Smartbuy issue dated April 27, 2011

Smartbuy Business Line

G A D G E T S

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

A U T O |

L U X U R Y

www.blsmartbuy.com

Awesome Threesome Exploring Leela Palace, New Delhi

Sony Xperia Play-ed

Carbon-ďŹ bre endurance test

WHAT’S HOT this week

Team Smartbuy

Intelligent telly

Editorial

LG Smart TV

Anushya Mamtora anushya@thehindu.co.in

Apart from regular broadcasts, this telly from LG offers video on demand, web browsing and web applications. Besides popular websites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, LG has also tied up with a number of Indian companies like NDTV and Zapak to provide movies, music, games, etc. A Magic Motion Remote doubles up as a cursor to browse content, and the Home Dashboard serves as a central menu screen. The Smart Share function allows you to stream content from your PC directly to your telly. Available in sizes ranging from 32-55 inches.

Rs 43,000 – Rs 1.7 lakh

Ketaki Bhojnagarwala ketaki@thehindu.co.in

Mahananda Bohidar mahananda@thehindu.co.in

S. Muralidhar muraliswami@thehindu.co.in

Design Bryan Gaughan aqua@thehindu.co.in

Balakrishnan designkbala@thehindu.co.in

Advertising Contact R. Diwakar ramdiwakar@thehindu.co.in

Web Advertising Contact N. Amarnath amarnath@thehindu.co.in

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The perfect fit Microsoft Arc Touch This super stylish mouse from Microsoft, measuring just 15mm at its thickest point, is sure to give your desktop a makeover. It features a touch scroll strip down the centre, and can be curved to fit your hand or flattened to pack away. BlueTrack technology allows use on a variety of surfaces and the snap-in transreceiver allows seamless wireless connectivity. The Arc Touch offers up to six months of battery life.

Rs 3,600

Turbo charged Samsung Series 9 This ultra-premium series of netbooks from Samsung weigh just 1.31-kgs and measure 16.33mm in depth.

Crafted from duralumin, a material used in advanced aircraft design, the aerodynamic design of the notebook is aimed at replicating a sports car. The 13-inch SuperBright Plus display is two times brighter than conventional screen, and the notebook is powered by a Second Generation Intel Core i5 processor.

Rs 1,00,990

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SMARTPHONE review

IT’S PLAY TIME, FOLKS!

Photo: R. Ravindran

Ketaki Bhojnagarwala umours about a PlayStation phone surfaced months ago, and as always, those rumours lead to speculation. As more information about this extraordinary, one-of-a-kind gaming phone leaked, tech magazines and websites were flooded with digital prototypes.

The elusive PlayStation phone, launched as the Xperia Play by Sony Ericsson, made its debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month. Disappointingly, it received a lukewarm reception, and the creepy Super Bowl commercial didn’t do much to add to its appeal.

Nevertheless, being the first PlayStation-certified smartie, it gave us more than enough reason to jump up and down like school kids in front of an ice-cream cart when we first greedily set our hands on the phone.

R Controls

Any tech journalist who’s got a hold of the phone will tell you that instinct guides you towards the slide-out gamepad, the famed centrepiece of the phone. At first glance, we’re pretty impressed by what we see. The gamepad slides out smoothly, with a satisfying click, to reveal all the gaming controls you need from a console. On either side of the gamepad are a quartet of buttons – the left holds the directional ones (up, down, left and right), and the right has the four iconic PlayStation buttons (square, triangle, circle and cross). Nestled snugly between the controls are two circular, touch-sensitive analog pads, which function like joysticks. At the centre of each pad is a depressed metal dot, to give your thumbs a sense of direction. It takes some getting used to, but we found the touch pads quite handy for racing games like Asphalt 6, especially when it came to taking sharp turns on the track.

At the bottom are three buttons, one is the Android Menu button, and the two others are Select and Start. A delightful discovery is that the top corners of the gamepad have two shoulder buttons, which are substitutes for the L1 and R1 controls on a regular console gamepad. The downside is that we didn’t use these buttons much on most games we played.

Also, Sony Ericsson seems to have compromised on the quality of the buttons, which feel plasticky and flimsy.

The 4-inch display with a resolution of 480x854 pixels is decent, but we would have really liked to see an AMOLED screen.

Even the Xperia Arc looks brighter in comparison. At highest levels of brightness, it’s still quite dull, and when we tried gaming outdoors, it was virtually impossible to make out anything in the sunlight. However, the screen didn’t let us down when it came to gaming, given that it’s of considerably higher resolution than the one on the PSP 3004.

