Connect with Technology - XpressWay

Reliance Retail to Come Up with Digital Express Stores across Mumbai

Reliance Digital, the consumer durables arm of Reliance Retail has come up with customized solutions of technology. Reliance Retail has focused on concept stores to cater to the various needs of Indian consumers. Carrying forward this vision, Reliance Digital is launching customized stores under the brand Reliance Digital Express in Mumbai. These stores will be operational in Bhandup, Bandra and Prabhadevi areas from 18^th May 2013.Reliance Digital Express stores would offer consumers a different experience on latest technological devices used in everyday life. 

The idea behind Digital Express was to create awareness about the latest technological advancements taking place across the world today and bringing them together under one roof. At these stores,  you can get various home security systems, all kinds of information about how to use the latest electronic and wireless devices , viz. how to use video calling from your latest gadget, how to stream movies directly from the cloud or how to use high tech camera enabled intercoms. The well-trained team at Digital Express stores will help to solve any queries and also guide you through choosing the best-fit option available that suits your needs.

Reliance Digital Xpress outlets will have latest gadgets including smartphones, ultra books, HD speakers, music players, smart TVs and many more such gadgets which symbolize a better lifestyle. As a part of its launch program, there are many exciting offers on products where you can get discounts, freebies and gift vouchers on any of its stores for the first three days.  

The stores are designed considering the intrinsic requirements of gadget freaks. As for example, it lends a corner to experience each gadget individually in its own environment.  It will create a superior shopping experience for its customers. Branded as the world’s coolest technology store, these series of stores will open new arenas of using customized technology equipment’s. Reliance Digital Express is an addition in the kitty of Reliance Retail, the retail arm of Reliance Industries Limited. Reliance Retail is the largest retail chain in India and is set to expand even further in the upcoming years.  

Technology is getting exciting in recent times, evolving at a rapid pace which requires you to get comfortable with these changes to make your life less complicated, so hop on to the Reliance Digital Xpress and experience Technology much easier than before.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Bugs

Galaxy S4 has rushed through "shipped" figures reaching 6 million in 15 days, and early adopters have started reporting bugs like overheating cases, battery drain and most common one is the camera bug that freezes the phone and causing phone to reboot.

If you can manage to use Better Battery Stats app to understand what are the processes/wakelocks causing actual battery drain on your S4, it is a good app to use, else if you prefer simple data on battery draining apps try Wakelock Detector

Excessive over heating needs attention and fixed on time with replacement if required, do not play around till your phone gets damaged.

Coming down to Camera Bug, try this option on your S4 going into Settings - More - Developer Options (Enable this section clicking on it 7 times) - Scroll down to Apps section - Limit background processes - Select "at most 4 processes"

Screenshots below

This is a kind of temporary solution that worked for me worth trying until Samsung comes up with a proper fix in any next firmware update.

BTW, Google announced availability of Samsung Galaxy S4 with stock android going on sale in US in June'13, really doubtful if Samsung would allow Google to put this handset on sale in India else it would be a great alternative to get rid of Touchwiz bloatware which has eaten up a lot of internal storage memory.

 

***Jun'13 Update:JDQ39.I9500XXUBMEA Firmware***

 

After upgrading my S4 with the above mentioned Jelly Bean 4.2.2 Firmware version, my phone has crashed twice. Once when I switched it off on low battery and powered it again for charging it frooze on boot animation screen and I had to perform a hard reset, 2nd time it happened due to a flash light app that got stuck and after rebooting same issue.

 

One thing to note is that this firmware version does not increase the internal storage size from 8.83 GB to beyond 9 GB, it only updates internal available memory to 8.90 GB. Camera bug issue seems to be fixed now and OS seems more responsive and fluid.

 

I noticed good standby battery back up with regular use on my phone though after the firmware upgrade, screen below.

 

 

 

 

 

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review





I enjoyed using Galaxy Note for the past 1 year and when Jelly Bean was finally made available, I still thought it would last through the final OS upgrade release - Jelly Bean 4.2.2 as announced by Samsung.

Jelly Bean upgrade caused performance issues on my Galaxy Note straining phone processor and RAM post which I uninstalled lot of apps which were not used often and re-formatted phone to factory preset once, this did not help much and I noticed battery draining slightly faster in spite of keeping features like smart stay off.

After Galaxy S4 was announced in March’13, what got me interested in this phone was the arrival of New Exynos 5 processor on-board with octa core processing capability and obviously added perk of getting next version of Android OS Key Lime Pie upgrade when it happens in future.

Just the right time to upgrade on to Galaxy S4 with fresh hardware and some new OS features packed into this offering from Samsung; however I was also looking at Note II as an option since it is equally good on hardware specs and with a 3,100mAh Li-ion battery as it still stands as a great upgrade for original Galaxy Note consumers.

