Edit photos with iOS8 Photo apps

Obsession with taking pictures or posing for the camera is not a rare thing these days. There are two reasons behind this. Firstly, everyone got a camera, thanks to the smartphones. Secondly, there are social media platforms through which we get an audience for our photos and the comments that deliver the desired feel-good factor.

We have become expert in posing like never before, sometimes we even surpass the celebrities. Moreover, it appears as if it’s our moral obligation to document and share every single moment of our life with pictures.

So, the craze is not subliminal and hence, we must celebrate it and put efforts to make our pictures more beautiful. Photo editing apps are of great help in this regard. If you are also fond of taking pictures of friends, sunrises, nature, your pretty face then your smartphone should have photo editors devoted to making your pictures much prettier.

These days even smartphone cameras are good at resolution and quality. So, you always have the liberty to become an amateur photographer. But as not all of you are professionals, so you mightn’t get the best shot each and every time. That is what can be taken care of by the photo editing apps. Using these apps, you can brighten your shots, tune up the color, crop away unnecessary elements, add special effects and do a lot more.

Following are five photo editing software for iOS8. These apps carry a whole myriad of features that will let you do a lot of many experimenting with your pictures.

VSCO Camera

If you are searching for a free photo editing software, then VSCO Cam can be your choice. It has a versatile package of tools through which you can put interesting tweak in your photos. VSCO Camera is a photo app but its real magic lies in its editing features. It includes multipurpose preset filters that can be adjusted using strength sliders. More filters are available as in-app purchases. The app also lets you tweak images with features like saturation and temperature control, film grain, highlights, shadows, and more. From within the app, users can share pictures on some of the social media platforms like Google+, Instagram, etc.

Adobe Photoshop Touch

If you are looking for more technically efficient photo editing software, then Adobe Photoshop Touch will be a good choice. Although, it is not as comprehensive as the desktop version but has most of the basic functions of the desktop version. Even with the basic functions, it is much more powerful than many other editors. It lets users work with layers, use a wide array of selection tools, filters, adjustments and many others. The app is the best for editing of high-resolution photos as it avoids downscaling even up to 12 megapixels photos and thus no details get lost. It is available for $9.99 at Apple App store and Google Play store.

FaceTune

Selfies are very popular these days. As selfies are self-clicked pictures, hence these are closer snapshots of faces. In such close-view pictures, it gets important to make the face look clearer, bright and spot free. FaceTune is for tuning up your face. It doesn’t have powerful photo editing features; rather it exclusively provides ways to make selfies and other portraits look much prettier. FaceTune has many such tools through which you can do kind of makeup on your selfie. For instance, you can clear off the blemishes, correct red eye, whiten the teeth, colorize grey hair, and remove pimples, etc. In addition to these, other basic photo editing features like cropping, filters, rotating, flipping, lighting, etc. are also available in the app. It costs $2.99 at Apple App store.

If you find it irresistible to capture the sun rises and sunsets, irrespective of the fact that it happens every day. If you feel that an uncontrollable urge to capture your face pretty daily for posting at Facebook, Watsapp, Instagram and lot many other places. Then you are also a photo freak. Allow yourself to post best of the pictures, by using the aforementioned editing software. They can transform your pictures magically.

Afterlight

Afterlight is another light photo editing software through which mobile photographers can have access to a wealth of snapshot polishing tools. The app includes a myriad of tools that support basic editing to sober editing. Saturation, contrast, shadow, highlight, and various such features are available with the app. In addition to that, it also lets users try out various other editing experiments such as applying textures, slider-adjustable filters, light leaks, transform, crop and a variety of frames. The app costs $0.99 at Apple App store and Google Play store.

Instagram

If you are looking for an online image editor, then Instagram is the most popular one. It lets you edit the pictures and share them instantly through Instagram or other social networks. It has a robust set of editing tools like filters, croppers, fancy borders, different special effects like grainer, old-time-y look, etc. It is one of the awesome apps to jazz up your mobile snaps.

