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Tech

Just in: Pinnacle Stylus smartphone

Spice launched the new smartphone today. Among other things, you get a year’s Evernote premium subscription free with this phone.
by Manik Kakra

Spice launched its new Pinnacle Stylus smartphone today. The phone runs on Android 4.2, along with Spice’s proprietary UI on top. Boasting a 5.5-inch 720p screen, this phone is powered by a 1.2 GHz chipset as well as 1 GB of RAM. This dual-SIM (GSM + CDMA) smartphone is equipped with 8 GB of internal storage (expandable up to 32 GB), FM radio and 2,500 mAh battery.

Pinnacle StylusOne of the things worth noting is that you get a year’s Evernote premium subscription free with this phone. That’s a nice new touch, especially considering how popular Evernote is getting today for mobile devices.

As the device’s name suggests, you also get a stylus with the phone. Using Skitch, you can draw, annotate, and take tiny notes with the Stylus. The phone features an 8 MP (AF) camera on the back, which can do HD videos at 30 FPS; while the front has got a 2 MP camera. Connectivity-wise, the Pinnacle Stylus has got Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi tethering, A-GPS, and microUSB.

“This phone is powered with Evernote and Skitch, which makes the phone even more interesting and allows users to visually communicate more effectively than ever. The phone also comes pre-bundled with Evernote, which helps individuals save their thoughts, ideas and all they want to remember, thereby making them more organised and productive. With the new smartphone, we aim to satiate the consumer needs with the best-in-class technological innovations,” said the company’s CEO,  TM Ramakrishnan.

The phone has been launched at a price of about Rs 15,990, and comes with a leather case. Looking at Spice’s recent activities, it’s clear that they are getting more serious about their Android line-up. It won’t be easy with so many OEMs in this range, but there is definitely a lot to which could be done to get a very good smartphone at this price point.

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Do

Walking for tigers, from Tadoba to Mumbai

The Tiger Cyclo-Walk, an initiative to create awareness about the Bengal Tiger and a respectful nature-human relationship, is inviting participants.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

We all talk of conserving the environment and we feel especially terrible about the dwindling numbers of our national animal, the Tiger, but how about walking the talk? Literally?

Come December 14, 2013, you could be part of a unique ‘Tiger Cyclowalk’ that winds its way from the highlands of Tadoba and lands in Mumbai by February 10, 2014. The walk will traverse a distance of about 1,200 kilometres and will travel through major cities and towns such as Chandrapur, Igatpuri, Malegaon and Thane before ending at the Arabian Sea.

Sunil JoshiSo what’s it about, really? “This is an educative movement to make the masses aware about the environment and tigers,” says Sunil Joshi (in pic on left), noted trekker, mountaineer and walker and CEO of The Great Outdoors, a Thane-based manufacturer of outdoor sports gear. Sunil conceptualised the initiative; he has walked 2,560 kilometers in Norway, from North Cape (Northern tip of Norway ) to Lindesnes (Southern tip of Norway) while he represented India for ‘Walk Norway Programme’. “We wish to spread awareness and help people in and around the State’s existing forests to protect the jungles. The plantation of more and more Indian origin trees will balance the ecology. Protecting our wilderness will, in turn, protect the tiger,” Sunil explains.

Over a period of 60 days, Sunil and his team plus those who join the initiative will cycle and walk across the route and on the way, show films and slides about tigers and the environment in educational institutes and social organisations. “Apart from this, we will appeal to the local populations to accompany a lap on the cyclo-walk,” Sunil explains. “There will also be tree plantation ceremonies to boost awareness.”

The team hopes to amass a budget of about Rs 9,60,000 to include food, vehicle hire, fuel costs, communication, transport, team expenses, promotional items, educational expenses, tiger cyclo walketc. “We hope to get sponsorships and donations towards meeting our expenses,” Sunil says.

The think tank behind the initiative comprises Dr Susan Sharma, social entrepreneur, Phil Davis, founder of Tiger Awareness, Dr Sudhir Gaikwad Inamdar, wildlife enthusiast and medical practitioner, Amol Bais, social educator, Vivek Kulkarni, ecologist, Vasant Limaye, IIT engineer and educator, Shobhan Das, architect and Charuhas Joshi, Professor, Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai.

“We hope that masses will be made aware of the importance of preserving our environment and our tigers. This is just the beginning of the movement for saving tigers and forests,” Sunil asserts. “We will spread this movement in the near future by arranging five simultaneous cyclo-walks across India and Nepal.”

