BlackBerry PlayBook goes out of stock in India following discount, RIM extends the offer by another week

Looks like RIM is having a great start to the new year, at least in India. Following the massive price cut the Canadian company is having a hard time keeping the PlayBook in stock thanks to the great response from the customers.

As you may know, RIM announced a major price cut at the end of December that was to last till the end of the year. The prices for 16, 32 and 64GB models were slashed to $199, $249 and $399 respectively in the US but similar prices were found in other markets as well. After the price cut, and perhaps due to the limited nature of the sale, there was suddenly a large number of buyers for the tablet that was till now gathering dust on the shelves, with most of the retailers in India going out of stock within a day or two. In fact RIM sold over 12,000 units in the country in just four days after the sale was announced.

Looking at the incredible response, RIM has now announced that they will be extending the offer for another week. The prices will remain the same as before, that is INR 13,490 ($252) for the 16GB model, INR 15,990 ($299) for the 32GB model and INR 24,490 ($458) for the 64GB model.

Having bought one myself, I can say that for the price it is a good deal. Don’t expect much in terms of apps, though, but for web browsing and media consumption, the PlayBook is good enough.

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‘Dead Space’ and ‘Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus’ available for free on Samsung App store

Continuing their tradition to offer free apps and games, the Samsung App store has not one but two games this time to give away. The first one is the popular Dead Space, a futuristic survival horror game, which recently arrived on the Android Market. The game is otherwise sold for $6.99 but you can have it for free on the Samsung App store.

Another free game is Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus, a war-based shooter, which is currently being sold at a discount for $0.99 on the Android Market but for Samsung smartphone owners it is completely free.

If you’re into gaming and have a Samsung Android smartphone, then go to the Samsung App store right now to see if the games are available for free in your region.

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Preening Facebook burglary suspect jailed

If you're short of a New Year's Resolution, here's one: I won't rob a place and then post pictures of the stuff I stole on Facebook.

This somewhat inspirational resolution comes to me on reading the story of a Pittsburgh man who, with three of his (perhaps Facebook) friends, allegedly robbed a local market.

Yes, the 18-year-old then posted pictures of some of the $8,000 worth of cash, candy and other items that teenagers love on his Facebook page, according to the police.

Oh, and he and his buddies (those others are all under 18) were said to be posing with the swag.

(Credit: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

As the Associated Press captures it, Isaiah Cutler was jailed after, well, the police miraculously caught up with him.

Were the the police already his Facebook friends? No, but there were quite a few friends and relatives (and their friends) who seemed rather alarmed that these pictures seemed to show that there had been, well, a burglary.

"They thought they could put [the pictures] out there for their friends who friended them on Facebook to see. But the one kid had 200 friends -- but not only were they friends, some of them were relatives who became concerned and called police," Detective Valerie Milie told the AP.

You see, that's what those pesky uncles and aunties are going to do -- they're going to tell on you.

So, please, all you would-be burglars, let's have no more preening and boasting on Facebook about your misdeeds. It doesn't reflect well on the profession.

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How to Overcome a Fear of 2012

For some, 2012 heralds fear. This is thanks to recent, often vivid, interpretations of a centuries earlier Mayan civilization set of beliefs. Some people believe the world will end or that there will be catastrophes on a large scale, all because the Mayan Long Count calendar is thought to be reaching the end of its cycle in 2012.If you've been worried by the hype and rumors of doom and gloom for 2012 that have been eagerly shared across websites, blogs and other sources, fear no longer. It's not the end of the world but it could be the start of your critical thinking circuitry getting a fine tune.

