Apple may ship fewer iPad 2 this year

IHS ISuppli cut its forecast for iPad shipments this year by 9 per cent after Apple Inc failed to meet demand in the first quarter.

The electronics maker will probably ship 39.7 million iPad tablet computers this year, according to ISuppli, which made an estimate of 43.7 million in February. A shortfall in iPad 2 production during the first three months of 2011 prompted the cut, the El Segundo, California-based research company said today in a statement.

Apple, the largest technology company by market value, probably faced issues including quality concerns over liquid-crystal displays and shortages of speakers, which disrupted supply of the tablets, ISuppli said.

Problems during the quarter weren't related to the record March 11 earthquake that struck Japan, while quake-related component constraints may limit Apple's production in the second half, the researcher said.

Cupertino, California-based Apple appears to have moved more aggressively than peers to secure components after Japan's earthquake, leaving many competitors scrambling for needed components such as touch screens, ISuppli said.

Apple will likely maintain its dominance in the tablet market until 2012 because of advantages in marketing, content and pricing, the researcher said. Shipments of other media tablets will likely reach 111 million units in 2013, overtaking the estimated 81 million iPad sales, it said.

The young spenders!

Teens live like mini adults as credit cards and ample allowances power their expenses on eating out, fashion accessories and dating, says Seema Sinha

Mumbai college student Miloni Ruparelia yearns for a credit card. "My dad will throw a fit if I ask for one," she sighs. She gets Rs 2,000 as pocket money, which often has to be replenished when she splurges Rs 1,500 on clothes, her passion, in two days. Miloni has never repeated an outfit for a party. She has two mobile phones - a Black Berry and a Samsung - and recently picked up a pair of fancy shoes at Rs 4,000. Her parents had to shell out Rs 6,000 for a huge stuffed toy.

A snap poll conducted by TIMESLife! in five metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore - on the spending habits of youngsters, indicated that only young Kolkatans seem to be saving, from their average allowance of Rs 2,000 per month. Girls saved up to 13 per cent while boys kept about nine per cent aside. The rest of the country's youngsters seem to be blowing up their entire allowance and not managing to save anything.

Mumbai girls lead as far as expenses on clothes is concerned with 22 per cent of their monthly allowance spent on them, while Delhi girls spend exorbitantly on beauty treatments. Most college-going students from affluent families in Delhi and Chennai were found having credit or debit cards, sometimes even two to three. Says Sushant Shivram, a student from Jaihind College, Mumbai on what he has observed among his classmates, "Every month about Rs 500 cash is given in hand for their daily requirement, the rest they pull out from the ATM, but the bank statement goes to their parents."

Seventeen-year-old Apurva earlier spent about Rs 1,500 every month but now flashes a credit card. Adds Raisa unapologetically, "I have a lot of friends I need to stay in touch with. And if they buy a top or jeans then it doesn't look good if I don't have trendy clothes."

Looking good and appearances are important and youngsters across India spend the most each week on clothes, mobile phones and going out as per the study. Food also tops their passions. On an average, about 30 per cent of their pocket money is spent on food, as per the survey.

Says Harish Nambiar, a college student from Bangalore, "Bangalore has no beach and no other places to hang out, which is why we go to cafes to eat. About half my pocket money goes on food." Girls spend the most on clothes, cosmetics and toiletries as compared to boys who spend maximum on computer games and equipments. Gadgets (including mobile phone), recreation and holidays, hobby classes, fitness activities, parties, beauty treatment are taken care of by the parents, found the survey.

Sulekha Sharma, a working mother based in Delhi, is aware that her 13-year-old daughter Sakshi has started dating and buying gifts for her boyfriends. "Secret whispers have begun," laughs Sulekha, whose pockets are invaded for Sakshi's blow drying and other beauty treatments.

Boys from the South were found more romantic as compared to their counterparts in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. In Bangalore and Chennai, boys spent 18 per cent and 13 per cent respectively on their girlfriends while Mumbai and Delhi boys spent five percent and Kolkata spent just one per cent on dating and girlfriends.

