Month: October 2014

Categories
Tech

Review: Oppo N1 Mini

Android phones are getting smaller and smaller with each passing day. Oppo’s N1 Mini joins the bandwagon, but not very convincingly.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Coming up with small-sized devices seems to be the trend in the Android space for quite a few months. We have seen HTC, Samsung and now Oppo launching small variants of their previous flagships, but so far only Sony has been able to nail the concept. Many companies are unable to match the experience in their small package, citing price as the factor. Oppo’s N1 mini is the company’s latest smartphone that is touted, as per the name, the N1’s variant for those who want a smaller device. Let’s see how good this phone is.

Oppo’s N1 mini (N5111) looks and feels a lot similar to the original N1. With dual silver linings running across the frame, thick bezels around the screen, rounded edges, and smooth plastic back, the phone feels decent to hold, even for large hands. With a swivelling camera module on the top and a curved bottom, there’s enough to say it’s the N1’s less-than-behemoth variant.

The swivelling module also houses the two sensors, but there’s no LED notification on the phone, something that became standard on Android phones long time back. The three navigation buttons – Menu (Options), Home and Back – get illuminated when pressed, but are not too bright.

Coming to the bottom, you have the loudspeakers, microUSB port and 3.5 mm headset connector all neatly placed. The right side panel has the volume rockers; while the Power/ Lock button is located on the other side. Even though this is a ‘mini’ phone, it is hard to see it being a relatively compact phone and that has lot to do with the phone’s thick bezels. Oh, and our unit is a unique mint colour, which looks nice.

The phone boasts a 5-inch (1280 x 720) LCD that is the USP of being smaller from the 5.9-inch one the N1 has. The screen is actually really bright with good colour contrast and viewing angles. You will mostly struggle to use it under sunlight, unless switched to the highest brightness, but on the other hand, it’s capable to be used for watching HD videos, playing games.

Talking about the phone’s battery life, the 2.140 mAh battery unit the phone comes with is, if used moderately, can last about 20 hours, but when used heavily, struggles to power the screen. You can stretch it to a day if not used for watching videos, playing music, or by using the in-built Power-saving mode, but battery life was short of being impressive.

Regarding the audio quality, the loudspeakers at the bottom are quite loud and punchy for videos and even games, provided you are okay with the placement while holding the phone in landscape orientation. Similarly, the N1 mini’s in-ear quality with the bundled headsets is also satisfactory. People used to bundled headsets should find the quality to be pretty good.

The phone’s 13 MP (f/2.0) camera is another of its USPs. Its swivelling mechanism is smooth to use and doesn’t feel like it will break anytime soon. Here are a few sample images

As you can see, the phone can take good photos. Though it struggles in low-light and close up photos, you can take decent shots in daylight. The native camera app is also similar as before and is simple to use and work around. You can try HDR, which works well, but the camera at times struggles to focus properly. For those taking lots of selfies, this camera should be more than capable.

Call quality and network reception on the phone are top-notch. There’s no trouble with these basics throughout my usage, with no network issues, strange call drops or call’s sound.

Connectivity options – WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, and GPS – all work without a glitch.

The phone is powered by a Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400 SoC along with 2 GB RAM. It runs on Android 4.3 with Oppo’s own Color OS 1.4 on top. It is a bit disappointing that the phone is yet to get upgraded to Android 4.4 despite it being out for months, plus, there’s no official word of when the phone is expected to be updated.

The overall look and feel of the OS is very similar to what we had on the N1 and Find 7. With the O-Click accessory and a few gestures we have already seen on the company’s previous phones, the company tries to stand apart, but doesn’t really succeed in doing so. At times, your gestures come in the way of usual navigation and get annoying when not required. The phone is no slouch, however. It can handle games and high quality videos well, with almost no lags or stuttering while going in between apps or switching between them. The OS feels polished, smooth to use and is definitely a strong point for Oppo. The company has surely done a great job with its Color OS, and it continues to show with the N1 mini. With two Home screens by default and separate panes for images and for when you have your headsets plugged in, you can edit and customize them just like any other Android phone.

In conclusion, the N1 mini has two shortcomings – its high price (over Rs 26,000) relative to other phones today and its outdated software. On the other hand, its camera, screen and performance are on course. If only Oppo gives the phone its deserving software update and maybe a needed price cut, this could then only be a very competitive smartphone in the Indian market.

Categories
Event

Dan Brown’s coming to lecture in Mumbai

‘The Da Vinci Code’s bestselling author will present a lecture for fans at the NCPA in November. Registrations open today.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

He captured the world’s imagination with his edge-of-the-seat thrillers The Da Vinci Code, Angels And Demons and Inferno, and now, Mumbai will get to meet the author of these bestselling books, Dan Brown.

