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These super gadgets are sure to take the gizmo world by storm this year
PACESETTER: Harkiran
Sangha
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These super gadgets are sure to take the gizmo world by storm this year Intelligent, smart, good memory — these are adjectives which are no longer used for people only. Thanks to the accelerated pace of technological advancements, the reach of these terms have been extended much beyond humans. The smartness, intelligence and memory of most new tech devices outdo the same qualities of the earlier ones. Some super-smart tech devices and gadgets are sure to take the whole world by storm this year. The book of life The way it works is that a tablet is in place of the keyboard and once the tablet is removed, it works independently as one tablet and when the tablet is inserted back, the laptop gets a keyboard. The webcam works the same way as well, when taken away from the laptop; it functions as a digital camera. Similarly, smartphone and MP3 also integrate completely with the laptop and can function on their own too. The unique and worth highlighting features of this gadget are that once the separate devices are plugged into the Lifebook, the laptop automatically inherits all the functionality of the individual gadgets, including the processing power. This is a very effective step towards reducing the duplication of hardware on various devices and almost entirely eliminates the work required to sync and update the data as it automatically does the same once the individual devices go back in their respective slots on the Lifebook. The unique concept, which is the brain child of designer Prashant Chandra, works on the basic premise that an average tech-savy person owns a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet and a digital camera and Lifebook is an attempt to minimise the number of standalone devices that a person needs to carry with him/her. Already being referred to as the 'mother of all gadgets', this one is sure to look out for in 2013. Moulded communication
iView As is the trend with most Apple devices, Apple iTV is a secretly guarded product so not much information is available but given the track record of devices coming out the Apple stable, it is likely that iTV would be a super-slim device with minimalist looks. Rumours are that iTV will give users access to an App Store, where they can customise their television experience with software and on-demand. It is also expected to integrate seamlessly with iCloud to tie the content to multiple devices. The new Apple TV with 1080p HD claims to give access to the best content, even the content on your iOS can be played on the TV using AirPlay. Reality check
Lessons in the loo
Band of health
Calorie-counting fork If you are a diet-conscious person and if you want someone to monitor your eating patterns when many times you eat absentmindedly while swamped with work, here is a solution — HapiFork, the fork that tells you when to stop. In short, it monitors how fast you are eating or if you are not chewing enough and accordingly will indicate its findings to you. Though looks like a regular fork, it is fitted with many sensors which measure the number of times you put the fork in your mouth per minute, also keeping track of the intervals between these fork servings. It you are busy devouring your meal, it warns you by flashing a LED.
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Gowning glory The evening gown, which has been the favourite of fashionistas all over the world, is becoming popular among Indian women One of the most eye-catching changes in the last decade has been revival of the figure-hugging gown with sensational slits. It has been designed in such a way as to make skin a major fashion statement. Framed by fabric, sectioned by straps, contoured by crisscross strings and in soft fabrics like silk and chiffon, the evening gown is, once again, the star of the world’s leading designers. Often considered the ultimate fashion statement, it is enjoying a cult following among women and has been adorned by a line of celebrities ranging from fashionistas to Hollywood divas and from power women to corporate honchos. One of the best places to see the power of the gown is the red carpet Oscar Awards night. Some of the ladies who graced the last Oscars dressed in stunning gowns included Gwyneth Paltrow in a sensational white gown, Angelina Jolie in a Versace black