Did you ever wish to see Iron Man go against Spiderman? Have you regretted Thor not aiming for the head of Thanos? Were you angry when Starlord disturbed Mantis’s spell and ruined their chance? Well, here’s your chance for redemption. Comic book giant Marvel recently collaborated with game published Netease to launch “Marvel Super War.”
The game is based in the fictional marvel universe and falls in the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) genre. Older gamers who were associated with Valve’s Dota2 will find themselves at home with Marvel Super War. You get to pick one among multiple Marvel superheroes, each with their unique role and skillset. The players then duke it out 5V5 on the same map, with an objective of destroying the other team’s base tower.
Image: Google Play Store
Marvel Super War can be played against the setting of Wakanda, which is Black Panther’s country. The map is divided in three lanes for each team and every player is assigned a lane. The superheroes are divided into five individual classes, though some heroes share their characteristics with other classes. These include Fighter, Energy, Assassin, Marksman and Support.
As the names suggest, each category has its unique advantages and drawbacks. The essence of the game is to make the perfect team and win the battle. Of the five players, three are given the job of handling enemies on their lane, while one enters the “jungle” to level up. The jungle is a neutral area spread across the map, which has neutral creeps. These creeps offer additional buffs and are usually killed by assassin heroes, who are also known as “junglers.” The fifth hero, which falls under the Support category, can roam around the map and support any team mate stuck in a difficult situation.
Image: Google Play Store
Each hero has either three or four skills, depending upon the hero selected and begins the game at level one. As the game progresses, the player can level up his respective hero by collecting gold and by gaining experience. Each hero upgrades up to level 18, while improving all his skills along the way. Gold can be collected by killing enemies, enemy minions, neutral creeps or destroying the guard turrets that protect the enemy base. The game also has a shop of inventories, of which any six can be purchased by each player to further enhance the hero abilities.
Image: Google Play Store
Marvel Super War also features Surtur that can be killed by any member of any team, following which that player’s team will be aided by Surtur. It then becomes the job of the opposing team to kill Surtur again before it does any serious damage.
Image: Google Play Store
Marvel Super War includes several popular superheroes such as Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Thanos, Iron Man, Spiderman and Hawkeye, among others. It also includes members of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Players have the liberty of choosing one of all these characters, giving the player a wide range of options. The game is also expanding continually and is adding new heroes every month.
Fans of the Marvel Universe can bring their wildest fantasies to reality with this game. You can pit Rocket Racoon against Groot, you can make Ronan help Starlord defeat Thanos or you can even make Thanos fight alongside Iron Man! The possibilities are endless, letting the player enjoy hours upon hours of gameplay without boredom.
Image: Google Play Store
Marvel Super War was released in December 2019 and I have been playing it since then. It has seasonal updates like any other online multiplayer and it is currently preparing to launch the third season. There are close to 60 heroes, with more coming in. My personal choice is mostly among the Energy or the Marksman heroes. Energy heroes include Mysterio, Magneto, Storm, Human Torch and Iron Man, among others. Marksman heroes allow you to choose from Hawkeye, Angel, Vision, Rocket Racoon and Starlord.
While the Energy heroes do not do much damage with basic attacks, they are extremely powerful spellcasters and can change the course of the game at any moment. Marksman heroes on the other hand give much higher damage with their basic attacks, but their skills offer limited boost. My other choices are also among Tank heroes, that include Hulk, Ronan, Cull Obsidian and The Thing, among others. These heroes are extremely damage resistant and prove a major blow absorber for the team.
As mentioned earlier, the essence of the game is to form the correct team and gain a tactical advantage over the enemy team. Friends can even team up to play in a custom room and form their own teams to fight each other. Finally, every Marvel fan can realize his dream of seeing The Avengers battle the X-Men, or the Fantastic Four go against the Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel Super War is currently exclusive for the Android platform and is free-to-play. Its next update is scheduled for July 9, 2020 and will add “Adam Warlock” as a new hero.
This is one much needed step from the tech world towards fighting the spread of Covid-19 in India. Around 100 leading private hospitals, tech companies and health-tech startups have together planned to launch this free telemedicine consultation app named ‘Swasth.
Infosys co-founder, Kris Gopalakrishnan is spearheading this initiative along with Apollo Hospital’s Shobhana Kamineni,Manipal Group’s Ranjan Pai, iSPIRT’s Sharad Sharma, former Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation executive Nachiket Mor and Subrata Mitra from Accel. All of them have come together to help the country reduce the spread of the contagious pandemic that has brought everyone’s life to an abrupt halt.
Other partners in the mission to launch the Swasth App include the startups Medlife and 1MG and Care.Fit along with e-commerce platforms like Udaan and Flipkart.
What is Swasth all about?
Free teleconsultation with a network of more than 2000 certified doctors.
Users will be able to look for availability of resources like beds, labs and home quarantine equipment and aid via the app.
When will Swasth be available for download?
24th June
Which languages is the app available in?
English, Hindi and Gujarati. However, it will soon be available in around 25 languages.
Is Swasth app free to use?
Although the app is free but a nominal fee may be charged for it’s services in order to cover additional operational costs.
The app has raised a funding of 10 Crore from ACT (entrepreneurs and investors in the startup community) and will go for further fund-raising opportunities by tapping into CSR funds of large organisations. More doctors can be expected being added to the app in the coming months. There is a network of doctors that will be offering their services free of cost.
