A,E,I,O,U Kings 4 U

Is Nokia losing its mojo? The Finnish company has been the largest mobile-phone maker in the world for more than a decade, and it remains a financial juggernaut with $70 billion in revenue. But Nokia is losing ground in the fast-growing and lucrative smart phone business. Apple, Research In Motion, and companies such as HTC that use Google's Android operating system have come on strong, creating a serious challenge for the industry leader. "Apple has [created] a superior user experience; Android is also gaining a lot of traction," says Jari Honko, an analyst at eQ Bank in Helsinki. "Yes, Nokia is in trouble in smartphones."

Nokia is unlikely to lose its top spot in mobile phones. But it could see revenues and profits suffer if Apple takes over as the largest player in smart phones, which some analysts believe could happen. Generator Research, a British consulting firm, forecasts that Nokia's share of smart phones will slide from about 40% now to 20% by 2013, while Apple climbs into the top spot. "If Nokia gets dispositioned in the segment and Apple starts calling the shots—which is what's happening now—you are going to start seeing (a larger) impact in three to four years," says Andrew Sheehy, co-founder of Generator.

Nokia is fighting hard to stop that from happening. The company is hoping to regain momentum with a series of initiatives, the most important of which is aimed at making Nokia phones as good as the iPhone at running software programs. The company is trying to attract more independent developers to create applications for Nokia phones, and it's pushing to make Nokia devices vastly easier to use—a key shortcoming today. "We're not happy with the current situation," says Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice-president at Nokia. "But you need to be careful not to focus too much on one slice in time. You will see major improvements."

Nokia is getting some traction with developers. Last year it dropped all licensing fees for the tools people use to create software for Nokia phones. And in July it created a global library of applications so developers can distribute their new apps to any wireless operator Nokia works with. The result? The number of apps in Nokia's Ovi Store has doubled in two months, to 3,500. Still, that remains far behind Apple, which offers 65,000 apps at its store.

Nokia is trying to capture some Silicon Valley magic, too. London-based Symbian Foundation, which builds the operating system used in most Nokia smart phones, has set up an office in the Valley and is recruiting heavily. Symbian expects 30% of its 200-person staff to be in the region eventually. "People say, 'What do you mean—you're hiring?'" says Larry Berkin, Symbian's head of global alliances.

Vanjoki says Nokia won't rely just on Symbian, which some techies view as limited. The company has created an operating system called Maemo for tablet computers, and it could be installed in high-end smart phones. "It will be a key future asset," he says.
Investors are nervous about Nokia's fortunes. The company's stock has slid 16% so far this year, while shares of Apple and Research In Motion have zoomed more than 80%. Apple's market cap is now three times Nokia's, though Nokia has twice Apple's revenues. Still, Vanjoki vows Nokia will come out on top. "I'm confident about the future," he says. "We are going to strike back."

Russian graphic designer iunewind has conjured the Night Watch mosquito robot concept that supposedly hunts down other mosquitos and kills them. Ah well, anything that gets rid of those pests gets two thumbs up from us as mosquitos offer more negatives than positives in the big scheme of things. After all, we could make do without malaises that are associated with these pesky insects including malaria and dengue fever that still claim hundreds of lives each year.

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Mumbai, Aug 2 (IANS) India's first televised 'swayamvar' concluded here late Sunday with item girl Rakhi Sawant choosing Toronto-based Elesh Parujanwala as her life partner in a unique reality TV show.

In NDTV Imagine's 'Rakhi ka Swayamvar', Rakhi made the final choice from the three finalists -- from the original list of 16 contestants in 26 episodes. The other two finalists were young aspirant Manas Katyal and businessman Chhitiz Jain, both from New Delhi.

'I have been watching Elesh from day one. On and off the camera, he has been the same and has really taken care of me. He is everything I was looking for and I am glad to have found him on the Swayamvar. The swayamvar means finding a jeevan saathi (life partner) and I have found Elesh.

'Today is our engagement. I am ready to get married now, but we need to understand each other better off camera. We will soon get married in front of all of you in keeping with all our traditions,' Rakhi said after announcing her choice to a waiting audience across the country.

Decked up in red and gold lehenga-choli by Neeta Lulla and kundan jewellery, Rakhi looked a perfect bride.

Elesh, Manas and Chhitiz too were dressed for the occasion -- in traditional sherwanis and turbans.

In the dramatic finale, she garlanded Elesh -- as the audience clapped on.

The colourful event, held at the Hotel Leela Kampinsky here Sunday, saw a host of celebrities like choreographer Saroj Khan, actors Ravi Kishen and Ram Kapoor, who posed as brothers to the bride, apart from others like Smita Bansal and Sudha Shivpuri in the audience.

Below Average

The film Kalavaramaye Madilo is a musical love story with a heavy dose of melodrama and sentiment, particularly in the second half. The first half runs in a very light hearted manner which will appeal to the youngsters immensely but the second half will be a hard to swallow for the college going crowd.

