If you happen to be near a military base or reserve police facility, you might spot a flying object. Chances are, it is a drone being tested to ascertain if it can carry cameras, thermal sensors and image processors at a height of, say, 200 metres for commercial use. While commercial use may not be far off, testers believe that retail home delivery is still a tall order as the aerial vehicles cannot pinpoint addresses. For that matter, even army drones lack the ability to consistently hit targets. That said, the flying objects are a reality one has to come to terms with. According to aerospace research firm Teal Group, the size of the drone business globally is $89 billion. China has over 900 drone manufacturing companies, some of which can also add hardware to a drone. In the US, there are more than 200 drone companies manufacturing hardware, with over two dozen that can add services to complement the hardware. Features Of A Rs 2 Lakh Drone • 3 watt brushless motor• Radio frequency modules• Communication chips • Image-recognition chips (not payload)• Infra-red chips (not payload)• GPS module • 4G LTE to process data (optional)• Camera• Laptop for remote monitoring of drone*Payload is any other component other than flying componentIndia is doing its bit too. There are several pilots that are on currently. Only, none of them has perfected a business model as yet. After all, it is no simple business; and a lot more than a hobby involving a semi-professional kit with cameras. Waiting To Take Off Of the six drone startups in India that BW | Businessworld spoke to, Chennai-based Aira Futuristics has already shut shop, while the rest are waiting to see an uptick in their fortunes. Pritam Ashutosh Sahu was a student of aeronautical engineering at Anna University in Chennai in 2008 when he got interested in drones. A professor helped him secure an internship with the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore, in his second year. “After that, I hardly attended college. I spent months in NAL trying to build drone composites and electronics,” says Sahu, co-founder of Edall Systems in Bangalore. By the third year, Sahu and some of his classmates were interning full-time at NAL. Together, they built a drone with a wingspan of 10 feet, powered by a 3 watt brushless motor. Impressed, the college awarded them the first place in the college academic list. And Sahu was hired by NAL on a contract basis to work on aeronautical systems. In 2011, the entrepreneurial bug bit him, and he floated Edall Systems. It started off as a course provider and training ground for young engineers keen to learn how to build drones and other flying machines. “When we started, I wanted to share my experience at NAL with other students, so we tied up with several colleges,” says Sahu. The idea was to use the money from teaching to develop drone services. The company imports drones from China and adds additional hardware such as a camera, which can communicate with a command centre. While its business model is still sketchy — primarily an annual maintenance and service model, where analysis of the photographs taken will be a pay-as-you-go service — the company is banking on support from civil organisations and the police. So far, the founders have invested around Rs 30 lakh in the business. These drones cost less than Rs 5 lakh apiece and are available on a pre-order basis. All About The PlatformSingapore-based 21-year-old Pulkit Jaiswal, along with partner engineer Mark Yong, boasts of being able to deliver enterprise-grade drones. “We build a platform on top of the drone and add services. The hardware is commoditised,” says Jaiswal, co-founder of Garuda Robotics. Their drones are currently used to monitor large fields of solar installations. “The drones fly across cells daily and are able to use their cameras to detect any damage and the rate of damage to these panels,” says Jaiswal, who dropped out of an Ivy League college in the US to design such systems. According to him, it is the platform that is important — one where services can be addedBusiness Model 1•Assemble hobby drone to mount camera•Cost: Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh•Endurance: 20 minutes and up to 150 metres•Sell hardware and process images•3 watt brushless motor•Annual contracts or drones leased for camera shoots•Potential: No high impact. The business can be commoditised fasteron top of the software for any company or business. He says his drones — priced at over Rs 40 lakh each — can work on any new-generation network such as long-term evolution (LTE) and transfer data to a tablet or a smartphone. Garuda’s business model is quite unique — clients pay for the software and the data processing. It ships the entire drone to customers along with the battery and the charging stations. It then integrates the platform onto the drone with the help of a tablet or other device. The company is now in talks with mining and oil and gas companies. Jaiswal and Yong have managed to raise $ 1 million in angel funding. While their business is flourishing in Singapore, Jaiswal rules out drone services in India for the moment, citing the regulations that protect civilian airspace. Today, all drones need permission from the civil aviation ministry, except those that fly under 500 metres; the latter can be used without any permission to monitor sites and buildings. He, however, admits that the opportunity does exist. Running Into Turbulence Globally, players are pondering over the various functions that drones can serve. EasyJet in the UK is mulling the possibility of using drones to inspect flights before takeoff; French auto major Renault has built a concept called the Kwid, a drone assistant to cars that will help navigate through crowded streets and warn of potential threats. Wildlife protection agencies and farmers in the US are using drones to monitor large tracts of land without having to deploy manpower. A German startup called Skysense Hangar is devising applications to remotely charge drone batteries while in flight. In the US, many a startup is using avionics. A startup named DroneDeploy —which uses drones to photograph large tracts of land and wildlife in the US — raised $2million. Its drones can be controlled with a browser-based application. Business Model 2•Assemble full drone based on government and military specifications•Mount high resolution video