smartbuy issue dated october 13, 2010

SmartbuyWednesday, October 13, 2010

G A D G E T S | A U T O | L U X U R Y www.blsmartbuy.com

Business Line

Très Grande!Paris Motor Show 2010Page 8

Reviews:Fiat Linea T-Jet Xbox 360 SlimCowon J3 Media Player+

The new series of notebooks fromHP is less than 1.24-inch thin andweigh about 2.2 kgs, making themthe perfect portable partner. Theyfeature a pocket style keyboard witha flush touchpad, and offer storage ofup to 750GB (on selected models).Choose from a 14-inch or 15.6-inchBrightView LED display, and listento audio on the Altec Lansing speak-ers. With a choice of Intel Core i3 ori5 processors, multi-tasking is abreeze, and the six-cell battery givesyou up to 5.5 hours of juice.Rs 34,500 onwards

TrendsetterHP G Series

2 October 13, 2010Smartbuy

WHAT’S HOT this week

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Cover photo: S. Muralidhar

This new full-size keyboard fromLogitech comes with one-touchaccess to play/pause, volume, In-ternet and email, among otherfunctions. With a thin profile, theK200 makes a perfect accessoryto your desktop. The keyboardcan withstand up to five millionkeystrokes, making it extremelydurable. It is also spill resistant, soyou don’t have to worry about be-ing clumsy with your coffee. Rs 595

Finger friendlyLogitech K200

The most eagerly awaited tablet after the iPad, the Dell Streak has finally been launched in India with TataDocomo as the carrier. This Android-based tablet is just 5-inches wide, making it the perfect median between aregular tablet and smartphone. It runs a Snapdragon 1GHz 8250 Mobile processor, and features connectivityoptions such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G. The capacitive WVGA touchscreen is made of Gorilla Glass, making itmore resistant to drops and scratches. The Streak also features integrated SNS options like Facebook, Twitter andYouTube, and includes a 5-meg camera with flash. In addition to all this, there’s an eco-angle too - the Streak’spackaging is made of 100 per cent sustainable, compostable bamboo.Rs 34,990

The next big thing Dell Streak


Building on the success of its entrylevel DSLR, the D3000, Nikon has re-cently launched the DX format D3100.This cam claims to be the lightest andsmallest in the Nikon DSLR range. TheD3100 will feature the New Guidemode made popular by the D3000, andis also equipped with a live view func-tion. The CMOS sensor is a 14.2-meg,and the camera offers ISO of up to3200. It also features D-Movie for re-cording and editing full HD movies. Body only: Rs 27,250With 18-55mm VR lens: Rs 32,950

Worthy successorNikon D3100

Panasonic has recently added five new models of its Tough-book series of notebooks to the range. These notebooks featurethe Intel Core i5 Pro processor. Weighing less than 1.25 kgeach, these babies can withstand pressure of up to 100 kg, andcome with water protected keyboards and touchpads. Theyare equipped with Turbo Boost Technology and feature shockmounted flex connect hard drives. With 11 hours of battery life,these notebooks can power on in practically any situation. Addto this a three year warranty, and you have one sturdy compan-ion. Rs 1.49 lakh onwards

Knock proofPanasonic Toughbook

The new range of speakers from Waterfall is branded the Krystaline Evo Line. Itincludes the Niagara DG, 47-inch tower speakers made of 15mm thick diamond glass,solid aluminium parts and hand-stitched napa leather. The Victoria Evo speakers canbe teamed with Waterfall’s satellites to create a home cinema. The Iguascu Evo canreproduce the entire frequency range without the use of a sub-woofer. These speakerscan be teamed with Waterfall’s Hurricane satellite to create 5.1 and 7.1 home theatres.Take your pick from the line to add some charisma to your living room.Rs 1.5 lakh onwards

Glassy affairWaterfall Audio speakers


CONSOLE review

Ketaki Bhojnagarwala

The first Xbox 360 console was released way backin 2005, giving it a head start over competitorslike Sony and Nintendo. However, with thelaunch of the Sony Playstation 3, the Xbox, it

seemed, was left a few steps behind. In retaliation, Micro-soft decided to revamp the existing console and recentlylaunched the Xbox 360 Slim, a new and improved versionof the gaming console. We spent a few weeks with thisconsole to see what improvements Microsoft has made tothe original, and whether you should be picking up thislatest, slimmer avatar or if you already have the original,should you replace your old Xbox.

OverviewAlthough the new Xbox is supposed to be a slimmerversion, overall, it didn’t seem to be too different in size.Microsoft says it is 17 per cent smaller. What has changed,however, is the shape. It is concave towards the centre oneither side, and looks quite attractive compared to theboring old black box we’re used to. Also, the exterior hastaken on a glossy black sheen, and we’re sure all thegamers out there are going to like the new look.

