ADAM without Apple

C’mon seriously…if I had told you that this is the Apple IPAD  which is going to be launched soon,you would have believed,wouldn’t you?

But fortunately or unfortunately, this ADAM is not from Apple ,but Notion Ink (I seriously suspect they named it Adam thinking over Apple :P) Anyways ADAM is the touch tablet or smart pad (as they call it) created by Notion ink – an Indian (jai ho!!) startup  based out of Hyderabad. (checkout their blog)

ADAM has  a writable 10.1-inch TFT  touch screen  weighs around 770grams. Packed with technologies like Blue tooth, a 3MP camera, video recording, USB charging,  32GB data storage, Wi Fi, Lithium Ion batteries ( 48 hours!! backup).

Before you brush Adam aside as a wannabe please note that it has got an nVidia Tegra chip ,Pixel Qi panel that has a low-power transflective display, which allows ambient light to illuminate the screen, and an epaper mode.Get this….this dude runs on An..wait for it.. droid ..  Android.(Sweeeet!! )

Whats more?? no actually less ..yes it costs less than Rs.18000…yep …buying a netbook might not make any sense  anymore….

And last but not  least ADAM will show up in CES 2010..watch out this cool dude with all the hot stuff.

Google 's Christmas Gift

I am sure many of you must have got this mail,but If you havent checked out the hyperlink in the mailer, you would have missed Google's Christmas gift.
FYKI, Google has committed $20 million dollars to various charity organizations around the world. These organizations which thrive on donations faced huge problems due to recession. When companies like Yahoo! are closing their offices for a cost cutting christmas, none can expect them to donate to social welfare organizations. Still one must appreciate Google's efforts to spread some holiday cheer.

Go Google
&
Merry Christmas to you too :)

Heathrow throws the driver out

Heathrow Airport in London is one of the busiest airports in the world with over 67 million passengers stopping by annually. The Terminal 5 complex in Heathrow which was opened in 2008 by Her Royal Highness is the largest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom which took 19 years to complete @ the cost of £4 billion.It can handle 35 million passengers annually and it is used exclusively by British Airways.

However, the most unique attraction of Terminal 5 or Heathrow for that matter, is going to be the Personal Rapid Transit or PRT’s.

PRT’s are driverless cabs which look like space pods , will be used for carrying passengers within the Airport

Hi ,Waves Google

After many attempts, I got my Google wave invite from Satish (thanks Doc :P). About 5 months before I had blogged about G Wave (??) and its features.Now a preview is out(invitation only) and it shows what would be the interface where the convergence of various communication & media sharing options will take place(that was the original idea).

The interface reminds me of a email client and the waves remind me of threads in online forums.If u are familiar with threads in online forums(my first forum exp was pagalguy.com) and how discussions take place, then G Wave is almost similar to that . But here you can keep the thread private,choose participants by your choice and has multiple media sharing options like videos and pictures etc,send invites and RSVP’s for events ,parties etc.

Google's video on When to Wave??

Some Q’s came to my mind while waving, why don't they add certain features to Gmail than introducing a whole new product?? Does it mean Gwave will exist along with Gmail? The answer is Gwave is based on a different protocol called XMPP,different from Gmail.Moreover XMPP is a open source protocol which will allow developers to build custom wave engines, add-ons,gadgets etc. To Know more on this read wiki of Google wave Federation Protocol

But still, Isn’t it going to make communication lil more complex? I mean now i have one more inbox to check in and some more messages to reply …but to the same contacts??

Zune HD - Up Close & Personal

Don’t ask me Why did I choose Zune instead of an IPod..because the choice wasn’t mine.So i am not going to stack up why Zune is better than IPod touch(there are renowned blogs who have skinned them both and reviewed extensively.) Instead I will tell you what’s good & bad in Zune HD.

In terms of design Zune HD comes closer to the IPod touch than all other existing PMP’s (portable media players).

The brilliant OLED screen with HD resolution is the best of all PMP displays in the market.(like Matrix I cannot explain how good it is..one has to see it)

I have used the Iphone and the touch interface in Zune is almost of the same quality (sometimes its too touchy.. especially while scrolling)

The metallic back finish gives a nice feel while holding it and it not too big it fits in your palm quite nicely. however if ur not using a Smartphone the Zune will be bigger than your mobile.Zune Originals lets users to personalize their Zune not just by engraving their name but also with cool tattoo like designs & patterns.

