At its first-ever virtual Galaxy Unpacked event, Korean tech giant Samsung revealed five new products. These include two smartphones, a tablet, a wearable smartwatch, and its latest wireless earbuds. These products not only promise to bring the future in your hands, but they are also determined to set benchmarks in their respective categories.
With the sole purpose of making life easier with technology, these products are launched as a part of the Galaxy ecosystem. This is meant to allow the user to freely access his data across multiple devices. For example, the Samsung Notes app features auto-save and syncing capabilities, so the user can continue his work right where he left off, from device to device. Samsung Notes easily straightens your messy handwriting into legible penmanship.
Samsung has also partnered with Microsoft to increase the list of features it has to offer. The Galaxy Note20 series can be used as a portable gaming console, as it now supports official Xbox games. The gaming experience is further enhanced with its AI game booster and Bluetooth audio response optimization, and 240Hz touch latency on the Galaxy Note20 Ultra.
Along with the Note20 Ultra, Samsung also revealed the Galaxy Tab S7 and its big bro, the S7+. Since all the devices belong to the next generation, they naturally support 5G connectivity. The Galaxy tab S7 and S7+ offer seamless videoconferencing, fast downloads, and virtually lag-free streaming. The S7+ has a 12.4” Super AMOLED display, which is sure to immerse the user in whatever he chooses to watch.
Samsung knows how to pamper its audience and that’s what it has done with the Galaxy Watch3. With a slimmed-down version of its popular rotating bezel, the Galaxy Watch3 is practically a wearable computer. With the Blood oxygen feature, you can measure and track oxygen saturation over time, for fitness and wellness purposes. The new Samsung Health Monitor app on Galaxy Watch3 offers cuffless blood pressure and electrocardiogram measurements, available in markets where these features have been authorized. When a potential fall is detected, your location will be sent immediately to pre-designated contacts. Running Analysis will help you run better, improve form, and prevent injuries, while VO2 max follows your cardio progress to provide insight into oxygen consumption. For those who want to stay fit while being at home, Samsung Health provides more than 120 different home training programs so you can track your workout progress on your watch.
Galaxy Buds Live are the company’s next-generation earbuds and offer an unmatched experience. Combining AKG’s sound expertise with a 12mm speaker and a bass duct, the audio received is deep and rich so you can enjoy music the way the artist intended. Galaxy Buds Live comes with three microphones and Voice Pickup Unit for accurate phone calls.
Finally, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Z Fold2. It is the result of extensive market research and user feedback on the most requested upgrades and new features. The Galaxy Z Fold2 comes packed with two edge-to-edge, nearly bezel-less Infinity-O Displays. The Cover Screen is 6.2-inches and the massive Main Screen is 7.6-inches.
The Galaxy Note20 series and Tab S7 series will be available in select markets starting August 21, 2020. The company is expected to reveal the India price list as the launch date approaches.
It’s been “125 years of glorious history and heritage” since ŠKODA AUTO was first introduced to the world and has been blooming since then. With its 125th anniversary in play, ŠKODA AUTO has established the second wave of the contactless programme that all the automobile enthusiasts have been talking about. This recent development has received a great deal of encouragement across the world.
After the country was given the freedom to unlock their homes with the implementation of UNLOCK 1.0 in early June, ŠKODA AUTO India superseded everything in the entire digital automotive purchase ecosystem with the introduction of a centralized booking platform for the customers. The platform was highly appreciated which finally paved the way for the establishment of the second wave. It is developed and designed considering the Covid-19 situation, to give an opportunity to the customers to buy cars online without having to risk their lives in the first place.
The programme is developed in a way that is appropriate for the customers—a transparent and contactless experience that Czech marque commits to deliver along with the customer’s safety as the first priority. The platform requires you to choose the ŠKODA AUTO vehicle from the comfort of your own home in a hassle-free and convenient manner. It supports a robust live consultation suite and a contactless virtual product demonstration option, available for sign up on the website, and accessible via video conferencing over smartphones, tablets and personal computers while integrating with the 80 plus dealership touchpoints nationwide. The platform is undoubtedly safe and secure.
The service is easily available through video conferences on smartphones, tablets and personal computers, offering customers the facility of contactless test drives at their doorsteps.
