Comic: Missing Photographic Moments

Le Derp seems to be locked into some habit of losing out on clicking photographic moments, however he now has the latest Android Smart Camera, would things change?

(click on pics to view original image)

Galaxy Note 2 : Samsung Unpacked event

Galaxy Note 2 unpacked event started with clear emphasis on unleashing creativity with the new "phablet" touted as the next stage of this revolutionary mobile device, It certainly is going to be fastest mobile device in market when released.The magic wand that was visible on the unpacked event symbol turned out to be the new S-Pen for Galaxy Note 2.

So what have we got? 

Galaxy note looks more sleek and similar in design to Galaxy S3, it comes with HD super AMOLED screen of 5.5 inch size, 9.4mm thin and weighs 180 gm, colors available at launch would be marble white and titanium grey. Galaxy Note 2 is scheduled for October 2012 launch.

Processing specs pack the sweetest deal, 1.6 GHz quad core processor which comes with 2 GB RAM and Android Jellybean OS version 4.1, great news is that Samsung has acknowledged that existing Galaxy Note users also would be able to upgrade to Jelly Bean OS very soon.

Galaxy Note 2 would have a 3100mAh battery which is claimed to have better power management and the presenter on stage was pretty confident about it which is an encouraging sign! S-pen also has being improved for performance with 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity included on a 8mm S-Pen providing better precision on handwriting recognition, ease of writing and improved grip.

Notable features shown:
Airview feature - Allows you to preview content without opening app, just by hovering S-pen over the content, gallery display also compatible with the airview. You can also hover the S-Pen on time line of video track to view a video from where you want to see it, it is definitely a handy feature IMO.

Pop up note - Perfect solution for moments when you do not find a pen and paper, while you are on a call and you would want to quickly jot down an address or a number, as you pull the S-Pen out it automatically invokes the S-Note tools, which is slightly irritating as you may not require S-Note tools always.

Idea Visualizer - Helps replace words with images, suggestion of pics automatically comes up. It also enables you to include your own expressions in the library. you can also change color scheme while writing with S-Pen with the toggle feature and flip images taken on your phone to write something down.Samsung is going to release S-Pen SDK 2.2 for developers to customize apps for S-Pen and it has already tied up with few notable app developers to take advantage of the improved S-Pen.

A much better showcase event I must say than the previous unpacked event which was over the top and bragging on S3 launch with "made for human's" tag that lead to eventual "sued by apple's" lawsuit, could sense a toned down show, short and sweet however spot on while highlighting key features of the products. Recent Galaxy S3 buyers are going to either fret about their choice or maybe put Galaxy Note II on the ignore list, but with such powerful specs. It remains to be seen how is Apple going to up match up to 2 powerful mobile devices, with Galaxy S3 again proving to be a runaway success and Galaxy Note II is just going to further strengthen the "phablet" segment.

Samsung has also announced a new range of iLuv accessories range for Galaxy Note 2, I liked the case with a transparent front screen which saves the hassle to put up a scratch guard

Samsung has put up a first Hands On video on their YouTube channel



Check out more details on Galaxy Note 2 here

Battle of Tech Giants: Is it Over?

A court room dispute that remained on top of the technology news marquee for few weeks now has finally come to an end with the verdict landing in favour of Apple, indicating that Samsung indeed was found breaching some patent rights, a sea of opinions and views have flowed in after this news came out.

Apple saw this judgement as an acknowledgement to the fight they have put up against not just Samsung but also with Android as an OS. Samsung commented on this verdict echoing a sympathetic sentiment indicating this was going to be a loss to consumers in the long run.

When I brought Apple iPad 2 on it's launching day in India last year, I was still stuck with Symbian OS on my Nokia N8 phone, my tryst with android had not begun yet. I felt there could be nothing better than this product in tablets for few years at least even if other manufacturers kept playing the catch up game, iPad is still ruling the tablet market, when I got my Samsung Galaxy SII, my experience with android began on sour note as I was still getting used to common pitfalls of switching to android like draining battery, phone heating up etc., however using an android phone made me realise that apple's iOS ecosystem was not suitable to my needs.