Game on Considering that this is a gaming phone, we would expect a dedicated app which would be able to showcase all the games in one place, but disappointingly, this isn’t the case. Sliding out the gamepad directly brings up the Xperia Play app. This has two sections: Xperia Play Games (this gives you a list of all the games already installed on your phone) and More Games (this is a list of available titles for download). Sony Ericsson declared that there were over 70 titles for the Play at the time of launch. Clicking on any one of these games will take you to the Android Market, where you can pay online and download it directly to the phone.

For games developed by Sony itself, you need to access the PlayStation Pocket app. Our unit came pre-installed with Crash Bandicoot, and if you touch the tiny search button on the screen, it’ll bring up a list of other available PlayStation games. At present, the list has only five titles, including the ever-popular MediEvil.

To double up as a gaming device, Sony Ericsson has decided to go the

whole hog and cram in a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon chip and an Adreno 205 GPU, along with 512 MB of RAM. Apart from slight delays while loading the game, we didn’t face any trouble when it came to lags during gameplay. We also had a few problems when we downloaded games from the Android Market, which took ages to load, even on a high-speed Wi-Fi connection.

Sony’s meagre offering of PlayStation titles should ideally be substantiated by allowing the Play to access the list of wonderful PSP games.

Playing the PSP version of Final Fantasy VII on a phone is a good enough reason to persuade us to buy it, we think.

Some of the games like Bruce Lee and the Sims 3 barely required use of the gamepad controls, and more often than not it was easier to use the touch controls. Sony Ericsson should have more stringent guidelines on what constitutes an Xperia Play-optimised game.

Phony business While we’ve been babbling about the gaming capabilities of the Xperia Play, we declined to look at the other function it’s good for – being a full-fledged smartphone. Sony Ericsson makes no compromises on this aspect, and the phone is loaded with all the features you would expect from the HTC’s and Samsung’s that would fall into the same price bracket.

Our white unit was reminiscent of the much loved Xperia X10. It operates on a full touch interface, with physical Android buttons arranged neatly at the bottom. What doesn’t help is that they’re all in the wrong order, and not backlit, which makes them a pain to use in the dark. A 3.5mm headphone jack, mini USB slot, volume rocker switch and power button are the only other buttons on the exterior. You’ll find a 5-megger snapper with flash on the back cover.

We couldn’t resist mentioning that this is one of the few phones which allow you to change your SIM and micro SD card without taking out the battery – a small but significant advantage.

The Gingerbread Android interface has been masked by a customised skin. Billowy wallpapers, angular icons and geometric accents give the Play a snazzy look, which complement its gaming capabilities. The capacitive touch screen was smooth and responsive.

Videos streamed beautifully on Play, and we watched more than a few episodes of Family Guy on YouTube. The phone also supports MP4 and WMV video playback. The dedicated music app is pretty standard for a droid, and we liked the addition of equaliser settings. The presence of stereo speakers makes it a pleasure for music, videos and gaming, unlike the tinny mono speaker most often seen on smartphones.

The camera isn’t anything to rave about, with no available scene modes and few manual settings. The lack of zooming capabilities and the missing physical power button are irritants.

There is a front camera for video chats. Timescape integrates all your social networking contacts, but we’re not a big fan of the app, which is often moody about syncing regularly.

Battery life, in terms of smartphone usage, gave us less than a day of juice on a full charge, which is worse than the norm. It drains further when Wi-Fi is turned on. Strangely, when used primarily for gaming purposes, the phone gives you a couple of hours of dedicated game time, which isn’t too bad.

To Play or not to Play?

Getting down to a verdict about the Xperia Play is tricky business. The Play delights with its pull out gamepad, but disappoints in the lack of dedicated gaming titles. Battery drains during talktime, but impresses during gameplay. The screen is dim, but clear enough for gaming. The fact that Sony’s slashed prices of the PSP 3004 only adds to the Play’s woes.

There are a lot of pros and cons to consider, but the bottomline is that there’s no other phone as unique in its concept, and that too, associated with a leading gaming brand. Once there are more original PlayStation titles on offer and Sony Ericsson works out an extended battery life, the Xperia Play will keep your thumbs busy and your mind off work.

Love: Full-fledged gamepad with the entire range of controls Hate: Lack of original PlayStation games Rs 35,000 ketaki@thehindu.co.in

LAPTOP review

‘Pro’nounced similarity, ‘Pro’verbial performance Mahananda Bohidar

n the world of personal computing, today’s technology becomes obsolete tomorrow. And convincing first-timers to become life-timers is a ‘hard-drive’ for companies.

Expectations rise even higher when it is a company which has given you a bevy of machines that have managed to, in a way, be identified with a kind of performance and user experience that is unique to the brand. Apple’s MacBook has had that effect on its buyers.

Keeping the faith, the new MacBook Pro lineup offers the quintessential Mac experience with the added advantage of a longer battery life, a faster processor, better graphics and the very promising Thunderbolt technology. Let’s see how many of these we can tick off the list.

