A colourless berry

Blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, gooseberry, cranberry (not the zombie), cloudberry, boysenberry, huckleberry (no mark twain here..) … enough of the list. But the one which is making rounds across the globe is the Blackberry - not the berry of Waterloo, England but the berry of Waterloo, Canada. RIM (Research in Motion) the makers of the berry started, I should say in the golden year of the 20th century (some will appreciate this...) as a two way paging system for quickly sending and receiving mails over the corporate network. Initially, not many accepted so that's why it was even nick named 'crackberry', may be only cracks used then..no offense here.

So in 1999, the smart phone for the smart people evolved and now BB holds 21% share in the worldwide smart phone market. Thanks to their USP, engineering, technology, creativity what not...they became the most sort phone among business men throwing away the likes of Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and so on. BB eventually became the market leader for its robust encryption, compatibility with all bands, push mail service across the globe, remote erasing of data and a clear demarcation between corporate and private mail boxes.

Come 26/7 the world witnessed one of the most gruesome battle in par with Fahrenheit 9/11. The Mumbai attack brought about a series of wake up calls to the Indian government, who found the majority of the communication has happened using satellite phones and BB. So, what do we do..we pressurize RIM to give access to the mails sent using BES and BIS and in readable format. The simple question to RIM, when access is given to KGB (Russia) and MSS (China) why not for us. So, the list is on, countries like Lebanon, Algeria, UAE have asked RIM for the same.

BB works on their own privately held encryption mechanism where in any data which passes from your mailbox to RIM servers (only in Canada.. that's the main issue) and from there to your hand held device is completely encrypted and which is fool proof. They use the best hashing mechanism in the market. The catch here, BB claim that end user gets to decide and define their private key and BB does not have any control nor does it have a master key which can decrypt it. Its a well known fact that in the world of security nothing is impossible, time is the only constraint. CIA uses the same to espionage on any traffic between the servers and devices.

Whether RIM comes up with Storm, Torch or Light or for that matter anything they have to address this pressing problem which will eventually manifold. The list of countries who threaten to stop the service is small now but the list can grow unless RIM comes with a well defined solution.
I have my doubts though, say if BB is banned in India, is it the only way terrorist communicate.. How about using a common mail id where I save the mail in drafts for the other person to read.. only when I send a mail, encryption, stealth, man in the middle, government, everything comes...

Anyways we have to wait to see if the berry is going to lose its colour or not....

Should the cricketers vote or play IPL?

This is one question which has been lingering my mind ever since this tug of war started. Though the dates of IPL have been finalized well in hand before the Election Commission came out with their dates, moving the league out of the country may have some serious repercussions. Mr. Lalit Modi, one man for whom its money which he cares about than (don’t want to use abusive language in my blog..!!!). Thanks to the March incident in Pakistan, where the Sri Lankan team was attacked, any Government will try to add additional security for cricket being played in the sub – continent. And the Indian Government was no exception, but since elections are a top priority they had to compromise.

Now coming back to the topic, moving the IPL out of the country is decent enough and I don’t care a dam whether it’s played in India or outside. As Bernard Shaw says, “11 Fools are playing and 11000 Fools are watching”, except for the 11000 changing to 11Trillion, nothing else has. Voting to elect a Government if not a fundamental duty at least comes in the purview of a common man’s duty. And I seriously don’t think the cricketers are no exception to this. Mr. Modi backed largely by BCCI has come up with a bold decision of moving the IPL out of the country, or else he would make a huge personal loss, we all know how much he gained during the first season.

On one side, we have Mr. Amir Khan campaigning and asking for people to come out and vote and here we have our Mr. Modi playing a different game all together. My point here is, let the IPL be moved to a different country but what happens to the voters. To my knowledge there is no rule stating that cricketers are exempted from voting.

All things said and done, India is a democratic country and anyone can do anything they want.

My friend...

This is a short poetry on a school friend of mine, though we came to know about it later. Its for you vinita............

My Friend “Vinita”

If silence is a religion, she is the God
If moon is a star, she is the sun
If beauty is skin deep, she is a fairy
If life is sweet, she has to be a part of it
That’s in short about my friend ‘Vinita’


If forgetting is a habit, she is at the top
If forgiving is divine, she is sure to bestow it
If laziness is a biggest enemy, she is your best companion
If talking is a sin, she has nothing to do with it
That’s in short about my friend ‘Vinita’


If darling is a word, she is a delicate darling
If friendship is trust, she is trustworthy
If eating is a problem, she is the greatest chef
If attitude is everything, she has everything
That’s in short about my friend ‘Vinita’


And finally, If words are short to express, she is a thesaurus
If yesterday is history, she is the future.

