Smartbuy Sept. 15, 2010

Smartbuy Business Line

G A D G E T S

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

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Unwind-asana At Shreyas Yoga Retreat Page 12

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BlackBerry Pearl 3G Sony OLED Walkman

WHAT’S HOT this week

Team Smartbuy Editorial Anushya Mamtora anushya@thehindu.co.in

Ketaki Bhojnagarwala ketaki@thehindu.co.in

Mahananda Bohidar mahananda@thehindu.co.in

S. Muralidhar muraliswami@thehindu.co.in

Design Bryan Gaughan aqua@thehindu.co.in

Balakrishnan designkbala@thehindu.co.in

Advertising Contact R. Diwakar ramdiwakar@thehindu.co.in

Up the wall Philips MCD Series

Web Advertising Contact N. Amarnath amarnath@thehindu.co.in

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The new series of wall mounted speakers from Philips come in two designs – MCD388 and MCD263. The speakers utilise Dolby Virtual Speaker, which provides a cinema sound experience without adding any additional speakers to the unit. They come with a digital wireless active subwoofer which reproduces deep bass with minimum distortion.

Both the Wall Theatres come equipped with USB support, SDHC card slots, an Mp3 link and an HDMI port. While the MCD388 pumps out 100W RMS, the MCD263 generates 60W RMS of peak power.

MCD388: Rs 16,999 MCD263: Rs 12,999

Pro display What N-Xt! Nokia X2 The latest from Nokia X series is the X2 with a 2.2-inch TFT display. The phone has a 5meg, Full-Focus camera with flash, background processing and a 4x optical zoom. The camera flash doubles up as a flashlight and the phone comes pre-loaded with exciting Java games and lets you access Facebook right from the home screen. Although the internal memory is only 48MB, it is expandable up to 16GB via microSD card. The handset is available in two colour options: black with red and silver with blue combinations.

To be announced

Smartbuy

Panasonic LED projectors

The new LED projectors from Panasonic, PT-LB1EA and PT-LB2EA, display images in the XGA (1024x768) resolution and have a brightness of 2,200 lumens and 2,600 lumens respectively. These display options make the projectors ideal for use in educational and professional presentations as well as for watching videos. Both models weigh only 2.3 kg which means you won’t have trouble shifting it across the room. The projectors also feature Panasonic’s patented Daylight View Technology which automatically enhances the projection image quality based on ambient light.

PT-LB1EA: Rs 48,000 PT-LB2EA: Rs 60,000

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Fully loaded

MSI F Series

The new F series notebooks from MSI come in sizes ranging from 14-17 inches, and feature the chocolate keyboard and Colour Print Film body. It comes with WiDi technology, that lets you view photos and videos on your TV with superior clarity and sound, wirelessly. Some of the models ship with the Intel Core i5 processor, and all models come with the GeForce GT 325M discrete graphics card with 1GB GDDR3 of display memory. MSI has teamed up with Dynaudio and THX for top of the line acoustics. Other features include a 1.3-meg webcam, 250-500GB hard drives and a HDMI port.

Rs 37,000-Rs 53,000

Storing it right

LifeStudio Mobile Plus

Plug in this little beauty from Hitachi and it starts syncing content from your personal computer. Not only the photos, videos, music and documents that you have stored in your PC or laptop, but the hard drive also detects files you might want from other sources like a connected USB storage device and even websites like Facebook, Flickr and Picasa Web Albums. The interface you get to work on is a ‘3D Wall’ display. The LifeStudio Plus houses an integrated 4GB USB key too where you can store specific files or folders you need and carry the key with you, while leaving the rest of your data safely stored at home.

Rs 6,100 (320GB) Rs 7,200 (500GB)

It’s magic!

Samsung PX2370

This LED monitor from Samsung is the first to support 100 per cent RGB. At just 16.5 mm thin, it comes with features such as Magic Lux and Magic Angle.

While Magic Lux corrects brightness by adjusting the intensity of illumination, thereby reducing strain on the eyes, Magic Angle offers the same picture quality from any viewing angle. The monitor is eco-friendly as well, with 40 per cent more energy efficiency compared to LCD monitors. It comes with a Magic Eco function which allows users to choose between 100, 75 and 50 per cent power consumption modes.

Rs 15,300

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SMARTPHONE review

Mother of all Pearls?

Mahananda Bohidar t a time when business phones have become synonymous with full-sized QWERTY keypads, trendsetter BlackBerry has come up with a pair of new compact candybar-style handphones.

Will BlackBerry’s latest Pearl 3G-enabled, new-age smartphones keep consumers happy despite the company being in the news recently for all the wrong reasons?

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First Impressions Branded their smallest smartphone yet, the Pearl 3G doesn’t have the usual BlackBerry form factor that you associate with the company’s handhelds. In a slim candybar design, the BlackBerry Pearl 3G is available in two

versions, the Pearl 9100 featuring a 20-key, condensed QWERTY keypad, and Pearl 9105, featuring a traditional, alpha-numeric one. We tested both the handsets for this review.