Personally I feel a 5-inch screen best suits my preference for a smart phone, and going beyond this screen size is good enough to get a tablet with calling facility rather than changing mobile phones blurring the line between a “Phablet” and Tablet these days.

I ordered Frost White S4 on the day Galaxy S4 was released in India via Samsung’s E-Store, received phone over the weekend with promotional accessory content (Regular Flip Cover and S-View Flip Cover) eligible for first 400 online orders, here’s my take on this phone to check if it really qualifies as a strong contender among top Smartphone’s of 2013.

(Please note: My review has reference to difference in overall hardware and android experience from original Note, I have not used or tested iPhone 5 / HTC One to draw any comparisons here in terms of performance)

Design and Form Factor: Being a little thinner than Galaxy Note, Galaxy S4 has got elegant looks with modern design. Metal band that wraps around the phone body adds a touch of premium finish to the otherwise plastic body criticized a lot on Samsung flagship phones.
Presence of this plastic cover does hurt some customers for a phone on which you are spending good amount of money; if you wish to replace OEM cover there are some good aluminium metal based S4 cases available on Global EBay website to shop for. Going by some rumours Samsung has already started taking this feedback around plastic body into consideration for next Galaxy Note 3 launch planned later this year.

Many reviewers felt Samsung should have not stuck so close to S3 design which is true as even in India among the Galaxy phone range like Galaxy Grand, Galaxy Win and Galaxy S Duos look very similar in design. S4 is not a head turner in any aspect.

Galaxy S4 comfortably fits into trouser pockets even with 5-inch screen size, this is with the S-View flip cover, however it feels little tacky while using with single hand around the edges due to the extra screen space created by minimizing bezel area, so handle with care. You can extend your thumb across screen diagonally during regular usage slightly better as compared to Galaxy Note.

Screen:  Full Super HD AMOLED display (1920 x 1080 pixel) does leave a good impression on your visual senses, S4 has clarity of 441 pixels per inch, much ahead of iPhone 5 (326 ppi) and the Galaxy S3 (306 ppi), however I could related to similar slick display on my Galaxy Note screen earlier after it received Jelly Bean OS update, eventually it falls short to qualify as a game changing feature.

Watching a 1080p HD video locally stored on the phone or streaming is where you would notice difference in clarity and crisp output, in terms of colour reproduction darker shades come out little over saturated. Under the display option in settings menu you can find Adapt Display feature which automatically adjusts the colours and saturation of the display based on what you’re doing on the phone to give you the best display settings based on your task.

Auto Brightness feature is easy on eyes on S4 while operating at night in a darker ambience around though the smart screen feature does not work in such condition, I could not get such brightness adjustment options on Galaxy Note earlier without using an Android app called Lux Auto Brightness.

Phone and Software features: Samsung S3 and Galaxy Note II users would not notice a big shift in the overall feel and look of Jelly Bean 4.2.2 OS, however accessing it on S4 is much smoother and lag free. Installing apps over Wi-Fi and 3G from Google Play Store is fast and improved in comparison to my experience from Galaxy Note.

Air Gestures and Smart Scroll aim to bring a touch free interaction for consumers, tried smart scroll on default android browser which was able to track my head movements, still this kind of technology would take time to perfect as it struggles to track subtle movements.

Air view feature feels little odd to use sans the S Pen, text magnifying air gesture did not seem to work on the stock browser, Air gesture feature for accepting and rejecting calls worked well. There is an option on the phone under help section to explore all these new features on Galaxy S4 which you can try.

Another addition to the feature list is the option to include widgets on your lock screen which also come in handy to offer you quick access to frequently used apps. There’s a unified messaging hub also available, this is a feature I feel should have being made available on the home screen rather than just the lock screen.

Watch ON app allows you to operate your TV and DTH device from your phone and download program listings, It worked on my Phillips TV, yet to try on Tata Sky DTH as it requires mapping by set top box manufacturer name, I was also able to transfer S Memo data from my Galaxy Note back up to S4 seamlessly.

S Health is a fitness companion app to watch out for as Samsung has additional accessories lined up to launch which would sync data to your phone via this app; it allows you to track your walking steps and other exercise activities along with recording your daily calorie intake.

Samsung Apps and Samsung Hub have undergone a complete UI overhaul, I liked the overall design and layout of these apps however they also hog a good amount of phone memory while bringing in this rich UI experience and the way Samsung Hub has being categorized into Videos, Books, Games and Learning, Samsung is making a futile attempt in trying to compete with heavy weights like Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store with limited content and lot of duplicate apps which are already available on Google Play Store.