The new Xbox can stand either horizontally or vertical-ly. The old buttons have been replaced by new, touchsensitive ones, including the power switch and the ejectbutton.

The power switch has a ring of green lights surroundingit, and it rotates depending on which way the Xbox isoriented. Earlier, the Xbox used to have red LED lightssurrounding the power switch that users associated withthe ‘Red Ring of Death’, which signalled a system malfunc-tion, but Xbox has done away with the red lights leavingonly green LED ones.

The lights on the power switch also rotate depending onthe orientation of the Xbox.

ConnectivityThe inclusion of Wi-Fi that supports up to 802.11n hasbeen a welcome addiction to the new Xbox Slim. Whenyou start the console, the Xbox gives you the option ofscanning for wireless networks. Once you select the oneyou want and enter the network key, it connects instantly.You can log into your Xbox live account after that, if youalready have one, and continue playing with your custom-isable avatar.

On the front of the console is a small flap which concealstwo USB ports. There are three additional USB ports at theback, along with an HDMI, Ethernet port and a digitaloptical audio-out port. The Xbox is Kinect ready and

comes with a slot for that at the back. There is also aKensington lock slot located at the rear, for added security.

The new Xbox’s cord still has a massive power brick,although we should mention that it is significantly smallerthan the one seen in the previous version of the console.

DrivesOne major improvement we’ve seen in the new Xbox is theinclusion of a 250GB hard drive. The earlier version usedto ship with just about 256MB of internal memory, and youhad to buy a hard drive separately, which often costs halfas much as the console alone. In India, the Xbox Slim alongwith the 250GB hard drive ships for the same price as theXbox 360 without a hard drive, so it’s really a good deal.

And in terms of space, it’s more than enough to let youstore all your game saves and media on.

The drive is enclosed in a door flap under the console,allowing it to slide into place. However, you cannot swapyour old drives for this one; instead you’ll have to use anXbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Kit to migrate your data.You also won’t be able to use a third party drive as theproprietary hard drive, unlike in the PS3. You can howeverconnect up an external hard drive via USB to access anymedia files that you have stored on it.

The main attraction of the Sony Playstation 3 was theinclusion of a Blu-Ray drive, which resulted in crisper,clearer images for all your games and videos. However, theXbox Slim is still available only with a regular DVD drive,which doesn’t really give it an edge over the competition.

HardwareThe Xbox includes a pair of headphones and a single

Does the new Xbox XceedXpectations?


New featuresAll prices on the Flickr website are quoted in dollars. While users will always have theoption to access the free account, you have the option to go pro by paying $24.95 a year,which works out to about $2 a month.

For what you pay, you get unlimited uploads (with a maximum image size of 20MB)and storage, unlimited sets and collections, access to all your original files, stats on youraccount, an ad-free browsing and sharing experience and HD playback for high-definition video uploads. The last feature is a more recent addition, and we’ll hopefullysee more perks along the way. We’d especially like Pro access to the Picnik imageediting software.

If you like what you get with the Pro account, you can also avail of Flickr’s other deal,which gives you a two-year account for $47.99, which works out a bit cheaper permonth. If you have friends who are Flickr fans, you can gift them a Flickr Pro account bysending them a gift code via email or printing it out on a gift card.

Our VerdictFor the casual photographer, the regular Flickr account should take care of your needs,however, if you use a ‘prosumer’ camera, regularly update your Flickr account and arean active member of groups on the website, then the Pro account is a must-have.

Pics at a Flick!

controller as accessories. There has been no change tothe controller – even though Xbox did release a newcontroller with an improved D pad, we didn’t find thisone bundled in the box that the review unit wasshipped in.

The Xbox Slim ships with the Valhalla mother-board, which gives you about 30 per cent morespace than other motherboards.

Gaming experienceWhile there have been some changes to theexterior of the new Xbox, as a gaming consoleit remains the same. There is still the same userinterface, and no changes have been made tothe Xbox Live experience.

Although there is a provision for HDMI, theXbox Slim does not ship with an HDMI cable.Picture quality using the bundled composite ca-ble was comparatively low, even on an HD TV.With the HDMI cable, the image and graphics qualityshould be better.

The new console is also extremely quiet when there’s agame in the DVD drive, a definite improvement over theprevious version. It uses a single large fan rather than thetwo smaller ones found in the previous Xbox’s, which

probably also contributes for its quieter operation.There are a couple of games that the console ships with,

including Hexic HD, Pinball FX, Peggle and a Kingdom forKeflings. We also tried out Crackdown 2 to try and put theXbox through its paces. The game is a third person shoo-ter, where you can choose to be one of four agents. Afterthe initial training, your mission is to hunt down the

‘Freaks’ unleashed on Pacific City by ex-medical studentCatalina Thorne. You can kill the ‘Freaks’ by using either

firearms, explosives, running them over or attackingthem with your bare hands. The game also requires

you to collect ‘Orbs’ which increase your skills suchas agility, an addictive part of the game. Unlike Halo,which reworked each of its sequels entirely, Crack-down 2 has been criticised for not bringing a newstoryline to the game.