Comforts of the old While benchmarking the new MacBook Pro, there were times when, for a second or two, we had trouble differentiating the machines based on just their looks.

The new MacBook Pro offers almost no additions in terms of a new design or the look and feel of the notebook, making it similar to two of its previous iterations!

The island-style keyboard remains a delight, with soft keys to type on. The keyboard is also backlit and paired with an ambient light sensor. The familiar flat glass touchpad integrating the touch surface and click button still remains as responsive and lets you play with multi-touch gestures with a certain characteristic smoothness.

Watching the movie ‘2012’ on the 13-inch screen was a treat marred by occasions when you could see your own reflection on the black portions of the glossy display. The viewing angles weren’t too great when we buffered a couple of 1080p Pixar animations on YouTube, with a bunch of friends sitting down to watch, and had the lights on.

However, the 13-inch display, despite being glossy, reproduces brilliant colours and crisp images, one of those things that you just come to expect from every video-enabled Apple product.

What’s new?

With Apple at the head, everyone is going gaga over the revolutionary new Thunderbolt technology that finds its initial implementation in the new line of MacBook Pros.

The mini DisplayPort that the previous gen Pro had now gives up its position on the side of the aluminium unibody to the Thunderbolt I/O port.

The mini DisplayPort was capable of delivering a ‘pure digital signal that can drive up to a 30-inch widescreen display’, but the Thunderbolt port holds much more potential since it can serve as a multi-purpose port.

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Photo: R. Ravindran

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A huge jump from its earlier connecting ports, Apple claims, the Thunderbolt I/O can move data to and from peripherals up to 20 times faster than a USB 2.0 connection and sustain a two-way high-speed PC connection at roughly 10Gbps.

While Intel says that Thunderbolt technology was designed with professional

audio and video applications in mind, Apple definitely seems to be targeting people outside this niche too.

Although peripherals supporting Thunderbolt tech are yet to be released – external hard drives, media players, displays - will all have the same connector that will allow users to daisy chain up to six devices at a time. Apart from this superhero of a connector, you have the usual ports on the MacBook Pro - Gigabit Ethernet, six-pin FireWire, two USB ports, SDXC card reader, audio in/out and the MagSafe power port.

The new built-in FaceTime HD camera, according to Apple, has three times the resolution of the camera on the previous MacBook Pro, and enables widescreen video calls (more people in the frame… if it is a group chat). PhotoBooth remains the same and continues giving you crisp snaps with little change in the options it offers.

With its aluminium unibody design, we kept an eye out for heating issues. The rear left of the notebook was the area that was likely to get heated up most but thankfully it’s didn’t get hot enough to start bothering us.

I’ve got the power!

Powering the new 13-inch MacBook Pro is Intel’s new Core technology, which has integrated the processor, graphics engine and memory controller into a single chip.

The unit that we reviewed was endowed with the Intel Core i7-2620M 2.7 GHz processor complemented by Turbo Boost that lets you overclock up to 3.4GHz. With this combination under the hood, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro is supposed to run applications up to two times faster than its predecessor. We got to check this claim with help of a benchmarking software.

On the rating scales, the overall performance of the new MacBook Pro 13-inch hit an amazing 6,910 while its predecessor scored a 3,889 on the test.

The graphic bit Giving the boot to NVIDIA GeForce 320M, Apple has chosen the Intel HD Graphics 3000 to deliver graphics on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apart from providing ample speed for the latest 3D games, the new HD Graphics 3000 comes with a built-in hardware decoder that boosts battery life when you’re watching video.

After charging the unit to 100 per cent, with AirPort turned on, watched ‘Family Guy’, buffered a couple of high-def videos on YouTube, surfed the web and at the end of the day, although the indicator showed red, the brand new MacBook Pro still hadn’t died on us.

Going back to the graphics, we ran a couple of more benchmarking tests, where to our surprise, the previous gen Pro fared better with a 50 on graphics test (one that tests GPU with a heavily shader-dependent 3D scene) and 115 3D frames per second where as the new one only scored a 27 displaying only about 66 3D frames per second.

We say The new MacBook Pro is different, yet remarkably similar. The fact remains that the MacBook Pro’s design hasn’t aged and manages not only to stand out among a cluster of notebooks but remains one of the sturdiest, sexiest machines you can own. The new MacBook Pro with a stronger heart is clearly more feature-rich and comes future-proofed with the new Thunderbolt tech. Definitely a good pick for Mac fanboys and those who are just about to become so.

Love: Amazing battery life, Thunderbolt technology Hate: Same ol’ design, glossy display Rs 69,900 onwards mahananda@thehindu.co.in

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AUTO focus

Rediscovering the sixth element S. Muralidhar ust before the Paris Motor Show in late September last year, Lamborghini – the Italian super sportscar maker – issued a manifesto for all its future cars.

