Market for 3D Televisions was not buzzing last year when Samsung started off with 3D television launch in India, with televisions shifting to a smarter breed by incorporating web and wireless features, LG has launched an impressive range of 3D televisions under their Cinema 3D range. Specs like battery free 3D glasses, better 2D to 3D signal conversion with 100 Hz display features it looks to be good proposition. You could land up good deals online, a 42 inch model which is retailing for around INR 94K is available for INR 75K online from letsbuy.com, also there is a 32 inch 3D tv model which does not feature in the available product list on LG india website but is available for sale on letsbuy.com at an attractive price of INR 49K.
3D content currently is very limited in India, also the madness of releasing 3D movies with no real 3D stuff is not helping the cause of promoting 3D content yet, entry of 32 inch 3D televisions could give a boost to pushing 3D tv sales what companies have being aiming for.
Pune's municipal limits have swelled beyond control in last few years. One would find endless hoardings of construction projects (along with birthday wishes hoardings for local goons or so called karyakartas and leaders) on Pune roads. Property price correction is nowhere in sight in Pune with the builder lobby which is hand in gloves with the politicos for a government run jointly by NCP-Congress combine with BJP, Shivsena and NCP sharing power in municipal corporation it could get no worse for city. There is no actual opposition party that exists in city's political set up right now.
Shahid Balwa the head of DB realty group under scanner for alleged role in 2G Scam has 2 big projects in Yerwad currently under construction, after his arrest there was halt that was put to one of the projects that was being carried out on a land owned by a trust which was supposed to build a park in public - private ownership model silently made a deal of this land with DB realty, PMC washing off their hands and when the actual order came from Maharashtra CM the work was halted on this land for some time as they hype died down, construction work has begun on slow pace. Sharad Pawar and his family members name keeps coming up in almost all land scams in Pune which goes to prove what kind of control this family has on the property market in Pune.
Names of family members related to Narayan Rane, Ajit Pawar have also come under limelight for some or the other land scams, Pune's previous commisioner Mahesh Zagade was quitely replaced due to his relationships that got sore with the builder lobby in Pune. Builder's in Pune are not even willing to touch 1 BHK projects due to the presence of large count of IT, ITES workforce that is willing to pay for amenities and for flats starting from 2 BHK. Once a pensioner's paradise is slowly urning into concrete jungle like mumbai now. Luckily there are few high rise buildings in the city but the rapid growth of malls, commercial places and residential projects is creating pressure on pricing of property which is seeing only way up and people looking out for affordable housing have to look at areas in the outskirts of the city or satellite areas near PMC or PCMC municipal limits.
Lavasa project which came under environment ministry's radar for the wrong reasons was nothing that state government or central government would not have being aware of all these years. Land grabbing by politicos and rampant exploitation by builder lobby in Pune is what defines pune's real estate scenario currently.
I had never used an Apple product apart from a 2nd generation Ipod which i had won in a competition, the plain white piece of music playing device did not excite me much, i am a bass junkie and prefer to toy around with customized equalizer feature in any music player which kinda made me sell off my Ipod shuffle as soon as i could. After all these years i resisted the idea of buying an Iphone or an Ipod touch, I kept following the tech news of the growing app market for Iphone over the past few years, and one important thing which kept lingering in my mind was the evolving gaming capacity of this device.
My desktop pc finally conked off after 6 years of use and i was no longer interested in upgrading my desktop, so i got myself a decent laptop upgrade in HP G62-455TX replacing my old acer laptop which had started giving me enough trouble with the battery and overheating issues. I had a plan to upgrade my phone from Nokia N8 to Samsung Galaxy SII because i was planning to shift my mobile OS experience away from Symbian and check out the Android OS catching up to popularity world over. Still my desire to own a good portable gaming device was still pending. I shelved my plans of the phone upgrade and freezed upon two tablet devices.
Apple Ipad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 which is due for late June release in India. I was heavily moved with my decision to choose Samsung GT 10.1 and wait for it, however i knew that with an improved dual core processor Apple Ipad 2 would be a good device for portable gaming that i have being looking for all this while.
I began my extensive research on both these devices for few days and finally decided to buy Apple Ipad 2. I got my Ipad 2 from Reliance Digital Istore at Jewel Square mall in Koregaon Park on the launch day itself, a black 16 GB Wi-Fi Ipad 2. The store representative first called me to inform that due to octroi issues their stock had got stuck and i would get my delivery on Saturday, luckily i got a call again in the evening and got my Ipad.