"Youngsters believe that a swipe of a card can buy them anything. PSP games, ipods, different colour shoes, perfumes, deos... they are all very brand conscious, want to show off, be popular, so there is no upper limit to money. And then they get bored with these things very fast and want to replace these," adds Sulekha.

With independence being more intoxicating than money itself, most youngsters get happiness when they pick up the phone and order pizzas and colas themselves, say parents. "Some have already started mixing vodka in cola. They want to decide what they buy. They want to be treated like young adults," says Manju Kapoor, a parent.

Observes K Ramakrishnan, president - marketing, Café Coffee Day, "The youngsters who frequent our outlets largely spend money on eating out, entertainment and fuel. An average customer in the 15 to 21 age bracket would spend nothing less than 45 minutes to an hour at the café over several cups of coffee and food to go with it."

At a television show held recently for youngsters, when Chennai students got ipods as gift, they were thrilled whereas the Mumbai team was indifferent. Youngsters from middle class homes in Chennai on an average draw about Rs 500 to Rs 800 per month as pocket allowance. "I spend largely on junk food and movies, watching movies is much cheaper in Chennai than in Mumbai or Delhi," says Nikhil Arvind, a student from Chennai, who gets just about Rs 200 every month. However, the survey showed surprising results among the affluent class and college students in Chennai are getting anywhere between Rs 8,000 and Rs 15,000 as monthly allowance.

Ask and you shall receive...a lot of money. That's the commandment at the core of parents turning their kids into carefree big-spenders. It is the face of the emerging new and young India.

Nokia's first touch and type slider leaked

Pictures of Nokia's first touch and type slider phone have been spotted on Indian site Hackintos. The handset reportedly runs on Symbian S40 operating system, 6th edition and has a resistive touch screen.

The budget phone will be a dual-SIM phone, according to My Nokia Blog. The device called C2-06 is packed with 2 megapixel camera (without flash) and slide-out keyboard.

The phone reportedly lacks WiFi and 3G connectivity, however, features Bluetooth (thankfully).

There is no word on the mobile phone's pricing and availability.

iPhone 5 coming in September

Apple Inc suppliers will begin production of its next-generation iPhone in July this year, with the finished product likely to begin shipping in September, three people familiar with the matter said.

The new smartphone will have a faster processor but will look largely similar to the current iPhone 4, one of the people said. They declined to be identified because the plans were not yet public.

Suppliers to the current generation included camera module maker Largan Precision Co Ltd, touchscreen panel maker Wintek Corp and case maker Foxconn Technology Co Ltd, two of the people said.

The companies would begin production either in July or August before shipping components to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, flagship of Foxconn Technology Group, for assembly, they said.

An Apple spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

The iPhone is one of Apple's most successful products, with more than 16 million sold in the last quarter of 2010 and accounting for more than a third of the company's sales in the period.

The current iPhone 4 was launched by Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs in June last year and began shipping the same month in 2010. Apple is expected to report another spectacular quarter on Wednesday, tempered by growing caution over how supply constraints will squeeze margins and restrain iPhone and iPad sales.

Samsung to launch 2 Ghz smartphone

Samsung is planning to launch a smartphone that is sure going to be faster than many of today's laptops. According to a news report in Duam, Samsung is working on a smartphone with 2 Ghz dual core CPU, which will give it data processing capacities of 4Ghz.

"We are planning to release a 2Ghz dual core CPU-equipped smartphone by next year," says the report quoting a Samsung official. "This product will have the data processing capacities of a regular PC," added the official. The smartphone is likely to be launched under its Exynos processor brand.

Samsung is also said to be considering separate sales of the CPU units for other smartphone makers, according to the report. Samsung has been mainly manufacturing mobile CPU for its own product lines, but is planning to expand into mobile processor sales under its new brand, Exynos.

Samsung launched Exynos, a new range of processors to be used in mobile phones, tablets and other mobile devices, in February this year.

