Google launches cheapest Chromebooks

Google has announced addition of new low cost Chrome OS based devices to its product portfolio. The new Chrome OS based devices include Haier Chromebook 

Google is unveiling its cheapest Chromebook laptops yet, two versions priced at $149 aimed at undercutting Microsoft's Windows franchise and gaining an even stronger hold in school and overseas markets. 

Google began working with various PC manufacturers to design the lightweight laptops in 2011. The newest versions are made by Hisense and Haier. Hisense's Chromebook can be ordered beginning Tuesday at Walmart.com and Haier's version can be bought at Amazon.com. 

Their arrival coincides with Microsoft's rollout of a lower-priced Surface tablet in a bid to expand its market share. 

Unlike most computers, Chromebooks don't have a hard drive. Instead, they function as terminals dependent on an internet connection to get most work done. Despite those limitations, Chromebooks have been steadily gaining in popularity, particularly in schools.

Key Features of Haier Chromebook 11 

• 11.6-inch (1366 x 768 pixel resolution) display
• Rockchip RK3288 Cortex-A17 quad-core processor
• 2 GB RAM
• 16 GB storage
• Battery Life: 10 hours (Haier Chromebook), 
• Haier Chromebook is claimed to offer up to 10 hours of battery life while Hisense variant offers up to 8.5 hours of battery life.
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Apple launches 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display, updates Mac Mini

Apple on Thursday unveiled the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display, featuring what it claims to be the world's highest resolution display with 14.7 million pixels.

iMac with Retina 5K display features a 27-inch display with a resolution of 5120x2880p, four times more pixels than the standard 27-inch iMac and 67% more pixels than a 4K display.

According to Apple, the iMac with Retina 5K display uses an oxide TFT-based panel to deliver vivid display brightness from corner to corner. A single supercharged Apple-designed timing controller (TCON), with four times the bandwidth, drives all 14.7 million pixels.

iMac with Retina 5K display also uses LEDs and organic passivation to improve image quality and reduce display power consumption by 30%, even while driving four times more pixels at the same brightness, as per Apple.

To improve the contrast ratio, iMac with Retina 5K display uses a new photo alignment process and a compensation film for blacker blacks and more vibrant colours. Apple says every iMac with Retina 5K display is calibrated using three spectroradiometers to ensure precise and accurate colour.

iMac with Retina 5K display comes with a 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9GHz, and can be configured with a 4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 4.4GHz.

It also comes with AMD Radeon R9 M290X graphics and can be configured with AMD Radeon R9 M295X graphics, delivering up to 3.5 teraflops of computing power.

iMac with Retina 5K display comes standard with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB Fusion Drive. It can also be configured with up to 32GB of RAM, a 3TB Fusion Drive, or up to 1TB of PCIe-based flash storage. Additionally, iMac with Retina 5K display includes two Thunderbolt 2 ports that deliver up to 20Gbps transfer rates, twice the bandwidth of the previous generation.

Apple has also refreshed its entry-level Mac Mini portable desktop computer. The new Mac mini features fourth generation Intel Core processors, integrated graphics, 802.11ac Wi-Fi support and Thunderbolt 2 ports.



 Apple unveils 18% thinner iPad Air 2, starts at Rs 35,900

According to Apple, the new integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000 and Intel Iris Graphics deliver up to 90% faster graphics performance than the previous generation Mac Mini. The new Mac mini includes two Thunderbolt 2 ports, each delivering up to 20Gbps of bandwidth to each port, as well as next-generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi that is up to three times faster when connected to an 802.11ac base station.

Mac mini consumes as few as 6 watts of power when idle.

The two new Macs come with OS X Yosemite, the new version of OS X, that sports a flatter, new look and comes with overhauled apps in addition to the new Continuity features that makes working across Mac and iOS devices seamless.

Apple says OS X Yosemite is engineered to take full advantage of the iMac's Retina 5K display.

iMovie, GarageBand and the suite of iWork apps also come free with every new Mac.

iMac with Retina 5K display begins shipping from today itself with a 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9GHz, AMD Radeon R9 M290X graphics and a 1TB Fusion Drive for a retail price of Rs 1,79,900.