I also doubt if I would ever be able to use group play app the way it is being advertised, other additions like Optical reader (Augmented reader), S-Voice, Story Album and S Translator complete the Samsung app suite on this phone.

Battery: Removable 2600mAh battery on S4 takes roughly 3 hours to full charge. I have being able to squeeze an entire day with my usage pattern similar to what I had on Galaxy note. I am happy with the battery performance as it is giving me better back up than my earlier phone, yet to subject this phone to continuous usage for identifying heavy usage results.

Test 1 Result
22 Hours 40 Minutes with:
1) 3-4 hours of WiFi + 3G Usage on phone and tethering 3G connection with laptop.
2) 40 – 50 minutes of Google Navigation usage with both GPS and 3G on
3) Regular voice calling usage, auto brightness on
4) No Gaming at all

Test 2 Result

23 Hours and 30 minutes
1) Watching video clips on phone, YouTube videos – 2 hours
2) Downloaded Iron Man 3 game (above 700 MB from play store on Wi-Fi)
3) Playing games for 1 hour
4) Regular voice usage, auto brightness on
5) No 3G or tethering.

Camera and Video: Galaxy 4 also brings in a fresh look to the Camera UI making it easier to cycle through 12 preset picture modes on screen rather than hunting for them inside camera menu while taking a picture. S4 camera allows maximum picture resolution of up to 13 Megapixels (4128 x 3096). Anti shake option is available for both video and picture modes.

Clarity of videos shot at 1080p is very good, however videos get little grainy in low light conditions. Switching to video mode from picture directly commences recording with a momentary pause, you can try using a mix of slow and fast shooting modes while compiling a video montage.

Photosphere feature available on stock Jelly Bean may not make an appearance on Samsung phones; rather a similar S Orb option is touted to be available first on Galaxy Note 3 later this year, some other notable camera features listed below

• Dual Camera feature works both with pictures and while shooting video.
• Sound shot allows you to record audio for up to 9 seconds after you click a picture
• Drama Shot captures a time lapse image stitched together binding a series of motion shots
• Animated Photo creates a gif image which can be customized with option to choose animation direction on the image.
• Eraser Mode allows you to remove unwanted subjects from your photos which requires you to keep your camera preset on this mode while camera is in use, this is not a post processing feature so if you want to erase anything from your photos already clicked, try an app by the name Touch Retouch.

Storage: I wanted to highlight Galaxy S4 storage specially due to limited space that would be available to customers right out of the box, even before you get started with your app and game downloads on the phone memory, on a 16GB phone you would be getting only 8.82GB of free space, the rest is being used up by stock apps that come preloaded on the phone and some for system based files as communicated by Samsung, adding misery to this issue is Jelly Bean OS restriction on moving apps or game to SD card.

So even getting a high memory capacity micro SD card is not going to help much if you download a lot of games and apps on your phone, which is not the case with HTC one at least, though it comes without expandable memory slot it still leaves around 25GB free space on a 32GB Phone.

Concluding Observation: Galaxy S4 definitely scores high on the hardware specs with as the benchmark scores from this phone are way ahead of iPhone 5, S3 and Galaxy Note 2 numbers by a big margin, combine this with Full HD display with addition of nifty software features. Where it disappoints is on overall design and phone memory issue.

If you are using Galaxy S2, Galaxy Note or any other Android smart phone with a plan to upgrade; S4 is worth your money, Please do check HTC One as well because it is an impressive offering from HTC from what I have being reading and hearing about this phone, for now these two Android phones are the best to choose from. Sony Xperia Z also managed to generate some initial buzz however it is struggling to keep up with the sales post release.

Samsung would have to innovative on design with the next Galaxy flagship phone as they have themselves overcrowded the entire galaxy series with plethora of phone models which all look identical reducing the overall uniqueness of any new offering in this series.

Do you think Galaxy S4 would be able to maintain a lead by the end of this year in the smart phone race, or HTC one would prove to be a formidable competition this time around, leave your comments.

Benchmark Pics below:

For more pics visit here (video review in progress)

DPreview.com has conducted a super shootout camera comparison between Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One vs Apple iPhone 5 vs Nokia Lumia 920, link here

Samsung Galaxy S4 Unboxing

Received my White frost Galaxy S4 from Samsung e-store today. Posting few initial pics of the promotional accessory content that came along with the phone. I have got a regular flip cover worth Rs 1,799 and  an S-view flip cover worth Rs 2,999 as a part of complimentary give away for first 400 online orders on first come first serve basis.

Also received a promotional gift card as discount of value worth Rs 550 from Samsung app store.

