In my previous blog post I'd done a quick review of the Galaxy Note 2 and I assumed I'd use it for a while and then go back to my trusted iPhone 5.. that has not been the case. I'm actually shocked by how much I love the phone despite a few shortcomings. There are a few things I really miss about the iPhone5 and the stunning image quality from the cameras is one of them. I promised to take a few pictures from both cameras and am actually pretty amazed as to how well the iPhone 5 has performed. Here are some test shots taken in different lighting conditions that my gorgeous model Chintu posed for me in-
Taken with the Note 2 in a dimly lit room
Taken with the iPhone 5 in a few minutes of the earlier one in exact same lighting
Same lighting conditions- with flash taken with the Note 2
Same lighting conditions- taken with flash on an iPhone5. The top part is blurry as I think he realized in time to avert his gaze so as not to get blinded again!
Taken with the Note 2 in a well lit room with lots of natural sunlight
Same picture taken with an iPhone5
And it's in direct sunlight where this is very little difference between the 2- This is taken with the Note2
And this one with an iPhone5.
As you can tell, the iPhone 5 could very easily replace someone's digital camera and its quality in darker conditions really is phenomenal. It's not that the Note2 has a bad camera at all. It's just that the iPhone5 is, well, much much better. There was another picture that I took which shows the seat number in a dark movie theater that just came out as a black screen on the Note2. Maybe it's unfair to require your phone camera to take perfectly decent pictures in horribly lit conditions but Apple and Nokia have pushed the bar just that high so that is the benchmark that other phone manufacturers will now get compared to.
I'm actually contemplating buying the new iPod Touch to carry around with me for the 2 reasons I miss the iPhone most- the camera and the iPod functionality. I have been carrying the 5 in my handbag for the gym anyway (while not using it as a phone) and would appreciate something thinner and lighter, occupying less space. Having said that, the new Touch has a 5 megapixel camera as opposed to the 8 in the iPhone5 so I need to have another shootout to compare the two. Watch this space!
- Both the iPhone5 and the Note2 are available at Jumbo Electronics outlets in the UAE
While the iPhone5 was one of the most awaited phones on the market, I had secretly yearned for the Galaxy Note 2 for a few months already. Having used, and been surprised by the first Galaxy Note last year, I was quite curious to see exactly what Samsung would come up with next, given that the S3 was a phone almost every Android user raved about and that the Note 2 would not only have the newest Android software (Jellybean) but also a faster processor and better camera.
So as I focus my reviews on the non-techies, let me try to keep things simple- this phone is FAST (techies note- quadcore Exynor and twice the RAM fast) and bloody cool. Yes, it still is incredibly big and Samsung is the pioneer with the predecessor of this device to serve up a complete separate line of devices to lust after- the phablet (phone+tablet). If you're reading this review and already think the new iPhone 5 is way too big for your handbag/pocket, stop reading this review right here. This thing is large and will look a bit comical if held up to your ear. Over the past few days every single person who has asked me about whether they should get this phone has been met with two questions by me- "Do you use a headset to speak on your phone a lot? And do you read a lot on your device?" If the answers to both are yes, this may just be your dream phone.
As mentioned earlier, this device is a bit too large to hold up to your ear, although I have quite a bit I must admit, not having had my headset on a handful of times. So if you use a bluetooth or wired headset to talk, you're good to go. Secondly, if you are in the habit of reading a lot on your phone- be it emails, Facebook, Twitter, or just random articles from Zite/Pulse while away from your computer, your eyes will thank you for being able to read on the gorgeous screen. Playing games, watching movies, it's all really great to do on the device. Being able to watch moving on a pop up window while working in the background is even better! The Note 2 allows you to do just that.
While most people will like this phone just to be able to have a bigger screen, the stylus (called S Pen) is also really great to use. You can download a whole bunch of sketching applications or can just use the "S Note" app that came pre-installed in the phone which allows you to let your creative/artistic style run wild. Of course, you could just use it to hand write notes in a meeting, and maybe this is a good time to add, the handwriting recognition on this thing too works like a dream. Anyhow, back to using S Note, I made the following "drawing" in under 2 minutes .Please excuse the childlike artwork.. was just playing around on the phone to demonstrate and email to a friend what the phone could do and used the illustrations that are a part of a huge selection of images available for the S Note app-
While "S Pen" has dozens of uses and shortcuts that you can read about in a detailed review of the phone posted up on Engadget today (I'll link to that at the end of this review) the most useful one is the S Note app popping up each time the stylus is removed from the device. This also works while one is one the phone and a tiny post-it sized note pad pops up which will allow you to easily jot notes or phone numbers while on an existing call. Very, VERY handy. The camera on the Note2 is an 8 megapixel one and is quite good. I'm planning to have a separate post on that comparing it to the iPhone5 in various lighting conditions. (I'll give you a hint here- the iPhone5 can't be beat in low light conditions)
It is only fair for me to mention the hiccups I've had with this phone though... On two separate occasions I was unable to call or text a particular contact on my phone. Meaning that on those occasions (these are 2 separate people) I was able to call and text other people except for the person I was trying to get in touch with. Texts wouldn't go through and calls would just say "call ended" without any attempt to reach the other party. I do think though this was the fault of a buggy software and check back in a few days to see an update on whether its happened again. I also do think at worst its just that I had a faulty device, but as I said, I'd like to give a full disclosure on my experience so am mentioning it anyway. Also the buttom buttons are too closely placed to the edge of the device which is great as it means more screen space, but be ready to get annoyed with yourself for accidentally pressing them a lot!Also "S Voice" the Siri type "assistant" is beyond rubbish on the phone. Complete waste of time and memory (on the device that is).
