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The all new iPAD
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What’s different about it Simply
scent-sational PACESETTER Kshitij Mehra
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The all new iPAD
iPad—just that, no prefixes, no suffixes. Apple's latest product dispensed with the naming conventions with the same elegance that the company has dismissed computing conventions to give a product that is easy-to-use, one that people find useful and a great addition to their lives. It weighs a little more than its predecessor On the day Apple released iPad in California, I met Stella, in Chandigarh. The four-year-old uses her parents' iPad with practised ease to draw and express herself. For this little chatterbox, the iPad is just another device; she is not intimidated by it in any way. A child can use it! That's what Apple would be proud of. iPad is heralded as the icon of the post-PC world. The device was introduced only in April 2010, and it took just four months to sell over a billion of these devices, and by the time iPad2 was announced on March 2, 2011, almost 15 million iPads were in the hands of people who had downloaded millions of applications for their use. Retina display
The first two models of the iPad had a resolution of 1,024-by-768 pixels, and the new one is four times of that. This high resolution, according to Steve Jobs, when he introduced it for the first time for the iPhone, is enough "that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels when (the phone or the tablet is) held at a normal distance." Nitpicking purists do point out there is a difference in the pixels-per-inch on the iPhone 4S' (326 ppi) and the iPad (264 ppi). Thus the iPad has 20 per cent less pixel density, but then you hold the iPad at a different distance from the eye than the iPhone, and thus the debate goes on… New processor It is really difficult to pack in so many pixels and thus the need for a powerful processor, the dual-core A5X chip. Apple has, however, boosted the graphics component to four cores. In the tablet's technical specifications, it calls it "quad-core graphics." This allows the iPad to handle the increased pixels of the higher-resolution screen with ease and fluidity that you expect an Apple tablet to have. Can take dictation The 5-megapixel iSight camera is a bit of a disappointment, since it is akin to its counterpart in iPhone 4, rather than the one on iPhone 4S, which has an 8 megapixel camera. The iPad offers HD video capture at 1080 p, which is similar to what iPhone 4S has. Video capture and a FaceTime camera for video chat are the standard offerings with the high-speed LTE wireless broadband as optional. The iPad also features speech-to-text dictation, which can be a boon for those who find it difficult to type on a virtual keyboard. You touch a microphone icon next to the space bar on the on-screen keyboard, and viola! You can dictate and see the words you speak typed—that too in English, French, German and even in Japanese! The full-featured voice assistant Siri, is, however, not yet available. Now, we all know that the hardware improvements mean more to nerds than to ordinary users. Others can give similar or even better hardware, and notably Samsung and Sony have done so. Apple's strength has also been been its application (app) store through which customers can download apps that they want for the activities that they would like to do. Apple provides more apps than anyone else, and more people make apps for Apple than they do for any competitor. Thus you have apps for every kind of thing—the most popular categories include games, books, entertainment, education and lifestyle. App my world How popular are these apps? Shortly before the latest iPad was unveiled, a customer in China download the 25 billionth app from the App Store, which offers 5,85,000 apps! Its closest competitor, the recently re-named Google Play, can't match it in numbers, although it has been seen that most of the popular apps are available on practically all platforms, including Android, Windows Phone 7, RIM BlackBerry, and even Symbian, Nokia's practically defunct smart phone operating system, which recently made waves for being the OS platform on which Nokia demonstrated its latest 41 mega pixel camera phone. Apps contribute in great measure to the experience of using the iPad. No wonder Apple used its strength in music and showed off its GarageBand, app, which has many features to make music, and allows as many as four musically inclined individuals to collaborate, over wi-fi and make a recording that can be edited and posted online. Then there is the Apple iPhoto, with rather advanced features that make optimal use of the touch screen as well as the new display. Faster connectivity As the world moves on to 4G, so has Apple. The new iPad supports 4G or Long-Term Evolution network (LTE), as it is known in the US. It holds the promise of blazingly fast 72Mbps (megabits-per-second) connectivity. It also downshifts its performance to support 3G standards. Of course, we know that in India 4G support is still awaited, and even 3G is patchy, at best. So, Indians will probably get the best connectivity when they take their iPads along with them on holidays abroad, but still, the promise is great and in metros at least, there is hope that this feature will be useful for us. Availability Right now, iPad is available in Apple's retail stores in the US, and also through the online Apple store. The best part is that it costs the same, as its predecessor did. (see box). Apple has also retained the 16 GB version of its earlier iPad2, and has announced that it is dropping its price by Rs 5,000 in India. The new iPad will be available in India by the end of the month, but then there is often a lag as supply tries to fulfil demand. Soon many people will purchase the latest tablet, even as others wait eagerly to get one for themselves. The post-PC world is here. We will either have it in our hands, or look over the shoulders of others to see its rich display and the fantastic graphics.
