Smartbuy issue dated 13th July, 2011

Smartbuy Business Line

G A D G E T S

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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A U T O |

L U X U R Y

www.blsmartbuy.com

En-egg-matic!

Fabergé’s new sparklers Page 12

Reviews

Nokia E6 Samsung PL210

WHAT’S HOT this week Tale of seven cities

Team Smartbuy Editorial Anushya Mamtora anushya@thehindu.co.in

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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Cover photo: Faberge L’Oeuf Ruban

TAG Heuer MERIDIIST Exclusive Editions The distinctive combinations of fine skins, leathers, hues and finishes express through the subtle design the associations of each city’s history, architecture, and the energy of the people who live there. Grey Alligator and 316L Stainless Steel for London, red wine from the Burgundy region for France, red Lizard, against the black PVD finish for Moscow, Cameltoned Alligator skin for the sand dunes of Dubai, Opulent emerald green Teju and black PVD for the majestic palaces and precious jewels of India, ocean blue Teju for Shanghai and a glittery black Calfskin and stainless steel for New York, constitute the MERIDIIST special edition.

Price on request

Tring tring

Jabra STONE2 Answer and screen calls with simple voice commands with the Jabra STONE2. All you have to say is “Call Dad”, “Answer”, “Ignore” etc., to enjoy complete hands free communication. You can also hear the name of the caller through the headset - for example, Mom’s phone calling or Office calling etc. With the proprietary Noise Blackout Extreme technology the headset is available in Black Leather or White Gloss finish.

Rs 7,999

Communication manager

Plantronics Calisto 825 This speakerphone from Plantronics combines multi-device hands-free connectivity with intuitive visual call management. Optimised for use with Microsoft Office Communicator, it’s perfect for homes or offices which depend on multiple communication devices to collaborate. The Calisto 825 manages calls between a PC and mobile phone with a visual display and wireless microphone.

Rs 10,000

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Back in Black

LG Optimus Black The LG Optimus Black features a 4-inch 720p HD screen, 5-meg camera with LED flash and front facing 2-meg camera for video calls. The phone runs on a 1GHz TI OMAP3 processor.

LG’s Optimus US 2.0 provides enhanced graphics experience, and allows you to directly access messages, emails and missed calls from the locked screen.

Rs 20,990

Fun workstation

Lenovo IdeaCentre A320 Equipped with an ultra slim double shell design this all-in-one desktop features a 21.5-inch LED screen. The Lenovo IdeaCentre A320 is powered by 2nd Generation Intel Core i3/i5 processors, Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and a 750 GB hard disk. It has USB 3.0, USB 2.0, 7-in-1 card reader, Integrated Bluetooth, high-speed 802.11n Wi-fi, SRS Premium Surround sound enabled integrated speakers for unlimited fun and entertainment.

Rs 50,990

Small and snappy

Olympus PEN EP-3 The latest in Olympus’s PEN series of cameras, the EP-3 is based on the Micro Four Thirds system, which packs a DSLR’s functions into a small body. The EP-3 features a touch sensitive OLED display, and a FAST (Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology) autofocus system. A 12.3-meg sensor, Full HD video recording and wide range of interchangeable lenses make this a camera that will appeal to photo enthusiasts of all genres.

Rs 39,999 (standard kit), Rs 44,999 (dual lens kit)

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SMARTPHONE review

Will Anna save the day?

Photo: S.S. Kumar

Ketaki Bhojnagarwala ost people still swear by BlackBerry when it comes to business phones. While Android and Apple cater to those who prefer lifestyle-oriented smartphones, Nokia has been steadily releasing a stream of handsets which attempt to woo the busy jet-setter. The Nokia E7 was branded ‘The Communicator’, but failed to cause much of a stir. With the new E6, Nokia has gone back to the QWERTY keypad design. The only question is – will the Symbian Anna interface help this handset eat into BlackBerry sales?

M Overview

There are many, myself included, who still swear by Nokia handsets, solely based on their sturdiness and excellent battery life. An E63 user myself, I was down in the dumps when my phone drowned last week due to a mishap involving a leaking water bottle. All the more reason for me to be overjoyed when, just in time, the neatly packaged E6 arrived at my desk. Looks wise, the phone resembles all the QWERTY models from Nokia’s E series. Even so, there are some visible differences with the E6. It just looks so much sleeker – a shiny black bezel, chrome-plated lipping, matte-finish back cover and lightweight look and feel.

Unlike the other E models, this one doesn’t feel plasticky, and I have to admit, I liked the design more than a BlackBerry.

The keypad is spaced over four rows, and the keys provide firm, tactile feedback. The keys are large and well-spaced, with a generous spacebar key.

Unlike the previous QWERTY handsets, the E6 is equipped with a capacitive touch screen. The 2.4-inch TFT LCD has a high pixel density, which really shows of Symbian’s colourful icon scheme. The phone has a nice selection of physical buttons. Apart from a Call and End button, there are also four buttons for Home, Calendar,

Email and Contacts of which the last three are customisable. Nokia has done away with the optical trackpad of the E72 (popularised by BlackBerry), and the E6 features a physical one instead with four directional buttons.

