Lots of time on my hands

Innovation and the Book

2012-02-12T21:02:00.000+05:30

Just the other day, I was going through the Brand Equity supplement of “The Economic Times” (Yeah, I do read it ... sometimes), on the last page there were a list of bad advertisements this year. I agreed with some of the items on the list, disagreed with some, but nevertheless, that list got me thinking: “Why do advertisements fail ?”, “Where do these Ad Men go wrong ?”, “What has and can be done to stop such a disaster from happening?”.

Luckily, I did not have to look too far or too long for an answer. There was another article on another page of the same issue which, in effect states: “The fear of failure is choking innovation”. Ad makers are sticking to what they know to be safe options rather than venture out into the unknown, preventing innovation and creativity which are the very pillars of marketing. The article talked about when the medium of TV advertisement first came into being. People initially thought of it as “radio with pictures” or “print ads with sound (and motion)” and advertised accordingly. Only when people started thinking of TV as a completely different entity, were they truly freed of their shackles and began truly utilizing the immense potential it had. People came to the TV with all sorts of crazy ideas, some of them became instant classics, many tanked miserably. But these failures are the ones that taught the industry much more than the successes ever would. In any creative and innovative industry, failures are a fact of life and we have to learn to embrace them, accept them, learn from them and finally move on.
That is the business we, as marketers are in, the business of venturing out in the unknown.

After people came to embrace the media of TV advertisements, came the reign of internet advertising. The industry has just come to terms with it when we are faced with a new challenge :– The era of social marketing has dawned. With the emergence of FaceBook, twitter, YouTube and other social networking media, we find that the promotion of a product is lesser and lesser in the hands of a marketer and much more in those of the customer. Twitter, not just a social networking site, but an entire new medium in itself, has greatly changed the way people communicate. Companies are quickly jumping the bandwagon to utilize these new media, but we have seen many a company burn their hands while trying their inexperienced hands at these new tools.

In these rapidly changing times, how relevant has classroom education and books remained? The 4P’s marketing mix model is more than 50 years old, Porter’s Five forces model more than 30, the Value Chain concept 25. Do any of these concepts have any significance in today’s market? Ask any marketer and he will always refer to the book – the one we marketers have come to lovingly call as “The Kotler”. Even when you look into “The Kotler”, you will see concepts, guidelines and steps to undertake any activity, but most importantly, there are cases and example of companies, who did not stick to these guidelines, went above and beyond what was expected and emerged as market leaders. So that’s what these books teach us – not what has to be done, but the very minimum base guideline of what must be done. We have to know the rules of the game, before we can rise to challenge them. And for learning these things what we need to do is not just learn to love “The Kotler”, but to go above and beyond that – industry analysis, brand analysis, ad analysis, case studies. We should learn from the successes and failures of those who came before us

Only by learning what has already been done can we be true to our field as marketers – that is to ‘do something different’, to be creative, to innovate…

NOTE : This article was published in the inaugural issue of the marketing magazine of my college, "MAGMA"

Samgsung Note GiveAway by TechCular

2011-11-29T20:16:00.001+05:30

So the guys over at TechCular are having a give away contest for of Samsung Galaxy Note.

If any one is interested in entering the competition and having a chance to win one, just head over to http://www.techcular.com/samsung-galaxy-note-giveaway/

A student again...

2011-08-05T23:29:00.000+05:30

So, today is my last day at my job at Fortune 4 Technologies and I'm soon to embark on a life changing journey of self-discovery and learning as I join for MBA studies at Sydenham, Mumbai...

Located bang middle in the heart of the financial capital of Mumbai, right next to Marine Drive, you can almost taste the sea in the air. The hushed footsteps, the saltiness in the air, the rich heritage of the location, the air of professionalism that surrounds the place.. it all screams - "I have Arrived !!!"

8 AM to 8 PM + 3 1/2 Hrs of travelling , 7 days a week, including Sundays and Government Holidays, This is either the start of a beautiful new chapter of my life, or I'm going to be ROYALLY SCREWED!!! Here's hoping for the former...

Best of Doodle God

2011-07-15T21:24:00.001+05:30

So I've been busy playing Doodle God for the past couple of days. Apart from the innovative and interesting gameplay, one of the most notable features of the game are the witty quotes that come along every time you create some element.

I've decided to post here, some of my favorites...