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Simply
scent-sational
Changing lifestyles, increasing disposable incomes, lavish weddings and rising influence of media and Western culture have made luxury fashionable. The burgeoning domestic luxury perfume market (around Rs 600-700 crore) is growing at a rate of 20-25 per cent every year. According to the latest Indian Cosmetic Sector Analysis (2009-2012), the women’s fragrance (perfume and deodorant) market will drive the Indian cosmetic industry in 2011-2014. Indeed, luxury perfumery in India is here to stay. For, given the sheer attractiveness of today’s luxury brands (both international and national), and the fortunes that are being pumped into driving these in emerging markets like India, it appears increasingly unlikely that these will fall out of favour. “As luxury accessory buys, perfumes are among the most popular must-have items on the aspirational buyers’ list. An outlet at a mall, selling luxury fragrances, can easily expect to do a sale of Rs 40,000-Rs 50,000 in a day! The market for such perfumes has a huge potential in India with a lot of players operating in multi-brand outlets as well, besides boutiques or standalone stores. Perfumes for Punjabis are no longer a luxury but a necessity. It’s a stamp of who they are," says Harpreet Singh, the young entrepreneur behind Fragrance & Flavor, an exclusive standalone perfume store at Sector 17, Chandigarh, While Hindustan Unilever’s Axe, Henkel’s Fa, and CavinKare’s Spinz, Paras Pharmaceutical’s Set Wet Zatak, Reebok, Adidas, and Nivea are some prominent names in India’s deodorant market, it is the high-end perfumes that are doing brisk business in the country. India is no more a mere testing ground for luxury brands but a lucrative market with an explosive growth potential. Industry estimates suggest that as many as 200-300 international luxury brands are trying to make inroads into the Indian luxury market, already worth Rs 2,400 crore. One study pegs the Indian market’s potential of the 15-35 year bracket at a whopping $14 billion. Spurred by this growth in the purchasing power of young India, these brands are actively looking to either launch themselves here or scale up their existing presence. The luxury products division of L’Oreal India is marketing brands such as Lancome, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Giorgio Armani Fragrances and Diesel Fragrances in India. Esprit Holdings, the $5-billion luxury apparel and accessories maker also set up shop in India in 2005. Luxury fragrance brands such as Davidoff, Bulgari and Jennifer Lopez are selling like hot cakes at more than 150 outlets. Two Escada flagship stores recently debuted in Mumbai and seven more are scheduled to open in India within the next two years. Retail chains like Westside, Lifestyle and Shoppers’ Stop have introduced brands like Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and Espirit. The once unsophisticated retailing environment is making way for luxury malls like MBD Zephyr and Emporium. Around 600 new malls are reported to be coming up across the country. Chanel, Tommy Hilfiger and Brioni are opening boutiques or in the process of doing so, in Mumbai and Delhi. Gucci with two stores already in Mumbai and New Delhi, in partnership with the Murjani Group, is planning to open two more in New Delhi and Bangalore by the yearend, according to its chief executive Mark Lee. Leading Italian fashion brand Versace has already opened its first boutique in the country. Chanel, present here since 2005, and Christian Dior since 2006, have a boutique each in New Delhi. For Spring-Summer 2012, luxury majors are counting on breezy, floral and fruity notes to entice customers. It is more botanical, fruity, woody, light, aqueous or marine scents fragrances for men whereas fruity and floral notes (with a modern twist of gourmand sweetness) for women. Some are the latest olfactory sensations from top-of-the-line fragrances. Seductive yet playful, they have made a recent splash in the sea of fragrances flooding the Indian market. Others are the legendary perfumes that have constantly ranked on the top-of-the-perfumery sales charts for years. But each of these comes in one-of-a-kind perfume bottle that translates itself into an objet d’ art. Here are some of the season’s haute fragrances
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SEEING IS BELIEVING AIRY DREAMS WRITE STUFF VINTAGE CABINET
DANCE TO THE MONEY BEAT TEE TIME FOOT LUXURY ONE FOR THE ROAD
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PACESETTER Kshitij Mehra