There are a bunch of scene modes, manual controls and photo editing options as well. A front-facing VGA camera can be used for video calls.

Connectivity wise, the phone is endowed with Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi and a Mini USB port.

User interface There’s been a lot of talk about Symbian Anna, mostly because the E6 is one of the last in the line of Symbian handsets being launched by Nokia before they go the Windows way. Among the changes that users will see in Symbian Anna are a new version of Ovi Maps, faster browser, improved text input and QWERTY typing in portrait mode (the last feature doesn’t apply to the E6 because of its physical keypad, but we’ll tell you more about that in the X7 review).

Symbian Anna offers four customisable home screens.

However, there are fixed slots for widgets and icons. At least these are colourful and neat, adding some youthful appeal to the phone.

All applications and settings are accessible from the main menu, which I thought was easy and intuitive to navigate. For social networking, you can access your Facebook and Twitter in a unified Ovi Social app. Push mail can be configured to practically any account, and we set up our Gmail quite easily. The widget on the home screen only shows the two most recent mails, so even if you want to quickly glance at your inbox, you’ll have to open the Email app. The Calendar app really impressed me, with its neat and organised layout and multiple options.

The browser is an improvement from other Nokia phones, and loaded pages quickly. It supports multiple windows, bookmarks and lets you send links directly from a page via text, Bluetooth or email. Pinch to zoom and double tap are also supported.

The E6 comes with an 8-megger clicker, which gave us some really decent shots, with and without the flash.

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Performance In terms of call quality, the E6 was brilliant. I never had problems with dropped calls, even in the midst of heavy traffic, call quality was clear and loud. The E6 is powered by a 680 MHz ARM 11 processor, a far cry from the dual-core players that are now flooding the smartphone segment. I did have some issues with phone freezes – often the touch screen would become totally unresponsive, and sometimes the screen would freeze while opening an app, taking up to 30 seconds to revive.

The proximity sensor also malfunctioned quite a lot – and I’ve had serious issues with this on the N8 as well – on almost every call the touch screen would inadvertently get activated, and either mute the call, activate loudspeaker or put the caller on hold.

Battery life was better than the average smartphone, giving us about a day and a half of heavy usage.

Our verdict The Nokia E6 is the next best thing if you want a business smartphone that’s not a BlackBerry. Push email, a good calendar and sleek looks give it professional appeal. However, its high price point could put off a lot of buyers, who might opt for an entry level BlackBerry or mid-range Android handset instead.

Love: Excellent keyboard, good battery life Hate: Occasional freezes, pricey Rs 18,679 ketaki@thehindu.co.in

CAMERA review

Newbie’s delight Samsung PL210 Photo: S.S. Kumar

Mahananda Bohidar igicams arrived as a boon for those who might not have the moolah to invest in or want to deal with the complicated controls of a professional DSLR camera, like yours truly. A couple of group hug shots from a party, a set of beautiful landscapes taken during the yearly vacation and some narcissistic self-portraits for the customary social network-profile pics are the basic needs that a pocket digicam these days absolutely has to fulfil for most people. Offering to do this and more, the 14.2-megger Samsung PL210 was part of our backpack for a couple of days.

D Design

In a pocket-fit size, the Samsung PL210 looks like any other digicam you’ll find in the market. On closer inspection, the body seems sturdy and well-designed with a matte silver finish at the front and a matte plastic panel encasing the 3-inch TFT display at the rear. All controls except the Power and the Zoom toggle button were nestled in the back panel with easy thumb access when I operated the digicam.

Playing around With three buttons dedicated to Mode, Menu and Functions, you have more permutations and combinations to dabble in than you’d expect in an entry-level digicam. The usual options – photo resolution, white balance, display settings – are all easily accessible.

You can access the various Scene modes with a single

button, making it easy to quickly change modes in a hurry.

The Smart Auto gave mixed results under varying ambient light although it always got the exposure levels right and the colours vivid. Shooting portraits was a lot of fun with the ‘Beauty Shot’ option. The camera automatically touched-up the skin tone and made the subjects look prettier than they usually do. However, self-portraits might not give you the best results as there were issues with ‘Face Recognition’.

The ‘Object Highlight’ option looked promising but failed to give decent results. Even after fixing objects at a recommended distance of about 30 cm, all objects in the frame turned out equally in focus. Not too impressive, as the mode is supposed to blur the subject’s surrounding.

The ‘Backlight’ option reduced a brightly lit ambience in the pictures but sometimes the flash turned out to be too strong spoiling the results. Other modes that I tried out included Magic Frame, Night, Text, Sunset and the like.

