Besharam music is fun.Ranbir Kapoor is now synonymous with fabulous music

Though the soundtrack of Besharam doesn't quite match expectations, it is still fun and peppy and keeps you engaged, feels Joginder Tuteja.

There are huge, really huge, expectations from the soundtrack ofBesharam.

After all, Ranbir Kapoor is now synonymous with fabulous music. His last three releases Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Barfi!and Rockstar are testimony to that.

Moreover, filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap's Dabangg had boasted of some chartbuster music too.

For his Besharam though, he decides to do away with Sajid-Wajid and instead ropes in Lalit Pandit, as the sole composer. Lalit had scored the blockbuster song Munni Badnaam inDabangg.

It is tough to digest title song Besharam at the first listen. With lyrics like Paidaa Nangaa Hua To Kaahe Ki Sharam, this Shree D sung track tries to be cool, peppy and fun.

However, despite a club setting to it, one takes time to warm up to it. Unlike Batameez Dilwhich had a similar appeal, this one with Ishq Bector rapping Besharam (it also appears in a remix version) loses its steam during the antara portions. Himanshu Kishan Mehra has penned the lyrics.

There is an attempt to bring on element of fun in a quintessential nok-jhonk number Tere Mohalle.

For a change, Mamta Sharma sings for a heroine instead of crooning for an item girl. She does well, with Aishwarya Nigam for company. With a small town appeal to it, this desi number, written by Nikhat Khan, has a racy feel to it.

Up next is Love Ki Ghanti, which is the unofficial desi version of Italian number Bella Ciao. One can't deny that in spirit, it has a very Kishore Kumar feel to it, right from the mukhda to the portions that follow. A Rajeev Barnwal written song which has a conversational appeal to it, it also has Sujeet Shetty singing like Kishore Kumar, especially in the 50s/60s.

Leaving aside the 'inspiration', Love Ki Ghanti (which also appears in a 'remix version' and has Ranbir Kapoor and Amitosh Nagpal being heard as well), is some good fun for sure.

'Inspirations' continue to make their presence felt, this time quite loud and clear, in Dil Kaa Jo Haal Hai. Starting off as Jo Haal Dil Ka, which was Jatin-Lalit's composition from Sarfarosh, it soon takes a turn with the sound that is straight out of Na Kar Deewana, a chartbuster track by Pakistani band Roxen, which was later (officially) heard again in Tera Mera Rishta [Awarapan].

Now if one is willing to leave behind the 'heard before' factor, this Abhijeet and Shreya Ghoshal number written by Rajeev Barnwal makes for a good hearing indeed, first as an original (!) and the later in the 'remix' format.

Just when one wondered whether a true original number would follow soon, there arrives Tu Hai, which is a sweet love song that has Shreya Ghoshal beginning the portions.

Now this one has a vintage Jatin-Lalit feel to it, though it is only the latter half of the jodi which is at the helm of affairs here. No, one is not looking at the next chartbuster in the offering here but from sheer 'serene' quotient that comes in, Tu Hi does well, especially once Sonu Nigam comes at the helm of affairs, albeit belatedly. One wishes that this Nikhat Azmi written song came earlier though later an 'unplugged' version makes up for it.

After a couple of love songs arrives Aa Re Aa Re which has Rajeev Barnwal returning as a lyricist. First things first, this is one song which is basically for those who have loved Govinda songs in the 1990s.

With the kind of high beats that this yet another nok-jhok number in the album enjoys, especially in the 'remix', it has Mika Singh coming behind the mike with Shreya Ghoshal joining him. One can safely say that with Salman Khan in there, it could well have been a Ready orBodyguard moment. Now with Ranbir in there, expect the youngster to be seen in a new avtarhere, especially with lyrics like Dil Mera Engine Hua Re.

The album began with a club song Besharam and ends with one too as Chal Hand Uthake Nachche arrives next. One of the rare instances where Daler Mehndi and Mika Singh come together, this Kumaar written number has Sunidhi Chauhan joining them as well. Expected to be a song that would play in the end credit title rolls, this one actually gets into the Pritam territory. Aided by some vibrant picturisation and high octane promotion, this one could well cover some distance.

Ever since the promotion of Besharam has begun, some flak has come its way for various reasons. Now though the soundtrack isn't quite the kind that matches up to the kind of high that one was expecting, it still is fun and peppy enough to keep you engaged right through the duration that it plays. 

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100 cr for Grand Masti would be a great benchmark for adult comedies: Aftab Shivdasani

Grand Masti is doing huge, actually real huge business. The film is being patronised in a big way by the adult audience, both in multiplexes as well as single screens. With 60 crores already coming in 6 days, the film is seeing some good sustenance at the box office. No wonder, it has 
turned out to  be the unlikeliest candidate of 2013 to actually take a serious shot at gaining an entry into the 100 crore club. No wonder, Aftab Shivdasani, whose last release 1920 - Evil Returns was successful too, is ecstatic to the core.
A superhit already and en route to be a blockbuster. How did you guys make it possible Aftab? 
By not carrying any pretence whatsoever! Induji (Indra Kumar), Riteish, Vivek and I - all of us understood that we had to do the film with full conviction. If that wouldn't have been the case, Grand Masti wouldn't have worked. Of course all of us had apprehensions around the jokes. What you see is the end result but there was a lot that went behind making sure that none of us ever appeared in any kind of doubt whatsoever.