camera•Cost of drone: Rs 50 lakh•Endurance: 5 hours and 1,000 metres•Remote battery charging•Data processing of images•Use of drone to identify damage•Use of drone for security and rescue•Integrate with tablets, laptops and servers•Reduce human intervention•Heavier batteries•Run on 170 watt brushless electric motors or petrol•Use: security, reconnaissance and citizen monitoring•Annual maintenance contracts and predictive maintenance services•Potential: Dependent on government orders and procurement policies; low risk because government needs drones for patrols•Payload: 15 kgOne company that is striving to take drones commercial in India is ideaForge — started by five graduates from IIT Bombay in 2008. It has started several pilots for forest departments and the police forces of some states. Co-founder Ankit Mehta believes their drones are state of the art because they are built from scratch and built to last. “We manufacture our own drones with applications specific to India,” he says. Mehta adds that ideaForge’s drones do not have semi-professional assembly kits. “We have serious data logging, image recognition and GPS sensors going into our drones,” he says. These drones — meant for government and semi-government agencies — are made to order and have a waiting period of three to four months. “We focus on the imagery part of the business; our system can detect humans from a thousand metres,” he adds. The journey so far has been far from easy for the founders of ideaForge . In the past three years, they have given 300 demonstrations and yet corporates and government bodies do not see any use for their drones. “The problem is the cost; these drones cost a minimum of Rs 25 lakh. The cost-benefit is what companies have not been able to determine when they use drones,” says Mehta. His team is, however, determined to survive the dry phase after having put each of the drones through a thousand hours of flying to test for battery life, communication range and wind resistance. The algorithms and services built into their products are what set them apart. They provide the entire hardware and maintenance of the software to the client on an annual basis. In 2008, Mehta and the other co-founders raised $250,000 as debt from the government-run Technology Development Board. They are now in the process of raising Rs 24 crore more. Sky’s The LimitIndian drone startups suffer from hardware and software complications as well as the lack of meaningful business execution. Cameras and image recognition are key areas of concern for them. For higher resolution pictures taken from a great distance, the cameras require a larger lens, a bigger motor, battery and sensors, making the drone more expensive. The payload or the weight other than core flying functions of the drone should not be more than 2 kg for a 2 ft covert drone used in police operations or for corporate surveillance. Add sensors and services, and the payload makes the drone unviable. Business Model 3•Import drone with hardware including video camera•Build software applications•Endurance: 5 hours and 500 metres (regulated)•Integrate with smart devices for data processing•Use apps to control drone•Build applications for corporate requirements•Cost: Rs 50 lakh•Use data collected on field for analytics•Reduce man hours on field•Used on production sites•High-end cameras used•Heavier batteries•Run on 170 watt brushless motors or on petrol•Potential: Dependent on corporate business-sharing model, high risk if businesses do not see potential•Payload: 5-10 kgHowever, the good thing is that image processing technology is fast catching up. Google-backed Skycatch has raised $13 million in order to bring high-resolution images to its clients. StitchCAM, another startup in the US, has created a sensor that can deliver high-resolution pictures from drone cameras. Working along similar lines are four Mumbai college graduates who started AirPix — it aims to resolve the problem of poor image resolution from drones. “Our product is not yet commercial as we are working on image sensors that can take pictures of a gradient and make 3D models,” says Aniket Tatipamula, co-founder of AirPix. He says the company, in association with a windmill farm, has managed to demonstrate how the blades of a windmill can be monitored using photographs sent by a drone. The company plans to create a business model around photography analysis, 3D modelling and annual maintenance contracts. There are other serious players in this business who work with the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the army on a regular basis. Tata Group’s Aurora Integrated Systems has been making drones for eight years now. It has two unmanned aerial vehicles that are already in commercial deployment. The company did not comment. According to Gartner Research, there is an enormous opportunity for semiconductor players such as Aeroflex, Xilinx, STMicroelectronics and Freescale (chipmakers) once restrictions on commercial drones are lifted. So the next time you jump a traffic signal, you may have a drone follow you and take a picture up close. We are, however, still a long way from drone retail delivery as the telemetry depends on the GPS signals received, and the drones are not a hundred per cent accurate in identifying specific houses. It is also far-fetched as no drone under six ft can travel 7-8 km from the warehouse to deliver the product. Even if it were to become possible in the future, the question remains: Can we trust the technology or the people behind the technology? Drone companies would like to believe that we should but right now they continue to struggle to crack the technology and business model conundrums. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 12-01-2015)