Move in closer The Samsung PL210 comes with a 10x optical zoom lens which gave sharp images even at full zoom, provided I had the Dual Image Stabilisation on. The dual image stabilisation option includes an optical as well as a digital image stabiliser. This not only seemed to work with minor shakes, as might be the case with unsteady hands, but also effectively reduced camera shake which usually occurs when the camera is being used on full zoom.

After taking a shot, the PL210 takes considerable time processing the image before you can have a quick look at

what you captured. The colour saturation on almost all the pictures shot was rich.

The camera seemed to work best with the ISO on Auto.

In Manual mode, images started looking slightly grainy at ISO 400 but the colours were still quite close to the original. At ISO 800, images showed a lot of noise, and colour reproduction was affected, with results getting progressively worse at ISO 1,600 and beyond.

Life in motion Apart from the still camera, the PL210 also offers a compact HD video cam letting you shoot videos at 720p (30 frames per second). The video cam gave great results both indoors and outdoors. I used the 10x zoom in this mode as well and was pretty impressed with the results. All videos are recorded in the H.264 format.

Verdict With more than a handful of options to keep you entertained in a compact body, a powerful 14.2 megapixel sensor, 10x zoom and a pretty efficient image stabiliser, the Samsung PL210 is one of the best value-for-money digicams in the market right now. For those who are just beginning to dabble in photography, this is an affordable and efficient pocket digicam to opt for.

Love: Excellent colour reproduction, efficient image stabiliser, good VFM Hate: Slow processing, mixed results in Auto mode Rs 11,990 mahananda@thehindu.co.in Test photos: Mahananda Bohidar

A toy shot in the Object Highlight mode

The Sketch mode shoots in black and white

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Vivid colour reproduction on the PL210

GAME review

G

aming is a strange beast for those of us who choose to look beyond the visceral thrills of shooting an overpowered weapon or comparing killdeath ratios. It can be so much more; transporting you to brave new worlds and weaving interactive, involved narratives that other media could never hope to match.

They’d only need to look to games like Portal 2 to see where a good idea can take you.

Gameplay Portal 2 is a simple game to summarise: it consists of a series of test chambers that you enter and then must exit using the tools provided to you. You play as Chell, a mute vessel protagonist in the tradition of that other legendary Valve hero (a certain Mr Freeman), who awakens from an undetermined period in stasis at a giant underground research facility owing to a goof-up by Wheatley, the resident caretaker robot-on-a-rail. For the newbies among you, the first game had you defeat GlaDOS, the malevolent resident AI that seemed so obviously pleased with having you run from one deadly gauntlet to the next, all the while scuppering your plans of escape to the surface.

The tackily furnished vestibule you were holed up in has clearly been ravaged by time, and Wheatley takes it upon himself to free you from your prison the hard way. What follows is a short, but memorable, on-rails sequence (apparently every great Valve game has to begin this way) that drops you back into Aperature Labs, the devious military contractor-cum-conglomerate that designed and ran the testing facility that held Chell prisoner. The place has obviously seen better days, what with GlaDOS out of operation and the maintenance systems acting up. Right about here is where you’ll notice two things. Wheatley just won’t shut up!

But rather than annoying the living hell out of you, you’ll begin to notice that the AI has been given an actual wellrounded character. Brilliantly voiced by The Office’s Stephen Merchant, the lovable little runt is clearly British and has a great sense of humour. In fact, you’re recommended to stay put at spots just so you’ll hear the extra lines he’ll spout. This non-stop chatter is so well written, and delivered with such terrific comic-timing, that you’ll soon miss him when he goes off on random errands.

Keeping pace Aside from Wheatley, you’ll also notice that the game isn’t rushing you forward. The first set of puzzles are harmless enough, seemingly there to introduce you more to the universe and the mechanics of gameplay. The derelict and relatively simple stages soon open up just as the first major plot point hits you (hint: she’s back!). Without divulging any more of the story, suffice to say that you’ll go places and learn more about the Portal universe and its characters than you ever expected to. There’s also a significant chunk of back story to be enjoyed. You’ll want to look in every nook and cranny of the levels for obscure voice snippets, paintings and other Easter eggs abound.

Portal 2’s gameplay revolves around the concept of entry and exit portals that you shoot out of your ‘portal gun’. Once shot onto strategic portal holding walls and walked into, they can be used to traverse large spaces and otherwise impossible gaps. Don’t let Portal lure you into a false sense of security, however. After the first third of the game, you’ll be

faced with a steady introduction of new variables that you’ll need to utilise to solve each new puzzle room. These include liquid gels that speed up movement, increase your jump height, and one that lets you shoot portals on previously inert surfaces. There are also red lasers that can be redirected, energy walkways, tractor beams and spring-loaded plates that launch you into the air. The game never burdens you by throwing in more elements than you’re able to take in. It’s expertly designed, paced and check-pointed, and barring a few puzzles towards the end, you’ll never feel like you’re in over your head.

