Saturday, June 02, 2012

Samsung : A Bright galaxy of smartphone stars?











Samsung is basking under the emphatic glory of it's Galaxy smartphone series sales that has touched a figure of close to 60 million phones now, which comprises last year's runaway success phone Galaxy S2 leading with 28 million units sold, Original Galaxy S phone launched in 2010 with 24 million units and another breakthrough "Phablet" device Galaxy Note selling 7 million units after it's October 2011 launch that goes to prove this phone sold close to 1 million units every month after it's launch.


This stellar achievement is something Samsung would not miss to brag about, and it has a potential winner on hand with Galaxy S3 getting rave reviews from critics and smartphone enthusiasts, London Olympics would prove the right vehicle for promoting Galaxy S3, since Galaxy S3 is on the way to shattering records touching a figure of 9 million in pre-orders. Samsung has already warned of shipping delays as fans have started queuing up to buy S3. This feat would surpass Apple's previous record of selling 4 million units of iPhone 4S within 3 days of it's launch, even Galaxy S2 took 6 months to sell 10 million units.

Another surprise hit that came out of Samsung's smartphone stable was in Galaxy Note which got criticized for it's awful screen size just when the "God Phone" set standards of an ideal screen size to 3.5"display, a prankster like Samsung seems switched these display numbers around and poked it's way out with Note sporting 5.3" display that brought the stylus back from the tech dump grave. The last phone 2 phones I used with a stylus were Sony Ericsson W950i and Moto Rokr music addiction phone, back then smart apps were non existent on these so-called "smartphones" which eventually rendered stylus worthless. Samsung has being thoughtful to tailor apps for Galaxy Note which would allow both the creative and professional types to best utilize the stylus on this phone, they even launched a special app challenge contest for the S-Pen (stylus branding for Galaxy Note)

Steve Jobs had ridiculed the idea of using stylus for the iPhone however Apple is now learned to have patented Advanced Stylus design, Samsung also knew it had to come up with an efficient and less clunky solution if it had to prove stylus to be a useful accessory for Galaxy Note. I am making it a habit to carry my note with me for meetings and skip my laptop or notepad for taking notes in office, until now I can say the experience has being good. Though Galaxy note would not be a phone that suit's the taste of every smartphone users, a research report from ABI predicts "Phablet" devices touching a sales figure of 208 million units by 2015 which feels pretty exaggerated right now, however according to their report the key factor of "two in one device" would be the driving force in order to fuel sales of "Phablet" devices. If you thought screen size was a deterrent check this body to screen ratio comparison made by a Reddit user Thare who crowned Galaxy Note to be the best in this category, LG has also launched a a 5 inch Optimus -VU phone to enter this segment. Dell could have taken the lead in the "Phablet" segment because it had Android OS on their Streak phone series, however they failed to position these devices properly in the market and fell behind in porting Android OS updates on time which caused them to pull the plug on their tablet phone offering.

Samsung is not resting on it's laurels with these high end smartphone range, it has come up with a 2.6" display Galaxy Pocket Android phone which costs approx INR 6900 that goes to show a company that is on a roll in production and marketing which is making other mobile companies shuffle their plans as well. On a closing note, read this humorous feature article on how smartphones and "Phablets" could probably change the Gentlemen's dressing in order to adapt to the next level of gadget evolution.

Leave your comments and reply if you feel Samsung's dominance in smartphone segment is going to be short lived or does this company now have a right profile of products growing without the fear to innovate and experiment.


Thursday, May 31, 2012

Mobile app development market warming up for Indian developers

Encouraging read related to opportunity available for Indian App Developers to shine on the rising demand for apps across mobile platforms.

It could have not come at a better time than this when India is looked upon as a key market for driving mobile industry revenue at the same time major companies are scouring to develop a app driven eco system that helps in promoting their platforms and offers good earning opportunity for the developer if the app is really successful.

