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Berry’s new avatar Gifts for love’s sake
PACESETTER Akhilesh Bali
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Berry’s new avatar A robust operating system and two great new smartphones, BlackBerry's comeback is good news for its fans
The Waterloo, Canada-based smartphone maker, seemed to have abandoned its army of eight crore users and left them ill-equipped to face an increasingly competitive world. On the other hand, the forces of Apple and Samsung were deploying increasingly sophisticated weapons to conquer the hearts and purses of crores of new converts. There were even desertions from the ranks of the elite Crackberry units, comprising BlackBerry addicts. Now, the Crackberrys have a chance. A new fix will give them a fighting chance in the smartphone wars. Henceforth, they will battle with the Force of 10. The new operating system, BlackBerry 10 is a robust and reliable platform that has won praise for being smooth and responsive. It has some bugs, but overall, it is being hailed as a something that takes the best from the BlackBerry ecosystem and adds to the experience. New hardware adds to the experience. The BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 smartphones are far better than anything seen from the BlackBerry stables. With 1.5 Ghz dual core processors, they compete with the best (see table). As for the apps, they have a line-up of 70,000 to start with. We must remember, however, that BlackBerry is aimed primarily at the corporate market. Hence, security is paramount; something that BlackBerry still excels at. It has a great run for a decade during which it introduced many new devices and many innovations (see the top of the page), even as it held on to its core strength providing security.
A BlackBerry is largely used for the same kind of things it was originally introduced in for in 1996 — a personal digital assistant with an address book, calendar and to-do list capabilities. The camera and video functions add to its value, as do various other features and apps. But primarily, it is its ability to reliably send and receive e-mails wherever mobile network service coverage is present, or through Wi-Fi connectivity is what most people expect of it. Little wonder, even as BlackBerry took a beating in the US market, it continued to do quite well in the developing nations. With the new devices, BlackBerry is trying to claw its way back into the all-important US market. However, it has to compete with both Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy line-up, which have captured the top end of the market. Both these phone makers are also aggressively courting the corporate sector, thus encroaching on what used to be BlackBerry's bulwark. The new BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 phones have to come to terms with the fact that customers today are far more demanding. Apple found out how much maps matter to customers after its maps failed to make the mark. Nokia has invested much in maps. The new BlackBerry models have also been found wanting by some critics. However, the 8 megapixel camera has come in for praise, and it has some great software features. All in all, the company from Waterloo is back in the fray, under a new general, with new, more powerful weapons. It has now blown the trumpet to marshal its forces as it faces a battle that it simply can't afford to loose.
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Gifts for love’s sake Valentine’s Day is big business, with companies vying with each other for a marketing kill — what with roses, chocolates, cuddly toys, jewellery, mushy greeting cards and haute couture The one day in the year that most signifies love is February 14, the Valentine’s Day when people express their affections for others. It is the day when love is celebrated and gifts exchanged. Legend links the day to Roman priest Valentine. Emperor Claudius II laboured under the impression that single soldiers made better warriors for his army and forbade young men to marry. Valentine disobeyed the emperor’s order and secretly solemnised marriages. He was apprehended and dragged before the emperor, who condemned him to be beaten up to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. Valentine suffered martyrdom on February 14, 270 A.D. But before he died, he wrote a letter to the jailor’s daughter who he was to marry off to a soldier. Concluding the letter, he wrote, ‘From your Valentine’. To this day, everyone now looks for his or her valentine. Symbols of love Ever since then, the Valentine’s Day has