Top reviews this week: Panasonic P51,Lava Iris 504Q, The Last of Us and more!

Its been a busy week with new smartphones, video games, PC components and apps coming our way. Here’s a roundup of our reviews from this week.

Nikon CoolPix A (8/10) Most users now look for digital cameras that stand apart from the usual point-and-shoot, travel zoom and superzoom cameras. What they want is a compact camera with large sensors, superior optics, RAW support and fine-grained control. Nikon’s latest flagship, the CoolPix A, delivers just that with an APS-C type sensor, a 16MP CMOS sensor and a 28 mm prime lens. And all this barely scratches the surface. A rotatable metal ring that lets users adjust the focus of the camera as well as a good user interface count as just a few of its other offerings. With a price tag of Rs 54,000 approx, the Nikon CoolPix A is definitely a compact camera to look out for.

Micromax A88 Canvas Music (6/10)
Micromax has steadily been adding to its dossier, with the latest addition, the A88 Canvas Music looking at wooing music lovers with JBL headphones and free downloadable music which can be accessed through the company’s MLive online service.  While the body and the user interface of the phone is nothing to write back home for, the phone comes with a price tag of Rs 9,999 with online prices falling to as low as Rs 8,500. The JBL headphones being thrown in may seem a bargain as well.

Panasonic has launched its first smartphone, the P51..

Panasonic P51 (7/10)
While Panasonic is a big name when you’re out looking for a plasma TV or an air-conditioner, the P51 is the company’s first foray into the smartphones category. With a typical 5-inch “phablet” form, the P51 lacks GLONASS and may also be held back by lesser onboard storage, but more than makes up for it with a good display, a large battery and a quad-core processors. Now priced at Rs 21,500, the P51 looks like a decent value for money buy.

Lava Iris 504Q (7/10)
Lava is going after Micromax, Karbonn and Xolo with the Lava Iris 504Q, which is priced at Rs 13,499. With a quad core processor, Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean, an 8 megapixel camera and a 2000 mAh battery, the Lava Iris 504Q looks like a decent phone for anyone in the market looking for a dual-SIM smartphone with good performance.

The Lava Iris 504Q: Not a bad phone at all

Next Browser (7/10)
While Android does have a default web browser that comes with the smartphone, most users prefer to reply on Opera, Firefox and Chrome to handle their Internet needs. Next Browser joins the line-up with a good interface as well as a great Search feature. It takes the best of all the other browsers available and gives it in a slick-looking app.

The Last of Us (9/10)
Naughty Dog has never ceased to impress. The makers of the hugely successful Uncharted series are known for gripping stories and seamless gameplay. And the newest addition to its stable, The Last of Us, picks up the pace beautifully. The stereotypical world of a post-apocalyptic zombie ridden world is re-visioned in a stunning manner as players travel through deserted ghost towns, meet fellow survivors and wade through tons of the Infected (what the zombies are called). Needless to say, The Last of Us is one game that needs less reading and more playing.

Sony’s handbag shaped portable Bluetooth speaker, the SRS-BTM8

Sony SRS-BTM8 (6/10)
Sony’s portable Bluetooth speaker looks nothing like any speaker you may see in the market. While there are several other Bluetooth speakers out in the market from the likes of Jabra, Logitech, Jawbone and Bose, the prices these products boast is nearly twice as much as the SRS-BTM8. However, interested buyers may be turned off by the lack of a built-in rechargeable battery, which means you will have to keep scrambling for rechargeable AA batteries instead.

XFX Radeon HD 7990 (7/10)   
AMD’s XFX Radeon HD 7990 is definitely one of the most powerful graphics card in the world. But with great power means more money spent. And with a retail price of Rs 99,000, and a street price set at Rs 81,000, that is a lot of money spent. If price is not a factor, then the HD 7990 is definitely something that you should get as much information about as you can.