Read more about this below

Mobile handset companies bet on Indian app makers


Wednesday, May 30, 2012

50+ Android games on discount


 Check out this website that is offering an impressive collection of more than 50 games on discount from the Google Play store, they have tagged few games based on Metacritic scores and also award winning ones on the list.

Visit this site here

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Microsoft bidding farewell to "Live" brand

Microsoft is returning to simple and plain branding for it's online services to be called Microsoft Account and doing away with "Live" service tag.

It could be a smart move before the launch of Windows 8 OS as Live service could not acheive much success in integrating MS developed solutions across PC, Xbox and cloud platform for MS Office

Read more about this from an article below from ReadWriteWeb

Why Microsoft Killed Windows Live

(image courtesy: ReadWriteWeb)


Monday, May 28, 2012

Social Media for Tiger Conservation


I read an article from New York post that described this initiative of Tiger Conservation that has come out with an innovative method of spreading awareness via Social Media. I have pledged my support to this cause which is being branded as people powered conservation.

You can join for free and gain access by donation to the section on the portal that shares the happenings in the lives of India Tigers, helping keep a close watch on their movements. I am sure we could tolerate this thrill of jungle drama better than the television soaps.

Check out the message video below and please share this with as many friends you can. Let's do our little bit to preserve the future of this species.

Visit Tiger Nation website for more info



Jay Leno reviews Tata Nano 2012


Jay Leno reviews the Tata Nano 2012 which is specially made for him at Tata Motor's Nano plant in Gujarat transported to Los Angeles, notable point in this review is that Jay Leno appreciated that Nano had a better air conditioning system than his F1 Mclaren.

Check out the video review, do you think this review comes as a real compliment for Tata Nano?



Wednesday, May 16, 2012

KitKat launches "Social Break" web app

Nestle has partnered with an Ad agency JWT to launch a widget app that aims to give you a "Social" break, well not in real life but in your virtual world.

If you are quiet active on social networking platforms and looking to break free from keeping up to your online commitments of liking pics, sharing stuff, posting updates this app would help you do so. This app currently allows you to configure your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.

This campaign is not driven just for the sake of marketing but they have posted some interesting stats on Social Media burnout amongst teens and youth. You can check out and download this app here 

KitKat Social Break to banta hai!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Satyamev Jayate heralding a new trend of Online Viewership













Satyamev Jayate has being garnering rave reviews from television audience right from the time this show has gone on air, Aamir Khan and his team is making all attempts to connect with the audience via Radio and Social Media. With the episodes being uploaded online within few hours of broadcast for the global audience to view.

This trend could mark a new beginning for media houses to build online entertainment content for Indian audience, Jayhind TV was already active with an online stand up comedy show on YouTube, Star TV and Sony TV have made slow but steady progress in getting their popular shows online. In fact the buzz on Social Media also was very high the day show was launched which was close to one update every 2 seconds within 4 hours the show went on air.

Would Aamir's show prove to be a turning point for encouraging a steady viewership for online viewing in India?, read more about this below

Will India's social TV show Satyamev Jayate revolutionize online television? | ZDNet

Friday, April 27, 2012

Planet Earth - As narrated by kids

Nice concept of Kids Narrating about Earth, probably grown up's have long forgotten the place outside their homes now for which we need kids to remind us of saving the only home we have.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

When nuts go really nuts - the matrix way

Chevrolet introduces MyLink for Spark and Sonic



Chevrolet has introduced MyLink infotainment feature for Spark and Sonic car models in USA, take a look at the video below which explains what exactly MyLink system does, else you can check more about this technology here, Wonder if Chevrolet would launch similar feature in Indian version of Spark called Beat in near future.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Animation Feature: UTV Action campaign


Impressive animation made by a studio by the name Plenty for UTV Action TV channel, normally you see stuff blowing up and things flying around in an action video, this one takes the U-turn. I liked the quality of animation rendered which is really of a very high quality.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Samsung Galaxy S3 teaser launched