After ‘unboxing’ the BlackBerry Pearls, we noticed that the handsets are much smaller than a conventional BlackBerry and much lighter too. Only the icons and the menu remind you that you are holding a BlackBerry. The small size also is a huge turn on for those who always wanted a BlackBerry, but were put off by the bulky-looking form factor.

The body does feel a little ‘plasticky’. I wondered if it will survive an accidental drop. However, I didn’t put it through a drop test. Lodged between four keys right at the centre, is the black, optical trackpad (the first model in the

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Pearl series was called so because of a white translucent trackpad) and is surprisingly smooth and responsive.

The part-rubber, grip-friendly bezel running along both sides of the body has customisable ‘Convenience buttons’ on either side apart from the volume buttons on the right.

The left side of the rubberised bezel has charging slot and a 3.5 mm jack. The top panel of the phone is made of plastic and houses dedicated touch buttons to control media, mute an incoming call and unlock the screen.

User Interface The screen is a rather small one at 2.6-inches across. This strikes you especially since there are so many handsets that have now adopted the big-screen and / or touchscreen formula. The 360x400 LCD display is bright, with

location to be able to quickly access routes and get turnby-turn navigations to and from that place.

brilliant colour reproduction, but you can’t help but sigh at not having been given the joy of a bigger screen for browsing the internet or watching videos.

The home screen has five icons in a row at the bottom by default — Messages (BlackBerry), SMS and MMS, Contacts, Calendar and the Browser – which you can change to a vertically stacked-up display. Scroll up to an icon and press the trackpad to open any of these functions.

Scrolling up the home screen, you have a shortcut to the ‘Sound Profiles’ icon on the left, which is a convenient key to have to switch to the silent mode while in a meeting or swap back to the general profile once you are done. You can also tweak settings to ring an alert to ‘Only Phone Calls’, or those from specific contacts.

At the top right, all your network activity is displayed.

Scrolling to this area highlights the icons and a press of the trackpad gives you access to all your network options. If you are on roaming, then you can also choose to turn off your mobile network services at the click of a button. You can also set up Wi-Fi networks and add Bluetooth devices with this shortcut.

The BlackBerry logo key to the left of the trackpad takes you to the Main Menu on the handheld where you have 20 plus default icons.

Messaging The keypad is one modified feature on the BlackBerry Pearl 3G handsets that really stand out. The keypads on both the Pearl 9100 as well as the Pearl 9105 (first released in the UK) are contoured similarly, almost in a flattened, wavy, ‘V’ shape. It definitely feels different to type on but we aren’t sure whether it is supposed to help us type faster or more efficiently or if it is just a design element.

Those who have used the BlackBerrys with the conventional keypad may find it difficult to type in the halfQWERTY keypad. Each key has two letters instead of the conventional one except for a couple of letters like M and L. This would definitely take some getting used to but ‘SureType’ makes it easy to type and you might tend to forget that you are working on a slightly different type of keypad.

Both variants of the BlackBerry Pearl 3G employ the SureType technology while typing messages or composing mails. SureType is, to put it simply, BlackBerry’s proprietary counterpart of the T9 predictive text where the software ‘intelligently’ picks up on the words you type and prioritises and suggests those words to you as and when you type the next time.

With SMSs and MMS, the messages are threaded in chronological order by default. A special BlackBerry touch to make life easier for businessmen on the move is the option to configure up to 10 different e-mail accounts on

Specifications Dimensions: 108mm x 50 mm x 13.3 mm Weight: 93 grams Processor: 624 MHz processor with 256MB Flash memory Display: 360x400 pixel colour display Camera & Video Recording: 3.2-meg camera Autofocus Flash 2.5x digital zoom Video recording Voice Input & Output: 3.5mm stereo headset capable Integrated speaker and microphone Memory: 256MB flash memory/256MB SDRAM, 2GB media card included Expandable memory — support for microSD card up to 32GB

Connectivity The Wi-Fi connectivity on the BlackBerry Pearl 3G (802.11 b/g/n) was very efficient and easily detected and connected to networks in the vicinity.

With the Wi-Fi on and occasional Bluetooth pairing, the battery lasts almost two working days on a full charge, which is pretty impressive. You can choose to store your multimedia with the 2GB memory that comes bundled with the phone but you can also use a memory card (microSD) to add another 32GB of memory to your phone.

Our Verdict

Photos: S.S. Kumar

your BlackBerry Pearl 3G and customise them to have all your new messages, drafts and sent messages ready at one glance.

This option from BlackBerry’s stable isn’t your conventional business phone, it doesn’t look like one and it doesn’t feel like one. But the fact remains that it still is a BlackBerry and offers all the features you would need and look for in a smartphone to satisfy your productivity and multimedia needs.

If you are looking for a handheld without a touch screen (yes, there are still a lot of us who have chosen not to take to the touch experience), don’t mind the lack of a big screen, and want to make the most of BlackBerry’s services, then one of these Pearls will be the right fit for you.

