Micromax to price dual-boot 'Laptab' under Rs 30,000

Las Vegas: Indian smartphone maker micromax's dual-operating system tablet Laptab will be priced under USD 500 (about Rs 30,000) and will be available in the domestic market next month.

                                                    
Its latest offering, which runs on both Windows 8 and Android 4.2.2 JellyBean, was unveiled at the International Consumer Electronics Show 2014 here.

"The Laptab will be priced under USD 500 for the Indian market and we expect to sell about 100,000 units in the domestic market in the first half of 2014," Micromax Co-founder Rahul Sharma said.

The Intel-powered LapTab is the first dual-boot Windows and Android tablet and is designed for multitasking across operating platforms.

Users need to reboot the device to switch from Windows to Android and vice versa, he added.

On technical specifications of the tablet, Micromax Chief Marketing Officer Shubhodip Pal said it is powered by 1.46GHz Intel Celeron processor and has a 10.1-inch IPS display.

Laptab comes with 2GB RAM, 7400 mAh battery, 2MP front camera with light sensor and wireless keyboard. With storage of 32 GB expandable up to 64 GB and supports Bluetooth v4.0 and Wi-Fi, he added.

"As Micromax looks to expand footprints across global markets, we would continue to fulfill our promise of democratising technology for people around the world by making it more affordable and accessible," Sharma said.

Micromax would be unveiling more products across international markets in next six months, he added.

According to analysts, the Laptab's specifications are not its highpoint, but the dual operating systems is.


However, Micromax is not the only company to launch a dual-OS tablet here.


Computer components maker Asus unveiled its Transformer Book Duet TD300, which also runs on Windows 8 and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

The 13.3-inch tablet from the Asus stable sports a quad-core Intel i7 processor, 4 GB RAM and 128 GB of internal storage.

Besides, the detachable keyboard dock has a 1 terabyte of internal memory and various ports, including HDMI, LAN, one USB 3.0, and two USB 2.0.

Samsung Galaxy S5 may be launched in March at London event

It may be two or three months before we could see a real Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung's next flagship smartphone, but the rumour mills are rife with speculation with its possible launch date and features. The latest rumour doing the rounds on the internet is that the big ticket launch from the South Korean tech giant may happen in mid-March at a London event.

Earlier, during last week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung's top official was quoted as saying that the much-awaited device would likely be launched in April. So, talk of a mid-March London launch for the S5 could very well be nothing but rumours to keep the internet buzzing about the phone until it really comes out.

Other rumours on the internet suggest that with its possible features and specifications, the S5 is likely to compete with Apple's iPhone. The Iphone 5s is out in the market and selling like hot cakes with some striking features and improvements in terms of its specs from the previous iPhone device. The iPhone 5s is the world's first 64-bit smartphone. Soon after the launch of the iPhone5s, Samsung was said to be working on a handset based on 64-bit processor. Additionally, the Apple flagship comes with a new fingerprint identity sensor.

Now, Samsung has an uphill task to either match or provide a better handset in terms of specs and features. Recently, a Samsung executive at CES 2014 has reportedly revealed that the world's leading smartphone maker was working on an eye-scanning technology. So, the possibility of the Galaxy S5 coming with an eye-scanning technology or iris scanner, as it is said as of now, is high.

Well, before the actual launch rumours speculations will keep coming, but we can't shrug it off as Samsung is known for innovative products in mobile space and has the potential to turn all these rumours into reality.

Team India leaves for New Zealand; to play 2 Tests, 5 ODIs

Mumbai: The Indian squad led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni departed for New Zealand from here today for a five-match ODI series followed by a best-of-two Test rubber against the hosts.

The limited overs contest will start on January 19 at Napier and conclude on January 31 at Wellington with the other three games to be held at Hamilton (January 22), Auckland (January 25) and Hamilton (January 28).