Weren't you apprehensive ever of jokes, most of which were below the belt and practically stayed there forever? 
No that wasn't the case since we knew from the very beginning that the film was not meant for children under 18. Yes, we were conscious of the fact that a small section may find the film vulgar. But then to please them, we didn't want to deceive our target audience. See, we were in the middle of one of the wildest college reunions that you have seen on screen. It is also the funniest and that is something that was made possible since our communication with the content was very clear. We were not making any bones about what we were doing. 

From the maker of Dil, Beta, Raja and Ishq, were you expecting something like that? 
But then I have worked with Induji in Masti and Daddy Cool as well; they had his brand of comedy so I wasn't really surprised. I know the kind of flavour that he likes; his kind of comedy is not subtle. Moreover, he is so good as an actor as well. It is very important to follow him well. In case of Masti, we had a seven day long workshop. For Grand Masti, even though we couldn't unfortunately have a workshop, the precedence had been set from the days of Masti. Induji felt that it wasn't necessary for us to do any rehearsals and just be spontaneous.

Before its release, a stay was put by a single-judge court in Punjab and Haryana, over allegations of vulgar dialogues and obscene content, besides scenes that degrade women. However, later the Punjab and Haryana high court gave the nod for its release as per its schedule. The movie starring Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh and Aftab Shivdasani is a sequel to Masti, which was released in 2004

Hackers offered cash, booze to crack iPhone fingerprint security

 Hackers are gearing up for iPhone 5S release with a contest to crack the device's first-ever fingerprint scanner, a high-tech feature thatApple Inc says makes users' data more secure.

A micro venture capital firm joined a group of security researchers to offer more than $13,000 in cash along with bottles of booze, Bitcoin currency, books and other goodies to the first hacker who breaks the device in a contest promoted on the website.

Arturas Rosenbacher, founding partner of Chicago's IO Capital, which donated $10,000 to the hacking competition, said that the effort will bring together some of the hacking community's smartest minds to help Apple identify bugs that it may have missed.

"This is to fix a problem before it becomes a problem," he said. "This will make things safer."

Meanwhile, Forbes.com reported that a 36-year-old soldier living in Spain's Canary Islands, Jose Rodriguez, has already uncovered a security vulnerability affecting iOS 7, which Apple began distributing to existing iPhone and iPad customers on Wednesday.

The publication said that it is possible to bypass the lock screen of those devices in seconds to access photos, email, Twitter and other applications. It included a video demonstration on its website and advice on how users could thwart the bypass technique:

Among those gearing up for the fingerprint reader hacking contest is David Kennedy, a former US Marine's cyberintelligence analyst who did two tours in Iraq and now runs his own consulting firm, TrustedSec LLC.

"I am just waiting to get my hands on it to figure out how to get around it first," the founder of the DerbyCon hacking conference told the Thomson Reuters Global Markets Forum this week. "I'll be up all night trying."

Why worry?
Security experts worry about the implications of using the module to grant access to sensitive data on the phone and potentially enabling mobile purchases.

The fingerprint scanner on the top-of-the-line iPhone lets users unlock their devices or make purchases on iTunes by simply pressing their finger on the home button. It has been hailed as a major step in popularizing the use of biometrics in personal electronics.

Security engineer Charlie Miller, known in hacking circles for uncovering major bugs in the iPhone as well as circumventing security in Apple's App Store, said it could take fewer than two weeks for Kennedy or some other smart hacker to get around the new lock.

Once they're in, they could gain access to the cornucopia of data typically stored on a user's iPhone and might potentially be able to buy goods from iTunes and Apple's App store.

Apple declined to comment for this article.

To be sure, experts say they know of nothing intrinsically wrong with Apple's fingerprint reader, based on what the company has so far disclosed. Reviewers this week gushed over its ease of use and reliability.

The reader's sapphire crystal sensor is embedded in the phone's home button and reviews the fingerprint as a user touches it to verify his or her identity.

Data used for verification is encrypted and stored in a secure enclave of the phone's A7 processor chip. No information is sent to any remote servers, including Apple's iCloud system.

HD Moore, a well-known hacking expert and chief researcher with the security software maker Rapid7, said such protections mean "the bar is a little bit higher," but that certainly won't discourage hackers from trying to break the new technology.

"This is definitely something to target and something people will want to go after," he said.

Nothing personal
Apple shouldn't take hackers' enthusiasm personally.

All major electronics products are subjected to similar scrutiny as new features are rolled out, including devices from Google, Microsoft and Samsung Electronics.

For example, in 2012, Charlie Miller led a team that demonstrated techniques for taking over smartphones running Google's Android software through their use of near-field communications, or NFC, a wireless technology used for sharing data or making purchases at point-of-sales terminals.

Bugs are often disclosed by "white hats," hackers who unearth flaws and report them so manufacturers can repair them, preventing criminal exploitation. The hope is the good guys find them before "black hats" uncover them for nefarious purposes.