Rs 19,990

Multimedia

(With inputs from R. Dinakaran)

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G has a 3.2-meg camera with a 2.5x zoom and Auto-focus. The camera displays crisp images.

However, there are no picture editing options once you’ve shot them, unlike a bouquet of options that are available in some of the other current day business and multimedia phones. The camera settings are limited to setting the options to clicking your photograph in either black and white or sepia apart from the regular mode.

Music playback on the Pearl 3G was loud and clear with the video quality also being quite sharp and bright. However, the lack of a big screen can keep you from watching movies or slightly lengthy videos while on the move.

Maps Sliding your thumb up the trackpad zooms in on the map on your screen and the image zooms out on sliding down.

There’s virtual dashboard at the bottom of the map which shows the status of your satellite connection and GPS navigation. You can tuck this away to make the most of the not-exactly-overwhelming screen space by pressing the space bar to retract it and bring it up again when you want to.

You can also add a specific address as your favourite Wireless Networks Tri-band UMTS networks: (800/850)/1900/2100 MHz and 900/1700/2100 MHz Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks: 850/900/ 1800/1900 MHz Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n enabled Battery: 1150 mAHr removable/rechargeable lithiumion battery Standby Time: GSM-up to 18 days/432 hours, UMTSup to 13 days/312 hours Talk Time: GSM - up to 5 hours, UMTS - up to 5.5 hours Music playtime: up to 30 hours Ratings: Aesthetics: 3.5/5 User Interface: 3/5 Features: 4/5 Value For Money: 3/5

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Send feedback to mahananda@thehindu.co.in

MEDIA PLAYER review

Walkman slims down to take on iPod Nano Ketaki Bhojnagarwala ast week Apple launched its new line-up of music players in the form of a revamped iTouch, iPod Nano and Shuffle. The iTouch is basically a minicomputer in terms of storage, functions and applications, and few Mp3 players have come close to competing with it. However, the smaller and less competent Nano has many contenders. One of them is the new A Series Sony Walkman Mp3 player, the NWZ-A845, which comes with a 16GB capacity.

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with a couple of friends.

The only downside of the screen was that it didn’t fare too well in sunlight, which puts it on par with most other music players in the market.

Media

Look and feel Although some might argue that the NWZ-A845 has an unoriginal design, we loved how it felt in our hands. At just 7.2mm thick, it is the thinnest Walkman yet, almost like a small bar of Swiss chocolate. Despite looking fragile, it felt strong and sturdy in our hands. Encased in a black chassis, the NWZ-A845 comes with a 2.8-inch OLED screen.

Below that, in a concentric circle design are most of the player’s controls. There is a play/pause button in the centre, surrounded by controls to move up, down, left and right. On the top left is a back/home button and the top right has an option/power off button.

Volume controls are conveniently located on the top right hand side of the player, making it intuitive to use when you’re listening on the go. There is a ‘Hold’ button below that which locks the player. The 3.5mm headphone jack is located at the bottom. What we really didn’t appreciate was the fact that Sony decided to go with a custom port for charging the player and transferring files instead of a standard mini-USB. This means you always have to carry the cable with you, just like is the case with the iPod. That said, the screen more than makes up for most negatives the player has. At 2.8-inches, it’s wide enough to comfortably watch video (for a mini-player) when you’re travelling. 720x480 resolution video reproduction means higher colour saturation, greater contrast and clarity and rapid response time.

Videos were crisp and clear and played without any visible stutter, and colour reproduction was close to perfect.

The player comes with a bunch of pre-loaded wallpapers, and you can also choose to make any of your photos the default wallpaper if you like. The NWZ-A845 Walkman’s

OLED technology means that the screen can be viewed at all angles, perfect if you want to watch a video

One good feature was the fact that when we synced the player with one Windows Media Player library and added files from another, the previous files did not vanish, which is usually the problem with syncing.

We had a problem with video though. The video formats which the player supports are MPEG-4, AVC and WMV. We tried transferring some Avi files on to it, but the files did not show up on the player itself, although they were visible on the Windows Media Player list. Sony should look at offering embedded conversion software for videos so that more formats can be accepted.

Sound After the screen, the next best feature of the player was the sound. Tonal quality was well balanced, and songs where good levels of bass and treble were required were reproduced brilliantly.

You can adjust the equaliser settings between heavy, pop, jazz, unique, and two custom settings, depending on the album you’re listening to. You can also change the VPT (Surround) setting to none, studio, live, club, arena, matrix and karaoke.

Noise cancellation can be adjusted between one of three modes – bus/train, airplane and office.

The player comes bundled with digital noise cancelling earphones, which Sony sells separately too at about half the price of the player!

The headphones were the in-ear kind, and came with three sizes of earbuds. They were a tad uncomfortable at times and tended to pop out occasionally. However, considering the kind of bundled earphones we normally get with music players, we were really pleased with what Sony offers.