An alcoholic is someone who you do not like who drinks as much as you do. - Dylan Thomas (Alcohol)
There can be no ugly women, there can only be not enough vodka - Russian Saying (Vodka)
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse get the cheese - Unknown (Worm)
If it weren’t for electricity we’d all be watching television by candlelight - George Gobel (Electricity)
Half-truths are like half a brick – they can be thrown farther. - Hyman George Rickover (Bricks)
Medicine is the only profession that labors incessantly to destroy the reason for it's existence - James Bryce (Medicine)
A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it - Bob Hope (Bank)
I feel sorry for those who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day - Frank Sinatra (Hangover)
Money is a poor man's credit card - Marshal McLuhan (Credit Card)
The ant is knowing and wise, but he doesn't know enough to take a vacation - Clarence Day
The trouble with the rate race is that even if you win, you're still a rat - Lily Tomlin (Rat)

Do share some of your favorites...

who are Alice and Bob??

2011-03-26T23:52:00.000+05:30

Who are alice and bob?
That is the question...

The wikipedia article on the topic refers to placeholder names as : "words that can refer to objects or people whose names are either temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown in the context in which it is being discussed"

So.. to put it bluntly, Alice and Bob are our arbitrary heroes.

What other such arbitrary names do we use in our daily life?

Let's begin ( arbitrarily ) with : Alice and Bob - who are widely used names in the fields of physics and cryptography.
When it comes to legal documents and proceedings, the name most commonly used is John Doe, and lets not forget Jane, his female companion
And in mathematics, as we are all aware the, defacto name of an unknown variable is - x . ( the actual sequence in order of frequency of use of alphabets for naming variables is : x, y, a, b, z, c, p, q, r )
As far as words go, the most common name for a variable, function or constant is : "apple" ( http://drjim.0catch.com/hcii05-368-wordfrequency.pdf )
In the field of computing , the arch typical arbitrary words we use to represent variables, contants, functions or values when learning or demonstration concepts are foo and bar
And even before we move on to variables, who can forget the most common arbitrary string used the very first time we begin any programming language - "Hello, World"
Increasingly commonly, I've been not only seeing, but also adoptiong the replacement of foo and bar with "apple" and "sauce"
Andy Lester ( http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2004/03/the_worlds_two_worst_variable.html ) claims that the worst name most often used for a variable is - "data" . And the second worst ? - surprisingly enough : "data2"

And while we are on the topic of Alice and Bob, if you have time, you might want to read The Alice and Bob After Dinner Speech given at the Zurich Seminar, April 1984, by John Gordon, by invitation of Professor James Massey. ( http://downlode.org/Etext/alicebob.html ). It's a wee bit lengthy, but a nice humorous and light hearted attempt to understand the story behind cryptology's favorite heroes - Alice and Bob

Unanswered questions in life

2011-03-22T09:49:00.000+05:30

Why is it always much more fun to wear a full-sleeved shirt and then roll up the sleeves than to wear a short-sleeved one to begin with???

Is it the hard worker in us who like the fruit of his own labor ?

Is it the mad scientist in us who is always eager to re-invent the wheel ?

Is it the non-conformist in is who never likes things for what they really are ?

Is it the multitasker in us who likes the idea of having multiple options at our disposal ?

Birth of a new Japan

2011-03-13T10:41:00.000+05:30

Undoubtedly, we've all been glued to our TV screens and computer monitors for the last couple of days, this time around not for some celebrity gossip or for watching cute cats, but to get a glimpse of what's happening down in Japan. Thousands of lives lost, Millions of Billions worth of property losses, the landscape completely savaged by the waters, impending Nuclear threat.... Really makes one feel humbled before the power of almighty mother earth.

But, for a moment, lets keep all this sorrow aside and take an analytical look at what this means and what the future holds...

As horrifying the scene might be, you can consider it a bit of luck ( no disrespect meant ) that it wasn't some other nation which faced this situation. If that were the case, the death toll would have been exponentially higher. Japan was the best prepared nation to handle this kind of a situation - the extremely strict building laws, which require use of advanced techniques like hydraulic shock dampeners, base isolation pads and their carefully thought out contingency plans, their massive public awareness programs , 40ft tall sea walls- these all insured that the brunt of these disasters was drastically reduced.