Our verdictThe new Xbox 360 certainly looks and feelsbetter, and we’re hoping that Microsoft has fi-nally gotten rid of the ‘Red Ring of Death’ prob-lem, not just by eliminating the red lights but bymaking changes in its hardware. Apart from

that, internally, there have been no major chang-es so we wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking

for an upgrade. However, it’s still a great console anda must-have for any gamer out there.Love: Smaller chassis, sleek and improved exterior, morevalueHate: No Blu-Ray drive, no major improvements to gam-ing experienceRs 21,990

Ketaki Bhojnagarwala

Image hosting and sharing websites such as Picasa and Photobucket arebecoming increasingly popular ways to showcase your pictures, virtually.Yahoo’s Flickr, is one of the more established websites amongst the bunch inthe web-world, which enables users to upload, share their pics and interact

with other photographers out there, for free. However, there are a number oflimitations with the Flickr account, which is available to the public without a fee. Forthe more serious photographer, Flickr has introduced the Flickr Pro account, whichaddresses many of these issues. We spent a couple of months with Smartbuy’s veryown Pro account, and found out whether it really trumps the free version.

Starting upSetting up the Flickr Pro account was a breeze. We enter the details, punched in thecode and were set to go. Once the account was active, we personalises it with ourdetails. The next step was uploading the photos. You can browse for photos on yourcomputer and select multiple ones at a time. How quickly you get to upload thepictures of course depends on internet speeds and file size. While we were doing it, ittook us roughly 10 minutes to upload 30 pictures.

Once you upload the photos, you are offered the option to organise them. You cancategorise your images into ‘Sets’, where you can label each set individually and writea short description of the images. There is an option to further organise the sets into‘Collections’, and each collection can have up to five sets or collections. Puttingtogether your photographs is as easy as dragging and dropping them into a box,making it easy to classify your images.

SharingA website like Flickr is all about sharing your photos. So, there’s an option to connectyour Flickr account to your blog (it supports a variety of blog formats includingBlogger, Wordpress, LiveJournal, Typepad, etc). Once you link both up, all you haveto do is click on the ‘Blog this’ button on top of your photograph and it is added to yourblog page.

There are other interesting features you can add to your blog as well, including aflash or HTML badge of photos you select. If you have a camera phone, you can postdirectly to your blog from the phone. Another option is adding the Flickr Zeitgeistbadge to your blog, which is a flash display of recent photos (choose from everyone’s,contacts and your own).

have been more desirable. While there are a couple ofheadphones in the market that are capable of giving you abetter listening experience and enhancing the overall au-dio quality, the option of close to 40 EQ settings doesn’tallow you room to complain, as you have the freedom totweak the acoustics to get the music to be reproducedexactly the way you want it to.

VideosEven watching videos on the AMOLED was quite a treat.We watched a couple of .avi files and the playback wassmooth and the colours rich. Files with subtitles alsoplayed back accurately although the screen real estatedoesn’t allow you to focus on both the video and thesubtitles together most of the time. With every video filethat you playback, you can add up to 256 bookmarks thatwould let you resume a movie or documentary from where

you had stopped watching. The J3 comes with pre-in-

stalled tools like Notepad,Typist, and Comix among

others. However,comic book formatslike .cbr are not sup-ported by the Comixwidget. You can onlydownload .jpg for-mats of comic stripsto view them on theJ3.

FeaturesThe J3 saves you thetrouble of pressing

the touch buttons toshuffle songs. Just give the

unit a firm shake, just one, andit effortlessly swaps tracks.

Make sure that you’ve turned onthe shuffle function and enabled the sensorson your interface before you try this.

One thoughtful addition is that when youreduce or increase volume while watching avideo, other controls don’t pop-up on thescreen but small blue digits in one cornerflash to tell you what volume you’ve chosen.

The built-in rechargeable Lithium polym-er battery works wonders. With earphonesplugged in, we listened to music andwatched videos for about 3-4 hours and thebattery had drained by about 25 per cent.However, listening to music without theheadphones i.e. with the speakers on, signif-icantly reduced the battery charge.

Our verdict“It’s got the looks and it’s got the touch,”Mariah Carey would have crooned and wedo too. With no compromises made onbuild quality, touch interface and audio andvideo capabilities, the Cowon J3 is definite-ly one of the better PMPs that you can getyour hands on now.

Love: Touch interface. Sleek looks. GoodsoundHate: Bundled earphones could have beenbetter. A bit pricey

Rs 10,750 (4GB); Rs 12,500 (8GB)Rs 14,500 (16GB); Rs 17,999 (32GB)

Mahananda Bohidar

Amixture of long hours of travel and boredom

have prompted most of us these days to investin music-enabled phones, if not go the wholehog and buy a PMP (Portable Media Player).

