Creative Christmas Cards!

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!!:)

Not to Miss- Jaideep Mehrotra exhbition in Bombay!

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.
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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! :)
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I Love Fashion!!

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.
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Thanks for a great evening Sarah!
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Test Driving the Ferrari California!

 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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Sony Tablet- Video and Review!!

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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About a Dog...

I was returning home from the gym yesterday when I saw a strange sight on the main road of Al Wasl... a little Yorkie running helter skelter, about to run out onto the road towards oncoming traffic. Being a dog lover, I slammed on the brakes, jumped out of my car and ran after the dog. Luckily she seemed to understand "come here" and ran towards me. I waited for 15 minutes for the owners to show up, or to try to figure out if any of the houses close by accidentally had left their gates open and had this poor little creature run out onto the roads. Nobody came. I called my friend Pinky who is an absolute dog lover and asked her what I should do. "Take her home," she suggested, "and after I get done in an hour we'll figure out what to do." Being Eid, most of the vets, K9 and the muncipality would be shut, but luckily the cute munchkin had her dogtag which meant that she might even be micro-chipped. I brought her home but had to be careful since I already have a Yorkshire Terrier at home (the famous Chintu who's with me in my logo above) who is quite a ferocious thing and so I had a bit of trouble putting the two of them together. My mother suggested I walk around the block and hope that the owners are out looking for the dog, and since my maid thought she knew whose dog it was, both of us set out to find the dog's home.
I went over to the compound next to my villa that has Vivel and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf when a girl looked so excited to see the little furball, I almost thought it was hers! Her name is Cynthia and I told her that the dog was lost and she offered to help me to find the owners and to help in whatever way she could. Turns out she's a huge dog lover too and even volunteers at K9, so really this dog was extremely lucky to have 3 crazed dog lovers looking after her. After we had no luck in the neighborhood, Pinky came over and the both of us went over to the Al Barsha veterinary clinic to find out the microchip number of the dog, which they gave us in 2 minutes. The vet was kind enough to examine her as well and confirmed that while she was not ill and had not been hurt, she wasn't kept in the best of conditions either- her hair was matted and she was way too thin and seemed to have some sort of a bruise on her head. We hoped she'd been kept well and that her owner hadn't abandoned her on purpose. Since she had her tag on, we assumed that wasn't the case, but I'd have to wait till the next day (today) to be able to call other vets to find the parents of the beautiful pup, which the vet estimated to be under 2 years old. I kept her during the day but since I didn't want her and Chintu fighting during the night, requested my good Samaritan neighbor Cynthia to take her, which she did gladly.

I woke up this morning to a call from Cynthia saying she'd started calling vets but hadn't taken the number of the microchip from me, so was requesting me to call them and try to locate the owner. I told her I'd walk over and meet her and take the dog from her and continue to call the vets all over. The little pooch was SO happy to see me this morning and Cynthia looked like she was about to cry while handing her over. She had to go to work so couldn't babysit anymore, and was super apologetic about not being able to help more (really, this girl was incredibly sweet!) I told her I was going to go next door and have a coffee myself and that we'd be in touch. 5 minutes later she came running over excited saying she'd found the dog's owner (they were matched with the microchip) and that while the owner was at work, she'd be sending a friend over to collect the dog. Over this one evening that the dog was with us mind you, Cynthia had bought dog food and milk and fed our new furry friend this morning, and had put up posters in Choithrams. Pinky has yesterday evening put up pictures all over Facebook reporting that a little Yorkie has been found, while I was trying to get people to retweet the news in the hope that the owner or owners friend would read it and be able to bring the dog home and had left my name and number with the coffee shops nearby hoping the owner would come in and ask about the lost animal.
Anyhow, after about 20 minutes the owner's maid came up to me to get the dog- the dog didn't seem happy to see her at all, and there was not the hint of a tail wag that came from the pooch. I asked the woman what had happened, and she said that the driver had let the gate open and the dog must have run out. I asked if the Owners had tried looking for the dog, and she said she'd suggested they put flyers but that they hadn't yet because they had a party that night that they were busy attending to. I asked her what on earth they had done all day to recover the dog and she said, "no he only ran out at around 6 'O Clock".. Mind you, I'd found the dog at NOON. They had gone 6 HOURS without even noticing the dog had run away, and how they didn't notice that the dog hadn't eaten any lunch is absolutely beyond me!! She also goes on to say that the dog often ran out of the house and this wasn't the first time.. I shudder to imagine what the dog's fate will be the next time!! Anyhow, I took it upon myself to call the owner, and at this point you can imagine how furious I was! I introduced myself as the girl who had found her dog, and asked her if she didn't even take care of her pet... she sternly replied that I should not be questioning her about how she runs "her household" and that I was overstepping boundaries. I tried to calmly myself and ask her if she tried to look for the dog at all, and what steps she took to do the same (again to remind you, no vets had reported any missing dog report to us and we had to find her) and she yelled at me saying she didn't have to justify her actions to me and hung up on me.