The Mac mini comes in three standard models - a 1.4 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 5000 and a 500GB hard drive starting at a retail price of Rs 36,990, a 2.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1GHz, 8GB of RAM, Intel Iris Graphics and a 1TB hard drive starting at a price of Rs 49,990 and a 2.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3GHz, 8GB of RAM, Intel Iris Graphics and a 1TB Fusion Drive starting at a price of Rs 69,990.

Customers can order the new Macs from select Apple Authorised Resellers over the coming week.

How IE users can protect themselves from hackers

If you have been using any version of Internet Explorer, you are potentially vulnerable to being hacked. The recent zero day exploit has now been patched with a critical security update released in recent past. The next attack, however, is just around the corner. 

Incidents such as this not only are a sound reminder to enable Windows Update and make sure all critical updates are installed immediately, it also raises the question whether there are safer options. Let us recap the events and explore what you can do to protect yourself from getting hacked in future. 

What happened to Internet Explorer? 

On September 17, Microsoft announced that hackers were exploiting a previously unknown, unpatched vulnerability in all versions of Internet Explorer. While Microsoft was working on an official patch, they offered a temporary Fix it tool, which users could apply manually to protect themselves from the zero-day exploit. 

Meanwhile, the announcement raised attention. Moreover, the attack code was integrated into Rapid7′s open source Metasploit penetration testing tool, making the code freely available to security professionals and cyber criminals alike. This move likely invited a surge of attacks, affecting unsuspecting users of Internet Explorer, who did not apply the security patch. 

It took Microsoft three weeks to prepare a security bulletin. On October 8, Patch Tuesday, the critical security update was rolled out to fix the vulnerability on all machines that had Windows Update enabled. If Windows Update is enabled on your machine, you are safe; at least for the moment. 

Enable automatic Windows update 

The first and most important step is to enable Windows Update because Microsoft typically offers security patches in a timely manner. Both important and recommended updates can be downloaded and installed automatically. Users who disabled Windows Update to automatically install important updates, remain vulnerable to malicious attacks until they manually apply critical security patches. 

Upgrade to latest version of Internet Explorer 

While the recent exploit affected all versions of Internet Explorer, older versions are typically more vulnerable because they lack security features or are no longer supported by Microsoft. Presently, Internet Explorer 10 is the most recent version for Windows 7, while Windows 8 users should run Internet Explorer 11.Both recent versions of Internet Explorer are up to par with competition. IE 10 offers significant improvements, such as a 20% speed increase over IE9. Meanwhile, IE 11 introduced novel features, most notably a touch-enabled interface and the ability to sync tabs across Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone devices. 

Run Internet Explorer in Protected Mode & High Security level 

It took Microsoft a very long time to release a patch via Windows Update for the recent security loop hole. While a Hotfix was made available immediately, it required manual user intervention. To increase protection from malicious attacks until a patch is applied, the average user running Windows 7 or 8 can enable Internet Explorer's Protected Mode and set the security level to high. 

In Windows 7, go to Start, search and open Internet Options. In Windows 8, open the Settings charm, click Settings, open the Control Panel, and find Internet Options. Switch to the Security tab and make sure Enable Protected Mode is checked for all zones. Set the security level to high for Internet and Local intranet. 

To access less secure features on sites you frequently visit, manually add the URLs to your Trusted sites and set the security level to medium for that zone. 

Trusted sites use a different browser 

All versions combined, Internet Explorer remains the most abundantly used browser worldwide. This alone makes it a prime target for hackers. Add that it is the standard browser in many corporate environments and you can be certain that any vulnerability will be exploited rigorously as soon as it becomes known. Running the latest version under the highest security standards may not be enough to protect yourself. 

While you can never be completely safe, unless you unplug the Internet, your best bet is to use a less commonly used open source browser with an active user base and developer community. Chances are you will not only be alerted of a potential security risk, the community will likely work day and night to patch the exploit as soon as possible. The first alternative that comes to mind is Firefox, the open source and cross-platform browser that made tabbed browsing popular, but there are many more great browser for Windows. 

Run Firefox security software & browse responsibly 

Last but not least, you should run software to protect your system from viruses and other malware and use common sense when you use the computer. Software won't always be able to fend off malicious hacking attacks, but their algorithms may detect attacks based on common patterns. 

How do you protect yourself from security exploits? 

Internet Explorer is not the only entry point for malicious attacks. Any software and any operating system likely contains loop holes that are yet to be discovered. This is why it is important to install security software, regularly run updates, and stay alert.