Planning To Buy A Lenevo ? Check out the 5 Best Lenovo Laptops 2014

The Chinese multinational computer technology company Lenovo has recently acquired the major segment of global PC market by recording worldwide shipments of a total of 15.7 million PCs in the Q3 2014. The company stood first in terms of shipping maximum PC units, leaving behind HP's 14.7 million and Dell's 10.4 million PCs. (Source- Worldwide PC shipment report published by IDC, Q3 2014) The report also indicated that Lenovo now holds a 20 percent worldwide PC market share, up from the 17.7 percent share during Q3 2013. The company offers an extensive array of personal computers ranging from mainframe desktop PCs, business laptops, tablets, notebooks, gaming laptops and many others. The company's products are made available through its online store, or you can simply walk-in any of the Lenovo outlet to grab some of the best laptop deals.

If you’re impressed with the company’s design, features, and technology, then have a look at these attractive Lenovo laptops that you can buy during 2014:

1. Lenovo ThinkPad X240

 The device possesses a 31.75cm (12.5) inch screen and it is counted as an excellent Ultrabook featuring thin, light, and built with the latest design.

The gadget is specially crafted and made ready for business because of its portable design, highly professional look and power-packed performance. The gadget is up for sale at $854.10 and comes packed with Windows 8.1 64-bit OS and 4th Gen Intel Core i3-4010U processor, to let you enjoy the best performance. Featuring a 12.5" IPS, High-Res display with optional multitouch functionality, Intel HD Graphics 4400, a 4GB RAM, and a 500GB hard disk drive, the device is a complete productivity companion. It runs on Power Bridge technology and features three-cell Li-Polymer (23.2Whr) battery for promising battery life of ten or more hours without plugging in the charger.

2. Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 11

Crowned as ‘America's best-selling convertible 2-IN-1 PC’ (by The NPD Group, Inc. in Jan - Aug 2014 report), the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 11 is one of the best Lenovo laptops.

Featuring an 11.6" multitouch display that has the potential to flip back to 360 degrees, the device supports four distinct modes including, Laptop, Tablet, Tent, and Stand. Empowered with Intel Pentium N3530 processor (2.16GHz 1333MHz 2MB), 4.0GB RAM, and Hybrid 500GB 5400 RPM+8GB SSHD, the device ensures optimal performance and productivity. Operating on Windows 8.1 64-bit, the device comes packed with an Intel HD Graphics card, and Lenovo BGN Wireless and Bluetooth Version 4.0 support. The $499.99 laptop supports Brige Technology and can last up to 9 hours once charged completely, making it one of the best laptops.

3. Lenovo ThinkPad T440s

The Lenovo ThinkPad T440s is up for sale at a price of $899.10 and is specially built for big businesses and small profiles.

The device is one of the best business laptops available in the market and carries a super-slender profile nicely paired with the same legendary THINK features. The device operates on Windows 8.1 64-bit operating system and equips a 4th Gen Intel Core i5-4200U processor (3MB Cache, up to 2.60GHz) for excellent performance boost. The laptop is arriving with a 14" IPS high-res display with optional multitouch features and is capable of catering all your personal, work, gaming, entertainment, and household requirements. The Intel HD Graphics 4400 is paired with a docking connector to offer better graphics while the 4 GB DDR3L RAM and 500GB hard disk ensures overall performance improvements. The company has adopted the new Power Bridge Technology and added a three cell Li-Polymer (23.2Whr) battery into the device to make it run for up to 8 hours.

4. Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro

Entitled as ‘World's thinnest 2-in-1,’ the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro is priced at $1,299.99 on Lenovo’s official website.

The gadget is made available in Golden, Light Silver, and Clementine Orange colors to meet user’s style and preference. The device comes equipped with an Intel Core M 5Y70 processor, Windows 8.1 64 OS, 8.0GB RAM, and 256GB SSD, featuring a perfect blend or power and performance. The screen of the device features a 13.3" dazzling QHD, multitouch display that possesses the capability to flip back to 360 degrees. The excellent convertible laptop comes with a Watchband Hinge to ensure easier play in different touch modes. Equipped with an Intel HD Graphics 5300 card, the device assures optimal performance and an amazing boost in visual effects. The device is supporting the Bridge Technology and comes packed with a 4 Cell 44.8 Watt Hour Li-Polymer battery to ensure seamless performance up to 7.2 hours on a single charge.

5. Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p

Entitled as ‘15.6” high-performance multimedia laptop’ by its manufacturers, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p is an excellent laptop that boosts the power behind your multimedia.