Steps

1. Remember that there have been many times throughout history when people thought the "end of the world" was nigh. Many myths about the end of the world precede the 2012 myth. There was July 1999 In Quatrain X-72 of Nostradamus; January 1st, 2000 (Y2K); June 6th, 2006 (supposed 6000 years A.D., also 6/6/06, the devil's birthday in some religions); any October 31st, and September 9, 2009 (999, again, a reference to the devil's day). There have been prophesies of worldly doom associated with the appearance of comets, the eruptions of volcanoes and the alignment of celestial bodies. There have been many predictions of the world being doomed according to gurus, prophets and know-it-alls, many seeking fame or recognition, some suffering from delusions and others just misinterpreted. It would take a long time to name them all. All of them have reasons, but no facts to back them up.
   • Look back at all the other prophecies of doom and see where they went and what happened to the people promoting these predictions. Not one of the prior soothsayers has successfully predicted the end of the world, nor even a huge disruption to daily events.
   • No prior planetary alignments have ever resulted in ills on Earth.
2. Read some well researched and backed up information on Mayan culture and their calendar. In a nutshell, the Classic Maya civilization thrived between 300 to 900 CE (AD). Highly advanced for its time, Mayan culture showed good understanding in such fields as mathematics, medicine and astronomy. The Mayan calendar was a complicated affair; indeed, it was a "system" rather than a single calendar as we understand a calendar to be today. It consisted of three calendars used simultaneously, showing different cycles (yearly, 50 yearly and long term). One of these calendars was known as the "Long Count", noting each day from a base date of 3114 BCE (BC). It is this calendar that some Mayan scholars believe is due to come to completion on the solstice of December 21, 2012. However, even here there is disagreement, with other scholars calculating different end dates, such as 4772.^[1][2]
   • We are upon the end of the fourth Great Cycle of a Long Count calendar. We've survived three other ones! All Mayan calendars would tell of a date when there would be a dramatic end, but the interpretation was that this was always a beginning to a new cycle or a "new age". Seen in this light, the ending of a calendar is a positive sign, not a negative one.
   • Uncertainty is rife in interpretation of Mayan hieroglyphics due to the fact that they were no longer used after the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 1500s. As such, clarification of exact meaning is difficult and subjective.
   • Most scholars believe that Mayan calendars were focused on keeping a track of time rather than predicting the future.
   • Just because there is nothing past the 2012 date on the "Long Count" calendar doesn't mean there will be the end of time. It is the only Mayan calendar of which we know that ends after the fall of their civilization. Had they continued to thrive as a civilization, chances are that they would have continued to keep making the calendars well into the unforeseeable future.
3. Be skeptical. If the Mayan civilization had prophesied an end of the world in 2012, its reliability has to be doubted given that they didn't manage to prophesy the demise of their own civilization. Avoid turning this into a test of faith in Mayan predictions!
4. Be wary of people seeing patterns where there are none to be seen. The human mind loves patterns; there are sound, biological reasons for our pattern recognition inner software that aided our survival throughout history. However, when this goes into overdrive, it also causes us to assume things that are actually not of significance but are easily the stuff of paranoia and imagining. One of the things you might read includes the "significance" attributed to the date 12-21-2012 (or 21-12-2012) by numerologists. All those twos and ones seem to form a pattern but they don't - since the solstice is always on 12-21 every year and since we've already had other candidate years such as 2001 and 2002, there is nothing special about the 2012 date.
   • Equally filled with drama but no substance are any claims about planetary alignment and a dark rift. Any planetary alignment is fascinating for us but without impact. Any gravitational effect from any solar system object other than our Moon is negligible due to the great distances involved. As for the concept of a "dark rift" in our Milky Way on 21 December 2012, in which our Sun is supposed to combine its gravity with the black hole (Sagittarius A*) at the center of our galaxy, there is no substance to this fantastical theory. There is no rift––it is dust and gas covering up stars located in the bulge in the center of our universe. Second, the Mayans didn't know of any black hole––this is thanks to astronomers discovering it, so predicting something about an entity of which they knew nothing at all seems very far-fetched. Third, the Sun is always aligned in the Milky Way. The Earth moves, and has been in that one alignment many hundred times. Finally but most tellingly, given that we're 24,000 light years away from this black hole, it's impact on us is negligible. Put it this way––our Sun has a gravitational pull on Earth that is 2 million times greater than that of our galaxy's black hole but we're still here.^[3]