PC not recognizing your USB drive Here's what to do

External drives — either USB flash drives or external hard drives — should be easy to use. In some cases, you may connect your drive to a Windows PC or another device with a USB port and find that it's not recognized. This problem can be caused by partition issues on your external drive, using the wrong file system, dead USB ports, driver issues in Windows, or other problems. In a worst case scenario, the drive itself may simply be dead. 

The steps below will be the same for both USB flash drives and larger external hard drives, which work similarly. 

Does the drive show up in disk management?
First, let's check whether Windows detects the drive when you plug it in. Plug your removable drive into your computer. If it's an external hard drive, you may have to flip a power switch on the hard drive to activate it. Some heavy-duty removable hard drives may even have to be plugged in with a separate power cable before they'll work. 

Next, open the Disk Management tool. To do so, press Windows Key + R, type diskmgmt.msc into the Run dialog, and press Enter. 

You should see your external drive listed in the Disk Management window. Even if it doesn't appear in your Computer window because it doesn't contain any partitions, it should show up here. 

If you do see the drive here, you can continue to the last section where we'll format it properly so Windows or your other devices can access and recognize it.If you don't see the drive here, continue to the next section where we'll try to determine why your drive isn't recognized. 

Making Windows recognize the drive 

If Windows doesn't see your drive at all, it's possible there's a hardware issue with your computer's USB port, a driver problem with your Windows computer, or you may just have a dead drive. 

First, unplug the drive from your USB port and try plugging it into another USB port on your computer. If it works in one USB port but not another, you may have a dead USB port. If you've plugged the drive into a USB hub, try connecting it to the computer instead. Some USB hubs won't provide enough power for your external drive to function. 

If the drive doesn't show up in Disk Management even after you skip the USB hub and connect it to another USB port on your computer, it's tough to know for certain whether the drive itself is bad or the computer is having a problem. If you have another computer nearby, try plugging the drive in there to check whether it's detected. If the drive doesn't work on any computer you plug it into — be sure to check whether it appears in the computer's Disk Management window — the drive itself is likely dead and will need to be replaced. 

If the drive does work on other computers — or you don't have another computer around to test this with — Windows may be having a driver problem with the drive. You can check for this using the Device Manager. 

To open it, press Windows Key + R, type "devmgmt.msc" into the Run dialog, and press Enter. 

Look under Disk drives and check for any devices with a yellow exclamation mark next to them. If you see a yellow exclamation mark, you have a driver problem. Right-click the device with a yellow exclamation mark, select Properties, and look at the error message. This error message can help you fix the problem — you may want to perform a Google search for the error message you find. 

Such problems can be tricky to fix. If the problem started recently, you may want to run System Restore. You may want to use the Update Driver button to install an updated driver, use the Roll Back Driver button to revert any changes, or use the Uninstall button to uninstall the device from your system and hope that Windows will reinstall the driver and configure it correctly when you reconnect the drive. 

Partitioning and formatting the drive 

We can use the Windows Disk Management tool to fix partition and file system issues with the drive. If you see that the drive is unpartitioned and is full of "unallocated space," you'll want to create a new partition on it. This will allow Windows and other operating systems to use it. 

To do so, right-click inside the unallocated space, select New Simple Volume, and go through the wizard to create a new partition. 

If your drive is partitioned and you still can't see it, ensure you've set a drive letter so you can access it in Windows. This should happen automatically, but if you've manually unset the drive letter, the drive may not show up and be accessible in Windows. 

To do this, right-click the removable drive's partition, select Change Drive Letter and Paths, and add a drive letter. For example, add the letter G: and the removable drive will be accessible at drive G. 

If the drive does appear to be partitioned, it may be partitioned with the wrong file system. For example, you may have formatted the drive with the ext4 file system from Linux or the HFS Plus file system from a Mac. Windows can't read these file systems. Reformat the drive with the newer NTFS file system or older FAT32 file system so Windows will be able to recognize it. 

To reformat a partition, right-click it, select Format, and select your desired file system. 

Note that this will erase all the files on your drive, so you'll want to copy any important files off of it first — for example, if you formatted the drive on a Linux or Mac computer, take it back to a computer running Linux or Mac and copy your important files off of it before continuing. 

