Cosmopolitan.com

ADVERTORIAL: Make A Smart Phone Choice

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:00 +0200

Smartphone deals are everywhere. Here, some FAQs to help you choose the right one for you.

Q: I just got my new smartphone. Is there a great smartphone-specific package out there?
A: If you’re looking for a package that will allow you to explore the Internet from the comfort of your couch, a coffee shop or virtually anywhere, we've got just the thing for you. The MTN Smartphone Internet Voucher (R49) caters for non-Nokia smartphone users, allowing them to mail, IM, navigate and use many other Internet services. Also, once the bundle’s been depleted, the out-of- service (OOS) rate will apply (this is still cheaper as you only pay R0.50 as compared to R2 per MB that you would normally pay). This way, you have endless access to mail and instant messaging.

Q: I love accessing Facebook and MXit on my phone. Are there any special deals out there?
A: Yes, MTN has you covered too, thanks to its Social Networking Internet Voucher for R29. This one’s designed especially for people like you. Dial *141*6# to enjoy endless access to Facebook and MXit via m.facebook.com and m.mxit.com.

Q: I’m mad about my Nokia smartphone. Are there any deals specifically for Nokia users like me?
A: Nokia smartphones offer a world of features and functions, including OVI email, OVI IM and Nokia Maps - all the things that make life easier. MTN has recently partnered with Nokia, and now offers an MTN Nokia Smartphone Voucher for R49 where you get access to all the Nokia smartphone applications mentioned above. The voucher can be added on to any of the current MTN price plans, such as PayAsYouGo, contracts and TopUp.

iPod Touch

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:00 +0200

iPods have certainly evolved over the years – some for the better, others for worse. With each update they've gotten smaller and more intelligent. But with the release of the iPod Touch, Apple has built a great pocket computer which allows you to not only listen to thousands of songs, but also watch HD videos, immerse yourself in multiplayer games with accelerometer functionality and browse the Internet. With millions of apps available for download on the iTunes App Store just one tap away, you can truly lose yourself in the iPod Touch for hours.

With built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the iPod Touch becomes a mini computer and can become your office away from the office with preinstalled apps such as calendar, contacts, calculator, voice memos, maps, notes and more. The new Touch is 50 times faster than its predecessor and is available in 32GB and 64GB models.

PROS
• HD capability
• Sleek, simple yet elegant design synonymous with Apple products
• Nike + iPod support

CONS
• No camera
• 3.5-inch display at times too small to appreciate HD videos

Price: from R1 999
Gadget Girl Rating: 4/5
Contact: www.zastore.co.za

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:00 +0200

A couple of months ago w reviewed the Sony Ericsson Vivaz, and were quite satisfied with it. Now the telecommunications manufacturer has added a slide-out QWERTY keyboard to the handset and made the touch screen more sensitive to the touch – you're not restricted to stylus anymore and can use your fingers to navigate.

The Symbian OS comes with standard organiser applications (notes, document reader, phonebook, etc) and connectivity functionality (micro USB connector, Google Maps, DLNA certification, aGPS, Synchronisation) for the professional. But the communication (Twitter and Facebook applications) and entertainment (video streaming, Java, 3D games, YouTube, radio) features save it from being classified as a boring business phone.

PROS
• HD touch screen
• Slide-out keyboard
• Handwriting recognition

CONS
• Running multiple applications drains battery power too quickly

Cost: + R4 299
Gadget Girl Rating: 3/5
Contact: sonyericsson.co.za

Kodak Easy Share M530

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:00 +0200

Taking and tagging pictures even before you upload them to your computer or Facebook has never been simpler with the Kodak Easy Share M530. You can also preload tags allowing the camera to automatically detect familiar faces and tag them for you.

The Easy Share M530 makes use of the Smart Capture functionality, which detects and analyses the scene you're capturing and automatically adjust its settings (focus, ISO and exposure) for the best quality image. The 12MP camera allows for 3X optical zoom and automatic blur reduction delivering crisp images no matter what size (76x102cm or 10x15cm) you decide to print them as.

When it comes to handling, the Easy Share M530 is pretty compact and lightweight. Although the menu buttons are pretty small, the camera is perfect for snapping away on a girls' night out. The capture button responds almost immediately to your touch, which is great if you're looking to take candid photos.