Having said that I really enjoyed being able to surf, watch video clips, read and play games all day (basically I'm a heavy user) while at the end of the day glancing at my phone and only seeing 50 to max 60% of the battery used up! The battery on this device is INCREDIBLE.. the best I've seen on a mobile device! My iPhone4S (and iPhone5 for that matter) starts showing signs of death at around 6 or 7.. usually before I get home, if that's any indication. The million dollar question I seem to get asked- iPhone5 or Note 2? Not an easy question at all as both have their pros and cons and I promise to do a separate comparison post soon and maybe show some videos of the device side by side. In the meantime check it out at your nearest Jumbo store why don't you? (Shameless plug for the day: DONE!) ;)
Here is an in depth video of the Note2 on Samsung's YouTube channel-
You can also check out Engadget's detailed review here
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I waited with bated breath three days ago to finally receive the box of my favourite toy- the highly anticipated iPhone 5. Nothing gets me more excited than new gadget days and obviously a toy like this which is a hot commodity worldwide, is one to be especially excited for, and I was no exception. I've put the phone through it's paces and instead of just giving it a rave review based on its looks and the fact that I'm the epitome of an Apple fangirl, I wanted to really test it out to give it a fair assessment.
Difference in size between the 4S and the 5(photo taken from CNET)
There are a few things that I love, and a few things I am not particularly thrilled about on the iPhone 5. Let me get into the obvious ones that people have been raving after- it's light (noticeably so! in fact shockingly so!) and the extra screen space is a most welcome addition. The camera is supposed to be better but honestly I haven't used it enough to see the difference. However, I recently tweeted some links to articles (this is one of them) that shows the camera in action and it really looks amazing. The body of the iPhone as well is absolutely gorgeous, especially in black. I must advice those who are looking to get it in white before they have a look at the device- I had a white 4S and ordered a white iPhone 5 and when I held it, it didn't look or feel "new" enough for me. The black with it's brushed metal back and black sides looks much sleeker and different and hence I swapped my phone in for that one, and I'm so glad I did.
Now here come the bits I'm not really liking- There is no LTE on Etisalat at the moment. I have the phone and hence can confirm I'm still surfing on old 3G speeds. Speed on the phone is one of the key selling points of it worldwide and unfortunately we are as of yet unable to take advantage of that. I was also not thrilled to have to experiment and cut up my nano SIM card for it. I understand that it takes up space and was a necessary move for the phone, but for someone who swaps out phones constantly, it is an inconvenience to say the least. I still carry in my wallet an outer shell cover to turn a micro SIM into a regular one, just in case I have an urge to swap phones somewhere. You can then understand my frustration. One more thing I didn't realize till I actually cut my SIM and had the phone functioning properly- despite having a factory unlocked device from the UK, I was unable to activate FaceTime on it at all. So while OS6 allows for FaceTime over 3G as well as WiFi, Apple/TRA have figured out a way so that even devices not sold here have a block put on them. If you're one of those like me, who had a factory unlocked unit from elsewhere and had FaceTime on your 4S, please note: As of now, I have not figured out a way to activate it on my iPhone 5! Big bummer. Huge. Don't even get my started about the new adapter. In these 2 days already I've had two situations where I needed to charge my iPhone and realized, neither my office nor my friend's home (places I was) had a charger for the new iPhone. Painful and inconvenient and unnecessarily so. Another huge gripe I have with the new phone is it's headset placement at the bottom. I'm very used to, while driving in my car, holding the iphone the right way up and swiping to take a call without looking at the screen... that is no more the case. Also, since I use a wired headset to talk on said call, I usually have it always plugged in to my phone. With it placed at the bottom, I didn't realize how difficult it would be to hold the phone and type properly, hence leading me to constantly have to yank out the headset and put it back in. Again, unnecessarily inconvenient.
To add to my woes it doesn't help that my particular unit is a bit buggy at the moment. The first night I plugged it into my computer to charge as I always did my old iPhone 4S and in the morning, the battery had actually drained through the night. This is with it actually showing up the charging symbol on the phone so it's not like I hadn't plugged it the right way in. A quick reboot though solved the situation and it charges fine, but after reading some reports that people have been having trouble charging it through the computer, I've stuck to it being plugged into a wall socket. This morning I tried to type some things into the screen and it actually wasn't responding to my touch for a few seconds as well... something I'm hoping was a one off. Please let me point out that it is not uncommon for certain handsets to have glitches and I'm sure thousands of others using the iPhone 5 have no problems doing so. I'm mentioning this for full disclosure on my experience as well as an issue of a warning for those who don't want to wait for those who buy the phone from the official channel once its launched. No warranty can be a pain.
I know it sounds like I have only negative points to talk about and I really don't... the device is great and as I said, I love the look and feel of it. There are LOADS of reviews online from people who are absolutely crazy about the device and all the features it offers. I really wish LTE (or what everyone I've been speaking to is terming "4G") was available from the start for me to really tell a difference in operation as most of those reviews are raving about the blazing fast internet speeds. I have heard however, that both Du and Etisalat have confirmed it in the future. The look of the phone can't be beat and is an absolutely gorgeous GORGEOUS device and really, FaceTime wasn't available to most phones in the UAE anyway.. it was just a matter of time they caught up to the rest of us. As for the nano SIM, Apple are trendsetters and after they went Micro in the 4, didn't like everyone follow suit? As for the adapter, almost everyone I know who has a 4S now is looking to upgrade and very soon charger problems will be a thing of the past.
Yet, there is one small question keeps niggling at me and I can't quite find the answer. Why am I missing my 4S so damn much?
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UPDATE!!!- Just to let you know, both FaceTime and iMessage on my UK-originated device are now working just fine on the Etisalat network!