“The ŠKODA AUTO contactless programme testifies our commitment to use technology as a tool to stay connected with our customers and deliver an uncompromised sales and service experience, more so in these unprecedented circumstances. The latest initiative provides customers with an opportunity to explore and experience our exciting new range of products from the comfort of their home”, said Zac Hollis, the Brand Director of ŠKODA AUTO, India.
Also, Czech marque believes in the typical practice of digitizing the ownership experience by providing a single window interface between an existing or a prospective customer and the branch through the latest MyŠKODA mobile application. The MYŠKODA App is available for download on the iTunes App Store for iPhone and Google Play store for Android devices. Customers can select their most preferred dealership, book an appointment according to their preferred time slot. They can also access service history, understand cost estimation through the cost calculator, buy accessories, itemized billing records and connect to ŠKODA customer care, if needed.
‘Simply Clever’ philosophy introduced by ŠKODA AUTO provides technologies like AI enabled Chat Bot, facilitating 24×7 support services, reduced turnaround time, and enhanced interactions. Amidst the pandemic, the automobile industry is going to great lengths to provide the best services possible to its customers. We simply have to use them!
The WOL3D (World of Lilliputs), pioneering in 3D printing technology in India since 2017 has recently launched the ITouch 3D pen in the Indian market. It has brought a development in the production of 3D technology— a change in the 3D printing market. Anticipate a situation where you’re thinking about an object; a prototype of something, and imagine having it right then. The ITouch 3D Pen is like the magic pencil from our favorite childhood show that all of us have wanted at some point in our lives!
WOL3D is ISO, CE and ROHS certified with an extensive range of products like 3D prototyping services,3D Printers, 3D Filaments and 3D pens that showcase international quality standards. At present, they’re the No. 1 sellers on Amazon India for 3D printers, 3D pens and 3D filaments. ITouch 3D pen is another milestone that they have come up with; for children, for adults, for you! The perfect gift that will bring a smile on any kid’s face after they create their first project.
In this era of practical knowledge, coupled up with the Covid-19 situation that restricts us from interacting with the outside world, ITouch 3D Pen is the magical pen that intends to improve children’s spatial thinking skills and encourage their creative imagination. A device that is easy to operate & maintain. Parents don’t have to worry about it being safe. The pen is equipped with a patented nozzle and thermal design that prevents burns. Also, if inactive for 5 minutes, it automatically shuts down.
The small ‘wonder-in-hand’ is manufactured prioritizing consumer’s safety. It’s user-friendly and anyone with a design in their mind, or on paper, can use it to design various products such as jewelry, toys, or basically anything. Various professionals, educators, artists use the device for modeling and developing various prototypes. It’s non-toxic and eco-friendly; just a heavier and bulkier version of a normal pen where the ink is replaced with filaments made of PLA (Polylactic acid) or ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), which are harmless to humans. PLA is biodegradable too. Also, the scientific program logic sets the non-blocking nozzle for smooth printing.
This miraculous innovation works on USB charging. Also, the temperature and speed of the device are adjustable. It has an excellent extrusion speed, and you can create custom 3D objects without clogging and smooth graffiti. It comes with a USB charger, an adapter, a manual which explains all its usage, stencils that might help you get started and a pen holder, obviously!
ITouch 3D Pen is one-step ahead of you while you’re working on your creativity. It garnishes the objects with extraordinary effects, adds a layer to your imagination and works like a glue gun too; can join two objects that are already created. You can definitely create objects bigger in size. Although, to accommodate every single detail of a large functioning prototype with numerous parts, you might need consultation from experts. Well, you always have YouTube to be thankful for this!
Do you remember those clunky game consoles that were available in the markets and happened to be the dreams of every 90’s kid? People with such possessions and the ones who let you play with them turned out to be your favorite humans at those times. Remember Mario? If you’re a gamer, especially an ardent one, you’d know about the rising trends and the upgrades that tend to come along with them. If you wonder what the future of gaming is in India, this article is for you!
With almost 40% of India’s population actively using the internet, the gaming industry in India is yet to achieve another milestone alongside developing new versions of their game. Every day, versions upgrade and the hunger for a better interface just keeps growing. Whether you like it or not, the online gaming industry is growing along with the Jio Revolution, setting high standards for data utilization throughout the country.