PROS
• Li-Ion batteries – lighter and last longer
• High ISO mode takes great pictures in the dark (even without flash)

CONS
• Menu buttons next to LCD are too small
• Internal memory is only 32MB

Price: R1 400
Gadget Girl Rating: 3/5
Contact: 011 202 8300

Nintendo XL & Cooking Guide

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:00 +0200

We all know the Nintendo DS Lite, now get the XL console with a 93% larger screen, it makes a difference. The Nintendo DS Lite is packed with features from Internet connectivity that allows you to play games online or swap software, send and receive wireless messages, sound control and connectivity to the DS shop for upgrades or other software purchases. The unit also comes pre-installed with and introduction brain train game aimed at keeping your gray matter sharp.

I had the pleasure of testing the Cooking Guide containing more than 200 international recipes. These can be searched in a variety of ways, i.e. by ingredient, cooking time or even country. Not only will you find the recipe, you will also find a list of utensils needed and step-by-step instructions. Adjust your ingredients depending on the number of servings and even you kitchen timer is built in. And don’t worry about dripping all over your new toy, use voice commands to continue to the next step.

If you’ve never cooked in your life, this will make you feel like Gordon Ramsey.

PROS
• Great screen size
• No hands needed when cooking – audio prompts
• Ability to add your own tips

CONS
• A bit expensive to buy both the DS Lite and cooking game

Gadget Girl Rating: 4 stars
Contact: http://www.nintendo.co.za/NOE/en_ZA/index.html

TANK Blizzard

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:00 +0200

If you want everyone to notice you then these funky white with gold trim headphones is exactly what you need. It comes with several jacks, a long, coiled, heavy-duty cable and its own cute little carry pouch. A further advantage is the compatibility with Skype, plug in the microphone cable and you can get started chatting.

At first I found the sound a little dull, but when you take the range into account they’re actually well balanced. Depending on your system settings, the bass could overpower the finer, tweeter sounds – but if that’s what you want then so be it. These headphones would work well for DJs as the cups rotate separately and is spring loaded to return to the normal position.

The Aerial TANK is also available in four other colours including Storm, Graffiti, Shade and Midnight.

PROS
• Very good looking
• Several size jacks
• Long, durable cable
• Own carry pouch

CONS
• Quite heavy and tends to get warm around the ears

Gadget Girl Rating: 3 stars
Contact: http://www.knrflatrock.co.za/catalogues/aerial7

Canon IXUS 130

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:00 +0200

There's no doubt the Canon IXUS 130 is a cute and compact, 14.1 megapixel, point-and-shoot digital camera, measuring merely 17.8mm at its thickest point with HD video recording capability. But the many shooting modes (e.g. indoor, smart shutter, colour accent, fish-eye and underwater) and image colour preferences is, in a way, pointless.

If you really wanted the option of 18 shooting scenes why not invest in a copy of Photoshop or learn to use a professional DSRL camera? Digital point-and-shoot cameras are meant to capture crazy on-the-fly moments between friends, and if you first have to set the shooting mode to miniature effect that hot guy you wanted to covertly snap has long past by.

We did, however, snap off a round of pics of the COSMO HQ with the Canon IXUS 130. Take a look at the gallery of Facebook.

PROS
• Ultrathin and fits snugly into a clutch
• Rechargeable LI-ion battery instead of penlights – lasts longer and charger supplied

CONS
• Too many shooting modes to chose from, of which many will not be used at all
• Image stabiliser a bit iffy

Gadget Girl Rating: 2 stars
Contact: www.canon.co.za

Sony Ericsson Vivaz

Thu, 06 May 2010 12:00 +0200

Sony Ericsson have always been thought to be the market leaders in exceptional camera phones, and now they've launched the Vivaz with 8.1 megapixel camera with autofocus (naturally), image stabilization (obviously), face detection (cute, but not necessary), and 720p video capture (high definition video ideal for the Internet) with TV-out in VGA resolution.

As the successor to the Satio, the Vivaz allows for an 8GB memory card to store all your multimedia, but you may not need it as this Sony Ericsson comes with a quick-YouTube-upload feature. With all SE's the sleek design fits comfortably in your hand for easy touch-screen use – it does come with a stylus though, something I'm personally not fond of.