Noticeably minimal and eco-friendly packaging for S4 by Samsung, strangely when I posted a query to Samsung customer care before I received the phone, as to how would I get this promotional material and how do I claim it, they replied stating I would be notified if I was eligible and would be receiving free accessories as well, nevertheless follow up efforts saved.

Would be exploring S4 this week, so watch out for a detailed review on the phone coming up on the blog and my YouTube channel this week.

Some additional pics below.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Arrives in India!

The most awaited smartphone of the year is out.And as we gear up for its launch in India on Saturday, 27th April. Here’s a sneak-peak into what you can expect of the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Screen
With a full HD 1,920 X 1,080 resolution, Super AMOLED display, 441 ppi high pixel density, everything looks sharp and more pleasing to the eyes. The screen can be operated by moving the finger even lightly on the surface. The S4 allows a user to operate some functions on the phone without even touching it. Gorilla Glass 3 is used to make the screen glass.

Design
This device is roughly as wide as S3 having dimensions at 136.6X69.8X7.9mm which makes it 5 mm longer and 1 mm thinner than its predecessor. The thin screen bezel imparts a wonderful look to the phone. It feels like the screen is pouring off the edge. With a thin air gap between the screen and the tough digitizer, the user feels that they are actually touching the screen instead of the glass on the top.

Performance
The phone is powered by an Exynos octo-core processor. With this processor, everything works extremely fast, opening and closing down of apps, browsing web pages, and games work in the blink of an eye. The battery is bigger than most smartphones available today as it has 2,600 mAh. It is efficient to provide power which suffices for all day long.

The 13 megapixel camera works well in low light with Backside Illumination (BSI) sensor along with a flash. The front 2 megapixel camera helps one to do video calling easily and S4 also provides the feature where the images from the front and rear camera can be superimposed.

The flagship smartphone from the kitty of South-Korean conglomerate, Samsung will be released in India on 27th April, 2013. This exclusive launch event organized by Reliance Digital, will be held in Shangrila Hotel in Mumbai. Bollywood heart-throb Ranveer Singh of Band Baajaa Baraat and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl fame will unveil the device..Apart from being an actor;Ranveer Singh himself is a techno-geek who loves to use the latest devices and is updated about most technology advancements.

Information Source- Reliance Digital Stores

Chevrolet Beat (LT Petrol) - Beyond 55,000 km

My Chevrolet Beat LT has touched a running distance of 31,500 Km. and no better time than this to put my thoughts around how enjoyable the overall ownership experience has being over the past  2 years and 8 months.

Choosing Chevrolet Beat petrol over Ford Figo was not an easy decision when I planned to upgrade from Maruti Alto VXI.  I also had Swift and Ritz on this list however multiple instances of bad experience in getting my Alto serviced with Kothari Wheels had steered me away from Maruti already.

At the time when I purchased Beat, Pashankar Auto sales was the only dealer for Chevrolet in Pune, Shreyans Talera motors had closed down their dealership with the company during that period so I was lucky to get the car without much waiting period.

Okay leaving behind these retro thoughts and getting down to how my car is performing!

Ride quality: Ride quality has improved significantly post car running crossed 15,000 Km. after the first oil change was done; I avoid revving car engine beyond 2000 RPM unless I have to overtake on road for a short distance in city on 2^nd gear. I had a habit of racing my Alto on 2^nd gear which was one of the changes I had to adapt while driving Beat; service center staff had done an ECU remap to the engine for improving 2^nd gear handling performance.

Beat’s suspension handles body roll well with minor bumps or bad patches if you are driving at normal speed, slowing down on very bad road increases body roll for the passengers seated in the front section.

I noticed this low power feel on 2^nd gear helped in heavy traffic conditions and prevented the car from knocking or stalling when moving slowly, it allows you enough time to decide if it’s right to move into 3^rd gear which in turn reduces the frequent gear changing issue. Gear shifting while in traffic is not difficult however it still feels stiff sometimes.

I never had to do wheel balancing with Beat even once in past 2.5 years, compared to 3-4 instances of wheel balancing I had with Alto. Service staff at Pashankar Auto and Singh Motors both advised me never to go for unnecessary wheel balancing unless you find your car shifting in one direction, no hassles with suspension or ground clearance until now.

Highway driving has being the most pleasant experience with Beat; I have taken my car to few long road trips beyond Pune, have observed minimal drag with heavy luggage and full passenger load while driving through ghats with A/C  on else it runs smoothly. One has to be mindful while taking turns on highway as small tyres on Petrol Beat are not very stable at high speed. Good NVH has still being maintained in the cabin and I can comfortably touch a speed of 140-150 Km/h while on highway without feeling the engine being cranked hard or any other kind of car body vibration in the front section.