The Test series would be held after that with the opener scheduled from February 6-10 (Auckland) followed by the second and final match at Wellington (February 14-18).

The tourists would play a two-day warm-up game on February 2 and 3 at Whangarei ahead of the Tests.

Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara, Zaheer Khan, Murali Vijay and Umesh Yadav did not leave with the others today and are slated to leave a week later.

This is India's ninth visit to New Zealand for a bilateral contest and their first since 2008-09 that they won 1-0.

The ODI team: M S Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit
Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh
Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ishwar Pandey, Stuart Binny and Varun Aaron.

The Test team: M S Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan,
Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma,
Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami,

Ranji Trophy 2013-14: Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave praises his players for their performance against Mumbai

Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave praised his players after they defeated Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2013-14 quarter-final on Saturday. It was the first time they have beaten Mumbai in a knockout game of the Ranji Trophy.

“It is an outstanding feeling to beat Mumbai in Mumbai and beating them in the knockout is even more special. All the credit goes to the players who have been outstanding. You are 122 down on a seamer friendly pitch, not many would have given a chance but it was a lion-hearted effort from the players and hats off to them,” Bhave said at the Wankhede Stadium.

Maharashtra were a wicket down at the end of Day Three and the match was hanging in balance. Bhave credited Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Zol for their unbeaten 215-run partnership. Jadhav scored 120 while Zol scored 91.

“Given the conditions, the match was in balance. I think Kedar [Jadhav] and Vijay [Zol] took the match away. First they soaked the pressure and took the match away.”

Bhave heaped praise on centurion Kedar Jadhav for shepherding a young Vijay Zol and showing his experience to plan the chase maturely. Bhave said, “I am sure he helped Vijay when he went after Nayar bowling outside off-stump. Kedar put him right and told him not go that wide and preserve his area of strokeplay. He has helped the other team members quietly in his own way. This year Kedar has showed he has matured much more to hold the batting together.”

About the young Zol, the coach said “I think he has got to take it slowly and not get too ahead of himself. Vijay being just 19 will help him a lot. By nature Vijay is an aggressive batsman. The fact that he had to leave a lot of balls in the morning showed his patience. When the bowlers bowl wicket to wicket he is good at playing them.”

He emphasised on the importance of winning every session. “If you see the session pie, four sessions were won in a row by Mumbai and five in arrow then by Maharashtra. So 5-4, there’s your winner. Winning five sessions together will make a miracle happen.”

Maharashtra were bowled out for 280 thereby, conceding a 122-run first innings lead. “I thought we could have taken their score much closer to the Mumbai total.

“Having said that, the bowlers hit the right areas. And I knew when the bowlers hit the right areas nicks are going to happen. So it was all about the catching.

“And that brought us back in the match. The lines held by the bowlers were very tight on off-stump. And they hardly anything to leave and they had to play. Since they had to play some of them were going to nick it and it was taken very well behind the wickets,” Bhave said.

When asked about the brilliant turnaround, Bhave added, “Most of them are brilliant individual players. Last season four or five batsmen were averaging about 50 in the Elite league. For those performances to come together and convert them into wins was important. That’s exactly what we have done so far and potentially there are two more matches to go and we want to play them well.”

IPL 7: Mumbai Indians retain Rohit, Malinga, Pollard, Harbhajan and Rayudu

Defending champions Mumbai Indians on Friday retained five players including skipper Rohit Sharma and dashing West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard, for the upcoming seventh season of Indian Premier League.

Apart from skipper Rohit and Pollard, the three others retained are senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga and talented batsman Ambati Rayudu, who can also double up as a wicketkeeper.

Ashes hero Mitchell Johnson, who picked up 37 wickets during the Test series against England, will now be favourite to be obtained through 'Right to Match' cards that the franchise can exercise during the two-day auction on February 12 and 13.