But in spite of all these measures, the fact remains that Japan now lies in turmoil... people hurt, homeless a nation in distress. And think back to what happened the last time, the nation faced a crisis of this magnitude -

They rebuild - undauntedly and with a perseverance which shocked the world.
People like Akio Morita , Kiichiro Toyoda and countless others revolutionalized the world of manufacturing and made the "Made in Japan" tag, one to be revered and feared
They not only rebuild their nation, but also their civilization . With social reforms though out the country, they metamorphosed into a truly global village
The Japanese gave the world a lot a new things from fast bikes, reliable cars to compact computer storage to a whole new manufacturing philosophy(i'm talking of course about Kaizen and all that it signifies)
No body would have imagined what within 10-15 years, a nation of sword fighters, cherry blossoms and Geisha would completely transform the world of Technology

And that brings us back to the all important question --- what now?

Rebuild they will - that's granted, and so will they prosper.

Will they be able to root out the extremely strict traditionalism which many believe is holding them back ?

Will they ,once again, tilt the world of technology , which has been, in the last few years , tilting in the favor of the Americans ?

And what other seemingly impossible feats will they be able to achieve ?

Only time will tell. ..

One thing is certain - they'll surprise us beyond our wildest imagination.

And to tell you the truth, that makes me kind of nervous....

Different angles of the same problem

2011-02-04T16:53:00.000+05:30

I received this mail from a friend, thought I'd share it here :
---------------

A World wide Survey was once conducted by the UN. The only Question asked was:

"Would you Please give your Honest Opinion about Solutions to the Food Shortage in the Rest of the World?"

The survey was a huge failure because

In Africa, they didn't know what 'Food' meant!
In India, they didn't know what 'Honest' meant!
In Europe, they didn't know what 'Shortage' meant!
In China, they didn't know what 'Opinion' meant!
In the Middle East, they didn't know what 'Solution' meant!
In South America, they didn't know what 'Please' meant!
And in USA, they didn't know what 'the Rest of the World' meant!

Toyota proves why it's at #1

2011-01-08T20:36:00.001+05:30

Took a test drive of the Toyota Etios today. ( I don't really have much else to do now-a-days )

Toyota, relatively successfull in the MPV segment in India, was seeming just dipping it toes in the Indian markets for so long. And now it seems as though it has finally decided to jump into the competition with the Etios.

It is one helluva car to drive. I won't bore you with the technical aspects of it, but I would like to point out a few aspects which blew my mind away. No one expected it to be rough ended, but I was positively surprised by the amount of refinement in the cheapest Toyota yet. The vehicle is quite torquey for a petrol one.

No doubt it'll eat up its competition in it's class - sure to give the Dzire and the Manza a run for it's money. But, I actually find the Etios to be a much better car than the higher segment car Honda City. Though the City may lead when it comes to refinement and class, but the Etios knocks it down when it comes to pure drivablility. If the diesel variants and the hactchback variants are equally as good, I believe Maruti will have to pull off a real miracle to maintain it's position as market leader in India. The Etios is truly a car for India.

They even gave me a Toyota Etios branded cap. Toyota has finally discovered that these tiny insignificant gestures are exactly the way to win Indian hearts.

Soya on a pizza ??

2011-01-01T10:50:00.000+05:30

After a long time, I ordered from Dominos Yesterday. One of my orders were pizza mania singles.

Out of the four available toppings, three were always classic good ingredients : Onions, Tomatoes and Capsicums.. but the fourth one is always, shall I say, "Odd man out".

Shallots - Not even the juicy part, the leafy part.... So whenever I ordered pizza mania I always asked to substitute them with some other topping.. So when I called the other day, I was in for a surprise.. The'd finally scrapped shallots and added a new topping - Soya .

When you consider soya on a pizza, you'd normally think of bean curd or some other fresh form of soya.. NO, these guys decided to put little chunks of soya fibre on a pizza. It tastes like bull-crap ( I'm assuming ofcourse, I've no idea what bull-crap actually tastes like, but i'd bet it tastes very similar to a Dominos Soya Pizza Singles ). Even the dog just took a sniff and left it alone.

I would really like to meet the person who came up with the idea --- " Hey, you know those chunks of soya fibre, which have to be hydrated before they can be used in cooking because they don't taste good dry; Lets put them in an oven so that they get re-dehydrated and serve them to stupid-@ss customers who'd be paying us to do so..."