White hats have found multiple security issues with iPhones, iPads and in the App store since Apple launched its first smartphone in 2007. They say that scrutiny has helped make it one of the most secure devices on the market today.

Apple executives said at last week's iPhone launch that the new fingerprint reader, dubbed Touch ID, will help make phones far more secure by dint of its ease of use.

About half of all smartphone users don't bother to use current screen-locking technology because of the inconvenience of keying in multiple-digit passwords. Apple is betting users may be far more willing to avail themselves of a solution that requires a single finger-swipe.

"The technology within Touch ID is some of the most advanced hardware and software we put in any device," Dan Riccio, senior vice president of hardware engineering, said at the event.

Kennedy said he needs to examine the new iPhone to figure out how to best attempt an attack.

He said his choices include hacking the software that analyzes the fingerprint data, or physically opening up the phone and connecting it to a custom-built device that would impersonate Apple's fingerprint reader.

He added that it might be possible to lift a user's fingerprint from elsewhere on the device and somehow make a clone of it.

Rich Mogul, an analyst with the security research firm Securosis, said he planned to use it and expects it to be widely adopted despite the fact that hackers are circling.

"Nobody has gotten their hands on it to see what the weaknesses are and how easy it is to crack," Mogul said.

She fought obesity, asthma, Nina’s granny says

 Oblivious of the racial slurs being heaped on her granddaughter who won the Miss America pageant, Nina Davuluri's 85-year-old grandmother V Koteswaramma is rejoicing. 

"I am not surprised. I was always confident she would go places as I was aware of her abilities and dedication," said Koteswaramma. Her home at Moghalrajapuram was busy with family friends and relatives trooping in to congratulate the grandparents since Monday morning. 

Recalling how her grand-daughter struggled before reaching the pinnacle, Koteswaramma said that Nina overcame two obstacles, asthma and obesity. "I can only say that Nina will not stop here," she said. 

A relative said Nina was the only one in her immediate family who did not pursue medicine. While her parents, father Koteswara Chowdary and mother Sheila Ranjani, are doctors in the US, her maternal aunt and uncle too are doctors. Nina's elder sister, Meena, is in her third year of medicine. Her paternal uncles are also doctors in US. 

"Nina too wanted to study medicine and become a cardiologist. But she took a new route and has now won the Miss America title," Koteswaramma beamed. She said Nina was a loves Telugu films and culture and is a trained Kuchipudi and Bharat Natyam dancer. 

Koteswara shifted to the US soon after his marriage in 1981. Sheila is on the board of Montessori Kalasala as vice-president and visits the city at least once in two years. The girls of the Montessori celebrated the Nina's new title. 

Nina last visited Vijaywada city in 2007 soon after becoming first runners up in Miss America'soutstanding teen contest. However, except for Koteswaramma's close family circle, very few in the city knew of her until she was crowned Miss America. Nina is a graduate in cognitive science from Michigan university. 

Earlier, a Vijayawada girl, Gadde Sindhoora won the 'Femina Miss India' title and reached the Miss World semi-finals in 2005. 

How brands newsjack events on social media

Brands are continuously trying to humanize themselves to increase interaction with customers and become more likeable on social media. Not only do they interact with customers, they often indulge in 'friendly' chitchat with rival brands too - stuff that consumers seem to revel in.

Twitter has proved to be a great platform for such 'interactions'.

Most recently, in a move made out of fear, envy or sheer overconfidence, many smartphone brands tried to steal some limelight from the 'big'Apple event.

When Apple announced that the iPhone 5C would be available in multiple colours, many on social media pointed out the obvious 'coincidence' that Nokia too had earlier launched a series of brightly coloured phones.

Among those was Nokia (obviously). The tweet, which read "Thanks, #Apple ;)" carried an image of Nokia's Lumia range with the caption - Imitation is the best form of flattery.

Google Glass Could Soon Accompany Surgeons into the Operating Room

For the Everyman, wearing Google Glass seems a bit like overkill. Who needs to always be connected or record every minute of your life? But for specialty jobs that require a high level of expertise, say a heart surgeon, Google Glass might come in pretty handy, in fact it might just save your life. Surgeons and doctors may be some of the earlier adopter of Google Glass, which would allow them to view patient scans and monitor critical vital information while performing procedures. We just hope they aren’t using it to watch a PGA tournament or check their stocks while you’re under the knife. Think we’re years away still from Google Glass being used in surgery. Think again, it’s already happening. At the recent Rock Health conference in San Francisco, Dr. Pierre Theodore discussed his use of Google Glass during surgery to help him visualize anatomy while working on the patient. Glass was used to project images of the patient’s CT scans so Theodore could refer to them to help with the procedure. He explained that using Glass wasn’t disruptive, but in fact helpful to his work and described it as “akin to the switch a driver makes when glancing in the rear-view mirror.”

Google Glass can also be used to record a live surgery (with consent of course) for use in teaching situations. Since Glass allows hands-free recording from the viewer’s perspective, the video of a surgery from the surgeon himself is incredibly as a useful teaching tool. Other uses for Google Glass discussed at the Rock Health conference envision doctors wearing Glass while talking with patients to record histories and discussions for review at a later time. When connected with healthcare applications and software, like Augmedix is developing specifically for Google Glass, this could reduce the time doctors spend doing paper work and give them more time to attend to patients.