“ALL THE VERY BEST FOR A WONDERFUL FUTURE”

This in short about my friend ‘Vinita’

Thank you Felipe..!!

Interlagos, the final race of the 2008 Formula 1 calendar saw one of the most dramatic finishes in recent times. Seriously, all die hard fans of Ferrari (me no exception...!) had a bit of tear to tickle during the closing stages. Thanks greatly to one man, Timo Glock of Toyota.

The weekend started perfectly for Ferrari and Felipe, was fastest in both the practice sessions and made a stunning perfect lap to clinch pole for the grand finale. Lewis, on the other hand was fourth fastest with Trulli and Kimi in between. Felipe had to finish at the top to win the title and Lewis had to finish anywhere between first and fifth place. The race started with a bit of drama when the formation lap was delayed by 10minutes due to sudden downpour. This resulted in drama as to which tyres the teams will choose, but thankfully the rain stopped. The first corner, as usual had some action with Nelson and David (who was on his last season.), he eventually had to end his final race without even completing a lap.

The race was just perfect for Felipe; he got the pole and lead the race from start to finish. Because of the rain, Trulli had to lose places which eventually got Fernando in second, Renault doing a sheer brilliance in the second half of the calendar. It was just perfect, till lap 67 when the rain gods showed up again and the pits became active, Kimi went into the pits ahead of his teammate a gamble which surely favored Felipe, and he came in subsequently in his next lap and managed to come out still leading the race.

Now, the action begins, the order is Felipe, followed by Fernando, Kimi, Glock, Lewis and Vittel. So technically, if in this order they finish, Lewis will win the championship by 1 point. But the drama started in the penultimate lap, Vittel overtook Lewis, thanks to Kubica the black marker and the crowd erupted because if Vittel finished ahead of Lewis then both Massa and Lewis will be tied at 97 points but since Felipe had won more races this year he will win the championship. And it seemed this will how it will finish, but this is where Formula 1 becomes highly unpredictable, the Toyota driver Timo Glock ran out of fuel and who was running fourth started cruising and by mere 100m to the finish line Lewis overtook him to take him to fifth and thereby winning the championship. The race couldn’t have got more spectacular than this.

Felipe was is all tears, but the McLaren camp was overjoyed, after Mika Hakkinen this is their first Formula 1 drivers championship and thereby Lewis Hamilton becomes the youngest racer in the Formula 1 history to win the drivers title. The constructor title went to Ferrari, no gifts for guessing that.

Come 2009, Albert Park will be roaring and the rivalry between Felipe and Lewis will reach to higher levels. So, another 4 months before the rivalry begins once again.

On the whole a dramatic season with an even dramatic finish. Congrats to Lewis, sorry for Felipe.

IPL vs. EPL

EPL or English Premiere League is arguably one of the most watched league, much more than a world cup match. The reason it is star studded, when Manchester United play either Chelsea or Arsenal the viewership is more compared to a match between England and Spain. The reason for bringing Spain in the picture would be La Liga league which is equally matched to the EPL with the likes of Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and so on…. and where huge money is involved.

After both EPL & La Liga gained much popularity neither of them have won a world cup. The last time England one a World Cup was way back in 1966 and Spain has never won the FIFA cup. But all the hyped players play in either one of the leagues.

So where is IPL – the Indian version of the famous English County heading to? All these years it has been soccer where players are purchased (underline) by the league teams and now this has gripped the BCCI – without doubt the richest board, much richer than ICC. Ever heard, "Mahendra Singh Dhoni was purchased in the auction by Chennai Kings", so is the Football fever catching cricket..??

One thing which I seriously cannot understand, how can a human be auctioned..??
So is this their value…?? Sounds weird… One of the main reason for forming IPL – actually I don't know the exact reason but it revolves around money.

Come April when the IPL kicks off….lot of fanfare is expected in this cricket frenzy country when all the top international players battle it out.