Dan is set to visit Mumbai and meet his fans in November 2014, at a lecture event organised by Crossword Bookstores. This will be Dan’s maiden visit to India, and he will be present for the Penguin Annual Lecture series. One of the most prestigious cultural events of the year, the Penguin Annual Lecture series features some of the world’s most respected leaders, thinkers and writers. It is the first annual lecture to be organised by a publishing house in India and has become one of the most prestigious cultural events on the calendar.

The five previous Penguin Annual Lectures have been delivered by journalist and writer Thomas Friedman in 2007, diplomat and writer Chris Patten in 2008, Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen in 2009, eminent historian Ramachandra Guha in 2010 and renowned spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2011.

Announcing the event yesterday, Kinjal Shah, CEO, Crossword said, “We are delighted to be hosting the lecture by Dan Brown. He is one of the finest international authors and we are happy that Crossword is one of the few bookstores to organise an event of this scale for his Indian readers.”

The lecture will be held at NCPA on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at 7 pm. However, registration for tickets begins today, October 29, 2014 at Crossword Stores across Mumbai. 

(Picture courtesystatic.guim.co.uk)

Categories
Deal with it

Training parents of children with autism

Most therapies centre around treating autistic children. This centre, the only one in Mumbai, trains parents to deal with autism.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It’s a cosy space located very close to Khar railway station, and at first glance, the hustle and bustle doesn’t reveal much of what goes on behind its doors. Frankly, SAI Connections initially seems like any other place that would counsel and house autistic children for a few hours every day, much like other therapy centres located all over Mumbai.

Then you get the chance to meet the centre’s director, Kamini Lakhani, and once she starts talking about what the Centre does and how it imparts training to parents of children suffering from autism, you begin to realise how simple and powerful the idea behind the Centre really is. Kamini says, “If you train a parent [of an autistic child to deal with autism], you’re training them for life. That training stays with the family forever.”

She should know. She and her husband, Anil, started SAI (which stands for ‘Support for Autistic Individuals) in 2004 for deeply personal reasons. “My older child, Mohit (in pic on left, with Kamini), was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old,” Kamini remembers. “I was completely devastated. I looked for information online and everywhere else. Then I gathered all the material I had collected and I remember flinging it in the doctor’s face, asking him how it was possible that such a bright, beautiful three-year-old boy could have autism…” she says.

After the initial phase of denial came slow acceptance. The couple was living in South Korea at the time, and made several trips to the US to get better services for Mohit. During this time, they truly began to receive an education about autism. “In the course of 15 years, I studied and trained to be the best teacher I could be for my own son,” Kamini says. She went on to become a board-certified Associate Behaviour Analyst, certified by the BACB (Behavior Analyst Certification Board), USA in June 2005. Four years later, she completed her RDI (Relationship Development Intervention) and is the only BCABA and RDI Program certified consultant in India.

She started SAI Connections in 2004 after moving to India in 2002. “I realised there was an urgent need for a Centre that would help not just autistic children, but also impart training to parents on dealing with the disorder,” she says. “Unfortunately, I still find that most intervention for autism in India happens at the level of special education and speech therapy – treatment for mental retardation. “Most people, even educators, have not heard of RDI for autism. We need to spread awareness about it to help the millions of children and their parents in the country,” she says.

What is RDI?

Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) is the process that ‘corrects’ the ‘feedback’ between an autistic child and the parent. “In a developing relationship, there is a ‘feedback system’ between the child and his parents. But with an autistic child, there is a breakdown somewhere. The child does not give feedback, so the relationship is skewed. As RDI consultants, we are trained to assess where this breakdown is, see how the parent is behaving,” explains Kamini. “This goes to the core of the issue and helps in normalising the relationship. We change what the parent is doing. This changes what the child is doing. Hence, we actually bring about a co-regulation in behaviour.”

“The disorder is hardest on those who are closest to the child – the parents,” Kamini explains. “Unfortunately in India, there is not much awareness about the symptoms of autism. Even teachers in schools are unable to spot the symptoms. A child suffering from autism is normally branded as a hyperactive, troublesome child by both parents and teachers.” She adds that their inability to socialise appropriately, their non-understanding or inability to interpret social cues and the fact that most of them can’t fit in with peers, sets them up for bullying in social settings. “We need to train schools and parents everywhere. Fortunately, we are slowly seeing that schools in Mumbai are getting more open to the idea of training teachers and hosting sensitisation programmes to deal with autistic children,” she says. The training, she says, needs to focus on dealing with aggression, or a change in behaviour.