I wont get into detailed specs, but the following are the things which has changed my attitude towards Zune..(and i didn't get these from any of the tech reviews i read)

Zune Software – This is really cool….iTunes does not even come close…the look, feel, navigation is mind blowing with its awesomeness..Quick play history, Smart DJ mix, exploring music using Music Mix view (i listened to album previews from the net with just a click), fresh hits list ,automatic syncing etc etc

Best of all is the is the Zune pass content, where the software pulls info from the web about the song , singer ,photos and displays in the backdrop as a cool slideshow.This is also transferred to the Zune so it works offline too

notice the text just above the taskbar

I strongly recommend to music explorers like me to give it a try (Zune player is not necessary for using Zune software)

Audio Surf Tilt : Even though Zune has very little apps for it, this game is a killer app which has made even apple fan boys to drool. Basically its a game where a space jet moves along the track and one has to hit the colored beads and stay clear from the speed bumps…but what really cooks the noodle is that , the track is designed based on the song you choose, the bumps,pace of the game etc are based on the song pattern.

PGR-Ferrari Edition : Nothing unique abt the game per se, but the Tegra chip in the Zune brings out the finest details & textures of this Zune version of Project Gotham Racing which is very close to the PSP (in display i mean) which shows the potential of Zune as a great gaming device ( heard rumors abt a spl Zune version of Gears of War..yay!! :D)

Okay, now the bummers ..

• The headphones are good ..that's it… not great
• Zune marketplace does not work in India.. although you can see the content you cannot buy it ..my free Zune pass(14 day trial) has gone to waste
• Charger not inclusive , have to buy it separately (of course.. you can charge using the USB PC cable)
• The web browser isn't as great as i thought it wud be..but yeah it has wi-fi and wireless sync support.
• India has no HD radio so no point in flaunting that Zune supports it (The Radio feature works like breeze though :) no complains there)

ZUNE HD from Microsoft Click 4 CNET review

Funny thing is I had always studied that Apple is for niche and Microsoft aims at mass..in this case its a role reversal…I am sure Zune is a rare thing in Bangalore with a mystic aura while iphones and iPod touch have lost their niche factor…

for that reason alone i am happy it is a Zune HD and not an IPod :)

Happy Journeys from KPN- a true story

Well even though i have my personal blog for my stories, this story (well since its true u can term it as a incidence) deserves a place here since the moral of the story stems from marketing :P

It all started 3 months ago, when I came to know to the train to Madurai has been fully booked for Diwali and has a waiting list longer than Apple fans queue waiting for the iphone.

So these were the last 2 options which can result in a peaceful journey, if not a happy journey.

1. I can wait till the last two days and try to book the tickets in Tatkal scheme within the 12-15 mins i will get when the booking opens. – [booking starts at 8 am (online ) and usually its fully booked within 15 mins-bcoz Madurai has only one train to Bangalore :( ]
2. Or I can wait 2 more months and book the tickets in KPN travels before 30 days when the booking opens @ 12am online.

Since I have not gone home for 6 months and because it was DIWALI..I went for the 2nd option.

So I kept a reminder and dutifully booked the ticket-Volvo Ac onward to Madurai.Mission –1 accomplished.

I have to wait to more days to book my return journey.And my reminder was working fine and i proceeded to book the tickets then I found the price was higher – Rs .650… Rs.200 etc (diff becoz it night trip,but no Volvo no AC)

My super intelligent brain thought about “value for money” and i didn't book it.thought I will check with my brother before booking.

After me and my brother agreed to go ahead with KPN itself, i was shocked to find that no more tickets left and it was just 6 am

All I could think was……….u too KPN?

Anyways we couldn’t get anything else and I told my dad to book whatever he can get. And he booked it in Balaji travels Rs 550 for airbus ..Rs 100 more..but its k at least we have got a reservation.

we didn’t know that's the only thing we were gonna get…

The onward journey was great..we were picked up by minivan to the main boarding point. and since it was VOLVO A/C, no heat,no bumps.it was a breeze and reached Madurai @ promised timing.