The manifesto said, “We are redefining the future of our super sportscars around the two main reasons to buy: design and performance. Design has been and always will be reason number one, and we will make sure a Lamborghini will always be recognisable through its significant stylistic features. Regarding performance, until a few years ago the priorities were, in this order: top speed, acceleration and handling. In recent years this has been changing.

Together with design, handling and acceleration are becoming more important. Speed is not as important anymore, because all super sportscars are exceeding the 300kmph mark and this is a speed that you cannot reach even on a racetrack, let alone normal roads.” Lamborghini said that it thinks the time has come to make a shift and talk more about handling and acceleration.

The key factor that really determines the super sportscars’ better handling and acceleration characteristics is

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the power-to-weight ratio. This is not so much about top speed and future sportscars will not be so focused on increasing the power, also because CO2 emissions will also have to be considered and will play a role for their performance. So the key lay in reducing the weight.

But, how do you reduce the weight? During the last three decades, the average weight of the current day automobile has gone up by 500 kgs because of active and

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passive safety, increased comfort and emissions reduction issues. Since there is little scope to reduce the safety or comfort in cars, the only option is to reduce the weight by using new materials.

The magic material is carbon-fibre. Lamborghini has had a long history and association with carbon-fibre. The recent culmination of that cumulative experience with this unique material is the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 – one of the first super sports cars to feature an entire monocoque in carbon-fibre. Even as we go into print, production of this fantastic replacement for the Murciélago will have commenced, and deliveries of the Aventador LP700-4 limited to about 4,000 units will start later this year.

At about the same time that this iconic Italian company was working on its brand new sportscar, an Indian brand, TI, was taking its first measured step at launching a similar carbon-fibre structured, sporty vehicle – albeit on two wheels. TI Cycles’ Montra is the first indigenously produced bike featuring an entire frame made out of the magic material. Here is an exclusive preview of the tech that powers the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 and an exclusive test ride of the Montra.

Aventador LP700-4 Lamborghini started working with carbon-fibre and composite elements in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy over 30 years ago. In 1983, when many of us were still in our diapers, the first carbon-fibre based chassis prototype was built for the Countach. Series production parts first appeared in 1985. The outgoing Lamborghini Murciélago was built largely out of carbon fibre, with 93 kgs of structural carbon-fibre materials in its bodyshell.

Lambo believes that carbon composite materials are crucial to tomorrow’s automotive engineering, especially for high-performance sports cars. These materials are made from carbon-fibre reinforced polymers and combine the lowest possible weight with excellent mechanical properties. Cars become lighter, thus improving fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. A super sportscar built using composite materials in carbon fibre has improved acceleration and braking as well as superior handling.

The current Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera is another example. Compared to the already lean Gallardo LP 560-4, the weight of the LP 570-4 has been reduced by a further 70 kgs. One major contributing factor is the use of exterior and interior components made from carbon-fibre.

Lambo took its obsession with carbon-fibre to a whole new level when it unveiled the Sesto Elemento in Paris last year. This unique technology demonstrator boasted an extremely lightweight construction thanks to advanced Carbon-fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) technology. The Lamborghini Sesto Elemento had an overall curb weight of just 999 kilograms (2,202 lb) – including the V10 power unit and its permanent all-wheel drive.

With its engine output of 570 hp, spectacular power-toweight ratio of only 1.75 kilograms per hp and 0 to 100 kmph (0-62 mph) acceleration of only 2.5 seconds, the Sesto Elemento was one exciting showcase.

The basis was an extremely solid, stiff, safe and lightweight carbon-fibre monocoque cell of the Sesto Elemento. Even the propeller shaft is made of CFRP! Lambo has applied the learnings from the Sesto Elemento into the Murcielago’s successor. The cell of the new Lamborghini flagship – the Aventador – is made entirely from carbon-fibre and has been designed as a monocoque structure. The significant load-bearing structure of the vehicle is engineered as a ‘single shell’ that functions physically as a single unit, taking full advantage of the extreme rigidity of CFRP and it only weighs 147.5 kgs.

Formula 1 race cars are built using CFRP monocoques – and have proven their crash worthiness time and again.

The same applies to road-going sports cars featuring monocoque technology – the carbon-fibre occupant cell functions like an extremely safe roll cage.

The entire body-in-white of the Aventador weighs only 229.5 kilograms (505 lbs) and boasts phenomenal torsional rigidity of 35,000 Newton metres per degree of twist. This guarantees a superb feeling of solidity, but, more importantly, extremely exact wheel control with superb steering precision and sensitive feedback. This new Lambo is powered by a 6.5-litre V12 engine that puts out a whopping 700 bhp of peak power and 690 Nm of maximum torque at 5,500 rpm. The engine is mated to an ISR (independent shifting rods) transmission, said to feature the fastest shifting robotised gearbox.