Interior/Exteriors:  Plastic quality used by GM for Beat’s interior proves its superior quality because I have not seen it getting dull in any area of the car namely around door exits, the main car dashboard, storage areas provided or the doors, I had opted for a 3M package at the time of purchase which gave me car under body coating to prevent rusting with 5 year warranty and 3 free body coating services.

I do not have a covered parking for my car and there were times in last 2 years when car washing was almost halted for few months in our society due to water problems in Pune, otherwise alternate day car wash with cleaning of the interiors every 15-20 days has helped me maintain the car in good condition.  Beat gives you a big car feel and not a typical hatchback look common to i10, Wagon R, Spark etc. even though it falls under the same segment.

Fuel Economy: During the initial 2 years I got fuel economy between 12-14 Km while driving in the city and 17-18 Km on highways, this has now improved to 15 km/l average in the city and 18-19 km/l on highway during past 6 months. I noticed increasing tyre pressure to 34 PSI has helped me to improve fuel economy and also the engine does not feel sore while revving above 3500 RPM after the car crossed 25,000 Km. mark. This is definitely not a racing machine even with its bold looks and a sporty tachometer so never drove Beat that way, it performs very well as a city car and comfortable during long highway drives for my family of 3.

After Sales Service:

Beyond the initial hiccups with Pashankar Auto after buying Beat, I have being impressed by their service a lot and happened to try Singh Motors which is close to the vicinity I stay in Pune, as dealers both of them have met my expectations and exceeded some.  I have being regularly reminded about my car servicing by both dealers, used to get calls asking about the performance of the car, being informed and invited to service camps.

There was an instance when my petrol tank latch had got damaged and I had requested Singh motor’s to order it for me, when I took the car for this latch replacement they informed me replacement was not required as the latch was stuck inside and they fitted it again, this latch costed just Rs 125, they could have replaced it without even informing me.

it’s not just this but even with Pashankar auto a service engineer informed me about front viper wear out problem during one of the servicing visit, I asked him to get it replaced on which he suggested to do it after summer season as the rubber tends to wear out again a little under high temperature in summer , these are instances which instil confidence in you regarding the dealer and this was not the case with Kothari Wheels (Maruti). They just blindly used to do everything I ever asked for during servicing and put it on the bill and sometimes even suggest additional expenses which raised doubt in my mind if it was actually required?

Chevrolet dealers in Pune do not have a clean record though overall, as I have read various threads across forums of Chevrolet car owners not always happy with the way they have experienced after sales service with these vendors, however I have being fortunate enough that my experience with Chevrolet after sales service has grown stronger commanding a respect for the overall brand. I wish Chevrolet soon has one stable winner on hands to strengthen their position in Indian car market, as a brand it would stand to gain better loyalty and good second sale value for their vehicles.

Some Pro’s about the car:

• Still stands out in terms of design in the hatchback car category, easy to maneuver in the city, only Hyundai EON has brought in fresh design in the small car segment.
• It easily touches 60 km/h mark while driving in the city under 10 seconds and races to 100 km/h between 14-15 seconds.
• Rear seat legroom is very good and it’s not exactly “claustrophobic “sitting behind as this word appeared in most Chevy Beat reviews.
• Have incurred low maintenance and running cost compared to Alto LXI, A plastic front bumper replacement costed me more in Alto as compared to a fiber material bumper replacement in Beat.
• Under seat storage tray besides the driver seat which was stopped along with rear parcel tray in LT model, comes handy.

Some cons with the car:

• 170 Ltr boot is enough for small trips, 60:40 rear seat adjustments also helps in stuffing additional luggage in case there are no rear seat passengers accompanying on the drive, sometimes this boot space falls low when you have more than 3 big luggage items to carry, fitting in smaller bags is still possible above the large ones maybe additional 2-3 and that’s it.
• Small boot section also posed a challenge for me while going for slightly larger speaker replacement in the rear section, I got stock one's replaced with Illusion speakers which costed me around 9K.
• Hydraulic steering feels little outdated in an era where most hatchback cars have moved to electronic power steering.
• Lack of good thigh support on the front seat for driver and co-passenger could have made long road trips less stressful.
• Storage cups below the main dashboard could have being slightly wider.
• Adjustment to wide ‘A’ pillar does require some time for the driver to adapt and tends to obstruct peripheral view in high traffic conditions/rainy season.

Sharing some bill screenshots of 2^nd major servicing done after 30,000 Km running with majority oil changes done, belt replacements, filter changes etc.

***Aug 22 2015 - Update***
I have crossed 55,000 Km on the odometer between last month and now, also decided to bid my Chevrolet Beat a final adieu as it is time for moving up the chain to another upgrade.It has been a positive experience overall, as a product I rate this car as an efficient city hatchback, however I had no plans to retain this car beyond five years.