On the day of departure we call those guys and they give us a shock by saying bus has broke down and we are refunding..after we blasted him for not informing before ..he offered a deal..u come in 30 mins i will get you 2 tickets to Bangalore in some other travels

and so we ran to bus station and he acted as if he was generous to arrange two tickets.then he took us to another travels office and gave us 2 tickets for special bus to Bangalore and said good bye to us.

we waited n waited and finally the bus came…to shock us even more.This special Bus was as ordinary as a bus can be.it was not even a semi sleeper and posed as a tourist bus. To spike our misery they started playing loud music with Dolby DTS effects.As silent as I am.. even i couldn't take it and screamed to reduce it.Then they showed some mercy by keeping it at ‘normal’ volume. We thought of switching, but we were too tired to fight with those guys and since we didn't now if we would get a better bus.After another 3o mins bus finally started and came out of the bus station.Since we were both tired we slept off and hope to see Bangalore on the morning.

90 mins later i wake up and get the worst shock of the whole trip..the damn driver has just took a U turn and come around the other side of bus station. that was the time i realized what is a brand name & just a name.

KPN stands for great service..correct timing,stops only @ quality restaurants, comfortable seats, less sound..(read WHY KPN ?)

Balaji travels stood for one thing ..Govinda.. Govinda….

PS: well by Balaji’s grace or whatever they did drop us in Bangalore safely

PS2: If u wonder what is this post really about ..read this

Social Media in your Hands

“Facebook zooms up mobile sales”

Don’t Believe Me?

Take a look at the ads of the all  the recent mobile ads. You will notice social media integration  especially Facebook ,(Twitter next) being highlighted as a prime feature.

Its true that consumers are particular whether their new mobiles have seamless social media integration. Gone are the days only Iphone used to have such things ,  even a budget phone costing around Rs.5ooo comes with Opera Mini browser and Java support and provision for Facebook application.

With better phones & faster GPRS, also  with 3G coming up, there will be a significant increase in Mobile browsing especially in terms of social networking.

  I think a lot of WEB oriented applications will have a critical role to play , than the megapixels & memory cards in the upcoming models.

What’s with the Brand thing?

Jeans – Rs. 499

Levis Denim wear – Rs. 2499

That’s a hell lot of difference in the price and very nominal difference in the product. So are consumers stupid to pay that premium price? Of course not they pay because they get a guarantee for its quality.

But we all know this.. don’t we? So why I am digging basics here?

Because when you say brand many consumers (at least in India) think of only Coke,Pepsi, Maggi, Levis, Nike, Reebok etc. But what about Local Brands who  are not really hip n happening  but still have a brand equity?

For example KPN travels is a well known transport service provider in south. I forgot brand KPN stands for their service  quality and did a terrible mistake of booking  in some other travels to save 5oo bucks,and what I got was the most pathetic travel experience.

If  I had been willing to the extra premium for the Brand KPN  I would have  had a return journey.I can say this for sure because  my onward journey was through KPN.From now I am not going to book in any other travels other than KPN. 

This experience made me observe many local brands I come across in my daily live, which I should be specific with, like for example I always prefer Adigas over Shanti Sagar (chain of restaurants) – Adigas is a lil costly but worth it & most of the Shanti Sagars suck big time.

The point is Big or Small, Local or Global, Branding is essential ,  important & worth having. Many of my batch mates are now managing  their family business and I strongly suggest them to develop a distinct brand,logo, etc (anyways, what’s the point of an ‘MBA’ running the business if its not branded?)

BTW Any idea how do Big brands protect their brands logo etc from being misused?

Because I saw , SONY brand crackers, Disney & Harry Potter  Fireworks and a Tamil magazine with a tweaked Google Chrome on it

Will/Can/Should Google sue these guys??

Chrome Brow (ser) needs to Grow

Yeah its light ,yeah it loads fast,yeah its smooth,but wats the use ??? Its not working good.

I am yet to Chrome experience that Google says.Every time I log onto to orkut or youtube , it says try Google Chrome.But when I try Chrome ,except for the awesome message (“you are using Google Chrome awesome!!)  nothing else is awesome its all just ..awhh(yawn)

See the pic closely  “Please try using Google Mail with a Supported Browser”  and the browsers was Chrome!!…what can I say?

If this wat Chrome is all about they better chuck their OS plans.If they are serious about it they better make Chrome more robust and btw when the plug-ins are gonna come??

Worst part is Chrome crashes than IE 8..now that's pathetic when something crashes more than a MS product then it has got serious problems

Firefox is the best browser till date,yeah it hogs on memory at least it works.It hardly crashes,even if it does it bounces back in a zing.IE8 is lil faster,but when you consider user friendliness, compatibility,java script performance,add-ons etc Firefox is still hot !!