We were also glad that Sony

The NWZ-A845 offers three main features – video, audio and photos. Unlike Apple’s players which require syncing with one iTunes library at a time, the NWZ-A845 functions on the basis of simple drag and drop.

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decided to include an FM tuner in the player.

This is a feature some Mp3 players

tend to ignore. The tuner was very receptive, picking up some radio stations that are known to have bad signal strength.

It was quite easy to tune and select presets as well.

being 14.1GB, but it is comparable to what the other mini-players offer.

Verdict User interface The player was intuitive to use. The controls were simple and well spaced, and the player showed no lag when it came to switching screens and menus.

We weren’t too impressed with the music list layout though. Music appears in alphabetical order, in vertical lists, so there’s a lot of shifting when using the up/down and left/right buttons.

The menu screen was neat and well spaced, and had large icons for most functions. Depending on what feature of the player you’re using, you can use the option button to bring up a menu of selective functions. If you’re looking for a more detailed settings page, simply go to the settings icon on the main menu page and choose from the list.

Sony claims that the NWZ-A845 Walkman’s battery can last 31 hours of audio playback. However, the unit we got for review lasted only around 6-7 hours. There is a battery care setting which sets the charge amount to 90 per cent when fully charged, and this is supposed to lengthen the life of the battery. However, we used the player without this feature. Even then, we really thought Sony could have improved the battery life considering that the player is a 16GB unit.

Storage is an issue as well, with the actual free space

Love: Slim build, excellent sound and screen Hate: Poor battery life

We thought that the NWZA845 provides good competition for the iPod Nano and other mini Mp3 players in the market.

While it scores in terms of sound and video, for the price you pay, a touch screen would have been a nice addition. We would recommend it if you’re a stickler for good acoustics.

Rs 11,990 Send feedback to ketaki@thehindu.co.in Photos: R. Ravindran

A kitty-bag must-have!

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e love our portable media players and flashy smartphones, but all these fancy gadgets just about turn into nothing but overpriced paperweights every time they run out of battery. Low battery life is the bane of all portable gadgets and given the fact that being mobile has becomes such an integral part of everyone’s life, the Gum Plus is a must-have. Gum Plus is a Red Dot Award winner for its design and is certified to work with the iPod and the iPhone.

inside your bag, even use your device while it’s being charged.

With a 4400 mAh battery inside, Gum Plus outputs 1000 mAh of power to charge your baby in a jiffy.

The iPhone can be charged up to 90 per cent capacity in just an hour, and a fully-charged Gum Plus can recharge your iPhone for up to four times before it puts its legs up

and dies. If you keep running out of juice on your phone or music player while travelling, you need this. Period.

Rs 3,250 Love - Juice on the go. Great design. Mammoth power Hate - Takes a while to charge via USB. No wall charger included

Design Encased in a pseudo-aluminium casing, this portable power pack is a design wonder. Simple, aesthetic, and tiny enough to slip in your pocket, it delivers juice when you need it the most – on the go.

Taking minimalism to a new level, all it has is a miniUSB port on one side to charge it, a regular USB port on the other for power output, and an On/Off toggle switch on top along with five blinking LEDs to indicate battery status.

It comes with a USB charging cable, another one to charge your iPhone or iPod, and a micro fibre pouch to carry it. Just charge it via USB and carry it along.

It can charge not only your iPhone and iPod, but any other device that can be charged via USB. This includes most smartphones and Mp3 players available today – all you need is the USB cable that works with your device.

Charging When you need to charge, just switch it on and connect the cable – you can charge while travelling in the bus or train,

T3 India

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AUTO focus

Ducati’s sequel to the ‘Funky Chicken’ Matthew Oakley am tickling through Singapore traffic, a typical day biking in the city. Track taillights, feather clutch, check mirrors, pick gap, first to second, brake, second to first, repeat.

A stretch of road opens up, cleared invitingly by a red light. A couple of presses on a button, a three-second wait, and suddenly the throttle that was easing this bike through a choking crawl has flung me through to the next lights so fast the cars behind have barely cleared the previous junction. I’d be praying for dear life if I wasn’t grinning so hard.

Flinging people around at jail-baiting speeds is hardly out of the ordinary for Ducatis. Blood-red and curvaceous, they are the femme fatales of the motorcycle world, igniting a scarlet spark of lust that scrambles male senses and makes even hardcore pedestrians experience an unfamiliar tingle.

The Multistrada 1200S is no ordinary Ducati. The $19,995 machine was nominated for ‘Bike of the Year’ by the U.K.’s “Motorcycle News” and was hailed as an industry revolution. It doesn’t take long to see why.

The Bologna, Italy-based company has always excelled at building some of the world’s best racing bikes.

It hasn’t always done so well at serving the rider who commutes Monday to Friday with occasional weekend sprints to the coast.

Climb onto Ducati’s 1198, which came out in 2008, and

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there’s no question it’s an outstanding sports bike. Still, it can be intimidating and irritating after half an hour weaving through a city, with the grumbling and straining of an engine designed to be ridden fast and hard.