As the release of Microsoft's Surface inches closer, there is a certain buzz taking place in tech blogs about this little device. For those who don't know what it is, it is Microsoft's entry into the tablet space, a space that is obviously mostly taken over my Apple, with Samsung and Amazon gunning for the iPad's market share. Apple however has plans to invade their territory instead with a highly rumoured iPad Mini to be released before the end of the year that will compete with the lower priced Android devices currently on offer. I read a story earlier today that Microsoft will be giving all its full time employees with a Surface which I think would be great not only for employee morale, but will improve visibility of the product and promote the product through word of mouth. Microsoft after all, isn't exactly a small company! The nifty little device is going to be launched on 26th with a previously rumoured price of 199USD with Steve Ballmer recently going on record with the Seattle Times suggesting it will cost somewhere between 300 to 700 or 800 USD.
If you haven't already seen pictures of one, the device has a 10.6 inch screen, a kickstand and will run Windows 8. The USP of the device of course remains its tactile multi-touch keyboard, which seemingly has left a lot of tech critics very impressed. We will see details in a month when the device is actually available, but in the meantime here is a video to whet your appetite.
I'm super excited to get my hands on one of these! Probably even more so than the iPad Mini! If this functions well, it will be quite revolutionary indeed!
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So if you've been following me on Twitter you'll know that I recently completed a 5 day "Cooler Cleanse." There are actually many different types of cleanses one can do and this particular company sends you a package of all the freshly pressed juices and other stuff you need to drink to follow it right. I've read a lot about the Blueprint cleanse but never been curious to try it, but when a friend of mine mentioned he was on this one, I was quite intrigued.
First let me explain what prompted me to do a cleanse at all. I'm currently in NYC and unfortunately while I'm here, I tend to eat a lot unhealthier than I would at home, especially during dinner time and over the weekends. I wanted something to give me a break from all the junk food, and just give my system a rest for a while. I find that when I'm on a junk food diet, my body craves more junk, but whereas when I'm eating "clean", my body seems to favour fresh foods and salads naturally. I was hoping that would be the ultimate outcome of my cleanse, at least for a little while! While I have a lot of weight to lose, I really didn't do the cleanse for weight loss, as I realize that it's probably water weight that is being lost, and that will come back on with one bowl of hot and sour soup! Yet, every single person who messaged or asked me about the cleanse asked me questions like, "So is it working? Do you see a difference? Have you lost weight?" As I said, that was not my ultimate goal, and honestly, I didn't weigh myself before, during or after the cleanse, so I don't know I even did lose anything. In my opinion, if you're doing it for weight loss, don't bother.
Ok now let me get to the part about why I decided to do this particular cleanse as opposed to a DIY at home one or any other ones out there. The cooler cleanse has quite a low portion of the juices coming from fruits- I liked that, as it means their sugar content is lower. I liked that all the stuff I was drinking was freshly pressed or came from fresh ingredients, and they weren't powdered shakes that I was drinking mixed with diuretics or anything else funky out there. The Isagenix cleanse is another popular cleanse out there with powders of a patented formula.. While some may be tempted to try that, it's not for me! The main reason I liked the Cooler Cleanse was also that in total your daily intake was 1200 calories, which for me was a huge positive. I don't want to be doing a weird cayenne pepper and syrup cleanse that may make me drop weight and completely screw my metabolism in the process. 1200 is actually a LOT of calories and almost half of that comes from the final drink of the evening which is either a brazil nut or almond nut milk which tastes like a milkshake. It's very satisfying and is something to look forward to during the day.. and it also means you don't go to bed hungry.
The cleanse has an option of doing a 3 or 5 day cleanse and I opted for the 5. I think the next time I'd much rather do the 3 as I think it is adequate time to give your body a break from eating solid foods. The company sends you 6 drinks to have a day (I took a picture of the box shown above) and you drink one of these every few hours. You get a sufficient amount of vitamins from all the vegetables they use as well, so you're really not depriving your body. You are supposed to ease yourself into the cleanse which of course I didn't do.. which meant I had headaches the first day and was absolutely MISERABLE the second.. like I couldn't step out of the house miserable! By the third day however I was fine, and so on. I did however, ease myself out of the cleanse for the first two days after. It's a different story that I had a scrumptious Five Guys burger on the 3rd day post-cleanse! :)
If you live in the US, definitely check the company out which has actually been started by Selma Hayek. It's a great way to kick start a healthy lifestyle as it will leave you feeling energized by day 5 and by the end of it, you'll be glad you did it!
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For information on the cleanse, check out their website www.coolercleanse.com
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I'd read A Suitable Boy twice when I was at boarding school, many many moons ago. To say no other book or writer has had the effect on me ASB or Seth have had may sort of be an understatement. My first reading saw me have sleepless nights and finish the book in 4 days, and my second reading took me a generously paced 5. I've wanted for years to go back and reread the novel but had visions of me not being able to sleep and being a social recluse for days on end and I kept putting it off. Last summer in NYC however, I figured it would be the perfect place and setting for me to embark on it again.. I had the time and definitely the inclination, and hence went out and bought the book. Unfortunately it wasn't up till last week I was able to grab the book off my shelf and give it a go for the third time around. I finished it in 6 days.
The book is so much more than it's description- a story about 19 year old Lata whose mother embarks on a journey to find her youngest daughter a suitable groom. The story is about that yes, but is also about the families involved, the cities involved, the entire political situation in India at that point and the fabric of Indian society in general. The book weaves such a rich tapestry around you, paints such a beautiful picture that you're almost sad and bereft when it's done.
When I decided to reread the book this time, I wanted to be reminded by what made me fall in love with Seth in the first place. I after all, used to have a framed letter from him hanging up on my wall through my college years and a laminated picture of him in my wallet (please try to not judge me). Yes, the book is absolutely beautifully written and I found myself getting lost in the characters and feeling their emotions so deeply almost as if I knew them. But what struck me as most weird was my realization of how well the book ages and how I've aged with it. To put into perspective, the first 2 times I read the book, the internet was not commonly found and I had no access to it while at boarding school. Yet, reading the reviews on amazon.com will show you that there is no part of the book even now that seems in any way outdated or irrelevant. This is something I'm hoping Seth will be able to replicate in the sequel to the book that he is working on, named A Suitable Girl and due to be out next year.