The device comes packed with premium graphics, audio, and processing technology to take entertainment to another level and allows you to enjoy seamless games, movies, or music experience. Made available at a price of $870.00, the IdeaPad Y510p features a 4th Gen Intel Core i7-4700MQ processor, Windows 8.1 OS, and an NVIDIA GeForce GT755M 2GB graphics card. The device features a 15.6" FHD LED Glossy Wedge display with a screen resolution of 1920x1080 pixels to provide crystal clear images. The 8GB RAM ensures optimal browsing and overall speed, while the 1TB (5400 RPM) + 8GB hybrid drive offers ample space to store all your available data, favorite videos, and games.

All of the above-mentioned are the best Lenovo laptops and are the most favorite gadgets owned by people across the globe. Additionally, Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro ($949.99,) Lenovo's ThinkPad Yoga ($949.00), and Lenovo ThinkPad W540 ($1,399) are some other amazing laptop options by Lenovo. It is recommended to check Lenovo laptop reviews or user comments on the official website before buying a laptop as it helps a lot to choose the right gadget with the perfect customizations. We will shortly reveal some of the amazing gadgets by Dell, HP, Sony Vaio, and other leading OEMs in our future posts so stay tuned!

Tablet Support for Common Issues

Undoubtedly, Apple is the first company to introduce tablet computing in 2010 itself with its first-generation iPad, but Android later on picked the pace and now enjoying a major market share. Global sales data of tablets state that global tablet shipments recorded 52.9 million units in 2014, and Android operating system grabbed a 70% market share. (Source: Q2 2014 report by Strategy Analytics-a consumer research firm) The data clearly shows that Android tablets have created a significant place in the global market, but the real picture shows that the problem experience rate is also quite high. If you are also facing these most common Android tablet problems, then read the

simplest and the most effective solutions below:

1. I can’t turn the tablet on (or off)

Problem: Android tablets are popular for its multitasking capabilities, and there might be some situations under which your device may deny to respond. For example, it might freeze to the current screen during crucial work hours, in the mid of an assignment, or even while downloading something from the web.

Solution: In case your Android tablet locks up, you're advised to press and hold the Power key. You can keep pressing it for about 8 seconds and patiently wait for the tablet to respond. Holding the Power key will help to turn either off or on the tablet, depending on the current state of the tablet. If you're feeling annoyed because the Power/Lock key trick didn’t work, then some of the programs might have locked your tablet tight. If you’re facing this issue, then just wait for 12 minutes and leave the tablet quiet for that time. Again, press and hold the Power/Lock key for a few seconds, and it will turn back on.

2. The touchscreen doesn’t work

Problem: Many of you might avail tablet support services to look for solutions that can help you to enhance or fix your touchscreen issues. A touchscreen requires a human finger as a stimulus for proper interaction or for performing any function or action on the device’s interface. Sometimes, you may get tired of hitting the OK button on the screen, but it neither takes the input nor does it respond.

Solution: If you’re facing this touchscreen issue from a long time, then you can try wearing those special touchscreen gloves. The touchscreen input may also fail to recognize your input when the battery power is low, or a tablet or its screen has some physical damage. You might have read 5-Pt capacitive touch or 10-Pt capacitive touch in most of the tablet reviews, which denotes the touch-capability of the device. Consider this parameter before buying a tablet as the more points the touch-capability have, the better touchscreen experience it will deliver.

3. The screen is too dark

Problem: Sometimes, you might feel that Samsung Galaxy tablet or the device that you’ve purchased through the ‘tablets for sale’ ad isn’t as bright as it was during initial purchase days. Working for long hours on your tablet may make you feel tired and put extra stress on your eyes due to inadequate brightness.

Solution: Android tablets possess a light sensor in the front to adjust the touchscreen’s brightness, depending upon the ambient light at your location. If the screen is very, very dark, then it is possible that you might have unintentionally blocked the light sensor. Simply avoid buying a case or screen protector that covers up the sensor or you can manually set the automatic brightness setting to fix the same.

4. The battery doesn’t charge

Problem: Since tablet computer is high on portability usage, it is really important to keep them charged. A user may get annoyed and frustrated, when he tries each and every thing to charge up his Android tablet, but the gadget doesn’t receive even one percent of it.