According to a report released by Boutique Investment Bank, Maple Capital Advisors titled ‘Gaming — India Story’, the Indian Online Gaming Industry is expected to grow 41% annually, with market value set to value $3750 million by 2024. India is known as the largest market for app downloads worldwide. As per 2019, India is one of the top five mobile gaming markets in the world. Infact, the industry was estimated to be populated with 300 million gamers.
Easily available, affordable and a different way of connecting with friends during the lockdown, mobile gaming is not just a recreational activity anymore; it has turned into a profitable industry. Studies show that the number of mobile users constitute 85% of the total gaming industry, with PC/Laptop and tablet users standing at 11% & 4% respectively. According to reports by Newzoo, 32% of gamers in India are female.
PUBG Mobile is a sensation among mobile users, spreading globally like a wildfire. As of January 2020, India is known to have 116 million downloads which is 21% of the 555 million PUBG players worldwide. The operators holding tournaments for various games, especially PUBG, has increased by 7 times from 2016 to 2018. These operators hold various esports tournaments and avail it for the public through android devices, who can win cash on the platform. Emerging e-sports organizations in India such as competitive scrims & IGPL sports holding everyday mock-tournaments to War Mania, Villager esports & sportskeedaesports, providing gamers with sophisticated and competitive platforms. E-Sports is the new era, besides Social Media that the world is entering into today.
E-Sports were played as a demonstration sport at Asian Games 2018, where Tirth Mehta from Bhuj, Gujarat won a bronze medal & has been commonly called the first Indian e-sports for Hearthstone. That year, the total prize money was 5.63Cr; both tournaments & nationals combined. PUBG, singly constituted 18% of the total prize with CS:Go & Dota2 constituting 6%. In 2019, the prize money took a huge leap and increased to 180% with different cities (such as Delhi & Mumbai) holding international sports events & giving gamers a way to physically interact with each other rather than just muting one another digitally.
Alongside regular addiction to the game, the number of visits to online gaming websites or apps rose by 29% between February & March this year due to the pandemic; with also an increase in the engagement by 21%.
How many times have you yourself played ludo with your friends during the lockdown? Other games such as Teen patti, Rummy, Candy Crush Saga, Coin master and 8 ball pool which eventually turned out to be the most played games during the pandemic. It’s weird how our way of interacting with each other has changed. The chats have shifted from WhatsApp & Instagram to mere emojis & talking throughout the game.
Surprised? There is more to the industry. It has been estimated that approximately 40,000 employees will be working in the industry by 2022. It’s not just an evolution for your hobbies, but for the corporate world as well. Honestly speaking, with more gamers comes more challenges. However, PUBG was banned in many states across the country such as Gujarat declaring that the game was ‘too addictive and violent’—resulting in students’ arrest when they were caught playing.
To conclude, you can either ignore these trends & keep playing games for fun; or you can get better at them & start playing at national eventsーwho knows you win a prize incredible enough!
Until yesterday (not literally but almost) AI was a fancy word that was too far fetched to be true so soon. I mean robots and the likes were only a thing in the movies, right? Replacing humans? You must be kidding me!
No, we aren’t kidding you because not only has Artificial Intelligence – AI started rooting itself in our minds but has also begun to create waves in the real work world. Now, these waves are pleasant for some while a Tsunami for many others.
For instance and for news, Microsoft has taken over the job of taking everyone’s job. We mean that they’ve replaced dozens of journalists with artificial intelligence. This means that journalists have been fired. We are talking about the employees who maintained the homepages on Microsoft’s MSN website and its Edge browser. They have been told (indirectly, of course) that robots will most definitely do a better job than them. Is there really a subtle way to say this? We aren’t sure.
Around 27 employees at PA Media were told that they have only a month’s time to say goodbye after Microsoft decided to make AI the star employee of the month, year, decade and so on.. and to stop employing real people to select, edit and curate news articles on all the homepages.
Is this notice too short? Of course. Besides the fact that AI has been in the news since quite some time now and there has been a lot of talk around how it will replace humans in so many ways, employees didn’t expect it to happen this fast. They also didn’t expect Microsoft to give such a short notice. They’re not surprised as they knew this would come sooner or later but they’re startled because it’s too sudden.