Say what you will... but this is FUN

2010-05-07T01:06:00.000+05:30

What:

Where:

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Send-off

2010-04-11T16:52:00.000+05:30

My college life has officially ended. And i'm fast heading towards being a full.fledged engineer.
I'm greatly indebted to my college for all the life lessons and all the good and bad times it has given me, not to mention all those amazing friends that have become cemented in my life for ever and ever.
My regards go out to Chirag, Ravi, Uttam, Sushil, Preeti, Kishor, Bhaskar and last but definately not the least Sampada for making my time here worthwhile. You all will be missed.

All this being said, I have to just say that i've never been happier to say good bye.

Life, here i come.

Return

2010-01-25T13:13:00.002+05:30

So it seems like i've been away for quite some time now.
But i'm back now

The winner stands alone

2009-06-19T14:09:00.002+05:30

So after travelling for a couple of weeks I was back home and I was getting bored. So I did something which, under ideal circumstances, I would never do. I borrowed a Paulo Cohelo novel from my dad to pass the time by.

The winner stands alone by Paulo Cohelo - to be honest this one wasn't half as bad as his other novels which I have read. Now don't take this wrongly ( and fan boys please don't come breathing down on my neck ). But I never seem to get around to understanding his stories. A friend once told me that this is because his stories have spiritual and moral values which I would never understand. That may be true and I do prefer stories which have storytelling values rather than any other kind of values!!

This story is about a love-burnt man (aren't we all ;) ) and his quest to get his ex-wife back from the grasp of her current husband by showing her just how much he loves her and the lengths he's ready to go for her. ( he fails ) Wrapped around a world of fame, glitz,glamour, fashion and of course the movie stars and the superclass and set amidst the Cannes film festival.

The time duration of the story is small, less than 24 hours. As a result the story doesn't really progress much, but the author has done a great job at narrating what goes on in the character's minds rather than in the real world. With lots of back history about each character ( even those which are going to be killed off minutes later ) and very insightful views about the back-stage happenings about their line of work ( which is where the author's research really shows ), the reader connects with each and every character. But the flow of the story leaves something to be desired. The ending ,especially, seems to be haphazardly put together. Some people may blame the duration of the story for that, but I believe it to be the culprit as there have been novels which have been quite as insightful, with equally livid characters and quite as short durations but much better storylines than this. Take for example "Airport" or "Evening News", both by Arthur Hailey.

But it would be wrong on my part not to acknowledge the positive parts of the book. The book is very insightful. It tells us a lot about the world of glamour as to what exactly goes on in the lives of those who are a cog in that industry as opposed to what the world sees. The characters are very lividly portrayed, as a result a reader can connect with even the most minor of the characters. And the emotional/spiritual thoughts going on in every character's minds have been very nicely conveyed by the author.
But sadly, I'm not the kind of reader who is easily bought over by such things. I strongly believe that the engine of every novel should be the story itself, which is exactly where this novel fails.

So for those who are into such kind of stories would be overwhelmed by the piece of literature which is "the winner stands alone". But my personal advice would be to stay away from it.

Holiday in Goa

2009-06-11T10:14:00.003+05:30

Goa is truly a paradise on Earth. I've visited Goa a number of times now, but somehow, every visit is unique and exciting. I always get to see some new façade of this marvellous tourist haunt. But during this time of the year, the trademark beaches of Goa are not the places to go. The rains are coming down heavily and the waters are way too dangerous to wade onto.

So we looked at the other side of Goa. The truly beautiful Goa. We visited the hill stations in and around Goa, waterfalls, forts and much more. These places are far much more beautiful than the beaches for which Goa is well known throughout India and even abroad. And much much more so during the rains. The greenery, the fog, the chill, water trickling down waterfalls. This is the true beauty of Goa. To top it all, my movement in Goa was totally unrestricted as I took my dZire with me. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I drove for a total of almost 1700 kms from Bombay to Goa and back, and also within Goa.

Me, Adnan and Alok at Three Kings' Point

Safari : Off-Roaded

Hell, me and my friends even had an Off -Roading session wherein we put Priyesh's Safari through the worst nature could offer. It was totally soo much fun. I think I might be falling in love with SUV's - whom I usually despise.

For more pictures visit : http://www.flickr.com/photos/peekay5000/sets/72157619438345484/

Reg,
PeeKay

Ultimate oneliners

2009-06-09T09:06:00.002+05:30

I just got back from a trip to Goa and I'm too exhausted to write a decent post. So I'm going just pull out an old collection of jokes and onliners stashed somewhere on my hard drive and post them here.
I don't really remember where I got them from but I did see them on some website which had listed a few hundred of them and I kept my most favourite ones ..