As I mentioned earlier, I was also pretty taken aback to see how I had aged with the novel too. Between the 3 potential suitors Lata has, there is Kabir, the Muslim boy in her college she is in love with, Haresh- the shoe-maker that her mother finds the most suitable and Amit Chatterjee, her sister in law's brother who is a charming, witty poet. Aah Amit Chatterjee!! Though Seth denies fashioning the writer after himself, I honestly felt the most connection to this lovely character and during my previous reads, was Team Amit all the way! This time however, maybe because I was older, I was able to look a bit beyond what was immediately on offer and understand a bit better what qualities she should be looking for in a life partner. As I was probably younger than 19 the first two times I'd read it, my view on what to look for in a suitable boy were obviously a lot different than what they are now and I found her choice a lot more shockingly agreeable this time around. I wasn't expecting that.
In any case, if you're looking for a good summer read that will encapsulate you into a whole new world, look no further. It is my most favourite book hands down, and I can't recommend it enough!
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Ok so I have been terribly lazy at blogging recently despite promises that I will eventually get back on track. Now that I'm spending some time vacationing in NYC however, hopefully I will get some more free time to share my thoughts with you all. I've been playing around with tons of gadgets and gone to some fabulous new places that I should have been blogging on, but as they say, better late than never. A recent purchase, a Sony digital camera purchased from the SonyStyle store in NYC (the DSC RX100, which was yet to be released in Dubai at the time of my departure) had someone wondering whether I'd done a review of it on my blog yet. They soon realized that my last post was in April and tweeted the same to me. "Erm.. Good observation?" I wanted to sheepishly reply.
I'm in NYC now and it just seemed to be a shame to be surrounded by so much fashion, food and entertainment and not share my experiences with you guys. So if you were a regular on here, hopefully I'll give you reason to keep coming back. The city has been mega hot and sticky (except for today when it was pissing down with rain) and I've been spending a lot of time indoors, especially during the day. I took a monthly membership at the LA Sports Club close to my building yesterday, so I intend to spend some quality time getting healthy too. Speaking of my apartment building, the gorgeous picture above is actually a picture of the place. Please pardon me if I've posted one before and don't remember. I've recently been suggested a course of almonds for my memory loss. The building houses celebs like Beyonce and Jack Welch and I know used to be home to Flavio Briatore.. not that I've spotted anyone worth noting. Then again, my almonds haven't kicked in, so maybe I've ridden the elevator with someone famous and haven't noticed?
Will be back soon I promise. In the meantime, why not follow me on Twitter?- www.twitter.com/kchhabria
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As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in Paris for the Paris Fashion Week in the second week of March. I'd been in New York over the summer many times during the Fashion Week there but had never managed to make it to any of the shows and so really, my only exposure to any Fashion Weeks was the difficulty I faced in getting dinner reservations! Naturally, when my sister asked if I'd like to accompany her to Paris during PFW with the chance of maybe attending some shows there, I jumped at the opportunity!
In my previous post I talk about me being like a kid in Disneyland for the first time, and it's true.. If Disneyland was a giant fashion obsessed bubble! I'd come down to my hotel lobby (I stayed at the Ritz Paris this time) and would have Anna Wintour, Andre Leon Tally and Hamish Bowles chatting only 3 feet away from me and I'd try very hard to keep my composure while breathlessly BBM'ing my friend Ceebo Shah, the fashion obsessed blogger from lastniteindubai as I just had to obsess to SOMEONE so I could look completely unfazed externally. If you follow me on Twitter, you'll maybe remember my excitement! Everywhere I went I'd see the faces I only saw and read about on blogs and in fashion glossies and I think seeing Marc Jacobs wandering entourage-less at the Hermes store on Rue de Fauborg will count, hands down, as one of the best moments of my life!
At the end of it, we got to see the Chloe and Chanel shows.. Chloe was Ab Fab and was electrifying as it was my first Fashion Week show ever. Here are some pics from the show, taken on my new fave gadget, my Sony NEX-7 and the fantastic zoom lens that I "borrowed" from my store for the trip :) Since you can go onto style.com and pretty much look at the pics of the clothes, here are some of my personal pics and some of the "people watching" that I did!
My sister Komal outside the show
Komal and I, waiting for the show to start
My sister and brother in law
Anna Dello Russo
The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman
The original Streetstyle King, Bill Cunningham
The Queen and High Priestess of Fashion, Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington
Vogue FR Editor, Emmanuelle Alt
Chloe Designer, Clare Waight Keller
Familiar faces from Dubai, Tala Samman with gorgeous Mom, Lina
I was speaking to a friend a few days back and she was telling me about what she thought the year 2012 was all about. Some people consider it to be the end of the world, some people think it's going to be a shift of energies in a positive way and some, merely a year of change. My friend, having sadly, recently lost her Father a few weeks prior, was sharing about how 2012 according to her, was a year which gave clarity to a lot of people on their lives going forward. Strangely, she believed that a lot of people would experience a lot of change in their lives which would dictate what their lives would be like henceforth, and she said she noticed an increase in deaths, births, marriages and surprise divorces taking place. While I think that any finality in life is only the doorway to a new beginning and hence don't agree with her understanding of "how things are supposed to be," I do think 2012 has been a year of change for me and for a lot of people around me. For some, it's been a great year, and for a lot, it's been their worst year yet. Both can obviously change as we're still in the early stages of the year (or so it seems, thanks to the surprisingly lovely Dubai weather) but I think it definitely has been a year of "happenings". Or maybe because I've had a lot "happening" in my life which is why I see the same in others, just as my friend sees "finality" in the lives of those she looks around? Who knows.