As of now the main goal of Swasth is to provide telemedicine solutions for the masses. Later, the app plans to become a bigger network that can become part of our lifestyle.
Swasth currently being registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act which makes the app a not-for-profit organisation.
The functionality of the app helps in a proper exchange of data. The owner of the data being the patient and this data being accessed by only the hospital which the patient goes to. To be precise, it’s an open network with an addition of the ‘consent’ aspect. This can be utilized well way after the pandemic crisis is over as there’s no data breach while it also allows you to network freel and meet your telemedicine needs.
All in all, Swasth app does seem to be promising in not just what it has to offer right now but also in the long term. It allows the masses to seek the help and care they need and at the time they need without worrying about their data being leaked. We hope Swasth app truly helps our country stay Swasth because it’s time to open the gates to businesses, work and other leisure activities again; after all the show must go on!
So what’s trending? That’s what everyone wants to know about, especially on TikTok. While a lot of you use it, the ones who don’t might possibly have some preconceived notions about it. By that we mean the ‘not very good’ notions. The platform has been judged by many and while that has been for all the right reasons, there’s something about TikTok that no other platform has. Let’s figure out what that is.
We have Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and the not-so-popular-anymore Twitter when we want to post content. We love to portray a specific image of ourselves in order to be ‘liked’, literally. Here’s why TikTok is the breath of fresh air amidst all the ‘good looking’ social media platforms.
It breaks stereotypes
Not only is the platform very unique with it’s 15 sec and 60 sec short video format but is also unique in its audience. It is open to ALL and the audience literally welcomes ALL. The platform is used as much by a rickshaw puller as is used by a doctor. It is used as much by a fitness model as is by those with imperfect bodies who promote a message against ‘body shaming’. While a lot of people are of the opinion that the platform is full of generation Z showing off their multicolored hair and grooving an odd move to a sexually explicit song, you need to dive in to actually see what the generation Z is actually doing. They’re promoting messages of anti-racism, love for the LGBTQ community and a lot more that we all can learn from. There’s no other platform that authentically breaks stereotypes without any pretence than TikTok.
EVERYONE is the audience
From 14 year olds to 80 year olds and everything in between can be seen doing their thing. There’s an audience for everyone because literally, everyone is the audience. This makes TikTok’s content very very broad and there’s always something for everyone. From makeup artists to phenomenally talented dancers from small villages in some corner of the world, everyone has a voice that can be heard by everyone. Isn’t that a really good thing?
EVERYONE is allowed to be who they are?
While there’s so much pretence and so much care taken about how you look and appear before you switch on your expensive DSLR to capture one picture for Instagram, TikTok audience doesn’t care. They only want to see good content. If you’re talented or have something good to offer, they don’t care how you look or if you’re rich or poor. That makes the platform free of judgement. Status, gender, appearance no bar. You’re free to be who you are and you’ll not be shamed but accepted with open arms. Makes you feel at home, doesn’t it?
The Talent you see will put your Judgements to Shame
While most platforms are about pictures and videos, the formats, sound effects, music and filters you see on TikTok allow you to do much more. So if you thought a Rashmi from Jaunpur can’t rap because ‘Does she even know English?’, you’re so wrong. This is one place where you’ll see so much talent from every corner of the world that it will urge you to showcase what you can do too! The energy and positivity is phenomenal.
These are the four major reasons why you should download TikTok and check it out. Now before you think ‘TikTok is for kids who want to show the new pair of red and yellow sneakers they bought’, read point number 3 again. It’s only when you put your judgement aside will you be able to see all that we just told you. After all, it’s not only unfair but also dangerous to live with assumptions!
We heard the Managing Directors, and now it’s time to hear the front line ‘Brand’ Warriors. All marketing leaders are facing challenges in generating demand and keeping the conversations salient. We speak to heads of some of the most influential brands in India today, understanding the challenges they face, how they overcame them, and what have they planned for the future.
Panelists for The Experts Roundtable Chapter 6
Vivek Srivatsa, Head Marketing, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors
Shreyash Sigtia, Head of Industry, FMCG, Google India
Pallavi Singh, Director, Marketing, BMW India
Siddhant Narayan, Head of Marketing, OnePlus India
Moderator: Ramesh Somani- Chief Editor & Publisher, BBC TopGear India and Exhibit.
[Ramesh Somani]: Pallavi, I have known you from Harley-Davidson, then MG Motor India, and now BMW India. These are the time when we can’t be silent but salient, what’s your marketing strategy going ahead, in these challenging times when both the demand and supply are restricted.
[Pallavi Singh]: I think the times are unprecedented, and they need extraordinary measures of course. Automotive has been very traditional for a long time, and we are trying to upscale the digital transformation. From a strategy point of view, I think the next few months are going to be very critical, we really need to understand how the consumer behavior is changing, we are looking at first-party data, third-party data and really looking at what’s happening on our own platform and tracking how the customer journey is changing.
Digital transformation is going to lead to digital commerce, and that is something we really need to put forward to our stakeholders, our dealer network, and our customers. I think this a time that requires new learning; there is a lot of skill that we require to live in the post-COVID19 reality.
[Ramesh Somani]: Siddhant, you have worked with some of the most prominent brands – Nike, Daniel Wellington, and Jio. So tell us, how does your previous experience merge with your current role with OnePlus?