Humans over Artificial Intelligence AI
In defense of humans over Artificial Intelligence, one employee deemed the decision extremely risky, as the AI might not be able to deliver results as per the “very strict editorial guidelines” which can only be adhered to by humans at all possible times. Use of AI could lead to violent or inappropriate content being presented on opening the browser and there could be an underage person sitting on the other end of the screen.
Well, only time will tell who beats whom but we know one thing for sure. The fight is real. With so much happening across the world where we have a fight against racism and a pandemic, here we are in a fight against tech too! Human beings or AI? Who do you think will be the real winner here?
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.
Since everything is revolving around Coronavirus, it’s treatment and the ‘new normal’, let’s think about what the world might look like if technology was to evolve too. I mean, if besides social distancing, we were to maintain a distance from gadgets too, yet operate them at the same time, how would it be?
While touchscreen technology has been around for more than a decade now, we can hardly imagine life without it. Touchscreen phones, tabs, laptops, everything. Since viruses (especially Coronavirus) and other microorganisms tend to live on surfaces, can we really control a breakout of the same by coming up with ‘touchless’ technology?
Fast-forward to 2025 and I’m leaving to buy some groceries. I simply wink at my car door to open it. A ‘wink and blink’ technology. Cool, quick and efficient. Isn’t it? I remember registering my eyelid for anti-theft certification. It was a long process and my eye did hurt but we have to be cautious. It is better to have my eye hurt than contract Coronavirus. Now I can be sure that neither will my car be stolen nor will I contract Coronavirus (at least not by touching the surface of my car). What a relief.
I am back home and it is time to check my phone. It is at my work desk and I only have to wave ‘hello’ to it for its screen to appear on my TV – the big screen experience! I feel super lazy for not even lifting my hand to touch the phone but that’s what all of this new Touchless technology is about! Besides, my hand already hurts from waving ‘hello’. And now that the display is on the big screen, I’d finish a few tasks and enter a Zoom call for my official meeting. Let’s go with checking my social media accounts first. To enter my Instagram account, I simply make a ‘duck face’, for TikTok I need to make an exaggerated dance move and for Twitter, I need to speak a strong opinion for a ’cause’. Touchless technology is that simple! Crazy, isn’t it? For the Zoom call thereafter, I simply make an ‘It’s Monday again’ face and there we go. I’m beginning to think that why wasn’t Touchless technology always a way of life?
The whole of my face and body hurt right now by making all those expressions and gestures so it’s a free workout session every day too! That’s quite a bonus. I’m not complaining. What I’m thinking about is just this, that if we were winking at our cars without this ‘touchless’ technology, it would be so odd. Think about making that ‘it’s Monday again’ face to login to Zoom meetings and getting fired by your boss.
Well, so much for avoiding pandemics. We’re afraid of the touch but I guess we should be more afraid of the ‘touchless’ unless we want to get weirder, looted by tech companies for the new technology and well, more susceptible to a mental care rehabilitation centre. We’re okay with building herd immunity for now, I guess?
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?
If you are looking to buy a serious camera, you will probably look at some of the Canon, Sony or even Nikon DSLRs/Mirrorless cameras. There are some of the brands which dominate the camera market currently and offer a range of cameras for every budget. However, brands like Fuji have been working to get their crop-sensor cameras out in every budget range and every type of use along with their new mirrorless medium format cameras. Fuji has decided to skip on the full-frame and rather go ballistic with the medium format sensors.
Nikon has been at the end of the spectrum with its DSLR line-up which has a lot of catching up to do, especially if you see what Canon is doing. While Sony has been a monopolistic king in the mirrorless camera market, Nikon now has been forced to enter the mirrorless category with the launch of Z6 and Z7.
The Z6 and Z7 had been launched in 2018 and the first two models were aimed at professional. Now with the arrival of the Nikon Z50, Nikon has managed to capture the attention of the more casual buyers. The Z50 has quite a few advantages over the previous generation od Nikon DSLRs, one of the biggest being silent shooting. This comes in handy at situations where you cannot really fire off shots with clunky mechanical shutter rattling.
Coming to the autofocus system, it is much more improved and can now track moving objects. Not only this, but you also get the ‘eye focus’ which will retain focus at the eye of your subject.
Video quality has also been drastically improved and there are new settings which allow you to tweak and make the videos look professional and can further be tweaked. Image quality is on par with the Nikon cameras. Nikon cameras have been known to produce nice and pleasing images with great colour and contrast. The quality of images from the Nikon Z50 is satisfying and the ISO sensitivity can hold well even when bumped up. Overall, the images are nothing to make you worry about.