Graphics The game is a visual marvel, and while it may not stand up to the likes of Crysis 2, the attention to detail and massive evolving environments more than make up for it. The in-game music by Mike Morasky switches between serenely contemplative to tracks that subtly aid in your puzzle solving. It’s wonderful to hear the score dynamically evolve as it adds new layers each time you complete a part of a puzzle. Aside from Wheatley, there are also standout performances from

Ellen McLain, J.K. Simmons and Nolan North. It isn’t often that you come across a game that has you laughing all through the boss fights.

Co-op mode The game also comes with seamless Steam integration on the PS3, allowing you to play the fleshed out co-op mode online on the PS3 or cross-platform with a willing accomplice on the PC. The co-op mode has a separate set of puzzles and story, and even lets partners point objects of interest out to each other. Barring minor issues, such as frequent loading times and a lack of traditional leaderboard support, Portal 2 is as close to perfection as a video game can get. Clocking in at twice the length of the previous game (and that isn’t even counting the co-op mode), there’s a tremendous amount of replay value to be had from redoing the chapters, just enjoying the story and dialogue or listening to Valve’s commentary track. With an endearing, bittersweet story that delves into depths you wouldn’t expect of it, Portal 2 is not only a must-have but also an example of what the medium is capable of when in competent hands. Consider the bar well and truly raised.

Love - Excellent presentation, hilarious script and voice acting, involving gameplay, satisfying story Hate - Frequent loading Ratings: 5/5 Price: Rs 2,499 (PS3) Rs 1,999 (Xbox 360) Rs 699 (PC) Publisher - EA Developer - Valve Platform - Xbox 360, PS3, PC

CHIP

UPCOMING games

Dead Island The fictional island of Banoi, just off the coast of Papua New Guinea, is on the brink of a mysterious epidemic. What was supposed to be a blissful getaway in this tropical paradise turns into the most horrifying nightmare with you having to survive the zombie apocalypse at any cost. You can choose to don the role of four different characters in this first-person interactive gameplay.

Platform - PS3, Xbox, PC Developer - Techland Publisher - Deep Silver

Deus Ex: Human Revolution In this first-person RPG, you play Adam Jensen, an ex-SWAT specialist who’s been handpicked to oversee the defensive needs of one of America’s most experimental biotechnology firms. Your job is to safeguard company secrets, but when a black ops team breaks in and kills the very scientists you were hired to protect, everything you thought you knew about your job changes. You have no choice but to become mechanically augmented and find yourself chasing down leads all over the world, never knowing who you can trust.

Platform - PS3, Xbox, PC Developer - Eidos Montreal, Nixxes Software Publisher - Square Enix

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Visit the unseen lands from the world of Middle-earth with The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. This visceral action-adventure RPG is set against the backdrop of the famous trilogy and features stunning visuals, brutally realistic combat, a unique and compelling new story, and innovative cooperative gameplay that pits you and your friends against the dark forces of Middle-earth. You’ll have the opportunity to explore previously untold stories during the journey of the ring.

Platform - PS3, Xbox, PC Developer - Snowblind Studios Publisher - Warner Bros. Interactive

Max Payne 3 Leaving the NYPD and the Big Apple far behind, Max has “drifted from bad to worse”. Double-crossed and a long way from home, Max is now trapped in a city full of violence and bloodshed, using his weapons and instincts in a desperate search for the truth and a way out. The third in the series of the third-person shooter game is based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where Payne is working in the private security sector for a wealthy local family. The timeline is set to about 8-12 years after the events of the second game.

Platform - PS3, Xbox 360, PC Developer - Rockstar Studios Publisher - Rockstar Games

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AUTO focus

Ruffled cruising in a topless Camaro Jason Harper want to like the Chevrolet Camaro. I really do.

A 426-horsepower avatar of Detroit’s glory days, this revived pony car should remind us of classic rock-and-roll and sweet, summer evenings at the drive-in.

Only I don’t much like the Camaro coupe. Re-released in 2009 with an extremely low roof and burly body, the form ran rampant over function. It looks thuggishly cool, but doesn’t handle all that well and you can’t see out of it.

Bombast triumphs over substance.

American buyers disagree. Last year the Camaro outsold its traditional rival, the Ford Mustang, and the gap is widening this year. The Camaro is a hit.

The recently released convertible version gives me a chance to revise my opinion. After all, the latest General Motors Corp. products have mostly impressed me.

I tested the V-8-powered SS model with a six-speed manual, and an automatic-equipped V-6 LT version. The SS starts at just under $37,000, not including the $850 destination charge; the LT at just over $29,000.

The new Camaro was originally conceived as both a coupe and convertible, and even with the top down, it’s one menacing looking vehicle - bad to the bone. The oversized hood has a massive bulge at its centre and a thick, Cro-Magnon brow cresting over the narrow grill. It might as well be carrying a wooden club.

I

little protection, and the wind whips into one ear and out the other. You’ll dodge bugs and won’t be able to hear your passenger’s prattle and stray papers will fly away and you’ll exult in the sense of old-school convertible freedom.

One with the elements. I like that.