The need to go for a dedicated media player and not justa music phone arises when you don’t want to compromiseon the quality of the music you listen to or the videos youwatch. Here’s where companies like Cowon come up withproducts like the J3, which is the latest inthe line of its portable media play-ers with an AMOLEDscreen for brilliant vid-eos and endlesstweaks to makemusic soundbetter.

The J3 lookslike a sleek smart-phone in yourhands with thebrushed metallicbezel and most ofthe fascia by theshiny 3.3-inchwide AMOLEDdisplay.

User interfaceAs you turn the player onyou have the option of viewing allthe features in the J3 in three different layouts.‘Dynamic Square’ displays the colourful squareicons in a 3x4 matrix on the screen. This is yourusual touch-to-open, drag ‘n drop icons on thehome screen. The colourful icons look quitegood on the AMOLED display. ‘Counting Text’is the more minimalistic layout and lists out allthe functions in neat horizontal rows, display-ing all the information pertaining to a featureon the screen itself.

For example, the sleek, horizontal touch-panel for ‘Music’ displays how many audio filesare available for playback, the one for ‘Battery’indicates charge remaining and so on. The‘Smart Widget’ user interface lets you placeyour icons in multiple home screens and swipefrom one to other.

The touch interface on the player is ace,without the need to jab at the screen or pressanything twice. The input registers the first timeyou touch an icon to launch it.

MusicAll songs that you upload are slotted into genres,artists, album and so on. The accelerometer pro-vides for a smooth on-screen swiping experiencewhen you want to browse through your collec-tion.

The sound quality of the headphones (CowonCE1) that are bundled with the player is up to themark although we do think a pair of better-fitting headphones or maybe in-ear plugs would

‘PMP’ up the volume!

Photo: S.S. Kumar


reviewMEDIA PLAYER

LUXURY phones

Versace UniqueAs a high-class fashion brand that’s never decidedly sub-tle, it’s no surprise to see Versace’s first mobile phoneoozing glamour.

Depending on your budget you can plump for a dearerceramic or lacquered front to the hand-crafted, leather-backed chassis.

The inset can be either 18-carat yellow gold or 316L-grade stainless steel, and there’s a three-inch, sapphirecrystal, scratch-resistant capacitive touchscreen.

LG provides the tech and the spec resembles last year’sLG Arena, with a 5-meg camera, 7.2Mbps HSDPA and802.11b/g Wi-Fi plus Dolby Mobile sound to buff theaudio.

The interface is a spruced up version of LG’s S-Class UI,

with four homescreens to festoon with widgets and short-cuts.

Naturally, Versace handled the look of the Unique andas you can see, the results are very attractive indeed.Rs 3,44,000 onwards

Mobiado Classic 712EMA little less damaging on the bank balance than the Versaceis Mobiado’s new Classic Executive model.

There’s no touchscreen here but the phone is wroughtfrom similarly high-toned materials. Its body is carvedfrom aerospace-grade aluminium with white sapphirecrystal plates and keys and exotic wood trim – in the caseof the Burl White model pictured, maple. Even the screwsand bolts are top quality stainless steel.

Nokia has furnished the insides and the feature list isn’ttoo shabby for a phone living on its looks. The 712EM’s OSis Symbian Series 40, so you can hop onto Nokia’s OviStore and download compatible apps and software.

There’s support for A-GPS and free Ovi Maps for navi-gation, a 5-meg snapper, a max video resolution of640x480 pixels at 15fps and HSDPA. The lack of Wi-Fi isdisappointing, but then it is only cheap.Rs 1,30,000

ALSO CONSIDERGresso iPhone 4 Black Diamond500K-worth of 200-year old African blackwood, 18-caratgold and black diamonds, with a titanium PVD coatingthat prevents signal loss.Rs 4,56,000

Luxury phones from Versace and Mobiado add élan to the discerning chit-chatter

Tasteful tête-à-tête

T3 India

AUTO news

S. Muralidhar

The Paris Motor Show has grown in importance over the lastfew years and this year’s edition too didn’t fail to impresswith the number of new models and concepts that tookcentre stage.

The biennial automotive show in the French capital has acquiredglobal significance with an increasing amount of participation frominternational car manufacturers who have started launching carsthat are not just relevant for the European market, but also fit for aglobal introduction.

Further, this year’s show is also very similar to the previous(2008) edition with its focus on concepts, particularly on hybridsand electrics. But, there were quite a few world premieres too. Withthe increasingly stringent emission regulations staring the industryin the face, going electric, atleast with some of their vehicles, lookslike an inevitability to luxury car makers.

Concepts and premieresSpeaking about concepts, the two that captured the minds andhearts of onlookers at this year’s edition were the LamborghiniSesto Elemento (cover photo) and the Jaguar C-X75 concept.

