Gadgets to buy this Diwali

With retail chains as well as online retail sites competing to offer festive discounts, it's not too late to order a cool tool or a neat gadget to make this a truly digital Diwali. This week we have some suggestions for all ages  — and all pocket sizes!

MiFi: Wireless hotspot on the hoof!

Most mobile operators in India offer Net access solutions where you can insert a SIM into the USB dongle, and plug it into a laptop or desktop to access the Internet. This is good as it goes – except for two downsides. One: The dongles work only with their own SIMs. Two There is no easy way to share the connection across multiple devices.

Third party providers of wireless dongles and data cards, have overcome both limitations. They offer service-provider-free dongles, which unlock the SIMs of any make. In 2014, some of them have gone a step further, these dongles now double as WiFi routers, to create a hotspot so that you can share the Internet connection with multiple devices. They are being called MiFi — for My WiFi or Mobile WiFi.

Huawei's Power-Fi range of USB devices take most makes of 3G SIMs. I tried out the Power-Fi E8221 with my Airtel and BSNL 3G SIMs and could set up a hotspot in about 5 minutes. Unlike most such devices, this one insists on you creating a user name and password on your laptop. Once set, I could access the Net on my mobile phone and desktop. Power-Fi dongles E8221 and 8231 cost around Rs 2,500 but are available online for around Rs 1,600. The device works up to 4G speeds, which is useful if you are travelling abroad – you can always buy a local SIM and get good speeds of 10- 15 MBPS even as you save on roaming charges.

Binatone, D-Link( Le Petite), TP-Link are other brands that have similarly priced MiFi devices – a great, geeky  gift idea this Diwali for less than Rs 2,000

Samsung Galaxy Alpha: For the style conscious

The first thing that catches your eye is the compact and sleek design of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Among a range of bigger and bulkier smartphones, the folks at Samsung seem to have positioned the Galaxy Alpha as their ‘diet’ version. Weighing just 115 gms, this phone snuggly fits in your palm.

Samsung has struck the right balance in looks and strength; between a polycarbonate shell and a metal frame. The soft matte finish, elegantly curved edges and tactile soft back cover gives the Alpha a rather stylish look.

Featuring a 4.7-inch HD super AMOLED touch screen, the phone is just 6.7 mm thick (making it the slimmest Samsung phone yet) and comes with a fingerprint sensor. Another feature is the 12 MP (rear) and 2.1 MP front camera with advanced photography and editing functions. For your high-end computing needs, the Android KitKat-fuelled Samsung Galaxy Alpha comes with an 8-Core processor and 32 GB of internal storage. It is future-proof and 4G ready.

At an asking price of Rs 39,990, this might be a good bet if opulence and a sleek design are your considerations, assuming you are not too budget conscious.

Bose goes wire-free — via Bluetooth

Bose sound technology has been unwired! The company last week introduced the SoundLink  Bluetooth wireless on-ear headphones in India — and we must say, save for the absence of a noise cancelling feature (which is a different category), this one is a winner all the way.

In today's age of connected living rooms, there are always a handful of entertainment devices that are Bluetooth and wi-fi enabled. Be it a smart TV or your smartphone (where you are likely to store most of your music), or even a boom box, the SoundLink Bluetooth headphone seamlessly connects — not one but many of your devices via Bluetooth — and allows you to choose what you hear.

There are clearly two things that stand out — the trademark sturdy but flexible design, which allows you to collapse the device for easy carry around, and the super comfortable ear pieces which sits snugly over your ears, and not inside or around it.

This model, is a welcome departure from the silver and black body silhouette to a classy black and grayish blue, along with a new cloth lining that makes for a comfortable head support for extended listening pleasure. The device also comes with voice prompts that guide you to connect and pair your Bluetooth device. If you happen to get a call while listening to music, the device allows you to accept/reject the call and automatically adjusts the volume levels and filters out ambient noise for a clearer conversation. Of course, once the battery runs out (after 15 hours of non-stop playback), you can always plug in the device using a traditional cable.

At an asking price of Rs 21,038, this is a premium product; and if you are a Bose enthusiast, you will find a lot of value even in comparison to earlier Bose offerings.

Inputs from Anand Parthasarathy and Sudakshina.V

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