Unfortunately, it rained the week I drove the SS model.

Which means I drove hundreds of miles with an acre of black canvas fitted over my head, shutting out the sky, any sense of open-air wonder and - most importantly - my view of stoplights and much else of the road.

Knight Vision Those King Arthur movies where the knights pull down their visors just before they commence jousting, leaving them nothing but a narrow slit to see through? Yeah, it’s like that.

Worse, when you’re relegated to a gulag gloom, you spend lots of time considering the workmanship of the interior. The wash of dark, cost-cutting plastic is clearly from the era of the old, troubled GM. The leather-wrapped shifter knob and steering wheel only serve to highlight how soulless the rest is. The 2012 model will get updating. Perhaps some signs of the new, more innovative GM will seep in.

All which might have been forgivable if the SS’s 426 horses gave me half as much joy as the Mustang GT’s 412 did. Muscle cars are impractical by definition, so it’s really about having a tire-shredding good time.

Roof Down The solidity of that hood is emphasised when the canvas roof is down. There’s no delicate sense of proportion anyhow, so the lopsided dimensions actually work. Points scored for the convertible.

And when the sun is shining, the convertible also solves one of the greatest faults of the coupe: the sensation that you’re trapped in a bomb shelter. With the roof removed, you can see the actual width and breadth of the cockpit.

Plenty of room in there. There’s seating for two in the rear as well.

At 60 mph, the short, raked windshield gives precious

Shake, Rattle, Roll I had a few moments of fun with the SS. But mostly not.

The weight of that V-8 in the schnoz upsets any hope of poise. The steering wheel warbled alarmingly in my hands every time I passed over a blemish in the asphalt. It almost seemed like something mechanical had gone wrong. I kept waiting for a piece of the car to fall off.

Chevy has made revisions to the suspension and tires since the coupe I drove in 2009. It certainly handles better in corners, which is especially commendable for a convertible. Still, the latest Mustang is a better-tuned weapon.

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The Camaro feels blunt in comparison.

Then I took delivery of the less-powerful V-6. The 3.6-litre produces a still powerful 312 hp, and my test car had an automatic transmission (an extra $1,185) and the $1,500 RS sports package.

This time the sun was out. That helped. So did the overall handling and feel of the lighter, more nimble car.

Less weight in the front means the entire car is better balanced. Narrow lanes still gave me pause - you can’t actually see the front edges of the car given the oversized hood - but it blew through off-ramp curves. The brakes were also fabulous, giving me great confidence.

Give Me Sunshine I missed the manual, but the automatic worked just fine.

The V-6 doesn’t sound as gruff as the V-8, but it makes a nice buzz when you stand on the pedal. And the steering wheel no longer felt like it was suffering from restless leg syndrome.

I had a decent time, especially on the highway with a flood of sunshine pooling into the cabin. I’m not sure it was $36,000 worth of fun - the price as tested - but it clarified my opinion. The Camaro with a V-6, top down, in a state where the sun shines.

(The author writes about autos for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

Chevrolet’s 2011 Camaro 2LT and 2SS Convertibles at a Glance Engines: 3.6-litre V-6 with 312 horsepower; 6.2-litre V-8 with 426 hp (400 hp with automatic) Transmissions: Six-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic Speed: 0 to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds; 4.9 seconds Gas mileage per gallon: City 18, highway 29 (with automatic); 16, 24 (manual) Price as tested: $36,185; $41,700 Best feature: Feeling of freedom with top down Worst feature: Feeling of imprisonment with top up Target buyers: The pony-car fan who doesn’t care for the Mustang

Photos: Bloomberg

A ‘Triumph’ant entry

AUTO news

Triumph Rocket III Roadster

T

riumph, the British motorcycle manufacturer, is all set to enter the Indian market with its iconic bikes.

First established in 1902 and now based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK, Triumph Motorcycles has in recent years been the fastest growing motorcycle brand in the world. For many years Triumph has produced a wide range bikes which perfectly blend design, character, charisma and performance.

The innovation and engineering that gave birth to the iconic Bonneville of the 1960s has today created a broad range of bikes suited to all motorcycle riders, including the striking 2.3-litre Rocket III, the unmistakable Speed Triple, the award-winning Daytona 675 supersport machine and the recently launched Tiger 800. Triumph combines the very latest design and manufacturing facilities with the character and design flair that has always been associated with the famous swooping badge.

Triumph Bonneville Triumph Bonneville takes the style and spirit of the 1970s and blends in modern engineering to create a classic British twin for the 21st century rider. The air-cooled 865cc power plant styled to look like an authentic parallel-twin of the 1960s, right down to the ‘carburettors’ that hide the

modern fuel injectors and dummy pushrod tubes! A healthy 68PS and 68Nm of torque give the modern day Bonneville peppy performance that is at home both in the city and on the open road. Lightweight 17-inch cast alloy wheels make the Bonneville agile and easy to ride, while the low 740mm seat height makes it accessible to motorcyclists of all ages and experience, while short mudguards and stylish chrome megaphone silencers complete the 1970s look.