The Sesto Elemento, meaning the sixth element, is aptly namedsince Carbon is the sixth element in the periodic table and theconcept is almost entirely made out of carbon-fibre. The kerbweight of the Sesto Elemento is a mere 999 kgs and with a ratedpeak output of 570 hp, this concept car can potentially boast of thehighest power-to-weight ratio. Featuring Lambo trademark designall-around, the Sesto Elemento sports a naked-design both on theoutside and for the interiors, with the focus being entirely on weightreduction and innovative use of carbon-fibre reinforced plastics.

Snazzy showstoppers

Bentley New Continental GT

Jaguar C-X75

Volkswagen Passat

Audi A7 Sportback

BMW Concept 6Series Coupe

The Jaguar C-X75, on the other hand, is about as extreme, thoughvery different. The legendary British brand, now in the hands ofTata Motors, is celebrating its diamond jubilee with the C-X75concept, one of its most radical designs ever.

Looking vaguely familiar, the C-X75 coupe concept is a two-seathigh-performance sports car that sports a range extended electricpowertrain. The concept is powered by a stack of Lithium-ionbatteries and the range extender is a pair of gas micro-turbines thatoffer about 188 bhp of power. Despite being electric, the fourtraction motors (one in each wheel) help generate a whopping 780bhp of power and Jaguar says that the C-X75 can go from 0 to 100kmph in 3.4 seconds!

The other important concept at the Paris show this year is theAudi Quattro Concept. Paying tribute to and drawing inspirationfrom the original Audi Ur-Quattro of 1980, the new Quattro Con-cept is smaller, with a lower roofline and is also lighter. It is said touse some of the underpinnings of the RS5 and features a tur-bocharged, in-line five cylinder engine with a rated power output of408 bhp. The Quattro system here is said to offer a 40:60 rear-biased torque split. Some of the other concepts were the BMWConcept 6 Series Coupe, Lotus Esprit Concept, Kia Pop concept andthe Mazda Shinari concept.

There were quite a few new car launches too at this year’s ParisMotor Show. The significant ones included the new 2011 Volkswa-gen Passat, which is likely to make it to India early next year. Theother major launches were the new Bentley Continental GT, theAudi A7 Sportback, the new Chevrolet Aveo and Orlando, theHonda Jazz Hybrid, the new Range Rover Evoque, and the new2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS class.

at the French capital

Honda JazzHybrid

Porsche 911 Speedster

Hyundai ix20

New Suzuki SwiftMercedes-Benz

CLS 350 CDI

Photos: S. Muralidhar


S. Muralidhar

The Fiat Linea is one of the most desirable sedansin the C-segment in terms of design and value.Despite the choice of two engines it offered in-cluding the key 1.3-litre advanced multijet diesel

engine, buyers for the Linea missed more options. Theneed must have been felt more so with the 1,368cc FIREpetrol engine, which a few buyers would have foundwanting for a bit more of power and low end torque.

Currently, the Fiat Linea caters largely to the 40 percent of the sedan buyer population in the lower end of theprice segment represented by the C-segment. Clearly,there is an opportunity for Fiat to take on the fight in the Rs8 lakh plus category. On the other hand, the buyer’s per-formance expectations are also higher when it comes toFiat cars.

A more capable mill in the Linea also made sense forFiat because the competition in the segment was heatingup with the likes of the Volkswagen Vento being launched.A differentiator for the Linea was pending.

Linea’s latestIn comes the new Linea T-Jet. It is a little over a year andhalf since the launch of the Linea and though the sedanhasn’t aged at all, Fiat has chosen to bring in a new engineto capture the hearts of some of the most demandingbuyers in the segment. The new Linea T-Jet is loaded withtech and will create a segment benchmark.

Walk around the new Linea T-Jet and the differences

with the existing variants are minimal. Prominent T-Jetlogo and badging both at the front and the rear stand out,as does the chrome exhaust lip. Chrome accents have beenadded and the T-Jet also comes with new design 16-inchalloy wheels that sport wider 205/55 R16 tyres. The T-Jetis also being offered with a new sun-beam beige bodycolour.

Fiat’s decision to bring in the T-Jet is said to have been

driven by feedback it had received from Linea customers.

Premium interiorsTo make the interiors of the new variant more luxurious inkeeping with its proposed positioning, the T-Jet gets pre-mium, soft-feel imported leather upholstery for the seatsand a soft-touch dashboard finish with chrome inserts. Italso gets auto-airconditioning, with rear knee and footlevel aircon vents for rear passengers.

The infotainment system has been carried into the T-Jetwith the Blue&Me hands-free package. But the new T-Jetalso gets remote audio control for the rear passenger.Other features include a foldable key with remote lock andboot release, and auto down power windows for all thefour windows.