Evening news is where they begin with 'Good evening', and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.
I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station..
Did you know that dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish?
Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.
Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer.
The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.
I like work. It fascinates me. I sit and look at it for hours.
Women may not hit harder, but they hit lower.
Just remember...if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

Caio,
PeeKay

Weekend in Baroda

2009-06-02T20:09:00.001+05:30

I've just come back from a visit to Chirag in Baroda... or for those who prefer the politically correct name - Vadodara . I really had a rockin' time there.

(From left to right ) Chirag Shah, Me, Ronak Patel and Shiven Singla

See full size | More Pics

Baroda is a real cool place ! Where else on the face of this third rock from the sun can you find monkeys and peacocks roaming around freely side-by-side alongside modern urban lifestyle. Not to mention, amazing food!!!!
The people are very relaxed and friendly. The climate is nice and cool ( compared to B'Bay ). I really liked the city.

And after touring the city, We headed off to Ronak Patel's ( good friend of mine ) farmhouse. We had a nice pool side party. I agree that the "pool" is much more of a "pond", but it still kicks @ss !! The party was extreme and went right into the wee hours of the morning.

Sadly, Chirag had to go off to work and I had to head off somewhere else, so I had to leave quickly, but I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Vadodara Baroda and I'm looking forward to go there soon again.

For more pics check out : http://www.flickr.com/photos/37329938@N03/sets/72157619056558249

Reg,
PeeKay
in total 'Party' mood

OMG!!

2009-05-25T22:44:00.000+05:30

OMG!! Looks like none of my posts have been published this month.

I decided to post by e-mail / mobile blogging this month. However it seems like everything just went to drafts rather than get published... And so apparently nothing was being posted while i was always writing posts regularly,.. i realy was ...

I know excuses are excuses, and i'll look into it that such things won't ever happen again.. I'm remedying the situation and publishing all the posts now.

Thanks to Jason_crazee for pointing this out. I.O.U.1

Reg,
PeeKay

Ocean's 40

2009-05-20T18:40:00.001+05:30

This is funny :

thanks to how it should have ended for a hilariously funny video

Reg,
PeeKay

Things the future generaion will never understand

2009-05-16T20:19:00.071+05:30

So I was viewing this blog post ( must visit ) , and I realised that, albeit funny, this is matter also has a very serious note to it.

And that is because it is true. It happens to be especially true in case of technologies. I'm willing to bet that a very few of us may remember things like betamax , 8 tack tapes , Commodore 64 , Laser Disc , flash bulbs with flash powder or even the Morse Code and Telegraph services and many more important technological landmarks which were around just about a couple of decades back. With such technological breakthroughs being left completely obsolete and completely forgotten, how long will it be when modern technology may be no longer remembered.

Imagine what a time it would be! One might get to see optical mice not at the latest computer stores but in museums. Media's like the CD which are already dying fast will be long forgotten in just a few years. Newer technologies like DVD's and Blu-Ray discs are bound to have even shorter life spans. But from an engineering point of view, is it really a good thing forgetting these basics of technology. A classic example of this is the Laser Disc. Ever since the Laser Disc was invented, there hasn't been mush development in fundamentally different modes of storing data. The CDs, DVDs and the now recent Blu-Ray discs are basically just improvement on the LaserDisc. The laser disc has basically just been scaled down and more information has been crammed into it by packing it closer together.

As i say this I am remembered of a scene in the Jurassic Park movie. You might remember Jeff Goldblum's character - Iam Malcolm - saying ,in effect, that when we don't understand technology, when we don't respect the basic technology, technology won't respect us. So I wonder, will someday, this all come back to bite us right in the *ss ...

Reg,
PeeKay

Ian Malcolm : The problem with scientific power you've used is it

didn't require any discipline to attain it.  You read
 what others had done and you took the next step.  You
 didn't earn the knowledge yourselves, so you don't take
 the responsibility for it.  You stood on the shoulders
 of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you
 could, and before you knew what you had, you patented
 it, packaged it, slapped in on a plastic lunch box, and
 now you want to sell it.

Jurassic Park ( 1993 ), Original story by Michael Crichton ( 1990 )

The images have been taken form Los Cuatro Ojos ( http://loscuatroojos.com / )

Accident!!!

2009-05-10T22:50:00.000+05:30

It's been a baaad day for my car.