So first and foremost, Eileen, Owner to Chikoo the Yorkie who lives behind Union Coop/Choithrams, you are not fit to be a dog owner. Your dog is neglected, too frail and obviously gets no care or attention from you or your 16 year old daughter who apparently is Mother to this poor creature. Secondly, if you were in the US or some place that allowed me to call and complain about animal cruelty, their number would be on my speed dial to make sure your home was pet-free and that this dog got a new, deserving home. How you went for SIX HOURS before even realizing your dog was missing is beyond me, considering that her whereabouts were not unknown to us strangers for 6 MINUTES while she was away from you. SHAME ON YOU. And while we were going from place to place trying to figure out where a concerned owner might look for their beloved pet, you seemingly searched a total of zero places, or else you would have found us, and not the other way around. Again, SHAME ON YOU.
I realize animal cruelty is rampant in Dubai and most dogs fare much worse fate as they've been abandoned on purpose and often have to be put to sleep, but this little dog has really tugged at my heart strings. I requested Cynthia to call this Eileen person again to see if she was willing to sell her dog to me, but she hasn't since taken her call or responded to her messages. I will going to bed tonight only praying that the wonderfully sweet dog that I've so fallen in love with is being taken care of, or that by some miracle the Owner decides to give or sell her to me, Cynthia or make sure she goes to a more deserving home.

Also not to state the obvious, but if you are thinking of adopting a pet PLEASE make sure that the pet will not be abandoned or that you are fully capable of taking care of one. Pets, especially dogs, are like little children and need constant love and attention, and often people forget that they are in a transient city like Dubai and that they might have to leave and go home and won't have space for their pets in their new life. Sometimes they buy one during the summer to entertain their kids, but when they realize their kids have no time and no discipline to take care of an animal, they abandon it and kick it out on the roads. Again for all the stupid people who leave their animals in a parked car over the summer with the windows shut, YOUR PET WILL DIE.
In the absence of any proper authorized body against animal cruelty, please lets just use common sense when it comes to animal care, and hopefully if you guys see a dog or a housed cat running on the road, you'll stop and help it out and not keep on driving!
Oh and if you know Eileen, please do forward her this link or "like" it or "retweet" it or whatever, so that someone can look at it and tell her to take better care of that darling dog that she has!! Thank you!!! And for all the people at K9 shelter and other animal rescue places that are dealing with these dogs and see the cruelty of humans taken out on their dogs and deal with that without crying every single day, I salute you!!!

 Thanks Cynthia for all your help! I don't think we're getting her back, but let's hope she's happy wherever she is!
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The Guide to customized Gizmos and Gadgets!

Did you guys happen to check out my article in Gulf News yesterday?? My column has been finally christened with a picture!

So my latest article for Gulf News was about customizations. Most of you have seen pictures of the products I've customized, but for those that haven't, I'm going to stick in pictures of some of the stuff mentioned so you get a better idea of what they look like. Do check out the companies I've talked about.. they do some fantastic stuff!!


Recently a friend of mine took a look at a personalised toiletry bag I had with my name custom-embroidered on it and joked that I should make a collage of all the things in my life I had personalised. I didn't realise how bad my obsession for customised items was until she pointed it out! I had the (what I consider) basics, like my towels at home and custom letterheads, to the bit more extravagant, like my zippy sports car having my name engraved on its side step that can only be seen when the door is ajar. I've always liked to have things that stand out and are different, and my love for gadgets obviously means that almost every product I have is customised in some way to make it unique and "mine".

It all started off with one of the first computers I ever bought— The Apple Power PC laptop that came with what I consider an ingenious USP — changeable covers. The laptop itself came with probably half a dozen designs that you could swap out, but I chose to customise it further with cut-out pictures, and christen it "Gianni" after my then favourite designer. Embarrassing in hindsight, but forgivable since I was probably 15 then! A lot of people, especially women, like to differentiate their products by buying a particular laptop over the other because of the colour, or having special cases and or trinkets tied to their mobile phones to make them stand out. Recent years have seen high end fashion houses make special accessories targeted towards these fashionistas with Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs et al, all making covers for the iPad and cases for several smartphones.

There are other companies that I've used over the years to customise my products further, depending on the look that I'm going for and the amount I'm willing to spend to make that particular item stand out.

When JLo became a chart sensation and bling was "in" I'd found a company called Crystal Icing (www.crystalicing.com) online that I'd used to add some sparkle to my phone. I was using a windows-based phone back then, and had sent in the physical device to be covered up with rhinestones with a face of Marilyn Monroe on it. Since BlackBerry and iPhones seem to be the most popular device of choice these days, the company no longer requires you to send in your phone to be crystallised, but has the option for you to purchase covers for the devices. I recently purchased an iPhone 4 cover from them and am pleased with their quality of work, as they have the option to use the tiniest of crystals on the device.