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Earlier this month Google released a report which stated that 49 per cent of the Android devices run on Android Jelly bean operating system while Android KitKat has made its way to 33.9 per cent of the devices. From the business point of view, both these figures are a good sign for the Mountain View company since these two OS' were released in 2012 and 2013 respectively and the rate of adaptation has been swift. However, the roll out of its latest offering, Android Lollipop 5.0, has been late (mid year roll out was the trend earlier) and on top of that, the early birds have started complaining. Google started rolling out the update in the last week of November and it hit the Indian shores in the first week of December. On receiving the push up notification, there was hardly anyone who didn't install the new OS. But what followed was a complete mayhem. The Android Lollipop update rolled out to the Nexus 4, Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 users is full of bugs. Loss Of Push Notification On Outlook EmailsIn Lollipop, Google has integrated the Outlook Emails with its own Gmail app. This means that the office email can now be accessed through Gmail. In a way this is supposed to be beneficial but the problem is that it is not working as intended. Users are reporting that they are not receiving push notifications. You have to manually go into the app and refresh. Camera App Comes CrashingAnother major issue which the users are facing is the camera app. Once you click multiple images at a single go, the app crashes with the message: sorry, the system had to close the app. Moreover, the image capturing time has increased by 0.5 to 1 second. This means you need to hold the Nexus phone still for more duration of time in order to capture a blur free image. The Battery DrainThe battery uptime has also witnessed a major drop. With a normal usage, the phones lasted well upto 7 - 8 hours earlier but now even 5 hours use is a daunting task! Seems like Google's much hyped Project Volta which replaced Dalvik in order to increase application performance and thus, the battery life has failed miserably. Connectivity IssuesThis issue is build specific and is more critical in Nexus 4 handsets. With the new update, the network reception and the voice quality, both have witnessed a drop. One needs to switch their phone to 2G network if they are in zones where 'Network Handshake' is not smooth. It would be wrong to state that the Android Lollipop 5.0 update has been a complete disaster. Users can now set up guest login and multiple user accounts which mitigates privacy concerns. Secondly, the last used applications are remembered even if you restart your smartphone. This comes in handy when the phone freezes during some activity and a restart is required. The Lollipop 5.1 update is expected in February and rumours are that its primary aim will be to address the above mentioned issues. A two month wait will be frustrating for the users who have already updated their device. If you have n't, wait and watch strategy is the best you can afford!
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Technology has dramatically altered almost every aspect of our lives for the better. It has improved work, play and transportation, specifically air travel, where the industry continues to improve and evolve with the proliferation of new technology. When you fly today, you're able to track the aircraft's progress along its flight path and order drinks from a touchscreen in the seat in front of you. Your pilot is able to see approaching weather long before it hits, land in the lowest visibility conditions and monitor all of the aircraft's diagnostics from the cockpit. But where else can technology improve flying? More wearable devices are coming out each year, with around 90 million expected to ship in 2014. By 2020, the wearables market is expected to grow to $5 billion to $10 billion. Although adoption is mostly limited to wearable fitness and health trackers at present, the market is poised to grow dramatically - and the time is right to look at new industries for wearables. One area that is ripe for research and development is using wearable technology, such as glasses, watches and more, to help passengers, flight attendants, maintenance personnel and others have a better experience aboard a plane. According to SITA's Air Transport World Passenger Survey, the majority of passengers (77 per cent) are comfortable with the use of wearable technology to help them on their trips. This comes as no surprise, because many travelers considered wearables to be just another personal electronic device. But even if wearables are used in a way that's not intrusive to a plane's operation or to other passengers, they must serve a purpose, not just exist for technology's sake. With this in mind, Honeywell set out to find an opportunity for wearable technology to assist our corporate flight attendant. During a work day, we followed how the flight attendant completed tasks, from pre-flight checks to landing and while in the air. We noticed how often the flight attendant's hands are full due to multitasking to get everything done on time. This is especially noticeable before takeoff while readying the plane for passengers. We saw Google Glass as a great wearable solution because it presents the information flight attendants need in a way that allows them to complete other tasks simultaneously while helping ease their workload. It would keep the attendant's hands free and not require a tablet or a phone to do the work needed to prepare the plane for flight. By focusing on the customer experience and rooting design and development in a customer's needs, wants, what we call the Honeywell User Experience, we created a Google Glass app that integrates with Honeywell's cabin management system. Together, they present key information within the flight attendant's field of vision: flight data, passenger status and weather updates, plus the ability to control everything from the window shades to the cabin temperature. The Google Glass app solves one specific problem for our flight attendant, but we're just beginning our work in wearables. We see other instances where hands-free operations could be useful, such as operating the cabin during turbulence while serving coffee, or when a maintenance professional is fixing an issue and needs to review instructions while holding tools. Wearable technology gives developers another tool to optimize the user experience. This goes hand in hand with the growing adoption of commercial electronics across the aviation industry. There's still much to discover and research. With the introduction of monocular, immersive, wrist-worn and fabric technology, users have new tools to optimize their day, and developers have new tools for designing a great cabin experience. This is the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we'll be doing to improve and modernize the flight experience through wearable technology.