Ducati Debt Partly because of that adherence to sporting tradition, five years ago Ducati was saddled with debt and a range of machines that were out of touch with the demands of all but its most dedicated devotees.

Taken private by new investors (including, with a certain puzzling irony, the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan), the company adopted a customer-centric philosophy backed by exhaustive surveys and turned itself into a serious competitor for the likes of Honda and BMW. The Multistrada is the apogee of that transformation, marrying brilliant electronics with a magnificent engine, and opening up the exclusive Ducati club to a broader riding public.

Swing a leg over it and it’s anything but intimidating, even with the slightly eccentric, beaky profile that earned an earlier model the nickname Funky Chicken. The styling is much improved and even with the tall, comfortbiased riding position and wide handlebars I feel like I’m inside the bike, rather than on it. There is still an SUVlike view over the traffic.

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Guttural Growl Flick the keyless ignition and the 1,198cc motor comes to life with that guttural Ducati growl. The engine is the same as the 1198, only retuned so that the valve overlap between intake and exhaust is reduced, enabling a smoother, torquey low-speed performance that makes city riding a pleasure. It’s more manageable than its stablemate, if a touch lumpy at low revs.

The real key to this bike is the signal-cancel button which, when it’s not cancelling signals, controls everything from the power delivered from Ducati’s first ride-by-wire throttle to the suspension and the level of traction control to the rear wheel.

There are four basic modes - Sport, Touring, Urban and Enduro - designed to tackle anything from a racetrack to a clogged highway to a two-week trip through the Rockies.

For example, put the Multistrada in Enduro and stepper motors raise the rear of the bike and soften the suspension, while traction control is reduced to enable the rear wheel to slide through dirt. Power is reduced to 100 horses.

Deep Woods Because of the bike’s low clearance compared with an adventurer like the BMWR1200GS, I’m not sure I’d take it too deep into the woods. Still, it’s more than capable of conquering the average fire trail. Transforming it into a

sportsbike with 150 horses, a top speed of 155 miles per hour (250 kph), hard suspension and enough traction control to stop the bike flipping you onto the gravel like a rag doll takes three seconds. The change is thrilling, with a dash of terror, tempered by the powerful ABS brakes.

Delve deeper and each parameter can be tweaked almost infinitely according to the rider’s preference and the load the bike is carrying.

On paper, it sounded like gimmickry. Surely, a bike is what it is. A tall machine like this can’t handle like a sportsbike.

In fact, the Multistrada can, even with its height.

Flicking it through bends, the bike responds instantly, and holds a line so exactly that after a few minutes I was lured into cornering with more abandon than may have been wise on a test ride.

Few, perhaps two, bikes I’ve ridden have inspired that much confidence, or provided so much fun so quickly.

Ducati says it wanted to appeal to a wider market without betraying its sportsbike heritage.

What the company has come up with is perhaps the world’s first true all-rounder, a bike that a relative novice can ride without fear, and an expert can ride without feeling compromised.

(The author writes about autos for Bloomberg News.

The opinions expressed are his own.)

The 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200S at a Glance Engine: 1,198cc L-Twin, liquid-cooled with 150 horsepower and 87.5 pound-feet of torque.

Transmission: Six-speed, wet multiplate hydraulic clutch.

Top Speed: 155 mph Gasoline mileage per gallon: 45 Price: $19,995.

Best features: A bike for everyone that’s as exciting or as docile as you want it to be.

Worst feature: Low-speed power delivery still not as smooth as competitors like the Triumph Tiger and BMW R1200GS. Target buyer: Older riders, or riders returning to the saddle, who want a sportsbike with the comforts of a tourer.

AUTO news

Bentley’s new Continental GT revealed B

entley Motors has revived the same spirit of the highly successful Continental GT, which was introduced in 2003, with the launch of the new Continental GT Coupe.

The original was a luxury GT offering excellent usability that remained true to the Bentley grand touring spirit.

Now, the new Continental GT four-seat coupe builds on the success of its iconic predecessor, capturing that GT spirit but with even higher standards of design, engineering, luxury, craftsmanship, dynamic performance, everyday practicality and refinement.

A beautifully sculptured new body gives the GT coupe an even crisper, more defined appearance. The contemporary interior offers new levels of cabin design, comfort and hand-crafted luxury. The seats, for example, provide even

greater support and rear leg-room; a sweeping dashboard offers even more style and modernity. The new touchscreen infotainment system features state-of-the-art navigation, Google Maps and entertainment, while the latest Balanced Mode Radiator speaker technology and Dirac Dimensions™ digital sound processing deliver enhanced audio quality.

Bentley’s acclaimed 6-litre, 12-cylinder, twin-turbocharged powertrain now has a higher power output of 575PS (567bhp / 423kW) and 700Nm (516lb ft) of peak torque.

This unit is mated to a new Quickshift transmission which enables double downshifts. Thanks to advanced FlexFuel technology it can also run on both standard

unleaded petrol and sustainable bioethanol (up to E85) or any mix of the two.