[Siddhant Narayan]: I consider myself very fortunate to work with very consumer-centric brands, a lot of youth-focused names. From a personal standpoint,
I have to come to realize whether it’s an Indian consumer of a global consumer, the consumer actually has more similarities than differences.
Whichever industry you look at, these young Indian consumers have more similarities than differences. A lot of this starts from consumer insights, and that’s my approach as well – looking for customer needs and answering them with our products and marketing strategies.
[Ramesh Somani]: We know the markets for automobiles are opening up as the relaxations are rolling out, what are your top three priorities from a marketing standpoint?
[Vivek Srivatsa]: Priorities are pretty straightforward in times like these. The first is to ensure customers feel confident in visiting our showrooms once again, a lot of work is needed and not only from Tata Motors but from the industry as a whole. Second is the overall concept of safety and wellbeing, how this has significantly gone up in the customer’s minds and as an industry we need to talk to them. The third point revolves around the difficult 15-18 months that the automotive industry has been facing, and we need to work together and get the ball rolling at the right speed.
[Ramesh Somani]: What are the user trends you are seeing during the lockdown Google?
[Shreyash Sigtia]: To sum it up in a few words, we were going online till February, now we are living online. I’ll give you a very simple example of how the transformation has taken place – my dad now pays his electricity bill online, my wife now buys groceries via apps and my kids go online to get educated. We would have had this panel face-to-face with the audience sitting in front, but here we are doing it virtually with the audience now coming in as viewers. These are some of the most picked up trends in the past few months. The last two and a half months has forced us to learn new skills to be more relevant in the current times. And now that you have forced me to speak about some really big trends, there are a couple of interesting commonly searched things. People are now looking up groceries near them, and I’ll give one thing from the automotive industry –
people now want to know if it is safe to visit dealers and they are looking up ways on how to sanitize their cars. People will use their mobile phones for a lot more things, and smartphones will become their lifeline in the coming post-COVID-19 era.
[Ramesh Somani]: What’s your source of marketing ideas? Any books, website how do you come up with marketing ideas?
[Pallavi Singh]: One thing that I go back to is 9GAG, and secondly, I have started playing a lot of video games because there is a lot you learn when you look at Call of Duty or you look at Far Cry – how intense these games are but it’s a team’s work together. If you collaborate your spirit, you can implement any idea, especially in times like these when ideas aren’t all that different, they are generally the same ideas but how do you reinvent the idea, how you can communicate them with your customers, those are the most important things. I think it’s all about the team spirit. The idea can be great but if you don’t have a team that can work it through, then it can fall flat. Also, I read a lot of books by Malcolm Gladwell, he writes a lot about business strategies and ways to approach markets.
[Siddhant Narayan]: I consider myself very fortunate to be working with a young, energetic, and tech-oriented team who are always high on energy, extremely passionate, and very committed. A lot of my ideas are actually my teams and a lot of credit goes to them. I’m also in constant touch with my professors and my ex-bosses and we discuss ideas and market trends. Also, since OnePlus is a community first brand and we have a lot of discussions going on our forums, I just stay in constant touch with the conversations there and bring up ideas from these forums to work with.
[Vivek Srivatsa]: As marketers and people on the commercial side of the business, we have been through a range of books that teach us a few tricks but today there is so much happening around in the world, I consider myself fortunate to live in this world where information is freely available, and the way I approach is to train my mind better to learn from what’s happening around us. This kind of learning probably doesn’t come from books, but we should probably train ourselves on how to take these learnings from things happening around us.
[Shreyash Sigtia]: I would really want to agree with Siddhant, a lot of ideas and creativity comes from the team. Especially in the COVID-19 times, people really come up with ideas that would be otherwise considered wacky but they make so much sense in today’s era. A lot of ideas also come when you sit with your partners and brainstorm for ideas to tackle the challenges that they are facing. My bias would be towards actions, a few months down the lie
I don’t want to be thinking I had this idea but I never got around to try it. I would rather try a lot more things to move the needle.
[Ramesh Somani]: How effective is “Influencer Marketing” in terms of promoting luxury brands digitally?
[Pallavi Singh]: BMW is an experiential brand, a lot of our customers can vouch for that and we design and engineer our cars very thoroughly. A lot of our influencer strategy is built on real people, people who use our cars whether they are celebrity chefs or lifestyle influencers in the fashion space. We work with them because they truly understand the brand, and they personify the brand because they are also using them. Some of them have helped us sell cars within their circles, and that is the kind of relationship we build with our fans – we call them brand fans and they are not really influencers they are fans of the brand.
[Ramesh Somani]: We saw a few influencers being associated with the launch of the Tata Altroz. How was the engagement like, were there any lessons learned that you would want to share with us?
[Vivek Srivatsa]: The way we approached the influencer engagement with the Tata Altroz was quite different from what we would have done a year or two back. We have to extremely clear with what we require from the influencers, and we need to cater and align our content to what the influencer does, what’s the audience he or she caters to. Today we are far more nuanced in the way we approach influencer marketing, we align our products or an aspect of our product with that kind of creator or audience and that really helped us. It also helps us dive deeper into our product proposition and it’s been a very fascinating journey so far.