Solution: To fix the same, you should ensure that each and everything is fine and is in the proper place. Like find answers to these questions: Is the wall socket providing power? Is the cord plugged in properly? And is the cable fine and damage-free? Always check that the computer is on, whenever you’re charging from a USB port on a computer. It is recommended to use a special power cord that has been shipped along with your main unit as many of the tablets deny taking charge from the USB cables.

5.The tablet gets hot and turns itself off

Problem: An overheating gadget can arise several nasty issues, which are difficult to deal with and can lead to huge repairing cost. If your tablet is turning too hot and you can feel the heat by holding it in your hands, then it’s a serious issue. Overheating can cause serious damage to the gadget’s physical components as well as may result in battery burst or other accidental issues.

Solution: The simplest tip to fix this issue is to power off your Android tablet and let the battery cool. If the overheating problem continues, take your Android tablet for potential repair or look for battery replacement possibilities.

Conclusion

The above-mentioned issues are some of the most common issues that are faced by every tablet user frequently. The best tablets by Android however possess the best performance and feature combinations, but sometimes disappoint a user with its uncertain flaws, which is all ok to enjoy portable computing. It is recommended not to continue using any gadget, device, or phone that’s too hot as the heat damages the electronics or may also start a fire. In such cases, you should look for the best, and most reliable tablet support means. Users may also face performance issues when the apps rotate the device between Portrait and Landscape modes or set their orientations. It can be annoying when the tablet refuses to change its orientation and leave a user helpless. You can simply turn off the orientation lock to confirm that the screen doesn’t reorient itself.

Microsoft Family Safety to Protect your PC

Technology is fast catching up with the young crowd these days including children. Often, when the parents or adults are not at home, kids are under online threats. This situation can make things complicated as well as leave a bad impact on their life. For this reason, it becomes essential to keep them safe online. You need not restrict their usage of tablets, iPad, Smartphones or PCs but instead opt for a solution that is effective and viable. In order to make things easier regarding safety and security of kids, the option of Family Safety is introduced by Microsoft. Let us understand how this can be used to your benefit.

How Family Safety works

The Microsoft Family Safety incorporates the following features or modes of safety:

The Safety Filter: It is a software that you can setup on any system that is accessed by kids. It helps in monitoring online activity within the parameters of safety settings as defined by you.

 The Safety website: It lets you manage all the setting about family member, allowing you to monitor activity reports. Create relevant settings and then apply them accordingly.

Windows ParentalControls: This feature is helpful in creating safety settings for kids and helps them keeping safe online.

Now let us move on to using Family Safety.

Check if the software is installed or not

If you are using Windows 7 version then, you need not install the filter as it is a pre-installed software. Now, all you require doing is set the filter up: Go to Start-> Programs-> Windows Live-> Windows Live Family Safety.

Here you will see the picture of the Start menu where you can run Windows Live Family Safety. If Family Safety is pre-installed on your computer, and you can find it in the Start menu.

If you are using a different Windows version, where you would need to install Family Safety then navigate to the following.

Go to Windows Live Family Safety page-> Download and follow the command prompts that will help you install it.

Signing into the app

To set up the filter, you need to go to the Microsoft Family Safety website that will again need Windows Live ID. If you do not have it then, it is recommended that you create one for this process.

You should keep in mind that if you are signing in to the account for the first time then you will require parent’s Windows Live ID. The parents need to be the primary admin in the Family Safety. For beginners if you are choosing the primary parent then remember that this option cannot be changed as it is permanent.

Selecting Monitoring

Check mark against the option of Windows account that is dedicated to each family member. The options selected will help you monitor each member, when you are done hit ‘Save’ for applying changes.

If the persons you are monitoring are not using Windows account then, you will need to create an account for them. The process for creating an account only requires entering name and click Create account.

You need to remember that using Family Safety requires Windows account with safety settings. If all the family members are using Windows account then, it becomes easy to apply the safety settings. Thus using the filter you will be able to get the detailed report of each member that will depict their online activities.

For individual settings, you should remember to add Windows account for everyone.

Remember to turn off or disable any guest accounts as these can be used to surpass safety settings.

Matching Windows Account

If you are familiar with Family Safety then, you will be guided towards a screen where you are prompted to match Windows account in accordance with each family member. Once you are done with this, save the settings to apply them. If you cannot find an account then, you can always add one.

If a member is not yet added in the filter then, their name will appear at the end of the list. You can add a name if required.