What SAI Connections does

The Centre is an activity space for autistic children with active participation from their parents, and stresses on RDI. “We train them in art, cooking, vocational skills. There is also physical activity, a time set aside for music,” Kamini explains. “We have 25 special educators, one cccupational therapist, one speech therapist, five teachers’ assistants and a group of dedicated volunteers.” Parents must mandatorily be a part of the activities – they are invited to attend, be a part of the sessions or simply sit and watch. The Centre ensures transparency in functioning by involving parents in every step of the process, and every room has CCTV cameras that keep watch on all parts of the Centre.

SAI Connections has also, since last year, started a training programme for potential educators in RDI; this is a certification programme lasting over a year. “We have already trained four individuals, and many more have enrolled,” she says, adding that the programme involves training, working with families and providing consultations under supervision from programme directors, at a cost of about 9,000 USD per year. Kamini also receives many queries for online sessions and has already imparted training to individuals in Bangalore and Delhi.

“Ultimately, only proper training will help in a deeper understanding of autism. The numbers of autistic children are staggering, and so many more are not diagnosed yet. The biggest mistake people make is to think that children in the autism spectrum lack something. They are hugely capable individuals and we must never give up on them,” she says.

Connect with Kamini Lakhani at SAI Connections & SAI Child Development Center, 201, 2nd Floor, Bhagya Ratan Niwas, above Prabhu Jewellers, 3rd road, Khar (W), Mumbai. Call 022 2605 0992/ 26050991/ +91 98203 14925. Email sai.connections@ymail.com/ saiconnections01@gmail.com.

(Pictures courtesy SAI Connections)

Categories
Kharcha paani

Gold, mutual funds major draws for Indian women

A new ASSOCHAM survey reveals that the Indian middle class, especially women, relies on gold and mutual funds for investments.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Gold has always been a staple investment for Indians. Now, it is safe to add mutual funds to the list.

As per a new survey commissioned by ASSOCHAM (Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India), the country’s middle class families are investing in gold as a ‘reliable and stable’ bet, while some of them are also returning to the riskier option of the stock market, enthused by a runaway rise in the equity market in the last one year, especially after formation of the new Government at the centre.But gold appears to be a clear winner for the middle class and white collar salary-earning employees. Interestingly while jewellery remains an all-time favourite with women, a sizeable percentage of working women covered in the survey are fast moving to stock markets as well through mutual funds schemes like Systematic Investment Plans (SIP) etc, highlights the survey.Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewellery shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh

As per the survey, about 72 per cent of 1,200 respondents said they preferred gold as an investing option followed by shares and mutual fund schemes this Diwali, helped by extra earnings from bonuses. The survey included responses of all corporates and Government employees located in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Pune.Over 62 per cent of corporate employees in the survey preferred gold followed by shares and equities. The main reason for Government and corporate employees to foray into equities is the easy availability of advisory services by experts, reveal the respondents. “They are now focussing on investing in gold and stock markets rather than in traditional channels of investment like post offices, fixed deposit and PPF promoted by the Government,” said DS Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM, while releasing the paper.

However, nearly 21 per cent of employees surveyed said they still preferred the traditional routes of investments as they assured them of safe returns. The demand for gold is on the rise in the run up to the festive and the ensuing marriage seasons. “This explains a huge rise of 450 per cent in gold imports in September causing concerns among the policy makers while the Government is mulling import curbs again”, said Rawat.

Though some of the PSU banks and other State-owned gold importing firms have stopped promoting gold sale because of the Government’s advice to cut gold import and consumption, the sale of gold ornaments, coins and bars has picked up .While gold provides ready liquidity, it continues to be treated as a safe haven against inflation. Jewellers have also launched several discounts and freebies while those marketing cars, real estate are also offering gold coins, points out the survey.

 (Pictures courtesy archives.deccanchronicle.com, in.reuters.com. Images are used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Wellness

Mumbai youth organise four-day free medical camp

From cardiac to dental checkups, every testing is offered free for poor, BPL families, in partnership with Seven Hills Hospital.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Mumbai is teeming with Good Samaritans. One of these is Dr Shezanali Hemani, a south Mumbai-based young doctor, who, with a group of other youth, is organising and hosting a free four-day medical camp for Mumbaikars starting today, October 27, 2014. The camp is open to holders of orange or yellow ration cards only.

Shezanali HemaniSpeaking to The Metrognome, Dr Hemani (in pic on left) said, “I and a group of youth recently came up with the idea of revolutionising the health of the common people. Good health usually starts from early diagnosis, which most people don’t undergo. This means we miss the opportunity to nip a lot of diseases in the bud, and this neglect can sometimes even result in long illness or death. By diagnosing a disease early, we can go a long way in preventing and treating it.” He adds that people coming for consultation only need to get their current health reports along. “Plus, patients who are suffering a blockage or require a surgery or therapies like chemotherapy, radiotherapy, kidney transplant, hernia, prostrate or kidney stone will be treated for free,” Dr Hemani says.