Australia (Perth vs Melbourne)

Cricket, Tennis, Rugby.... name it and Aussies are in it. First let’s talk about cricket and the recently concluded 3rd test between India and Australia. Good thing India won the test in 4days and thereby has a chance of drawing the series which Aus. lead 2 - 1 thanks largely to the Sydney test. I would like to appreciate the Indian team for the success, truly a great victory. Not many teams have been able to win in Perth but India managed it and it was not by any means luck; they fought the game fairly and dominated each session on all 4 days. On the whole a great victory for the Indians.

On Saturday I also watched one of the greatest tennis matches in recent times. It’s the Australian open 3rd round between world no.1 Roger Fedrer and world no.49 Janko Tipsarevic. From the start Fedrer was not in good shape both his volleys and movement on the baseline, in simple terms he struggled. A few days back Marat Safin after his loss, told the press that Fedrer was in good shape and in sure contention for his 13th Grand Slam title and I started to wonder whether this match is going to be the greatest upset of the first grand slam of the year. Tipsarevic aged 23 put up a real great fight and Fedrer was clueless of his serve and made the world no.1 struggle for most of the points. Tipsarevic had a better percentage record when compared to Fedrer in 5 setters but the world no.1 proved why he is the best by winning crucial points at the right moment to clinch a place in the 4th round. Truly, this has to be one of the greatest matches of Australian Open 2008. In the post press conference Fedrer acknowledged Tipsarevic by saying it would be nice if some matches ended in draw but in tennis you don’t have it.

Take a bow Janko Tipsarevic.

Down Under Blues...

When Anil Kumble took over as the new captain of the Indian team he would have never expected these kind of problems would crop up but this is not something new for the Indian team. The controversy over the umpiring decision in the recently concluded 2nd test between India and Australia has raised many eye brows.

Steve Bucknor and Indian team are very good pals and especially Sachin Tendulkar, who has been declared out in the most bizarre ways. If my memory is right, McGrath was bowling to Tendulkar who tried ducking a short ball and fortunately or unfortunately the ball did not bounce and hit him on the helmet, as always the whole of the Australian team went up and Mr.Bucknor declared him out and it went into the record books as LBW (Leg Before Wicket). Can you imagine, the ball hitting the helmet and you are declared LBW. And Mr.Bucknor is regarded as the ICC panel's elite umpire, I wonder how they came to this sort of conclusion.

During Australia's previous tour of India, former captain Rahul Dravid hit a ball and it was caught brilliantly by Michael Slater but after the ball bounced off the ground and he was declared not out. No one could imagine what happened next, Slater came and bombarded Dravid saying you should leave if you are out and not wait for umpire decision and it’s the same Australians who talk this nonsense when Symonds should have walked out. In fact he gave a statement after the match saying he gives credit to the bowler. What sort of sportsmanship is this?

Sourav Ganguly caught by Clarke when replays clearly show that the ball bounced of the ground, umpiring at its best. Dravid caught behind when the ball clearly flips the pad. Mark Benson (England) another officiating umpire can hear all this but not when Ponting nicked one to Dhoni and neither did he hear the Symonds issue.

The true spirit of the game, where the hell has it gone maybe when you play Australia in Australia you should leave all the spirits and all the sportsmanship. There were previous instances of ball tampering, does any of you know 'Cricket Australia' is known for changing balls in the course of the game... hey... come on that's not ball tampering... they are just changing balls... but aren’t the umpires only supposed to do this.

This is Australia at its best, playing and winning at regular intervals. If they think they cannot play against a particular bowler then don’t worry they will accuse the bowler for chucking, racial discrimination (we all know what sort of person is Andrew Symonds..!!)

The ICC is always mum when some issue crops up with the Indian team, may be all the big heads can answer this. And the BCCI for their part, "we have made a strong protest with the ICC", hell with it... why can't you cancel the series and ask the team to return. This is not something new for the Indian team, every time the team tours Australia something or the other keeps cropping up. And Mr.Ponting gives a press meet saying, "Don’t question my integrity" - all I have to say is none of you people play with the right spirit of the game.

Till 1992 world cup South Africa was banned from playing International Cricket, maybe Australia too needs a treatment like this.

Till then Happy Cricketing - Cricket Australia

Indian Railway System

History states that it was the British who brought about the railway system in India. I still feel that they have done good things to our country may be a margin less. If at all my granddad was alive and reading this post he will give me 1001 reasons as to why we should be an independent nation. Unfortunately he died on January 1, 2005 we miss u thatha… He was a freedom fighter and he ran away from home at the age of 16 years. That’s how much was the impact of freedom movement during those period.