A Quantum Leap for Cell Phones

A Phone's Best Friend

Designer: GoldVish

Model: Piece Unique

Price: $1.26 million

Availability: U.S.,

Emmanuel Gueit, whose credits include items for jeweler Harry Winston, designed this mobile phone made of solid gold and featuring 120 carats of diamonds. Pushing on one of the precious stones unlocks a secret compartment that can be used for carrying medicine or jewels.

Talk & Roll

Designer: Philips

Model: Readius

Price: Not available

Availability: Not available

This cell phone display from Philips uses electronic ink and can be viewed in broad daylight. Still in prototype stage, this device is ideal for watching movies on your mobile. When it's not in use, it can be rolled around your phone for added convenience.

Seagate launches 3TB hard disk @ Rs 20,300

Computer storage disk major Seagate launched a new series of hard disk drive (HDD) for business houses, including a 3 terabyte (3000 gigabyte) HDD for Rs 20,300.

The hard disk is available in four categories of HDD namely Pulsar, Savvio 15K.3, Savvy 10K.5 and Constellation ES.

The storage capacity of Constellation ES series which has storage capacity of 3TB or 3000GB has been launched in the price range of Rs 20,300 to Rs 22,300.

Seagate has launched two models of Savvio 15K.3 with storage capacity of 146 and 300 GB, four models of Savvy 10K.5 with storage capacity of 300, 450, 600 and 900 GB, respectively. The price range of Savvio series is between Rs 23,650 to Rs 36,500.

The company has not yet fixed the price for Pulsar series of HDD. The storage capacity of this series ranges from 100 GB to 800 GB. This series will be shipped to the Indian market after two months.

"The price of this Pulsar series has not yet been determined. It will be decided at the time its shipment starts in to market which is two months from now," said Rajesh Khurana, country manager for India and SAARC, Seagate Technology.

Secret formula to boost romance!

Successful relationships are all about paying attention to the so called little things .

One among these 'little things' that works wonders to boost feelings of love and happiness in a couple is the habit of showing gratitude. In fact, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina, appreciating daily gestures has the ability to add meaning to the lives of both the people in the relationship and helps it to grow and flourish.

The study, conducted on 65 couple who were already in onging, satisfying and committed relationships, tracked the day-to-day fluctuations in relationship satisfaction and connection for each of the members. And the findings? Well, the the results suggest that showing gratitude on an everyday basis and saying thank you serves as an important maintenance mechanism in close relationships and in fact, acts as a booster shot.

Agreeing with this research, relationship counsellor, Rachna Kothari says gratitude is the best attitude. "Gratitude may not directly boost romance per se, but what these gestures like thank you's, acknowledgments, appreciations, etc do is help in boosting one's spirits and self-confidence. This in turn makes an individual feel worthy and overall sees him/her with a positive self-image and assurance. Also, it will encourage them to attempt those loving deeds again," she explains.

According to Rachna, though being cognisant of ones partner is always a good idea, it is often overlooked, especially when it comes to the little things. Elaborating further she says, "For example, while you may feel a high if your lover gets you an expensive gift, you may ignore to acknowledge if s/he merely gets you a rose or just gives you a shoulder when you desperately needed one. These may be small gestures, but a lot of love and emotions are being invested. Hence, it is an excellent idea to appreciate what's been done for you. Make it a point to enjoy the little things as one day you may look back and realise that they were in fact, big things."

Actress Mahima Chaudhary says she and hubby Bobby Mukherjee hardly express their gratitude to each other. "In fact, he says thanks more often than I do. I know I should say it out loud more often but, I'm more worried about the sorry's than the thank you's," she says. Talking about the survey results she says, "Why only your spouse, one should also express gratitude to other family members. It is a sure way of letting them know that you've noticed that they have done something for you, even if it's as simple as organising your closet."

IT consultant Dhruv Makhija says at the start of their relationship, he and wife Seema made a special effort to express their gratefulness for what the other had done. "Though we don't say thanks that often now, we make sure that we appreciate each other. For example, I take over the kitchen duties on Sundays. Also, we do some of the household tasks together. I don't look at it as a burden but as a way of forging a stronger bond with Seema," he says.