Of all the products from Google from Google Earth to Picasa,I think Chrome is the exception as it is very much worse and I sincerely hope they fix up the flaws before they roll out the Chrome OS

Macs on Air

Since my 5th headphone of my mp3 player has broke down,i switched to the FM in my mobile (only good thing left in it).Due to this I got two issues to talk about.

1. My favorite stations – primarily Radio Indigo and occasionally Radio One simply because of the language –English & Hindi.Two Tips to Radio Indigo –

• learn the sound quality from Radio Mirchi and Fever 104 .Except for the theme music, songs sound dull.
• plzz change your selection of morning songs.I don't want to listen gangsta rap , explicit rap or depressing alternative rock.Oldies and classics will do.This is the reason I switch to Radio One and not the ads between the songs

2. Coming to more serious issues –the ads.I have learnt some concepts in developing print and visual ads and I have tried to apply it too in my assignments.But I think Radio Ads is totally a different ball game.I don't understand the logic of telling the phone number breathlessly in the end .Why or How would the listener remember the telephone number? (only a really good fancy number has the slightest chance) .

Ads I like to hear are

• Tuborg –fun starter nights (btw its a beer ) good music, nice voice and she does not mention its a beer,but we get the hint..
• GRT stylus jewellery – a slow ,long,nice song, sung in style.
• McDowell's Accessories – starts with cheesy French lines followed by really classy voice bringing the international feel and “Paris” helps a lot.

Ads which are not worth hearing:

• Open magazine – just what the hell is the magazine about ??,I am sure the magazine sucks big time just like the ad.
• Mac Ads (this has nothing to do with my MS bias) – first of all i am surprised to “hear” ads for Macs-And the so called confessions neither sound cool nor realistic.

Best of all they finally say the cool dudes say thanks mommy for Mac and thanks daddy for the Mac.Aren't Macs supposed to be owned by cool dudes??

I am not disrespecting their love or gratitude for their parents but i don't picture any college guys with Macs,showing off “look My Mom bought this really cool Mac for Me” . Do bike ads or mobile ads feature guys say “thank you Mommy”??Either be cool or cute don't try to be both,but if u really want to people to switch, be logical, at least for technology products.

Other Ads weren’t worth remembering :P

If there are any basic rules or framework for radio ads kindly let me know,I will be most obliged.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DENOVOS !!!

  THIS AUGUST MARKS

THE FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSAY OF

 DENOVOS

THANK YOU ALL

FOR YOUR

LOVE & SUPPORT :)

E-MEDIA edges Mass Media

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)’s recent report “Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2009-2013” says worldwide advertising spending will reach $421 billion in 2009.This is a serious drop in ad spending as the total stood $479 billion in 2008.

The ad industry is expected to start recovering only in 2011 and yet the projected figure of $467 billion for 2013 is still lesser than 2008 total which means tougher times are ahead.

Not so surprisingly, Television stands at top maintaining status quo while print has declined and expected to decline further, while Internet advertising is expected to have a positive outlook.

Interestingly,Video games advertising, although in the last position, has grown considerably and is expected to grow further proving its the not the least among the ad medium lot.If one had followed the last US elections,they would be aware that Obama’s ads featured in Burnout Paradise and Madden 09.

Moreover recession has forced companies to be more strict on ROI from advertising ,which has lead to a rise in BTL campaigns.

Vibhor who works for a marketing firm tells me that, recession has indeed helped them.Since many companies are favoring BTL campaigns , they are tuning towards cost effective marketing solutions provided by his company rather than mass media.

With the amount of clutter rising in all types of media, its indeed a major challenge for firms to design their media mix within their promotional budget. Market segmentation has become very critical than ever before

Chrome OS? Oh Yes….

We knew it was coming .It was just a matter of time.And now the time has come.Unlike for many others, it was not a surprise for me,As I had blogged about it earlier.However i was indeed surprised that instead of extending android to laptops,they are developing Chrome as the OS.

When Google officially announced it ,everyone was like “Google to crush MS,windows RIP” and all other stuff.

Its plain stupidity. why??

simple reason- Chrome is not a substitute for Windows nor Mac,because Windows is a client /server based OS while Chrome is browser based.Unlike Windows or Mac for that matter, Chrome would be useless without 24/7 internet connection.I can give you another hundred reasons in the same lines citing safety,security,stability,support etc etc.