[Ramesh Somani]: Domin8 has been seeing really good traction, how has been the campaign response?
[Siddhant Narayan]: We are still very fresh from the event that happened on the second. Summer is India is synonymous with cricket, this is the time when consumers are used to turning on their devices and watching the biggest premier leagues. A lot of these top cricketers also play computer games in their off-pitch time and while brainstorming with the team, the idea came up. It was actually something that we took a very big risk on, and as far as the measurement of all of this is concerned, we have got an incredible PR coverage around it. We also got a lot of organic engagement and coverage because something like this was never done before.
LIVE AUDIENCE POLL: – Will you go back to buying and reading print magazines?
RESULTS : 57 percent say yes, touch, and feel matters. 35 percent do it with e-mags and 8 percent are yet to decide.
[Ramesh Somani]: In this new normal, digital marketing has taken the front seat. How will events change shape the future?
[Pallavi Singh]: Well most recently it was Rihanna who did the live concert during the lockdown time, I think there has to be a hybrid model between online and offline. Traditional events like music concerts or even with automobiles where people come to look and feel the automobiles and hear it go for the first time – it’s always been about the physical touch but moving forward things will change. Hybrid models haven’t entirely been innovated in the COVID-19 scenario, they existed before as well. We will have to bring out more ideas and opportunities on the table, try combinations, and focus on technology integrations.
It’s too early to say how events will look like in the future, but we sure have seen virtual launches by various manufacturers using AR in the most recent times.
[Ramesh Somani]: Now local brands are being pushed to help recover the economy and many campaigns have been launched by the government. Do you have any marketing strategies aligned in line with this new #Vocalforlocal
[Vivek Srivatsa]: One point in that is that we don’t have to look for a slogan, it’s smartly ready. But I think as Tata Motors we don’t have to stress more on our local parts. As a brand, we are as Indian as it gets, and the community-building activities that we conduct need no introduction.
We do not wish to piggyback this slogan, we don’t want to push our cars to people because they are local. We want people to come to our showrooms or experience our cars from their homes and then want to buy them.
Our brand has the safest range of mass-marketed cars, and as a cost to features and value for money ration, we sit in a sweet spot. It’s a good sentiment that people have currently, but we do not plan on riding our products on those waves.
[Ramesh Somani]: Tata Motors was one of the biggest sponsors for IPL, with such a big percentage of your marketing budget parked towards it. Since the cricket league has been canceled for now, where else are you going to try and advertise your brand?
[Vivek Srivatsa]: I think IPL will probably happen later towards the year, but generally speaking in terms of the marketing budget, companies have shifted their focus on the digital space. That’s where customers are going, and that’s where the business lies. There are endless opportunities and possibilities in digital ways. Many companies have already broken the line of doing conferences online, rather than spending on those huge travel expenses which ultimately reduce the global carbon footprint. Opportunities are immense, and I am really excited about the times ahead as they are as challenging as ever.
Because of time Constraint – We could only take one Question from 565 Live Attendees :
Esha Mishra from MG Motor India & her question When the COVID-19 curve flattens, do you think the current marketing challenges will stay or completely fade away?
[Pallavi Singh]: The challenges will be there, digital transformation has to kick in really quickly. There were will huge challenges because there will be new skills and talent required to push the digital transformation. It is important to get the right people and work with them.
But one question to ask – who is it that bought the digital transformation to the industry –was it the CEO, the CTO or the COVID-19.
We really need to understand what a consumer wants, and not what the brand wants. It will be challenging, marketing will have to reinvent itself and it’s going to be a roller coaster ride ahead.
[Ramesh Somani]: That’s right, this is a one in a hundred-year phenomenon and while the challenges are difficult, they are also very exciting. Let’s try and work towards our goals better by reinventing each of our brands while riding the digital transformation wave. Thank you for your wonderful insights! I’m looking forward to seeing you soon, take care of yourself & Stay Safe everyone.
There is so much talk about 5G across the globe. It has been in the tech news for quite some time but a lot of us still don’t know all the details. What is this 5G technology? How does it work? Let’s decode this next-gen tech and see how it will revolutionize forthcoming mobile phone generations.
For a simple start, 5G is the fifth generation of mobile networks. It is an evolution of the current 4th generation LTE networks. With the growing connectivity in the world, imagine billions of devices connected to each other with a network and mind of their own. The existing 4G network is fast enough already. Now imagine something faster than that, that too with a faster response time. Sounds cool! Doesn’t it? Now let’s see how all of it works.
First, let’s understand a term called latency. It is the time taken by devices to respond to each other over a wireless network. Now if you thought all the celebration and hype around 5G isn’t worth your while, check this out:
3G network response time – 100 milliseconds.
4G network response time – 30 milliseconds.
5G network response time – 1 millisecond.
Read that again. 1 MILLISECOND. Imagine an almost zero wait time, zero lag and everything happening in actual real time.
So what will this ultra small wait time help us with?
Internet of Things! Machine to machine communication will become unbelievably fast and imagine a whole world of machines interacting with each other without any human intervention!
Unbelievably reliable low latency communications.
Enhanced mobile broadband.
Imagine a world of smart farms, cities, schools, villages. 5G is about to shrink the world further and it seems to provide comfort to lives, businesses and communities like one has never imagined before.
Now with so much to offer, how do 5G networks work?