strapless gown, Anne Hathaway in a one-shoulder embellished maroon gown, Heidi Klum in a flowing red gown and Jennifer Lopez in a mermaid-style gown. Celebrity wear That the gown is the ultimate in elegance and style can be gauged from the fact that it has become one of the most preferred choice of celebrities the world over for various occasions. The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton’s favourite formal attire is shimmering gowns designed by Jenny Peckham. On most of the formal occasions, she wears gowns exclusively designed for her. Even Sandra Bullock has a penchant for Peckham gowns. She wore a powder pink one-shoulder crystal-encrusted gown, accented with understated jewels at the Golden Globe. At last year’s Grammy Awards ceremony, Nicole Kidman wowed all in a Jean Paul Gaultier haute-couture-petal-print gown. In the same ceremony, Hollywood hottie Kim Kardashian showed off her full-figure curves in a fancy Kaufman Franco gown. Sartorial elegance During last year’s dinner hosted by American President Barack Obama for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, First Lady Michelle Obama wore a shimmery ivory sleeveless gown by Indian-born American fashion designer Naeem Khan, whose gowns retail from $5,000-$15,000. Michele Obama is known for her sartorial elegance and has a special predilection for dazzling flowing gowns. Incidentally, Khan’s couture is ornate, intricately detailed and he is best known for red-carpet gowns employing handmade fabrics. With fans such as Michelle Obama, Beyonce, Eva Longoria, Brooke Shields and Alicia Keys, Naeem Khan is proving to have a Midas touch, especially with his gowns. Indeed, the gown blends feminine grace with intricate detailing. The colour palette is usually warm and the luxe factor is incorporated with delicate embroidery, and even crystals and beading. The fabrics can range from silks, velvet and satin with dupioni and shantung silks being the choice of a number of designers. The dupioni has a sensuous satin sheen while the shantung is less shiny but has an excellent grace. Cocktail mood Though most gowns respond gracefully to the cocktail mood of the evening, not all work for all occasions. There are evening gowns, cocktail gowns, ballroom gowns, prom gowns, beaded gowns, strapless evening gowns, one-shoulder strap gowns, mermaid gowns and, of course, the crowning glory is the wedding gown. So you have to be sure that you pick the right gown for the right occasion. Says designer Valerie Jacob, “Comfort and elegance is what today’s women want from their clothes. A smart evening gown has both these qualities
with an added power of altering a woman’s entire personality making her look warm
and radiant.” Little wonder, then, that the gown has regained its position as the most popular garment in a woman’s wardrobe. Or, as a Hollywood struggler famously said, “When I step out in my evening gown and look at myself in the mirror, I know I have the looks and grace to become a Hollywood diva one day.” Sure, thanks to her stunning evening gown, she was discovered at a party and offered a role. The rest, as they say, is history as Sophia Loren went on to become a part of Hollywood folklore! DIFFERENT HUES OF AN EVENING GOWN A gown is not just a gown. In the hands of a good designer, it can take many creative shapes. Some of the popular versions are: Sheath-style evening gown This is a body-hugging gown where the waist is the focal point. It usually enhances the look of a woman with a great figure. But can work the opposite for heavier women. Ballroom gown A ceremonial gown, it is cut along formal lines. In western countries, it is reserved for some very special occasions like a first dance meeting between a boy and a girl. Mermaid gown As the name suggests, this is a mermaid-shaped gown. It hugs the body from the chest to the knees and the lower part of the gown is flared out in the shape of a mermaid’s tail. Empire style gown This gown is tight-fitting at the top but flares out under the bust and hangs loose till the feet. As the waistline is raised a few inches higher, it best suits women with good figures. Strapless evening gown One of the most popular evening wear in the West, the strapless evening gown exudes elegance and is very popular among the celebrities as it is flirtatious. One-shoulder strap gown This gown is designed to give women a chic and feminine look with a touch of the sensuous. One-shoulder gown is the new hot and trendy formal evening look.