I've been very busy traveling since the start of the year and my two major trips consisted of my month in the US (which I blogged about) and a very exciting trip to Paris during the Paris Fashion Week in March (which I shall be posting about very soon!) I had gone to Paris with one of my sisters and her husband, so it was great to get that bonding time with them, and had another very dear friend visit for the weekend whom I was seeing after 4 or 5 years! She is like family to us so it was lovely to spend time with her.. all this taking place during PFW which I had never experienced before! My sister got us invitations to go for the Chloe and Chanel shows which literally was a DREAM COME TRUE for me and I was as excited as a child at Disney World for the first time! More on that stuff later! And on my travel schedule, I leave to go to Beirut in a few days and it's my first ever trip there, and I come back and soon leave for Japan, so have lots of traveling coming up in May. On the work front, I'm working on a whole bunch of exciting projects and 2012 has been really, really good there with a lot of ideas that I'm hoping will take fruition soon. Personally I've met tons of new people recently which is strange since I'm not very social... but I've been enjoying going out and meeting some fabulously interesting folk. Let's just say I've been really enjoying myself which a perfect mix of random fun nights out partying and serene evenings spent with loved ones. Life has been good... Which is probably why a lot of blogging hasn't been taking place! As much as I love to share all my thoughts and happenings in my life (which is why I'm a blogger in the first place!) there are some journeys in life that one needs to go through alone, and keep them private. Part of my journey has been that, and the other part... well I've just been too busy living life to be bothered blogging about it :) Either way, I'm hopefully back and will attempt to get back into the swing of things. For all those who have asked me either face to face or over emails/Facebook/Twitter why I haven't been writing anymore, Thank You.. It's been very heartening to know Kiran's Corner has been missed and hopefully is now back for good! :)
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This is the article from my column that appeared in Gulf News yesterday that talks a bit more about my week at HBS. Hope you guys enjoy it!
I am currently in New York as I write this, having returned from a brilliant week spent at the Harvard Business School (HBS) in Boston. Having been there for a similar course three years ago, I was familiar with the set-up of the place, the astounding level of its faculty and the immense amount of work required in preparation for the course. Known for its case-study methodology, a week at Harvard means about a month's worth of spare time of a phone book-sized reading material that I had printed, highlighted, made notes on and digested. I headed there with my spiral-bound case book and thought I knew exactly what to expect till the opening session made me realise a subtle change in my surroundings — in three short years, education had gone digital.
As the days went by, it was easy to see the subtle changes the executive education arm at HBS had made to keep up with technology and to promote a paperless learning space. While paper had been relied upon to previously rate the faculty and class discussions at the end of each day, these were now emailed to us. A huge file with the bios of other course attendees had welcomed me to the course three years back. These were now replaced with a USB flash drive that was given to us at the end of the course, that in addition to the bios, had vCards of each of the attendees.
The drive also contained all slides from the presentations made by the professors in class so that instead of taking notes, we could focus on the intense discussion being held, because CEOs or not, HBS professors do cold calling upon students, and paying attention is not optional!
While all of this is standard upgradation you'd expect from a tech-friendly school, what really hit home is the level of tech sophistication shown by my fellow course attendees. Notepads and pens had been almost eradicated and replaced almost exclusively with iPads and in some cases, styluses for those who wanted to still "write" notes instead of typing them out. Pen-shaped devices like the Pogo stick or the Bamboo stylus by Wacom are popular choices for those favouring this method of input, whereas a whole host of note-taking apps on the iPad are available, the most impressive being one called "Noteshelf".
The app has the ability to write text in a larger space and then shrink it down to a size more comfortable while reading, which is a great way to solve the problem one has with printing the material handwritten on any other app only to have your writing unnaturally large on paper. Also while I'd stuck to wasting trees and highlighter ink in an effort to read the course material, a surprisingly large number of fellow classmates had stuck to their iPads to read their cases too.
While I'm fine with reading entire books on my Kindle with ease and even moving to online subscriptions of my favourite magazines on Zinio, I do so only for books that aren't available in the bookstores or publications that are either too expensive or too outdated on the newsstands in Dubai. When it came down to reading hundreds of pages worth of study material on which I'd want to scribble and make notes on, the thought of using an iPad had honestly never occurred to me! Ahead of the curve
With all this move towards technology in class, it was only fit then that one of our cases was based on the popular magazine, The Economist, its popular iPad app, and how it's handling the shift of edited news going towards the online space. The magazine is a great example of how traditional media will move going forward, and the publication already seems ahead of the curve in terms of merging technology with quality edited news content.
Also fittingly Apple announced its iBooks Author app and plans to revolutionize the textbook industry during the week I was at HBS. A fortnight back I would have been one of the naysayers who would have said technology is fantastic, but I doubt digital form of studying will ever replace the interaction one requires with a textbook to really absorb the written word. Now, given that most of my classmates were all probably in their 40s and early 50s and not exactly in the age bracket of what you'd call early adopters, I realize that I would have had to eat my words.
- You can check it out on the Gulf News website here -
Those who follow me on Twitter will know I am currently in NYC after spending an INCREDIBLE week at the Harvard Business School in Boston. This is actually my second visit there, the first being three years ago which is actually where these pictures are from. I've forgotten to carry my card reader and hence had to rely on a few old pictures on Facebook to give you guys a feel for the place. My week long course is part of a tie up that exists between HBS and YPO (the Young Presidents Organization) and hence is open to YPO members only. HBS however have a whole bunch of executive education courses that can be found here that may be of interest to you guys, ranging from different time periods to various subjects at all different levels of business folk.