Brand new heartCrank the engine and the new Linea T-Jet’s real changecomes alive. Thrumming inside the bonnet is a turbo-charged petrol engine, a first in the segment. The 1,368ccaluminium engine is a light-weight unit and adds a mere50 kgs to the existing FIRE petrol engine. But in terms ofperformance, the new engine pumps it up and deliversalmost 27 per cent more power and 80 per cent moretorque.

Aiding the engine in delivering the dollops of additionalpower and torque is a turbocharger that operates at high2.2 bar pressure. The increased breathing and consequentenhanced combustion leads to the T-Jet engine delivering

Fiat Linea: T-Jet set go

focusAUTO


a class leading peak power of 114 PS at 5,000 rpm. On theother hand, the maximum torque has now got a huge boostto 207 Nm, available from a really low 2,200 engine rpmlevel.

Compare this with the Fiat Multijet which generates209 Nm of peak torque at 2,000 rpm. Only, the T-Jet is apetrol mill and the Multijet is, of course, a diesel engine!

The new T-Jet engine is a four-cylinder, 16-valve,DOHC unit. The turbocharger not only enables the engineto deliver more power and a very diesel engine like torque,but it also helps the engine meet the even more stringentEuro V emission norms. To handle the higher poweroutput, the engine’s pistons have been strengthened andthe spark plugs too have been chosen to meet ‘race car’requirements – according to Fiat India officials.

The engine also features an oil cooler to help evacuateheat better. To improve refinement levels, the engine’sdouble over head camshaft now gets a lightened drivetrain

to reduce the friction levels, and the aluminium cylinderhead sports a compact design. The engine also gets adouble mass flywheel for countering vibrations and tomake the operation smoother overall.

Testing groundI get to drive the Linea T-Jet in Aamby Valley, nearLonavla and the immediate surge in low-end torque whenI step on the throttle is addictive, to say the least, windingup enough interest in me to try and test its claimed / ratedacceleration capability. With the loads of low-end torqueavailable on tap and the linear delivery of power, the LineaT-Jet is capable of going from standstill to 100 kmph in11.14 seconds.

Thanks to the amount of low-end torque available andthe consequent lowered need for shifting down the five-speed gearbox, the Linea T-Jet is also said to be capable ofdelivering higher fuel efficiency of up to 14.6 kmpl.

Straight line acceleration is really impressive and thecar’s ride and handling have also been tweaked with theaddition of the new larger wheels and wider tyres. Thesuspension set up remains unchanged, but the groundclearance has been increased by about 5mm to 170mm,possibly to help it handle the impact of the new wheels andtyres. To help cope with the new, more powerful engine,braking ability for the new Linea T-Jet also gets a boostwith disc brakes on all four wheels.

The Linea T-Jet will initially be available only in dealer-ships in Mumbai and Delhi (NCR) and will later be rolledout in other cities in a phased manner. The T-Jet will beavailable with two variants T-Jet and T-Jet Plus, with theformer missing leather upholstery and featuring 15-inchsteel wheels. Ex-showroom prices will be in the region ofRs 8.6 lakh and Rs 9 lakh for the T-Jet and T-Jet Plusrespectively.

Photos: S. Muralidhar

FASHIONABLE art

Anushya Mamtora

It was not long ago that Chennai Silks set the Guin-ness World record for the most expensive saree.Apart from the gold, diamonds and precious stonesthat adorned the six yards of finest silk, it was the

awe-inspiring hand woven adaptations of Raja Ravi Var-ma’s paintings that took everybody’s breath away. Whilethe pallu had been woven with the famous ‘Lady Musi-cians’ painting, the border was embellished with ten othermasterpieces of the painter. Curious shoppers to art con-noisseurs flocked to feast their eyes and the saree waspriced at a whopping Rs 40 lakh.

In a land far far away from the haven of silk downsouth, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami transformsthe trademark Louis Vuitton monogram bag withmulti-coloured logos and made it the brand’s be-stseller.

This nexus between artists and fashion seems to beone for keeps. How else can one explain the in-creasing association between top brands and phe-nomenal painters! In fact, the association of afamous artist with a piece of fabric or jewel imme-diately ups its artistic value. And why not, for thosewho are looking to wear the art either inspired orcreated by their favourite artists, this amalgama-tion completely works.

Inspiration – factorFor many designers and labels, the artist becomes

the muse. A little bit of their personal life, their profession-al years, contemporaries, style, masterpieces…they allmerge to come out in the form of a piece of jewel, a wholefashion line or even just a bag!

Christian Dior Couture Spring 2009 drew inspirationfrom Flemish painters Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling andHugo van der Goes andthe in-

fluence was seen in the form of colour contrast and palette,textures and lines of the ensembles.