So MS need not worry? NO it should ,yes this is indeed a big move by Google and yes it has indeed increased the competition between the two giants. MS has also put big bets on cloud computing and is developing its own browser OS (MS GAZELLE) and its hold on it will be threatened by Google Chrome.

But net book prizes may not go down drastically,Windows wont die and MS wont go bankrupt.Ironically since Chrome is going to be free,its the Linux net books which will take a hit which again is debatable.

While going thru the discussions in the web,one comment had summed it up well

“Chrome will create its own niche market of Browser OS and will monopolize it” I think this is true.Google has indeed revolutionized many areas.And if succeeds,Chrome OS will also be a revolution but there wont be a OS war at least with windows.

Btw this cartoon make more sense than ever before :P

B.T.M. BITES

Severe time crunch,limited electric supply and almost a decade old desktop are my top 3 excuses for the brief hibernation of blog.

Anyways let me quickly run through the things i wanted to blog but couldn’t.(in random order)

• Bing is doing better than expected but Google still rules as the default search engine,but when comes to niche search Bing may shine better and since Bing now throws up Twitter search results, which may or may not be better than Google results but definitely different from it.
• Some brands just live forever ,like MJ(not me  but the original moonwalker).
  • Mass Media had a good week as  MJ’s “mystery death” was “breaking news”  for more than 2 days,tribute stories,special shows,continuous coverage,cover story…imagine the ad revenues for that two days.i heard even newspapers got sold out in some parts of US (newspapers are on verge of becoming historical artifacts esp. in US)
  • MJ’s sudden death also resulted in sudden surge in the sales of his albums.
  • “I Was At Glasto 09 When Jacko Died” T shirts were being sold the very next day of his death (i am sure the idea did not come from an MBA marketing)
  • But some MBA’s are already drawing up business plans to make his Neverland ranch into a music museum cum theme park which would “pop” profits. I am sure  this MJ mania will continue foe some more time because he was not just a pop singer  but a  iconic brand himself.
• When the world was watching US going Ga Ga over the new smart phones, a startup in Madurai(my hometown ) has  rolled out Red Chery , a Indian alternative for Black Berry.  Red Chery fetches corporate emails to your mobile which is what Black Berry is famous for.
  • Although the firm  says “Red Chery stands for 'Revolutionary (red) Change Enabled Reach for You’ it is obvious that it wants to be associated with  Blackberry one way or another
  • Rajiv and me have had many discussions about this type of branding using the opposites of the existing brand – (black-red;berry-cherry) –we think it will work if a brand wants to remain as a follower acting as an alternative (usually low priced ) –ideally it should be termed ‘reverse branding’ since it already has another definition, we could call it opposite branding or mirror branding(same but reversed).
• Videocon has a renewed logo,which I personally think is  not suitable for a consumer electronics company but looks like logo of a health food brand.
• Sony’s Walkman was named as the top music invention of last 50 years which is  like the first generation of portable media player
• I tried the new Opera.. nothing great.you can skip it… i recommend  the latest FireFox 3.5 RC.

Last but not least …

• Twitter’s potential was unleashed when US Govt requested the micro blogging site to postpone its weekly maintenance as Twitter was the only source of real time updates on Iran elections where news channels and other traditional media sources were restricted.Looks like Twitter has arrived….

I Phone Pre Phone U Phone??

It was mobile mania all again this week.Palm Pre hit the stores and made a record breaking sales (rumored to be more than 50,000 units in just 2 days!!).

Apple’s WWDC devoid of Steve Jobs still had something solid to show Iphone 3GS.  (faster better iphone ..but not very exciting as the previous ones).

Meanwhile Dhiru and Tiger took their blogging to a professional level after attending the Nokia N97 launch in India.

While Dhiru stands up for Apple 3GS (btw he is apple biased :p ) when compared to N97, I put my bet on the new Palm Pre which is considered as the first true iphone killer.It has a QWERTY keyboard which is one of things Iphone will love to have.The Web OS is the real deal which beats the iphone OS .The ability to run many applications at once,touch accuracy,mail,IM  notifications  while running any app,etc make it far superior even than the upcoming iphone 3.o. 

Still iPhone’s large application base,build quality,iPod scores over the Pre.But I think a large chunk of business  users may shift to Pre ,considering the cost advantage(refer pic),and business features like  MS exchange and Office.

As far i can see,the $99 iphone 3G will give the Pre a stiff competition than the iphone 3GS.