Triumph Daytona 675R The ultimate road and trackday bike, the Daytona 675R sports is factory-fitted with Öhlins suspension usually found on the racetrack or ultra-exotic Italian machines.

Further track-spec items included as standard on the Daytona 675R include a standard-fit quickshifter and a host of carbon fibre bodywork, including hugger, silencer heat shield and front mudguard. The Daytona 675R also utilises the Daytona 675’s comprehensive instrumentation, which includes a lap timer and programmable gear change lights. Sporty new graphics include a unique Triumph tank script, while the special colour scheme further confirms the Daytona 675R’s premium status. The sparkling Crystal White bodywork is contrasted with a race style black belly pan and distinctive red subframe.

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With its 2,294cc three-cylinder engine, the Rocket III Roadster is home to the world’s largest production motorcycle engine. Delivering a 221Nm wallop of torque at just 2,750rpm, the Rocket III Roadster delivers a riding experience unmatched by anything else on two wheels. With its mid-mounted pegs and relatively upright riding position, the Roadster takes on a streetfighter stance and delivers an attitude-laden ride that every motorcyclist should experience at least once in their two-wheeled career. In addition to the popular metallic Phantom Black, it comes in two flamboyant colour schemes: Phantom Red Haze and Phantom Blue Haze.

Triumph Speed Triple More than just brute metal, the Speed Triple sports an 118bhp, DOHC, liquid-cooled, three-cylinder engine, which packs an impressive 100Nm of torque, with the emphasis on low and mid-range punch. Instant throttle response is assured in any of the 6-gears and is accompanied by the spine-tingling, unmistakable triple-cylinder howl. Its uncompromising, brutal looks have become something of an icon for those who prefer their motorcycling to have a raw, rebellious edge.

Triumph Tiger 800 New for 2011, the Triumph Tiger 800 sees the British manufacturer enter the middleweight adventure sector for the first time. The Tiger 800 features a tough steel frame capable of carrying large amounts of luggage and coping with the rough and tumble of off-piste riding.

Ten-spoke alloy wheels, 19-inch at the front and 17-inch at the rear, allow for the fitment of a wide range of tyres, from dirt-biased dual purpose items to pure road rubber for those who wish to take advantage of the Tiger 800’s qualities as an excellent bike to commute and tour on. A class-leading 19-litre fuel tank ensures infrequent stops for the Tiger 800 rider.

MELANGE luxury redefined

Up Fossil’s sleeves!

Floral feet

Vintage prints, vibrant colours and contemporary silhouettes, Fossil’s new laptop bags and sleeves are ideal to slip your favourite gadget into and makes for a classy fashion accessory too. Available at select Lifestyle and Shoppers Stop stores.

Rs 2,750 (sleeves) and Rs 3,995 (bags)

Introducing a pretty collection of floral footwear for women, Pavers England lets you pick from ballerinas, ankle boots, clogs, penny loafers and strappy flats with flower embellishment of all kinds. Head to its stores and other lifestyle outlets.

Rs 1,299 to Rs 3,999

Fruity bath

Now flash a Delsey

Go slurp with The Nature’s Co.’s latest Passion Fruit Exfoliating Body Wash that has all the goodness of the calming fruit and special antifungal properties too. A perfect shield for the rains.

Available at its stores.

Rs 845 (250ml)

The French brand’s inaugural line to the Indian market is quite a spread.

For those who love to travel chic, the X’per Lite, ODC II, Lytpus and Uptrend are must-peeks!

Price on request

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Beauty additions Luscious lips and stunning eyes is Inglot’s target this week with its Gel Lipstick and Eye-liner Gel. While the lipstick has a creamy and smooth texture, the latter is easy to use and comes in yummy colours.

Available at its outlets.

Rs 680 each

CROWN jewels

Re-inventing The Egg

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magine the delight of Tsarina Marie Feodorovna in 1885 when on Easter Sunday, at the end of the Lent fast, she was presented with what appeared to be a simple 2.5 inch-high hen’s egg but opened to reveal a golden yolk containing a golden hen sat atop a golden nest. Inside the hen was a replica of the Russian imperial crown, with a small ruby pendant egg dangling from it.

The Hen Egg created by Peter Carl Fabergé at the behest of Romanov Tsar Alexander III, became an annual event. Each year at Easter the Tsar would present his beloved wife with an Imperial Egg. The tradition was followed by his son Nicholas the II for his German wife Tsarina Alexandra, as well as for his mother Marie.

Most eggs were far more elaborate than the first one, but they were always very personal. The Danish Palace Egg had wa-

tercolour panels inside featuring scenes from Tsarina Marie’s home country Denmark, while the Memory of Azov opened to reveal a ship of that name on which their son had embarked on a trip to Asia. The exquisite Lilies of the Valley Egg presented to Alexandra popped open to reveal miniatures of her husband and two daughters.