Colour and glitter
Another company that successfully transforms your gadgets (among other things) into stunning jewellery-like objects is the UAE-based Jake and Gigi (www.jakeandgigi.com). Michelle Roberts, the owner of the brand, has a knack of putting together Swarovski crystals along with larger vintage embellishments to create items that are a smorgasbord of colour and glitter. With styles ranging from the Audrey Hepburn-inspired to the more muted angelic theme to dozens more, Michelle designs to suit almost every palette. If however you don't find what you're looking for, she is able to work with you or use items that you may already have to custom create an item that suits your mood. I had sent in a Tarina Tarantino "pink head" pendant to her some time back, which Michelle pulled apart and incorporated into a Blackberry cover she did for me. 

Sorry about the picture quality.. is a very old photograph!

A few years ago a friend of mine gifted me a BlackBerry Curve in a bright orange, as was customised by another company based out of America called Colorware (www.colorwarepc.com). Not only did the phone look suitably funky, it looked like it was a limited edition piece and I used to literally have strangers coming up to me to ask me where I got it from. While Colorware isn't cheap (my friend was very generous) they are to gadgets what the company Fab Design is to cars. I recently used them to customize a Macbook Air for myself that I knew I would use for a few years to come. While ordering from them, you have the ability to either send in the item (for US customers only), have them ship you the parts (available for certain products) or buying a new item custom done. With a computer, you're able to colourise each part of the computer separately and have a rainbow of colours on the item if you so choose. Since they are, in essence, pulling apart the machine and replacing its outer facade, I was quite nervous to see how my laptop would turn out, but I was absolutely thrilled with the end result, especially the colours used which are as bright and vibrant as promised.

 Ever since I started my blog and had a custom Avatar created for it, I've had an obsession of trying to get that image on absolutely everything I possibly can. It was only natural then that I'd try to get it onto all the gadgets that I surround myself with every day, and since I change them so often, needed to find a cost effective way to do it. After a bit of researching I found the company GelaSkins online (www.gelaskins.com), which allows you to buy gorgeous skins for a host of devices, or even customize your own. They allowed me to make custom decals very inexpensively for all my gadgets, and I can honestly say I've been blown away by the results! They're very easy to apply without any bubbles coming in during the application process, they don't leave a sticky film behind upon removal, and neither do they start to peel off after time. I even customised a skin for my Macbook Air that I'd bought from Colorware, to be able to customise it one step further. The skins can be even personalised with a photograph or a whole collage of them, or you can choose one from the literally hundreds of designs available.

 I feel that just like clothes, the gadgets I use are a reflection of who I am and I absolutely abhor the idea of being just like every one else. If you like to stand out from the crowd too, hopefully this will give you some ideas to make the every day things you use stand out- just like your personality.
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You can check out the article on the Gulf News website here
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Book Review- Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Given my obsession with Steve Jobs, I think it would be shocking for any frequent reader of this blog if I didn't put my life on hold and rush out to go buy and subsequently read this biography. While I downloaded this book and read it on my Kindle (yes I know... but my eyes hurt after reading on the iPad too long), my life had virtually come to a standstill while I devoured every page of this book and read about one of the most revered men in business (in case you're wondering, I finished the book in 4 days flat!). Not big into technology and wondering whether you will enjoy this book as much as I did? A friend tweeted me the exact same question earlier today and my answer to her was that to enjoy any book, especially a biography, one needs to have an interest in the subject matter being written about. Having said that, any business student, entrepreneur or person interested in reading about businesses MUST read this book. Any person interested in technology, the history of technology or in the media business MUST read this book. Any creative person wanting to learn more about the business aspect of creativity, any artist wanting to get their creative juices flowing, any person interested in the dichotomy of spirituality and making money MUST read this book. And of course, people interested remotely interested in understanding about the world we live in today with even a faint curiosity on technological advances and how they came about to be, MUST read this book.
While it is at it's core definitely a business book and is a book about a businessman, I believe it's also a great insight into the minds of one of the most influential people of our times and a lot of people will enjoy reading it, as long as they do remember that it is a book about a businessman.  One that may have changed the world and left a mark on it forever, but this isn't a book about spirituality or values or an extended version of his Stanford commencement speech. It's not a feel-good book and I think a lot of people who don't know much about him might think that's exactly what it is- a guide to how to be inspiring and creative and successful and world-altering just like him. Again, this is a book about a businessman and a ruthless one that too and it's a true picture about the story of his life.. so definitely keep that in mind before picking it up.