If you can't access the drive from another device, such as a DVD player, smart TV, game console, or media center device, it may be formatted as NTFS. Many devices, even Microsoft's own Xbox 360, can't read the Windows NTFS file system. They can only access drives formatted with the older FAT32 file system. To fix this problem, simply reformat the NTFS partition as FAT32. The drive should then be recognized by other devices when you connect it to them. 

Note that this process will erase the files on your external drive. Copy the files off the drive to back them up first, if necessary.format-removable-drive-as-fat32Following this process should solve most of the disk recognition issues you'll encounter. If a drive isn't recognized by any computer you connect it to and never shows up in the Disk Management window, it's probably dead.

How to keep your Android device malware-free

While it's true that Android is a little more susceptible to malware attacks than iOS, you can make your device impervious to even the most dastardly of digital assaults. Here's how. 

Set a lock screen
Yes, Android lock screens seem to be about as secure as Sony's Playstation Network, but they do offer at least some security against casual attacks. 

Install an anti-malware programme
Just like on a Windows machine, some kind of anti-virus software is handy. It's the second line of defence and there are a number of anti-malware apps available. 

Don't cache passwords
It's annoying, but true. Caching passwords, while incredibly handy, is also a godsend to anyone who steals your phone. Of course, security measures like lock screens help, but the only foolproof method of protecting those passwords is not to save them. (Oh, and turn on two-factor authentication while you're at it.) 

Check your SuperUser privileges
If you've made the choice to root your Android device, you'll need to be extra careful about security. A malicious app with root access would be dangerous - able to do basically anything to your phone, without your knowledge 

Ensure you only install apps from trusted sources
One of the most common methods of infection on Android is downloads of dodgy apps. Just double-check the software you install.

An app that lets you control your child's smartphone usage

 Parents struggling to get their children away from smartphones and tablets for meals, homework, exercise and other activities can arm themselves with new apps to remotely block access to the devices. 

Usage of smartphones and tablets among children has tripled since 2011, according to Common Sense Media, a San Francisco based non-profit that studies the effects of media and technology on young users. 

A new app called DinnerTime Parental Control, available for iPhone or Android smartphones, enables parents to restrict when children can use their smartphones and tablets. 

"The price of entry-level smartphones and tablets have come down a lot, and as a result, more and more kids have their own individual devices," said Richard Sah, co-founder of DinnerTime, based in San Mateo, California. 

With the free app, parents can pause activity on a child's Android smartphone or tablet so that they can focus on things like homework, exercise and family time. Once a device has been paused, all functions on their device are blocked, including the ability to text and play with apps. 

To use the app, parents install it on the child's device and enter in their phone number to link the two devices. Parents can then set specific break times, ranging from 30 minutes to three hours, when the device will be locked. A countdown screen displayed on the child's device shows when they can use it again. 

Sah said he was inspired to develop the app by the tradition of family dinners, which he thinks is being lost in the age of technology. 

"Dinner time brings families together for quality time and to have lots of different conversations. We want people to come together for engaging conversations, rather than be distracted by a tablet," he said. 

DinnerTime Plus, another free app from the company, lets parents manage the apps their children use and to views the apps they are using in real time. 

Parents can also purchase detailed reporting, which outlines how much time kids spend on certain apps, and how often they used them. 

With another app called ScreenTime, parents can push a button on their phones to block usage on their children's devices. They can also set daily time limits for particular apps. The app, for Android, requires a subscription of $3.99 a month. 

Kimberly Young, a psychologist who focuses on internet addiction, believes parents need to control how much time their children spend on their devices. But she added an app might not be the best way to do it. 

"I do not agree that any app is better than good old-fashioned parenting in terms of treating Internet addiction," said Young, who added that she has seen children as young as 3 years old using mobile devices. 

"The larger issue is how young is too young," said Young. 

Sah is also concerned about usage of devices by young children. 

"Most kids can use smartphones before learning to write their names or tie their shoes,"

How to turn your TV into a smartTV

Instead of buying an expensive smart TV, you can convert your existing set into a web-enabled entertainment centre by just spending a few thousands of rupees.

Instead of buying an expensive smart TV, you can convert your existing set into a web-enabled entertainment centre by just spending a few thousands of rupees.