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Ricoh India, a market leader in digital multifunction products, on Monday (15 December) unveiled its new series of Interactive Ultra Short Throw Projector. With this new launch Ricoh has expanded its business portfolio to Visual Communication Devices which includes Projectors, Interactive White Boards and Portable VC Solutions. Ricoh’s Ultra Short Throw projectors are a new advancement in the projection category which allows a bright and colorful big screen without managing the cables. A perfect combination of comfort, quality and latest technology, the new projector models – (basic) Ricoh PJWX4141, (network) PJWX4141N and (interactive) PJWX4141Ni are portable, light in weight and first of its kind to have a ‘Free Form Mirror’ projection. Designed specifically with high-class features, Ricoh’s Ultra Short Throw Projectors are unique as they are the only ‘Vertical’ projector that does not use an external mirror as many UST projectors do. PJ WX4141 is the first of its kind to have a ‘Free Form Mirror’, projection, and generates a high quality image from a distance of just 4 inches with high brightness (3300 ANSI lumens). This model has various other important features like 3D projection, auto keystone correction and background correction. Prashant Pandey Takes Over As Marketing Director, GSK GSK Consumer Healthcare India announced the appointment of Prashant Pandey as the Marketing Director. Prashant takes over from Jayant Singh who takes over as Vice President and General Manager of GSK Consumer Healthcare Brazil. The changes will come into effect from 01 February, 2015. A veteran at GSK, Prashant joined GSK CH India in 2008 as Marketing Head, Horlicks from JWT, where he spent many years in account planning & management. In his first assignment with GSK as Head, Horlicks, Prashant led several initiatives for driving accelerated growth on Base Horlicks and its different variants and extensions. In 2013, Prashant moved to his current role as Category Development Director, Family Nutrition ISC and set up and expanded the category team and drove innovation across the portfolio. In his new role Prashant will be a member of the India Leadership team, reporting to Zubair Ahmed, Managing Director, GSK Consumer Healthcare India. Commenting on the change, Zubair Ahmed, Managing Director, GSK Consumer Healthcare India said, “Jayant’s contribution to the Indian sub-continent business has been remarkable. I am sure he will drive similar levels of performance in his new role. I am also delighted to welcome Prashant. His vast knowledge of the company and functional expertise are sure to bring in new dimensions to the team. I wish him all success”, added Zubair Ahmed.Rajeev Goel Named As Leading Tech EntrepreneurPubMatic, the programmatic advertising platform company for leading publishers, on Monday announced its co-founder and CEO, Rajeev Goel, has been listed as one of 13 most inspiring techentrepreneur’s in CNBC-TV18’s ‘Young Turks’ book. “Young Turks, the TV show for the past 13 years has been the one stop for all things entrepreneurial in India. With our first book we want to empower India’s burgeoning start-up ecosystem and inspire young entrepreneurs with inside-out stories of how the business leaders featured in the book havepositively disruptedtheir individual areas of innovation,” said ShereenBhan, Co-Author, Young Turks and Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18. “Rajeev’s passion and commitment to growing PubMatic is a prime example of how an entrepreneur can build a truly successful start-up and shape a dynamic industry,'' added Syna Dehnugara, Co-Author and Producer at CNBC-TV18. Ashish Gupta, Managing Director at Helion Ventures, recognised PubMatic’s success as a software automation company on a hyper-growth trajectory. Gupta commented: “We are thrilled that Rajeev has been recognized by CNBC-TV 18. He is the pioneering force that has helped programmatic become a key driver of digital advertising. He has helped make PubMatic one of Helion’s most successful investments by virtue of being the worldwide leader in programmatic advertising. Dell Services Named Top 10 Outsourcing Service ProviderDell Services on Monday announced it has been named a Top 10 Outsourcing Service Provider by Information Services Group (ISG), a leading technology insight, market intelligence and advisory services company. Dell was among the leading providers in the “Big 10 Sourcing Standouts” category for the Americas region based on annual contract value (ACV) won over the last 12 months, according to the ISG Outsourcing Index. Now in its 48th consecutive quarter, the ISG Outsourcing Index provides an independent quarterly review of the latest sourcing industry data and trends for enterprises, service providers, analysts and the media. The demands on IT have never been greater with customers expected to drive efficiencies, manage legacy architectures plus empower the workforce and customers with the latest social, mobile, analytics and cloud technologies — all while providing the highest