In late 2011 an all-new, high-output 8-cylinder engine will also be available to order. This advanced power unit will deliver a 40 per cent reduction in emissions compared with the W12 engine and will offer a class-leading CO2 emissions-to-power ratio with Bentley levels of performance and refinement.

Both engines are coupled to an all-wheel drive system with a sporty 40:60 rear-torque bias (compared with the 50:50 bias of the original Continental GT), minimising understeer during hard cornering and allowing the experienced driver to control the car’s line and balance via precise throttle control.

Swift’s festive limited edition M

aruti Suzuki India has launched a limited edition Swift to commemorate a milestone for the iconic premium small car brand.

The limited edition celebrates Maruti Suzuki’s landmark of selling one million cars a year, achieved in late March 2010. The millionth car this year was a Swift, and it rolled out of the company’s plant at Manesar.

The ‘Swift One Million Edition’ will be available in a specially created ‘Goldsmith Black’ color and will be loaded with attractive features like festive ‘desi’ graphics, special integrated stereo with USB connect and new speakers, luxurious leather seats, cushions, foot-mats and an artistic decal on the exterior panels.

The limited Swift One Million Edition is available in a ‘Vi’ version (Petrol) at a price of Rs 4.83 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Only 1,000 units of this celebration model are being offered.

Since its launch five years ago, the Swift has had a leadership position with over 4.90 lakh units sold till now.

The Swift has the distinction of having achieved the fastest two lakh sales in 35 months and the fastest three lakh unit sales in 46 months.

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MELANGE luxury redefined

Dunhill’s autumn look It is adventure time for Alfred Dunhill with its slew of AW ‘10 outdoor range, sporting new style overcoats in interesting blends of fabrics, unique tailoring and cuts. There’s one for every occasion you’ll step out for.

Head to Emporio Mall, New Delhi and UB City, Bengaluru for more.

Price on request

Macho footwear Eco-friendly and lightweight, Woodland’s new collection of earthy hued boots is the newest launch for ‘his’ feet.

Made from natural and organic raw materials using vegetable tanned leather, the boots are available in brown burnished, wheat nubuk, burnished tan, forest olive, beige, camel, khaki and olive colours at its exclusive stores.

Rs 2,500 onwards

It’s mine!

The signature pump ‘My Charme’, the fun ballerina ‘My Joy’, the velvet ballerina ‘My Slipper; and the new-age boot ‘My Sweet’ – Salvatore Ferragamo caters to the foot fetish of today’s women with this My Ferragamo collection. Available at Salvatore Ferragamo boutiques at New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Rs 18,000 to Rs 36,000

Slip in Men can up the dapper, casual look with Viavero’s nappa leather sandals that’s designed and manufactured in Italy. Choose between the black and green combo or the cool blue at its store in Ambience Mall, Gurgaon.

Rs 4,750

Precious quack Spreading cheer to your crystal collection, this Duck J in blue violet hues with moonlight crystal beak and a stylish pair of silver-tone headphones set with violet crystals is Swarovski’s way of festive fun. Head to its boutiques across India.

Rs 6,600

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BOUTIQUE retreat

Yogic hide-out, for those on the run Whether it’s mastering the art of Yoga or learning the pranayam for a healthy lifestyle, Shreyas Yoga Retreat gives you a glimpse of the ancient Indian discipline and lets you explore it in its luxurious little haven, says ANUSHYA MAMTORA

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unnerving quiet and peace. Shreyas too, at first glimpse, oozes Zen-like simplicity, albeit replete with antique doorways, stone pillars and life-sized Balinese wood sculptures.

But explore further, and you find that it also boasts of a plush library with coffee table books, an enticing swimming pool, a home theatre with a wide collection of movies (yoga CDs too), beautifully designed tent cottages and most importantly, also serves fresh quesadillas and kiwi tarts for dinner! Shreyas sure is the retreat of the luxurious kind where the emphasis on Yoga and Indian spirituality is subtle and a matter of choice.

With two Yoga classes chalked out everyday in the morning and evening and a session on meditation, guests can spend the rest of the day opting for community service in the ‘Joy of Giving’ package, helping out in the organic farm, meditating in ‘mauna’ in the ‘Silent Retreat’ package or doing their own bit of Yoga. Alternatively, one can go for a swim, read books from the varied collection of fiction and non-fiction, watch a movie or indulge in the spa which offers traditional western and Ayurvedic massages as well as interesting scrubs and masks like chocolate, honey and coconut, coffee and aromatic spices.

nna S, a Russian born art consultant, sat perfectly in the Yogic ‘chin mudra’ posture as she echoed the ‘Aums’ with utmost devotion. While I shifted my legs clumsily and fidgeted with my hair, she meditated with the composure of an expert. Anna was not new to Yoga and certainly not new to the little ‘machaan’ we were seated in for the meditation classes.