In the first year of its operations, YuvShaala made sales of approximately Rs 10 lakh through advertisement revenue. Last year, YuvShaala counselled 10,000 students in four districts. “It conducted counselling sessions in 86 schools, apart from guiding students of DAV College, Sector 10 Chandigarh, and of LR Group of Institutes, Solan,” shares Mehra. He was nominated for the True Hero Award, constituted by a New Delhi-based newspaper in June, 2011 for empowering rural youth. A commerce graduate, Mehra pursued his MBA from Management Development Institute, Gurgaon. While preparing for CAT 2008, he taught at PT and Teachwell Education in Noida. It was, however, a chance visit to Kullu in January 2010 that made him discover his true calling, “A friend was launching an institution in Kullu and took me along for marketing presentations. However, the buoyant response we got from students inspired me to counsel village kids. Some of our students today are working with Fortune 200 Companies like John Deere & Company!” The months that followed were not easy. Anxiety, frustration, fear that nothing was moving, dogged the inexperienced social worker. But there was no going back for this gutsy lad. Kshitij’s bedroom became YuvShaala’s boardroom, “I worked overtime to garner finances, spent sleepless nights brainstorming, lost my way in remote Himachal villages and even had a rickety door fall on me in a village,” laughs the entrepreneur. “Also in the pipeline is our CEO project. Students will be divided into groups called companies, and every company will have its CEO as mentor. The group will learn how a hospital, a bank, an educational institution, and newspaper work in real life,” reveals a buoyant Kshitij.
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IT looks no different than its predecessor, but it has already set aficionados’ hearts aflutter, and with a fine sense of sophisticated marketing, Apple is calling its latest offering
Resolutionary. iPad—just that, no prefixes, no suffixes. Apple's latest product dispensed with the naming conventions with the same elegance that the company has dismissed computing conventions to give a product that is easy-to-use, one that people find useful and a great addition to their lives.
THERE never has been a more exciting time for ‘smelling good’ in India than now. Indians have had a great affinity with luxurious, all-natural perfumes
(ittars) for thousands of years. Our maharajas and affluent, well-travelled Indians have always been connoisseurs of luxury perfumes, flaunting a superiority of taste. Lovers of ittars included Mughal nobles of India, Nizams of Hyderabad and other notables, including sufi saints. The pursuit of this indulgence is no longer confined to traditional perfumes. Young, aspirational Indians are filling up their shopping carts with top-of-the-line international fragrances. Fragrances by foreign brands are now percolating even towards the middle class. 
iPad, the latest one, offers some great goodies, and has significant improvements over its predecessors. The most visible change is, of course, the Retina Display with 2048-by-1536 resolution for the 9.7" screen. This is an eye-popping resolution that is familiar to the users of the iPhone 4 family.
Custom is the new fragrance by Dunhill, the fashion house that has a tradition of over 100 years of special custom-made cuts. The new fragrance with its well-balanced woody and spicy notes, evokes the smell of new tailored suits. Its stopper, designed like a custom-made monogram, lets you give it your own signature. The fragrance reflects the masculine elegance, sophistication and tradition of this luxurious brand. The perfume bottle is made of heavy glass, classically shaped with clear lines. Will Andrews, Fragrance Scientist from Dunhill’s Fragrance Creation Team, describes the fragrance as a perfect blend of classic masculine ingredients. “Not just a statement fragrance, it almost feels like a personal signature.”
Imperial Millesime by Creed is a warm and romantic unisex fragrance, evocative of the citrus groves and beautiful seaside landscape of sunny Sicily. It’s a sexy gorgeous fragrance with an addictive watermelon smell. Positioned as an ultra-luxury brand, Creed’s philosophy is to be as exclusive as possible. The brand has been popular amongst the rich and famous for centuries; in 1781 England’s King George III commissioned its Royal English Leather scent, which is still in production. Other well-known Creed wearers include Michelle Obama, Audrey Hepburn, George Clooney and Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal. Launched in 1995, the nose behind this fragrance is Olivier Creed Sixth Generation.