level of security. “The future of IT Services is about moving beyond costs savings to enabling business results through innovative, end-to-end solutions and services, “said Suresh Vaswani, President, Dell Services. “Dell Services is helping customers modernize and transform for the future while ensuring they get maximum value for their existing technology investments.” “Dell continues to establish itself as a leading and growing player in the global market for services, based on its volume of business in relation to other industry providers,” said Paul Reynolds, chief research officer of ISG. Slimmest Smartphone Vivo X5Max LaunchedAfter capturing the world’s largest smartphone market in China, global smartphone manufacturer vivo is all set to enter the India market with its Hi-Fi and Smart technology. All geared up to take the market by storm, vivo marks its India entry in style by launching the worlds slimmest smartphone, the X5Max along with four edgy and trendy smartphones targeted at the versatile Indian youth. On the launch, Shen Wei, Global CEO, vivo Mobile Communication Ltd said: “vivo focuses on creating products that combine beautiful design, professional acoustic fidelity as well as extreme video display in order to create a joyful experience for the young and trendy. We dare to pursue the ultimate and constantly build surprises in our products and we are excited to present our marquee products in India. vivo is derived from the responsibility, integrity and from the values we adhere. We insist on doing things right and dealing with the benefit balance well among all of our stakeholders including our customers, employees, business partners and shareholders; making people related to vivo, happy.” Said Jacky Liao, CEO, vivo Mobile India: “We have partnered with Viacom18, which has both young trendy target consumers and music feature in common with vivo. With our first batch of five smartphones, including the stunning X5Max, distribution network across most of the Indian states, our key focus is to continue our commitment to provide consumers with better products and services.” Win India Generates Over Rs 500 Crore Business With the rememberable closing of 8th edition of leading industrial trade fair WIN India 2014 organised by Hannover Messe at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on December 13, 2014 with participation of 150 companies included globally renowned brands like Godrej, Siemens, Jungheinrich, Rittal, Mistubishi, Lapp India, Titan Industries Ltd, Maini, ACE, Janatics, Delta Electronics India, Gefran, Connectwell and many more. Over 350 exhibitors from 27 countries participated in this fair with 5000+ products and future technology. This industrial trade fair from first day to last day people attracted by the Live demonstration of high speed production line using Quattro Robot by Titan and future technology of supermotion 2.0 by Festo in India. approx 9439 visitors visited from TATA Motors, Maruti, JCB, CLASS, Harley Davidson, Asian Paints, Hero Moto Corp, Bharat Electronic, BOSCH, Relience Lifesciences, New Holland, Dental Hydraulic, RPG group and many more to see and learn the advance and future technologies of International companies in the growth of Indian engineering & technical market. Indian market which is expecting the huge growth of worth Rs 500 crore (Approx) in business and support from international companies, and 8th edition of Win India will help to open the path of more job opportunity to fulfill Make in India concept. Mehul Shah, Managing Director, Hannover Milano Fairs India, said "We are grateful to present you the 8th edition of WIN India. I thank to all the exhibitor and visitors to make this show successful. Also our partners who supported us through out the show. Exhibitor got good inquiries to bring more new concepts, features, technologies and products in next edition. WIN India will help to promote domestic technologies in International Market.“ Ferrero Rocher's Fb App Golden Christmas LaunchedFerrero Rocher, the premium chocolate brand, has launched a new Facebook application “Golden Christmas” designed to add a sparkle to this year’s Christmas spirits. A user has to simply login to the Ferrero Rocher Facebook page, load the application and click on the sparkling Golden Christmas tree to participate and win exciting gifts. Golden Christmas App offers multiple engagement activities that will give users an opportunity to win a limited edition of 96 Golden Pralines Pyramid cone and many more Ferrero Rocher Gift hampers. The app is available till 25 December. Talking about the Digital Initiative for Christmas, Emanuele Fiordalisi, Marketing Vice-President, Ferrero India, states, “Christmas is truly a unique festival and known as the season of goodwill and celebrations. For making the festive moments golden, Ferrero Rocher is the perfect companion. The customer-engaging online games and prizes are aimed at spreading cheer this festive season. A merry and happy customer is what we aim for, and through this unique one-month long initiative we are going to assure that.”