Initially, 5G networks will have to work with 4G networks to ensure a continuous connectivity.
Getting deeper into the technical aspects; a mobile network has two main components, the ‘Radio Access Network’ and the ‘Core Network’.
The Radio Access Network –
It comprises of an array of facilities that include small cells, towers, masts and home systems that connect mobile users and wireless devices to the main core network.
Small cells are a major feature of 5G networks especially at the new millimetre wave (mmWave) frequencies. Here, the connection range is very short. Small cells will be distributed in clusters to provide a continuous connection.
5G Macro Cells will use MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) antennae which have multiple connections in order to send and receive more data simultaneously. The benefit to us is that more people can connect to the network at the same time while getting the same, rich output.
The Core Network
This is the mobile exchange and data network which has the job of managing all of the mobile voice, data and internet connections. Most of the advanced features of 5G including network slicing for various applications and services will be managed in the core.
Network Slicing
This enables a smart way to segment the network for a particular business or application.
Network Function Virtualization (NVF)
This is the ability to instantiate network functions in real time for any location within the operator’s cloud platform. Network functions that used to run on dedicated hardware will now be able to operate on software on a virtual machine. NVF is extremely important for speed efficiency to support new business applications.
This is all the basic tech that goes into operations of 5G networks.
Now imagine a world where you don’t have to wait for a page to load. That’s just the tip of the iceberg and that’s the least of the best that 5G can do for you. Let our imagination dream big. Now imagine a world where you don’t have to operate anything in your house and all of those machines work on their own as and when needed. That’s what we’re talking about. Maybe even bigger and better things are in store for us with 5G. Only time will tell if it’s a boon or a bane. After all, we are all going to become super lazy with so much tech at our disposal. However, with all those perks, we aren’t really complaining. Are we?
So, the forced party is finally over. Yes, the “party” because we all were confined to our homes and the commerce and business had stopped. It was universal so we had a sense of being together in this. The plight of migrants walking on the highways and sheer mismanagement of their home journey can bring tears to your eyes at the same time put curse words for all stakeholders responsible for this. But now the economy is slowly getting the green light, while the red and orange zones are waiting in the lurch. Finally, good sense prevailed and we now have only two zones – Containment & Non-containment. Of course, the sentiments will be down to the graveyard, moving around will be cautiously done. For me, how do we open the office without being sure if the housekeeping who comes to clean the office is not COVID positive? That’s the starting point. Then comes your office boy travelling in local transport, milkman to replenish the coffee machines and other staff members who travel publicly. Will we endanger their lives and others? How long can #WFH actually work out? An ocean of difficult questions with no easy answers.
I was trying to analyze all possible scenarios which will unfold as we open our gates considering all angles. But universally, whichever country cracks the vaccine first will be the king, just praying it’s not the Chinese. “Dua” and “dard” both from China will make the world dance to the dragon.
Scenario 1 – Idealistic
Everyone wears a mask, maintains social distance, WFH continues, offices work on 10 -30% capacity, our hospitals, and medical facilities keep pace with the no’s of COVID Cases and slowly we limp back to normal. One confirmed news break from any of the 110 pharma companies globally of a possible vaccine or cure will push the economy into full throttle. If that happens to be an Indian pharma company – Serum Institute of Adar PoonaWala, for Example [haven’t you seen him suited in news channels these days?] will really put India on a SpaceX rocket which will take us towards the “superpower” colony – just like Elon Musk has successfully sent the two NASA astronauts to ISS.
And yes, China retreats from the borders and a pact is achieved wherein there’s no more claiming of Indian land in return of no more uninstall of TikToks.
Scenario 2 – Most Likely
As we open up, our COVID cases will surge through the roof – 10 lakh, maybe 20 lakh with 2-3 % succumbing to it. We will develop herd immunity and develop antibodies and by September or October, the virus will mutate and give us a real Diwali. Yes, hospital beds will be scarce, there will be mismanagement, the political blame game will be all time high, the economy and job losses will be so deep that everyone will be willing to work at 30-50% of their income with loans and defaults rising at alarming rates. By October, we get a grip and things tread back to the new normal and most likely vaccine developments show impressive results. Meanwhile, China and India continue their dog fight. Maybe a few tanks fire cannons, sorties by fighter jets on each other, show of muscle and nothing significant.
Just like when you have those street fights “Hath Laga kar Dekh” and by July end, Indo x China Bhai Bhai T-shirts begin to sell again. TikTok uninstalls continues and Micromax, Intex, Xolo, Karbonn and other earlier versions of Vivo & Oppos of the world start relaunching their smartphones. It’s possible.
Scenario 3 – Extreme Situation:
It’s July 15, 2020 and the COVID-19 scoreboard reads 50 lakh cases in India. Lockdown 5.0 gets implemented, doctors and nurses are taking the hard decision of whom to save. China versus India intensifies its fight and Pakistan, Nepal & Russia joins the party while the rest of the world backs India to corner China. There’s tension at the border and nerves are stretched. It’s a cold war but nothing happens at the end. Deaths and infections are everywhere, our medical facilities begin to collapse and there are protests and riots everywhere.
Those who lose their loved ones because of callousness, in all likelihood will lose their sanity. It’s grim news and madness everywhere and illegal sales of guns blossom.It’s the Economy which is now to be saved because suicides and poor mental state are killing more people than COVID-19.