While I'd followed Jobs' career and believed I'd read almost every article on him ever published, a lot in the book came as a complete surprise. While his temper was legendary, I didn't realize that he was cold and distant even with his family, and had very few scruples even when dealing with close friends. Also the amount of times they refer to Jobs' crying in the book really makes me believe he was bipolar or had some sort of personality disorder- Isaacson touches on him having a narcissist disorder, but that thought is never really explored. While I absolutely love Jobs' and love his contribution to the world, I was shocked while reading the first half of the book as to how little I actually liked the man I was reading about. I do believe his failures in his life may have humbled him a tiny bit which is why the reader goes from thinking he's an asshole to being fascinated with finding out where he got his ideas from about the various products he launched, and the thought process and meticulous attention to detail he gave. While you may finish the book still not loving him, you put down the book having a lot of respect for him and really, really loving his company, Apple.

Overall the book was quite fast paced, is PACKED with anecdotes- ever wondered why he switched to wearing his standard uniform of mock-turtlenecks with Levi's jeans? Wonder which was conceived first- the chicken or the egg (the iPhone or the iPad)? What the series of events were that brought him back into Apple? What his relationship with Woz was like? How Apple will survive after he's gone? What new products he may have conceived of that have still not been launched? The answers to all that and more are in the book, and are absolutely fascinating to read. You get to read about a note he wrote to his wife on their 20th anniversary, or what Bill Gates and Jobs' spoke about when Gates visited him out of the blue one evening a few months before he passed away. You read about his relationship with each of his children and how he went about finding his biological parents and his relationship with his daughter that he abandoned in his younger days. It's all there, and it all makes for a riveting tale.
 The book also managed to do something few non-fiction books are ever able to do- make me laugh out loud, and make me cry. There were a few moments of tears, and there were few outright sobs, but then again I absolutely love Jobs so maybe someone with less of an attachment to him might not go through that.. but for sure, there will be quite a few misty eyed moments. Overall, I cannot recommend this book enough and think a lot of people who begin to read it will, like me, not be able to put it down!
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"Cheat Days" and why they work!

As any serial dieter will tell you, "cheat days" are the most treasured and looked-forward-to part of the diet plan! I've been on possibly every single diet imaginable and only over the past year and half have tried the Dukan, Lively (the food delivery system based in Dubai), the food intolerance related meal plan , all with varying successes and with one thing in common- I eventually got tired and got off them. Some of them offer you a "cheat day" as part of the diet, and for some it's a complete no-no. For example, while I was on my food intolerance diet, I could have a cheat meal once a week, and that too consisted of things that I wasn't allowed to have the entire week and wasn't intolerant too- which basically meant a meal with rice and gluten free chocolate. When I was on "Lively" I didn't have a cheat day or meal, but on "Right Bite" (another food delivery service that I'd tried a few years back) I was allowed one every week. Mind you each of these diet plans have worked for MANY people out there, and I'm not knocking them at all!! I just met a friend 2 days back who looked gorgeous after having lost 20 kilos on the Dukan diet, so it obviously really worked for her... I'm merely sharing my personal experience.
There are some dieters who like "cheating" a little bit every day and will eat a cookie or a piece of chocolate or two, but are very conscious of the calories they consume and continue to lose weight. There are some, like me, who like to abstain and would much rather have a strict diet plan during the week with a meal or day where I'm allowed to indulge, before I get back on track. It gives me something to work towards and I look at it as being a reward for sticking through the diet strictly. I've always noticed I'm much more likely to continue longer with a diet that allows me that space to maneuver than those that tell me I can't have bread till eternity.
When I started training with Amir a few months ago, he said to me it was very important I get on his food plan as it would be imperative to me seeing any results while training with him. With emailed it to me and mentioned he encouraged cheat days but I'd only get one after 4 weeks, then one after 3, then after 2, before they become weekly events and I figured it wouldn't be too bad and got on my diet. The diet is VERY strict and the first 4 weeks on it were brutal and the cheat day seemed like a very pretty nutella-glazed light at the end of a very long, hungry tunnel! I was shocked when Amir explained to me what he expected my cheat day to be like. There was no, "eat what you want but make sure it's in moderation" speeches given! It was more of a "if you can't eat anything and everything in sight then there's something wrong!" "WHAT?!" I hear you say? Trust me, that's exactly what my reaction was too.
Cheat days help you stay motivated and that is usually how they are used in traditional diet plans that allow one. My diet plan of a cheat day following a 4-3-2-1 sequence ensured that it was affecting my body in a positive way, and wasn't just extra calories that would find it's way straight to my hips. I started noticing that my size dropped after every such day and I couldn't help but recognize that what Amir was saying was actually right- that a cheat day is almost as important to my weight loss as the diet itself. How does my cheat day now differ from the ones I used to have before? Amir prefers it that I eat stuff that has a higher fat content and I'm not worried that the "damage" I do on that one day will negate everything I do on the other 6 days, as I know it's quite the opposite. After I came back from New York for example, I got one after dieting for 3 weeks and he warned me to be honest with him and tell him if I "crashed" in the afternoon or early evening (and by that I mean was unable to eat anymore), as it meant my metabolism wasn't in peak condition yet. There are other telling signs he had asked me to look out for, the main one being that you tend to sweat a lot on that day as your body is working hard to turn the excess food into fuel. Another one that I noticed myself was that previously even a larger than normal dinner would have me wake up the next morning not being able to eat a morsel till evening as I was stuffed from my meal the night before. Now, I marvel at the fact that I wake up the morning after my cheat meal ravenously hungry and I realize that my body is in high gear having burnt off all the food. And as I mentioned before, the best proof of the pudding is in it's eating, and the fact that I'm losing size obviously means I must be doing something right!
So while I'm unable to share my diet plan with you guys I suggest you guys optimize your metabolism by following the 4-3-2-1 system and marvel at what it does to your body! Worst case scenario? You'll lose some serious weight!
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Please do check out Amir's very interesting blog at The Body Axiom
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First iPhone 4S review in Dubai!!

