STYLISH ROAD WARRIOR
Once the preferred compact laptop for road warriors, the Vaio brand has made a stunning comeback. The Vaio Z is the world’s first 3D moulded carbon-fibre laptop. It’s ultralight (under 1 kg), yet extremely durable. It’s also a hardware beast, powered by the best of breed 11 Gen Intel Core processors. The 14-inch high-definition 4K LCD panel is truly immersive, while the Dolby Audio speakers add to its entertainment creds. The 10-hour battery life means you’re sorted for a day-long business trip or marathon WFH sessions. Rs 2,60,000.
SMART ALEC
We first spotted the Sony SRS-RA3000 at CES 2021. These premium wireless smart speakers add great acoustics to the ever expanding smart speaker market with Sony’s unique spatial sound technologies packed with smart features. The RA3000 comes with 360-degree Reality Audio, and is compatible with Spotify Connect. It’s inbuilt with Chromecast, and can be easily added to a speaker group in the Google Home or Amazon Alexa app. Rs 19,990
WFH PROOF
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Mystic Navy edition is incredibly thin — just 6.3 mm — and weighs just 500 gm. The 11-inch Super AMOLED display (2560×1600 pixels) packs an impressive 274 pixels per inch, and then there’s 120Hz refresh rate. Add the AKG-tuned quad speakers, and you have the perfect screen for those Netflix marathons or intense gaming sessions. Hardware highlights include an 8000 mAh battery, Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of Internal storage, plus a dedicated slot for Micro SD cards (up to 1 TB). The improved S-Pen is also bundled in the box. Rs 69,999
GREASED LIGHTNING
Realme X7 Pro 5G is elegantly designed and ultra-slim. But don’t let the slim form factor fool you, this one’s also got a hardware spec sheet to match. It’s powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ processor that teams up with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The 6.55-inch AMOLED display (2400×1080 pixels) stretches the screen: body ratio beyond 90 per cent, and also boasts of a 120Hz refresh rate. One of the talking points of this device is the 65W SuperDart charge — zero to 100 per cent in 35 minutes flat. Rs 29,999
SOUND & LIGHT
Mumbai-based iGear Asia is fast emerging as the go-to brand for value-for-money audio and other electronic products. The new iGear Limo Bluetooth Party Speaker is a good example. It pushes the limits of possibilities in the low price segment of audio equipment. Besides pumping out 10 Watts of great quality sound that should be good enough for even the biggest of home parties, it comes with every possible bells and whistles one can conceive. Besides the Bluetooth connectivity, there is USB plug-and-play facility, a rechargeable battery that makes it very portable, FM radio, and finally, the flashing LED disco style lights to add more flash to your party. Rs 3,500
PRO GRADE
FUJIFILM X-E4 is the latest addition to FUJIFILM’s flagship X series range of mirrorless digital cameras that benefit from the company’s proprietary colour reproduction technology. The X-E4 is the most compact and lightweight of all mirrorless digital cameras equipped with the Series’ fourth-generation image sensor and image processing engine. The compact X-E4 has been designed with a classical body that features the 26.1MP “X-Trans CMOS 4″*2 sensors, and the high-speed “X-Processor 4” image processing engine. It’s equipped with a fast and accurate AF that can attain focus in as fast as 0.02 seconds. Rs 74,999
HIGH ON STYLE
OPPO Band Style is one of the most elegantly designed fitness bands in the sub Rs 3,000 price band with a refined gold metal buckle (with a beige band) that encircles the display. You can swap this for an all-black band and case, which is bundled in the box. The band features a vibrant 1.1-inch AMOLED display (126×294 pixels), but it’s standout feature is OPPO’s Continuous SpO2 monitoring feature that keeps a tab on your blood oxygen levels. The band offers other wellness regulars like sleep monitoring, continuous heart rate monitoring, and comes with 12 workout modes and 5ATM water resistance. Rs 2,999
GO TO EXTREMES
SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD is one of the most rugged SSD drives out there. It’s crafted with a forged aluminium body that’s covered with a rubberised coating; it’s certified for drops up to two metres. It’s slim and ultra-portable, making it an ideal travel companion. The biggest USP for SSD drives like this one, is transfer speed. SanDisk claims speeds of up to 1050 MB/s. The retail package also features two set of cables (USB-C to USB-C and USB-A to USB-C). This storage device comes with a five-year limited warranty. Rs 19,999 onwards