Meanwhile, explaining her hesitation to say thank you for everything that Bobby does, Mahima says, "I don't want to make him complacent. But I am definitely grateful for a lot of the things he does, especially when it comes to our child. I always say thanks when he leaves everything to take care of our daughter when I am busy with work or have to go out for events. But the one time I couldn't thank him enough was when he was with me inside the operation theatre when I was giving birth. During the labour I must have kept abusing him, but after the baby was born, I just kept saying thank you and telling him how grateful I was that he was there besides me."

Rachna concludes saying, "Many people tend to take their partners — and what they do for them — for granted. Sometimes, a partner might 'feel' grateful but may not express the same. The key lies in expressing it and letting the other know that what s/he has done has indeed made a difference. Also, it's very easy to forget or brush aside the smaller things in the hustle-bustle of daily life. Showing empathy, appreciation and respect for your partner is one of the keys to a lasting relationship."

Film claims discovery of nails from Jesus's cross

JERUSALEM: Could two of the nails used to crucify Jesus have been discovered in a 2,000-year-old tomb in Jerusalem?

And could they have mysteriously disappeared for 20 years, only to turn up by chance in a Tel Aviv laboratory?

That is the premise of the new documentary film "The Nails of the Cross" by veteran investigator Simcha Jacobovici, which even before its release has prompted debate in the Holy Land.

The film follows three years of research during which Jacobovici presents his assertions -- some based on empirical data, others requiring much imagination and a leap of faith.

He hails the find as historic, but most experts and scholars contacted by Reuters dismissed his case as far-fetched, some calling it a publicity stunt.

Many ancient relics, including other nails supposedly traced back to the crucifixion, have been presented over the centuries as having a connection to Jesus. Many were deemed phony, while others were embraced as holy.

Jacobovici, who sparked debate with a previous film that claimed to reveal the lost tomb of Jesus, says this find differs from others because of its historical and archaeological context.

"What we are bringing to the world is the best archaeological argument ever made that two of the nails from the crucifixion of Jesus have been found," he said in an interview, wearing his trademark traditional knitted cap.

"Do I know 100 percent yes, these are them? I don't."

CONSPIRACY, SLIP-UP OR BASELESS?

The film begins by revisiting an ancient Jerusalem grave discovered in 1990 which was hailed by many at the time as the burial place of the Jewish high priest Caiaphas, who in the New Testament presides over the trial of Jesus.

The grave, along with a number of ossuaries, or bone boxes, was uncovered during construction work on a hillside a few kilometers south of the Old City. It has since been resealed.

Caiaphas is a major figure in the Gospels, having sent Jesus to the Romans and on to his death, and one of Jacobovici's assertions is that the high priest was not such a bad guy.

Two iron nails were found in the tomb, one on the ground and one actually inside an ossuary, and, according to the film, mysteriously disappeared shortly after. Jacobovici says he tracked them down to a laboratory in Tel Aviv of an anthropologist who is an expert on ancient bones.

And if they are indeed the same nails -- eaten away by rust and bent at the end, almost purposefully -- was their disappearance a conspiracy or a logistical slip-up?

No definite answer is offered.

Either way, Jacobovici shows why those nails could have been used in a crucifixion, which was a common practice two thousand years ago. He then offers his theory about why they may have been used in the most famous crucifixion in history.

"If you look at the whole story, historical, textual, archaeological, they all seem to point at these two nails being involved in a crucifixion," he said. "And since Caiaphas is only associated with Jesus's crucifixion, you put two and two together and they seem to imply that these are the nails."

The Israel Antiquities Authority, which oversaw the Jerusalem excavation, said in reaction to the film's release that it had never been proven beyond doubt that the tomb was the burial place of Caiaphas. It also said that nails are commonly found in tombs.

"There is no doubt that the talented director Simcha Jacobovici created an interesting film with a real archaeological find at its center, but the interpretation presented in it has no basis in archaeological findings or research," it said.

Akon to make his Hindi film debut

Akon's also plans to collaborate with Sunidhi Chauhan and celebrate his b'day party at SRK's place.