Firstly, early in the afternoon, I back it into a pillar in a parking lot at a mall, completely damaging the rear bumper and boot lid. One of the tail lights cracks up too.

Then, when I'm manoeuvring through the tight streets in a village in Thane, some biker scrapes past it leaving a long full length scratch on the side.

And finally when I arrive back from some shopping, I find out that some street /stray dogs decided to climb onto the car whilst it was in the parking, laving their nail marks all over the bonnet, the roof and the boot.

I'm in soo much pain right now, I don't know what to do. I wonder how much of it will get covered under Insurance. I guess I'll just have to leave the dog marks for now and get the rest of the things done. It really has been a sad sad day for me. And what lesson have I learned form this :
Speed isn't the enemy, the lack of it is. ;) ( I've never have had an accident at high speed, all of my 9 or so accident experiences have been at low speed , or when completely stationary. )

POST NOTE : ( 7th May 2009 ) - Well today wasn't such a good day either. Some guy drove right into my vehicle while I was overtaking , just off the express way. :(( I feel like crying...

the rundown on 5800 and the iPhone ( 5800 vs iPhone )

2009-05-04T18:52:00.017+05:30

The two phones are an amazing piece of technology which are both unbeatable in their own class. So there is actually no real choice between the two as they both cater to people of different needs. While the 5800 may bowl one over with amazing usability and versatility, but then, when it comes to looks, ease of use and the style factor, not to mention the respect that comes with the "i", there is simply no match for the iPhone ( and may not be one in the near future )

With that out of the way, there are many difference in the two and I'm going to highlight the things that really matter to me :

Why 5800 is better than iPhone :

Pricing : At 32,00 INR the iPhone is almost double the moolah you pay for the Nokia 5800

Input : The 5800 features multi-input methods like single handed ( alphanumeric ), double handed ( full qwerty ) , plectrum ( mini qwerty ) and stylus ( handwriting )
The handwriting recognition really works and has since become my preferred choice of input because of its unmatched speed and accuracy. This is the first phone where handwriting recognition is actually a viable method of input and not just a fancy show piece.

Screen : The screen is admittedly smaller than iPhone, but by a mere 0.3 inches, But where the 5800 shines is in having excellent resolution ( 1.5 times the number of pixels as compared to the iPhone). What this translates to is ofcourse - breathtaking video playback !!

GPS : The GPS is not restricted to just online maps. You got preloaded maps with realtime voice assisted navigation . You can also see the raw GPS data. Not to mention third party applications which can tap into the GPS allowing you to make best use of the phone GPS in a number of applications like tracker, exercise manager and much more.

Camera : The camera features a higher MP rating. Though the major improvement is the dual-LED flash, video recording and secondary camera for video calling and self portraits. Also a Carl-Zeiss lens results in highly quality images ( Albeit, only in sufficient light scenarios ). Sadly, the iPhone doesn't even support video recording.

Video / Audio Playback : Support for a large variety of formats ( which can be easily extended by third party software ). Stereo FM is also supported. And as mentioned, the video playback is simply superb.

Ringtones : I can use mp3 files as ringtones, even video ringtones are supported. And I can also simply copy some files from my PC and use my own ringtones. This really beats the iPhone hands down where I have to pay to download new ringtones.

Bluetooth : The bluetooh functionality of the 5800 is very extended as compared to iPhone as it can be used to send files, vCard data ( contact information), supports stereo headsets, and i can also use it as a modem.

Memory : 5800 has a small inbuilt memory but comes with a 8gb external memory card which can be easily upgraded. The iPhone has the option of 8 or 16 gb, but no upgrade options available. The memory can also be used as a mass storage device to store your files upon, which is not possible in the iPhone

Other factors : The 5800 can be connected to a TV via the supplied AV out cables which is totally cool.
Also the support for 3rd party software is unparalled . This is further strengthened with the fact that the 5800 is binary compatible with Nokia's s60 v3 software.