Story of Shuddh Desi Romance | Shuddh Desi Romance translates into “Pure Indian Romance”

Shuddh Desi Romance roughly translates into “Pure Indian Romance”, but there’s little pure about the lovers here. Meet Gayatri (Parineeti Chopra) and Raghu (Sushant Singh Rajput) who are rebels in love. They are perennially altar-phobic and their minds are as messed up as their cluttered apartment. Perhaps that’s why it is so liberating to watch this romantic comedy.

Unlike popular Bollywood romances, the hero isn’t a rich, smooth-talking lad who is charming and sweeps his soul-mate off her feet. Their courtship isn’t a long-winded swanky affair filled with champagne and roses either. And, there are no pre-ordained happy endings here.

Raghuram is a tourist guide in Jaipur who meets the gregarious Gayatri on his way to his own wedding. He’s at flight-risk and her irresistibly radiant personality sends him off the edge. Some forbidden kisses and cigarette puffs later, the two move in together. Their union is swift and their relationship is sealed with just one song — no mean feat, since Bollywood romance prides itself in throwing in at least half a dozen songs to underline blossoming love. Just like today’s modern-day couples, these lovers fight, break up — and make up with gusto.

Credit here goes to Rajput and Chopra for playing their parts beautifully. Lust is tastefully showcased and attraction is adorably packaged. The third wheel in this equation is Taara, the jilted bride, played by newcomer Vaani Kapoor. She’s weirdly jarring and her idea of revenge needs a slight tweaking. Plus, her reaction to a guy who dumped her unceremoniously comes across as a bit unrealistic. She’s confident in her act but it makes you question whether such women exist in real life. However, the rest of the film is all real.

Director Maneesh Sharma of Band Baaja Baarat fame does a splendid job of bringing alive the city of Jaipur. It’s glorious yet grimy — just like the lovebirds of Shuddh Desi Romance. For all those who believe that a romantic comedy happy ending means a wedding, this will come as a welcome break.

रिलीज से पहले ही धूम-3 का धमाल, 75 करोड़ कमाकर चेन्नई एक्सप्रेस को दी चुनौती!

अपुष्ट खबरों की मानें तो आमिर खान की फिल्म 'धूम 3' ने रिलीज होने से पहले ही 75 करोड़ रुपये कमा लिए हैं. बताया जा रहा है कि फिल्म के सैटेलाइट अधिकार सोनी टीवी ने 75 करोड़ रुपये में खरीद लिए हैं.
यह एक रिकॉर्ड है. इससे पहले सबसे महंगे सैटेलाइट अधिकार का खिताब सलमान खान की फिल्म 'दबंग 2' के पास था. फिल्म ने इसके जरिए 44 करोड़ कमाए थे. चेन्नई एक्सप्रेस के सैटेलाइट अधिकार 40 करोड़ में बिके थे.
अंग्रेजी समाचार वेबसाइट डीएनए ने एक सूत्र के हवाले से लिखा है कि आमिर इस फिल्म को लेकर आत्मविश्वास से भरे हुए हैं. उन्हें कई लोगों से कहते सुना गया है कि फिल्म 300 करोड़ का जादुई आंकड़ा भी छू सकती है. गौरतलब है कि फिल्म बनाने में ही 150 करोड़ रुपये खर्च कर दिए गए हैं. फिल्म इस साल के अंत में क्रिसमस पर रिलीज हो रही है.
ऐसा क्या है धूम 3 में 
यह यशराज बैनर की लोकप्रिय धूम सीरीज की तीसरी फिल्म है. इसमें आमिर खान, कटरीना कैफ और अभिषेक बच्चन जैसे बड़े सितारे हैं. पहली बार आमिर किसी एक्शन थ्रिलर फिल्म में नेगेटिव भूमिका में नजर आएंगे.
यह भी पहली बार है जब बड़े पर्दे पर आमिर और कटरीना की जोड़ी नजर आएगी. फिल्म में उदय चोपड़ा भी होंगे. शूटिंग अमेरिका के शिकागो में की गई है. फिल्म प्रेमियों को शानदार लोकेशन और चकित कर देने वाले एक्शन की उम्मीद है. फिल्म का ट्रेलर भी अभी नहीं आया है. सिर्फ मोशन पोस्टर रिलीज किया गया है. ऐसे में ही 75 करोड़ कमा लेना, फिल्म के लिए बहुत बड़ी उपलब्धि है.

Fingerprint scanner: The killer feature of iPhone 5S

This is one of those occasions when the rumours turned out to be true. There was a talk ahead of the iPhone launch event on September 10 that the high-end Apple phone will come with a fingerprint scanner for added security. Now we know that iPhone 5S indeed packs in a fingerprint scanner, hidden inside its round home button. 

This is a unique feature. While there is no doubt that other phone makers will add this feature to their phones, for now it should give Apple an advantage in high-end phone market, and iPhone 5S a better chance at standing up to upcoming Android devices like LG G2 that have better and bigger screens. 