During my usage between 30,000 km - 55,000 km I observed that the engine had got more refined and it was able to rev freely without grunting out over 3000 RPM band, I feel Chevrolet could not capitalize on the success of this car to strengthen their brand value in the market, even as I took a risk of looking away from then popular Maruti-Hyundai duo in 2010 and ICOTY award winner Ford Figo (2011) I am parting ways with my Beat and Chevrolet Brand on a positive note.


This time I am shifting from a petrol vehicle to a oil burner purely due to increased distance of commute to my work place, changing times and with many feature rich cars launched this year resisting the upgrade temptation was just too difficult.

Check OUT my Check IN

Do you get irritated by ‘check-in ‘update notifications from various social networking services?  Every time your friend visit’s a place of interest like a tourist attraction, hotel, café, airport, some special venue and if not worse you may also get to see a check-in alert while he/she is in their office/college etc. Sometimes people overdo this stuff without realizing that it can get really annoying beyond a point.

If you thought Social Media and technology is to blame for this stuff, think again and go back to times when all this stuff did not exist to really understand why we feel the need to share our whereabouts, you would start acknowledging this behavior as just one part of the human psyche we live with anyways. 

Location based services are emerging as a potential driving force to support commercial prospects of social media tools, e-commerce and sales in general for a small businessman to large firms. People create a pattern of their consumption habits and interests while using such services making it easier for offering customized sales offers, deals and discounts which in turn benefits consumers actively using such services to an extent, however a lot of us view this kind of “Big Data” study by social networking firms as an invasion of our privacy and even as a consumer no one really likes to get tracked as a potential sales prospect on the move.

If you would have happened to visit popular tourist places across any part in India, you may find carvings of people’s names on structures, walls, any other object at tourist attraction premises, memories of smitten lovers that may not interest you but all they can do is spoil the beauty of the overall place. 

if you go back further in time during ancient period when human civilization was busy drawing animal figures in caves, inscription found on clay tablets,  painting stories on pyramid walls in Egypt and many other monuments in the past which symbolize presence of a ruler, civilization and their influence during that period, People had places named after them and so on, however I can assure you that the significance of me checking in a washroom of a 5 star hotel would just vanish in a fart, no one’s going to narrate my poop chronicle any time in the future.

Everyone on planet earth with a population of more than seven billion is busy trying to leave a mark of their footsteps to places they have visited, and social medial platforms are a medium of creating that digital footprint for the world to see, so there’s a set of people who use location based check in services for any damn reason, believe me I had a colleague in office who used his Smartphone to check in at home and office everyday  to track how much time he was spending at both places, I was actually baffled with his logic to do such weird stuff but then these kind of people feel the need to get their presence validated by their friends, family etc as social media has definitely groomed the celebrity complex in all of us, still no one is going to give us a chance to feature our hand or foot print at Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame.

Airport and Railway terminal check-ins are also very popular, which also go into the footfall analysis passed on to companies and advertisers, Los Angeles airport was crowned most popular airport in terms of check-ins in 2011. If you happen to land at a airport in some foreign country and try looking for a popular joint at the airport to have food, these location based services come to your rescue by showing you most popular joints at the venue where you can head to directly rather than roaming all across or asking random people, airport staff etc for suggestion. 

There is surely going to be a connection in customer footfall/sales at cafés and the countless coffee mug shots uploaded on image sharing service like Instagram or location based service like Foursquare etc. Word of mouth promotion and herd mentality related to this visual overload of bragging work actively in such scenarios to promote business. If you check in at work daily as an automated update gets posted on either Facebook or Twitter, some of your friends may even like your status but you may get a comment one fine day when you are out of office asking if you are on a holiday. So even if your presence at some place is not getting validated, it is surely getting noticed.

If you go by numbers, having 100 friends on your list even if 10 people check-in to a place, this check-in is viewed by 1000 people, so you can imagine the kind of cascading effect location based services play in building indirect branding for a local business, if check in services were just going to be a fad why do you think services like TripAdvisor, Zomato, FoodPanda etc. continue mushrooming and sometimes we discover less known joints with quality food and leisure outlets due to member recommendation on such applications, reading through blog reviews and more. 

I personally feel this type of services can be used in balanced way, according to one’s preference for privacy which varies for all of us. Be alert of pre-defined settings on your gadgets which probably could be revealing a lot more about you and your habits from what you actually want to reveal and when you sign up on many sites these days which have Facebook or Twitter sign in enables make sure to keep a watch if they are posting on your behalf to your wall, you can edit posting preferences to be visible only to you or your friends if you do not want to make it public, You recommendation is not just a blip on the map today, there’s more to it and next time you think what’s the need for this whole check in game, remember the historical image of Neil Armstrong’s footprint on the moon from Apollo mission and you may understand.