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Success at her fingertips Aditi Garg
Harkiran Sangha was always fond of nail art. Turning her hobby into a business venture, she has set up a nail spa to cater to the style conscious
Turning her passion for colours and design into an enterprise, Harkiran Singha, 37, channelled her creativity when she saw potential in Chandigarh for nail bar. Along with her sister-in-law, she opened Polish – a nail spa. Women from the tricity flock to the place to satisfy their fix for beautifying their nails. Belonging to defence background, Harkiran had already shifted base 13 times by the time she was in Class X11. After she got married, she got the opportunity to live in South India and Assam with her tea planter husband. Having shifted to Chandigarh and travelled so much, she thought nothing of travelling to Delhi for the purpose of nail art and extensions. It was then that she decided to switch from being a teacher at a leading local school to follow her true calling and provide the luxurious nail experience in Chandigarh. Not one to be slowed down by matrimony or motherhood, the sprightly commerce graduate and mother of a 12-year-old went on to train with Gurpreet Seble in Delhi, a nail professional of international repute. Women can unwind in Polish which is done up in soft pastels and white. The more than 150 shades of nail paints stacked neatly add vibrancy to the place. With her trained staff of six nail specialists, two of them from Nagaland who have many years of experience of working in the best nail spas in Delhi and Bombay, she tries to satisfy every one hankering for a wonderful set of nails. Her nail professional s are trained at Seble’s academy and she even sources her materials from there. Only the very best products like OPI, Star Nail, Cuccio and Orly are used. Harkiran says, “Chandigarh was the perfect choice for setting up Polish as the ladies here are very style conscious and are aware of international trends. I wanted to give them a chance to be able to express their individuality though customised to add colour to my dreams. Though it will take a bit more time to break even, we have been able to cover the overhead expenses.”
An avid traveller and a nature enthusiast, she takes out time for adventure holidays to appreciate wildlife. Her love for animals is evident from the way she dotes on her pets. On her holidays abroad, she keeps updating her nail skills by experiencing the services on offer there. From hosting a bachelorette or a hen party, Polish is the perfect place to let your hair down and indulge your girlie dreams. You can opt for nail extensions, permanent nail art, spa manicures and pedicures and hand and foot care done using international products. “A large number of are nail biters who have hopelessly tried to give up the habit. For them it is a boon indeed as they can flaunt perfectly manicured tips for the first time !” adds Harkiran. The most popular is Power Polish, a nail finish on natural nails that stays good for 21 days. She has plans to expand to other cities in Punjab. Going by the response in Chandigarh, that too will surely work equally well.
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THE BEDTIME STORY
A SUBSEA LIMO
FOR CONNOISSEURS Sample price: £7.05 for 30 ml. (Between $11.35 and Rs 625) for a
21-year-old Glenfiddich. SPREADING COLOUR ON THE TABLE
‘RICH’ DESSERT
SOUND OF MUSIC…& MOVIES
RUNAWAY RINGING SUCCESS
UNMELTING CHOCOLATE
The company’s researchers in Bourneville, U.K., have invented a chocolate that does not melt even at 40º Celsius without compromising on taste. Normal chocolates melt at around 35º Celsius making it hard to store in shops that do not have refrigeration. Now you can have melt-in-the-mouth chocolate instead of melt-in-the-pocket one! Price: Yet to be announced
Want to take a ride on a rhino or an elephant or even an octopus? Just take a seat on one of these ‘wild’ chairs and ask someone to click your picture. Voila, you could be in a jungle atop a giant animal. The animal chair collection brilliantly crafted by celebrated Spanish furniture designer Maximo Riera has a diverse range of intricately moulded pieces ranging from mammals to reptiles and even insects. Each creation retains the animal's natural vitality whilst being totally biologically accurate in its appearance making your living room resemble a jungle! Price: Ranging from $56,000 to $1,04,000 (From Rs 30,80,000 to Rs 57,20,000) MahaVastu Handbook The colossal book-cum-encyclopaedia on Vastu Shastra, MahaVastu Handbook is the gold standard for Vastu professionals.
Carry Style on YOUR SHOULDER
A grasp on GAMING POWER
‘LOCKED’ IN LOVE The dazzle of jewellery gets brighter when it is custom-made by Louis Vuitton. The luxury house’s latest collection Lockit is inspired by a tradition where couples attach a padlock to a bridge over River Seine in Paris and throw the key into the water for their love to be sealed forever. The 15-piece jewellery features necklaces, rings and bracelets in 18-karat white, rose and yellow gold and some with pavé diamonds with padlocks and keys as pendants. If romance is in the air for you too this Valentine, then seal it with Lockit! Price: Gold ring, embellished with diamonds $16,500 (Rs 9,07500) & old bracelet $7,650 (Rs 4,20,750) Note: All prices are converted at the rate of Rs 55 a dollar
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Intelligent, smart, good memory — these are adjectives which are no longer used for people only. Thanks to the accelerated pace of technological advancements, the reach of these terms have been extended much beyond humans. The smartness, intelligence and memory of most new tech devices outdo the same qualities of the earlier ones. Some super-smart tech devices and gadgets are sure to take the whole world by storm this year.