The weight of the Aventador being only 1,575 kilograms, the weight-to-power ratio stands at only 2.25 kilograms per hp. The 0-100 kmph acceleration figure clocks in at just 2.9 seconds and the top speed is 350 kmph. And yet, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are down by around

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Photo: S. Muralidhar

20 per cent compared with its predecessor, despite the considerable increase in power (up 8 per cent).

The Aventador’s first year production is said to been sold out. If you are lucky and get to book one, expect a price tag of about a million dollars.

Montra Techno For more than six decades TI cycles has been in the business of making bikes for commuters. A few years ago, the company also took the leap into making bicycles for enthusiasts. Foreseeing the evolution of biking in the country and the fact that the bicycle is fast becoming a lifestyle accessory too, TI has launched many new initiatives. One of them is its Track & Trail stores which today stock high-end bikes of imported brands like Bianchi, Schwinn, Cannondale etc.

Importing them is one thing, but to be able to manufacture an entirely indigenous high-end sports bike and price it in the Rs 70,000 range needs some spunk. TI took that plunge with the new Montra range of sporty high-end bikes. We got to ride the Techno and it’s connect with the Lambo Aventador is the fact that this Montra model features a diamond frame that is entirely made out of carbonfibre. Even the handle bar and twin fork is made with CFRP. The significant point to note here is of course, that all of this is made by TI engineers here and this model is unique because even some of the imported brands do not feature a full frame (including dropouts) in carbon-fibre.

The moment you swing your leg over the Montra Techno, there is an immediate sense of lightness. At just 8.5 kgs weight, this bike can be lifted up with one hand easily. It is

Photo: R. Ravindran

at least 12 kgs lighter than the average steel frame bike and about 35 per cent lighter than aluminium framed bikes of similar size.

As with the Aventador, weight reduction is a significant advantage that carbon-fibre offers to the Montra Techno too. That is not the only benefit though. Unlike steel, carbon-fibre has a lot of self-absorption properties, so it doesn’t transmit shocks that would otherwise reach the rider’s back from the undulations on the road. Of course, carbon-fibre’s torsional rigidity is another well-known benefit that will impart sturdiness and longevity to the bike.

Though it would have contributed to a further reduction in weight, to ‘Indianise’ the bike TI chose not to go with more carbon-fibre components in the Techno!

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Wheels and a few other parts also made with the magic material would have needed much better road surfaces than what we get here if the ride was to continue to be comfortable. The bike we tested wore performance road tyres from Kenda.

The Techno is also the first bike with ten-speed shifters that have been specially sourced from SRAM. Shift speeds are quite quick and the quality is amongst the best in the class. To validate the quality of the newly manufactured carbon-fibre frame, TI engineers sought to put it through the famous JIS – Japanese test for structural rigidity and both the frame and fork cleared it.

The Montra range also includes other models like the Jazz and Country that offer aluminium frames or part carbon-fibre frames. The bikes are offered with straight handle bars with bar-ends in the interest of making them easy to ride in all conditions. They can also be ordered with dropdown bars for people who want a sportier ride position. Two more models are coming soon as part of the Montra range.

Lamborghini names its models after prize-winning bulls and the Montra range on the other hand seems to have gotten its inspiration from various genres of music.

The Aventador and the Montra Techno are vastly different products though seemingly joined at the hip.

One is an Italian super model, the other is an Indian upstart, both are attempting to be fast, yet green, and both are equally unique and fantastic showcases for the magic material – carbon-fibre. muraliswami@thehindu.co.in

Verna-ration guaranteed S.Muralidhar

few weeks ago we gave you one of the first exclusive experience reports of the new Hyundai Verna, after driving the seventh generation model in Dubai. With just about a month or so left for its launch in India, we drove the India-spec Verna from Coimbatore to Kodaikanal.

After driving the fully-loaded left-hand drive overseas version of the new Verna, the first point that struck me as I step into the domestic production variant is the interiors. The same quality of the interiors is a big plus with the new Verna. Actually, that is not true…the Indian version gets more goodies like wood trim, a rear view camera view embedded in the rear view mirror and a cluster ionizer to ensure clean air inside the cabin.

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The spin I drove the new Verna along the 180 kms route to Kodaikanal and back, and I must admit both the 1.6-litre petrol and diesel variants are equally impressive in their own ways. The drive was thorough a mix of city, highway and hilly sections and unlike some of the other sedans in the segment where I would have had a clear engine preference, with the new Verna, the only clear choice I could make was with the transmission.

My choice was the six-speed manual gearbox over the automatic, whether it was the petrol or the diesel. Both the engines are amongst the most powerful in this segment and are quite quick on the uptake, but the automatic gearbox doesn’t get to be quick enough to allow you to get the best out of the mill.