Organised by the Khidmat-e-Azadar and Educare Foundation in association with Seven Hills Hospital, Andheri, the camp will  be a four-day affair at four different locations in Mumbai. The camp will provide a host of testing for blood pressure, blood sugar, ECG, 2D ECO, angiography, bypass, angioplasty, blood grouping, dental check-up and consultation for dental and cardiac problems. See chart below for schedule of camps:

Day/Date                    Venue                                                                                        Timing

27 October                      Malwani. Az Zehra Charitable Clinic, Chawl
No:14, Near Shankar Mandir, M.H.B. Colony,
(Monday)                    Gate no: 7, Gaikwad Nagar, Malad (W), Mumbai         10 am – 4 pm.

28 October                      Kurla. Shia Jama Masjid,
(Tuesday)                    Hallo pull, Kurla (W), Mumbai                                          10 am – 4 pm

29 October                      Mumbra. Roshni Apartment, Thakur Para,
(Wednesday)               Near Mumbra Police Station, Mumbai                            10 am – 4 pm

30 October                      Govandi Bada Imambada, Lotus Colony,
(Thursday)                   Shivaji Nagar Junction, Govandi, Mumbai                   10 am – 4 pm

Know someone who can avail of these camps? Call Dr Shezanali Hemani on +91-8956708222 or Sohel Ajani on +91-9029751888 for details.

(Pictures courtesy Dr Shezanali Hemani)

Categories
Overdose

What lurks behind child labour

It seems like an easy fix to rescue children from their workplaces. But who will put food on their plates?
Jatin Sharmaby Jatin Sharma | @jatiin_sharma on Twitter

The sheer size of this country never ceases to amaze me. No, I am more amazed at how ignorant we all are.

Call it a problem of numbers. After all, there are too many people to take note of, right? explains how we realise about one Indian among so many others only when that Indian’s face is splashed all over the news. Ask Kailash Satyarthi or anyone. I mean, the guy was doing his good work against child labour way before the Nobel Prize came knocking at his door, but had any of us heard of him? Nope. Now, of course, we’re so proud of him, we’re going on Liking and Sharing any and every news story that details his achievements.

Naturally, we’re now talking about child labour like never before. Suddenly, the little boy who brings us our post-lunch cup of tea grabs our attention. The little girl selling hair clips and other odds and ends on a Mumbai local becomes the cynosure of all eyes. The five-year-old leading his three-year-old sibling across the road in his torn rag of a shirt arouses sympathy from us. We stop to stare in sympathy at the little shoeshine boy on the footpath. ‘What will their future be?’ we ask ourselves before we get on with our lives. Some of us go a step further and rain abuses on the restaurant owner that hires children to wipe the tables or get glasses of water for customers.

But will merely rescuing children from their workplace solve a problem as big and as grave as child labour? Child labour doesn’t begin because people Child labour in Indiawant young children to work – though there are cads who hire children especially for their young age, in firecracker factories and sweatshops. Mostly, child labour is born when families have too many mouths to feed and too few hands to bring money home.

So while we’re busy taking selfies and tagging each other for ridiculous challenges, there are children watching us from afar, wondering if there will be food in their bellies that night.

We are only scraping the surface of the child labour menace in our country. Sure, it’s easy to get up and yell at the chaiwala who hires a chhotu to clean the glasses. We fail to understand the puzzled look in chhotu‘s eyes, who is probably thinking, “What’s his problem? Why is he making sahab fire me?”

So no matter how far our GDP grows or how many more people in the country learn to speak the English language, the fact remains that we are a country focussing on the lives of a privileged few while ignoring the cries of the distressed majority. When we bring economic reform, it cannot only be about bringing more money for businesses, but about putting some money in the pockets of the poor. It pains us when railway ticket prices are raised dramatically after 20 years, but when was the last time we stopped to think the effects of rising inflation on the homes of the poor?

I’m sure there’s no easy solution to the problem, but I believe the solution isn’t so difficult to come to terms with. Instead of stopping children from earning, we need a framework that invests in skill building and skills management, so that the chhotu cleaning glasses at a chaiwala‘s today can tomorrow get the chance to make something of himself.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who doesn’t want to grow up, because if he grows up, he will be like everybody else. ‘Overdose’ is Jatin’s take on Mumbai’s quirks and quibbles.

(Pictures courtesy business.rediff.com, mief.in. Images are used for representational purpose only)

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