If you want to join the cyclo-walk, volunteer for the cause or sponsor a part of the project, contact Sunil Joshi on 9223319216/ 9869724929.

(Pictures courtesy Dr Sudhir Gaikwad Inamdar)

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Event

Navi Mumbai hospital celebrates World Arthritis Day

50 former arthritis and hip, knee replacement patients played garba at a special event organised by Sai Snehdeep Hospital, Koparkhairane.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Normally, one expects a person who has undergone a hip or knee replacement surgery to lie low. The last thing you would expect such a person to do is to break into a dance.

But a group of senior citizens, all between 65 and 80 years of age and all members of the Bone and Joint Support Group of the Sai Snehdeep Hospital, Koparkhairane, proved this idea wrong. On Friday, World Arthritis Day, about 50 men and women from the group came together for a garba night organised by the hospital.

Patients play garba The hospital feels that such initiatives help patients bond together to share and learn from each other so as to lead a normal life even after undergoing complex bone and joint surgeries. Said Dr Ruchika Sood, “The objectives of the support group is to provide a bonding platform to all our rehabilitated patients. It also offers proper support and guidance to pre-operative and post-operative patients with knee and spine problems. Some of the major initiatives of these groups include physiotherapy session, special consultation, investigations and health check-ups, and regular sessions on knee and spine and related physiotherapy by experts.” 

The participation of the members was spontaneous and a great time was had by all. Said former patient Raksha Shah (82), “My knee arthritis was so bad that in spite of all conservative measures, my activity levels were restricted. I never considered surgery as an option in view of my age. Also, my relatives used to tell me that knee replacement  may not be for me. But I attended a meeting where orthopedic surgeons lectured us on specialised knee replacement techniques. Today, a few years after the operation, I have a full and active life.”

A patient of knee replacement, Menka Singh, said, “We are not a group that will sit idle even if we are post the age of 60. After my surgery, I feel motivated and fit enough to compete with teenagers in today’s garba evening.”

This initiative is aimed at creating awareness for getting back to healthy and active life post  joint surgery, with appropriate cure and rehabilitative care. Orthopedic surgeons Dr Rajesh Badiyani, Dr Sachin Kale, Dr Kuldeep Tamboli, Dr Amol Wagmere, Dr Atul Kharat and Dr Virendra Pal Singh are involved in this initiative.

 (Pictures courtesy Sai Snehdeep Hospital) 

 

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Tech

Preview: Spice Mobile’s AndroidLand Store

The country’s first Android store opened this week. The store’s fun and engaging concept was developed in collaboration with Google.
by Manik Kakra

Spice Mobile, one of India’s leading mobile companies, opened the country’s first AndroidLand store in Noida’s The Great India Place recently. The store houses Android devices from Spice, Lenovo, Samsung, LG, HTC, Karbonn, Sony, LAVA and Micromax, along with a variety of accessories for your device. Google is reportedly helping in training staff for more such stores in order to give a user improved experience and know-how.

Spice Mobile AndroidLandThe store also has free WiFi access for users to download and check apps on their Android device, as well as get their queries related to the OS answered there and then.

“We are confident customers will love the fun and engaging store concept that we developed in collaboration with Google. We have created a destination for customers to experience Android technology and learn about what they can do with mobile Internet. Spice has always believed in constant innovation in retail and with this launch we have kept our promise of bringing many ‘firsts’ to India”, in the field of technology retailing,” said Dilip Modi, Co-Founder and Group CEO, Spice Global.

While it is good to see such initiatives in the market, especially considering we might soon get Play Store gift cards in India, it would be interesting to see how well these stores compete against these companies’ own and other retail stores. The company has also opened a bigger store in Bangalore.

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Watch

‘Maazii’ gets a second chance

Small film gets a re-release in the absence of a biggie doing well at the BO; releases today in multiplexes.
by Rachel Tseng

With several small and big films releasing at the box office every week, a second chance is not something that is granted to many. The fear of failure dogs many a filmmaker, actor, producer and distributor every Friday. And though it is possible to recover one’s investment in a film by way of satellite rights and sale of music, DVDs and other media, it is the public’s and critics’ response that actually sets the tone for things to come.

maazii film stillWhile some films achieve success through their content and star power, there are others that don’t boast of a popular star cast, but have a good story to tell. The film Maazii falls into this second category – made on a minimalistic budget with lots of hard work and hope.