Under the hood Very much like the Kappa 2, the 1,591cc petrol engine with VTVT (variable valve timing) feels like it is one of the quietest and most refined in the class. Offering a peak power of 123.05 PS at 6,300 rpm and maximum torque of 15.8 KgM at 4,200 rpm, the 1-6 petrol is easy to get all excited about, especially if you are driving on a ghat section with some tight, blind turns and swoopy hairpin bends.

The new Verna’s engine prowess is also hamstrung a bit by its tendency to understeer when pushed hard. With the steering also not offering the kind of feedback that you will feel confident being with during high speeds, there were occasions when I had to tone down my expectations in the hills. But, there is no sense of unease or lack of confidence when you are driving at legal speeds or on the highway.

Straight line stability is excellent and with the slick shifting gearbox near at hand, there need be no wrestling with the stick to stay in the right power band for any road condition. Of course, the one point that needs to be highlighted is that the six gear slot is unlikely to be used very much, though it might offer the new Verna buyer some bragging rights.

The 1,582cc diesel engine can be much more fun to drive, thanks toits 26.5 KgM of peak torque available from as low as 1,900 to 2,750 rpm. The engine features some high-end tech like hydraulic lash adjusters and suctions control valves in addition to the variable geometry turbocharger that together enable it to offer a fairly dynamic performance.

Peak power is a better than the petrol 128.08 PS at 4,000 rpm.

With loads of torque available the engine stays within the favourite easy revving band even when left in the third gear slot for average city driving conditions. The India-spec new Verna will also be offered with a 1,396cc fourcylinder petrol engine that has a peak power of 107 PS and torque of 13.8 KgM, and a similar sized 1.4-litre (1,396cc), four-cylinder diesel engine that generates 90 PS of power and a yummy 22.43 KgM of torque.

With such a range of engines, Hyundai should be able to cover a big price band with its new Verna. There is a considerable equipment to woo the buyer too, with the only thing missing to pit it against more expensive sedans being the sunroof.

The previous Verna already had the numbers on its side, the new Verna has the performance potential, and finally also the looks, to rear-end the competition.

Photo: S. Muralidhar

LUXURY HOTEL review

Palatial pampering in Delhi’s belly

Anushya Mamtora ir Edwin Landseer Lutyens’ motto was said to be Metiendo Vivendum – ‘By measure we live’.

Small wonder then that his architectural work, still fondly called Lutyens’ Delhi, is at its impressive best almost a century later, inspiring us with its perfection and appropriateness. When The Leela – Palaces, Hotels, Resorts decided to serenade the domes and columns in Lutyens’ Delhi with a property of its own, the inspiration was obvious - the same sense of measured flamboyance and the same marriage of European charm with Mughal magnificence. And just like the measured exactness that Sir Lutyens sought in locating his best architectural work on Raisina Hill, the new Leela too is located ideally in the heart of Delhi’s business and cultural hub, and is yet just a 30-minute ride away from the airport.

The Leela’s luxury abode in New Delhi takes off from this brilliant architect’s vision of a vibrant, stately, majestic city. And it reverberates from the dome of the new Leela Palace’s splendid facade to the elegant round arches, its opulent interiors, green niches and even the minute carvings, paintings and panels that adorn the walls. It blends in beautifully with the grand residences and historical monuments at the exclusive Diplomatic Enclave (near Chanakyapuri) – The Presidential Palace or Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Prime Minister’s office, Government ministries and embassies. Yet, in its own way, this new edifice stands tall and distinct as the brand new The Leela Palace Kempinski, New Delhi.

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the entrance, is its unmistakable presence - a looming stone façade with arches and inset pillars and two massive elephant sculptures. Stepping inside, the Colonial-erastyle exteriors give way to a royal Mughal setting. Carefully chosen fabrics adorning plush sofas, gold gilded furniture, mother-of-pearl inlay work, large Venetian glass mirrors – the interiors are much like those you will come across at the Leela’s other Palace properties.

This hotel chain invests heavily in the interiors of its properties giving them an aura of luxury like no other. At this new Leela Palace, the finery further gives way to a lush green lawn, an ideal open air set up to soak in some breeze, feel the sun, indulge in al fresco dining, yet revel in all the

extravagance.

Also to feast your eyes are traditional Indian symbolic forms like the brass and gold plated 1,000 lotus mural by Satish Gupta, the Devi sculpture in the lawns by the same artist, exquisitely crafted Indian art, limited edition lithographs, intricate marble carvings and paintings by eminent artists like Satish Gujral, Laxma Goud and Paresh Maity, amongst others.

Located around these artistic expressions are 260 well appointed rooms, which range from Grande Deluxe Rooms with a tariff of about Rs 25,000 to the Maharaja Suite available for Rs 4.5 lakh per night.