While the N97 with a price tag of $699,can kiss US markets goodbye..Asian markets is not much promising either.And with HTC planning to launch Android phones in India,they better plan something better.

Meanwhile I am trying to lose my Sony Ericsson “accidentally” and get  a Nokia  ..waiting for Nokia 2730-budget phone with 3G

And The osCAR goes to……

BMW has clearly emerged as the most favored luxury car in the Indian Market beating Mercedes and Audi.BMW has been consistently selling 240+ cars every month followed by Merc selling around 150+ while super cool Audi is just managing around 110+.

As one can see the difference between the sales figures are pretty high considering these are Segment F (luxury) cars.
Its is said that Merc one of the early entrants to India has lost its shine in recent years .Industry analysts say “Merc’s  offering of discounts has done nothing good except eroding its brand value”.   I personally find the Merc to be boring ,however the recent launches like S class and new E class are refreshing.

Audi which had been head to head with BMW in launching new models have lost in sales compared to BMW.While Audi has 11 dealerships across the country,BMW has been trying to expand aggressively from 12 to 20 by the end of 2009.(currently it has 15) I think this  aggressive dealership expansion has paid off BMW handsomely.

There was a billboard war  Audi vs.. BMW in US where Audi’s board said “your move BMW” and BMW replied in style.

After looking the sales figures,I think this probably fits here too.Now its BMW’s time to say       “Your Move Audi”

Xbox-Natal- Future of Gaming ?

Are you one of those who go weee over the Nintendo Wii,,wait till you see this. Microsoft recently unveiled Project Natal of its gaming console Xbox 360 in  E3 09 (Electronic Entertainment Expo).

Project Natal is touted as the future of gaming,which takes gaming to a whole new level.When Wii came with its motion controller ,it brought in a whole new way of gaming.As a result game studios are designing exclusive games for the Wii to leverage its uniqueness. Now Xbox Natal aims even further …no controller at all. U are the controller.MS calls it Life Experience.Its better understood when seen than to explain so watch the video to see how motion sensors,facial & voice recognition works when incorporated in games. 

If you have seen the video,you might be wondering if this will actually work.Well I wonder the same. At first it is really awesome to look ,but I am skeptical about its practicality.Hardcore gaming like Halo or Counterstrike etc etc will definitely wont be working nice with these settings.Imagine the physical stress that will be caused if you play games like Gears of War or MADDEN NFL or WWE using Natal.Lets say I am playing a fighting game like Tekken, it is physically impossible to do complex maneuvers usually called combos like a back flip kick etc . However  the touchless interface will definitely be a awesome feature ,provided it works smoothly.

Apart from this Xbox is trying to be more than just a gaming console.It has already incorporated media center to  stream digital content to the television.The Xbox live store is also getting better with more content coming in apart from games,like movies TV shows etc.

Also web application integration is also one area Xbox, as a edge over PS3 or Wii .Xbox 360 will soon have Facebook & Twitter,so gamers can easily interact and socialize with fellow gamers.    

Looks like Xbox is really a doing a 360 covering all sorts of digital entertainment…..

Sony Walkman W series ….Keep walking

Its a mp3 player, its a headphone..its a walkman…Yes Sony is still alive and Walking.With the  W series walkman Sony has once again proves its strength in unique product design without a single trace of Apple.Remember Vaio P??

Unlike many other Mp3 players the  W series has got a fresh design without a trace of Ipod in it,however it as  cool as an Apple Ipod . The headphones and the flash drive is fused to form this hassle free design just like a Bluetooth headset.

It has the patented Jog dial and a new Zapping feature,which plays a small clip from the middle of the song , so u can instantly recognize the song and decide to play or skip to next song.The two parts have magnetic sides which get attached nicely,making easy to carry.Click here for more details 

The W series was featured in CES 2009

With 2 gb memory and 12 hr battery life @ $65-70 ,it is premium priced,as Sony always does.There is also the same Ipod Shuffle problem of no headphone choice as the headphone itself is the player.  But Sony is best known for audio quality so need to worry abt it unless you are an audiophile or something like that.

GOOGLE WavE-Mail

While Microsoft was revamping its Live Search Engine into Bing-the Decision Engine,Google was busy re-inventing the good old email.

What would Email look like if it were to be invented today?          This was the question Google asked its Googlers and BING!! (pun intended) they got the answer(atleast they say so)…Google Wave is the new email.