PROS
• Light-weight
• Quick access to social networking platforms (Twitter, Facebook and YouTube)
• Keypad options: mini QWERTY, full QWERTY, handwriting (with stylus) and alpha
• Can switch between applications without having to close them

CONS
• Touch screen not always immediately responsive when flipping through menus
• Auto-rotate becomes tricky, especially when lying in bed and texting
• Clumsy power/lock button at top of handset

Gadget Girl Rating: 4 stars
Price: R4 300 at selected retailers

Watch these videos shot with the Vivaz and judge the quality for yourself:

TomTom Start

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:00 +0200

As the simplest in the TomTom GPS range, the Start is a great entry-level GPS device that can add a splash of colour with interchangeable covers to otherwise dull interior. The practically bare-bone unit doesn't fluff around with extra functionalities you don't really need, but does come with the standard pre-loaded Points of Interest.

Slim and small, the Start allows you to switch between day and night mode, has big text labels and also comes with a large range a fun voices and languages you can choose from – but you can mute the sound altogether should you wish.

PROS
• Available in four stylish colours
• Compact so you can easily slip it into your handbag when you exit your car
• Easy to update maps and safety/speed camera points

CONS
• Stubborn when it comes to recalculating alternative routes

Gadget Girl Rating: 3
Price: R1 399 with the map of SA, Lesotho and Swaziland. Available at Makro and Game stores nationwide
Contact: www.tomtom.com

Verbatim Micro USB Drive 8GB

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:00 +0200

At a size of only 2.5cm x 1cm, the Verbatim Micro USB Drive needs no special converters – just plug it straight into your USB port. It even comes with an attachment string so you can add it to your key ring, lanyard or cellphone (and not misplace this tiny flash drive).

You can plug-and-play without any pre-installations and there's also an added safety feature which allows you to password-protect your data. The flash drives support Windows (even Windows 7), Mac and Linux operating systems, and are compatible across the different platforms.

This little piece of ingenuity can store 6 000 digital photos and 2 000 MP3 files – but these are dependent on data size and could vary. Resistant to dust, water and static charges, it's certainly the smallest and most robust flash drive I've ever used.

Gadget Girl Rating: 5
Price: 2GB (orange) R149.95, 4GB (green) R179.95 and 8GB (purple) R349.95
Contact: Email gnkambule@verbatim-europe.com; call 011 253 4940 or fax 011 234 3626

Blackberry Storm 2 (9520)

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:00 +0200

The Blackberry Storm 2 comes with the usual RIM bells and whistles, with the exception of a few upgrades. The clickable touch screen makes use of SurePress technology, which when your finger rests on the screen no action will be taken unless your press down on it. Now while some might say this negates the very name 'touch screen' (why not then rather just call it 'click screen'), if you're new to a touch screen handset, this will help the transition and prevent accidental clicking.

However, what I enjoyed was the inertial scrolling. Inertial scrolling is flick scrolling, which means you simply flick your finger on the screen to scroll quicker – also, the page doesn't stop instantly, it rolls to a stop.

PROS
Flip screen allows you to browse and type with a portrait or landscape view.
Finally supports WiFi.
Gently touching the screens displays information, much like mousing over an icon.
Large screen – 360x480 display.
Runs off Blackberry OS5 and is much faster than the Storm 1.
Setting up your email accounts is really easy with the set-up wizard.

CONS
If you have many applications open at once the battery runs low quickly.
Only has a 3.2MP camera, but it does have an autofocus and flash. (examples of Table Mountain)

Gadget Girl Rating: 3 stars
Price: From R8 200
Contact: Vodacom on 082 1 082; MTN on 083 1 808; or visit http://za.blackberry.com

Verbatim Executive Hard Drive

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:00 +0200

The new Verbatim executive hard drives not only come in four stylish colours – black, claret red, midnight blue and arctic white – with a slim-line design, they only weigh 163g. The dimensions make it a little bigger than an iPhone, so they effortlessly fit into your handbag or laptop bag.

While the hard drives are sold with a discrete carry case, it's annoying that no provision was made for the USB cable's storage. However, the fact that no power cable is needed makes up for this oversight.

The VerbatimSync software allows you to synchronise your Microsoft Outlook or Windows Mail, contacts, calendars, files, photos and videos, which means you can access your files from any computer around the world (optional password protection). The Verbatim executive hard drives also include Nero BackItUp 4 Essentials software.

Gadget Girl rating: 4
Price: 320GB – R799; 500GB – R999
Contact: Email gnkambule@verbatim-europe.com; call 011 253 4940; or fax 011 234 3626