Adding Passwords

If you have an account that is not yet monitored then, you will need to add a password. This rule will put restriction in surpassing the safety settings and store online activity logs.

You will need to customize the following settings:

•    Setting up the filter

•    Permissions to view a website

•    Restrictions on website viewing

•    What is visible to kids

•    Monitoring online activity

The Family Safety filter from the technology giant has been meticulously designed to keep kids away from malicious and harmful online stuff. Using the filters and customization options, you can utilize it to browse your kids only those stuffs that you want. If you still have any doubt related to the Safety filter then get in touch with an expert on this matter.

5 Great Apps to Watch Videos Online With Friends in Real Time

Watching a movie is more fun when you are in the company of friends. But friends can’t be close all the time. But do you want to connect with your distant friends through internet and watch online movies in real time? There must be many who already know that doing this is possible using Google’s Hangout application. But those who have just now discovered that online real time movie watching is possible with friends surely must have got excited to know about it.

Apart from Google Hangout app, there are various other apps through which you can enjoy free online movies or other videos with your friends. In line with that, this blog lists out 5 such video app, available on Google play store, through which you can enjoy paid or free movies online with your friends.

1.  Watch2gether

Rightly named as Watch2gether, this online video watching app is great to enjoy movies with friends on real time. The highlights of this app are that no registration and most importantly, you can select your movies or videos from YouTube, DailyMotion, Vimeo or audio from SoundCloud.

To get started, first install this online video app and then go to its home page. There click on the “Create a Room” button. Feed a temporary nickname and start inviting friends with whom you want to enjoy the free online movie or video. You can also join the group of other friends if they accept your entry.

2. InstaSynch

If you wish to enjoy free movies online, then InstaSynch is the right online video app for you. This app will let you access to full-length films that are completely free, and the library includes some of the recently released movies also. The movies or videos are made available through YouTube and Vimeo video sources.

In this app, you can even set up entire playlists of videos and continue enjoying them with your online friends.

Using this app, you can set up entire playlists of videos and continue enjoying them with your online friends.

3. TogetherTube

TogetherTube delivers a unique, interesting and modern social viewing experience. It is unique, because here every viewer in a particular virtual room has his say. Every individual in the room suggests a video and then voting is done. The video that receives the maximum number of “Yes” is being watched in the virtual room. Again no registration is required to see the videos. Friends can enjoy the videos of YouTube online for free and can also join the existing public virtual room with the aid of a temporary nickname.

4. Sync Video

Not everyone is interested in being open to the public virtual room. Hence, if you are looking for social viewing video software designed with more importance on privacy, the Sync Video is the right one for you. In this service, you can’t simply enter with a temporary nickname as the registration is mandatory. Over Sync Video service, you can have more private virtual rooms and thus enjoy your movies with your friends privately.

From this service, Vimeo and YouTube videos can be enjoyed for free. The videos can be saved to the playlist. An additional benefit is that you can install Firefox or Chrome browser extensions and can insert added functionality to this service.

5. MyCircleTV

Watching movies in the company of friends is fun because they get to chit chat and put the views now and then. MyCricleTV allows the friends in the virtual room not just to enjoy a movie but also video chat with each other through VoIP. MyCircleTV lets you do free video chatting with your friends for hours.

You can invite your friends through LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and email. No need of registration and videos from Vimeo, DailyMotion, and YouTube can be viewed together and even shared during video chats. Registered users get some added advantages like 5GB space for video uploads on myCloud storage, history of invitations and user profile.

Conclusion

 With these apps, you can relive high-school or college moments of enjoying movies with a group of friends even though the friends are distant from you.

Windows 10, OneDrive Sync: Enabling Broader Ways of Communication

Technology was never easy to predict, and it always surprised people around us with new and innovative ideas. It is full with uncertainties that we are not even able to imagine before they appear on the horizon. Probably, a decade or even earlier, we were devoid of ideas of devices like iPhone, iPad, smartwatches, modern notebooks and ultrabooks. But today they are realities and very successful as well, in appealing to the mass user.

Microsoft and Cloud Storage

Let us take the example of Microsoft's cloud storage service. The cloud storage service of the company didn’t appear just like another place where you can store files over the cloud. Instead, it was conceived as a powerful and probably a complex sync system referred as Live Mesh. It was meticulously conceptualized to deliver an innovative service using which you can copy your files from one PC to another. Moreover, it lets you log in via a remote PC and thus enables you to access files, stored on your home PC.