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Corning on Thursday (11 December) officially introduced its latest offering: Gorilla Glass 4. This glass too has been aimed at what previous generations of Gorilla glass offered: minimising screen breakage from everyday drops. Corning claims that the new glass will provide two times better performance than any existing glass present in the market. Speaking at the launch, Amit Bansal, President, Corning Technologies, India, said, “We see significant potential for Gorilla Glass 4 in India and are frequently speaking to Indian OEMs to understand their requirements. It is one of the fastest growing consumer electronics markets in the world and it therefore makes perfect sense to equip manufactures here with the very best in cover glass technology.” Corning's scientists carried out hundreds of tests by replicating real world scenarios in labs. They dropped devices face down from one meter, such that the cover glass directly contacted a rough surface. After that they examined every case separately in detail. The results, according to Corning, were exemplary. In comparison to other glasses, the Gorilla Glass 4 survived up to 80 per cent of the times. “Corning Gorilla Glass has outperformed competing materials, such as soda-lime glass and other strengthened glass, since it was introduced in 2007, and we’re always innovating to push the limits of what glass can do,” said James Hollis, Director, Sales & Engineering, Gorilla Glass, Specialty Materials. As of now, Samsung Galaxy Alpha is the only phone in India which comes with the Gorilla Glass 4. The thing that should be noted that it is a premium device and not everyone can afford it. It will take the company atleast one more year to make Gorilla Glas 4 available in budget handsets around the world. Another thing worth noting is that even though Gorilla Glass is the latest technology from Corning, it is not 100 per cent shatter-proof. Moreover, you will still need to use a screen-guard on your phone in order to save the display from scratches. Seems like there are miles to go before we get that perfect smartphone which won't make our heart sink whenever we drop it!
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Dell, the world’s fastest-growing integrated IT company, on Wednesday (10 December) announced the launch of the Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme notebook and the Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme convertible notebooks in India, for customers who require sturdy machines for ruggedized work environments. The Dell Latitude Rugged Extreme devices are solutions which are designed keeping in mind the hazards faced by users who operate in extreme conditions such as dust, moisture, drops, vibration, extreme temperatures and other such conditions, in fields such as military service, manufacturing, construction, heavy industries etc. Latitude Rugged Extreme notebooks are independently tested to military standards including drops up to six feet, as well as ingress protection, emissions and hazardous materials certifications by a third-party testing facility. Dell provides the tools, users need to stay productive and work efficiently in all conditions. Apart from enabling technological capability in any condition, the devices are feature packed with durable pogo-pin docking, a customizable RGB keyboard, native serial ports, a privacy shutter on the webcam and stealth mode. These devices also enable connectivity with a blazing performance from power-efficient fourth-generation Intel processors, 802.11ac wireless3, available mobile broadband4 and discrete GPS. Commenting at the launch, Indrajit Belgundi, Director & General Manager, End User Computing, Dell India said, “The Dell Latitude Rugged devices are a game changer when it comes to servicing the needs of a highly intense job, being carried out in difficult conditions. With the introduction of these unique products, we believe that many industries in India can benefit from a niche technology that has been built for their business. The Dell Latitude Rugged Extreme devices offer end to end computing functions with the added assurance of protection and sturdiness in hazardous environments, be it for military services, Oil & Gas sector, the government, manufacturing or construction." Win India: World Of Industry 2014 Fair CommencesIndia's biggest industrial trade fare "Win India: World of Industry 2014" was inaugurated by G.M. Sideshwara, Minister of state for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises at Pragati Maidan on Wednesday. The four day fair is the umbrella for four trade fairs – MDA India, Industrial Automation India, CeMAT India and Surface Technology India. This platform shall also witness exploring opportunities from across the globe to network with the business communities and provide exposure to attract large numbers of Industrial players to introduce global technology manufacturers providing solutions for Process Automation, Hydraulic and Pneumatic solutions, material handling and warehousing solutions at one location Win India 2014. The fair will witness participation from the likes of Godrej, Siemens, jungheinrich, Festo, Rittal, Mistubishi, lapp, Titan, Maini, ACE, Janatics, Delta Electronics India, Gefran, Connectwell and many more. Toshiba Launches Windows Based Tablets In India Toshiba India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, Japan, a global leader in innovation and cutting edge technology, today announced the India launch of its much awaited Windows 8.1 Tablet ‘WT-8’, powered by Intel Atom Processor Z3735G. The WT-8 tablet offers productivity, performance and portability in a thinner and distinguished lighter design. The WT-8 will be available to the Indian customers exclusively on one of India’s largest e-commerce portal, Amazon.in, starting 10th December 2014 at a price of Rs 15,490/- Available in 20.32 cm screen size, WT-8 comes equipped with stunning visuals on a bright HD (1280x800) 10-point multi-touch display, superior sound through Dolby Digital Plus and preloaded with apps like Xbox Music and Video, Kindle Reader, Skype