Luxury watchmaker Jaeger LeCoultre’s Atmos Mar-queterie clock is an automatically opening cabinet deco-rated as a tribute to Austrian painter Gustav Klimt withprecious wood and gold leaf inlays while the Rolex Cellinicollection pays homage to Benvenuto Cellini, a worldrenowned sculptor and artist.

The legendary artist Amrita Shergill recently surfacedin the fashion scene in the form of chic ensembles.

Prominent Pakistani fashion designer Deepak Per-wani took elements from Shergill’s era and hercontemporaries and blended them to produce dig-ital prints that were sashayed down the ramp in the

form of bold and easy clothing. And he named thecollection after her too.

Personal touchThere are increasing instances of artists creative-

ly challenging themselves to step out of theirspheres and lend a unique touch to fashion. Re-nowned artist S.H. Raza is one such charismaticpersonality who has recently associated himselfwith jewellery brand ORRA and fashion label Sa-tya Paul. While ORRA launched ten beautifullycrafted pendants that depicted a Raza painting infine meenakari work, it took a leaf off his trade-mark ‘bindu’ that is the focus in all of his paint-ings. Adding a personal touch was Raza’s

An artistic stroke to fashion

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Fendi baguette designed by Jeff Koons


signature on the back of the pendant, a certificate signedby the artist himself and an artistically designed book thattalks of his philosophy and the story behind each pendant.While these pendants are exclusive and are priced be-tween Rs 3 lakh and Rs 11 lakh each, Satya Paul madeRaza’s fans get a piece of his art for lesser in his limitededition ‘Satya Paul Raza scarves’.

Anjolie Ela Menon is another well acclaimed artist whocreated a miniature painting inspired by the Renaissanceera that metamorphosed into a precious and stunningpendant for ORRA. In 2007, Fendi’s idea of roping in topcontemporary artists to paint their mind on a ‘blank slate’canvas baguette created by Silvia Fendi got a thumbs upfrom fashionistas. Recently, sculptor Anish Kapoorgrabbed the limelight for the BZero1 limited edition fingerrings he designed exclusively for Bvlgari.

These are but a few popular instances. The more onedelves into the world of fashion, the more one sees theinvisible hand and creative imagination of an artist.

Creative nexusThe good news is that international labels are warming up

to Indian artists adding an arty touch to their products,and sometimes, the Indian touch too. Indian brands toolook at collaborating with artists for a limited editioncollection and are receiving an overwhelming response.“Indian art is gaining a strong foothold across the globeand working with such renowned artists was a dreamcome true. We have been working intensively for overthree years on the Raza collection. The idea behind gettingthese artists was to offer the high end buyer somethingnew and different. With this collaboration, it is establishedthat art need not just adorn your walls.” explains VijayJain, CEO of ORRA who collaborated with prominentartists for exclusive collections.

On the other hand, luxury labels are making a beelinefor Chinese contemporary artists. From Swatch to Salva-tore Ferragamo, the urge to team up with out-of-the-boxthinkers and come up with bestsellers is the ‘it’ thing in thefashion circles.

And when you unwrap Fendi’s ‘Artist Baguette’ bag in astark white coated canvas which comes with ten colourmarkers to paint your imagination wild, the nexus juststeps over to a whole new level.

Tribal art and craft is definitely in. From hand paintedmirror frames with traditional motifs, intricate steel jaalilantern and papier-mache products, Baaya Design’s latestrange is available at its store in Mumbai.Rs 190 onwards

Leather artAdding an artistic touch to the festive spirit, AddressHome’s newest collection includes uniquely designedlamps, platters, candles and candle holders. Available atits stores in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.Rs 1,290 onwards (lantern in pic)

Elegant décorColouring techniques and finishes takes Portisidecafe’sDak Bangla and Ballimaran collection to a differentlevel. From photo frames to jewellery boxes and deskaccessories, the use of patterns and materials isinteresting. Available at its store in New Delhi, Mumbaiand Pune.Price on request

Folk touch

Arty Interiors

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Anjolie Ela Menonpendant for ORRA

Pradipta K. Mohapatra

Finally this April, the responsibility of managingSeiko’s empire, worldwide, fell on the shouldersof Shinji Hattori, the great grandson of the com-pany’s founder Kintaro Hattori.

Hattori, no stranger to the world of horology has beenwaiting patiently for this day for a rather long time.

Seiko Watch Company has seen better financial days.The last eight quarters have been rather brutal with thewatch industry taking a sharp dip and the average pricerecovery going down.

For the first time last year, Seiko watches took a detourfrom Hattori’s earlier avowed policy of moving towardspremium pricing. In his own words, “During the currentdownturn, our customers demanded more low price mod-els. We had to listen to our customers carefully.” Fortu-nately for Shinji Hattori, the watch industry seems to bereturning to sanity.

Hattori announced two key initiatives after his takingover as the president of Seiko holdings.

Firstly, merging Seiko Instruments, the watch manu-facturing company of the group with Seiko Holdings, sothat watch business leverages Holding company’s finan-cial clout better.

