Value for money
Divyanshu Dutta Roy
In our connected world, some gadgets are about other gadgets as most of our picks this month show. But these affordable and useful tools certainly cannot be accused of pandering to vanity. Here’s a peep at real tech that you can consider:
Asus ZenBook UX305F
If you’ve been looking for an affordable alternative to the Apple Macbook Air, then this one’s for you. At some point in your life while lugging that huge 17-inch laptop on your back, you would realise that you really would prefer a light, portable computer and that’s where the Asus ZenBook UX305F comes in. In a slim and light package and at a significantly lower price than the stale Macbook Air we get in India, this laptop is certainly all the computing power you will need for your everyday work. For Rs 50,000, you get a Core M processor, 4 Giga RAM, a 256GB SSD and 13.3-inch display clocked at 1920x1080 pixels.
Logitech bluetooth adapter
ortable wireless speakers have been all the rage in the recent months and there has been a steady growth of such devices in both online and offline marketplaces. Of these, the affordable ones are nowhere near the perfect audio experience you could wish for and the good ones will definitely burn a hole in your pocket. Enter the Logitech bluetooth adapter.
For those of you who already have a decent audio system set up at home or work, this tiny adapter makes your bluetooth-enabled phone, tablet or computer wirelessly stream music to the speaker set. Pairing it is easy and the adapter comes with a standard 3.5mm and the old-style RCA outputs so you are good to go no matter what kind of speaker set you have.
Available for less than Rs 1,200 online, this is an excellent value for money gadget that should definitely be a part of your entertainment gear.
Teewe 2
While we are streaming wirelessly streaming audio, let’s also look at what comes next. Dubbed as India’s favourite streaming stick, Teewe 2 is a dongle that plugs into the HDMI port of your flat screen TV (or any display with HDMI input) and lets you watch things from your PC, tablet or phone. With the Teewe app on your portable device, you will no longer have to squint to see enjoy that YouTube video or PowerPoint presentation because that now travels on to your big screen display over your wi-fi network. The setup is simple enough and the feature set pretty great. With a competitive price of Rs 2,399, it is compelling argument against the more expensive Google Chromecast, provided that your media consumption leans towards things downloaded on your PC or phone rather than services like Hulu or Netflix.
Micromax Health Yu
One of the ‘perks’ of living in Indian cities today is the poisonous air and polluted water will guarantee that you will not stay healthy for too long, allowing you to spend a great deal of money on trying to battle sickness. To help you in your efforts, Micromax has launched a cassette-shaped gadget called HealthYu that helps you monitor body vitals such as heart rate, ECG, respiration rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, and skin temperature with your smartphone or tablet. It connects via bluetooth, costs Rs 5,000 and it has certainly caught our eye for the promise it shows.
Xiaomi 16,000 mAh power Bank
If all urgent Facebook and YouTube activity is sucking the life out of your favourite gadget, causing it to die on you just when you were about to post the latest world-changing selfie, then portable chargers are just for you and here’s the big daddy of them all.
At 16,000 mAh for Rs 1,400, it rarely gets bigger than this and we think it’s a perfect companion to travellers as well.
Good luck trying to get your hands on one through #flashsale.