My Late Father had done a popular exec education course called OPM which stands for the Owners/Presidents Management Program. He has been wrongly accredited in the Press very often for being a Harvard graduate which sounds like he was there for his undergraduate education or for an MBA, but he really is an alumni from the school as graduating from this program. OPM lasts for 3 weeks each year for 3 years and is a phenomenal program that my Father absolutely loved when he attended, and always hoped one of us would make it to our MBA at HBS. Seriously, his fanatical love for the school showed in his HBS notebooks that he used at home to take notes on with his HBS pens that he picked up each time he visited Boston. While I never made it there for my MBA, I understood his love for the school when I went 3 years ago, and got a similar reminder again last week.
So you're probably wondering how beneficial a one week course could possibly be right? I'd probably get a few lectures in and maybe a couple of pointers to take home, and the hefty price tags listed next to the courses are for the suckers who want to feel smart and say they went to Harvard right? WRONG! It takes about a good months' worth of reading during free time to be able to prepare for the course as the exec education follows the famous HBS case study methodology of teaching. All the cases printed out account for approximately a phone book sized worth of reading material that you need to get through before you get there. Oh and don't even think about leaving anything till when you actually do get there as the days are LONG and I don't think we ever wrapped up group meetings a single night before 1 AM!
The teaching faculty there will probably exceed your expectation of what you think Professors could be like. Having done my Undergrad at Boston College which too is an amazing school and one of the best in the country, I didn't think I'd be as blown away by the HBS faculty as I was. They are simply brilliant, and while professors at lesser known Universities may be brilliant and able to effectively teach concepts, you quickly realize in under 24 hours why the HBS professors are the ones writing out and forming those key concepts. To give you an idea, Michael Porter, one of the Gurus of Marketing is a professor at the Harvard Business School. And before you picture boring stuffy geeks droning on in the classroom while you pinch yourself to stay awake, most of the lecture is discussion based, the Professors usually electrifying and you better be paying attention lest you want to look like an idiot when cold called upon. Yes, they will pick on you and you better not even think of coming to class late!
The kind of people you meet as well are an amazingly diverse group of individuals and I know friends who have recently been for the OPM in particular, and have met some extremely intelligent people and made some very close friends. If by any chance you are a YPO member reading this and have never taken advantage of the course, you are seriously missing out! The level of discourse in the classroom given the fact that you are probably sitting amongst people who are leaders of their industries, and quite possibly game changers in the economy of their respective countries, is what makes this a program you MUST experience at least once.
The take home from these courses are incredible and they are incredibly hard work. While it may not be possible for everyone to head to HBS to do one of their exec education courses, if you are able to take out some time and head there, I can't recommend it enough. It really remains one of the best experiences I've ever had and one of the best investments I've made!
Happy New Year!!! It's currently 3 AM in the Big Apple (I am jet lagged having just arrived yesterday) and I decided it was time to write my New Years post. I've been meaning to share these videos for a while, but I figured this post would be the perfect time to do it. If you haven't seen them and have never heard of Ben Breedlove, can I please urge you to be patient and watch these! They will change your life!!
Ben passed away on Christmas day 2011 and this video was found a few days after his demise. I'd actually heard of him before and was amazed when I realized that this young boy was actually the same one who had an advice channel on YouTube with 2 of his other friends, giving advice to other teenagers about random life stuff and relationships. What a way to spend your life knowing full well that your own could be cut short any minute! A lot of attention has been poured on Ben and these videos with Kim Kardashian tweeting about him and Kid Cudi talking about Ben's vision and I dare say most people will be moved to tears after watching it. I know I was.
I hope I'm not sounding too morose to you guys as that is not my intention at all! I'm hopeful for a fabulous year ahead and have all my resolutions planned out in my head (and mostly broken already) and had a supercrazyfun New Years Eve spent with great friends in Dubai before I jumped on a plane and came to my favourite city in the world. If that isn't a fabulous start to the new year, I don't know what is!
When I watched these videos, as I said earlier I knew I wanted them to be part of my New Year's post. Instead of putting up my resolutions as I did last year, I just wanted to leave you guys with a thought- to celebrate your life. 2011 wasn't a particularly great year for me and while I'm hoping for a better 2012, I have no regrets about the year gone and am reminded of a verse from my favourite poem, A Psalm of Life-
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Our life is made up of losses and successes and both are just as important as each other. I believe that when we finally reflect back on our lives, our not-so-good years will be as important as our fabulous ones as those will be the ones to have shaped our character. So while I know the past year hasn't been a great one for a lot of people, let's hope for a better 2012 while ourselves participating in the script of our lives and being the best that we can be. As the poem says-
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o'erhead !
Something to think about? Happy New Year All! :)
- You can read the entire poem on a previous post of mine here -
Since I don't celebrate Christmas, I don't really get any Christmas gifts and probably not too many Christmas cards either. While I know it is customary in other parts of the world to send pictures of the family on Christmas cards, I bet you very few are actually as innovative, creative and cute as the Hardman ones! Funny man Mike Hardman and his lovely wife Georgina put together these fabulous cards every year that make me chuckle without fail. I don't really see either of them to often, but I SO look forward to their creations that one year when I didn't receive one, I actually took it up with Mike when I bumped into him... in June! I'm guessing that was a dead giveaway that I felt its absence during Christmas season gone by, and when they contacted me this year for my mailing address, I requested if I could get copies of the prior ones to blog about.
They have a knack of picking up something popular during the year gone by and incorporating it into the card, and I believe Mike does the cartoons while Georgina does the writing. Isn't it a fabulous idea?? Here are my favourites for your enjoyment... Do click on them to be able to zoom and read the writing better.