What is a wave? Google says:

A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.

A wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.

Its like hybrid email which has Gmail enriched with cool features of many Google products like Docs,Gtalk, iGoogle, Orkut, You tube, Search etc etc.

What surprised me was, Google which is known for making things simple,has actually made email a little complex by adding so many features in one application.Of course,there could be another view that instead of using 4 0r 5 different applications,users can “simply  Wave it”.

Its still early to comment on the success of Wave,however I am pretty sure,good ol’ Email wont be washed away by the Wave,at least for now .

bing……. from Microsoft

Microsoft’s new search engine which was rumored for quite some time under project name KUMO has indeed become a reality.      MS has officially announced that the new kind of search engine termed the “Decision engine” will be launched very soon. This decision engine is named “bing” which i personally feel that its a lil lousy,but considering “kumo” its far more better.The site is already up but not yet running. 

The letter  page describes the objective and need for for a new search engine and also mentions new features like cashback offers,Price Predictor which are very new to a search engine.

        Click above to have a peek to the “bing “–the decision engine

Although bing is not a Google killer,if it catches on,I think it has great potential to generate more revenue than any other search engine because of it new features like Price Predictor which will attract firms to tie up with bing on revenue sharing basis rather than just advertising.

But of course, when it comes to simple search  Google will still rule and we all know why…coz its really simple..just Google it :)

Speed Mail – the tech courier

I heard a voice saying “Courier” at my doorstep and I found that my brother’s bank statement had come.While I was looking at the envelope,checking the name ,I held by hand out instinctively as I usually do, to get the pen from the courier guy to sign.But he didn’t he give me the pen as this was no ordinary courier service.As I looked up  ,believe it or not I saw him entering details in a small i-mate PDA  with the stylus. 

If it was FedEx or DHL , I wouldn’t be surprised but there was no name in the envelope and by his appearance I assumed it was a normal courier service. Then he asked me to sign in the PDA itself with the stylus.(frankly i was dazed at this). When he was about to leave,i asked him which courier which he replied “Speedmail”.

The name didn’t ring a bell  ,so at once i went in and googled it. They didn’t have any website ,but were listed in the classifieds.Then i searched  for news and Voila i got it.

From Hindu : Xpress Deliveries, a leading corporate courier services company, has launched ‘Speedmail Deliveries’, its retail courier business unit

The fact that it is a new courier service and is not into retail yet(only corporate clients ) might be the reason why “Speedmail” is not popular yet .

It is interesting to know that,by using PDA’s ,around 16hours is saved every day and the personnel are handling around 700 packages per day against the average count of 300-350.

Speedmail would be starting retail services from August and I am pretty sure they will make other couriers like Professional or DTDC run for their money.Its better they gear up and embrace technology before they get wiped out by new age couriers like Speedmail.

Aww Snap!!! Chrome unfriendly to Win 7

I was never a great fan of Google Chrome.As  a heavy browser,I find Firefox as the best browser for me.Main reason being the plugins and Add-ons. Although IE8 is faster than FF consuming less memory,i still prefer FF over IE8 because IE 8 crashes more than bumping car..oh.. MS  :( .

Anyways, since Chrome caught my attention recently,I thought I would try it on WIN 7. The installation went fine and it even imported my bookmarks from IE8.but once I opened Chrome,it said “Aww Snap Chrome has crashed..”.I tried restarting,then opened in compatibility mode..still couldn't even open a single page.

It looks like the problem is already noted as I found this issue reported in Chrome’s official website .(issue 11583).

I also tried installing the latest beta version and  the shortcut modification which appears to be the only solution available now,unfortunately both didn’t work. I don’t think i will try it again..I am happy with Firefox(3.1 beta 4) and will wait for FF 3.1 full release .

A Royal Wii – For Her Royal Highness

Last week, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth received a unusual gift   but truly a royal one,  a gold plated Nintendo Wii gaming console. THQ  which is launching the “BIG” series of games for the Wii delivered this unique one of a kind,gaming console to the delivered to the Buckingham Palace.

People Magazine (UK) had already reported  in January that, Her Royal Highness is having a great time playing ten pin bowling in Prince William’s Wii which was his Christmas gift from girlfriend Kate.

Although there is no official comment from the Queen, it is a well known fact that she owns a good gadget collection which includes a IPod, Blackberry etc and a Royal Wii would be a perfect addition to it.