Perhaps 'All-in-one' and 'multifunctional' terms are coined for devices like these. The Fujitsu Lifebook can serve all purposes that you would want your technological gadget to perform for you. It combines different digital technologies into a single package ranging from camera, calling features to being an entire laptop device.
How much flexibility is good enough? Now, bendy screens have the answer with unlimited flexibility and capability for twisting and bending. These smartphones use OLED (organic light-emitting device) technology under Youm branding for display. It boasts of being strong enough to endure any kind of beating (even with a hammer) or folding. This technology relies on atom-thick layers of sheets of carbon atoms called 'graphene', sandwiched together to protect a liquid crystal 'screen'. Samsung unveiled its first smartphone with 'bended, foldable and moulded screen' in Consumer Electronic Show 2013 leaving the users waiting to lay their hands on one of these.
In Steve Jobs words, "I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synched with all your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it."
This is one market in which major players like Microsoft, Google and Apple are trying to create their footholds. Wearable computers, of which computerised glasses are an integral part, are soon to become a big thing which could be the beginning of computers making inroads on human body. This new wearable technology will consist of a pair of intelligent glasses containing a display, a camera, a microphone and other things necessary to bring the sci-fi world within your reach. The reality glasses would display real-time information about live events as they unfold before our eyes. The US military already uses wearable computers for communication and satellite navigation tasks. Rest of the users won't have to wait long to experience live updates that this kind of a device would offer. A user wearing this head-mounted display would be able to view live event while simultaneously receiving information on objects, including people, within user's field of view.
If you are struggling with training your toddlers for their nature calls, you might find this a perfect thing to glue him/her to 'the' seat. All parents try to find ways to entertain toddler while he/she is on the potty seat. Reading story books, showing picture cards, providing favourite toys, putting on favourite music have been some of the tried and tested things. But now there is tech innovation in potty training field too and 'the iPotty has been designed to help children learn to use the potty by keeping them entertained when nature calls'. Though debated as best-ever or worst-ever tech idea, iPotty has arrived.
What could be better than a heart and health monitor in your hand all the time? Basis Band is a heart and health monitor designed in the style of a wristwatch, which can be worn all day and night on the wrist. It has multiple sensors that measure the heart rate continuously along with calories burned, sleep patterns, blood pressure and other physiological metrics. In short, this portable device monitors different activities and parameters of the body. The LCD touchscreen feature enables convenient navigation on the device. It also has the basic features of a regular watch — date and time.
It is stunning, functional and extravagant. The Zero Day Bed made by celebrated Spanish architect and designer Jorge Goval and being introduced in the European markets in February 2013 is a luxurious enclosed lounging area that can be taken anywhere and can even float in water. It is enclosed by a glass and carbon fibre which can withdraw or unfurl mechanically at the press of a button. The interiors have a collection of the finest Italian fabrics, a retro-illuminated champagne bucket, a smartphone, tablet and an amazing audio system to put you in a sound state of mind for zzzzz.
Price: Yet to be announced
There’s no bottomline as far as toys for the super wealthy are concerned. Manufacturers will go to any length for their indulgence—even plumb the depths. The C-Explorer by Dutch company U Boat Worx does just that. It’s a luxury submarine for the uber rich to explore the bottom of the sea…well almost. Called “the world’s first subsea limousine,” it is fitted with all the perks that you can have on a luxury yacht. The five-seater features a fully air-conditioned interior and also has sonar imaging capabilities with other hi-tech goodies like HD video camera, external manipulator arm and a tethered remote-operated vehicle. It can go down to upto 300 metres, making it a stunning water-world
experience. Price: $2.4 million (Rs 13.20 crores)
Do you yearn to taste a 50-year-old Chivas Regal Royal Salute or a Macallan of 1926 vintage or even a Russo Baltique Vodka but cannot even dream of coughing up tens of thousands of dollars for a bottle? Well your dream can now be turned into reality, thanks to online retailer Master of Malt which has launched a revolutionary whiskey sample service called Drinks by the Dram. The company is retailing 30ml shots of expensive Single Malts, Scotch whiskies and other spirits. This not just brings prohibitively expensive spirits within the reach of whiskey lovers but also gives a chance to high rollers to “try before they buy” some of the most expensive booze on the
planet.