   • Another claim to be skeptical about is anyone claiming that the winter solstice is the special reason behind 2012 doom scenarios. The evident reason is this––while 21-21-2012 is the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, it's the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere. And last time anyone checked, the oblate spheroid that we know as our Earth consists of both hemispheres.
5. Get off those gibberish websites! The internet is a wonderful tool that has opened up pathways to information like no other tool humankind has ever experienced before. But with the good comes the downright dreadful because every man, woman and their dog can add information to the internet. Sure, it's freedom of speech on the one hand. But on the other, it's a free-for-all bazaar of the bizarre and truth, accuracy and reliability can take a nosedive when they get in the way of a good story. Combine this with our human hard-wiring to believe the worst and it's the negative, sensational stories that get promoted, shared around and given credence through insistence and persistence. This still doesn't make stories about the end of the world in 2012 any more believable. Without scientific proof, without substantiated evidence, all you are left with is online hype. It may be hype with gloss and enthusiasm but it's still a hoax. It's just an idea with a lot of conjecture.
   • Do your own research and critical analysis. Look around the different sites discussing the 2012 theories and guesses. You'll find there are many unfounded, inconsistent and unsupported sources of information. Be especially careful of anyone person who claims to know what is happening. It may even pay to look into the background of this person, to see what they have "predicted" in the past or what they have done in the past.
6. See the movie 2012. It's fiction, but it will give you a view of how crazy the conspiracy is. On the other hand, if you're highly suggestive, don't watch it! Seriously though, it is clear that the idea of a 2012 apocalypse makes for great viewing, just as does the idea of aliens invading or being blown out of Kansas into Oz. Just because it's a sensational story doesn't mean it's something to "find meaning" within, unless you're studying human gullibility.
7. Tune it out. When a news report about 2012 doomsday comes on, change the station. When people keep talking about it, change the subject. Do not read about it on the internet and switch off the History Channel or The Discovery Channel whenever they discuss anything about Nostradamus and the "End Times", or any other program related to end-of-the-world theories. It's really no big deal when you're not feeding your worries about it any more.
   • Many of the shows on television about a 2012 apocalypse have contained misleading statements and unfounded claims.^[1]
8. Get professional help. Sometimes we cling to horrible world-ending theories because our personal lives align with such feelings of negativity and doom. If things aren't going right in your own life and it seems easier to stress and worry about something that is a non-event and totally out of your control, then you risk giving up control of every aspect of your life and wallowing in gloom. Too much worry can tilt into paranoia. Instead of chewing yourself up with worries, sadness and fear, talk to someone who can help you to see and resume the more positive and stable aspects of your own life.
   • Don't let your fear run your life; what sort of life is that?
9. Don't talk about it in any depth. When people bring it up, (which they will because it's great water cooler gossip), just say you don't believe it. Don't let them persuade you to believe them. Tell them what you believe instead and list the reasons why the theory is total bunk.
10. Turn your fear into action. If you do experience fear, apart from stopping reading all the finessed internet and book theories written by people with stars in their eyes, let go of your fear, stop procrastinating and live your dream. Complete stuff on your bucket list. Don't wait until you're 50. Furthermore, you can help in the prevention of any real disaster during this year. Start recycling, switch to a hybrid car, donate to a Space Habitation Project. Turn this fear into a reason to live.
    • Live each day as a gift. Do you really need world-ending myths to shock you out of your daily apathy?
    • Not to encourage a New Age bent if you don't already have one, but you might be interested to know that there is a whole flipside to 2012 fear, in which people believe in the rupture from old negative ways and a transformation to new, positive and more spiritual ways at the passing of 2012. You can read up on these theories for yourself but again, keep your critical thinking at the forefront, remembering that a good life is what you put into it, not what external forces exert upon you.