come to be celebrated on February 14. It has associated with love and the symbols depicting love — the red rose, which is the favourite flower of Venus, Goddess of love; lace associated with a woman’s handkerchief; love knots made by interlacing loops of a ribbon; and, of course, the pure white doves, which traditionally signify love. All these symbols depict pristine love and loyalty. In the modern times, the symbols of love have changed, and so have the ideas of gifts and the venues of exchanging them. The Valentine’s Day is celebrated in malls, pubs, pizza parlours, cineplexes and other hangout joints of the young. Gifts are exchanged and promises made of undying love. As hotels and restaurant get into the act with special festivals, marketing companies and consumer goods pull out all stops. From greeting cards to silver jewellery, from cuddly toys to photo frames and from roses to heart-shaped candles — all depict sentiments of love. Western concept But why is a western concept like the Valentine’s Day celebrated with such pomp in India? “There’s nothing western or eastern about love, is there?” asks Abhishek Pande, a second-year college student. “Valentine’s Day is for all those who value love, no matter where they are and what their age is.” That may be true with Generation Now but ask people of earlier generations and they will tell you that in their time, they never celebrated the day. Many had not even heard of it. It has taken many gifting companies years of publicity and promotions to popularise this festival of love that the young so much look forward to now. Cuddly soft toys, heart-shaped mugs, photo frames, love quotation books, perfumes, all of which compliment love and make excellent gift material. Indeed, back in 1915 when Joyce Hall started selling Valentine Day cards from two shoe boxes, little did the teenager realise that she was laying the foundation for a mega business. Today her Hallmark cards sell in 30 different languages in more than a 100 countries! Greeting cards Greeting cards this Valentine are in hues of reds and pinks — colours of love. There are special cards for first-timer lovers, for those who been steady in love. There are cards with paper hearts stuck to them, pop-up cards, musical cards and funny cards. Since love is not restricted to lovers alone this Valentine, there are cards also for mom, dad, sister, brother, aunt and friend. There is an eclectic range of earrings, bracelets, pendants, cufflinks and necklaces priced at Rs 500 onwards. Then, there’s the twin silver photo frames linked forever in a set. Gift it to each other and you are framed forever! Apart from these, a number of companies are gearing up for the festival of love. And the gifts in some places are not confined to greeting cards, cuddly soft toys or silver collectibles. For example, the furniture design company Indisign with outlets in Delhi and Mumbai is offering a range of lamps that emit the romantic glow of a candle. Most of the leading television channels will have special shows on Valentine's Day and hotels, restaurants, pubs and clubs will all be offering to make your Valentine's night a memorable affair. “The festival of love is as important as the festival of lights,” says Shruti Anand, a post-graduate student of history. “For me, it has a special significance. I met my fiancé on this day three years ago. Today, we are on the threshold of marriage.” A number of people like Shruti, believe that the day means something more than just the exchange of gifts and fun time. It means commitment and trust.
Tales of romance... Though the story about St Valentine during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II is the most prevalent, there are two other fables linked to the day dedicated to love. Many believe its roots can be traced to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia that was held on February 14. The Romans believed that Lord Lupercus watched over shepherds and their flocks and kept the wild wolves from stalking their sheep. During the celebrations, young men struck women with strips of animal hide. Women took the blows because they felt it made them more fertile. Valentine’s Day got associated to this festival because of its connection with fertility. Another version links the Valentine’s Day to an early Christian priest named Valentine, who made friends with many children. The Romans imprisoned him because he refused to worship their Gods. The children missed him and secretly slipped notes and gifts in his prison cell. This story may explain why people exchange messages and gifts on Valentine's Day.