Portable media players
If you're working on a tight budget, you might want to consider an ultra-portable media player. These thumb-sized sticks, which resemble USB pen drives, are capable of streaming content - pictures, music, videos - wirelessly from a PC, smartphone or tablet to your TV screen (provided you have a Wi-Fi router set up at home).

Now there are quite a few brands available in the market, but these are either from companies that have almost no presence in the country, or have been tried by only a handful of people. However, Google's Chromecast (Rs 3,999) is available online (unofficially at www.ebay.in, www.amazon.in) and it's also easy to use. Simply plug in the device into the free HDMI port on your television.

Chromecast has a microUSB port which needs to be connected to a free USB port on the TV (or an alternative source) to power itself. Then, switch to that HDMI source (using the TV remote) and follow the set up instructions to connect to the existing Wi-Fi network in your home. Now, install the Chromecast app on your mobile device or PC/laptop and connect to the same wireless network. Run the app and follow the instructions to link the device to the adapter.

Once the process is complete, you will be able to 'throw' Full HD videos from YouTube onto your television screen (at present, Chromecast comes with video-on-demand channels like Netflix and Hulu that aren't available in India). However, if you have subscribed to local VoD services like BigFlix, BoxTV, Spuul, NexGTv, you can stream their shows to your big screen. For this, you need to install the Google Cast extension in your Chrome browser which will let you send the tab you are currently watching to your TV.

Also, there are quite a few free (and premium) mobile apps like EZCast, LocalCast and RealPlayer Cloud that let you stream personal content from your own smartphone and tablet.

Apple TV



The Apple TV (Rs 8,295) is a network media player that can be used to stream videos, pictures and music from your iOS or Android device. For the latter, you need to first install an app like Plex, PlayTo or Apple TV AirPlay Media Player on the handset or tablet. While you can subscribe to channels, buy or rent movies on iTunes via this player, you cannot store anything on it. Like the Chromecast, it doesn't include a USB port either, in case you would like to play a movie off a pen drive.

Box-type media players
While Chromecast is the simplest and the cheapest way to Wi-Fi-enable your television , it does not come with any internal memory or expandable memory slot to store any data.

For a complete solution, you can opt for a set-top box media player. All you need is a TV with a free HDMI port and an active internet connection to tap into. Such media players support Full HD content from a variety of sources on the internet.

Also, these boxes sport USB ports for your flash drives and external hard disks - and a memory card slot for SD cards, letting you view the content you have stored on them. Additionally, you could opt for boxes with internal storage for your movies and music, especially since these support a wide range of audio-video formats like DVD (VOB files), high-def MT2S videos, Windows Media files and high-quality audio standards like OGG and FLAC. Plus, you get the option to connect to a wired network and the ability to stream content from mobile devices.



You can consider the one-terabyte WD TV Live Hub (Rs 12,500) and iOmega ScreenPlay DX HD (Rs 12,000) media players. These use a proprietary interface and come with a built-in hard drive. The former is ideal for playing personal content and to access pre-loaded web services like YouTube, Flickr and TuneIn. The iOmega player also includes a browser to surf the web and a miniature keyboard to make typing a little easier.

1. SMALL AND PORTABLE 2. PLAYS ALMOST ALL POPULAR VIDEO FORMATS 3. EASY TO USE

Amkette - yes, it is the same company that once sold floppy disks - nowadays make digital accessories for various products. It makes accessories for smartphones, tablets, computers and TVs.
FlashTV HD Pro, an accessory for televisions, is not exactly a new product. This particular model was launched months ago. But the reason behind this review is a problem I came across a few weeks ago.

A friend, who is a movie aficionado, owns an old TV. It is really old - around 6 or 7 years old. It is a colour television but of CRT variety and has resolution of 480p. It also lacks ports like HDMI. And unlike televisions of today, it cannot play any videos or access files stored in a pen drive or hard disk. Yes, you guessed right - it doesn't even have a USB port.

The person who owns this television wanted to know if there is a cheap and easy way for him to occasionally watch films stored on pen drives or hard disks on this television.

While looking around for a reasonably-priced solution, I realized that this problem is not particular to my friend. There are many more like him, who don't watch TV too often, but want some sort device through which they can occasionally watch a film or two stored in pen drives or external hard drives on their old TV sets.

This is when I found FlashTV HD Pro.

So, does FlashTV HD Pro solve the problem with old TVs? Does it make them useful?