A phone is a very personal device and people do care about the security of the data that they store in it. This was reflected in how Phill Schiller, Apple's VP for marketing, introduced the feature. "iPhone 5S sets a new standard for smartphones, packed into its beautiful and refined design are breakthrough features that really matter to people, like Touch ID, a simple and secure way to unlock your phone with just a touch of your finger," he said. 

Apple is calling the fingerprint scanner Touch ID. 

Once a user has stored his fingerprint impression into the device, he will be able to unlock the phone by pressing his finger on the home screen button. Apple said the TouchID can be also be used in apps. For example, in iTunes Store where a user has to put in a password before he can buy an app, Touch ID will negate the use of password. To buy an app a user will have to just provide the device with his fingerprint impression. 

Apple said Touch ID was very reliable. "Built into the home button, Touch ID uses a laser cut sapphire crystal, together with the capacitive touch sensor, to take a high-resolution image of your fingerprint and intelligently analyze it to provide accurate readings from any angle," the company noted in its press release. 

The technology of the TouchID seems to have been based on the research by AuthenTec, a company that Apple bought last year for $365 million. Before it was acquired, the company also made fingerprint scanning apps for Android devices. 

During the launch event, Apple claimed that the sensor used for Touch ID could scan at a resolution of 550 PPI (pixel per inch). It can scan sub-epidermal skin layers, which means the pattern under the top skin layer, and has 360 degrees readability to make sure that the unlocking of the device works irrespective of the orientation of a user's finger. 

The Touch ID can also store more than one fingerprint. This means anyone who is permitted by the user will be able to unlock his device. 

Security of mobile devices has become a huge issue in the wake of NSA leaks. Two days ago a report in a German newspaper claimed that spies employed by National Security Agency (NSA) in the US have broken the security mechanism used in phones and can access data stored in iPhones, BlackBerry phones and Android devices. 

Apple hints that Touch ID is more secure method than the normal passwords. "All fingerprint information is encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Enclave inside the A7 chip on the iPhone 5S... it's never stored on Apple servers or backed up to iCloud," the company said in the press release. 

The reports based on files leaked by Edward Snowden, an ex-contractor with NSA, have highlighted that the agency has capability to intercept data flowing through internet cables. The reports have also claimed that technology companies, including Apple, often give NSA access to data stored in services like iCloud. 

Technology have termed these claims false. 

By highlighting that fingerprint scans are stored locally, Apple is probably trying to allay security fears users may have over its alleged co-operation with NSA.

Why Apple fans may be missing Steve Jobs

I will be very happy if, by the end of it all, Tim Cook does not have blood on his hands. But, by the looks of it, Apple CEO may be assiduously murdering the legacy of legendary Steve Jobs.

Can someone like Cook spoil the broth that he himself helped cook so successfully for so many years? But then knowing Jobs, we also know how most decision-making happened at Apple while he was at the helm.

Agreed that Cook may not have been party to the spirit of innovation that Jobs so proudly touted, along with some aura and theatrics to mesmerise us during Apple's annual launch events, but the latest iPhone launch left me disenchanted.

Agreed that Cook is not at all a man incapable of filling in the big shoes as proven so far by a number of things: the product line-up (until Tuesday), Apple holding its stock price, cult following for its products, its market share and profits despite thinner margins, but can he continue the iPhone party sans the design edge so intrinsic to Apple.

More so, he was hand-picked by the God at Apple who could not go wrong in his decisions. Or could he?

To be fair, even a visionary like him did go wrong in reading a few things. He felt there was no market for smartphones bigger than 3.5 inch or tablets smaller than 9.7 inch! Runaway success of phablets around 6 inch size perhaps prompted Apple to launch 7.9 inch iPad Mini last year while it marginally increased the screen size of iPhone 5 to 4 inch.

Despite criticism and murmurs that Apple was not doing anything 'revolutionary' anymore -- in the post Jobs era -- people lapped up a thinner, lighter, glitzier iPhone 5 that sold like hot cakes, keeping its shareholders content despite initial nervousness.

It was expected that some day Apple will eventually break away from Jobs' legacy; and perhaps the onslaught of Google Android and Microsoft Windows Mobile phones will make winds of change blow faster at Apple than expected.

Yet, Apple still does one launch a year of its flagship product (although it turned the iteration clock faster on iPads last year). Like all Apple events, the Apple aficionados (me included) look forward to that ONE iPhone event anxiously and expect some gush-inspiring surprises among the announcements.

However, it is not the lack of this that I seek to blame on Cook though two or three launches won't hurt. After all, not all smartphone buyers find that one-year wait worth it and one size does not fit all.

Now, I do not expect a cult company to pander to market histrionics and hype by launching a dozen similar looking phones at every one thousand rupee price point so as to lure and capture every single buyer on earth. No, that doesn't work even for the 'cheaper' Korean rivals.

But if Apple has to continue being the icon it has been revered as all these years, it also has to be ready to thrive in a multi-polar world of mobile devices with Google Android as well as Microsoft Nokia, besides the Korean army and Taiwanese and Chinese mercenaries! And the least it could do was play the 'cheaper' game in a half-hearted manner!