This is a collection that will add style and elegance to your dining table. Home Interior chain of stores Evok has unveiled its vibrant gifting options for the New Year. The product range includes innovative candle stands, solitaire glasses, table fountains and colourful glassware. The designs have taken into consideration the changing tastes of consumers and match their modern lifestyles. So welcome the New Year in style with this innovative tableware collection.
Prices: start at Rs 1,200
More than a sweet taste in the mouth it will leave a gaping hole in your pocket. The extravagant chocolate pudding styled like a Faberge Easter egg has been created by Marc Guibert, head chef at Lindeth Howe Country House a five-star hotel in Windermere in U.K. Its pricey list of ingredients include gold and (hold your breath) a two-carat diamond. Layered with champagne jelly, the creation is finished with bitter dark chocolate and glazed with edible gold leaf. However, till now no one has come forward to buy it—a perquisite for it to go into the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive
dessert! Price: £22,000 ($35,200 or Rs 19,36,000)
It’s an audio device designed to suit the needs of people who enjoy high quality audio. IT accessories company Intex Technologies has launched a Bluetooth-enabled soundbar which enables users to wirelessly connect it to a TV. It is especially useful for those who like to create an enriched home theatre experience as it delivers high definition cinematic audio in 2.0 channel configuration and creates a distortion-free surround sound effect adding a
real punch to movies and music. Price: Rs 16,000
With companies vying with each other to stuff the mobile phone with new features this handset does just the opposite. The OwnFone is a mini, low-cost mobile phone that just calls people you need to call and does nothing else. It has a maximum capacity of calling up to 12 people whose numbers have to be preset. It has no other functions. In the age of gizmo phones such a simple set is doomed to failure. Right? No wrong. The OwnFone seems to have dialled the right number and is a runaway success as an emergency second phone.
Price: $85 (Rs 4,675)
As young kids many of us have had the unpleasant experience of a bar of chocolate melting in the pocket on a hot summer day. Nothing can be more gooey than that. Now Cadbury’s is on the verge of making such accidents a rarity.
CHAIRS GONE
WILD
Considered an authoritative book on Vastu Shastra, the MahaVastu Handbook is practical, detailed, carries clear explanations on each and every aspect of Vastu Shastra. It is a handy reference guide towards planning, designing and doing the interiors of a new building, while making it completely Vastu-compliant. It can prove an asset for interior designers, architects, real estate developers, vastu consultants, astrologers, students and homemakers. It has more than 600 pictures and there are coloured diagrams in this book which is of around 1248 pages. It is the outcome of over 20 years of research by a dedicated team of vastu experts and has been edited and compiled for professionals by VastuShastri Khushdeep Bansal.
Price: Rs 1.25 lakh
Give your uptown look a twist with this super-luxe crocodile satchel by New York-based women’s clothing and accessories brand Proenza Schouler. The flap front bag with a metal tab closure, leather straps, handle and removable and adjustable shoulder strap will stand you out in a crowd. Match this lust-worthy bag with a Donna Karan brown dress, Bottega Veneta boots and Kenneth Jay Lane bangles and to create a party class act.
Price: $14,500 (Rs 7,97,500)
It may be advertised as the world’s cheapest console but Ouya created by American designer Yves Behar is no pushover. It is a powerhouse where all the games are free-to-try. It offers a large library of games and video and audio streaming, on-demand apps and also entertainment apps which are all playable in your living room. The Android-powered controller is designed to gamer perfection with responsive buttons, triggers, analogue stick, a keypad and an amazing touchpad. That it is all set to revolutionise the pricing of consoles only adds to its appeal.
Price: $100 (Rs 5,500)