OneDrive Features

Now, today Microsoft OneDrive has been integrated into the Windows 8.1 OS. This unique technological arrangement enables you to view in Explorer all the files and documents that you have previously selected to sync. You can also to have a look on the whole structure of files stored on the cloud. Irrespective of the fact that you are online or offline, you would be able to see those files along with thumbnails for images and other vital details or data like when the file got created or modified.

It clearly leads to a new arrangement in which in you can conveniently find or browse a file through your folders. Moreover, if you have more details of these files then you can also search for them directly on the cloud. Let us consider another situation of when you are online, you can easily open any file by simply double-clicking as you did earlier. Although, you need to wait for it to get downloaded, but you can still rename those without downloading. The cloud files like other files that you can easily send as an email attachment. You can open it in Paint or compress it as a Zipfile. So these files are treated like any other file.

How Windows and OneDrive Sync Helps

You get more and more storage with Microsoft OneDrive, or you get unlimited storage if you are an Office 365 user. Because of this facility, the amount of space taken by placeholder information can become very important, particularly for smaller devices like tablets are in vogue these days. It might become problematic sometimes as only index, thumbnails and metadata can consume 5-10 percent of the entire file size. You can imagine the situation of a 16GB tablet with an index measuring one terabyte of online files.

Considering this fact, you need to right-click a file, go to details and check which files are synced and which are only online. Microsoft decided that checking placeholder file is the best way out as the problem is caused mainly because of that.

To deal with the whole problem, Microsoft took imitative and started working on developing an entirely new sync engine featuring a newly designed architecture to help you sync more reliably. It was mainly to deal with issues faced by the users of OneDrive for Business, which is without any placeholder feature.

Microsoft implemented the same idea into the latest Windows 10 Technical Preview to deal with the existing situation. The company announced the new sync machine as a way out to fix the issue in which placeholder files were not marked clearly.

Hands on With Acer Aspire Switch 12 Laptop (blog)

Acer has recently unveiled its latest Acer Aspire Switch 12 at the Intel Developer Forum or the IDF in California. It is said to be the latest in the series by Acer with sleek and stylish design. It sports 14nm fanless processor, and it boasts about five viewing modes.

In this blog post, we will discuss if the new Aspire Switch Laptop is worth the claims made, and whether it will be able to attract the consumers.

Design

It is just an estimate that the Aspire Switch 12 might not cost more than $471.31. The chassis is build with black hard plastic that does not look anything like a premium product. Furthermore, you cannot be sure if it is robust or can withstand some bumps because of its plastic build and chassis.

Apart from this flaw, you can easily pull out the keyboard and position it the way you want. It is more like a desktop device that is flexible.

Aspire Switch 12 is light and slim due to the processor and for this reason it is easy to carry within a handbag or a backpack without any strain.

Screen and Form

The screen of Switch 12 is LCD (Active, Color, Backlit, LED). The resolution is still not known, but it should be more than the resolution by Aspire Switch 10 that sports a 1366x768 resolution. This resolution is good but not as sharp as you want it to be, for this reason it is easy to think that Switch 12 should do better than this. The display does seem to be full HD 1080p that might just hike up the price for this unit. With the inclusion of zero gaps, the screen display is better and vibrant. Inclusion of this technology also makes the device responsive to touch.

The form factor is that of a Slate that means that once you detach the keyboard you can easily use it as a tablet. The touch screen with multi-touch does it well for performing gestures, and touch commands are easily accepted. The transition from laptop mode to slate mode is smooth. Once you detach the keyboard, you can easily attach it to the clam without any hassle to use it as a laptop. You can position it in different modes as per your requirement as the keyboard is flexible, and the clams are strong to support the entire unit.

Performance and software

The Aspire Switch laptop sports 1 Ghz Intel Core M 5Y10a processor that is supported by 4GB RAM and a memory storage capacity of 64GB. The performance of this laptop is good, it is quick to respond to commands, and touch response is great. Carrying on with activities that involved e-mails, document creation, gaming, surfing internet, downloads, video streaming, listening to music and staying connected on social media were smooth, all thanks to its processor. Overall, performance of this laptop is satisfactory. The performance is not excellent, but you will still like using it.