I am a heavy user of social media tools, curating web content on the go, blogging and a taste for sharing stuff around art and design because of which I view my mobile as an extension to my computing experience and I expect a portable device like a tablet to meet some of these requirements if not all, I started experiencing suffocation in Apple's walled garden, it feels good to stroll there for a while but very soon you realise that you are missing a bout of fresh air and I took the exit route as my iPad started gathering dust and I was hooked on to my Galaxy SII.

I agree to some extent on Apple's theory to limit data transfer options on their devices, allowing app downloads only via iTunes and other limitations put in place to minimize malicious content damaging portable computing devices. Google's play store is well known for housing malicious apps which raises data security risks. I missed some of the key features in iOS which I found useful on android like customization of home screen, ability to connect wireless/bluetooth mouse, ease of working with data/file transfer, some limited use of eye candy options like live wallpapers. Managing content curation was limited to few social apps in iOS, luckily by the time I started using my Galaxy Note after moving on from SII, app exclusivity started diminishing and we saw some famous apps like Instagram and Flipboard getting ported on Android this year.

In my opinion Apple started a revolution in mobile technology beginning with simplification and took a big leap forward on mobile OS interface and hardware design, while most mobile manufacturers were busy sticking to Symbian and Java based OS's banking heavily on the megapixel mania, producing Walkman phones etc. Apple actually brought smartphones to the right track when everyone else realized the need of the hour was to work on producing useful apps, It made some companies re-think their strategies from the scratch, a lot of them simply started copying Apple's approach towards mobile phone and tablet market growth.

At this stage of the lawsuit verdict coming out, I feel in the past 2 years Apple is still stuck to the guns it has being blazing all along, while Samsung has being riding high on the Android bazooka gnawing away significant share of the USA mobile OS segment, profitability still does not look good in comparison to what Apple is earning, probably Apple may be working hard in the background to maintain the momentum it has gained in all these years with no visible threat to iPad supremacy yet, It had to ensure other manufacturers did not dent their market share further because Google has being providing the right ammunition to mobile companies at all price segments, thus legal swords were just waiting to come out in the open.

Latest news on this feud is that Apple is going to demand ban on sales of Galaxy Note and Galaxy SIII in US, which indicates the so called 'Thermonuclear' battle against Android is not over yet.

Samsung and Google with other Android manufacturer's would definitely have to play safer with OS interface design, product features and hardware design, however I am still baffled on the logic of patents being awarded to Apple which kill competition threat up front and promote monopolistic advantage for a company, take a look at this clip from Matrix Revolutions and imagine Neo to be either Samsung or any other Android vendor and Agent Smith playing Apple, Google as the Deus Ex Machina. Maybe Samsung would have to wait for it's "it is done" moment. I thought of making this as a video meme, however it is best left to your imaginations!

E-Commerce in India at crucial crossroads

A country with huge potential for exponential growth in e-commerce market is heading towards an unknown cliff which could lead to the collapse of this structure causing the entire hard work put in by brands which are still struggling to break even, go in vain. No one has pressed the panic button yet, however symptoms are showing up evidently now.

It's difficult to even keep a track of how many so called e-commerce brands are now opening online doors and shutting shop in India. Consumer durables and electronics laid the foundation of this shopping revolution, which sprawled across fashion, apparel, footwear, personal care etc. I have personally noticed that some portals are the right place to order products which maybe not available in India directly to purchase, niche products that may not find a place at the retail outlets are easy to buy online.

However when it comes to meeting consumer expectation on timely and safe delivery these portals are struggling to manage the game of logistics which is putting a heavy pressure on their margins and probably elongating their break even period further, making angel fund investor's backing such portals anxious and owners are finding it difficult to raise fresh round of funding at times.

In a crowd of approximately 1900 online retail portals, here's a look at an info graphic on Indian e-commerce market, also at an article from livemint.com which explains the current state of this industry.

Narendra Modi on Google hangout

Narendra Modi is going to host a face to face conversation with citizens of this country on 31st August via Google + hangout session which would be broadcasted Live. We have seen politicians abroad utilizing social media to connect with people.

Narendra Modi has being very much active on social media, this would a first kind of initiative by a politician in India interacting with people over a social media platform, check out the promotional campaign on YouTube in the video below.