Tips

• Tell yourself that whenever you're scared of 2012, that nothing is wrong you are still there, you are healthy, and you have the right to be skeptical of the unfounded claims.
• Consider the possibility that time doesn't end. The universe is constantly expanding. Time-Space are linked in many ways, so who says that time won't go on and on?
• If it makes you feel any better, plan a big world didn't end party for December 22, 2012. That was the presumed doomsday, but since we know that can't happen, start deciding now whether you want spiral ham or spam.
• Check out a book from the library on the Mayans and hit the World Wide Web as well. You can learn more about the Mayan calendar system, and all the other cool things about Mayan culture. It's engaging and informative if you get involved in realhistory and understand what motivated the Mayans, as opposed to poorly interpreted fantasies about the Mayan culture.
• Remember that it's just a calendar. All calendars end, so this isn't any different. It may be an accurate calendar from a time-keeping perspective, but it's not aimed at prediction. And remember that it's very ancient. They didn't know back then what we know now; if they did, it'd be likely we'd be incredibly advanced by now and not thinking about the world's end!
• Don't let anyone persuade you into believing something that you know is not aligned with your own values, beliefs and sources of evidence. No matter your religion or secular beliefs, keep believing what you always have. Even if a promoter of the 2012 doomsday theory tries to back it up, the only real fact they have is that the Mayan Calendar ends in 2012. Simply remind them of this politely and ask to change the topic.
• If you believe in silence, the universe, moon landing, and atoms, have you probably nothing to worry about, because there is not one scientific fact about some sudden "Doomsday".

Warnings

• Most of the apocalyptic visions of 2012 presented on the internet are found on YouTube. All of these visions, whether online, in printed form or derived verbally are designed to frighten the wits out of you. Don't buy into them.
• Do not do anything permanent such as quitting college or job or selling your belongings on the basis of the world ending. You can't undo decisions like these most times and even if you can, you have some pretty foolish explaining to do.
• Do not let "news" stories, blogs, websites, etc. about the 2012 end of the world get to you. See them as pure entertainment and not as truth or fact.
• Don't get into fights over this issue; it's just not worth it. Be compassionate toward people who feel the need to push end-of-the-world theories in your face. It's possible that they're having a hard time of life right now or they feel a lack of attention from others.
• Don't get safety gear or create hiding places. If that were the date the world was going to end, then no safety gear or hiding place will save you.

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How to Make a Decoy for Spiders Using Spanish Canes

Spanish canes (Arundo donax) are a favorite for making all sorts of items, including bows and arrows, javelins, peashooters, Popeye's pipes and blowers for low fires. By following these steps, you can recreate the high-pitched sound of an attacking mosquito or a fly in a panic. And they can even be used to make clever decoys for pesky spiders... and people, as you'll discover here.The canes are better when they're green–the dry ones require more know-how and patience.

Steps

1. 

   The canes end in a rolled tight, long and pointed flexible tip that looks like a toy whip.
   Look around in your neighborhood to find Spanish cane. It's also known as giant cane, giant reed, carrizo, arundo and wild cane.^[1] A native to eastern and southeastern Asia, it can also be found in California, the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
2. 

   This is the tip of a cane.
   Locate the extreme tip of the cane.
3. 

   Same cane but the tip has been pulled off.
   Pull off the tip. Take care to hold the tip firmly when doing this and to avoid cutting yourself with the sharp edge of the cane leaves.
4. 

   Unroll the outer leaf of the tip to gain access to the inner ones.
   Unroll the outer leaf of the tip to gain access to the inner ones.
5. 

   Now you can pull them out
   Pull out the inner leaves.
6. 

   Smooth out the outer leaf. This will be the decoy.
   Smooth out the outer leaf. This will be the decoy. Blow hard. You'll hear that it produces the high-pitched sound of an attacking mosquito or that of a fly in a panic.
7. 
   Go to a spider's hole or a cobweb. Try to attract the attention of the eight-legged dweller... If you're lucky, a spider will come rushing forth to investigate the apparent caught fly or mosquito!
   • If you don't succeed with the spider, play kindhearted tricks on friends and family to cause them to think there's a mosquito in the room. Or, use the sound as a unique ringtone.

Warnings

• When cutting the cane, take care to avoid cutting yourself on either the cane or the cutting implement.
• Check for insects before handling freshly cut plant material, to avoid being unwittingly stung.

Things You'll Need

• Spanish cane
• Cutting implement

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Google to pay Mozilla thrice the amount in renewed search deal

It was only recently, after much speculation that Google and Mozilla renewed their search royalty agreement for a period of three years, after their previous agreement exhausted in November, this year. Google, as per reports has been paying Mozilla a hefty sum for being the default search engine on their Firefox browser. Initially, though, Google used to pay Mozilla close to $103 million each year to ensure prominence on their browser.