Many will balk and say use of polycarbonate does not make a phone cheap. Ask now-sold Nokia and the Korean 're-inventor'. They have met with reasonable success using the same 'cheap' plastic, saving themselves better margins than with glass and aluminium shell! But whoever told Cook that he could not have cranked up the specs than serve old wine in a new bottle?

Now consider this: iPhone 5C, or the cheaper iPhone, as it has been dubbed, is targeted largely at emerging markets (though I reckon it will do well in many other markets) by offering several people a more affordable iPhone ownership option.

Yet, with the basic unlocked model being priced at $549, it is anything but affordable, at least in emerging markets like India or China. It remains in the premium smartphones category.

In a burgeoning but price-sensitive market like India, it will amount to merely getting a plastic-cased, unlocked iPhone 5 for nearly Rs 35-37,000 (more in case Raghuram Rajan effect on Indian Rupee wears off sooner than Apple decides to launch new iPhones here).

This price bracket is still largely restricted for top-end models. Even the Korean company's KitKat supportive 4th generation model (launched later than iPhone 5) comes under that price (under cashback offer).

So it does not help that iPhone 5C has a year-old specs! Either specs ought to have been bettered, or price cut further by $100-150, particularly given the formidable Android and Nokia Lumia buildup in the months to come for less than Rs 35,000. Else, instead of launching a plastic version, Apple could have simply reduced the pricing of iPhone 5 and continued with its more beautiful casing.

It does matter a lot to any CEO if he can cut the input costs while keeping the selling price around same levels. In that context, Apple will save on its hardware manufacturing costs, but it runs the risk of causing the brand to suffer an image loss.

A number of users - even some like me who swear by Apple's products -- do feel Apple has been snobbish about certain things. Like launching only one iteration a year, like bringing iPhone late to emerging markets, like its reluctance to go colourful (now addressed), like never getting off its premium positioning pedestal, like taking India non-seriously! In that context, it would not have hurt Apple to launch a genuinely affordable iPhone 5C variant, one with slightly lesser frills!

A number of Apple fan boys will want to slit my throat for saying what they may deem as sacrilegious, but much as I admire Apple for its attention to detail, innovative zest and amazingbuild quality wedded to ease of use in all its products, I do not allow myself to be blinded by its faux sense of ultra marketing hype. It is not missed on me after Tuesday's launch event that theSteve Jobs era may well nigh be over at Apple.

For all we know, both iPhone 5C and 5S will still turn out to be amazing hot sellers, filling Apple's coffers further, but here seems a company that is increasingly looking more and more vulnerable, rather than a strong citadel of innovation!

It cannot be lost on anyone the competition is nibbling at Apple's feet, to put it mildly. Given that, what has been dished out in form of iPhone 5S after a year's wait too is less than encouraging, and definitely misses the chutzpah. Already, despite being the best phone to me, iPhone 5 (and now 5C and 5S) seems to suffer from the lack of a slightly bigger and wider form factor.

And there is no reason why Apple should not have seriously considered a 5.5 or 6-inch phablet for better viewing, book-reading and browsing experience! And no, I am also not advocating an iPhone at every $100 or Rs 6,500 bracket, although it may be a mouth-watering prospect for some.

Brands come and brands go. Companies that turn intransigent and refuse to keep their ear to the ground start over-estimating their brand potential and gradually start bleeding themselves to death. We have seen the downfall of once-mighty Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Palm and BlackBerry.

Mobility tech and automobiles remain among the most merciless business spheres given the stiff competition and obsolescence rates. A company's perception among its target audience amidst the interplay of rival offerings and its own ability to ride the wave of innovation matters more than ever. A few successive slip-ups can cause you to start bleeding.

One more thing. Dear Tim, "Your time is limited... don't waste it living someone else's life." Bring it on, man!

Jobs is dead, but his spirit of cutting-edge innovation shall not be killed. We love Apple way too much to see its downfall for neglecting what has always been the cornerstone at 1, Infinite Loop, Cupertino: Innovation. It is time you put your success stamp where it matters. Jobs may have died, don't let Apple die.

Changing China set to shake world economy, again

BEIJING/LONDON: Long after concerns about tightening US monetary policy have faded, a more profound issue will still dog global policymakers: how to handle the second stage of China's economic revolution.

The first phase, industrialisation, shook the world. Commodity-producing countries boomed as they fed China's endless appetite for natural resources. Six of the 10 fastest-growing economies last decade were in Africa.

China's flood of keenly priced manufactured goods hollowed out jobs in advanced and emerging nations alike but also helped cap inflation and made an array of consumer goods affordable for tens of millions of people for the first time.

The second stage of China's development promises to be no less momentous.

Consumption will take over the growth baton from investment. Services will grow as a share of the economy, while industry shrinks. Commodity-intensive mass manufacturing based on cheap labour will give way to greener, cleaner ways of making things.

More of the value added by a better-educated, more productive workforce harnessing new technologies will stay in China instead of going to multinational companies.

That's the plan, anyway.

China will remain the most powerful engine of global growth for the next couple of decades, but it will no longer be just processing imported raw materials and components for re-export, said Li Jian with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Commerce Ministry's think tank.