Dimension Specs
0.34 inch in thickness
9.5 inch tall
7.3 inches in width
Weighing close to 600 grams
Holding the Ipad 2 gives you feel of a really well designed tech marvel, not recommended to hold it for long in your palms it would start feeling heavy and having a protective cover is a must for this device as the screen is smudge magnet and there are already some cheap covers + bluetooth keyboard accessories available on ebay india site. Smart cover that is going to retail for Rs 2100 was still not available from the store I purchased my Ipad. Screen resolution of 1024 x 768 is crisp and can be customized for brightness. It also has ambient light sensor, an accelerometer and 3 axis gyroscope . The Power button is situated on the top right corner just behind the screen, with a 3.5 mm jack for headset connection towards top left. Volume control button is placed vertically just below the power button on right hand side.
Powering up the Ipad 2 it boots within roughly 20-25 seconds. Swipe unlock familiar to Iphone and Ipod touch is also present in Ipad 2, factory preset model comes with limited apps like Photo Booth, You tube, App Store, Game Center and FaceTime app. The first thing i did was to download Itunes software on my laptop and load the system updates available from Istore, registered my device and synching the Ipad to Itunes is pretty swift. I got started on the App Store instantly and exploring different useful apps, downloaded few of them.
Using Ipad 2 virtual keyboard is easy in general however you would have to rest the Ipad on a desk or some support because it starts feeling bulky after a while switching palms and hands becomes obvious. Ipad 2 is zippy and does not struggle with orientation changes, home screen swipes opening up multiple applications which i tried with a HD game and camera application and 2 other applications all open while i kept switching between them. the A5 1 Ghz dual core chip within this device handles multi taksing without much issues, still need to check as to what limit would the processor get maxed out. While using the FaceTime app for placing a video call i notice Ipad 2 heating up slightly after almost close to 1 hour of video call.
Ipad 2 scores low on having decent camera for taking photos, HD video recording is almost up to the mark, since taking videos and photographs was not on my priority list of what i was looking from a tablet device so i gave this feature a miss, you can take a look at the sample video and pics i have taken from Ipad 2.
With 512 MB RAM on the house playing games is much sought relief for me to move up from playing on small mobile screen to a proper portable gaming device, i always kept giving Sony's PSP a miss because i did not want to get tied down to a small screen device for gaming which a lot of new gen smart phones are getting better at. I have downloaded few trial games to see how they look on Ipad2 and i must say it delivers pretty well as a portable gaming device.
Watching movies, video clips also looks great. The default video player would only accept MP4 format videos and that too copied via Itunes, you need to buy a seperate camera connector adapter to copy images and videos from a SD card, USB drive. for playing video format other than MP4 you can either download some free apps like Ipad video converter from Aleesoft, which would work for small videos but becomes a tedious process for converting full movies if you have got them in popular formats like DivX or Xvid etc. So i brought a paid app for $3 from the App Store called CineXplayer which is a good and stable software to play your movies without the trouble of conversion, however it does not support .mkv video and AC3 format yet. Unfortunately Itunes store for India does not feature music downloads, you can still download audio and video podcasts for your device. There are some paid apps that are available on the app store to allow viewing of microsoft office documents, not sure how many of them allow creating word, excel and powerpoint format docs as ipad does not have a Microsoft supported office productivity app.
I am yet to test the 10 hour battery claim, so cannot comment much about it right now. You can feel the fluidity in the accessibility and navigation while using the device which is a pleasant experience and i must say that i have got hooked to my Ipad in no time. iOS 4.3 does not herald any significant changes from it's previous versions again i cannot delve much into it because i have not being a iphone or ipod touch user before. ipad 2 also has Airplay feature which enables wireless broadcast of songs, images, videos and other media content on an apple enabled device which supports airplay technology. Using FaceTime app is great and pretty simple to use which i liked the most. Applications like Garage Band, MovieTime also seem to be interesting from the videos i have watched over Youtube not planning to spend much on apps right now, as getting a decent cover with screen protector is the priority right now. Was just amazed by the plethora of accessories and stuff available on the web for ipad 2, no wonder Apple products sell like crazy in US and Europe.