The battery pack is still a mystery as the manufacturer does not reveal it. However, the battery is said to last for up to 8 hours that is a decent amount of time for performing all your activities. The Windows 8.1 is its operating system, and you will be able to perform well with it.

Other things like connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n and HDMI outputs, 3.5mm audio jack, stereo speakers, 3.0 USB and 2.0MP WebCam. 

First impressions

The Aspire Switch 12 is certainly sleek and stylish that can be adjusted in different modes easily. The Windows 8.1 gives fluid experience; the performance is smooth and good. The question about its launch and its pricing is still a mystery. Until it is available to the masses, it is hard to say how technology users will react to this product.

5 Best Android tablets to be gifted this holiday season

Android tablets are great to be gifted during the holiday season. However, with numerous choices available in the market, it is hard to understand which one you should purchase. Another dilemma is that of purchasing the best amongst the rest. 

Given here are five best Android tablets that you can gift to your friends or relatives this holiday season. 

Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4

Most of the people use tablets for reading, watching movies, streaming videos and playing games. Activities like these require a tablet with the best display that would be equally good for gaming freaks. The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 comes with an AMOLED screen. This tablet is capable of displaying crisp content with Quad HD, with 359 ppi so you will get a display that is nothing less than excellent. The AMOLED brings out the colors; it displays vivid images, for this reason it is good for streaming movies and gaming alike. 

The tab measures 212.8 x 125.6 x 6.6 mm and weighs 298 g and the display measures 8.4-inches. The RAM is 3GB that supports its Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, 2.3GHz quad-core processor. It has two cameras; the primary camera is 8MP at the back while the secondary camera is on the front is 2.1 MP. The battery power of this tablet is 4,900 mAh that is enough to get through the day without charge. This tablet runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat with TouchWiz technology, and it also includes a fingerprint scanner for additional security. Other things include Wi-Fi/3G-LTE and microSD 128 GB and 16/32GB storage models. 

Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact

The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact sports a slim profile measuring 6.4 mm with a display of 8-inch. This tablet is compact and good looking too. It runs on Snapdragon 801 processor with a 3GB RAM. Even though, the screen features LCD Full HD (283ppi) technology but you still get life-like colors that are similar to AMOLED display. The best thing is that this tablet is water-resistant that means you can take it near the pool or on the beach without bothering about some splash. The 3GB RAM is fast with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 2.5GHz quad-core processor. The storage provided is that of 16GB with no other model other than this, but you can enhance the memory up to 128 GB with microSD slot. 

Nvidia Shield Tablet

The Shield Tablet is for those who are inclined to gaming. The processor that powers this tablet is Tegra K1 processor with an advantage of giving you Tegra-optimized games at your disposal.

 This tablet measures 8-inch Full HD screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and 283 ppi. The RAM is 2GB with two memory models available in 16/32GB storage capacity. There are two 5 MP cameras, and  the tablet runs on the latest Android KitKat OS. Other things include Stylus, Wi-Fi/3G-LTE as connectivity options and stereo speakers. 

Google Nexus 9

The Google Nexus 9 sports the recent Android Lollipop 5.0 version. It sports a 64-bit Tegra processor and 2GB RAM. With 8.95-inch IPS LCD and a screen resolution of 1536 x 2048 pixels the IPS LCD gives you 281 ppi. The speakers of this tablet are front-mounted stereo speakers that sit under protective glass, and the battery power is that of 6,700 mAh. It boasts 8 MP rear, 1.6 MP front cameras and the connectivity options include Wi-Fi/3G-LTE. This tablet is the most recent available and seems to be catching up fast with technology users. Moreover, its elegant aluminum finish frame gives it a premium product look.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5

The Tab S 10.5 sports AMOLED display for providing good display quality. This tablet measures 247.3 x 177.3 x 6.6 mm and weighs 467 g; this is what makes it portable and easy to use. The Quad HD (2560 x 1600) resolution display along with 288 ppi gives you amazing picture and content quality. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, 2.3GHz quad-core comes handy for smooth gaming and video streaming activity. There are two cameras available; the primary is 8 MP rear and secondary is 2.1 MP front. This tablet too contains fingerprint scanner, and the connectivity options include Wi-Fi/3G-LTE, and the OS is Android KitKat.

The above-mentioned tablets are good gift for this holiday season.