Sometimes they captured the wider sentiment of the time – the Trans-Siberian Railway Egg, containing a miniature of the train and presented to Alexandra in 1900 was the face of a booming economy and its proudest recent achievement. The Steel Military Egg of 1916 stands on four model artillery shells, symbolising the war the country was embroiled in.

So it’s perhaps unsurprising that of the 1,55,000 pieces – ranging from cigarette boxes to clocks and vodka bowls – created

by Peter Carl Fabergé up until his company was nationalised in 1917, it’s the 50 Imperial Easter Eggs that have left us spellbound.

There were other jewellery houses producing equally if not more opulent pieces before and after Fabergé, but it was these eggs that came to symbolise something far more – the true possibilities of craftsmanship, ingenuity and thoughtfulness. Faber-

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gé, who had worked at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg as well as training in Germany and France, seemed to draw on the best of all cultures and traditions. It was certainly enough to prompt Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg to pay over $90 million pounds for the Forbes family’s collection of nine eggs back in 2004, including the most elaborate of them all, the Coronation Egg presented to Alexandra in 1897.

Two years ago, when London-based mining investment firm Pallinghurst Resources re-launched Fabergé with several lines of high-end jewellery, having bought the brand from Unilever back in 2007 for $38 million, like most journalists I asked the question: would eggs soon follow? At the time the company was circumspect about committing to anything. This was a deliberate strategy the company now says, as it launched two series of eggs at an event in London’s Somerset House. They’re the first since 1917.

After all, the luxurious image of Fabergé had been watered down over the years as

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all sorts of products from perfumes and ties to a film (the British 1973 comedy A Touch of Class) and even Barbie dolls were churned out in its name, as ownership of the rights to the brand passed from hand to hand. The Fabergé family gave up their rights to the name in 1951 for a paltry 25,000 U.S. dollars.

Pallinghurst Resources wanted to first re-associate the name with exquisite, top of the range jewellery before it took on Fabergé’s most famous creations.

Now they’re starting with two series of egg pendants. Twelve oneof-a-kind Les Fameux de Fabergé egg pendants have been created, inspired by 12 Russian proverbs.

Several were on display at the launch in London, including L’Oeuf Ruban or the Ribbon Egg, an exquisite egg handcrafted from white, pink, and yellow gold based on traditional Uzbek prints, with an elaborate gem-encrusted, ribbon. Equally spectacular is the Diaghilev Egg, coated by diamonds and rubies. When a section of the exterior is pressed the egg opens to reveal a draw set with diamonds at the heart of which is set a diamond and ruby pendant. “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it,” is the saying that inspired it.

The Faberge creatives first came up with 25 different proverbs they’d like to work with but eventually honed them down to 12 that seemed possible to visualise. They’re hoping to extend the range in the future.

For others in the series, it’s the technology rather than visual impact that’s startling. The Diamond Egg, the collection’s most expensive piece, retailing at 600,000 dollars, has 385 diamonds set into platinum – a technological process that re-

Some of the most coveted jewels have come from the house of Fabergé, The famous intricately designed and carved Fabergé eggs have a unique history and aura surrounding them. As part of its attempted revamp, Fabergé has just launched an ‘Egg-citing’ new range of jewellery.

VIDYA RAM reports from the launch in London quired the company to work with several aerospace firms.

The diamonds weigh more than the material they’re set into.

At least one harks back to the original Imperials.

The Cherry Egg – not on display in London – does not look like the old Lilles of the Valley Egg, but Katharina Flohr, the company’s Creative and Managing Director says she drew inspiration from it and its ‘wild unruly feel’.

Also launching is the lower priced Les Frissons de Fabergé collection, with around 60 different designs, of which a number of copies have been made, with prices ranging from $3,000 to $30,000. These too are inspired by some of Faberge’s original work, including cigarette boxes.

However, in keeping with the Fabergé tradition, the company will also offer a bespoke service where customers can work with the designers. (There are two in house designers and one external designer working with Flohr). While there will of course be limits to the client’s input, they’ll be able to create special pieces to mark special events and draw inspiration from cultures beyond Russia. After all, Fabergé himself

Fabergé Lilies of the Valley, 1898 Image courtesy of The FORBES Collection, New York All Rights Reserved Photographer: Larry Stein

drew inspiration from his travels and time spent honing his skills abroad, they say.

The bespoke pieces don’t even have to be pendants, giving clients the potential to put them even closer to the original Imperial masterpieces.

The company will be launching all of this on a revamped version of their interactive website, and are also planning boutiques in Paris and London, in addition to the one already in place in Geneva. This too is reminiscent of Fabergé, who had a shop on Bond Street, which he was forced to close in 1915 when Russia forced citizens to repatriate foreign assets for the War effort.

One surprising aspect is that the Fabergé artisans, from enamellers to carvers aren’t Russian, but overwhelmingly from France, with some from Switzerland, Germany and Britain. The company insists it is France rather than Russia that is now the home of the finest jewellery artisanship. How well this view will go down in Russia, where Fabergé’s craftsmanship is still a matter of great national pride, remains to be seen.