Paying thrice the amount to get visibility

Now, however, with competition getting fierce in the market with the likes of Bing trying to make more space, the rates have skyrocketed, too. AllThingsD confirms that now, to ensure the same level of visibility, Google will have to pay Mozilla thrice the amount it paid only till a year ago, i.e. roughly $300 million per year. Reportedly, last year, Google, by the way of this deal contributed to almost 84 percent of Mozilla’s $123 million in revenue.

The report further states that, "Google’s main rival in the bid, sources said, was Microsoft’s Bing search service, which was aggressively trying to hip-check it from the main search spot on the browser. That’s because the software giant has been spending a lot of money in efforts to grow Bing’s market share in the search market. Microsoft, of course, also owns the still-dominant Internet Explorer browser, but Google’s Chrome has recently been making major gains over both IE and Mozilla’s Firefox."

Also, despite paying such a hefty price, Google will still have to compete for space with Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, Amazon and eBay, with whom Mozilla continues to retain its partnerships

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MSI releases MSI+ App for Android and iOS

MSI, a leading global motherboard and graphics card maker announced the release of the MSI+ App, a new service for mobile users. Available for Android and iOS platforms, it’s an interactive tool that covers news, video, match, specs, product manual and calculator. This is a free app, which can be downloaded from the respective app stores.

The MSI+ App

The app is designed to give users updates on the existing and upcoming MSI products. The Match tool lets you easily find a MSI product, be it motherboards or notebooks, whereas the Specs tab gives you a quick run down of the specifications of the chosen product. Perhaps, the most interesting part of this app is the ‘Power Supply Calculator’. This gives you a rough idea of how much power, the rig you configure, will draw thereby simplifying your PSU buying decision. Go ahead and give it a try and let us know what you think.

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New Tennis apps come to Android and iOS

Tennis fans can now follow tennis 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, thanks to a few new apps that are now available on both, iOS and Android smartphones. The first app is called TennisTV and it’s an official live streaming app, which allows users to view professional tennis, where they can catch over 900 matches a year from the ATP World Tour 1000, the ATP World Tour 500, the ATP World Tour 250, the WTA Premier and the other WTA International tournaments. Click this link to download the Android version of the app. New Tennis apps Here are the highlights of the app: Multiple HQ Live Video Streams - High quality video stream of over 900 live matches a year with commentary (WTA Premier live matches are not available to watch in Europe) Match specific highlights - Extended video highlights from 37 men's and women's tournaments Daily highlights round-ups - Video highlights from 37 men's and women's tournaments Interviews - In-depth video interviews with all the top players Features - Exclusive behind the scenes access with exclusive video features Social Network Integration - Facebook and Twitter feeds The second app is the ATP/WTA live score, and it is the official live score monitoring app of the ATP World Tour and WTA. Users can follow the action all-year round of their favourite ATP and WTA tournaments, follow the future stars of the game on the ATP Challenger Tour and check-out the latest ranking position of their favourite players. Here’s the link to download the Android version of the app. The last one, the BARCLAYS ATP World Tour Finals app allows users to follow the action of the world’s top 8 singles and doubles teams as they battle it out to be the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Champion. It has been produced specially for the ATP World Tour’s season-ending championships and users can follow live scores, check match schedules, group standings and latest news, as well as view video highlights and photos from around the tournament. Here’s the link to download the Android version of the app.

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Facebook for Android gets updated

Facebook for Android received an update and this version will allow users to get faster and easier navigation through the website on their Android smartphones. As can be seen from the images, the interface seems to have got a big overhaul and it does look more intuitive and better customized for Android phones, now. Also, they’ve included push notifications, and access to games and applications on the go, which wasn’t available in the previous versions.  The updated interface Here’s a list of what has been added in this new version of the application: Navigate faster: Get to your groups, apps, pages, and settings with a single press Search and discover: Look through friends, subscribers, apps, and pages See your friends’ tags on pictures and zoom: New photo viewing experience Faster notifications: Get alerted in real time with new push notifications Games & Apps: Play games and access your favourite apps on the go Access to mobile timeline (If you already have Facebook timeline) Access to friend lists and subscriptions Those are some cool new features that have been added to enhance the mobile Facebook experience. The new Facebook app can be downloaded from here.