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PACESETTER Akhilesh Bali
It was from start-ups in food to clothes, that 27-year-old Akhilesh honed his skills as an entrepreneur
At 19, while still in college, he retailed customised college T-shirts, a fad that was relatively new in Indian colleges. At 22, he founded India’s first online sweet shop, mithaimate. And at 26, he co-founded foodpanda, an online food-ordering service that has spiced up the world of epicureans. Meet Akhilesh Bali. Young India’s young achiever. Focused and relentless in his pursuit of dreams, Akhilesh’s penchant for entrepreneurship made him chart an interesting course in life. A man who purportedly picked up the tricks of the trade just by reading autobiographies of business barons, Akhilesh has co-founded two companies, all in a span of four years, and come an impressive distance from where he first began as a student. So, how did it all start? “Business always attracted me, right from childhood. Maybe because I grew up in a business family, I invariably found myself inclined towards wanting to do my own thing. When I went to Mumbai to study, I realised there was an opportunity to do some business on the side and I, along with a few friends, started printing T-shirts. We typically worked as suppliers who would come up around fests. Before I realised, we had expanded, and though it wasn’t very big, it definitely whetted my appetite for things to come.” After that came his short stint with Accenture, alongside which he started mithaimate.com, a first-of-its-kind online gifting portal (traditional Indian sweets) in India. Recalling the initial days of his struggle, Akhilesh, who was even featured on The Pitch (a CNBC TV18 show for promising entrepreneurs) for this start-up, says, “Mithaimate was a learning curve. It was what I cut my teeth on. I, along with my other co-founders, had to deal with a whole new bracket of problems that we had not even envisioned. From convincing sweet store owners to list themselves with us to getting the word out for a service like ours, it was very difficult the first time around. We did good business.” After turning his off-the-wall idea into a well-paying business model, Akhilesh, feeling “bored and siloed”, took a year off to attend ISB, Hyderabad. Did the forced exile do him any good? “My time there helped me get an overall exposure on aspects of business like finance, pricing, and managing teams. From doing things on a very ad hoc basis, I now go about these aspects in a much more structured manner. Besides honing my skill-set, it also helped me land up with my present venture, foodpanda. I was in ISB when Rocket (the German online start-up incubator), looking for someone with prior experience in online food space, approached me. They liked me, I liked foodpanda as an idea, and we started in April, right after I graduated in 2012.” From clothes to sweets to now food, what keeps him ticking? Akhilesh gives his take: “The feeling you get on seeing something that was just an idea sometime back, become a functional business, is hugely satisfying. Personally, I don’t work with a set vision. I believe life is led by experiences and not by plans, so I take things as they come. Hence, if an idea sounds interesting and challenging enough, I go ahead, irrespective of the risks involved. And this is what I would advise anyone else.”
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AFLOAT IN A TUB
Prices: $42,000 (Rs 23.10 lakh) TATTOOS OF DESIRE
Prices: $120 for a full set (Rs 6,600) PICTURE THIS!
Prices: $30 (Rs 1,650) DOOMSDAY PENS
Prices: Gold Fountain Pen—$137,950; Silver Fountain Pen—$8,385, Bronze Fountain Pen— $5,985 (Rs 75,87,250; Rs 4,61,175, and Rs 3,29,175) EASY RIDER
Prices: Not announced so far MOBIKE-CAR HYBRID
Expected price: $16,000 (Rs 8.80 lakh)
That Donna Karan is the queen of high society fashion is a well-known fact but she too can surpass herself at times as she has done with this sleeveless DKNY evening gown. It features a plunging V-neck, harness- style straps and an empire waist silhouette. This seriously high-fashion strapless degrade sequin cocktail dress is not just a head-turner but a collector’s piece if ever there was one. And it is proof Donna Karan’s talent which has made DKNY the biggest label in the couture world. Price: $15,900 (Rs 8.75 lakh) WATERLESS EGG BOILER
Prices: Yet to be announced FIERY PIZZAS
Prices: $280 (Rs 15,400) GLITTERING HEADPHONES
Prices: $885 (Rs 48,675)
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M. Khosla
Reams and reams have been written on the subject of love, which has a special significance for all. Some fall in love and others rise in it. Wars have been fought over it; emperors have abdicated their thrones and people beheaded in blind rage of the spurned. All for love.
It is the ultimate in relaxation---sun, sea and a hot tub! Yes a hot tub. A US company has built a boat that has a tub full of hot water on its deck which can take in six people. An integrated diesel-powered boiler with an adjustable thermostat heats the water to a desired temperature. A waterproof stereo system plays music from an MP3 player and four ice chests on the deck provide ample storage for drinks. An electric motor propels the boat up to 10 kmph on calm water, steered via a joystick located starboard by a bather. And best of all this, the hot tub boat does not cost more than a mid-section luxury car.