Coming back to the topic, the railway system in India is tremendous keeping in mind the landscape and population size of the country. To cater to a population of this size is not an easy task and people move from one corner to another corner of the country.

Recently I had the privilege of making a long journey in train from Howrah to Bangalore. It took me close to 34 hours to complete the journey and I should say it was an experience of a kind. The trains in India run at an average speed of 90 km to 100 km per hour and that’s far far slow compared to other countries of the world. And every year there is competition between TGV and Bullet train and if my memory is right I think its TGV who are ahead at around 500 km ph. The tracks in India need to be modified so as to take the speed. Maybe this is the area which the department needs to have a serious thought on there by reducing the travelling time. With absolutely no entertainment and no plug point to charge my laptop I was left gazing at the scenic beauty outside.

Coming to the aspect of food in trains, I would say its far better than how it used to be 10 years ago but still a lot of improvement needs to be done especially with regards to hygiene factors.

I was literally killing my time during my entire journey thanks firstly to the aviation department which is another big story. So I sat down to write this post as I was left with no other option and my blog also desperately needs posts.

Give away of the day...!!

I was actually searching for an encryption software on the internet and accidently got hold of this site, this is probably one of its kind atleast till now. The name of the web site is http://www.giveawayoftheday.com as the name describes they give one licensed software free everyday which otherwise you have to pay. I wonder how they actually manage to do this but as long as it serves the purpose am not going to ask the question.

They also give one licensed game software also everyday. Should sounds great for all those game freaks out there.

But seriously speaking I just loved the site for what its offering. So people just log onto the site everyday, you never know the software or the game which you desperately needed might be on the stands and that too free of cost.

Jab we met

This was the movie which i co incidentally happened to see last night. I was so bored and didn't know what to do so watched the movie. One of my friend said the movie is good, so Jab it happened.. I should say the movie was worth a watch for 3 reasons first i could spend my time, next it made me laugh and finally it had an happy ending. I don't want to explain in detail about the story but its a typical bollywood movie and the centre theme is obviously Love. Kareena Kapoor has put on a good show and her non stop blabbering reminds me of a friend by name vinita who is exactly like her. Songs are good especially the music, i dunno who scored it but its peppy. If u are looking for something on the story line, please don't watch the movie as the story is not that very great.

On the whole a good movie and i would rate it 5.5 on 10 as its a good time pass.

September till November

I haven’t actually posted anything on my blog but have been visiting the page regularly to write something and after adding bits and pieces every other day my final post is ready. Travelling is the reason y I haven’t been able to write. The second half of the year has been really great for me and traveling to different parts. F

First on the list was Chandigargh (Northern Part of India) where my stay was for close to 2 weeks.
Chandigargh – India’s first planned city and to say its actually well planned be it the roads or the buildings. Its neatly cut out. Lots of greenery and good people. And food – Punjabi food I don’t have to tell anything. During the course of my stay I had the opportunity to visit Jalander and Amritsar. My stop was at first in Amritsar – Golden Temple early morning at 4 am. And it’s a paradise on earth.. wat a mind boggling structure made out of 500 kg of Gold, I didn’t know much about the custom and tradition but really enjoyed the way things are done. Later the evening went to the famous Wagha border (now known as Atari) and witnessed one of the most beautiful sights. Indian and Pakistani soldiers showed their true class and power.

On the whole a memorable experience.

October saw my first trip to China – where the east meets the west. I stayed in the capital Beijing for nearly 3 weeks and witnessed one of the best be it food, people or infrastructure. China is easily 30 times developed than India and at the rate they are going I dunno who can stop them may be its language which will stop them. I also happened to visit Chengdu another beautiful place – voted as the best tourist spot. During my stay in Beijing got a chance to visit one of the 7 wonders of the world The Great Wall and am thrilled, happy name the word and I am really over joyed. I also visited the Summer Palace, Tianmen Square (The fmous studen revolution took place there) and Temple of Heaven. All beautiful places and well maintained. Love Beijing and didnt feel like leaving the place. I miss Beijing.

So this is the reason why I haven't been writing. Let me work out on a good post soon.

India win Twenty20 World Cup

India are ICC Twenty-20 World Cup Cricket Champions!!!