Even though,it may not be true that the Queen, aged 83 is smashing with the Royal Wii,it has sure caught everyone's attention  which was the main idea in the first place.

“Live for the Future” – Eric Schmidt

Google Chief Eric Schmidt’s Keynote speech in Carnegie Mellon University.Interestingly, he requested the graduates to switch off their computers and mobiles and to see the real humans around them and Live for the future

Some Quotes :

“You cannot plan innovation. You cannot plan invention. All you can do is try very hard to be at the right place and be ready”

“We used watches to tell time, maps to navigate,cameras to take pics and listen to transistor radios..well you have a cell phone”

“You will find  that nothing beats than to hold your grandchild’s hand as he takes his first step”

“You’ll find today is the best chance you have to start being unreasonable, to demand excellence, to drive change, to make everything happen.”

AUDI bets big on India

Despite all the recession stories going around Audi India is very positive about Indian markets.Its aims to grow at a massive 55% to reach the target of 1500 cars in FY2009-10.Considering that it has grown 200% last fiscal despite facing a decline in other major global markets it seems like a realistic target.With A6 already launched in India and Q5 coming soon Audi is confident to achieve this.Out of 80 cars set for the Kerala market,25 has already been sold which is a very good start. 

The German Luxury Automobile company founded in Zwickau, Germany in 1909 will be completing its 100th year this July.Audi which sports its German tagline Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning "Advantage through Technology" is planning to expand its portfolio to 40 cars by 2015.

Hey There Della !!

DELL has launched a separate web page named Della for its computers targeting the female consumer segment.Sony was the first one to bring in colors to laptops and popularized the idea of  presenting laptops as fashion accessories.Dell has taken this bit further by making a separate webpage for them and how to choose the correct PC they need which will not only help them in their productivity but also compatible with their style of fashion by offering them customized patterns for their notebooks.The website also encourages to join in online discussions in social networking sites like Facebook ,Myspace etc.

I think it’s good idea,because women are very attentive to details and often need to be attended in a personalized way. Generally gadgets are often seen as a guy’s thing,but its a fact that  today even women are into gadgets ranging from mobile phones,PMP’s or laptops. So I think they will love a personalized website for them which will take note of the other style& soft features apart from the technical aspects when buying a laptop.

Apple bites back @ MS ads

Apple has responded to Microsoft’s Laptop Hunters campaign with a slew of new “I am a Mac,I am a PC” ads. The ad below is a direct answer to laptop hunter ad,while others feature customer care,PC CHOICE chat,time traveler etc.

  While MS ads have been very descriptive & appear to be “realistic”, Apple uses simplicity and humor which i think is more effective in reaching audience and enjoy a higher retention rate.

As much I love Microsoft, as a marketer I must say when it comes to ads Apple wins hands down.

Google Chrome comes to TV

It may very well qualify to Ripley’s Believe it or Not,but u better believe it.Yes, Google has embraced Mass media Advertising starting with TV spots to promote its Chrome web browser.

Although it is said it will be aired only in Japan for now , a YouTube Channel named Google Chrome has a video collection called Chrome Shorts.

I still remember ,the first offline advertising from Google I recognized was the billboards in Bangalore when the Google SMS search was launched.I have to admit it was little weird to see the Google Logo in the physical world , seemed like the virtual entity jumped out of the PC.

However , I wonder what exactly Google intends to achieve by these  promotional efforts? Okay lets say the browser share of Chrome increases , how will it affect the revenues of Google?.

I guess if more people use Chrome,the more they will use Google services like search etc ,which will increase traffic which may have a positive effect on its revenues. Also, Google chrome keeps track of user’s online behavior  which is also a key component in optimizing search results and help in targeted advertising.

Google Squares the Wolf

I cant believe that I missed this when I read about WolframAlpha. Anyways,looks like Google is all set to rip off the Wolf.

Google will be rolling out Google squared as part of Google labs by the end of May.The special feature in Google Squared is that it will extract data  from the web and produce the results in “Squares”  in the form of spreadsheets.  Techcrunch has released a demo video on Google Squared.

Also Google has already added new tools called Search options which “are a collection of tools that let you slice and dice your results and generate different views to find what you need faster and easier”

This may not exactly mirror WolframAlpha’s capabilities but the point is ,no matter what competition comes ,Google can easily replicate and will even better it.So that when it comes to search GOOGLE RULES ALWAYS.