In all of the above scenarios, by October either we will have a vaccine announcement or we will have herd immunity. Now comes the lawlessness, going outside, walking will be dangerous snatching, kidnappings will be frequent. Joblessness and poverty will push the dragon in people to fend for themselves. Now comes the Phishing scenarios – we recently faced a situation where a concentrated effort was taken to get money transferred. My accountant – Tanaya Ghosh received a fraudulent mail from my name, [E-mail ID was different] asking her to transfer. Normally, no one will check the Email-ID, just the name but her good sense prevailed and she double-checked with me. In most businesses, CFOs and Accountants are powered to make transactions of up to a capped amount.
We have to tread the next 3-4 months with caution and sanity. I have had friends who in spite of being financially well off get panic attacks even now. Our belief in the human spirit must be reinforced that’s supreme and believe in the supernatural power above you. Maybe it’s his way of resetting the climate, so we don’t have to travel to other planets to set up shop. Are you still seeing Toronto or New York from your bedroom anywhere in India?
While the official announcement of the prices of the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro has been made, India gets the exclusive variant.
OnePlus 8 Pro price in India has been revealed, alongside the prices for the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z headphones. OnePlus on Sunday announced the pricing for all of its new products, just days after their introduction. The exact sale dates for each of the products is still unclear and OnePlus has just said that these will go on sale next month. The OnePlus 8 series prices in India are much lower than the prices of the two smartphones in the US. What’s also worth noting is that the company has launched a brand new variant of the OnePlus 8 in India – the 6GB + 128GB – that hasn’t been unveiled globally. Read on for more details on OnePlus 8 series price in India and sale details.
OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro price in India
OnePlus made the announcement of their new OnePlus 8 series of smartphones amidst the COVID-19 situation. And from what it seems like, OnePlus had it all planned well in advance so the launch was imminent.
The OnePlus 8 price starts in India starts from Rs. 41,999/- and the OnePlus 8 Pro prices start from Rs. 54,999. Yes, these are far away from the prices once OnePlus began selling their phones with. Their tag of being the ‘Flagship Killer’ is a bit of distant now as OnePlus has clearly ventured into the premium space.
The Indian prices of the OnePlus 8 series smartphones are considerably cheaper than what the prices are in the US. This clearly means OnePlus is aiming to capture a major share of the market here in India where the budget premium segment is booking, especially when devices like the Samsung Galaxy S20 series have been priced much higher, the OnePlus 8 series is expected to garner a lot of buyers. There is no word on availability of the phones yet, however, interested buyers can head to Amazon India to find out more details.
OnePlus first revealed the prices in the US and then in India. The base variant of the OnePlus 8 comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage and is priced at Rs. 41,999/-. This variant is also exclusive to Amazon India. Moving on the 8GB +128GB variant is priced at Rs. 44,990/- and the top variant with 12GB +256GB is priced at Rs. 49,999/-.
The OnePlus 8 Pro 8GB RAM, 128GB storage variant has been priced at Rs. 54,999/- and the 12GB RAM, 256GB storage variant has been priced at Rs. 59,999/-. OnePlus 8 Pro will be available via Amazon India and offline stores.
OnePlus 8 Pro, OnePlus 8 specifications
The OnePlus 8 Pro is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, coupled with 8GB and 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM. It comes with a 6.78-inch QHD+ (1,440×3,168 pixels) Fluid AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It also features a quad rear camera setup comprising a 48-megapixel primary Sony IMX689 sensor, an 8-megapixel secondary sensor with a telephoto lens, a 48-megapixel sensor with a wide-angle lens, and a 5-megapixel “Color Filter” camera sensor. On the front, the OnePlus 8 Pro gets a 16-megapixel camera with a Sony IMX471 sensor. The OnePlus 8 Pro supports dual nano sims and runs Android 10 with OxygenOS on top.
The display on the OnePlus 8 Pro features an in-display fingerprint sensor, and OnePlus has added a 4,510mAh battery that supports Warp Charge 30T and Warp Charge 30 Wireless, apart from reverse wireless charging. The OnePlus 8 Pro has 128GB and 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage options, and connectivity options include 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.1, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C port.It measures 165.3×74.35×8.5mm and weighs 199 grams.
The OnePlus 8 runs Android 10 with OxygenOS on top and sports a 6.55-inch full-HD+ (1080×2400 pixels) Fluid AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, 6GB, 8GB and 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM options, a triple rear camera setup with 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 primary sensor, 2-megapixel secondary sensor, 16-megapixel sensor. A 16-megapixel Sony IMX471 sensor is behind the front camera with 128GB and 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage, similar connectivity options, an in-display fingerprint sensor and a 4,300mAh battery that supports Warp Charge 30T. It measures 160.2×72.9×8.0mm and weighs 180 grams.
Lighting is the most important part when you are shooting a photo or video. While flashes can be used to shoot pictures, video shooting requires a constant powerful source of light which can illuminate the subject and surrounding areas evenly. LED video lights have been in use for a long time now. LED lights are easy to use, carry and provide a great level of illumination for a fraction of the cost of high-end lighting setups.
Content creators are often looking to improve their quality of content they shoot and share on the social platforms. Many video creation platforms require users to create short format videos and share with their followers. This has also given rise to video creation on smartphones. While current smartphones can shoot great quality photos and videos, without proper lighting, it is as good as shooting with a VGA camera.