If you already have the first gen Ipad it is really not worth going for Ipad2 unless you are really willing to let go of your previous device and opt for a faster, improved graphics enabled ipad 2 that comes along with front and rear camera. ipad 2 falls short on lack of flash support, no USB connectivity for external HDD devices, missing SD/micro SD card slot (for heavy downloaders storage could easily become a challenge), the same missing checkpoints is where Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was scoring on with also being a telecom device along with tablet i decided to enter the world of iOS opting over Android as it has a long way to go in garnering developer support to build a strong app library like iOS currently has and also user base that would further drive the success of Android. Samsung GT 10.1's rear side 8 megapixel camera and front 2 megapixel camera with a stunning AMOELD screen almost tempted me but i think i am not regretting by choosing ipad2, people like me who have never used an apple product like macbook, mac pc, ipod or ipod touch and are seeking a good tablet device that provides a rich experience of media viewing especially gamers looking for a cool portable gaming device you can undoubtedly go for ipad2.
Interesting read from an article courtesy indianexpress.com highlights how the domestic help is becoming an important part of urban families which have shrunk in size over the years and couples with kids working to fulfill their dreams and desires are heavily relying on domestic help to take care of their household chores along with taking care of their kids.
Showcased at MWC 2011 Barcelona, take a look at the No Glasses 3D Optimus phone hands on video from LG, smartphones are pushing the envelope with respect to gaming and 3D. I just feel 3D devices are just being pushed down to consumers without much of the genuine 3D content still not available yet, and consumers yet to decide of they want to accept 3D technology as a mainstream tech addition to their digital life.
Pune is touted to be a fast growing IT hub that has placed the city amongst an important destination for retail sector to take note of. When i settled in Pune from Mumbai by the end of year 2004, The eastern corridor in the city was nowhere close to development and it was then the outskirts of Pune city. As the city grew and expanded it has now become the most happening spot in the city and this area of the city came to limelight nationally post the Pune German Bakery bomb blast incident.
A lot of major retail groups set up their shops in this area of the city which now has a host of malls, as a electonics and gadgets enthusiast i always knew Pune definately could not match the charm of Lamington road in Mumbai when it came to electronics market, however even it came to buying a simple cable extension and misc electronics need these so called electronics megastores never used to have any and it required me to do some searching in nearby places to get a fixed source for buying or rely on ebay.
Recently Croma electonics closed down their outlet at Ishanya mall and even Dass Electronics has closed few outlets in the city along with a branch at nagar road, if you check their website today it has not even being updated i suppose from last Aug-Sep'10. These stores opened with lot of promises but somehow they could just not afford to pay huge lease amounts on commercial property compared to the sales that may not help them break even over a particular period of time. There were some small time laptop shops too which opened in the fortaleza society vicinity, opposite Gold Big Cinemas even they closed down soon.
The retail story is somewhere not clicking right in Pune, if you are even lucky to find what you need do not expect good after sales service from the stores in malls. Once you are out of the bright and airconditioned atmosphere of the mall with your product you have brought, as a consumer you are history. The so called "IT crowd" is not sufficient to register impressive sales, Pune has a higher share of student population too which comprises of high footfalls and low spend category that's hurting the growth of retail sector here. Every time i visited Croma or Dass a disinterested or overexcited salesman would come to you suggesting you stuff that you are not seeking, pushing products of some brand that their store is endorsing. At times these sales guys would form their own groups strolling in the store chatting and having a gala time. Same kind of attitude prevails with sales staff at Big Bazaar, Hometown, Lifestyle and Housefull stores which i have visited and experienced.
A collection of some interesting clips from the Pixar movies, goes to show the stellar array of animation movies this studio has produced and has got us spell bound, this montage has being developed by a 21 year old film maker Leandro Copperfield a young Brazilian filmmaker spent 11 days watching Pixar's assorted films, painstakingly selecting the more than 500 clips that make up this touching ode to Pixar Studios.
Nokia has quite a good collection of applications on the Ovi Store for Nokia N8, if you are still searching for some good themes and wallpapers for Nokia N8 here's a collection of some links which i found on the web for Nokia N8
If you have still not checked the trending videos of the year on YouTube, check it out on this link It features the top ten list of videos watched in India and surprisingly the song Crazy Kiya Re from Dhoom 2 is also on the list at number 5, Dil Bole Hadippa title remix song on number 2, the controversial nude back scene from Kurbaan also features in the list at number 8, "Tere Liye" the song from movie "Prince" features at number 3 (Atif Aslam magic worked for this song).