She had learnt the poses of the art in London, been to Mysore for a teacher training programme and also experienced Yoga at ashrams in Bihar. But this was her fifth visit in three years to the little known yet popular Shreyas Yoga Retreat. This luxury retreat not only helped in nurturing her interest in Yoga but has also been her recharge point every time she flies by the continent on work.

Anna is not alone in looking to Shreyas as a source of rejuvenation. Since its inception in 2004 there have been plenty of international travellers who head to this 25 acre lush green space near Bengaluru, forgo their favourite meat dishes, alcoholic nightcaps and lazy holiday mornings, just to blend into the surreal spirit of the retreat.

Eager to witness how it feels to bring a sense of order and healthy routine into our lives, I headed to Shreyas to experience the latest they have to offer, as well as learn a lesson or two in Yoga and Ayurveda.

Weighty issues Ashram, the luxurious kind

Within half an hour of my arrival, I struck a pose in front of the in-house Ayurvedic expert, secretly hoping she would miss noticing my generous waistline. “Pitta’ she smilingly announced after I told her of my BMI’s tendency to yo-yo and showed her my acne-prone skin. I was promptly

One always associates retreats with barefooted orangerobed inmates, mantras chanting in the background, a day packed with yoga and meditation classes, simple Indian food, a room with basic amenities and an atmosphere of

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trained in some Yogic ‘asanas’ and was put through the Udwarthanam massage (a forceful reverse body massage using powdered herbs to eliminate adipose tissue deposits). I was treated to the healthiest of organic and nonrefined food, and yes some freshly brewed ginger, pepper and cinnamon tea – ideal for my body type.

I was getting a sample of what guests who opted for the weight management package at Shreyas are offered, a latest in their list of packages. While I just had a day to experiment with the package, guests have to enrol into 14-nights or 21-nights programs. Apart from the customised low-calorie diet, asanas, pranayama, kriyas, yoga nidra and meditation, and traditional Ayurvedic treatments, you can also expect to hear a knock at the door at 6 am to remind you of a morning jog.

FarmVille, for real Food plays an important role in Shreyas’ scheme of things.

With a sprawling three and a half acre farm that grows everything from fruits to vegetables and herbs and rice, a walk around can be quite engaging. So engaging that Shreyas actually lets guests opt for a community service package where they can work at the farm, help in sowing, watering and picking, and even cooking and serving.

Rame Gowda, GM (Operations), took me around as he pointed out to rosemary, asparagus, celery, thyme, sweet basil, lemon grass and fennel shrubs that serve as ingredients in the kitchen. There’s also a cattle shed, so the milk, yogurt, butter and fresh cream you savour at the dining room is fresh.

With a fixed menu on the cards, the chefs at Shreyas

serve wholesome vegetarian food with minimal oil and one cuisine per meal.

During my stay I was served authentic North Indian roti, paneer tikka and dal makhani, Mexican broth and burritos and South Indian rasam and lemon rice.

When Shreyas uses ‘a journey of self-discovery’ as its tag line, realisation can be small and big. I for one ‘discovered’ that I have a penchant for reading about Indian spiritualism, am flexible enough to do the Surya Namaskar and my new found love for ‘avial’!

IN A NUTSHELL What: Shreyas Yoga Retreat. 14 pool-facing and garden cottages that attracts the who’s who from around the world for an anonymous getaway as well as those looking to acquaint themselves with Yoga Where: Santoshima Farm, Gollahalli Gate, Nelamangala, Bengaluru How: About an hour by road from the Bengaluru air-

port and one and half hours from the City railway station When: Anytime one feels the need for a break from routine and connect with nature and oneself Why: For some well deserved ‘me time’. The packages are interesting and includes Wellness for the Soul, Joy of Giving, Silent Retreat, Yoga Retreat, Ayurvedic Rejuvenation and Weight Management. One can customise the packages to suit one’s needs

How much: $400 per night for a room for two, depending on the season. The packages for October to March, 2010 are priced at $3,470 (The Joy of Giving), $3,970 (Wellness for the Soul), $3,390 (Silent retreat), $3,740 (Yoga retreat) and $4,760(Ayurvedic Rejuvenation).

(Rates are for two persons for a 7 night and 8 day duration) The packages can be customised too.

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TASTER’S choice

Looking west for wine Ryan Flinn ee Hi-Sang, a South Korean businessman who owns Napa Valley’s Dana Estates, didn’t take his first sip of wine until he was in his mid-30s. Since then, he’s sought to ensure other Koreans don’t wait that long.

Lee, who built his fortune in the flour-mill industry, took to wine immediately and made it his mission to boost the popularity of Napa vintages in his home country. He began distributing California wine more than a decade ago and purchased Dana Estates in 2005.

“I’d like to change our culture,” Lee, now 64, said during lunch at his winery, whose $275-a-bottle Cabernet has earned a perfect 100-point score from critic Robert Parker. “I thought I would introduce this good drink to Korea.”