The short answer is yes. But it is not all that simple. FlashTV HD Pro is not the only product that can connect to an old TV and let you play movies directly from a pen drive. There are some more out there and depending on your needs, the other media players may be a better choice than FlashTV HD Pro. But more on that later. For now let's take a look at Amkette's media player.

Small and light
Even by the standards of media players, FlashTV HD Pro is quite small. It is smaller than most of the set-top boxes that people use with their televisions nowadays. Or in other words, it as small as a router that you may be using for broadband connection in your house.

It is also very light. It probably weighs less than 300 grams. It is definitely lighter than most of the tablets available in the market. One more reason behind the low weight of FlashTV HD Pro is its plastic body.

While finishing of the device is quite good - there are no loose parts or sharp edges - the quality of plastic used to make its body is not very sturdy. The top half is made of glossy plastic. The bottom part has plastic with matte finish. The plastic used for both parts feels a bit flimsy. Of course, the device won't break if you press it hard but it does feel a bit cheap.



On the right side of the device, there are two USB ports through which a user can connect two external storage devices like pen drives or hard disks to the TV. On the back of the device there are connectivity ports. If you have a TV that supports Full HD resolution then it is likely to have a HDMI port. So you can connect FlashTV HD Pro to your TV using the HDMI port. If you have an old TV, you can use the RCA connectors - the yellow, red and white connectors. There is also a SPDIF connector that you can use if you have a compatible audio system.



On the back, there is a power on/off button and the slot for connecting power cable. On the front of the device, there is a button to switch on and off the device.

There is no memory card reader on FlashTV HD Pro. However, if you have a memory card reader with a USP port, you can connect it to FlashTV HD Pro using the USB cable.

FlashTV HD Pro comes with a remote.

You cannot connect your phone or tablet to FlashTV HD Pro and access audio, video or picture files stored in your device.

Easy to use
I tried FlashTV HD Pro with several TVs. One these TVs was very old. Some were new. And in all instances, I found the performance of FlashTV HD Pro satisfactory.

To use FlashTV HD Pro, you have to connect it to a television and have to supply power to it using a power adapter that is bundled with it. Amkette also bundles RCA cables and HDMI cable. Depending on the ports that are available on your TV you can use any of the supplied cables.

If your TV supports Full HD display or 720p display and (obviously) has a HDMI port, use the HDMI cable. If not, the RCA cable is your best friend.

Through FlashTV HD Pro, I played videos in several formats on several TV. The device handles formats like MP4, AVI and MKV with ease. Even content with high bit-rate is handled well. The playback was satisfactory though on the old TV, the quality of the picture was limited by the low resolution. The audio and video were in sync during the playback.

The user interface that FlashTV HD Pro offers when connected to a TV is easy. When an external media is connected to FlashTV HD Pro, it is identified as Drive C. If you enter the drive, you can see various folders - if there are folders - and media content stored in them. Picture, videos and music can be accessed and played using FlashTV HD Pro.

Should you buy it?
FlashTV HD Pro is a basic but capable media player. But before I talk about whether you should get it or not, let me explain who should not get it:

* If you have a not-so-old TV, it is likely that your TV has a USB port and can play video files directly from a pen drive or external hard disk. If this is indeed the case, FlashTV HD Pro is not for you.

* If you are looking to get a media player that can also connect to the internet and play YouTube videos on your TV, FlashTV HD Pro is not for you.

* If you are looking for a media player that can connect to your Wi-Fi network and help you play videos directly from your laptop to your TV, FlashTV HD Pro is not for you.

* If you have a TV with HDMI port and a good Android tablet, you can connect the tablet to the TV and use it as a media player. Any good Android tablet nowadays will play almost all popular video formats.

FlashTV HD Pro is primarily meant to be used with old televisions. Yes, you can use it with your new TV if you want but I don't think you have any good reason to do that.

While FlashTV HD Pro gets the job done, the price is on higher side. It has a MRP of Rs 4,695. However, it is available for less than Rs 4,000 in the market. This makes it one of the cheapest branded media players you can buy. But the problem is that pairing a Rs 4,000-accessory to an old TV may not look like a very practical decision to most people. A price tag of less than Rs 3,000 would have been better.

That said, if you have an old TV and want to use it to watch films and videos stored in a pen drive, FlashTV HD Pro is a decent choice if you don't mind spending Rs 4,000.