You can even check the top trending international videos also, i can admit that i got seriously hooked to YouTube this year. It started off watching gaming walkthroughs, trailers, music videos however i stumbled upon really witty and timepass stuff exploring YouTube further. I think it would serve as an ideal idiot box replacement for me :-)
Check out this link which has high-res collection of 50 interesting pictures captured in the year 2010, some of these are really thought provoking and makes me think, we should be thankful of what we have and stop cribbing about what we don't have or we do not get.
A rather attacking comment i read on a blog by a Nokia Fanboy against the iphone
Screen/User Interface: iDon’t have themes support. iDon’t have a scalable OS, apps on the iPad are simply stretched to fit. iDon’t have a desktop, entire UI is organized as a single “start” menu. iDon’t have parallax (finger/screen offset) adjusting – low precision especially on small objects. iDon’t have a touch friendly screen, gloves, pens, styluses and not even fingernails work! iDon’t have neither haptic nor any other type feedback whatsoever. iDon’t have any precision compared to resistive touchscreens. iDon’t have a standard(16:10, 16:9, 4:3) aspect ratio only Apple custom ones(3:2) will fit my screen.
Power: iDon’t have USB charging without a dock adapter. iDon’t have any safety garment for the battery(1) melting is known to occur in Apple products(2) iDon’t have warranty for damage made by “external” force aka. the above.
GSM connectivity: iDon’t have full 3G HSDPA speed (7mb/s vs. 2008 smatphones that have 10mb/s). iDon’t have full GPRS/EDGE speed (CLASS 10 is four times slower than CLASS 33!) iDon’t have a decent GSM/GPS/WiFi signal(1) the connection is far worse than on 3GS(2) iDon’t handle videocall via the network, gTalk etc.
WLAN connectivity: iDon’t have DLNA (streaming HD content wireless on a HDTV). iDon’t have UPnP technology (automatic WiFi setup) some networks simply don’t work.
Bluetooth connectivity: iDon’t A2DP right (BT stereo) right: lags on videos(1) and games(2). iDon’t have rSAP, Remote SIM Access Profile(1) – iDon’t work with your in-car hands free(2). iDon’t fully support AVRCP (BT remote)(1) industry standard(2) can’t skip tracks. iDon’t support any Bluetooth services when pairing with a MacBook. iDon’t have any BT file sharing my BT is almost useless!
Cable connectivity: iDon’t have standard USB connectivity(1) only custom cables(2) iDon’t give a damn about the environment: short cables but tons of iAccesories.
Misc connectivity: iDon’t have PC/MAC/LINUX connectivity without iTunes. iDon’t have IR, can’t control: basic household items(1) TV, HDTV(2) DSLR camera(3) MAC(4)
Media/camera: iDon’t have stereo speakers. iDon’t have radio. iDon’t have FM transmitter. iDon’t have decent camera (small sensor and 72 DPI, which is less than most 5mp phones) iDon’t have fine detail in pictures, high noise reduction smears the finer details. iDon’t have video stabilization. iDon’t have exposure control (ISO).
Design: iDon’t eject my sim without a special key. iDon’t have a removable battery. iDon’t have hot swappable memory. iDon’t sell cheap but my value at FOXCONN in China(1), where I am made, is ~190$(2)
iOS 4.0
Web: iDon’t have audio/video streaming for 90% of the multimedia sites. iDon’t offer a real web experience, various sites only offer a phone version. iDon’t have Flash or Flash Lite – flash sites, apps or games simply do not work. iDon’t have push idle so battery drains fast even on push. iDon’t have push e-mail if i’m jailbroken, even if you pay! iDon’t render HTML5 graphics, nor can iHandle HTML5 controls. iDon’t process HTML attachments correctly.
File management: iDon’t have access to my internal folders by any means – no app in the iStore allows this! iDon’t even have access to set mp3s as ringtones. iDon’t have MIDP/JAVA support. iDon’t handle DivX, XviD, FLV native video. iDon’t handle ZIP, RAR or SFX – no app in the iStore allows this!