Samsung has unveiled a teaser video for it's upcoming Galaxy S3 announcement on May 3rd in London. Lot of industry insiders claim S3 would be a minor upgrade to Galaxy S2, however there are speculations on S3 equipped with 12 megapixel camera and a quad core processor in the range 1.5 Ghz to 1.6 Ghz Exynos processor, the screen size is also touted to go up to 4.65 inches, catch a glimpse of the teaser that has being launched by Samsung today.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Do not mess with this Grandma

New York Auto Show 2012


Two beauties caught my attention from the recent New York Auto show 2012

The first one in Red is Fisker showcased by Atlantic a 4 door sedan/sports hybrid car prototype, very striking in design which I liked after Alfa Romeo's Mito, Nissan also has come up with a concept car branded as Infiniti LE which has being positioned as a luxury car with 0% emissions and 100% electric.

Chevrolet also seems to be streching it's front grill design on 2014 version of Impala, check out more pics from the New York Auto Show 2012 at Cnet.com gallery here. 


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

3D here to stay - Spoiling movie fun



I have being reading quiet a few articles off late which have being highlighting that 3D is here to stay at movies and expected to have a healthy growth in evolution of television. I was unfazed by HD trend which rose at the start of last decade, it never made a difference to me to crave for watching HD content until bandwidth and internet connectivity infrastructure improved in metro cities in India. Avatar was a landmark movie which was shot in 3D but somehow director's and movie studios have resorted to cheap tricks by converting movies into 3D post production. Watching such movies on big screen does not make any difference and I wonder how many of us are excited to watch in 3D, I got frustrated watching Tron in 3D there were hardly any frames shot in 3D for this movie.

I don't mind televisions coming with 3D tech, atleast I have the freedom to switch between 3D and non 3D content when I want, however I am longing to take my kid to his first animated movie to watch on the big screen, everytime a good one comes  It now carries that frustrating 3D tag. A lot of multiplexes have stopped screening 2D movies in Pune and they just go with the 3D version. Maybe I would have stick to showing animated movies to my kid at home for now.

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Hit LIKE to grow beard



A South African footwear company Bronx has come up with an interesting social media campaign that is streaming a live billboard placed in cape town for a guy's pic that would get added with a strand of facial hair every time someone hits a like button on their Facebook app for a prize of winning a year's supply of Bronx men shoes. If you check their live app female facebook users are not behind adding facial hair strands for this billboard, seems like they are also on a mission to gift this stuff to their guys maybe.

Leave your comments on what do you think of this innovative social media campaign.

Check out their Facebook app here

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Splitscreen : A love story

An enchanting short movie by James W Griffiths depicting lives of a man and woman from different cities through the magic of split screen. This video has being shot with Nokia N8 Phone.


Splitscreen: A Love Story from James W Griffiths on Vimeo.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Storytelling at it's best : Kahaani Movie Review



Vidya Balan is going from strength to strength riding high on success of The Dirty Picture, she has delivered a stunning performance yet again in Kahaani. A special mention to director Sujoy Ghosh who spins a gripping plot that would keep you hooked on this movie right from the start until the last frame. Sujoy Ghosh places Kolkata city as a central character to the heart of his story. A city on the constant move like any other cosmopolitian place, deep rooted with it's culture, alive from the wide and crowded roads to the small by lanes.

Movie plot is well paced, never a dull moment in fact I can't remember if any hindi movie had kept me so anxious during some scenes in recent past. Vidya Balan accompanied by Parambrata Chatterjee acting as the soft hearted cop extending help to Vidya find his husband compliments Vidya's role aptly. While the movie has lot's of twists and turns I'm not revealing any spoilers here. It is a must watch movie if you like good cinema which is a rare treat for Bollywood audience. What I liked the most in the movie is the way in which director captures different sides to the city of Kolkata and the last frame of an idol of Maa Durga being immersed into water that left me spellbound following from a background narration by Amitabh Bachchan.

Hang in there