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Nikon D5100 gets third-party Star Wars theme firmware

We’re all excited about new firmware releases, be it for a motherboard or a mobile phone. Now, digital cameras have firmware updates as well. Like any other product, there are also modders who release third-party firmwares for cameras. One such group has released a Star Wars theme for the Nikon D5100, according to a news by Nikon Rumours. This mod comes a while after these modders were able to decrypt Nikon’s official firmware for the D5100. While the mod may not be more functional in any way, than the official firmware, it does have something for Star Wars fans. The menus and settings for example, are named after phrases used in the movie series. Low exposure warnings are denoted by Dark side of Force! The primary Setup menu is being called Hyperdrive and the Custom Settings menu, Super Stardestroyer.

Some screen grabs from the custom firmware

The modding community seems to be moving towards other products such as cameras. There’s even a community for those modding the firmware over at Nikon Hacker. The person responsible for the mod claims that users can choose to switch back to the official 1.01 D5100 update, if they wish to.

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Nikon Coolpix AW100 Review

When one thinks of rugged cameras, either Olympus or Panasonic are among the brands that one thinks of instantly. These brands have been launching tough, shockproof cameras for years and though a tad on the pricier side, they are extremely efficient and perform in the way they are intended to. So, how does the competition respond to a unique camera such as this? By launching a similarly attributed camera with their own implementations. Who better to target this segment of cameras, other than Nikon, one of the world’s most popular camera manufacturers. Nikon has responded by launching their first rugged camera, the Coolpix AW100, with AW being an abbreviated form of All Weather. This camera boasts of features such as being waterproof up to 10 metres, shockproof from a drop of 5 feet as well as freezeproof up to -10 degree Celsius.

Unique locking mechanism on the battery bay

Design and Build Quality
Mostly cameras from this segment are chunky, even though they feature in the compact camera segment. The AW100, on the contrary is pretty slim and makes other tough cameras look ugly in comparison. It is available in four colour options, which are black, blue, orange and camouflage. The review piece given to us was the black model and as far as rugged cameras go, this is a really stylish looking, compact camera.

Like other all weather cameras available, there is no large lens adorning the face of the camera. Instead, the lens is located in a depression at the top right hand side on the front. The LED flash and the AF assist are also located on the face of the camera. Nikon have used a minimalistic approach, while designing the look of the camera. It will appeal to those who do not want anything too fancy or flashy.

On the rear of the camera is the large 3-inch screen that flushes along the body. Alongside the screen, to the right are the camera’s controls such as playback, zoom, menu, four-way navigational pad, etc. Most of these buttons have a squarish shape and like the rest of the camera, they too are made of hard plastic. The top of the AW100 features the shutter release button along with the power button. The GPS antenna is also housed in this panel at the top. A button featured on the side of the camera is the GPS/ Action Control button for adjusting settings when wearing gloves.

3-inch screen flushes along the body

Connectivity options for the camera are located in a bay at the side of the camera and they include a proprietary USB port and a mini HDMI port. Located in this bay are the battery as well as a memory card slot. The unique thing about this bay is its flap. To prevent the seepage of water, Nikon has provided a button, which needs to be pressed and a knob to be turned. Only once this is done, the bay will open. On the underside of the flap there is a rubber padding that ensures that it is further protected from water.  

The build quality of the camera is really good and there was no need for all the extra bulk that is usually found on other rugged cameras. By reducing this bulk, Nikon has made the AW100 a sporty and stylish looking camera. This camera is not heavy, so shooting with a single hand is possible as it weighs just 178g. This camera is extremely compact as well and one can easily fit it in a shirt pocket, trouser pocket or a purse.