After driving my Alto LXI for just over 2 years, i decided to go for a upgrade. Alto is a evergreen performer in the city with good mileage and low cost of ownership. I had brought Alto as my first car since i was a novice driver then and friends and relatives advised me to go for a small car first to get proficient with my driving first.
My driving trips also included occasional highway driving and at times i felt the strain of driving long hours in Alto, especially driving for almost 3 hours on the expressway and then getting stuck in B2B traffic in Mumbai made my problems even more worse.
I started getting poor customer service from Kothari Wheels dealer for Maruti here in Pune, getting my car serviced from them was turning out to be a painful affair. Getting service appointments, scheduling pickups was getting difficult. Service rep who used to come to pickup the vehicle hardly stopped to take a look at any issues i had to point out specifically for car repairs.
My front power window had got some motor fault for which they did not have the motor in stock, so they did regular servicing and informed me that they would have it ordered and call me up. I was the one constantly following up was getting poor response from kothari wheels.
While this was going on, i was already having my upgrade plans working in the background, still i was not sure if i would be going for it. I had Maruti Suzuki Ritz VXI, Ford Figo Petrol ZXI and Beat LT on my upgrade list.
Here's the on road price band of these cars:
Maruti Suzuki Ritz VXI - INR 4,92,180 Ford Figo Petrol ZXI - INR 4,64,677 Chevrolet Beat LT - INR 4,61,226
So i chucked out Ritz from my list because with 31K higher in price than Figo and Beat it did not offer features like CD player, Rear Wash Viper, Automatic climate control, Rear De-fogger, Steering Adjustment.
Ford Figo is a breakthrough car for Ford India, it is proved itself to be a runaway success for Ford since it's launch capturing a major consumer segment away from Hyundai and Maruti and is seriously challenging their hatchback market now. That is why both Maruti and Hyundai are now coming up with a face lift version of i10 and Swift.
Figo is roomier in the rear and with largest boot space in its category it commands due respect for being launched in the diesel variant also at the right time. where Chevrolet seems to have missed the bus. i never got an opportunity to test drive Figo due to rigid and stupid attitude of Talera Ford,Satara Road dealer in Pune and reviews and feedback on poor FE in the petrol variant, with already burdened dealer network in terms of after sales made me back away from Ford.
I was then taking a chance with Chevrolet as a company which still does not enjoy the confidence amongst consumers like the Maruti and Hyudai cars do. As a product Chevrolet Beat had won my heart from the time i had spotted it in motion during a trip in December 2009 on the Mumbai-Pune E-Way, when i took some pics of a misty lake colored Beat being TD on the highway,check the pic below.
Finally i got my Alto LXI exchanged with Beat LT in a duration of 2 weeks, so detailed review of my car now starts.
Dealer Feedback:My feedback for dealer Pashankar Auto wheels Pvt Ltd. would be below average. The purchase process began on a good note, I was given test drive of Beat to my satisfaction with the dealer staff helpful enough to assist me in getting fair value for my 2 year old Alto LXI also the sales executive involved in the purchase process was helpful to come with me to get the affidavit done for me at collectors office required for address proof.
I was told i would be eligible for the Gold rush offer, which actually was a lucky draw scheme, however the sales executive goofed up on the offer informing me that i would also be eligible for a assured gold coin offer, which was not the case. He also gave me wrong information related to cashless ownership offer which he corrected later.
The day i took my car delivery from the dealer, arrangement's were done to conduct pooja, Satara road showroom of Pashankar Auto is well maintained. I asked for a written confirmation on assured gold coin offer on which the dealer retracted, i smelled rat here and confirmed again with the assistant sales manager if the assured gold coin offer held good in my case. He confidently told me that i would get a call from GM to collect my gold coin after which i need to come to the showroom and collect it.
I have now escalated this issue to GM, waiting for a final response, anyways i am not interested to drag the matter much however it gave me an indication that this dealer had a misinformed staff. Also recently Talera Chevrolet has closed down in Pune due to which temporarily Pashankar Auto Wheels is enjoying a monopoly here in the city.
I liked the way my buying process was handled with less sales talk and more professional approach, the whole thing was spoiled by the wrong information provided, Chevrolet should take a note of this "Buying Cars is not like Buying Tomatoes".
