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karan
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Posts by karan
Auto companies effected with supply chain disruptions
Mar 15th
Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Suzuki who were planning aggressive strategies for India’s top growth market were hit hard by Japan’s quake and face serious supply chain disruptions.
The only silver lining is India’s relatively small dependence on Japan. Auto experts said higher levels of localization levels and cost concerns prompting most Japanese car makers to import from Thailand would help the Indian subsidiaries.
Maruti Suzuki’s Hamamatsu plant has not been affected and the parent is using the Nagoya airport for air freight. Still, Maruti imports a number of components from Japan, and the problem gets worse as a number of its Indian vendors, too, source from the tsunami-battered country.
The Japanese auto industry has been severely impacted by the national tragedy. Honda has suspended production at all the Japanese plants till March 20 and is in touch with its vendors for exact damage assessment.
Toyota’s Indian unit, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, postponed the opening ceremony of its second plant scheduled for this week.
Japan Earthquake Catastrophe
Mar 11th
Huge waves swept away building, cars, ships, homes, airports etc. More than 1000 people are missing and 350 people have been already declared dead. Quake which triggered this measured at 8.2 magnitude had struck around 400kms away from the capital Tokyo. The impact had triggered the fire which has already engulfed the oil refineries.
Passengers train & ships with 100′s on board are missing. Tsunami warning is in place for entire pacific region.
Japan has shut down its 5 nuclear plants. No radiation leaks so far. 60,000-70,000 people evacuated to shelters in Sendai city. Fukushima Nuclear Plant is on high alert after one of its reactor showed overheating. USAF deliver coolant to Fukushima to avert the disaster.
Hawaii, Australia & Central America are in line of the Tsunami and are on high alert.
Apple iPad 2
Mar 10th
Yes, the appearance of Steve Jobs on stage might have overshadowed the iPad itself, but there is no doubting that the new iPad does improve the original one in more than one way, even though it retains the same screen size and resolution. There is greater processing speed beneath the hood thanks to the dual core A5 processor, better graphics, a gyroscope and something we had been predicting all along — dual cameras for video calling. But those are just specs — where the iPad really scores is in the fact that it retains its very sleek design (it is now slimmer than the iPhone 4) and the brilliantly intuitive interface, courtesy iOS. Top that off with the fact it still serves up more apps than any other tablet and has managed to maintain its astonishing ten hour-plus battery in spite of the graphics and processing boost, and you can see why it is likely to remain the tablet to beat. A smart folding cover will be sold alongside, giving Apple a headstart over third-party accessory vendors. Some negatives remain; the cameras are not the greatest in town and it still does not have a memory expansion slot.
RIM BlackBerry Playbook
Mar 10th
When it was first announced in September 2010, the PlayBook was seen by many as the perfect antidote to all the ills of the iPad. It had powerful dual cameras, a 1 GHz dual core processor, awesome multitasking, HDMI port, ran Flash effortlessly, had a stunning display—and of course, BlackBerry’s formidable mail and messaging muscle. And all that holds true even today, but six months is a long time in technology, and the PlayBook has lost some of its sheen already. Doubts have been expressed about the number of apps that will be compatible with its new operating system (support for Android apps has not been ruled out) and not everyone is happy with the fact that it will need to be paired with a BlackBerry handset to be able to access a 3G network. That said, it remains very portable thanks to its 7-inch display and at 10 mm is one of the thinnest around. It has the specs to take on any of the tablets in this list. The pricing is going to be critical though.
HP TouchPad
Mar 10th
Palm’s Web OS was considered by many to have been every bit as good as iOS and Android but was unable to match the popularity of those two because of the company’s limited resources at that time. So when HP took over Palm, there was great expectation that Web OS would return not just on phones but also on tablets and HP has confirmed that recently. It may look relatively bulky and even plasticky compared to its sleek competitors, but the TouchPad is no slouch, combining a very powerful processor with a display that is on par with the iPad in terms of size and resolution. Then there is Web OS with its smooth, activity card based multitasking prowess. The TouchPad is also the only tablet in our list to feature just one camera — a front facing one for video-calling – which has triggered speculation that it might actually turn out to be the most economical tablet of them all when it finally gets released.