Where the 5800 sucks :
( Why the iPhone is still the ruler )

The camera may support a higher resolution, but the camera is quite noisy in low light situations. The noise is reduced in the latest firmware upgrades, but it is still a standing issue.
The iPhone can be easily synced with your PC's music library, an experience which is not so good when it comes to the 5800.
The 5800 may be binary compatible with s60v3 software, but then such software is not optimized for use with a touch UI and can be a pain to use at times.
The 5800 available in India is a crippled one with certain features missing like sharing online with flickr and ovi.
The battery life of 5800 is extremely short. If you plan to use the GPS as a navigation tool, don't even dream to do it without a car charger. Although the claimed music playback time in 5800 is almost 10 hrs more than the iPhone, but then you are not going to be doing nothing but listen to music for 34 hrs!!!In fact, the only point where the battery of 5800 excels compared to the iPhone is in the fact that it is replaceable, so you could carry spare(s) in case of a long outing.
( As pointed out by Shikar, this may be a one-off problem with my battery, So standby while I check it out )
The user interface doesn't seem optimized for touch usage and as such it feels bit odd navigating around the phone especially with the double taps required at certain points. In comparison, the navigation in the iPhone is a breeze.
The looks of the phone and the UI both could use a makeover.

The verdict :
Does the Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic dominate over the all-powerful iPhone.
It's a resounding NO,
but Nokia with it advanced features and high availability of 3rd party extensions clearly dominates certain fields and as such with a few minor improvements like a better streamlined UI, cleaner camera ( image stability or maybe a larger surface area of CCD), and a reworked battery ; it would really take over the iPhone.

voting for a change!!!!

2009-04-30T15:12:00.001+05:30

The day's finally here...
Its time to vote..
...for the very first time ( for me ).
I read a particular blog just as I was about to leave for voting and I almost changed my mind against it.

Then my mind ran back to a couple of months ago... Me and a friend were driving along when we met in an accident. As luck would have it, the other driver involved was the son of a politician who happened to be in power. In spite of it being his fault, he raised a ruckus as summoned an group of people who just demanded that I hand him money. Even the concerned politician called me and threatened to beat me if I didn't pay up. When I suggested that he get the job done in insurance, he just would not listen and went ahead to procure a rod with which he threatened to wreck my car. After a long time and numerous threats ( and a whole lot of bargaining ) I had no other option but to pacify him with some money.

At the time I was very angered. All politicians are just the same , said I . Why should I vote for such thugs and mobsters ? And I decided never to vote again... It was another one of my friends who said - You may not vote, but it won't stop others from voting. Others like the people who brought the concerned politician in power.
And this is why I voted - I voted for a change - Not so much in favour of a particular politician for him to win, but against the others like the one whom I mentioned, so that people like him wouldn't come to power. I know every politician is pure evil, but given the options, isn't it our duty to choose the lesser of the two evils ?

Nokia 5800

2009-04-28T13:31:00.001+05:30

As I mentioned earlier, it was time for me to get a new phone and after a lot of research I finally got the new Nokia 5800. It's an amazing piece of technology which I feel is really destined to give Apple a run for it's money.

The touch screens is totally awesome. WiFi support is great - I can get Wi-Fi networks long after I've lost the range on my laptop. GPS receiver is sweet and the it has nifty built-in software for using it. Nokia maps come with preloaded maps on India, and they seem to be highly accurate. A 3 month subscription of Nokia's voice guided navigation system is also available. Even the multimedia capabilities of the device are great. The music player is the standard N series music player with playlist support. The 3.5 MP camera is also totally awesome. The multiple input methods ensure that I have a wide options while entering data so I can use which ever I find most comfortable at the moment. The handwriting recognition is soo sweet!!! It the most accurate one I've seen to date! And quite fast too. The pricing is also much more competitive compared to other phones I considered.

So how does it compare to the iPhone? Well I can't really tell you that truly without playing with this first. So I'll be spending some more time with this piece and I'll let you know of the verdict later.

Posted originally via my brand new Nokia 5800, edited later on a pc.

from Hyderabad to Shirdi

2009-04-26T17:57:00.001+05:30

I've just come back from an impromptu trip to Hyderabad with Alok. We were just sitting around doin' nothing when we hit upon the idea of going to Hyderabad, after all, it isn't too far away isn't it? Just about 11 hours by road from here, and Alok already has a home there. So, on just a few hours notice we couldn't possibly find a train ticket so we went there by bus. It was indeed an interesting journey.

I haven't got much to say right now as I've just got home, and I'll be getting ready, about a few hours of sleeping and dashing right off to Shirdi - another thing we thought of on the way back. I'll post more about my trips ( or should I just look at it just one single long trip ? ) when I get back.

Also, I got a new cell phone. I'll post about it whilst I'm en route to Shirdi - I'm looking forward to blog via my new phone.

Caio.