2006-
2007-
2008-
2011-
Thanks Mike and Georgy for always remembering me on Christmas (even if I don't give you too much of a say in the matter!)... Happy Holidays!!:)
I'm constantly amazed by the variety and intelligence level of people that read my blog and recently I received an email that came as a reminder of that. For lovers of Indian art, the name Jaideep Mehrotra is certainly not a new one. Mr Mehrotra is an absolute brilliant artist, and is one that my family members have been a huge fan of his work for ages. About a week back his wife, Seema Mehrotra wrote to me and told me she is a frequent reader of Kiran's Corner and asked if I was visiting Mumbai anytime soon as her husband was having an exhibition of his new work there through the month. While I'd have loved being able to go, I unfortunately have no plans of visiting soon but didn't want to miss the opportunity of pointing my blog readers in India, or those planning to visit Mumbai for the holidays, in the direction of the exhibit.
Instead of showing you guys works from the exhibit (that you can have a look at on his website- www.jaideepmehrotra.com) I thought I'd show you a very special piece of his work that takes up prime position at my home in Dubai. My parents, being huge fans of Mr Mehrotra's work, had this painting commissioned by him years back (and by that I really mean decades), when we were in the process of building the current house we live in. The painting's central theme was my Father obviously, and it was supposed to be a representation of him and our home. I was at college when this was done so never had the pleasure of interacting with the artist, but I remember coming home one holiday from boarding school and being blown away by the results. The colour palette was chosen using the colours from our home, while the painting itself conveyed so much power and depth. Instead of going for a complete portrait, Mr Mehrotra did a representation of my Father that wasn't as "in-your-face" and I think the elephant is much more of a giveaway of it being a commissioned piece than anything else (Jumbo.. elephant.. get it?). Here's the complete piece-
(Click on the painting to have a detailed look)
I love the subtle touches like the man's wrinkly old hands which were again to represent power (my Father's hands never actually did look that old!) and the Alsatian dog, which was probably a lot more appropriate than my white furry Spitz called Pucci that I had back then!
As you guys know, I'm a HUGE art buff and used to frequent art classes and learn to paint myself. You don't have to know anything about art however, to appreciate the kind of detailing that went into parts of this painting, and I have to say the dog is really my favorite bit for this very reason. Even this close, it's pretty hard to believe this is a painting and not a photograph!
Ok, I'll stop gushing now and give you guys a chance to head on over and see Jaideep Mehrotra's stunning art works for yourself. Go on his website and have a look and if you're a fan of his work (it has definitely evolved a lot from the time he did this piece) you MUST go have a look. It's taken him 4 years to put together this body of work so it will be very interesting to see what he's come up with him and how the work looks up close. The exhibition is at Tao gallery in Worli till the 15th and then at the Jehangir art gallery from the 19th to the 25th of December.
- PS: And if you're a recent reader of my blog and happen to be a lover of art, just wanted to point you into the direction of the GORGEOUS painting my art teacher created for me which is a collage of my Late Father and I through the years. You can have a look at it here. Hope you love it as much as I do! :) -
A few days back I was at my sister's house when she was getting ready to go to the "I Love Fashion" boutique opening at Dubai Mall and invited me to go along with her. I'd received an invitation from a PR agency but hadn't realized it was another one of Sarah Belhasa's ventures. I was sure it would be a fabulous evening out and decided to tag along.
The store is right across from Bloomingdales and is the Fashion TV store with all FTV clothing and merchandise. The store itself is very funky and fabulous and has mannequins wearing different outfits going around in a ceiling train through the store. I only realized this by the way while watching the fashion show taking place down the makeshift ramp when I kept getting hit by the mannequins. I turned to see a mannequin wearing black when I almost got knocked over again to see it wearing gray! "How did she change?!"I stupidly asked my friend Gayatri which is when she pointed the train and moving mannequins out. With all the people watching I'd busied myself in, I hadn't even noticed but instead kept wondering why I kept getting bumped by mannequins!
I hadn't unfortunately carried my camera but managed to snap a few blurry images of the clothes on my iPhone. They're not couture pieces for sure, but are more funky, slinky dresses that would look glam on a much younger dresser. Think Fashion TV and you've got an idea of their stuff!
The gorgeous Jessica struts her stuff!
The models
Sarah Belhasa and Michel Adam
Gayathrie Zaveri (right) and I at the Fishfayce booth!
Do head on over and check out their stuff especially if you're a fan of leather.. they have a lot of fun, going out wear especially for the younger lot.
- Thanks for a great evening Sarah! -
Over the past weekend I was SO happy to be in possession of an absolutely FABULOUS ride.. the Ferrari California!! Being a huge fan of sports cars I've toyed with the idea of owning a Ferrari for a while now, but always stuck to Porsches. I currently own a zippy little Turbo Cabriolet as well as a Cayeanne Turbo if that gives you any indication of exactly how much of a Porsche girl I am! I guess the guys at Al Tayer motors got wind of my wanting to test drive a California and before I knew it I had someone coming over to my house and handing me the keys to a gorgeous white one.. talk about service! I had the car for a little over 4 days and decided to do a review of it for my blog as almost all my friends wanted to know what I thought and whether I was going to get one. Car lovers reading this blog, here is my disclaimer- do not expect any figures over here or any statistics on how fast it does 0 to 60.. I am a girl reviewing a sports car. Enough said? :)
So let me get straight into it- Turning on the engine is like listening to a perfect symphony only sports car lovers will quite understand. You really have got to love the "vroom vroom" as I call it to quite appreciate the sound this car makes. I probably looked a bit nutty while driving the car as I'd go really slow and then step on the gas just so I could hear the car growl as it ate up the road. Let's just put it this way- it made my Porsche sound like it was singing a silent nursery rhyme in comparison. A friend of mine sat in the car and asked me why the car was so noisy and whether it would eventually begin to irritate me over time. If I could have recorded the sound just to have it playback in my car, I would!!