"China has realised that it cannot blindly rely on investment and exports as the main drivers of growth. So China's demand will be more balanced," Li said.
High stakes

To show it is serious about more sustainable growth, China deliberately engineered the first-half slowdown that unnerved markets in order to address these longer-term structural priorities, according to President Xi Jinping.

Xi and the other new leaders of China's Communist Party are expected to approve a blueprint for reform at a plenum in November. Overcoming vested interests opposed to the new economic model will be a stern test of their credibility.

A lot is at stake for the global economy too.

Philip Schellekens, an economist with the World Bank in Washington, said the importance of the reforms Beijing intends to make cannot be overstated. As China changes, so will the rest of the world.

"The structural transformations that we think are going to happen in China over the next two decades will matter far more than the near-term vulnerabilities," he said.

On balance, commodity-exporting developing economies stand to be affected more than rich nations - an obvious exception being Australia, where the end of a China-driven mining boom was a big issue in Saturday's election. China buys a third of Australia's exports.

Commodity demand should stay strong, especially as China's capital stock per head is only 10 percent that of America's and urbanisation has a long way to go. But rebalancing will favour commodities more closely tied to consumption than to investment.

Economists fret that too many emerging markets spent their windfalls from surging raw material prices instead of ploughing them into infrastructure and other investment. As a result, growth is slowing now that China's demand is softening.

China's appetite for agricultural commodities and energy should hold up well but Capital Economics, a London consultancy, said it was concerned about large metals exporters that have not saved their extra income and so are running current account deficits.

It singled out South Africa, Zambia, Chile and Peru as being particularly vulnerable.

Winners and losers

Of course, lower raw material prices should boost growth and lower inflation for commodity importers.

Take iron ore. With no other country coming close to being able to absorb the slack left by China, which imports about two-thirds of the world's ore, prices risk years of decline as a major oversupply swamps demand, with some forecasting prices to be cut in half by 2015.

Another bonus is that big emerging markets such as India and Indonesia will have a chance to move into basic manufacturing sectors that China is vacating. Bangladesh has quickly become the world's second-biggest textile exporter.

Brazil stands out as an example of a country that has already been under intense pressure from China in low-skill industries such as footwear and will increasingly be going head to head with China in higher-value markets too. Policies to boost competitiveness thus become more imperative than ever.

After largely missing the chance to reform during the boom, Brazil also risks squandering the opportunities thrown up by China's transition slip unless it improves its infrastructure, cuts red tape and overhauls its tax system, economists say.

"Some of the underlying structural shortcomings of the economy were covered up during the bonanza. It's only as the commodity boom has slowed that the supply side constraints have become more visible," said Jens Arnold, who tracks Brazil for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

In the case of advanced economies, China's transition is a double-edged sword, according to He Yifeng, an analyst at Hongyuan Securities in Beijing.

"For the United States and Europe, China's rebalancing could create more competition for them. But they can take the initiative by focusing on the higher end of the value chain, relying on knowledge and technology exports," he said.

Services bonanza

Already a lucrative market for European purveyors of luxury goods, China will increasingly present opportunities for foreign firms as incomes rise and consumers grow more discriminating.

Safety-conscious parents' choice of foreign-made baby milk formula is a case in point, said Haibin Zhu, chief China economist for JP Morgan in Hong Kong.

"We will probably see a shift in the consumption basket," Zhu said. "The increased focus on product quality is positive news for many international exporters, particularly from advanced economies."

Another rich seam for advanced economies is services, which account for just 43 percent of Chinese GDP, the smallest share of any major economy.

James Emmett, global head of trade finance at HSBC in London, said urbanisation and the rise of China's middle class offered openings to firms in Britain and beyond in sectors such as health, education and tourism.

"We are seeing a change in the nature of China," he said.

As services blossom, foreign companies could reap a windfall of up to $6 trillion by 2025 in everything from retail trade and transport to hotels and finance, said Yale University's Stephen Roach, a former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia.

Zhu at JP Morgan expects investment to drop from 48 percent of GDP to 35 percent by 2018-2020 as consumption (household and government) rises to 60-65 percent from 50 percent.

At the same time, GDP growth is likely to slow toward 6.5 percent a year by 2016-2020 from 7.7 percent in 2012 and 10 percent a year on average since the late 1970s.

Yet market worries about the transition need to be kept in perspective. Even if growth slows to 5 percent a year by 2030, Schellekens with the World Bank said China will still be adding output every year equal to the size of the South Korean economy.

"Even though China is facing quite a transformation, the long-term future is still a very positive one," he said.

Apple set to announce two iPhones with eye on India, China

SAN FRANCISCO: The handset market is so brutally competitive that Apple, the most successful smartphone maker, is preparing to step up its game this week by offering two new iPhones instead of one.

At an event on Tuesday at its Cupertino, California, headquarters, the company is set to unveil for customers worldwide a new iPhone with a faster processor, along with another model that will be sold at a lower cost.

The company's profit growth has slowed in response to a saturated handset market in America and parts of Europe. Many people already own a smartphone and are not upgrading to new devices as often as before.