I watched some part of this live Google hangout session on YouTube, must admit that as a public orator and motivator Narendra Modi is way better than Manmohan Singh who lacks the charisma and public presence to the office he is currently holding.

Monsoon Gaffe : Overlooking the El Nino Effect?

IMD was anticipating close to normal monsoon conditions for India and continued harping on this statement until August arrived and it finally realised overcast clouds had actually failed to pour and they would have to announce a partial drought condition in the country. Farmer's have already started committing suicide entering into a cycle of debt again, why do we need a MET department that is unable to study climate change trends that fails to help farmers in the country to prepare themselves for the worst. Advising farmers to change crop sowing pattern's is not going to help their cause. News channels are reporting drought conditions to be worse than 2009.

Let's check the whole series of prediction model goof up's :

1) El Nino unlikely to hit monsoon : MET office, TOI Jul 11 2012

2) Weak Monsoon a worry, but no drought, IBN Live Jul 16 2012

3) Wake up call finally on Aug 4, El Nino may effect the monsoon : Business Standard

Government machinery is still shooting down drought fears, however we are already aware of the poor storage and distribution network for food grains which allows middle men and traders to hoard foodgrains leading to a price rice condition which leads to high inflation situation that is left to RBI to solve, it's not just India but the entire global food chain that would probably witness food price rise.

Subsidies and relief packages would be announced for farmers and states, the end consumer would be left to battle market conditions and the blame game would then pass on to nature's hide and seek game on the already pressurised economic conditions, so don't expect RBI or government to come up with a relief tonic to the ongoing inflation disease, you can only hope for a consolation wish on the way - Happy Diwali !

Home grown hybrid solution for cars

I noticed a Maruti Alto car with this logo today while travelling to office today, I thought probably it would be some kind of CNG branding stuff by some firm into vehicle mods, however I was proved wrong when I checked out this product's website which has being developed in India, Pune by KPIT Cummins and Kalyani Bharat Forge and surprisingly has also got media coverage earlier this year.

Both these companies have come up with a fuel efficient alternative to spruce up the battery power in your car with an additional motor installed as a kit that claims better fuel efficiency and cost savings for the car owner. USP targeted for this product is to convert your existing car into a fully functional hybrid vehicle. check out one of the video features below which explains how this product is going to work. Hatchback car models are surely going to loose some boot space and the basic cost quoted for a car like Alto is going to be around INR 65,000 and for sedan sized cars it may go beyond INR 1,25,000.

Do you think this product/service is going to be commercially viable? or the trend of skipping petrol cars in the favour of diesel cars going to continue in India. If this product does not cause any safety issues to the car with the kind of battery installation is shown in the video, I think it can work well with the Indian consumers and could probably emerge as a viable option to adopt hybrid car technology at affordable cost.

Turn your Android device into a full Gaming console

Check out this comprehensive video feature that details how you can convert your Android device into a full gaming console and enjoy the experience on your LCD/LED TV. I appreciate Android OS for such features that allow freedom of fiddling with the OS rather than the restricted environment in which Apple OS functions.

Gangs of Wasseypur II trailer

Gangs of Wasseypur 2 packs more raw action and actual dabang drama, It could turn out to be a landmark movie of our generation as a gritty celluloid saga which carries ensemble of impressive cast for the second movie as well, check out the uncensored trailer.

Follow Indian Television Show TRP's

Television TRP

India-Forums - Tv Channels

If you are an avid TV buff you can track and follow TRP ratings and program trends of Indian television shows from the above two websites, these websites have forums that allow discussion with fans alike.

Project Hinglish - Incredible India

Tourists visiting India now have an innovative way to familiarize themselves with Hindi language through the hinglish project which is India Incredible initiative. A font design that super imposes roman letter on hindi character, tries to make it easy for tourists to read and interpret the meaning hindi script, though it may not help completely to improve hindi speaking skills.

In my opinion it is still a good start to help tourists because Hindi is not primary language spoken across states and reading sign boards on highway and cities in local languages makes it more difficult. This ad below commissioned by DDB Mudra Group also won gold lion award at Cannes Lions 2012 function.