Many of The Leela’s properties are also a delightful amalgam of opposites like the number of high-tech features you’ll find cozying up with recreated royalty. And the New Delhi property is no exception – there are a lot of new technological inclusions that have been the focus of this property. General Manager, Charles Morris, highlighting the important aspects of the hotel, points out their efforts to bring in tech to the guest rooms, like the JBL docking station to control audio-visual devices to the Ad Notam Mirror television next to the bathtub.

Delectable cuisines New Delhi being a foodie’s paradise, the Leela already had many benchmarks to beat its restaurants and cuisines. At the time of the review, their all-day dining glass restaurant The Qube, as well the royal Indian kitchen Jamavar, were bustling with guests and waft of international and authentic ‘desi’ cuisine had my stomach growling much before the food arrived. I tried the tomato crepes in pesto sauce and smoked vegetable lasagne from The Qube’s lunch

Royal feel, contemporary rendition The first thing that strikes when you drive up the road to

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buffet spread and it was just perfect. Jamawar, on the other hand, fills up your artistic senses before your food reaches the table. Borrowing its name from an intricate weave or silk embroidery, it uses its namesake throughout its interiors in tasteful portions. They have a small but carefully selected à la carte menu with an interesting mix from India’s royal cuisines.

The tandoori style cauliflower and broccoli , crisp babycorn with Mangalorean masala, Gucci pulao (flavoured rice with Kashmiri morels) and the signature khajoor-kiphirni were commendable. For meat lovers, the biryanis and kebabs are a must try.

The Library Bar with plush mohair, velvet sofas and teardrop chandeliers is a neat hide-out for a cosy conversation or a book and champagne combo.

In the pipeline are Le Cirque, an Italian fine-dining

restaurant at the 10th level and Megu, a Japanese speciality restaurant.

Leisure touches At The Leela Palace New Delhi, tired heads of state and stressed out businessmen can also avail the luxurious, pampering services of the ESPA spa. Aesthetically designed by interior designer Jeffrey Wilkes, the spa has a whole range of exclusive treatments. To experience the real Leela sumptuousness, one must opt for their signature rituals – Tan Lepa full body treatment, Kizhiswedana Synchronised massage and the Royal Leela Facial.

I tried the signature facial, where therapist Surjeet cleansed and exfoliated my face prior to a regenerating marma point massage using warm poultices infused with herbs to restore and replenish. The treatment reeked

of…err…smelt of sheer luxury from the beginning to end and it even managed to miraculously subdue my stubborn pimple. Other interesting leisure features include The Royal Club, considered to be a ‘hotel-within-a-hotel’ for those who reside in the Club rooms. With an exclusive Royal Club lounge, evening cocktail hours, complimentary airport transfers by limousine and more, guests are in for some royal indulgence. A dip in the pool at the terrace while you soak in the spectacular view of the city should also be on your cards if you are staying at The Leela Palace.

However, what is simply breathtaking is the 4,500 sqft Maharaja suite that is opulent, with state-of-the-art facilities and a complimentary chauffeur driven Rolls Royce Phantom at your service! Whoever said luxury is an addiction, was so damn right! anushya@thehindu.co.in

BEYOND the hour

Billion dollar baby!

Titan Helios store

Pradipta K Mohapatra s Smartbuy goes past its third birthday, it sets many records.

Smartbuy has been the first and only non-watch industry magazine to have run a regular column on Horology and has also been witness to some tumultuous transformation in the watch industry in India during the last three years. It is a revelation of sorts that at retail prices, the watch industry grew some thirty per cent a year; almost touching a billion dollars during the last financial year.

The industry also witnessed tremendous modernisation in retail infrastructure. Upmarket malls such as Emporio Mall - New Delhi, Palladium - Mumbai, Bengaluru’s UB City and Chennai’s Express Avenue have given away a disproportionate share of floor space to watches.

Also, the look and feel of the stores and the fitout standards are no different compared to retail decor that we have witnessed in the developed world. Most important of all has been the proliferation of the number of global brands now available in India. Indians can now buy a designer’s brand such as Espirit or Guess in the neighbourhood store. They don’t have to go to Mustafa in Singapore to buy a Tissot. Titan has now populated the country with some three hundred ‘World of Titan’ stores. Not to be left behind, the second independent brand from the Titan stable ‘Fastrack’ is now aspiring to have its first fifty stores built and

A

stocked for young people. And the story of ‘Helios’ has just begun!

Swiss Invasion The 2011 edition of Baselworld, a massive watch industry fair held during the second half of March every year, was celebrating the V-shape recovery of the Swiss watch industry last year. After taking a nose dive of 22 per cent during 2009, the industry almost fully recovered its volume sales as well as revenue. There were of course several bits of good news for the Swiss watch industry. Export to China for the first time crossed one billion dollars. Exports to Hong Kong – the world’s largest trading centre for watches and watch components - crossed three billion dollars. It can safely be assumed that China may have received another billion dollars worth of watches through Hong Kong, making China the single largest user of Swiss watches – surpassing countries like the US, and Germany and the rest of the world.