A lower-cost smartphone could allow Apple to expand into overseas markets — especially China, where the iPhone has been highly desired among many consumers but is just out of reach because of its price.

"A cheaper model will open up the market significantly for Apple," said Chetan Sharma, an independent telecom analyst who consults for phone carriers.

Apple declined to comment on the new products. But analysts expect the higher-priced model to be an improvement over the current iPhone, including a faster processor and better camera flash, as well as a fingerprint sensor for security.

The second iPhone is expected to be a cheaper version of the soon-to-be-outdated iPhone 5, coming in a variety of colors, with a plastic case instead of aluminum. Analysts expect the full price of the lower-cost iPhone to be $300 to $400, positioning it as a midtier product.

Apple has been enormously successful, with the iPhone driving most of its revenue. In the second quarter, the company took 53% of the profit in the global smartphone market, with SamsungElectronics, which uses Google Android software to run its smartphones, taking the rest, according to a survey by Canaccord Genuity, an investment bank.

But both Apple and Samsung face a common enemy: the tide of manufacturers that produce dirt-cheap Android phones. While they make all the profits, Apple and Samsung have seen their combined share of the worldwide smartphone market drop to 43% in the second quarter from 49% a year earlier. The makers of cheaper phones — including Huawei, Yulong and ZTE of China, and Micromax and Karbonn of India — are raking in sales in emerging markets where high-end smartphones are not popular.

"We've had several indications from the handset market that vendors are in real trouble," said Tero Kuittinen, an analyst for Alekstra, a mobile diagnostics firm. "The biggest threat to all the companies seems to be the low-end Androids."

In terms of sales, smartphones surpassed traditional flip phones this year. There are a few markets remaining where traditional cellphones are still outselling the smartphone, including India, Brazil and Russia. Data from Qualcomm suggests that Latin America, China and India are adding substantially higher numbers of smartphone subscriptions than North America, Japan, Korea and Europe.

China, with its huge population, is an attractive target for Apple. But Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, said recently in a call with investors that the company was puzzled about why sales of its products were struggling in China. Sales there fell 4% in the second quarter compared with the same quarter last year. And Apple's sales in Hong Kong were down about 20%.

A cheaper iPhone could help it gain traction in China, depending on its cost.

Analysts said the introduction of the cheaper iPhone would probably coincide with an expected partnership deal with China Mobile, which has about 700 million subscribers — about seven times as many as Verizon Wireless. Capturing even a small percentage of China Mobile customers would translate to tens of millions more iPhone sales.

Apple already sells its phones in China through China Telecom, a major network operator, but it slipped into sixth place among smartphone makers there in the second quarter, with a share of only 4.8%, according to Canalys, a research firm. Over all, China is the largest smartphone market in the world, accounting for one-third of worldwide shipments of smartphones in the second quarter; the United States is in second place, accounting for about 14% of shipments in the same period, according to Canalys.

Despite Apple's efforts to keep its plans secret, clues about the new iPhones leaked out. China Telecom briefly posted a message last week on a blog platform soliciting early orders for the new devices. It identified the high-end model as the iPhone 5S, and the lower-cost one as the iPhone 5C. The post was later removed. A spokesman for China Telecom declined to comment, citing nondisclosure agreements.

In Japan, where Apple is much stronger but faces a renewed challenge from domestic smartphone makers like Sony, the company has struck a deal to sell the iPhone with the country's biggest mobile phone carrier, NTT Docomo, two people briefed on the situation said Friday. Docomo has 60 million customers, but it has been losing market share to Japan's other two main mobile operators, SoftBank and KDDI, which operates under the brand name au. Both have been marketing Apple's phones aggressively, giving Apple a 40% share of smartphone sales in the first quarter, according to IDC, a research firm.

Historically, so that it can protect the quality of its products as well as profit margins, Apple has refused to make cheaper products just to get more customers. Therefore, a lower-cost iPhone would most likely be positioned as a midtier product, similar to the approach Apple took with the iPad Mini. At $330, the iPad Mini is cheaper than the bigger, $500 iPad, but not as affordable as the smaller Android tablets offered by Google and Amazon, which cost from $160 to $230.

Realistically, a lower-cost iPhone will be $300 to $400 at full price, Mr Kuittinen, the Alekstra analyst, said, significantly less than the current iPhone, which costs $650. Overseas, many phone carriers charge full price because they do not subsidize the upfront cost of a smartphone the way carriers do in the United States. And while a lower-cost iPhone would drive up Apple's revenue, it would probably not be a blockbuster hit in economically disadvantaged markets, Mr. Kuittinen said.

"Nobody is saying Apple should have a $130 iPhone," he said, "but if they price this iPhone 5C at $400 or above, it's just not going to be effective in countries like India, China or even Brazil."

Still, even if the price is fairly high, a cheaper iPhone should appeal to a subset of people in developing countries who flaunt gadgets as status symbols, like jewelry. People who were on the fence about buying an iPhone might pay a little extra just to be able to show off, Mr. Sharma, the telecom analyst, said. "Consumers are willing to shell out money to own a brand," he said. "I think a $300 price gives them a chance to own it."