Developed by perfumers Marc Jacobs designers Calice Becker and Yann Vasnier in 2009, this warm, floral scent conveys the free spirit of today’s sexy, modern girl- playful, cool, and flirtatious. 
A new limited edition flanker by the house of Bvlgari, Aqva Pour Homme Toniq is an invigorating, refreshing fragrance. It creates long-lasting feeling of freshness, dynamic and clear as sparkling water. An extension of Bvlgari’s most popular perfume line Aqua (which includes the original perfume Aqva Pour Homme from 2005 and Aqva Pour Homme Marine from 2008,) this powerful and energizing fragrance has intense icy-aquatic notes set against warm, woody undertones of white cedar and sandalwood. Developed by perfumer Jacques Cavallier, Toniq bottle retains the original Aqva oval shape, inspired by azure sea and freshness of ice crystals.
Perfumes from the staple of Piramal Healthcare, Doofy Doggy and Crazzy Crawlly are colourful eau de toilettes for kids above three. Attractively packaged in a deep green bottle that looks like a caterpillar, and a wine bottle that looks like a doggy respectively, these perfumes contain elements of essential oils extracted from fruits. Aroma from these essential oils is known to help in refreshing the mind, increasing concentration capabilities and improving mental alertness. Safe for Children’s Skin, these eau de toilettes can be gifted to your little kids on their Birthday.
Launched in 2011, Ange Ou Demon Le Secret Elixir is a deeper, richer and more sensual version of Agne Ou Demon Le Secret by Givenchy launched in 2009. It reportedly brings seductiveness of the original to its climax. The bottle is a nice piece of art as well. The face of the fragrance is an American actress Uma Thurman, and the campaign is shot by Mario Testino. Ange Ou Demon Le Secret Elixir is available as 30, 50 and 100 ml EDP.
Packaged in an adorable teddy bear shaped bottle, Baby Tous is perfect for introducing kids to the world of fragrance. But it’s also perfect for the adult who wants a bit more cuteness in her life, and needs to provide a little pick-me-up for their inner child. Launched in 2007 by Spanish designers Shyamala Maisondieu and Michel Girard, the scent itself is actually very pleasant and wearable in the warmer weather. It’s also alcohol free, which means it’s safe for little ones and babies. But by no means is this a childish scent, and it is very wearable by an adult. However, it is definitely more feminine than masculine.
Chanel No. 5 is considered the ‘world’s most iconic perfume.' The pioneering fragrance was launched by the famous French fashion designer Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, way back in 1921. Since then, it has ranked on top of the perfumery sales charts in the market. With aromatic notes of grass jasmine, may rose, sandalwood and vanilla, the fragrance remains one of the best selling perfumes of Chanel. In fact, the company recently estimated that a bottle gets sold every 30 seconds.
Passionate, flirtatious and full of intrigue, Midnight Rain is a delicious that unleashes its seductive powers when the lights go down. The fragrance is based on harmony of balmy floral, mellow fruity and sensual woodsy notes. It calls for enjoyment and frees imagination and passion. The fragrance was launched in 2006, targeting ‘younger women.' This fragrance is the sexy alter ego to your elegant daytime self. This is for the “downtown” girl-the playful, throw “caution-to-the-winds” girl who dances till dawn in 4 inch heels and never regrets a single passion. It’s a fragrance for a young lady’s wilder side!
The vibrant and cooling fragrance exhilarates the senses with a fusion of the unexpected and the bracing, from Icy Mint to aromatic Basilic. The scent is the perfect partner for the original Hugo Man, a day-to-night transition that is as smooth as a well-blended cocktail. Where its predecessor is bright, Just Different is warm and embracing, which is perfect for the urban night. Coming from the brand’s most popular men’s fragrance Hugo (1995), Just Different is a vibrant, modern fragrance with a cool twist, made to “inspire whatever you do”. For those edgy souls who inhabit the urban jungle, Just Different is a scent full of irreverence and creative energy. The new face of the fragrance is singer and actor Jared Leto.