HTC Flyer
Mar 10th
With almost every Android tablet manufacturer opting for larger displays, dual core processors and Android 3.0, HTC has dug its heels in and gone for a 7-inch display, a single core 1.5 Ghz processor and Android 2.4. Suicidal, some might say (although HTC has since tweeted that the tablet will be upgraded to Android 3.0 ), but then they will have not seen the sleek aluminum frame of the Flyer which makes it one of the best looking tablets around. HTC has also placed its HTC Sense interface on top of Android, giving it a look and feel that is very similar to those seen on some of its handsets — good if you like it, bad if you do not. What we think really works for the Flyer, however, is the fact that it is the most portable of all the tablets in this list and is also likely to be one of the first to be running Android 2.4, which is likely to support more apps than the still nascent 3.0. HTC has decided to swim against the tide in terms of size and specs with the Flyer — only time will tell if their gamble pays off!
LG Optimus Pad
Mar 10th
It was first expected last year but was postponed to this year. Rumor was that LG was not too comfortable with either Android 2.2 or 2.3. Well, the Optimus Pad now runs Android 3.0 and is one of the few tablets in the world to have taken neither the 7 inch display size route, nor the 10 inch one — the display is 8.9 inches, although it has almost the same resolution as seen in bigger Android 3.0 tablets. It is very impressive in the specs department with a 1GHz dual core processor, but what really marks it out from the competition is the presence of dual 5MP cameras on the back which allow users to shoot 3D videos and still pictures (although you would need a 3D display to view them). You can also use the cameras for normal images, of course, which makes the Optimus Pad perhaps the first tablet to actually add significant value through its cameras. What’s more, all this comes in a package that is definitely easy on the eye. Cynics are snarling that no one uses a tablet to shoot images or video, but who knows the Optimus Pad might set off a trend of sorts. Again, a lot depends on the price.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Mar 10th
It might not have quite matched the iPad in the sales stakes (well, no tablet did), but the Samsung Galaxy Tab was considered by many to be the first real challenger to Apple’s tablet with its sleek form factor and smooth interface. Samsung has attempted to up the ante with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 which comes with a larger (10.1 inch) display, a Tegra 2 processor and perhaps the most powerful cameras ever seen on a tablet — an 8.0 megapixel one on the back and a 2.0 megapixel one on the front. And from what has been seen of it so far, it retains much of the sleekness of the original tab, although slipping it into a coat pocket can be ruled out. The fact that it runs Android 3.0 means that it will not suffer from the original Tab’s inability to run all Android apps smoothly (a result of its resolution), but on the flip side, it will have fewer apps, given that Android 3.0 still has limited apps. As we go to print, all indications are that it will be priced more competitively than the original Galaxy Tab was. If it is, the iPad could have stiff competition.
Spot the road the contest
Oct 23rd
Yes. You heard it right. The Delhi roads at some places gone so bad, that one can hardly spot the road.
The West Delhi commuters have been going through a bad phase ever since the roads next to the Janak Sethu (Delhi Cantt) started breaking up three months back. There is a 50 meter stretch on either side of this road where the road appears to be almost like dug up. Vehicles come down to a speed of 5km and struggle to avoid any major holes. It is life threatening to two wheeler riders, but its surprising that in last 3 months there hasn’t any move from the government.
The road at Janak Sethu connects the people from areas like Janakpuri, Vikaspuri, Tilak Nagar, Hari Nagar, Paschim Vihar etc to Central and South Delhi.
There has been no move from the Delhi Government officials until now. As usual, they appear to be waiting for a tragedy to happen before taking an action. I wonder if the contest like spot the road, will be able to bring out any winner at all.