Digitel DRL18H LEd Ring light
For individual content creators who shoot solo at their offices and workplaces, setting up lighting and shooting could be a challenge. An additional light with more function would be the right companion for making short-format videos and vlogs. So we tested the Digitel DRL18H LEd Ring light and here is what we think of it.
The Digitek DRL18H LED Ring light is a ring-shaped LED light panel as the name already suggests. It comes packed in a box and is comfortably sitting inside a carry case. Digitek also bundles a light stand with the DRL18H. Inside the box, you get the DRL18H ring light, a mobile phone holder mount and a cold-shoe adapter mount which allows you to attach additional gear. The front has the circular white diffuser panel. At the back, you have the power switch, AC power input, and two knobs which control the intensity and the colour of the light. Moreover, it also features two universal ‘V’ battery mounts which will allow you to use the DRL18H without having to plug into power. The overall build is good and sturdy. The adjustable light stand bundled with the light can be adjusted for height and also the spread of the tripod legs can be adjusted. The outer diameter of the ring is 490mm and the internal diameter stands at 375mm. The light weighs a mere 1.1kg and is easy to move.
Now moving to the performance, we shot a couple of tech videos and found the light quality to be very good. You can adjust the brightness and colour temperature of the light which ranges from 3200K-5600K. The light has an output power of 55 watts and a luminance of 5200 LM and also features step-less adjustment. If you shoot videos on a smartphone, the supplied mobile phone and hot shoe adapter will be of great help. Additionally, you can attach an external microphone on the hot-shoe mount. The light will be very beneficial for those who shoot short format videos, shoot makeup tutorials as well as those who vlog from a desk set up. The light is very evenly distributed and provides soft illumination. It is very bright and it is advisable not to stare at it for a long period of time to avoid stress on your eye
So, if you are planning to buy an LED light for content creation, the Digitek DRL 18H LED Ring light is a very capable contender for the same, especially if you are single-handed shooter on your smartphone. Digitek’s touch of adding extra hot shoe mounts, adapters and mobile phone holder makes it a perfect lighting package in a budget.
OUR AUTO EDITOR- KONARK TYAGI THROWS SOME INTERESTING QUESTIONS ABOUT ELECTRIC CARS TO MR. PRATAP BOSE, HEAD OF DESIGN, TATA MOTORS
What do you think about the constantly evolving shift towards electric vehicles? Do you think India is ready to go fully electric by 2030?
Ans- India took a massive leap towards sustainability, with the government’s vision towards complete electrification of vehicles by 2030. The impact of this vision is now being felt in the automotive sector, which is now working towards sustainable vehicles with double the intensity. While it is too premature to comment on India’s readiness on electric mobility, we at Tata Motors understand the need for electric vehicles to meet the fast-changing demands and growing aspirations of the Indian market, which will soon enter the EV era. With increasing focus of automotive industry and government towards electrification of automobiles, Tata Motors has been continuously pushing the boundaries in the electric mobility space.
Our preparations for the EV journey began nearly four years ago. In May 2014, Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC), based at the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK revealed a Manza REEV (range extended electric vehicle) demonstrator vehicle. The sedan incorporated a lot of the learnings from TMETC’s in-house research into high-voltage distribution systems, battery design and vehicle controller development. Over the years, led by the technical capabilities, extensive in-house research and development activities, we have run several innovation projects and demonstrated EV concepts of our products like Vista, Zest, Bolt and recently, Tigor.
Through this process, we have learned about electrification of power trains and most importantly how to actually apply the electric power train solutions on existing platforms. This is going to help us on the way forward to readily provide not just one product, but a range of products which will become available as electric versions to the Indian market. Keeping the growing customer aspirations in mind, there is a latent need for a range of electric vehicle mobility solutions and we will partner with local start-ups or enterprises in order to identify opportunities to localise global technologies meeting the price expectations of our customers – making EVs affordable towards the Government’s vision.
The recent order from the Government of India to deliver 10,000 electric cars to EESL, has provided us an opportunity to leap frog in boosting our presence in the e-mobility space. It will help us accelerate our efforts to offer full range of electric vehicles to the Indian consumers.
How different is it to design an electric car in comparison to normal internal combustion car? Do you have a limited design scope when it comes to electric cars as aerodynamics become even more crucial?
Ans- Electric vehicles are essentially of two types. The first is ‘electrified’, where the usual Internal Combustion (IC) engine car is converted to an electric vehicle by replacing the combustion methodology with that of an electric power train. With the 2030 goal, most of the auto sector is expected to adopt this method to create the first generation of electric cars in short to medium term. The second variety is that of a “born- EV” or ground-up electric vehicle, which is designed from scratch to be powered by an integrated electric powertrain. These will form the next-gen cars that follow a different architecture to allow for newer design elements like a lower front hood, and longer wheel bases to accommodate battery packs.
Additionally, there is expected to be increased focus on aerodynamics and light-weighting in the electric vehicles segment, particularly aimed at the shape and the materials used. Automakers would need to use alternate light-weight materials like aluminium and other composites. Though carbon fibre absorbs energy and makes energy of its own, it is an expensive material used mostly in high-end luxury cars. The trend will witness a surge with automakers finding substitutes for carbon fibre, which absorbs energy and is extremely light, but is expensive to opt for volume-playing automobile companies. Large scale 3D printing is also expected to be widely adopted.