Around Pune: Trip to Dapoli

My road trips to the coastal belt of Maharashtra have started connecting on the map with dots starting downwards from Mumbai with Beaches like Kihim - Alibaug - Akshi - Kashid - Murud (Near Janjira Fort) - Diveagar - Srivardhan – Harihareshwar, two more which got added on recent trip are Murud and Palande beach.

I was planning to visit Bhandardara during long weekend and public holidays of Holi - Good Friday, unfortunately I missed out on the booking schedule for the resort planned and I stumbled on to Nisarga Sahavas resort on Trip Advisor while searching for alternative destination & hotels. This change of plan worked for us and we really had a good time exploring the coastal town of Dapoli and nearby beaches.

We followed (1) Tamhini Ghat – Mangaon route, alternative route available is via (2) Mahabaleshwar – Wai – Bhor - Varandha – Khed also would help you reach Dapoli, the second one is slightly extended one but good to drive.

Started from Pune on 28th Mar in the afternoon at 2:30 pm towards Chandni Chowk road heading towards Pirangut - Mulshi, encountered traffic in the city and managed to drive through Tamhini ghat by around 4:30 pm and took a break for evening tea and breakfast at Orchard Resort (Gold Valley) right after the Tamhini Ghat ends. It was already 5:00 pm and we were yet to touch Mangaon. Few bad patches of road in the ghats did slow us down. A small stretch of almost 4-5 Km road ahead of Orchard resort towards MIDC area is very good to drive, Moving forward from Nizampur we reached Mangaon.

From Mangaon keep driving straight on a patch of 10 km Mumbai - Goa road which is in very good condition, and then you can take a turn right near Lonere Bus Stand going towards the first village ahead which is Goregaon - Purar - Mhasala - Ambet - Mhapral - Kumbharli - Chinchali - Shenale - Dhutroli OR you can continue ahead of Lonere instead of taking a turn right towards Goregaon village and once you reach Mahad you can take a turn towards Latwan village road which also connects to Dapoli

While on SH 70, we luckily took a diversion at SH 100 instead of following Mandangad Route shown on Google Navigation as it was already dark and we double checked with a local before taking this route. This is a narrow 2 lane road, however in very good condition to drive, seems to be recently constructed.

On SH 100 go straight driving past Kumbale Village - Palgad and a right turn connecting SH 96 at Kumbharvadi - Pisai - Kherdi and then Dapoli, from here at Ambedkar Chowk take a right and again a left at short distance from Kalaskar Chowk towards SH 96 and at Jalgaon Village take a right turn inside a dusty road up to 3 Km which would lead you straight to Nisarga Sahavas Resort. We reached at 8:30 pm and were literally exhausted. Currently this resort has 7 rooms in total, we booked an A/C Bamboo Cottage which is very hygienic and clean, though surrounded by dense tree cover all around, no mosquitoes or any other bugs troubled us during the stay.

Nisarga Sahavas initially started as a nursery plantation 35 years ago and spread over 10 acre promoting Agri Tourism. After keeping our luggage in the room we headed straight towards dining area which has a nicely constructed walkway to a tent based structure. I had a chance to look at various awards and accolades Amrute family has won in Ratnagiri for promoting Agri Tourism and supporting tribal population in the nearby area with work related opportunities from their farm based occupation.

Starry sky looked very clear from the verandah of our room, for a difference no television works best when you are away from the hustle bustle of city to be close with the nature. An angry crow banging on to the window outside woke us up in the morning (No alarm needed), this crow is a regular visitor here and keeps fighting with his image he sees on the reflective glass on window pane outside, a thought came to my mind a lot of us keep doing that in our lives even without a reflection.

Having tea in morning and evening on the verandah leaves you with a feeling of bliss, strong breeze blowing across and hearing birds chirping all around, it really could not get better than this. Room service is prompt. You can order breakfast in your room as well.

There are some activities at the resort to try like Burma Rope, Obstacle task, Archery, Rifle Shooting, Net climbing etc. paying extra charges. They also organize bird trail visit, Tribal dance show, Bullock cart ride and Barbeque on request. Nisarga Sahavas has lot of plantation variety in their backyard with ample Cashew, Chickoo, Jackfruit, Mango and various other trees. We spotted an entire herd of Gray Langur’s moving through trees behind our cottage; luckily I was able to take good pictures of them as they played close to the activity area which had lot of interesting stuff for them.