The company has also retained its contact with the family – two descendants, Sarah and Tatiana Fabergé sit on the Fabergé Heritage Council.

All the pieces on display in London were certainly breathtaking, even to Indian eyes, accustomed to intricate and jewel-laden workmanship. The question remains whether they have enough of that wowfactor to capture our imagination in the way those original fifty did.

TASTER’S choice

Picking the best Sauvignon Blanc John Mariani ore often than not when ordering a white wine I go for a Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume, made from the Sauvignon Blanc grape in France’s Loire Valley. I find it as versatile as an aperitif as I do with a wide variety of foods to follow, and the price is usually right.

What I almost never do is order a Sauvignon Blanc from America, where it is sometimes called Fume Blanc. All the virtues I find in French Sauvignon Blancs - their aromatic bouquet, herbaceous, slightly grassy flavour, and lightness of structure - are often squandered in California and Pacific Northwest wineries, which tend to overemphasise herbal notes, making most taste like a newly mown lawn with plenty of dandelions and a little fertilizer thrown in.

Many deliberately imitate the fruit-punch flavours of the enormously successful Cloudy Bay and other Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand. Wine Spectator’s MaryAnn Worobiec writing about Cloudy Bay found “Tangerine, mango and citrus flavours are pure and focused, smooth, round and wonderfully refreshing, with peach, Key lime pie, mineral and floral elements that really take off on the finish.” As I said, fruit punch.

America’s Sauvignon Blancs tend not to be quite that aggressive, but their styles differ radically. Some are very light, others hefty, with up to 14.5 per cent alcohol. The big grassy ones are a mouthful, but their charms fade very fast after a few sips.

The varietal’s prodigious growth and vigour can lead to an under ripeness that adds to those herby demerits. The grape had a surge in popularity after the late Robert Mondavi re-named it Fume Blanc in 1968, to avoid confusion with Cabernet Sauvignon, giving it a sexy French nuance.

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Steel and Oak Many California wineries don’t allow much if any skin contact with the grape juice; others do. Some age the wine only in stainless steel; others use oak barrels. In some instances, semillon or other grapes are added.

It’s difficult, then, to pin down the American Sauvignon Blanc style. But with summer and outdoor grilling upon us, a reasonable case can be made for the American varietal as a good choice for big, smoky-flavoured meats or fish. With that in mind, I collected a slew of western-state Sauvignon Blancs of different styles and vintages and tasted them with and without such foods.

Sineann 2007 ($30) This is a small Yamhill County, Oregon, producer, best known for its Pinot Noirs. Unfortunately, although the bottle I sampled had a very tight glass closure, the smell was slightly chemical and the wine itself, obvious from its colour, starting to oxidise.

Carica Kick Ranch 2007 ($25) Sonoma Valley’s Carica has only been making wine since 2005 but already has a considerable following. The owners insist their Sauvignon Blancs follow “classic French style” with “crisp acidity.” They add 25 per cent Sauvignon Musque and age 10 per cent of the first blend in new French oak.

It is indeed a very Sancerre-like Sauvignon Blanc, with a lovely fresh bouquet, excellent body and clean acids.

This was clearly the best of my tasting, perfect with grilled fish.

Windsor Sonoma 2007 ($15) With vineyards in the warm Russian River Valley, Windsor Sonoma takes advantage of cool summer nights to keep acidity levels high, achieving a judicious 13.9 per cent alcohol. The colour is very, very pale, the aroma herbaceous, but the overall taste flabby, without those promised acids evident.

Photos: Bloomberg

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It’s a one- dimensional wine.

Groth 2007 ($26) Located in Napa’s Oakville appellation, Groth has been highly regarded for its Sauvignon Blancs since the 1980s. The grapes are grown in microclimates that Groth’s website says give the wine “a lush, full melon/citrus character in the aroma and in the flavour.” Leaving the juice on the skins gives it more body, but you get a high alcohol level of 14.5 per cent.

It’s big, it’s floral, it’s pleasantly grassy but not overdone. This is a very fine example of the bold, California style of ripe fruit and balance of acidity.

Turnbull 2008 ($23) Napa-based Turnbull makes a wide range of wines, sourcing grapes from four Oakville and Calistoga vineyards, and the juice spends an unusually long time on the lees. Very pale in colour, with a modest apple-like nose, it begins brightly on the palate but fades fast without any real finish. It would be fine with grilled chicken or even hot dogs.

Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery 2009 ($35-$40) Napa’s Spottswoode specialises in two Cabernets and its Sauvignon Blanc, the latter fermented in small stainless steel barrels, then French oak to add toast and spice.

This is another fine example in the Loire Valley style, a very creamy wine but with tantalising acid and freshness that would make an excellent aperitif or a wine to go with summer salads and tomatoes with goat’s cheese.

(The author writes on wine for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

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