Manikarthik.com

Loved this video, and can’t agree more.

I’m not trying to be pessimistic about it. In fact, the Tata Nano has given us more reasons to get excited – in all ways.

Now, that Tata Nano is out soon, and the bookings have started people are breaking out of the “dream bubble” and has become thoughtful about the reality more than the hype. Or so am I to believe from the comments seen here. People have expressed their concerns over the Tata Nano car being a problem rather than a solution.

Some of the raised questions are, whether the Indian roads can hold so many cars, so much that one Nano for each ? I don’t want to guess the numbers here nor do I want to believe that every person who has 1 Lakh rupees will buy the car. But if at least the traffic increase by 5% due Tata Nanos I’m sure it will only make the situations worse on the roads.  Of course, not so much that it becomes manic, but considering the fact that we Indians have our own judgments and rules that we can maneuver even a limo on M.G Road quite easily, its definitely worth a thought.

Traffic problems have always been there and whether the Nano is out on the roads or not is not a problem. We will still love the huzzle and buzzle of traffic even with our bikes out. But Nano certainly looks like a “problem creator” for other players like Maruti and small segment cars.

So that means, even if the Nano cannot make a big impact on the roads, may be when others cut their prices closer to 1 Laksh,(which is most likely possible) it does mean something. More cars > More traffic > Less parking space > More honking !

I dunno, may be I’m just getting overly sulky. But I definitely don’t like traffic jams, be it Nano or otherwise.

( P.S – Last day on M.G.Road Cochin, I spotted a limo version of Scorpio (or something similar couldn’t make out) pass by. Wah ! I must congratulate that guy whoever is in the driving seat. If I had been in his position, I would straight away ride it to my car porch, without stopping anywhere. I cannot even if I wanted to.)

We’ve been living in a wired world quite a bit long. Or so does these chaps believe. The guys at MIT have developed a new breathtaking technology. Wireless Electricity, from one point to another with no wires or cables connected. And they’ve taken care of the safety issues too. Check out this video.

Can’t wait for this one.

Mac is cool, very cool. But for certain things you need a PC. (Sounds like the Mastercard Ad?)

I’ve been doing all my work on the Mac and Toshiba laptop until now, but thought I need more babies. So got hold of this “black beauty” from HP. This guy is solid, stylish all black and very contrasting to the Mac.

Super cool to run all those design soft, theme testing, playing games and inserting all those data cards and USB’s (It’s got a so called Bay Area where it can hold all those data cards – very cool !).

The monitor is a separate entity – 19 inch widescreen, perfect for all those design work. And also I’ve added a pair of Creative speakers, that too black – Now here is a tiny constellation “all black” and shining. Heh !

Or let’s say why didn’t you buy the beauty yet ? Is this true?

Let me tell you a little story.

Vodafone had the “booking” started long before the actual release date right ? And this was much “perceived” to be the “strategy to curb the uncontrollable demand” for the iPhone.

Interestingly, I visited the cochin office on Aug 22nd to check how things are heating up. And to my surprise (underline that) the guys were totally confused about the whole thing. They had no brochures, no details and pathetically no clue of the features available on the iPhone. All they had was the data plans to study.

I thought (well from the talked about discussions) that there would be a guy who would’ve been “taught” how to handle a iPhone customer.

I expressed my interest in buying an iPhone (disguise let’s say) and they were indifferent to it.

“Oh..ok sir..pls give me your number I’ll call you back (this guy must be crazy)” – Said and thought the representative.

Clearly, there were no bookings made, no training given to the staff, and it just cemented my guess that this is a case study for “How not to ape a business model for totally dissimilar environments”.

And then the “price” happened. Kaboom! There you go – iPhone in India is history, a failed product.

All those jail breaks and grey market winners out there..salutes to you, you guys are clever!

Check the stats and reports like this one here.

And I wonder where did all the “iPhone supporters” go ? Did you guys get a discount or something ?

iPhone is launching in India on August 22, through Vodafone and AirTel. Good thing, even though late! And for all the people who booked it, let me tell you, this is going to be an utter disappointment, but they WONT agree to it.

A quick look into the features.

Vodafone iPhone features
Assisted GPS
Applications support
Greater Autonomy (what’s that?)
Microsoft Exchange

AirTel iPhone features
GPS Maps
Applicatons
Microsoft exchange

Both AirTel and iPhone are promising HTML browsing, but that does not make any difference. Does it? In India you don’t have 3G technology.(AirCell provides it in Chennai, and testing is going on in certain places.)

Why you shouldn’t buy the iPhone in India(Or why it will be a disappointment)

1. No mp3 support/songs if not through iTunes. Indians would definitely want the bollywood numbers playing. Big disappoint here.
2. No video support. (What happens to all the MMS scandals?)
3. Not a good camera, just average (hmm…hmm so you flash your iPhone and your peer having the samsung mobile shows you better pictures. ouch!)
4. In India, no phones escapes the “scratches”. Get ready with a real good scratch free cover.
5. If you want to change the battery, you better take an insurance for the phone, because you got to send it over to the US, to get it replaced. (Imagine the cost involved)
6. Drop your iPhones and get ready for a heart break !
7. Do you like MMS? Sorry mate, no support on the iPhone.
8. Okay so you can browse websites eh? Did you know that flash isn’t supported on it? Booohoo…
9. You can send pictures as attachments on email yeah? But only one at a time baby!
10. Want to wile away time waiting for the train/bus/plane? Sorry. No games. This is for serious folks only!
11. No SMS forwards..No cut and paste. Means no jokes shared, no texting business.
12. It is “reported” to be heating up pretty quickly. But don’t believe me for it – use it to know.

So all the best folks !

(P.S – No misunderstandings, I’m no Apple hater. I admire Steve and possess a Mac.)