Mr. Ashish Amrute who currently overlooks the management of this resort with his staff won us over with their warm hospitality. Our kid found company to keep himself engaged with his son Advait. The food is really awesome and being home made it tastes more sumptuous. When you are in Konkan you cannot miss having Solkadi, Apart from Rice, Daal and Chapati we had variety in food like Moong Usal, Valachi Usal, Kothimbir Wadi, Ukadiche Modak and a special gravy dish made out of kaju seed which is plucked while cashew is raw.


We decided to pay visit at Kadyavarche Ganpati temple next day which is 30 Km away from the resort, driving down a pleasant ghat ahead of Dapoli, touching road leading to Palande beach which fulfilled one of my dreams to drive along a coastal road adjoining the sea, the entire view was magnificent which enhanced further the moment we started an uphill climb to a newly constructed bypass road leading to the temple, Shady and long coconut trees, short and narrow lanes winding through small villages, the picturesque view all along was very refreshing.

While returning from the temple we halted at Palande beach which has few spots where you can take your vehicle on to the beach directly. It was past noon and the sand had really heated up so we did not have any chance to relax on the rock bed nearby or the beach, spent some time in the water and moved ahead on way to Dapoli. We saw some ad boards on SH 96 road retailing cashews at factory price; travelling 7 Km ahead from our road to resort just before the ghat begins for Umbarli village there is a cashew processing factory by the name Samartha Cashew. You can buy flavored cashews like Chocolate, Litchi, Chili Masala, Schezwan, Black Pepper etc. from them and also avail a free tour of their facility with a staff member who explains the entire cashew processing system.

Next day we left for Murud beach which was also very clean and well maintained. Hopped on to a boat for Dolphin show and spotted two of them slightly away from the shore line, my kid was really excited watching dolphins on his first boat journey in the sea, back on the beach you can drive ATV bike, go paragliding, ride banana boats, high speed water bikes, camel ride and many others to choose from. We left from the beach by afternoon and headed back to resort as my kid was down with little fever that day and wanted to go back to the resort. We decided to skip tour of Suvarnadurg fort and Amrute’s nursery walk around in the evening to relax and let our kid rest before leaving for Pune next morning.

I did not expect a wonderful resort like Nisarga Sahavas to be present amidst a forest in a village area. Hats off to Mr. Ashish Amrute and their staff for maintaining such a lovely place, I wish they continue upkeep of this resort the way they are doing currently and improve it further in terms of overall infrastructure of the premise. Mr. Amrute quotes on promotional material for Nisarga Sahavas as “Hospitality is a way of Life" and it proves to be true which is really great and something that a guest would always cherish post their visit.I am willing to skip any beach facing resort for Nisarga Sahavas to stay and visit tourist attractions nearby which I have missed during my current trip.

After having breakfast next morning, Little Advait gave a parting gift to my son which was a sketchbook of flowers and visiting birds at Dapoli, We hardly got a feeling of leaving a resort but surely departing from a home away from home. Starting at 11 am, we took the route towards Mandangad fort on our return which is not very good but motorable and safe to drive during daytime, it also has lot of small ghats with great view all along. I surely have honed my ghat driving skill on this trip.

My Chevrolet Beat (Petrol) pulled with ease across all the ghats as I had never taken it for a frequent uphill drive before anywhere, hardly had to switch off A/C while driving up across ghats, unless the climb was very steep. It handled rough roads well and did not cause much body roll, except for slowing down on specific patches in Tamhini ghat which are really bad and demand cautious driving.

It was Rangpanchami on Easter Sunday and lot of villages were celebrating Holi again. Few miscreants at  2-3 villages on the route to Mandangad were trying to stop cars passing by to collect paltry cash in the name of Rangpanchami celebrations, however we sneaked past them without stopping just to get my car soaked in few colors of Holi it had remained safe from during the actual day when color play happens.

Passing from Mangaon and Nizampur we took a lunch break at Orchard Resort again which was very crowded with visitors returning to Pune from their long weekend trips, from here we went driving slowly across Tamhini ghat up to Mulshi taking pictures on the way and reached home by 6 pm closing on to our memorable vacation. March was just the right time to take this trip as view of mountains and farms across the way were beautiful, with foothills still surrounded by green cover before it vanishes completely after the summer sets in, even Mulshi river has enough water right now to provide a great landscape view.

Dapoli serves as a multipurpose destination to places around which are easily accessible and if you like clean and less crowded beaches, places of religious interest and prefer to have safe travel with family, Dapoli would definitely not disappoint you and I surely recommend visitors to stay at Nisarga Sahavas for a unique lodging experience you would treasure in your travel memoirs.

Montage clip of the trip below and Image gallery link on Flickr