"The formidable combination of these five players - Rohit, Pollard, Malinga, Bhajji and Rayudu - forms the nucleus of Mumbai Indians. They have exemplified the spirit of Mumbai Indians and are match-winners in their own right," Nita Ambani, owner of MI, was quoted as saying in a press release.

"With the retention of the core players, Mumbai Indians look forward to build a stronger, well-knit teamand share the joy of an enthralling and entertaining performance with its ever-growing fans in the coming season," she further added.

Dinesh Karthik missed out on retention to Rayudu, whose ability to do a decent job behind the stumps and being a specialist batsman tilted the scales in his favour.
As far as Malinga is concerned, he has been a 'Game Changer' for MI at the death overs and the possibility of some of the matches being played in Sri Lanka may have prompted the team management to take a call in the slinger's favour.

Mumbai Indians have had phenomenal success over the last four years, both on and off the field, emerging as one of the most successful and followed teams.

As a favourite sports team, Mumbai Indians is closely followed by 4.2 million fans across the globe.
Brand Mumbai Indians was ranked No.1 cricket club in India and 146th among the 250 best sports brand in the world (BrandFinance pls, UK 2012).
In the Social Media space, Mumbai Indians featured among the top ten most followed Indian brands (INCITE 2012 by Nielsen & McKinsey).

Senior TV journalist 'joins' Aam Aadmi Party

NEW DELHI: Ashutosh, managing editor of Hindi news channel IBN7, has called it a day. Since Wednesday evening, social networking website Twitter was abuzz with news of a senior journalist quitting his job and joining Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party.

In a series of tweets, Ashutosh announced his resignation on Twitter.

On Jan 8, he tweeted: "Journalism, my passion, IBN7 my baby! When I look back I remember the week I joined profession, Nelson Mandela was released, history changed."

"These are again historic moments, societal churning is on, everybody has to contribute to make the change robust and beautiful."

"Life is beautiful and unpredictability makes it more enchanting. I am living one of those moments."

"Eight years back I changed my course, now there is another time, another call of destiny, have to swim - have to swim."

"IBN7 is my blood. IBN7 is my bones. It's my body, it's my soul. It's me."

On Thursday afternoon, he tweeted, "Yes I have resigned".

While Ashutosh has confirmed his resignation, he has not yet confirmed that he will be joining A

He told ANI, "I have resigned from IBN7, can't say about joining, but I am a great fan of AAP, they are agents of change".

Ashutosh, who has done his MPhil in Soviet Studies and MA in International Studies, has also written a book on anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare's movement.

Prior to joining IBN7, he was the member of Hindi news channel AajTak for more than ten years.

Other former journalists in the AAP include Manish Sisodia, who is presently education minister of Delhi and Shazia Ilmi. Delhi minister Rakhi Birla, too, was an intern at a news channel.

 

BJP condemns attack on AAP

BJP today condemned the attack on Aam Aadmi Party office near New Delhi allegedly carried out by some right-wing activists, saying no one has any right to resort to violence. "We surely condemn the attack on AAP office, because no one has any right to take the law unto their hands. We will never support anyone doing such an act," party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said. She was commenting on an attack on AAP office in Kaushambi in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of Delhi this morning, apparently to protest against its leader Prashant Bhushan's comment that deployment of army in Jammu and Kashmir should be on the basis of opinion of the people of the state. Sitharaman at the same time slammed Bhushan for the comments on Kashmir. "We also should remember Prashant Bhushan's comments on Kashmir, which is an integral part of India. What Prashant Bhushan has said on Kashmir, we condemn that also," she said. Around 40 activists of Hindu Raksha Dal broke flower pots kept outside the AAP's office and tore party posters. Some glass doors were also smashed in the attack. Police said no one was injured in the attack. "We today staged a protest against AAP's stand on Kashmir. AAP leader Prashant Bhushan's remark on Kashmir are very sad for Hindus due to which we staged a protest outside the party office," said Pinky Choudhary, national convenor, Hindu Raksha Dal.