Story:

Shreya (Swathi) is a happy go lucky young girl. She stays in Hyderabad with her mother Delhi Rajeshwari. Shreya wants to become a famous singer and her only ambition in life is to sing one song in the music director of AR Rehman. Shreya studies to become a Chartered Accountant as desired by her mother but her heart is in singing. So she sings in the evening at hotels without the knowledge of her mother.

Kamal Kamaraju is from London on a short trip to Hyderabad. He meets Shreya in the hotel. A old classical singer Vikram Gokhale comes to the hotel along with his close friend and aide Tanikella Bharani. He flares up after listening to Shreya and says that she is a bad singer.

Shreya is enraged. She later decides to learn classical singing from Vikram Gokhalae and manages to persuade him to teach her. On a parallel track Shreya continues to meet Kamal Kamaraju and they both begin to like each other.

Shreya learns that Vikram Gokhale is suffering from throat cancer. He is however determined to teach Shreya and make her realize the dream of singing under AR Rehman. Just when Sheya is about to leave for Chennai to be auditioned by Rehman, she learns that Vikram is her real father. She tens drops the idea of going to Chennai for audition and instead signs up to sing in a competition so that she can win the prize money of 10 lakh to pay for the treatment of her father.

The film then moves slowly to a predictable ending.

Performance:

The film is a Swathi show all the way. While Kamal Kamaraju is the hero, he plays a largely supportive role. Kamal also does not have much to do in the send half. Swathi comes up with an impressive performance and she is sure to bag many meaty roles in future.

Kamal Kamaraju is good and he fits the bill as the friend of Swathi perfectly. Vikram Gokhale as the aged classical singer is the right choice and he comes up with
a restrained but believable performance. Tanikella Bharani as the friend of Vikram comes up with a winning performance. The rest of the star cast is okay.

Kalavaramaye Madilo begins on a promising note and the first half is very light hearted and lively. The second half runs at a very slow pace and is heavy with sentiment. The music is good and the songs and dialogues are quite enjoyable.

The film is a clean entertainer but the heavy dose of sentiment in the second half is a big minus. The film will appeal a lot to music lovers and the older generation. As such, the film caters to only a limited section of the audience.

jitendra

Good

The film Magadheera raised a lot of expectations as it is the second film of Ram charan. The film directed by Rajamouli and the lavish settings and chase and fight scenes coupled with some good music has also raised the bar considerably. The film however has not completely reached the expectations of the audience.


Story:

Kalabhairava (Ram Charan) is a warrior who loves the princes Kajal Agarwal. Raghuveera (Dev Gill) a cousin of the princess eyes Kajal Agarwal but she is in love with Kalabhairava. Raghuveera plans to marry the princes but in a game to outwit Kalabharava he loses and is sent away from the kingdom. Raghuveer then joins hands with Sher Khan (Sri Hari) a mighty emperor who is out to expand his empire and is planning to attack the kingdom of Kajal.

The princess’ father Sarath Babu pleads with Kalabhairava to sacrifice his love for his daughter and he promptly agrees. Raghuveer who is seething with rage and the humiliation of losing at he hands of Kalabhairava, joins hands with Sher Khan and kills the princess. Kalabhairava is also killed after he jumps off a cliff in order to save the princess. Raghuvver is also killed by Kalabhairava before he jumps off the cliff.

All the four – Kalabhairava, the princes, Raghuveer and Sher Khan are reborn after 400 years. Raghuveer first learns about his past and he wants to marry Indu (Kajal) who was a princess in her previous birth. Kalabhairava is reborn as Harsha. Sher Khan is reborn as Soloman a fisherman. Harsh meets Indu and he also learns about his past after meeting Raghuveer.

It is now a clash once again between Raghuveer and Harsha to win over the hand of Indu. How Harsha goes abut the task is the basis for the remaining part of the film.


Performance:

Ram Charan carries he film on his shoulders. He is good in the dance scenes and horse riding scenes. He also shows ease in the fight scenes and has done some stunning and daredevil stunts without the help of a dupe.

Kajal Agarwal is okay and she looks good in her role as a princess than in her present day avatar.

Sri Hari impresses in his role as Sher Khan. His role is however very brief, both as Sher Khan and Soloman.

The villain played by Dev Gill is a bit weak. He tries his best but still does not come across completely as a cruel and wicked villain who will go to any length to get what he wants.

Brahmanadam appears in a cameo while Sunil plays Ram Charan’s friend in a brief appearance. Rao Ramesh as Aghora and Sarath Babu as the King are impressive.

Music is good and the period costumes and settings are magnificent. The graphics work is impressive.

The best scene is the one where Ram Charan fights with the soldiers of sher Khan killing 100 ferocious soldiers at one go. Ram Charan’s horse riding is good and his jumping on the horse and the helicopter are really impressive.

The remix song Bangaru kodipetta … is the best among all the songs. Ram Charan matches his dad Chiranjeevi step for step and the song also showcases the dancing skills of Ram Charan.

Finally Magadhera is all about horse chases, period settings, sword fights and lavish settings. The story and the villain are the weak parts of the film which is otherwise a visual treat...

worth a watch.. yours

jitendra