So yes, the iPhone 4S is finally out, and being a gadget lover I just figured that everyone knew about the phone and everything it entailed till my friend Nadia told me the other day she saw a video of what the iPhone 5 could do. "Erm," I said to her, "there is no iPhone 5??" "But I saw a video of the laser keypad that the guy used to type on his desk!" she insisted. "My Lebanese hairdresser downstairs showed it to me!" Oh dear. For those who still haven't heard, the iPhone 5 does not exist yet and the video circulating is a concept video of what some guy wishes the phone would be like! Now that I've got that sorted, let me tell you more about the iPhone 4S.

 

The new phone looks pretty identical to iPhone 4 and I have not been able to tell any differences between the two. Apparently there is a bit of difference in weight and thickness, but both are quite marginal and none that I've been able to detect. I've had the phone for 2 days now and I'm really impressed with it! As I'd already upgraded my iPhone 4 to a white device, I don't really have the thrill of feeling like I have a new phone as it looks identical to my previous one. A huge difference is that my new one is 64GB which means a lot more music for me to carry around! 

The main difference between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S is the camera and of course, Siri, the voice operated personal assistant that is ONLY available on the 4S and not the 4. The new iOS5 is pretty fantastic and fixes a lot of problems that I used to have with the old device like pop up notifications that were ridiculously annoying. That has now been fixed and makes the phone a lot simpler to use. The new iOS (which is the operating system of the device.. or in even simpler terms, the base software that the phone runs) can be installed on the 4S so a lot of people might choose to just use that on their iPhone 4's and might choose not to upgrade. 

The iOS5 has the new iMessage app that allows people from Mac devices to be able to message each other for free. Upon it's announcement a lot of people figured that it would be a competitor to BBM or Whatsapp and it's a question quite a few people have been asking me the past few days. Honestly upon receiving my new phone (I had chosen to not download iOS5 on my old phone till I received the 4S) I was searching for the iMessage app and was wondering why I didn't have it. It's only upon a quick google search that I realized that it only worked until after I sent a friend a message did it let me know that the message had been sent and received via the app and therefor SMS rates would not apply. I don't quite understand why Apple decided to do that and not show the user which of their friends had that application on their phone. Overall, while it worked flawlessly, I just wish it worked a little.. well.. more like BBM or Whatsapp.

Ok back to the 4S device itself. I don't have any pictures on the camera yet to be able to demonstrate the picture quality and I will upload some soon. In the meantime, I've done a video review to show you a bit of what Siri functions like and to show you guys the actual device. Hope you like the video! I ran off in the middle to meet my friend for coffee hence the break. Also, the video was shot using my iPhone4 and edited on that phone before loading it up, so I do apologize about the lack of editing and the shakiness. The 4S has image stabilization by the way, so if I use my new device to shoot the iPhone 5 next year, hopefully I won't have the same issues!

So yes, Siri is a complete hoot and my friend and I have had hours of fun playing with her over the past few days. Nadia is convinced that poor Siri is just going to spontaneously combust due to our stupid questions and constant chatter with it! Anyhow, I haven't had any problems as such with the phone but today it did give me the wrong caller ID with it showing somebody's name and somebody completely different calling... Maybe Siri is getting back at me playing pranks? Who knows! I will update this post if that continues or if it was just a one off situation. Overall, the phone is great and since I'd managed my expectations on what the phone was and wasn't, I was quite pleased with it. Whether it is worth the upgrade over the iPhone 4 is entirely your call, whereas for me it was a no-brainer.

I decided to play some more with Siri and show her off to you guys, so check out the video below to be truly impressed. Additionally, here's a great post I found online on all the things Siri can respond to. But sadly enough, the thing I enjoy most is swearing at her... And yes, she comes up with different responses each time, which is why I continue! :) 

And if you're wondering how one can pass hours chatting with Siri, watch me and Nadia in all our silliness below! We tried convincing her that she was a boy (apparently Siri is genderless) and that her name was really Sebastian. I had another video with us going all out and asking her all sorts of random questions, but I deleted that one by mistake. Just as well!!! Skip the video unless you really have nothing to do (don't tell me I didn't warn you)...