So where does India stand in all this?

Well, way behind China, but India grew at an unbelievable 35 per cent compared to the previous year; even beating the Chinese growth rate. This is a small market, and yet is the fastest growing market in the World for Swiss watches! So how large was the Indian market during 2010?

At CIF prices, Swiss exports of watches to India during 2010 was at $130 million. At retail prices, this would translate to a Helvetica

whopping $300 million! Then there have been the Big Three brands outside Switzerland which also have been very active in India – namely Citizen, Timex and Seiko (probably in that order). We estimate that these three brands would have recorded revenues from sales of about $50 million at street prices.

In addition, there has been the invasion of the middle to low-end fashion brands – Hugo Boss, Tommy, Espirit, Guess, Armani and countless others. These brands may have added another $50 million in revenues. It is therefore a fair estimate that Indians bought an unbelievable $400 million or Rs 2,000 crore worth of imported watches! Consider this figure in the light of the total being less than Rs 500 crore just three years ago.

Tissot, which is now available in over one hundred stores in India, has emerged as the largest selling Swiss brand. It is estimated that Tissot’s volume sales during 2010 in India crossed 50,000 watches with average retail price recovery of Rs 15,000 per watch. In volume terms, Tag Heuer and Raymond Weil also became very popular.

Not to be left behind, were watches in higher price bands namely Longines and the ever popular Omega. India also witnessed the launch of virtually all top-end brands retailed through select outlets. We saw brands like Breguet, Blancpain, Rolex, Jaeger Le-Coultre, IWC, Ulysse Nardin and Zenith. Retail prices were competitive; albeit some interesting discounts to MRP to match Dubai or Singapore prices.

It is possible that the rapid upward swing in Swiss watch sales in India may have been contributed to by Indians learning to buy their watches in India! So what made this transition possible?

Retail Infrastructure Ethos Boutique set up by watch veteran Yasho Saboo with some 25 multi-brand stores became the largest retail chain for Swiss watches in India. Many erstwhile single-outlet multi-brand stores such as

Helvetica, Zimsons, Kapoors and P. Orr and Sons have all become multi-store chains. Many of them have opted to open franchise stores on behalf of individual brands. For the first time during the last three years fashion brands retailing for less than Rs 10,000 entered the realms of department stores with Shoppers Stop and Central leading the way.

Multi-brand retail watch stores appearing in domestic airports and doing brisk business is also quite a change for India. In all, some 150 stores are now retailing multi brand watches above Rs 10,000 and maybe some 50 stores that are retailing brands above Rs 50,000.

While it may appear that India’s watch retail market is fast maturing; the best is just about arriving. Indira Nagar’s 100 feet road in Bangalore just added a brand new 3,000 sqft Helios watch store with a 100 ft frontage. The store carries 28 global brands and intends to add more. This was only the fifth ‘Helios’ multi brand store in India.

The decor is world class, the ambiance plush but non-intrusive, and the sales staff courteous and well-trained. Five stores may not speak a great lot about industry giant Titan’s true intent about multi-brand retailing.

On the other hand though, at three hundred by last count, ‘World of Titan’ stores is set to make Titan one of the world’s largest watch retailers. Helios is slated to become a 40-store chain by end of the financial year and probably add another 60 over the next 12 to 24 months. In the words of Ajoy Chawla, Vice President, Global Marketing, Titan, "We will stop nothing short of becoming leaders in multi-brand watch retailing in India."

At 25 per cent growth per annum, India is all set to become a $2 billion market over the next three years. It will be wonderful to see India’s watch retail industry maturing to world-class standards and offering real joy to Indian consumers!

(The author is a horologist and brand historian)

MELANGE luxury redefined

Espadrilles are fun to climb on to! Burberry’s blue one with the iconic checks is great to team with summery casuals.

Available at Burberry stores.

Grab one of Fendi’s baguette handbags designed by contemporary artists.

This one in shocking pink is a kitschy winner. Fendi boutiques will tell you more.

One for the Gods! Caran d’Ache’s ‘Balaji’ Limited edition pen in solid silver and matt black lacquer.

Available at William Penn stores.

It’s a dash of red apple, absolute pepper, incense, vetiver and musk in a gorgeous blue container for him. All for the sake of Loewe! Available at select lifestyle stores.

Attacked by the fashion police?

Hang on for dear life to this green, scroll printed, laser treated leather bag from de GRISOGONO. Head to its stores for more.

To Japan, with love.

Gucci’s limited edition white-red-white bracelet with a medal that reads “Gucci loves you”. Head to Gucci stores for more

*Price on request

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