With the advent of electric vehicles, we will also have to think of the location strategy of the batteries. While in an IC car, the engine is in front hood to become a part of the crash absorption system, the front portion of the car is empty in an electric one. Design will play a crucial role to optimise speed level for EVs, while ensuring that the placement of the batteries is done in a manner that ensures impact durability, distributes weight evenly through the car, and creates package efficiency. Car designers will have to mull over the placement of the batteries, especially in the electrified version to ensure impact durability and distribute weight. Given that brakes can also generate electric energy in an EV, design will play a critical role, especially for optimising speed level for an easy ride on the highway.
All of us saw the TaMo RaceMo last year and got really excited, any progress on that and when can we expect a road going version inspired from it anytime soon?
Ans- The TaMo RaceMo is an extremely important and exciting project for us, which made its global premiere at the Geneva Motor Show 2017. We are very eager to bring the car to India however, it is too premature to comment on the timeline for its commercial launch. We will make an announcement at a more appropriate time.
How much of a departure is it in terms of design from a hybrid to a fully electric car?
Ans. There is usually not much of a difference if both cars are designed on an IC car platform. However, if they are designed on a specific platform then there can be significant differences.
Tata’s IMPACT design philosophy has been changing the buyer’s perception towards the brand, what new products can we expect in the coming year with the same design language?
Ans- Design today is being used as a strategic differentiator to draw customers into a brand. Customers are more inclined towards making a decision on an emotional level as opposed to a purely functional or rational approach. Cars that reflect the personality and aspirations of the customer will tend to outsell those which have been designed to only fulfill a functional need. Each brand has to also make a stronger statement in the market place to stand out and be heard. Companies are now investing in ramping up their design capabilities in India. These are at different levels currently, but we foresee an overall high level of competence developing in the next 8-10 years.
The cars manufactured earlier were generic, boxy and mostly uninspired car design as consumers were insisting towards safety and fuel efficiency. With the evolution of market, automotive design became a key consideration of aesthetics during the product development. The last few years saw a strong demand of car design in all shapes, forms, and styles. Our IMPACT design philosophy charted a new course for us in designing compelling products with an added delight quotient. Our renewed focus on design is helping recapture the consumer’s attention and strengthen our brand proposition which is clearly reflecting in our new generations products like TIAGO, HEXA, TIGOR and NEXON. With the NEXON, we decided to challenge the traditional approach. We instructed our designers to combine strength and dynamism without losing practicality by breaking the boxy proportions. The NEXON is creating the perfect noise with its stylish looks and compelling design, the reaction has been phenomenal.
Embarking on the success of the impact design philosophy we are now moving to the next phase with the IMPACT 2.0, a sharper, more contemporary expression of the now recognisable Tata Motors’ Design language. The cars that will be showcased in Auto Expo 2018 will be under this second phase of its exciting design philosophy.
Do Tata and JLR share resources internally to work around the design philosophy of Tata products?
Ans-While the teams are different, we continue to interact with JLR to incorporate the learnings in processes and innovations for appropriate solutions.
Any final words on the future of cars, connected and autonomous cars?
Ans- Globally, the automobile industry is witnessing a rapid change in customer expectations. As the technology and automotive worlds merge, preferences are rapidly shifting from traditional choices towards more advanced and feature centric ones. With the emergence of newer technologies, we expect gradual shift in the operation of automated cars, from Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to fully autonomous. It is very clear that cars featuring autonomous systems will become an increasing part of our mobility experience. However, the proportion of driverless vehicles will increase gradually and around specific applications and locations. For many years to come, there will continue to be a mix of autonomous and conventional vehicles. The major challenge to take forward autonomous vehicle technology in India is the availability of data characterizing the traffic and infrastructure conditions. The data collection is underway but will take some years. Even the creation of relevant driver assistance systems depends on robust data regarding the application conditions. At Tata Motors, we are actively undertaking R&D work on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) as well as full vehicle autonomy. As part of our showcase of future ready concepts, Tata Motors’ European Technical Centre (TMETC) hosted a demo of the Tiago Autonomous and Hexa Autonomous in UK.
While riding in an autonomous vehicles, the sense of confidence in the technology builds up quickly to give an enjoyable experience. The demonstration and public experience of safe use of autonomous vehicles over some years will re-assure people that the technology is safe and reliable. One of the key arguments for autonomous control is the expectation that fewer accidents and risks will be faced by people when majority of vehicles are controlled this way. However, the overall safety of autonomous vehicles depends on many external factors to the car – for example what proportion of all vehicles are autonomous and the quality and design of road and traffic infrastructure.”
Do you have a cool elder sibling in your family that steals all the limelight? And how you wish you could get some of their traits. Well, the story is quite similar in the Land Rover family. The cool elder sibling in this story is the Range Rover Velar and the young sibling is the new Range Rover Evoque. Watch the video to know more about the new Evoque.
Engine: 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, diesel
Power: 180 hp Torque: 430 Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Starting Price: ₹ 54.94 lakh (ex-showroom, India)
Car in frame: Range Rover Evoque Reviewer: Saurabh Gamare Cinematography: Harmanpreet Singh Video Editing: Sam Phillips Location: Mumbai, India