and a one year subscription to Office 365, the WT-8 is ready for productivity and entertainment right out of the box. Jakson Bags 110Cr MEP Contract From DMRCJakson Group, India’s leading power solutions company has won order worth Rs 110 crore from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to execute MEP work under Phase I of Kochi Metro Rail Project. As part of the turnkey contract, Jakson will undertake supply, installation, testing & commissioning of E&M, Fire Detection & Fire Suppression systems including DG Sets for 22 Elevated Metro Stations of Aluva – Petta line spanning 22.25 km and Muttom Depot. Scope of work mainly consist of SITC of Switchgear Panel, Distribution Panel, Cabling, Indoor Lighting / Fans, Protective Earthing, External Lighting, UPS / Inverter System, Air Conditioning, DG Set, Fire Alarm & Annunciation System, Fire Hydrant System, Sprinkler System, Panel Flooding Tube System, EOT Cranes, Air Compressor & 1600 KWp Roof top Solar System.The execution work on the first phase of this project has started and is expected to be complete by June, 2016. Sameer Gupta, MD, Jakson Group, said, “It is heartening to see our efforts bear fruit and underlines Jakson’s commitment to quality and ability to deliver projects in a time bound manner. The DMRC order was won due to the untiring efforts of our power solution and distribution team amid stiff competition. This win will only encourage us to do better and we are confident of getting more such orders for metro projects from across the country.” IKEA to ‘Make More In India’Taking forward its commitment to the Indian market, IKEA, theglobal home furnishings leader, announced a new initiative - ‘Make More in India’. The initiative isaimed at potential suppliers and toexpandIKEA’s supplier base as well as the categories of home furnishing productssourced in India. IKEA on Wednesday sources for EUR 315 million and plans to double the sourcing by 2020. Speaking about the new initiative, Sandeep Sanan, Head of Sourcing, IKEA South Asia said, “We believe there is tremendous potential in India. We are looking for new supplierswho share our vision and values, are willing to grow with us and become world class suppliers. We believe that many suppliers will come from other segments who are looking to diversify their business.”IKEA today has 48 suppliers in India with 45,000 direct employees and about 400,000 people in its extended supply chain. As part of the ‘Make More in India’ initiative, IKEA India will conducttwo seminars - in Mumbai (16 January) and in Bangalore (23 January), where more than 100 new potential suppliers are likely to participate. The seminars will focus on enrolling new suppliers in existing categories like textiles and rugs; as well as for new home furnishing categories like furniture, mattresses, and sustainable materials like bamboo and acacia; and also growing suppliers for categories like metal, plastics, and lighting. Jet Airways American Express Corporate Card LaunchedJet Airways and American Express on Wednesday announced the launch of the Jet Airways American Express Corporate Card. The co-branded Card will help small & mid-sized companies and their executives save substantially on business travel and entertainment expenses. In an environment where corporate India is poised for economic expansion and business travel is likely to increase, the Card could be a significant driver of savings, which are earned in the form of JPMiles and corporate rebates on Taj Group of Hotels. American Express President, South Asia, Sanjay Rishi said, “Many companies may not realize it, but business travel and entertainment are among the top controllable expenses in an organization. This new product in partnership with Jet Airways delivers savings on this key expense line. Since this segment doesn't enjoy bulk deal privileges on airline and hotel spending, the Jet Airways American Express Corporate Card saves both time and money, allowing companies more time to focus on their core business. This is the only corporate card program in India that offers both company and individual Card members rewards in the form of JPMiles, combined with the convenience of streamlining the way companies manage their business expenses.”
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Next time your car breaks down or you want a quick service then just use your smartphone app to do the work for you. Tata Motors is changing the way its consumers service their cars. Its senior management is in advanced talks with Tata Group company, TCS - the IT Services giant, to design an app or several apps to let consumers connect with their dealerships for service centres. If this app comes through then 500 dealerships and 1,000 odd service points will be connected on the app. The data generated will be used to improve the perception of the brand, change customer service in dealerships and finally to increase stickiness of consumers when they replace their vehicles. This is completely possible as Tata Motors is armed with a $3 billion war chest that will launch at least 8 cars by 2020."While we are looking at different ways of engagement, it is important that we deliver impeccable if the app gets launched," says Mayank Pareek, President of Passenger Cars at Tata Motors. "We cannot falter because using mobile technology allows consumers to demand quick service," says Pareek.Recently Tata Motors launched the sedan Zest and unveiled the product as part of its HorizonNext strategy, which aims to rejig brand Tata Motors. As part of this strategy, it has already revamped 150 odd dealerships where dealer associates use tablets and kiosks to connect customers with the brand. Is the competition doing something similar? Not yet. Indian OEMs have not been able to control their brands at the dealership end and have left it to the dealerships to maintain the service element of the brand. This is where it has hurt most OEMs other than Toyota, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. Strangely enough some dealers have launched their own apps to be ahead of the game. Pratham Motors in Bangalore, Renault Karnavatti and Kataria