Hope you enjoyed the review. For those upgrading from a 3GS or from another platform, check out my review of the iPhone 4 here which shows off FaceTime and  talks about the phone in general. 

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The iPhone 4S will be available in Jumbo stores very, very soon!

Essa @ Soiree!

In the past I've covered my dear friend, Mariya Kassam's store Soiree and its' events a few times, like for example the Umar Sayeed fashion show or the more recent Umar Sayeed Sadequain collection at DFW. I don't really like covering events though as a) I rarely go to any, b) there are a lot of other great blogs out there who do the job a lot better, and most importantly, c) once you cover one friends' event, you'll be expected to cover everyone's, whether you're in attendance or not. My friends know better now than to ask or to expect a post from me on their event... unless of course it's ultra fabulous and I would do a post regardless. The last week saw two such great events take place in the UAE.. One was a dinner with Carolina Herrera in Abu Dhabi (which will be my next post), and the other was Soiree's third anniversary which also saw the launch of the freshly designed boutique and the introduction of a new partnership with the fabulous designer Essa!!

Fans of the boutique Sauce would be very familiar with Essa's designs and I dare say he is one of the most popular local designers in the UAE. He's known for his funky take on classic Arabic attire, or the reverse, using "ghutra" fabric in some very quirky tops and dresses. Though born in the UAE, Essa's parents are of Indian origin, and so it was only natural for him to take his design expertise and launch his first Transnational collection... and it was just a natural fit for him to partner with Soiree to do just that. It was the first time I met the designer and although I've seen his pieces all over the place, I'd never actually owned any of them myself... I fell in love on both counts! Not only is he an absolute darling who is so full of life and energy (and one of the funniest people I've met in a long time), he is also such a fabulous designer and his creations are crazy whacky, and just SO much fun! While the store was absolutely packed and I didn't get to take too many pictures, here are some of my favourites that I snapped up. If you want some really funky, different pieces for Diwali and want to be the talk of the party (in a good way that is!) definitely check out his work, selling exclusively at Soiree.

The pictures were taken on my iPhone so you can't really tell these are NEON colours in the outfit! A very trendy take on a classic look

This is my favourite piece of the collection! I couldn't snap a picture of it properly, but it's gorgeous baby pink, elasticated at the waist with a full sequins inner skirt that shows through the bottom.

I fell in love with the prints on the kaftans! Here's the man himself holding the one I bought

There were many floor length flowy more traditional outfits as well... I loved this one on the mannequin 

Here's Mariya with Essa!

The event was organized by the fabulous Image Nation, and you can check out Red Velvet Nation's coverage of the event here to see what all the fashionistas at the event had on!
Also do go "like" Soiree's facebook page to be up to date on all the events of the store, here
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Why Steve Jobs' Death will have forever changed my Life

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life"... Famous words from what will go down in history as one of the most famous and inspiring speeches ever given.
I've already written my tribute to Steve Jobs that was published in the Gulf News, but while the world seems to have moved on and Indians everywhere are today mourning the death of music legend Jagjit Singh, Jobs' demise has affected me more than I thought possible. Every once in a while you get a wake up call that makes you examine your life and ask yourself what you want from it... Jobs' demise has done just that for me. It's made me ask myself whose life it is I am leading and what I want my legacy to be. You got all of that from the death of a person you've never even met? you may ask. Yes, I realize how cliche and almost tragic it sounds. As mentioned in my article, Jobs counted as one of the two men I'd always wanted to meet in my life. The irony keeps hitting me... he achieved all his dreams he possibly could in the short 56 years that he walked this earth. I didn't even try to realize my dream of meeting him.

Yes while Jobs was someone I'd never met I won't say it is completely a coincidence for me to be feeling this way considering my own Father passed away at the age of 56. In my article I wrote about a type of man whose DNA is predisposed for success and who doesn't quite fear the feeling of failure. Not to say they never experience it.. it's just that they understand that success is a journey and that you may run into a few ditches and potholes on the way to get to your final destination.. meanwhile knowing full well that they're on the path and are doing something to get there. My Late Father was often asked where he got the idea to name his company "Jumbo" and he'd tell the story of how he came to Dubai with a few hundred dollars in his bank account with a dream in his heart to build something great. He didn't know what it is he wanted to do, but he knew he wanted it to be the size of the Air India Jumbo jet that carried him. Now let me quickly clarify to fans of the "iCon" here, by no means am I trying to compare the two! I am merely drawing parallels between my two personal idols, and what they represent to me.

Incidentally, my Father was not really a fan of Apple products, and in one of my earliest blog posts, I've talked about his reluctance to buy me one of my first computers ever- An Apple PowerPC. To convince him I decided to try my hand at Photoshop to demonstrate to him what this fantastic little machine could do. Back then, using Photoshop and Freehand easily pretty much meant using a Mac to do it! A lot of convincing went into it, and I used a Mac to create this- My own "Think Different" ad!

