Top Reviews this week: Sony Xperia ZR, Dota 2, Cowon D20 and more!

Guess who’s had a busy week reviewing some awesome gadgets and games? We have, of course! The much awaited Sony Xperia ZR, Dota 2 and the Cowan D20… sit back and check out the top reviews from the tech2 labs for this week!

ZOTAC ZBOX Nano ID65 (6.5/10)
An impressive small form factor PC with a high end Core i7 processor, the ZOTAC ZBOX Nano ID65 aced all the benchmark tests as compared to the older ZBOXes we have tested. With the Nano ID65 Plus, ZOTAC has managed to put together a proper workhorse PC which can tackle heavy applications and tasks quite well apart from being an HTPC. The real-life tests proved that the Nano ID65 Plus is comparable to many ultrabooks out there. But its biggest drawback is the pricing. It comes at a price tag of Rs. 51,999. Sure it has a powerful processor, but the 50k plus is better invested in a powerful laptop or a mid-range gaming PC.

ZOTAC ZBOX Nano ID65 Plus comes in a compact form factor

Dota 2 (9/10)
Dota 2 falls under the category of games that are difficult to explain why they’re fun. Players have to spend copious, almost unhealthy amounts of time on it just to not get destroyed in the first matches, and that’s not even counting the higher-levelled ranked matches or Captain mode matches. However, if you stick with it and take on the tremendous task of actually understanding Dota 2, you’ll find a very rewarding game where even if a game goes on for an hour or two, you won’t feel like it’s wasted time. Aside from the trolls and the learning curve, Dota 2 is a great game, and Valve, together with developer IceFrog, has done the original DotA justice with the Source engine-based remake.
Cowon D20 (5/10)
For Rs 11,500, the D20 is simply too expensive to even consider. Apple’s iPod nano makes a much better gym companion at Rs 11,900 for 16GB. Plus, you even get Bluetooth, podcasts and audiobooks support. The D20 isn’t very convenient for that scenario as well as you can’t clip it on you or tether a Bluetooth headphone to it either. It almost seems like a product that belongs in the past. Cowon hasn’t updated the D20 enough for it to be relevant in 2013. They might as well have called it the D2++ or new D2+.

Little chunky but feels solid

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist (8/10)
Not only is it a stealth game, it’s a stealth game that’s actually good. It nails the fast-paced stealth gameplay it sets out to achieve. You never feel bored when running from shadow to shadow and avoiding the sights of that sniper on the roof, or when you’re setting up three targets perfectly for that Mark & Execute. Sure, the story’s utter tripe, but that shouldn’t stop you from picking this game up. If you’ve got friends, the co-op mode is twice as awesome as the single-player campaign, since the former’s missions are generally less linear than the single-player ones. Despite its problems, Splinter Cell: Blacklist is a great stealth game. It should easily keep you busy till Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag or Watch Dogs comes along to deliver your next stealth fix.
Sony Xperia ZR (7/10)
If you want a decent quad-core based Android smartphone with a dust-proof and water-proof body, the Xperia ZR is a great choice. The closest rival handsets we can list out in the price and performance category are the Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Nexus 4, LG Optimus G and the HTC Desire 600. However, the Xperia ZR additionally has an IP58 certification under its belt, which makes this handset a perfect smartphone for the Indian user. Priced at an MRP of Rs 30,990, the Sony Xperia ZR seems a worthy contender in the market full of smartphones equipped with quad-core processors. The ZR is presently available for a street price as low as Rs 27,800, which could give the rivals a run for their money.

4.5-inch TFT HD display, 13MP rear camera, IP58 certified water and dust proof chassis

Seagate Laptop Thin SSHD (ST500LM000) (7.5/10)
The third generation Seagate SSHD comes at a price of Rs. 6000 (plus taxes) which amounts to around Rs.12.82 per GB. If seen from a pure hard drive perspective this is a high cost per GB. But considering the price points at which previous generation hybrid drives from Seagate were launched, we feel this is an interesting pricing. But yes, Seagate could have surely added some more NAND storage considering it has decided to use MLC NAND. The Laptop Thin SSHD does not offer the best transfer speeds, but the performance jump in terms of improvement in application loading times is great.

If you are in the market looking for a speedy drive for your laptop, but don’t want to compromise on capacity then the Laptop Thin 500GB SSHD is your best bet. If you are just looking at performance and capacity is not really that important, then you can look for 120GB SSDs which are priced slightly higher than the Laptop Thin SSHD.