Automobile in Gujarat have launched apps for their dealerships. However, the complexity arises in connecting the dots of all the dealerships, across the country, and using this data intelligently to connect with customers. Some call this big data, in simple sense it is only analytics. The complexity arises when you begin using data from the app to target customers uniquely. There are close to 3,200 passenger car dealerships in India with close to 5,000 service touch points. It can benefit even manufacturing facilities when data is used effectively from the consumer end."This data can allow engineering teams to understand next product iterations on a real time basis," says Timothy Leverton, President and Head advanced and product engineering at Tata Motors. "We need to go execute these mega trends arising because of smart phones."While Tata Motors is making all the fast moves; hopefully it sets a precedent for other auto companies to follow suit.vishal@businessworld.invishalskrishna@gmail.com
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You know how it is when a dog-person and a cat-person start arguing? You can bet the one with the louder voice will shut the other up, but that aside, there’s no winning the argument on which is the better species. It’s much the same with the iPhone and the Android brigade. I mostly solve the whole problem by leaving the room, but at present, I have no less than eight giant phones around me and can’t help but look afresh at the stark contrast between two of these — the iPhone 6 Plus and the OnePlus One. But we start with something that’s common between the two: size. They’re both in the 5.5-inch display category. It’s funny, but Steve Jobs wouldn’t have been one bit amused at seeing an iPhone this big, a fact that Samsung is poking fun at in ads that quote Jobs saying no one would buy a big phone. Well, they are, though less than the iPhone 6. But for once, my heart doesn’t skip a beat at the way an Apple device looks. From the front, it looks like Samsung’s phones used to. From the back, it’s still all Apple. On the sides, it’s very rounded, losing the flat glassy look that used to get me every time. The edges are so smooth that it’s phenomenally easy for this expensive device to slip silkily out of your hand and land on the ground where God knows what will happen to it. The phone is a very solid build — a little too solid and unwieldy — but overall, design is not in its favour this time. The OnePlus One is also big, but slim, light, with a curved back made of some interesting soft but tough material. Gripping the phone is very easy and the texture on the back prevents it from slipping out of your hand. It’s a well designed smartphone with good ergonomics. Placing these two smartphones side by side, I think of how they’re at opposite poles with different philosophies. It’s iOS versus Android, of course, but more so in this case because the OnePlus One is a Cyanogen Mod Android phone, more open to customisation than ever. The iPhone 6 Plus may be a phablet but compared with an Android and specially the OnePlus One, you can do little to change the way it looks and behaves. With the OnePlus One you can tinker with just about everything — lock screen, themes, buttons, icons, not to mention many functions and apps that won’t even work on regular Android phones. No two OnePlus One phones will look the same on the inside. By default, this also means simplicity versus complexity. The OnePlus One is full of settings, some of which nestle in unexpected places, replete with capabilities you must figure out how to enable. The OnePlus people have a guide for those whom they’re encouraging to switch from the iOS camp, but that should be a niche group as one of the things Apple users like about their beloved iPhones is the sheer it-just-works simplicity. Apple serves up a predictable, consistent, smooth experience (unless something goes wrong with one of the updates) and that’s something that lets devoted users get on with doing whatever else they want to do. Android users include those who want to max out on their smartphones’ capabilities, use it to the hilt, and make their own experiences irrespective of whether everything is perfect or wanting. They neither mind the complexity nor the involvement the device demands. The OnePlus One doesn’t always work smoothly, but for the most part it does and it gets updates to fix things or add to capabilities. Because things change often, it’s the Apple App Store that really has the better designed and behaved apps. The App Store remains one of the strongest assets of the Apple ecosystem, but the gap is closing. Interestingly, news preceding the OnePlus launch is that the device may not get the biggest updates of them all — the forthcoming versions of Android. Another fascinating philosophical difference between the cat and dog here is the focus on specs. Apple doesn’t even spell out the specs of its phones and tablets. In terms of RAM, camera and screen resolution, most flagship Android phones are ahead, as is the OnePlus One. But intriguingly, the iPhone 6 Plus, as with other iPhones, does great with whatever specs it has and as a user you’re not supposed to bother with them. The camera has consistently produced great pictures and sparked off hundreds of photo apps and “iPhoneography” networks like Instagram. On the hardware front, the iPhone has the fingerprint sensor and barometer and is hearing-aid compatible. Not the OnePlus One. This, on the other hand, has a whole lot of RAM and other high-end specs. Android users want the works; Apple users want it to work. Despite the long queues for an iPhone, all of its variants are staggeringly expensive. Apple doesn’t care and sells with high margins to those willing to pay the amount. OnePlus One is distributed through an invite system. It’s going to have a mid-range price, but nowhere near the iPhone’s. OnePlus’s marketing urges users to stop settling and go instead for the “flagship killer”. I suppose we’ll have to see how that pans out. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 29-12-2014)
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