To drive, this car reminds me of a thoroughbred racehorse. It is happiest when it is racing forward at high speeds (or the highest I could go in between radars on Sheikh Zayed road) and for that, it is a dream come true. Ever seen a racehorse trying to be contained into a walk though? It is agitated and jerky and difficult to control, and the same held true for the Cali. I had heard the California was an every day car and was much easier to control and maintain than the other Ferrari's before it. While I've only driven one once (raced it on the track in fact, so that doesn't count) and never owned one, I don't quite know how the others handle, but at slow speeds this car was positively jerky. It usually takes me a few minutes to get to Sheikh Zayed road from my house, and it pretty much jerked all the way till I got there- the kind of jerking that cars make when you're learning how to drive a stick shift and the car begins to jerk right before it shuts down? That, without the shutting down part. While I use my Turbo to run errands, go to the gym, pick up groceries and everything, I cannot dream of having to use this car to do any of those things. Of course you kind of KNOW that nobody uses a Ferrari to pick up groceries, but I'd at least like the option of being ABLE to if you're stuck in one. Any one of the Porsche sports models would very easily be able to be driven as a single persons only car, and as I mentioned I use mine almost daily. With the Ferrari, that wouldn't even be an option.
If I am making comparisons to my Porsche however, it is only fair for me to highlight the positive differences between the two as well. Going over 120 in my Porsche makes it feel a little jumpy and I have to be very careful with there being no or slight bumps in the road while driving it. Going past any construction site or any place that's being dug up also makes me feel like the vibration of the car is going through to my brain- it is an extremely rough drive. Surprisingly enough, the Ferrari glides through the roads and feels like a luxury sedan even over gravelly bits in the road. Speed bumps weren't as bad and I noticed that the usual spots on Sh Zayed that make my car feel like it's jumping off the ground, made no difference to the ride of the Cali. This car was super smooth and was a dream to drive, especially on turns.
As you can see in the pictures, there was no gear box in the car and the gears had to be controlled by the paddles on the side of the steering wheel. I can't imagine the kind of heart attacks I'd have while even thinking of handing the car over to a valet if I owned it. Think it would just not happen. The car can be driven in automatic mode as well as manual, but since I pretty much drove it on Auto the entire time, I really can't elaborate too much on that (again.. remember the disclaimer!).
Ok so here is when I go a bit girly on you and give you the more practical aspects that I felt were missing about the car. Most guys wouldn't care and would be like, "but it's a Ferrari!!" well yes, but not having a mirror on the sun shade flap REALLY inconveniences my life! Of course, it's not a deal breaker, but it would be SO nice if they'd decided to include one!! Same for parking sensors.. not a deal breaker, but it would have been nice if they had given me some visual parking aids than just a beeping sound (keep re-reading my disclaimer if you must!!) The stereo included in the car was just TERRIBLE but the guy dropping the car off said most people like listening to the sound of the car rather than the radio.. but that an upgrade was available while custom ordering the car. Considering I like bopping my head to music while driving, I'd definitely take the upgrade.. but the stereo system was just shockingly bad. I also didn't like that your car had to be parked to operate the roof and I'm so used to just going really slow while driving while doing and undoing my Turbo's roof that this again just seemed so inconvenient! Same for having to turn off the engine to be able to get the little gas door on the side to open while at the gas station. Fine for a few days in November.. I would NOT be wanting to fill gas in the car over the summer!
I finally found the cup holder for my daily Starbucks run
Overall, the car was an absolute beauty and I miss it so now that it's gone. My Porsche just isn't as smooth, as fast or as ubercool! And to answer the million dollar question- would I think of getting one? Not just yet. While most importantly I need to figure out the situation with my college next year (will I? Won't I?) I also would need to seriously consider that I will be having to use my Cayeanne or some other car as my primary car and would be able to take the California out only on times when I know I'm going to be driving mostly on the highway. But really.. what a drive it is!
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On Diwali I went over to my sister's house when my nephew came running out with a slick Sony Tablet that made my jaw drop. The device was shiny, utterly gorgeous and totally Sony- which in my language means, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I begged for him to let me keep it for a few days so I could review it and hand it back. Unfortunately I have been swamped for a few weeks now, and only when he called me requesting that I send back his device, did I remember to finally do a short video and get my act together and review it.
First of all let me talk about it's shape. It looks very different in comparison to all the other tablets out there, and resembles a magazine that's been folded over. You may think that's strange till you start to use it. It's a joy to type on and view content on as it sits the device at a slight angle that avoids a lot of glare. It's also much easier to hold with one hand, which makes it perfect for watching movies or reading books.
The device itself has a 9.4 inch 1280x800 screen that's great and not as reflective as the shiny device might suggest. It has a 5 megapixel camera that's actually quite good, as well as a front facing camera for video chats or self portraits.
While the outside of the tablet is gorgeous, it's insides are also quite impressive with a dual-core Tegra 2 processor that works very well on the screen (check my video review to see the smoothness of the interface for yourself).
I'm also so happy that Sony decided to not get caught up in trying to re-create an Operating System for themselves, but used the existing Android OS to run on the device. While I couldn't fidget around on the device too much and download too many apps (it wasn't my tablet after all) I did check out the Android Market and was quite surprised to see a lot of my favorite apps for my iPad had been ported over into the Android store too. I couldn't resist and downloaded Pulse, one of my favorite and most used apps and was quite amazed that it worked as smoothly as it would on my iPad. Cheekily, I added my blog and left it on there, so hopefully my nephew will get curious and start reading Kiran's Corner soon too... Hey, here's hoping!
Of course, a Sony device wouldn't be a Sony device without a bit of PlayStation action thrown in, and the device has access to a whole bunch of exclusive titles, with Crash Bandicoot pre-installed (again, a demo of which is in my video review below). There are also a whole bunch of Sony proprietary apps, including a Universal Remote that can be used to access all Sony devices.
Here's a quick video review I did on the device before I had to hand it back over-
Overall I think it's an absolutely amazing device and for me would be a no-brainer, especially after seeing it and holding it in person.
I can't wait now till the Sony P series tablet gets launched so I can get my hands on that and decide which one to get!
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