India have beaten Pakistan by just five runs to lift the first Twenty20 cricket World Cup - their first major trophy since 1983!
India won the toss to bat first and Gautam Gambhir soon knocked up 75 runs to help his side reach 157-5.
Pakistan started well in response, but Irfan Pathan and Rudra Pratap Singh took three wickets each to see them end on 152 all out in the final over.
India had only played one Twenty20 game before the start of the tournament.
Shahid Afridi has declared "Player of the Tournament" and Irfan Pathan as "Man of the Match"

Well, truely a memorable day for all Indians.

Chak de India!!

Amazing Truth

The Most Selfish " 1 " letter word
" I " ---> Avoid It

The Most Satisfying " 2 " letter word
" We " ---> Use It

The Most Poisonous " 3 " letter word
" Ego" ---> Kill It

The Most Used " 4 " letter word
" LOVE " --> Value It

The Pleasing " 5 " letter word
" SMILE " --> Keep It

The Fastest Spreading " 6 " letter word
" RUMOUR " --> Ignore It

The Hardest working " 7 " Letter word
"SUCCESS " --> Achieve It

The Most enviable " 8 " letter word
" JEALOUSY " --> Distance It

The Most Powerful " 9 " word letter word
" KNOWLEDGE " --> Acquire It

The Most essential " 10 " letter word
" CONFIDENCE " -- > Trust It

English - Driving me crazy at times

Some reasons to be grateful if you grew up speaking English:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound .
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) There is no time like the present, he said it was time to present the present .
8) At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear .
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
22) I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt .

The Parking at T.Nagar

On Sunday, I had the great privilege of driving pun intended in the crowded streets of T.Nagar at around 11AM. I was approaching Saravana Stores, the one opposite Panagal Park. The problem started then, where should I park my car, the security personnel outside the shop told me take the first left and you would find the place. I did follow suit and to my surprise I couldn't find a single parking spot so I drove ahead and ahead and ahead till I reached the end of the road. Thank God, there I could find a place between two houses and I parked, now the trouble started I had to walk back and it was gruel some long walk approximately 1km.

From now on, learned a lesson never take private vehicles to T.Nagar instead use public transportation which will have its own drawbacks but its better than walking 1 km.

I wish the authorities do something productive about the parking problems and the shop keepers also have a role to play.

What is marketing....??

1. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me! " - That's Direct Marketing"

2. You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: " He's very rich. "Marry him." -That's Advertising"

3. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day, you call and say: " Hi, I'm very rich. "Marry me - That's Telemarketing"

4. You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink, you open the door (of the car)for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her ride and then say:"By the way, I'm rich. Will you "Marry Me?" - That's Public Relations"

5. You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says:"You are very rich! "Can you marry ! Me?" - That's Brand Recognition"

6. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" She gives you a nice hard slap on your face. - " That's Customer Feedback"

7. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" And she introduces you to her husband. - "That's demand and supply gap"

8. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say anything, another person come and tell her: "I'm rich. Will you marry me?" and she goes with him - "That's competition eating into your market share"

9. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say: "I'm rich, Marry me!" your wife arrives. - "That's restriction for entering new markets "

They are...

1. CHRIST THE REDEEMER STATUE, BRAZIL
The 125-foot-tall statue of Christ the Redeemer with outstretched arms overlooks Rio de Janeiro from atop Mt. Corcovado. The statue, which weighs more than 1,000 tons, was built by Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski in pieces in France starting in 1926, then shipped to Brazil. The pieces were carried by cogwheel railway up the mountain for assembly. The statue was inaugurated in 1931.

2. PYRAMID AT CHICHEN ITZA, MEXICO
This step-pyramid surmounted by a temple survives from a sacred site that was part of one of the greatest Mayan centers of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Built according to the solar calendar, it is placed so that shadows cast at the fall and spring equinoxes are said to look like a snake crawling down the steps, similar to the carved serpent at the top.

3. GREAT WALL OF CHINA
The 4,160-mile barricade running from east to west in northern China is the longest man-made structure in the world. The fortification, which largely dates from the 7th through the 4th century B.C., was built to protect the dynasties from invasion by the Huns, Mongols, Turks and other nomadic tribes.

4. MACHU PICCHU, PERU
Built by the Incan Empire in the 15th century, the giant walls, palaces, temples and dwellings of the Machu Picchu sanctuary are perched in the clouds at 8,000 feet above sea level in the Andes mountains. It remains a mystery how the huge stones were moved into place for the construction of the remote city.