Maazii was released on September 27, 2013 after negotiating show timings and numbers of screens. Starring Sumit Nijhawan and Mona Wasu, the film opens in a setting that has no respect for the law and even less for those who uphold it. But released with minimum publicity, booked with less shows and screens, it was quickly replaced by a big banner film boasting a power star cast.

But the last few Fridays have not been kind to big budget films, with the likes of Phata Poster Nikhla Hero and Besharam faring very poorly at the BO. With Besharam doing badly, and as per the contract between multiplexes and film distributors, if a film does not cross a particular box office collection, they have the right to reduce the number of shows and screens in the second week. Hence, small budget movies like WAR – Chhod Na Yaar and Baat Bann Gayi are getting more shows and screens. Even Phata Poster Nikhla Hero is being shown in theatres again.

In the past, Rang De Basanti was re-released due to the phenomenal audience clamour for it; so was Fukrey, in Delhi. But this is probably the first time that a small film with an unknown star cast has got a re-release.

 

Maazii, which had been noticed by critics and liked by those who saw it, re-releases today, October 11, in multiplexes across India. It will have 60 shows across India, with six in Mumbai.

Lead actor and writer Sumit Nijhawan is ecstatic at the news. “From a state of disillusionment, I see hope that at least the hard work put in by the entire team will reach some quarters Maaziiof the audience. Cinema is a beautiful medium and it should stay democratic,” he says.

Producer and director Jaideep Chopra says, “I am happy to have the support of the people who believed in the film and liked it. With the re-release, the film will be seen by the people it has been made for.”

The makers agree that with no famous cast in tow and minimum publicity – this movie does face the challenge of drawing in the crowd. But the fact that it got a second chance to be seen at all certainly needs to be celebrated.

I’m not saying this is a great film and that everybody should see it – though every film critic has given this film a thumbs-up. I just feel that often, we – the audience – are lured to the silver screens by jazzy songs and promos, we land up paying big bucks to watch really bad films featuring stars, and what do we get? Besides, the power play that big films indulge in – block booking screens across the country so that no other film is seen, wrangling the maximum profits out of distributors, etc. – ensures that many films either do not get released or are not seen by most people. Maazii does have its work cut out, but it would be great if other small films also get a similar second chance – and not just when the big films crash.

(Pictures courtesy www.indiatvnews.com, skjbollywoodnews.com, indiatoday.intoday.in)

Categories
Event

World Cerebral Palsy Day observed in Mumbai

Actor Ayushmann Khurana flags off event that sees participation from about 150 CP-afflicted children and 500 adults at Bandra today.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

A lifelong disability that affects movement and intellectual capability, cerebral palsy (CP) is a complex motor disorder that affects 17 million people across the world. There are 17 million people across the world living with CP. Another 350 million people are closely connected to a child or adult with CP, which is the most common physical disability in childhood. Its impact can range from a weakness in one hand, to almost a complete lack of voluntary movement.

Ayushmann Khurana at the eventWhile there is no permanent cure for the disorder, some efforts can be made to improve the quality of life of people suffering from it. For example, in people with debilitating upper limb spasticity, incessant muscle contractions can be controlled by injecting onabotulinumtoxin, popularly known as ‘Botox’ into the affected muscles, in addition to physical therapy and other rehabilitation measures.

Hundreds of people came together in Mumbai today as part of an initiative to offer support and ideas to differently-abled people and make this world a better place for them. Lending a voice to the initiative was Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurana, who participated in the programmes organised by the Indian Academy of Cerebral Palsy to mark the World Cerebral Palsy Day today.

As part of the day-long initiative, over 500 adults and 150 children came together to participate and lend support to the DSC02691differently-abled people through words and ideas. The day began with a carnival walk by children, starting from Bandstand and culminating at St Joseph School, Bandra, where the rest of the activities for the day included a trade fair and fun fair. To celebrate academic and vocational success of differently-abled people, awards were also given out in different categories.

“Cerebral Palsy is a very common motor disorder that makes life extremely difficult for those living with it. We need to make the world more sensitive to their needs and conditions and encourage them. Sensitivity comes with awareness and the latter is something which needs to be generated. World Cerebral Palsy day is an initiative to make people living with the disorder feel normal yet special as also it is an effort to make other people aware of their conditions,” said Dr Taral Nagda, Director of Cerebral Palsy clinic at Jupiter and Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai.

(For information on how cord blood can help in the prevention and treatment of cerebral palsy, click on http://www.viacord.com/why-bank)

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