Now the feedback on car
Build, Design and Looks: Beat is a very stable car in terms of it's build. The muscular exterior is well complemented by striking look at the grill in the front. This is one car that looks beautiful both in and out
City Driving: Beat is fun to ride in the city also, for some drivers raised dashboard and a akward A-Pillar placement could be a let down for some. Luckily i have not faced much issues related to it up to now. The moment you hold the steering you get a judgment of the road automatically. There were problems around 2nd Gear pick up earlier which are now resolved with ECU upgrade done on my car during the first free check up. The engine is super silent and feels super smooth while driving. There is no engine knocking problem while you drive on a low speed on 3rd - 4th gear. city FE up to now has reached up to 14 kmpl
Highway driving performance: I could not record the exact FE during the first trip with my Beat on the Mumbai Pune Expressway, however i felt the ride more comfortable and stress free on the highway. Touched max 140 kmph speed. One needs to be cautious while driving at high speeds in ghat type landscape because the OEM tyres are not so stable at high speeds on highway. There are some patches on the highway which required me to ride on the 3rd gear to get torque on slopes. Beat cruised well on these patches on the 5th gear with the engine rpm above 2K level and with proper luggage and passenger load.
Initial reviews around Beat had raised queries around the suspension and GC, no problems here again. I can hardly feel any thump or bump of potholes or bad roads to my feet while driving and at the same time also i have driven over variety of speed breakers of different heights, one of which had brushed my Alto below earlier in my office parking.
Beat's engine gets roaring once you cross 2K RPM mark, so a word of advice on keeping a good FE, do not race your Beat at short distance much and try to keep the rev band of your engine between 1.8K to 2.5K while driving in the city
Beat is a product with good potential lagging behind right now in the crowd of new hatchback launches plagued by poor marketing and lackluster after sales service attitude of GM also the kind of styling and design it carries does not suite to the sobre taste of Indian consumer much, since when it comes to car buying, it's more of a family affair than of individual choice.
I decided to take a risk with Beat and IMO it has paid off well with the car and not with the company i can say though i found their servicing charges economical enough, In Pune Chevrolet needs to come up at least with another service center on the eastern corridor of the city.
I got 3M one package for my car @8K with car paint protection, engine coating and under body protection from the dealer. changed stock speakers to Illusion series which now delivers high fidelity music, clear treble sound and apt bass output (not thumping though)
Closing comments with pros and cons
Pro's:
Excellent ride quality and handling Super silent engine Stable NVH Ample legroom at front seat and comfortable leg room at the rear seats also. Economical FE and servicing costs. Turn's heads wherever you go
Con's
Less boot space Lack of seat height adjustment Lazy after sales service response from GM Local dealer issue (Pashankar Auto Wheels Pvt Ltd.) Rear window placement may not suit everyone Not suitable to seat 3 in the rear seat (in any case one of the is oversize) else no issues.
Some BEAT Moments to share:
A guy was clicking pics of my car in the company parking basement as i was leaving for the day, admiring my car from all angles like a curious child. hurried away in embarrassment as he spotted me approaching towards my car, leaving a wide grin on my face.
At Pune camp i was at one of the electronic store where a guy was with his brother and his sister-in-law, i stepped out of the store to move in the opposite lane, as again came at the road crossing moving towards my car, i saw the same guy and his family discussing about my car as they were having roadside snacks, the guy was going ga-ga about the Beat, as he saw me approaching towards the car, he gave me a thumbs up smiling back at me.
The very first day i got my car i went to BP petrol pump at Mundhwa village, a rickshaw driver stopped by next to my car for fuel top up, waved back at me indicating with a wide smile.
Recently a traffic constable walked up to my car while i was stuck in the Hinjewadi IT park traffic lane, he left me tense for a moment, by the time he came close to my window he curiously looked at my cars odometer and dashboard and asked me what was all the tech about on the tripmeter and odometer
I am getting used to gazes on the road, people popping their heads sometimes out of their cars to have a close look at my Beat, even kids watching at my beat from their school buses or rickshaws with a sparkle in their eyes, leaves a nice feeling inside your heart.
So it's just not the beauty but the beast within that defines this machine. I am really happy with my purchase decision to go for Beat, video review of my beat below followed by a video for beat made by me.