Saving the culture of Street Painting in India

Growing up to the sight of hand painted banners of advertisements and movie posters is embedded in our art culture and almost synonymous to street art of our country. As times progressed digital printing replaced this form of art now on the verge of being phased out completely. You would hardly spot hand painted banners across city skylines or walls and the artists who nurtured this skill are facing hard times.

HandPaintedType is one such project that aims to preserve the typographic art of street painters of India, this initiative is documenting and digitizing their typefaces which is a really encouraging concept, you can visit this site here for more details, We never happened to notice this missing piece of fading trend, if not preserved our upcoming generations would never be able to identify themselves with this form of art.


Painter Kureshi from hanif kureshi on Vimeo.

Skateboarding in India - The Golden Triangle Project

I am not into skateboarding, however really like the energy from moving frames of this video that captures striking features of Indian street life, don't miss the image of kid with running nose and a monkey cap. This video has being made by Boris Proust from Mo'Fo Productions, this video clip is just the teaser.

The Golden Triangle from Mo'Fo' on Vimeo.

KreativeByte - 2 July 2012

1) All-in-one, foldable laptop, tablet and multimedia screen, visit here to know more about myRolltop

2) A small pocket sizes dongle that converts any TV into a smart TV, check this out here

3) Samsung S Health launched for Galaxy SIII, read more about this here

4) Create Dynamic Websites from your iPhone or iPad, read more about Webr app

Infographic: A Potboiler of Indian Music

If you were to read a lengthy write up of Indian Music, you would probably stop before even starting to get into the details, check out this infographic image that depicts a colorful potboiler of Raga's into one image called Raag Rang.

Stunning Illustration of Lord Ganesha

I really liked this illustration of Lord Ganesha made by an artist from Thailand Saryth Chareonpanichkul, he has put up interesting collection of mythological illustrations.

Most images of Lord Ganesha depict him in serene form, this one looks more like the raudra swaroop of Ganesha. Check out the Deviant Gallery of this artist.

Additional Lord Ganesha images which you can set as wallpapers

Viral Video - Mesmerizing Indian Dancer

This one is surely make you go ROFL, Dancing at Indian weddings in known to bring out hidden talent amongst the unexpected  lot of guests too, this guy also seems to have found the right moment to dance like no one's watching all along, eyes closed ;-)

Share this if you enjoyed the video.

Android Tips:Manage your Android Battery

A common gripe of Android mobile users is poor battery life on which a lot has being written about and starting as Android novice user I managed to find some workarounds to improve my phone's battery back up effectively over the last year, I would like to share these tips which may help you as well.

Moving from Nokia N8 to Galaxy S2 and then Galaxy Note, my enthusiasm of migrating to Android was bogged down by battery issues, I gradually got along with this fact assuming maybe Android phones are supposed to last only with 1 day battery back up max. Read lot of posts on battery saving tips, tried almost all of them and downloaded many battery saving apps, task killers etc from Google Play store, eventually it did not help much and as a heavy 3G and Wi-Fi user I started thinking that I may have to just stop bothering about the battery issues.

There was a stage where I started losing my Galaxy S2 battery within 8 hour span, even with heavy data usage S2 battery used to last between 10-12 hours, Android OS has many background processes running which constantly use phone memory and battery power. Onscreen widgets help you to keep yourselves constantly connected with news/social networking updates that you like to have on your phone offering easy accessibility, add live wallpapers and plethora of themes and launchers available for Android that offer enough eye candy to pep up your phone home screen.

If you also happen to download lot of apps out of curiosity to try them or for any specific requirement, they contribute further to the list of battery munching apps which would exhaust your phone battery charge at a higher rate, downloading battery saver or task killer apps would not help in the long run. Android apps with poor API (Application programming Interface) settings are major of battery draining issues, here are some basic steps that you can follow with the phone first:


1) Network Settings - Avoid keeping your phone on 3G/Wi-Fi mode while not using data, In my opinion it does not make much difference on voice calls with 3G network and while you are on the move being on the 2G network is your best bet to save battery drain resulting out of poor coverage in many places, try switching your phone to flight mode during night time.

2) Screen Time-Out and Brightness - Maintain 10%-20% screen brightness for regular indoor use, with a screen time out duration of 30 seconds, you can increase brightness while watching movies, games etc.