The only drawback about this other wonderful camera is the lens mount. Nikon has used the Z mount which allows the crop sensor to let in more light. You can use your Nikon DSLR lenses on the Z50 but you will need the FTZ adapter which is available separately for purchase. Nikon only has a handful of lenses in its Z mount line-up but hopefully, they will release more lenses in the time to come.
So, if you are looking for an up to date camera but not in a mood to spend a bomb to get a full-frame mirrorless camera and a full system of lenses. You can upgrade from your existing Nikon DSLR and use the FTZ adapter to mount the DSLR lenses on the Z50. What you get is professional quality photographs at a much cheaper price
Vu is spreading its wings in the television industry with its affordable range of smart TV’s. Vu’s Smart TV is another such attempt in this direction. The smart TV is made available in three screen sizes – 139cm (55-inch),126cm (50-inch) and 108 cm (43-inch). It comes with a DLED panel with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. The smart TV is HDR10 compatible with a maximum brightness of 500 nits.
Before talking about the display, we will talk about setting up the TV, which is fairly easy. It comes with legs which can be screwed to the bottom of the TV (if you are using it as a stand-up on a platform). The legs are well built and compatible screws are supplied along with the packaging. Additionally, you can mount the TV on the wall using the supplied mount in the packaging. The TV has screw holes in the back of the chassis and so fixing it to your existing adjustable wall-mount is not going to be a challenge either. Plug it into the power and you will be taken through the setup process. It is better to have a speedy internet connection and you can connect via wi-fi or a wired LAN connection would do as well. You will need to log into the TV with your preferred Gmail account and the TV will sync to it noting your preferences.
The HDR10 supported display is very bright and crisp. I tried playing some travel 4K content from YouTube and the experience was amazing. Being a 4K enabled device, the picture quality is top-notch and the viewing experience is exhilarating.
I took to watching the Transformers movie franchise and soon ended up watching all the movies of the series because of the sheer pleasure of watching. The 500 nits of brightness is adequate and 50-inch screen size is good enough for a mid-sized room or even the hall for that matter. Moreover, the TV comes with Dolby Vision HDR support which rather amplifies the watching experience to a whole new level.
For audio, as I think of myself to be a purist, and have been using a dedicated audio receiver and a surround 5.1 setup. However, this TV comes with its own 40W speaker setup in the bottom with Dolby Audio support. This features had to be tested and I must say, it does not disappoint; not at all. With preset profiles for audio, you can select the audio according to your preference and use; music, cinema and standard which changes the way audio is delivered. Watching the movies with the sound from the TV was a delight and there was no moment where dialogue would disappear or the sound effect would seem muddy. For most users, the audio quality will be on par.
On the software front, it supports Android 9 Pie out of the box and comes preloaded with apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Hotstar and Google Play. The TV also has support for Google assistant. It comes with a host of connectivity options which include Bluetooth 5.0, Wifi, 3 HDMI, 2 USB, HDMI ARC, earphone jack, etc. Talking of hardware, the Smart TV is powered by a Quad-core A55 processor clocked at 1.2GHz and a Dual-core Mali470MP GPU. Besides this, the TV gets 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage.
Not once did the TV had a hiccup or any lag. Operation with the remote was smooth. If you leave the TV on for some time, you will see screensavers being displayed and later the TV will go into sleep mode (without switching off) shutting off the screen to save power. You can hit the power button on the remote to bring it back to life.
The software experience on this thing is smooth and lag-free. Moreover, the supplied remote has separate hotkeys for Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play Movies. Which allows one to swiftly switch between multiple apps.
Verdict
The Vu Smart Cinema TV brings great picture and audio quality to the table. It has support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Audio which is rare at this price bracket and is an excellent option for those looking for high definition entertainment on a budget. Those who are a fan of gaming on the consoles will find this TV to be a perfect choice for those high-end games, especially with the crisp 4K screen. Moreover, the TV comes with Android 9 providing a smooth and clutter-free experience. Vu Cinema TV is available in three variants in 43-inches, 50-inches and 55-inches which are priced at Rs 26,999/-, Rs 29,999/- and Rs 33,999/- respectively.