We’ve all seen tattoos in various hues depicting a plethora of flora, fauna, Gods and Goddesses and even scenic sights. But not many would have seen tattoos in 24-carat gold. Now you can see them. French fashion house Dior has released a limited edition collection of gold temporary tattoos made of 24-carat gold leafing. The nine-piece set includes cuffs, chain bracelets, charms, and rings and can be worn as a finishing touch or a total look. So, next time you go partying be different and wear skin jewellery instead of the conventional ornaments.
With the smart phone virtually replacing the point-and-shoot camera, can photographic accessories be far behind? The one problem that iPhone users face is framing a shot in the sunlight as light reflects off the screen and makes it difficult to view the target. Enter the Daylight Viewfinder. It can be attached to your phone's screen to become an eyepiece and uses screw-on suction pad to temporarily vacuum itself in place. So, when you’re ready to snap, just attach the viewfinder and lo and behold get a great picture!
The Mayan Calendar may not have got the ‘writing on the wall’ correct but the South American tribe can try writing with Montegrappa's new pen and maybe it will get the date of the end of the world right. The Italian luxury house has dedicated its new pens to the Mayan Calendar. The limited edition pens in gold, silver and bronze have engraved images of Mayan gods, with patterns reminiscent of distinctive Mayan architecture. The pen clip itself is fashioned after the sacrificial sword used by Mayan priests to kill animals for offerings to gods. In case you too want to predict the Apocalypse, go for one of these exclusive pens.
One of the most difficult experiences faced by wheel-borne people is to reach out for objects lying at places where hands can’t reach while in a sitting position or to be talked down by people who are standing. Now the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan has come to the aid by developing an intelligent robot that puts wheelchair users on eye level with a person they are talking to and also help them reach out to things. Called the iTransport, it can be adjusted to the user’s height. Though its commercial production is yet some time away, but when it starts manufacturing it would be a boon for physically challenged people.
It’s being called the best car on two wheels. San Francisco-based Lit Motors has introduced Lit C-1, a half car half motorbike that is enclosed from all sides, has a steering wheel and also seat-belts and airbags for both driver and passenger. It runs on two 40kw electric motors and achieves a top speed of almost 200 kmph and can go up to 320 kilometres on a single charge. Though the booking for this hybrid jalopy have started, it is expected to hit the road only in early 2014. With the enthusiastic response, it is likely to change the concept of daily commuting.
GOWNING GLORY
It may look simple but boiling a perfect egg is an art. The volume of water has to be right, it has to be at an exact temperature and the timing too has to be clockwork. But soon all those things will be a thing of the past and you would be able to ‘boil’ an egg without water! All you have to do is to put the egg in a specially made cardboard box which contains a chemical that generates heat and ‘boils’ a perfect egg in just two minutes. The cardboard box called Gogol Mogol--named after a Russian egg dish—is sure going to make breakfast a cracking idea when it hits the market in a couple of months.
Which is the best way to make a pizza — in an oven or a microwave? Neither. The best cheesy, crispy pizzas are made the old-fashioned way in a wood-fired oven. The only trouble is that it is not easy to set one up as it requires a brick oven and a host of other paraphernalia. Enter the Uuni Pizza Oven, a portable device that allows you to cook pizza virtually anywhere. The size of a small suitcase, the compact wood-fuelled furnace weighs just around five kilos and can be taken anywhere. So the next time you crave for a bubbly and crusty wood-smoked pizza just light the Unni fire and grill one in under three minutes!
The Bespoke Dr Dre Beats Pro Headphones will bring a spark to music, thanks to the 3,500 individual Swarovski crystals encrusted on them. But don’t let the dazzle of crystals take away from the quality which has a shine of its own. They are one of the most in demand headphones for DJs and serious music lovers. A kind of a reference headphones designed by hardcore professionals for hardcore music lovers.