5. COLOSSEUM, ITALY
The giant amphitheater in Rome was inaugurated in A.D. 80 by the Emperor Titus in a ceremony of games lasting 100 days. The 50,000-seat Colosseum, which has influenced the design of modern sports stadiums, was an arena where thousands of gladiators dueled to the death and Christians were fed to the lions.

6. PETRA, JORDAN
The ancient city of Petra in southwestern Jordan, built on a terrace around the Wadi Musa or Valley of Moses, was the capital of the Arab kingdom of the Nabateans. It also flourished under Roman rule after the Nabateans were defeated in A.D. 106. The city is famous for its water tunnels and numerous stone structures carved in rock, the most impressive of which is probably Ad-Dayr, an uncompleted tomb facade that served as a church during Byzantine times.

7. TAJ MAHAL, INDIA
The white marble-domed mausoleum in Agra was built by Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. The complex - an example of Mughal architecture combining Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles - houses the graves of the emperor and his wife, as well as those of lesser royalty.

Source: Forbes.com

And the Seven Wonders are...

Two moons on 27 August, 2007

**Two moons on 27 August* 11 pm CST (12 pm EST) in USA.

You may be interested. Show two moons to children. Mark the date on your calendar. Let us hope the sky is not cloudy. This time translates to 11 pm CST (12 pm EST) in USA. Let’s not miss this spectacle!!**Two moon on 27 August

**27th August the Whole World is waiting for.............* Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August.It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultivate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles of earth. Be sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27 12:30 am IST. It will look like the earth has 2 moons.The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again.

The iPhone: Ten Things Apple Did Right, and Ten Things That Need Work

The latest gizmo to hit the market is definitely the iPHONE from Apple. I was seeing the video the other day and was seriously awe struck by its features and things it can do. Seriously its an eye catchy phone priced at around $600. But for people in India the wait is still on as the iPHONE will not be available till 2008.

I was glancing at PC WORLD magazine and came up with the pros and cons of this latest gadget, which i have pasted below. Thanks to them.

Ten Things Apple Did Right in the iPhone

1. The display, the display, the display: Everything looks good on it.

2. The menu design is simple and clean, and the home-screen icons look like so much eye candy.

3. Fingertip navigation, zooming, and scrolling are intuitive, effective, and fast.

4. Video playback is so good that you can tell when you've done a subpar job of ripping your movies.

5. Visual voice mail lets you get to the calls you care about faster.

6. The integrated applications--including Google Maps, YouTube, and a world clock that packs a timer, a stopwatch, and multiple alarms--are great.

7. CoverFlow, which lets you choose your music by visually flipping through album art, is incredibly fun.

8. The exterior is tough: Our initial stress tests suggest that the iPhone is more durable than you might expect for such a sleek handset.

9. It's the first Apple music player with a built-in speaker--and the speaker isn't half bad for a phone component.

10. You don't get a disconcerting "do not disconnect" message when syncing the iPhone with a PC.

Ten Things Apple (and AT&T) Did Wrong

1. There is NO AOL Instant Messaging--and Yahoo and MSN IM clients, too. What about MMS support for sending picture mail?

2. There's no voice recording and, more importantly, no voice dialing support. How are you supposed to use an iPhone with a hands-free car kit?

3. It's the most locked-down phone we've ever seen. You can't swap out the AT&T SIM card for one from another network; in fact, you can't even swap it out for another AT&T SIM card.

4. AT&T is building out its mobile broadband network, but iPhone users are stuck with the company's older EDGE technology--or with battery-consuming Wi-Fi.

5. You know those great headphones you already own? They won't fit the iPhones headset jack, so your first iPhone accessory will have to be a bulky, ugly $10 adapter.

6. The software keyboard invites typos--and when you're entering passwords, there's no way of telling whether you've got them right until tyou get an "access denied" prompt.

7. It's great that the iPhone can reorient pages in Safari, CoverFlow, and the photo album, but why not extend that capability to other apps such as e-mail? Some messages would benefit from a wide-screen display. And even when the device does reorient, it doesn't always follow through with all the attendant features: CoverFlow loses access to the volume slider, for example.

8.There's no support for custom ringtones--surprising in a music phone.

9. The camera is rudimentary, with no audio/video or even a zoom capability.

10. You don't get to-do list support, a basic in most calendar applications.

Cortesy: PC WORLD Saturday, June 30, 2007