And yes, at the end I was the owner of what was to be a never ending love affair- my very first Apple product! But I digress...

I wonder back to the past 11 years of my life since the year I graduated in 2000, and I wonder where the time has flown by. Jobs' death has probably had the complete opposite effect of what my Father's had on me, as while one made me try to figure out how I would survive the day in front of me trying to deal with an insurmountable loss, the other has me thinking about my future and what I want my legacy to be when I die. Over the past 11 years I've applied for an MFA in Creative Writing in New York twice, only to be wait listed twice and for me to have not been able to go. A novel that I started to work on two years back has been saved on my desktop screen and stares back at me each time I work on my computer, it's 3 incomplete chapters taunting me and begging for some attention. I always say I have a "no regrets policy" in life, but I have a feeling that if I don't give some serious thinking to what it is I was sent on God's green earth to do, that policy may soon change... and that is not how I want to live the rest of my life. (I always say that the worst thing somebody can be is stupid.. and the worst thing someone can have is regret.)

Having said that, one of my favourite quotes is from Paulo Coelho's books, The Alchemist - "Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You've got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense." I've always believed that to be so true for my life as I find everything comes a full circle and at the end, makes complete sense. It seems Jobs' believed in the same philosophy in life and talks about it greatly in his Stanford commencement speech and refers to it as "connecting the dots."But to find that clarity and come that full circle, one has to keep up with their end of the deal and do what they love- and it is that action of doing  that most people forget about.

I hope I've got you guys thinking if even for a moment about what it is you want to do with the rest of your life and what legacy it is you want to ultimately leave behind. If you want some food for thought, I URGE you to watch Steve Jobs Stanford commencement speech if you haven't already. If you have in the past, but haven't seen it recently, I think you will benefit greatly from watching it again. Knowing that the man in the video is no more and knowing the type of respect and idolization he received upon his death, only makes his words so much important to pay heed to.

Of all the amazing stories I've heard about Jobs (and if you search the internet, especially over the past few days, you'll find a countless number of them) is one that shows him at his most human. In a moving tribute, his friend Stephen Wolfram writes about visiting Steve at his NeXT offices-

I used to see Steve Jobs with some regularity in those days. One time I went to see him in NeXT’s swank new offices in Redwood City. I particularly wanted to talk to him about Mathematica as a computer language. He always preferred user interfaces to languages, but he was trying to be helpful. The conversation was going on, but he said he couldn’t go to dinner, and actually he was quite distracted, because he was going out on a date that evening—and he hadn’t been on a date for a long time. He explained that he’d just met the woman he was seeing a few days earlier, and was very nervous about his date. The Steve Jobs—so confident as a businessman and technologist—had melted away, and he was asking me—hardly a noted known authority on such things—about his date.
As it turned out, the date apparently worked out—and within 18 months the woman he met became his wife, and remained so until the end.

Here's to living a full life, leaving a great legacy, and finding your true love....
Thank You Mr Jobs for making me realize all 3 are possible... and that too in one lifetime!
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My tribute to Steve Jobs...

As carried by Gulf News today, on Page 44.

                                              Jobs, an action man driven by dreams
In our generation there are a few key moments and events that people will always remember where they were when they received news of a certain, usually tragic, event. News of Princess Diana's death and of the Twin Towers being hit are the two most obvious, and I dare say a lot of people will remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard about the demise of Steve Jobs.
My moment came when I was woken up by a text message by someone requesting a quote on Steve Jobs urgently for Gulf News. "In what respect?" I wrote back. Surely, I thought still half asleep, they meant they needed my reaction to the iPhone 4S that had made news just the day before. "Steve Jobs passed away and we need your reaction urgently please!" came the response.
Unfortunately, drafting a quote with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, trying to convey in a few words what this man whom I'd never met but yet had been such a guiding force in my life, is how I'll always remember the moment.
Logging on to Facebook and Twitter, I found a lot of others feeling the exact same sentiment. Almost everyone's status updates were about Jobs and the pages were littered with his quotes, especially the one from his famous commencement speech given at Stanford University. Many had changed their profile pictures and everyone spoke of him in the same way with the words "Creative genius", "game changer" and "Visionary" being thrown about a lot.
Cultural icon
Steve Jobs counted as one of the two people in the world I'd most have loved to meet (prolific writer Vikram Seth is the other). Moreover, as known to everyone who knows me, I'm a die-hard Apple fan and was a closeted one for many years before our business relationship with them became official. But yet, while Apple WAS Steve Jobs, to say that Steve Jobs was Apple will be totally missing the point about why a lot of people met the news of his passing with tears in their eyes. What makes the man one of the few (and quite possibly the only) businessmen in history to be looked upon as a cultural icon has, in my opinion, very little to do with Apple at all — it is about what Steve himself represents.
He single-handedly revolutionised not only the computing and animation industry, but gaming, music, the TV and movie industry, and with the iPad, set his eyes on the publishing world. I believe that there is a certain type of man out there for whom success is predisposed in their DNA as failure for them is just not an option.
I believe Jobs would have been a game changer in whatever he decided to do — luckily for us, it was technology innovation that most captured his interest.
Jobs used the slogan ‘Think Different' on Apple ads in the ‘90s, and I believe it was more his personal mantra that he incorporated in all aspects of his life, and continued to do so long after the company ditched the slogan. But to make him sound like a superhuman cartoon figure is also unfair, as Jobs was also quite the tough task master and I dare say we're going to see lots of stories and books over the next few months that claim to expose his darker side. His tyrannical demeanour with his staff is legendary, as was his short temper and sometimes outright arrogance. His Mercedes Benz without plates, usually parked in a handicap parking spot points to a man who also didn't think it important to bother with trivial things like laws. Or clothes apparently, as his now iconic Issey Miyake mock turtleneck, Levi's jeans and New Balance sneakers combo proves. But this Plutonic figure had little regard for the way others viewed him, and truly lived life on his own terms.
The singular most important reason that I've always idolised Steve Jobs is because, for me, he represents, no personifies, an idea that dreams do come true — his life is testament to that. He taught the world with his actions, not just with words, that one man can make a difference. Showed us that while sometimes plans go awry, we have to have faith and know that in the end, if we remain true to ourselves, things will work out OK — or as he put it, the "dots will connect". He was the embodiment of an idea of how a lot of us wish we could be — supremely intelligent, passionately focused with an incredible zest for life and living. No, Steve Jobs was not just Apple... He was so much more.
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To find the article on the Gulf News Website, click here