Post his Delhi and Bengalaru performances on the 16th and 17th, singer Akon, along with his wife, will be coming down to `aamchi' Mumbai and has got all his plans chalked out well in advance. Sources close to the singer say Akon will be considering doing many Bollywood tie-ups this year including celebrating his birthday to be hosted by Bollywood's King Khan Shah Rukh.

"He has been offered to act in a Hindi film after he made headlines with Shah Rukh Khan and ` Ra.One '. We cannot divulge more details at this point," informs the source. Speaking of collaborations, Akon has worked extensively with Aadesh Srivastava and is now considering working with Sunidhi Chauhan who recently met Akon's manager who was in Mumbai few weeks ago to discuss possible collaborations. 'Yes, if everything works out as planned there could be an announcement of them working together soon," says the source.

If the source is to be believed, Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan are planning to host the `Smack that' hitmaker's birthday party at Mannat and invite their B town buddies to the do.

Will Delhi Unleash The World’s Fastest Indian?

On the eve of the India-West Indies match in Chennai, I visited the MRF Pace academy, a few minutes away not too far from the Chidambaram Stadium. Nestled in a leafy corner on the campus of the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School in Chetpet, the Academy wasn’t easy to locate.

But having arrived there, I realised it wasn’t the best time of the year to be visiting. The training season was a few months away. The Academy looked quiet, empty. On the practice wickets, a few youngsters were having an evening knockabout. I caught their attention as I walked past the Academy gates.

Upon closer inspection, one of them turned out to be an India discard from the mid-00s, now with an IPL team. It seemed he had gained weight. Or maybe the myth about TV adding 10 pounds works the other way around.

Two boys were in the academy gym. One of them walked out, and I chatted him up about what was going on at the academy. He said his name was Varun. He played for MRF; that he had been training at the Academy for nearly six years. After a small chat, he returned to the gym.

A few minutes later, the lone trainer present at the gym walked out. I asked him about any interesting talents who’d been to the Academy lately. He pointed to the boy I had been speaking to. “That’s Varun there,” he said.

“He is India’s fastest bowler.”

During the course of the evening, much was learnt about Varun Aaron, where he came from and what he was capable of.

The 21-year-old grew up in Jamshedpur and represents Jharkhand in domestic cricket. His claim to fame? In the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, in the final against Gujarat, Aaron clocked 153.4 KMPH, making him the fastest Indian bowler on record. [Here’s a fan video of the event]

Aaron had been with Kolkata Knight Riders the previous season. A stress fracture of the back kept him out of action. He was fit for the last four games of the tournament, but didn't get a break. With due apologies to Burt Munro, Delhi Daredevils, not he, can lay claim on the world’s fastest Indian now.

A lot of Indian pacers in recent times have made impressive beginnings, but then lost their edge quickly. Irfan Pathan bowled in the high 140s on his debut series in Australia. Munaf Patel was, at one time, touted to be the fastest in India. Zaheer Khan used to be much quicker, but has eschewed pace for control. The list goes on.

Aaron, however says, he's not about to give up on pace.

"Bowling quick is what I do best. I am not going to change my thinking because I will be bowling to international players in a Twenty20 match," Aaron told TOI recently, adding that "I can assure you that I'll be the quickest Indian bowler in IPL if I get the chance to play."

Aaron has recovered from the stress fracture. He says he has made corrections to his bowling action. It used to be left-heavy — the reason for the fracture — but he is now running in straight.

His action is uncomplicated, smooth, economical. Like Glenn McGrath, he has no exaggerated movement of limbs. He shuffles towards the bowling crease with his shoulders low, butt jutting out. There's no pronounced leap at the crease, just a little pop. He remains straight-on, unlike lots of express-quick bowlers. It would seem he's just another seamer running in to hurl a harmless delivery. But a really quick whip of the right arm and wrist follows, and the ball flies at speeds unheard of in Indian cricket.

25 wickets in 11 First Class games may not seem like much. But he's done better in limited overs cricket. He has two fivers in 11 games in which he has taken 23 wickets. He's learnt things from Dennis Lillee at the Academy and Wasim Akram at the KKR.