Secondly, Hattori has pulled the best watch ever madeby Seiko from the family heirloom, gave it a new look,added new technologies to it and is now ready to present itto the world. It goes by the name ‘Grand Seiko’. This is thebest gift he could have given to Seiko Watches.

Grand SeikoThis is truly the golden jubilee of the Grand Seiko. Thebrand was introduced as Seiko’s high-end mechanicalwatch in 1960. For the next nine years, Seiko engineersworked hard to make Grand Seiko really word class.

Those were the days of accuracy. Many companies inthe world were working towards bringing mechanicalwatches’ accuracy to -2/+4 seconds per day.

The key to high accuracy in mechanical watches de-pends on increasing the frequency of balance wheel. Thefaster the better! Finally in 1969, Seiko crossed the magicalspeed of 36,000 vibrations per hour (VPH).

Imagine what it physically means. The balance wheelhas to vibrate 10 times every second to achieve this level ofaccuracy. Unfortunately for Seiko, it was not the onlycompany to achieve this.

Within days of Seiko’s announcement, two other com-panies announced crossing 36,000 VPH. They were Ze-nith (model El Primero) and Girard Perregaux. Rolex anda whole lot of other movements followed, but clearly thewinner in the space was El Primero.

Seiko branded their innovation well, by naming their36,000 VPH model as ‘Hi-Beat’. More work needed to bedone by Seiko again.

The new game this time was power reserve. Now backto the basics. When the vibration rate goes upto 36,000,the watch needs enormous amounts of energy to consume.

The only source of energy in a mechanical watch is themain spring. You either wind it once a day or the move-ment of the rotor in the automatic watch winds up themain spring.

Therefore, power reserve means getting a bigger mainspring or more than one main spring. This increases thesize of the watch and reduces the aesthetic freedom givento the designer. Seiko engineers achieved it by working oncompletely new materials for constructing the mainspring.

Soon enough, Seiko achieved in devising two diverseattributes to exist together - 36,000 VPH and 72 hourspower reserve - in the same watch.

Why 72 hours you might ask? Well, the time mostpeople forget to wear or wind a watch is over the weekend.To have enough winding left for Monday morning, youneed one more day. Therefore a three day’s reserve wasconsidered optimum.

Grand Seiko now became special. Added to it wereautomatic rotors, chronographs, tachymeters and a wholelot of others to make it a watch for the really discerning.

Then Seiko used the old fashioned formula which veryfew watch makers use today. Namely, every component ismanufactured one piece at a time and every piece is pro-duced in its own factory by using watch makers who havebeen assembling watches for at least 20 years.

In the words of Seiko’s worldwide Marketing Director,“We will rather produce and sell less, than leaving GrandSeiko in the hands of anybody but a master watchmaker.”If you thought it ended here, Grand Seiko now adopts abrand new technology – Spring Drive.

Grand Seiko Spring DriveThe ultimate in horology is just about to step into thecommercial world - Spring Drive technology. The thirdtechnology, beyond mechanical and quartz, Spring Driveuses the best of both. So the accuracy standards expectedout of a spring drive is +/- 5 seconds, per month.

The new Grand Seiko is scheduled to be launchedworldwide and comes with a choice of technology namelyquartz, mechanical and spring drive.

Look out for the Seiko family heirloom in Seiko’s firstexclusive showroom in India that is ready to be opened inExpress Avenue in Chennai on 19th October, 2010.

The author is an amateur horologist and can be reached at [email protected]

Seiko’s family heirloom gets ‘Grander’


BEYOND the hour

Photos: Pradipta K. Mohapatra


WATCH

Roger Dubuis brings to India its exquisiteKingSquare collection for ‘her’ and ‘him’. This one

for women features a titanium case, rose goldcrown, mother-of-pearl, satin-finished leather

strap and a whole lot of diamonds.Available: Select watch outlets

Rs 13,82,600 (ladies) and Rs 63,98,000 (men)

For the Kingand Queen

Adding a spell of its own to the

otherwise trite animal theme, Chopard

does wonders with this glittering owl

watch and the mother of pearl penguin

one. There are 13 more to feast your

eyes on!Available: The Chopard Boutiques,

New Delhi and Mumbai

Price on request

Animal ‘precious’ planet

The essence of thevibrant city seeps into

Harry Winston’sAvenue Squared A2

New York that featuresa dual time zone dialand brushed silverpunctuated with

diamonds, and an alldiamond one too.

Available: Harry WinstonBoutique, New Delhi

Price on request

New Yorkcaptured!

Golden Dior

Dazzling in a yellow golddial, this Chiffre Rouge

timepiece with its‘Irreducible’ calibre andbrown alligator strap is

a man’s delight.Available: Dior

boutiquesRs 18.5 lakh

collection

smartbuy issue dated october 13, 2010

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