iPhone 4S and all other Apple announcements...

Wow.. So Tim Cook took the stage for the first time ever as CEO of Apple and delivered the Keynote speech for the "Lets talk iPhone" event taking place today. The iPhone has, as he announced, seen a year on year increase of a whopping 125%!!! Wowza! Well it's still only 5% of the mobile phone market, so there is lots of room to grow.
iOS 5 updates again-
-The new Operating System will have iMessage, which will allow messages to be sent between 2 iOS devices.
-Reminders are location based reminders that will clue you in to do certain tasks in certain areas as well as added Twitter integration all over the OS.
-Newsstand allows for periodicals to be downloaded straight on to the device in the background
- The Apple Camera will now have in-app editing
iOS5 will be available for free on October 12th!

image courtesy of gdgt

"Find my friends" allow me to track the location of family and friends on my iPhone. Cool and all, but I REALLY don't want my family or my friends knowing where the hell I am!!! That's like my worst nightmare come true!!

iTunes Match: Allows iTunes to match your current library in the cloud. Cool feature. Available "end of October" for $24.99

Updates on 2 iPods-

Some very cool clock faces that now officially lets the iPod Nano be used as a watch! It also has bigger icons and now built in support for Nike+
The iPod Touch is also available in White now and here are the prices for all of them-

And now... The iPhone 4S!! That's right guys, there is no iPhone 5.
- The iPhone 4S will have the A5 chip and will be 7 TIMES FASTER than the iPhone 4! That's nuts!
- Increased battery life with 8 hours of talk time in 3G.  Damn now I can't even lie and say that my phone died which is why people couldn't reach me with the "Find my Friend" feature (yes, I'm still emotionally scarred by that)
- Has some new system that allows for antenna switch to download and receive
-Download speeds that are twice as fast as the iPhone 4
- Now both CDMA and GSM!!!
- The camera looks amazing!! It has an 8 megapixel camera!! 30 percent more sharpness in image quality
- Records 1080p HD video recording.

And as I had predicted on Twitter earlier today, "Assistant" was the show stopper at the announcement today. The idea behind it being that you can TALK to your iPhone and have it talk back to you. Asking it whether you will need the umbrella today, what time it is in Paris, and what Greek restaurants are around Palo Alto will all have it speak back responses, and show you appropriate data matching with your question. I can't WAIT to see the video of the event to just see how well this actually works on the live demo on stage.
- If you receive a message while driving, just hold down the button on the headset and say "read my message" and Siri (the software) does so
- You can ask Siri how many days are left until Christmas and she replies
- Set up a wake up call
- Look up stock and weather data
And of course, here is the catch- Siri will only work on iPhone 4S and will need data connection to work
When asked, "Who are You?" Siri responds, "I am your humble Personal Assistant." Ha! Cute.

And although this doesn't quite apply to us, for those in America the above is what the pricing of the iPhone 4S will look like. It will be available in the US on all the big carriers as Sprint is now included as well.
And as Apple Japan had already confirmed to us, the iPhone 4S will be available on October 14th in 7 countries including the US, 22 more countries on October 28th, and 70 countries by the end of the year.
And no, the UAE didn't make the list of those 22 countries, hence, as of now, no fixed date is known for it's availability... YET.
Watch this space.
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