The Academy's former chief coach TA Sekhar is excited by Aaron. "He should be groomed properly and the national selectors should keep an eye on him," he said. Also, like most quick bowlers, Aaron is a strongly-built boy capable of big-hitting, as he has shown in domestic cricket. His batting strike rate in 50-over cricket is 158.

On Sunday, Delhi Daredevils play the first game of the IPL against Mumbai Indians. Delhi is a team without many big-ticket players. KKR didn't give Aaron a break. But perhaps, it is time for the Daredevils to let the 'Tatanagar Express' loose.

Nokia to launch 40 new models in 2011

Nokia is all set to sweep the mobile marketplace with a slew of models. A company official said that Nokia plans to launch as many as 40 mobile phones in 2011. Of these 12 will reportedly be in the smartphone category.

Reasearch firm International Data Corp (IDC) recently forecast the worldwide smartphone market to grow nearly 50 per cent this year and Google's Android to emerge as the leading operating system.

IDC said that smartphone vendors are expected to ship more than 450 million smartphones in 2011 compared to 303.4 million last year.

The research firm said that Android is expected to surpass Nokia's Symbian in 2011 and become the leading smartphone platform.

"Android is poised to take over as the leading smartphone operating system in 2011 after racing into the number two position in 2010," said IDC senior research analyst Ramon Llamas.

IDC also predicted strong growth for Microsoft's Windows Phone platform which has been losing market share but was recently adopted by Finland's Nokia.

"Up until the launch of Windows Phone 7 last year, Microsoft has steadily lost market share while other operating systems have brought forth new and appealing experiences," Llamas said.

"The new alliance brings together Nokia's hardware capabilities and Windows Phone's differentiated platform," he said.

"We expect the first devices to launch in 2012," Llamas said. "By 2015, IDC expects Windows Phone to be number two operating system worldwide behind Android."

When Rajni meets Ghajini

Iconic Rajnikant flew down to Mumbai to see the Cricket World Cup final with his daughter, Soundarya.

When he was seen at the venue, with Aamir Khan, the SMS-es began doing the rounds that now India's win was emminent.

The south star and the B-Town superstar had a blast, they cheering for Team India. They were like one of the spectators, start status forgotten. They even stayed back post the match to wish the team after they lifted the World Cup. Jai ho!

Malicious attack hits a million Web pages

More than one million website pages have been hit by a sophisticated hacking attack that injects code into sites that redirect users to a fraudulent software sales operation.

The so-called "mass-injection" attack, which experts say is the largest of its kind ever seen, has managed to insert malicious code into websites by gaining access to the servers running the databases behind the Internet, according to the technology security company that discovered it.

Websense, which first found evidence of the attack earlier this week, has called it 'LizaMoon,' after the site to which the malicious code first directed its researchers.

Users can see that they are being redirected when they attempt to visit an infected address, and can close the window with no ill effects, said Patrik Runald, a senior manager of security research at Websense.

The attack has largely affected small websites so far, he said, with no evidence that popular corporate or government websites have been compromised.

If users do not close the window after typing an infected address, or clicking an infected link, they are redirected to a page showing a warning from 'Windows Stability Center' -- posing as a Microsoft Corp security product -- that there are problems with their computer and they are urged to pay for software to fix it.

Websense said the site appeared to be set up by sophisticated fraudsters out to make money, but it was not clear whether the site also planted malicious software on users' computers if they made a purchase on the site, or if the operation was linked to an identity theft scam.

The presentation of the bogus website, as shown by Websense, is high quality but clearly fraudulent. Microsoft has no product called 'Windows Stability Center". The company did not immediately have a comment on the attack.

Websense said some third-party Web addresses containing information about podcasts available on Apple Inc's iTunes service had been compromised, but said Apple appeared to have prevented the malicious links from working. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

The attack may take some time to be tamed, warned Runald, as researchers first have to identify the software being compromised, and then website operators have to install updated software.

"Attacks like this tend to stay for a very long time," he said. "Once they are onto something, it tends to stay with us. This LizaMoon event won't disappear over a day."