3) Manage phone profile: You would get basic option in most Android mobiles to manage phone profile settings however it takes lot of manual effort to customize and switch between these phone profiles every time, however there are apps both paid and free to help you manage these settings, let's take a look at few of them.

Notable Apps

1) Setting Profiles (Paid and Free version): If you are looking to manage only your phone's profile settings, this app would be sufficient to offer ample customization options to configure temporary or automatic settings for managing sound, network, wi-fi, bluetooth, backlight or automate specific tasks.

Google Play link

2) Tasker(Paid): Tasker is one stop solution to manage actions and events on your phone beyond the profile setting and would require extensive input from the user which may feel like rocket science to begin with however it's like writing a visual script to manage your phone they way would think of it as a real smartphone.

Google Play Link

3) Onavo Extended (Free): This App helps you compress data usage while using your mobile internet service, which in turn helps you remain within the limits your data plan, What it actually does by compressing media and images goes almost unnoticed in your quality of browsing, you get to see report of how much data you have saved in form of Twitter/Facebook post count, email data usage stats etc.

Google Play Link

4) BetterBatteryStats(Paid): This app is a must have to save on android phone battery that would take some time for users to understand the real cause if your phone is getting discharged quiet quick, from the time you unplug your phone from charging, you can check 3 sections on this app.

a) Partial Wakelocks: Display's a list of service/app that has being running in minutes and seconds and the event count, any abnormally high listing on this report needs attention to that specific service or app that you may not be using very regularly.

b) Kernel Wakelock: Display's list of events again in minutes and seconds along with the count, however if you find any abnormal activity here, you can google the event name and you would find probable solutions on various android forums informing you how to deal with that particular process.

For example: After ICS version of Android was released for Samsung Galaxy Note in India, I noticed two events "fuel_alerted" and "l2_hsic" were preventing my phone by going into a deep sleep state and having a high background run count in my Kernel Wakelock list, Solution that worked for me was to switch the phone on Airplane Mode, switch it off and remove the battery for few seconds and re-start the phone again with Airplane Mode on return to your network profile again, problem solved.

However this takes some searching with Trial and Error to fix battery draining issues that Google is not directly responsible for as phone manufacturers tweak Android OS versions with a taste of their proprietary interface UI (example: Samsung's Touchwiz)

c) Other: When you choose the option other from BetterBatteryStats app, you need to see to it that your phone's awake and screen on ratio should be closer to each other rather than a big percentage gap between both of them which indicates that your phone is sweating it's processing and battery power even when the phone screen is off and you are doing nothing with it, and this is where both Kernel and Partial Wakelock screens would help you find the real culprit.

I would also mention few details around Bloatware that comes with Android mobile phones and differs with each manufacturer. These are apps and related files associated with events that do not cause any harm if you happen to disable or totally uninstall them. Rooted devices have easy fix with Apps that can be downloaded from Google Store that automatically uninstall all these apps from your phone, however if you do not want to risk voiding warranty on your phone with Rooting, ICS now offers option to this the easy way as well.

Go to Settings --> Apps and click on the "All" tab which would show a list of applications and processes that you can disable and here's a link to a guide of apps and processes safe to be stopped or uninstalled mostly common to Samsung Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note.

You can check the adjoining screenshot which shows my Note still left with 19% charge after a close to 16 hour usage, on which I pushed my phone usage extensively by using Wi-Fi/3G browsing, playing games for almost 2 hours, making few calls and all this without any battery saver app or task killer. Some times I am able to reach 20 hour mark with reasonable 3G/Wi-Fi, voice calls and no gaming on the phone.

Please leave your comments if you also happen to know additional ways of improving battery life on Android phones, I'll give a try to few of them myself and quote those solutions left by you.

Gillette says Here's to Dad

After releasing a "Thank You mom" global Ad campaign for the London 2012 Olympics, Proctor and Gamble found the right time to release the "Here's to Dad" advertisement campaign along with a twitter hashtag #herestodad, looks like parents are getting equal attention here on the occasion of Olympic games, watch the clip below.

Discover what lies at the heart of Social Media

Check out a collection of interesting slides in a video that reveals the true soul and essence of Social Media as it is evolving today