Nokia has woken up to the fact that it cannot keep it's share growing in the Indian Handset market unless it seriously works on offering value for money mobile phones in the 5K - 10K segment, this segment is being currently lead by Samsung, followed by LG and a slew of other Indian Mobile Phone manufacturers who have being aggressively advertising their phones, and the recently ended IPL tournament has given enough visibility to brands like Micromax, Maxx, Lava and others.
Out of the recent announcements made by Nokia on mobile phones in the offing, Nokia X2 (expected to be available by June 2010) and Nokia N8 (To be released in the last quarter of 2010) would be the phones to watch out. Nokia X2 is expected to be priced around 5K range and Nokia N8 in the range of 22K - 26K, lets take a look on why these phones could be important to both consumers and Nokia in the Indian market.
Nokia X2 has a major USP of having a 5 Megapixel camera, and if it does stay close to the 5K range, Nokia will surely have a winner on hand, since the other features of the handset are not revolutionary to be spoken about, current specs as available from the Nokia website are:
2.2 inch QVGA display
Dedicated music keys
Dual speakers, FM Radio
Bluetooth 2.1
3.5mm headset jack
Nokia Messaging
Facebook integration and MicroSD card support
S40 Operating System
Nokia has a bad reputation with camera quality on phones under 10K range, even the Nokia 5800 Express Music has pathetic 3.2 megapixel camera quality even with Carl Zeiss lens.
The Other phone we are looking at is N8, which can be a potential breakthrough product for Nokia if they get the pricing right for India, lot to write about the phone,
Nokia ^3 OS, a positive move away from current Symbian OS series, which is getting buggier by the day, further messed up with frequent firmware upgrades that Nokia Symbian phones have to go through.
12 Megapixel Camera, with Xenon flash, could be a big plus if delivers
Dolby Digital Plus, audiophiles like me would be eager to experience the quality of sound it can deliver
Just 12.9 mm thin with a spaced out 3.5 inch AMOLED display.
Multiple, personalized home screens.
Additional graphic processor in the handset would make gaming more fun, takes away the load from handset processor.
HD video recording.
I did take a look at the handset image quality released by Nokia on their website and i was very impressed with it, this phone is surely on my wish list for future upgrade, both the handsets Nokia X2 and N8 are tuned to deliver a decent social networking experience to the consumers through widgets and apps made available in these phones.
An article from Asia Media Forum has brought out an interesting study on how parents in Asia monitor online activity of their children in the cyber world, a UN report has proved that globally children across the world are spending more time living a sedentary life where they are also spending a good amount of time online on the internet, Internet is fast evolving medium of communication and for parents at times it becomes difficult to catch up the technological advancement in order to monitor the online activity of their children.
The report states that parents in general monitor the online activity of children mostly in the age group of 6-9 years and as they grow up they gradually move away from tracking it frequently just because the Generation ME does not like to get policed by their own parents and also as the parents age, technology becomes more tricky thing to handle for them.
In India 2/3rd of the population that accesses internet does it from outside normally from cybercafes or at workplace, teenagers and kids in India are equally exposed to the vices of the web as kids across the globe are, and Indian parents apart from the younger lot, most of the times find it difficult to identify what's wrong and what''s right for the kid to do on the internet, also these kids are increasingly becoming of their own identity on the web, Avatar's, socializing with peers much early than where our generation began.
You can read more on this here (courtesy: ipsnews.net)
Videocon Group in India has being rumored to be in pursuit to take over consumer electronics business from Philips India, while Philips group is intending to expand it's business operations under healthcare and electric equipments line where it sees a healthy growing market share, it just came to my mind that we do not get to see any Philips consumer electronic products advertisements on television from last 4-5 months as far as i could re-collect not even in paper media from last 2-3 months.
I did see few retailers advertising philips products like Home Theatres and LCD's during Gudi Padwa, but no direct advertisements from the company, also currently Sony, LG, Samsung and Panasonic are agressviely launching new consumer electronic products in India and are spending heavily on their promotion, also i did not hear any new annoucements coming from Philips on the development of 3D technology equipped televisions for Indian consumers.
If these rumors are supposed to be true then probably Videocon would gain even better share in the consumer electronics market in India, if they have to compete with big players in India mainly Samsung and LG becuase it has being a late entrant to the LCD television and Mobile market.
with a wide smile.