That’s no easy task. Most of the alcohol consumed in South Korea is still either beer or soju, a spirit typically distilled from rice. While Lee has increased his wine sales to $28 million in 2008 from less than $500,000 in the 1990s, the economic slump has shuttered wine bars and restaurants in Korea, and prompted consumers to shy away from pricey brands, Lee said. The country also imposes taxes and tariffs that can increase the cost of imported wine by 65 per cent.

As the biggest importer of Napa wine in the country, Lee aims to make the product recession-proof by turning it into an everyday part of Korean life. He’s also considering adding more budget wines to his line-up and reaching out to retail stores because consumers are doing more of their dining at home. Another goal is to overcome the perception that French wine is superior, Lee said.

L

‘Very conservative’ “Koreans are basically very conservative, so they prefer French,” he said. “Napa is a new wine for them.”

Lee discovered wine in 1979. After a day of skiing in Vermont, he washed down some kimchi with a glass from Columbia Crest, a Washington State winery.

In the past three decades, he’s led a crusade. Calling himself a “wine evangelist,” Lee trekked across Napa Valley, spending years persuading high-end producers to sell him bottles to bring back to Korea. He’s now the thirdlargest importer of wine into South Korea, and sells more than a third of Napa wine in the country. He’s also gotten other vintners to consider selling in Korea.

Getting on the radar “When Lee approached us, I said, ‘Well, it’s not really on our radar,’” said Tim Mondavi, a former winemaker at Robert Mondavi Winery and founder of the Continuum Estate in Napa. “But they continued to pursue us, and I am absolutely delighted that they have.”

Lee opened his winery in 2009 after restoring a vineyard built in 1883 by German viticulturalist H.W. Helms.

15,000-bottle collection The result is a 19,000-square-foot winery that has enough space for tasting rooms, fermenters, storage caves and a circular wine cellar that holds more than a third of Lee’s 15,000-bottle personal collection.

Lee also spent $13 million to build a seven-storey wine education centre, retail and wholesale store in Seoul, called Podo Plaza. Since opening in 2005, more than 3,000 students have paid $250 to $2,000 for classes on wine.

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Photo: Bloomberg

While the value of U.S. wine exports to South Korea more than tripled to $9.75 million between 1999 and 2009, the country ranks 15th as a market, behind Poland, Sweden and Denmark, according to the San Francisco-based Wine Institute.

Potential customers The recession also took its toll, with the value of U.S. wine imports to South Korea dropping 24 per cent last year.

Even so, Koreans have come a long way since the early 1990s, said Russell Weis, General Manager of Silverado Vineyards in Napa, who has travelled to Korea at least 10 times in the past two decades on behalf of wineries.

“We were just chasing around expats who were stationed there,” Weis said. Now the pool of potential customers is bigger, though still a select group, he said. “It’s a young, affluent, well-travelled, often American-educated Korean.”

What’s a corkscrew?

Lee spends most of his time in South Korea, where wine can still be a novelty. During holidays, instead of giving his Korean employees traditional small gifts, he brings them wine. At first, many didn’t know how to open the bottles, having never seen a corkscrew before, he said.

He also gives wine glasses and openers to restaurants, which he hopes will lead to sales of bottles. With more exposure to wine, Koreans may also seek to lower tariffs, making the drink more affordable in the country, Lee said.

(The author writes about wines for Bloomberg News.

The opinions expressed are his own.)

WATCH collection

Precious hiss…

Quite contrary to its ‘wild’ name, Milleret’s Anaconda collection is elegant and perfect for petit wrists. While this one has a pink guilloche dial with silver applied Arabic numerals and plenty of diamonds for the bling effect, one can opt for black and white versions as well as choose from a smooth satin or wild alligator strap.

Available: Select watch retailers and jewellers Rs 35,000 to Rs 1.40 lakh

Freelancer for a cause

Duo time zone

Coming up with a classic yet simple version of the Freelancer, Raymond Weil’s limited edition (34 pieces) timepiece features a mechanical movement with automatic winding, a stainless steel case, white dial and two sub-dials, all paired with a black leather strap. And the cause: to support the fight against cancer by the Union for International Cancer Control.

Available: Raymond Weil boutique, New Delhi and Kapoor Watch Co. New Delhi and Gurgaon Rs 1,38,632

A Sporty Star is born Montblanc’s latest is the Star Collection Chronograph GMT Automatic and the Sport Chronograph Automatic. While the former 42mm stainless steel case watch sports a silvercoloured guilloche dial and red-gold feuille and baton hands, the latter is a 44mm stainless steel timepiece with silvercoloured dial and luminescent indexes. Both are paired with black alligator-skin strap with triple-folding clasp.

Available: Montblanc boutiques Price on request

This Reverso Duetto Duo from JaegerLeCoultre lets you keep track of two time zones – one in the front and one at the back. Housing a single mechanical manually-wound movement, the watch features a mother-ofpearl marquetery dial, diamonds, stainless steel case and a white leather strap. Also available in pink, yellow and white gold with different strap options.

Available: Johnson Watch & Co, New Delhi and Ethos, Mumbai Price on request