Features
The main feature of the Nikon AW100 is its rugged abilities, which include being waterproof up to 10 metres, shockproof when dropped from a height of 5-feet and freeze resistant to around minus 10 degree Celsius. These are pretty neat features for a camera that is priced at this amount. The camera features a 16MP CMOS sensor, which allows one to click good pictures in low-lit environments. With the use of a 16 MP sensor, which is the size of 1/2.3 inches, one can click pictures at a maximum resolution of 4608 x 3456. This makes printing on large format papers possible. By using a CMOS sensor, Nikon claims that photos can be captured with great image quality as well as low image noise.

Large meshed shutter release button on the top

The camera has a 5x optical zoom with a vibration reduction feature that allows one to capture images from a distance with a reduced amount of blur. This feature can certainly help when one is performing adventure sports, such as rock climbing, mountain biking, etc. Apart from the rugged capabilities of the camera, it also has other interesting features such as 1080p video recording at 30fps, GPS capabilities and a whole lot of scene modes. The camera features a maximum ISO sensitivity of 3200, this makes shooting in low-lit areas possible.

The interface of the camera is similar to that of other Nikon cameras. So, if one has used a Nikon in the past, getting used to the camera will take place instantly. For those who don’t know, the interface of the Nikon is extremely easy to navigate through. One can just use the menu option to access options, then to select they need to press the OK button. The camera supports memory cards, such as SD, SDHC and SDXC. These sort of cards are found quite freely in the market. The features of this camera are really good and one would surely enjoy using them in extreme as well as in normal conditions.

Performance
This is a rugged camera that is meant for people who are into a lot of outdoor activities. These activities may, at times force the photographer to hold it in a single hand and shoot. The camera has a matte finish so gripping it does not pose a problem. The shutter release button is fairly large as well, which allows one to easily snap a picture. The camera was dropped several times from heights, ranging from two feet to five feet and not only did it work well, it came out unscathed, too. Apart from this, we ran our regular test such as the ISO sensitivity test, zoom test, etc. in a controlled environment as well as outdoor to gauge the performance of this compact camera.

ISO sensitivity test

ISO Sensitivity Test
From the image above, we can see that at ISO 125 there was no image noise whatsoever, and the colours looked accurate. From ISO 200, we can see that the colours look a bit desaturated, but there was not much noise seen. From ISO 400, onwards, we can see a slight amount of image noise. From ISO set at 800 onwards, we can clearly see the noise levels rise and at the fastest ISO which is 3200, the noise levels are extremely high.

Zoom test Zoom Test The camera features an optical zoom of 5x, with an equivalent to that of 28-140mm lens in 35mm format. While using the camera with its zoom set to maximum, we noticed that there was no blurring in the shots. The VR image stabilizer takes care of the blur and one can expect to capture crisp images even when on the move. Performance Continued While clicking pictures outdoors, we noticed that the camera handles direct sunlight pretty well and the images captured do not look dark. Outdoor images had a very minimum amount of colour fringing and this can be noticeable only if an image is zoomed in on a PC. Indoor images shot really well, too. There was not much grain noticed in these shots, which is great while capturing pictures indoors. Shooting in macro mode is really good as there is a lot of detail visible in these types of shots. Macro images provided a lot of detail We recorded videos in 1080p to check the video recording qualities of the camera and we were quite pleased with the results. The video recorded well and there were no transition issues when moving from a dark area to a bright one. Video playback was good as well and we faced no issues with it, whatsoever. The flash of the camera is quite powerful and it can illuminate an area of approximately 15-feet. A 1050mAh lithium ion battery is bundled with the AW100 and Nikon rates it at approximately 250 shots. GPS button located at the side Verdict The Nikon Coolpix AW100 is available in India at a street price of Rs.15,000. The camera has some really amazing features and looks pretty stylish as well, especially for a rugged camera. It is quite slim, too, as far as compact cameras, in general, are concerned. Performance-wise, it has done really well and with its shock resistant capabilities put to the test, the camera came out on top. A thing that is really going for this camera is its price. There may be some differences, which feature in other rugged cameras that may not feature on this one. But taking everything else into consideration, this is something that should definitely not be overlooked, if you are in the market looking for a tough camera.

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