily employable workforce, our expertise in training delivery in the services sector enabled us to create a platform for graduating students to pursue a rewarding career in finance and accounts," Biswas said.

Wipro's business process outsourcing (BPO) division has partnered with Firstnaukri.com to promote the initiative and allow the job portal to host the online module and distribute it to colleges with which it has tie-up across the country.

"Indian businesses are struggling to recruit youth with right technical and soft skill sets. It is becoming imperative for companies to focus on skill development and employability of youth entering workforce," Firstnaukri.com business head Deepali Singh said in the statement.

World's first phone with 2K resolution launched

Chinese manufacturer  Vivo has pipped the likes of Samsung and LG to launch the world's first smartphone with 2K (2560x1440p) resolution, named Xplay 3S. This phone's screen has more pixels than the current crop of 1080p displays, making text, videos, images etc clearer and sharper.

The new Vivo Xplay 3S's 6-inch display has pixel density of 490ppi, which is higher than the 469ppi (the highest pixel density before this launch) of HTC One. Other features of Xplay 3S are also top end, such as 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset, 3GB RAM and 13MP rear camera. It also has a 5MP camera in front and comes with an app called Photo+ that features augmented reality functionalities and shares video on the cloud.

The phone is powered by a customized version of Android, named Funtouch OS. Other features of Vivo Xplay 3S include 32GB built-in storage, 3,200mAh battery and metallic bezel. The phone weighs 172gram, measures 4.95mm at its thinnest point and comes with a fingerprint scanner.

The manufacturer has included several audio technologies in the phone, such as TI OPA2604 amplifier and ESS Technology ES9018 DAC. Its DTS Headphones:X technology supports 7.1 and 11.1 surround sound effect.

Vivo is also the company behind the world's thinnest smartphone, X3, which is just 5.75mm thick.

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S5 smartphone is also rumoured to feature 2K resolution. Earlier this year, LG unveiled its 2K resolution display panel that is likely to be used in future smartphones. Chinese manufacturer Oppo has also announced that its upcoming Find 7 handset will have 2K screen resolution.

Microsoft kicks off app development contest in India

Technology giant Microsoft has started a contest for independent software vendors (ISVs) and technology startups in India to create over 100 applications (apps) and solutions for businesses and governments in the next six months.

The contest, Code for Honour, is supported by a panel of organizations including the National Informatics Centre (NIC), IT-ITeS industry body Nasscom, TiE, Nokia, Nokia App Campus, Intel and BarrierBreak.

Kicking off the contest, Microsoft Indiachairman Bhaskar Pramanik said, "With the proliferation of devices and cloud-based services, governments, businesses and other organizations are seeking to interact with customers, partners and other stakeholders securely and reliably."

There is an opportunity to create commercial apps beyond the traditional ERP and other transactional systems, he added.

"Code for Honour will kick-start the creation of apps and solutions that are scalable, reliable and secure and that can be used over public, private and hybrid clouds," he said.

The contest, which will run for over six months, is open to over 5,000 ISVs and tech startups in India. Any Indian ISV or tech startup that is less than eight years old is eligible to participate in the contest, Pramanik added.

The ISVs and startups can develop apps and solutions in four broad categories on enterprise apps and solutions (HR, finance, marketing, sales etc), micro, small and medium enterprise apps and solutions, government enablement and citizen services.

On the revenue sharing model, Microsoft India chief evangelist and general manager Joseph Landes said, "Till $25,000, 75% revenue will be given to the developer and the rest will go to Microsoft and for over-$25,000, 80% will go to the developer and rest to Microsoft."

Over the last two years, developers and ISVs in India have contributed significantly to Windows and Windows Phone stores. The rich developer ecosystem in India makes it the ideal place for developing commercial applications, he added.

"The reality of multi-device, multi-screen experiences is reshaping how developers think, build and monetize apps for consumption across the world," Microsoft corporate vice president and chief evangelist Steve Guggenheimer said.

With the best-in-class guidance, Code for Honor contest will challenge developers to build apps that have large-scale impact both for India and the world, he added.