HIGH SPIRIT
Bang & Olufsen’s new ultra-stylish BeoVision 9 resembles more a piece of art than a TV set. Its silver frame adds to its appeal. A 50-inch plasma display occupies the top while the bottom is devoted to the integrated centre speaker, which delivers surround sound. The TV features an automatic picture-control technology that senses the light in the room and adjusts the picture. It comes with a built-in 250 GB hard-disc recorder, which can store up to 110 hours of programmes. One can surf the internet, listen to net radio and transfer content from the PC. 
Do you find it difficult to float into Dreamland? Yes? You are not alone. Nights of insomnia and groggy mornings have become more a rule than a rarity in the frenetic urban life. But don’t despair as help is at hand provided you have moolah to burn. Dutch architect Jan Jaap Ruijssenaars has designed a floating bed aptly called Falling Up. The bed hovers above the ground through a magnetic force and can hold upto 900 kilos of weight. The gravity-defying bed is guaranteed to put you to sleep in no time. Just one word of warning though: Do not to roll out of bed as you’ll be levitating a few feet above terra firma!
Price $ 1.6 million (Rs 7.25 crore approx)
The ultimate writing instrument, Mountblanc limited edition 100 Years Solitare Mountain Massif Skeleton is matchless. Created in 2006 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the brand, the pen is made of 18K white gold and covered in 1,277 white and 123 rare blue diamonds. It features a transparent cap-head that holds a diamond, cut into the shape of the famous Montblanc star. Go grab one, as there are still a few left!
Price $1.8 million a piece (Rs 8 crore approx)
Single Malt. The name conjures up magic among whiskey lovers. One of the finest varieties is Macallan with many connoisseurs swearing by its refined taste. And when it is attractively packaged the whiskey assumes an exalted stature. British furniture designer Viscount David Linley (son of Princess Margret) recently introduced a special cabinet for the famed Single Malt made from English burr wood. The cabinet houses six bottles of Macallan of 1937, 1940, 1948, 1955, 1966 and 1970 vintage. It also has special sections for crystal tumblers and a cigar humidor. The cabinet and its vintage content can add supreme class to any home bar.
SUIT YOURSELF
Originally custom-made for Alex Shnaider, the billionaire owner of the Midland Formula 1 team, the i-Beat Organix Gold MP3 player from German electronic giant TrekStor, is now available to anyone with money to burn. At around $ 200,000 it sure is a king’s ransom. The player has a case cast in 18-carat gold and encrusted with 63 one-carat diamonds. It is also embellished with a small chain that includes aquamarine gems.
Price $ 2,00,000 (Rs 9 lakh approx)
For a keen golfer who’s always on the lookout for good clubs, putters and irons, the Honma Beres golf set is the one. You can choose the head shape, the shaft, the grip and — hold your breath — the amount of gold and platinum plating you desire on each club! The sets are created in Japan to the exact length and weight that you wish. You can even have your initials engraved on each club. So go ahead play the most expensive game in the world, in more ways than one! 
A timeless, beautiful style for evening sandals from Jimmy Choo. The Jimmy Choo ‘Kevan’ Feather Trim Gladiator Sandals look absolutely stunning. The sandals, with heel height of 4.25 inches, have a flurry of colourful plumes, which hang from one side of a woven leather-and-mesh detail with contrast whipstitching. The sandals are guaranteed to add glamour to after-dark ensembles. Wear them with your favourite black dress and a Swarovski crystal-encrusted clutch and become an instant party sparkler. Price $ 2,500
(Rs 1.12 lakh approx) 
French carmaker Venturi may be better known as the manufacturer of elegant coupés but from now on the name will also be related to a high-performance electric car sports called the Fetish. The first planned production run is only 25 cars as the company feels that only that many people may be able to afford it. The 245-horsepower Fetish is not just super-powerful, although it’s quick enough, with a 4.3-second 0-to-90 km per hour. It has a top speed of 170 km/ph. The body is crafted from carbon fibre and is lightweight, weighing roughly 1,100 kg, including the battery.
Price $ 6,00,000 (Rs 2.7 crore approx)