To elaborate, the BB Sync doesn’t play well with Outlook in Win7. Some dll and fixmapi stuff I don’t care to learn about. So the question: what next?

Android is appealing. Just need to confirm if it works with Push mail. Can’t live without that now… or maybe (gasp!) Windows mobile? Hm. It’s possible.

HTC HD2… any thoughts?

So I am using it.

And I have to say the 15” screen is quite a positive change. Not to say I’m not missing my Mac already, but I am kicked about the 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD…

Unboxing pics to follow (yes, I know that’s seriously geeky, but so it is!)

2. The disclaimer above is to ensure that none of those big stores sue my a** off!

Now that we’re done with disclaimers (and their disclaimers!), it’s time to tell you the dirty truth about electronics store chains in Pune.

Recently, I have been around looking for an iPod docking station, a laptop, an LCD/Plasma TV and cell phones. I have bought all these items from different stores. That itself begs the question: what are these massive one-stop stores good for?

Yes, the hint is at Croma. As someone who takes his electronics quite seriously, I do expect store salesmen to be well informed. I don’t expect them to know all the minute details, but their suggestions should mean something. And at no store in Pune have I found this. The obvious incentive for them to push a brand/product is the commission they or the store stands to earn. In this regard, Vijay Sales (Sadhu Vaswani Chowk) is perhaps the best of the lot.

Plasma TV
42″ Panasonic Viera. At Croma (Aundh): Rs 50,000. At Vijay Sales (SV Chowk): Rs 40,000. At Xcite (Aundh): Rs 40,000.

No prizes for guessing that I didn’t buy at Croma. I bought at Vijay Sales. Because the sales people there were willing to take the effort of connecting a DVD player to the TV and demonstrating the quality to me. Because they didn’t cringe when I asked them to do it. That the cashiers are also smiling helps.

At Croma, I fail to understand the reason for the 25% excess price. It isn’t like their sales guys are really well informed or that Croma was offering me something additional with the TV. The same was experienced even when buying a cell phone and laptop.

Conclusion: Stay away from Croma. They don’t have decent parking either. Xcite is pretty good… I did buy the iPod dock (JBL) from them and almost bought the TV as well. Just that their staff is fairly aloof to your presence. It could mean they don’t get in the way of browsing. But it also means they aren’t around when you ask questions. Vijay Sales offers the best prices by far of all these. Whether kitchen electronics and appliances or entertainment of cameras. Be sure to tell them that you won’t pay the 1% or 1.5% extra they ask for on use of a card and they may agree! For Laptops, I’ve started to like House of Laptops (Aundh). The staff is very well informed and the range, although somewhat limited, is good enough for most consumer needs.

BlackBerry Bold 9000

but then I saw this:

It seems Nokia has got everything covered except for Blackberry Connect support. The company has announced that since they are offering a push email service similar to that of Blackberry Connect, they are now direct competitors and as such, they would no longer offer Blackberry Connect support starting of Nokia E71 and E66.

It’s a really odd decision and it clearly shows that selling their email service to end customers is more important to Nokia than selling their handhelds. While this may sound perfectly reasonable to Nokia marketing department, it might turn out as a deal-breaker to some potential E71 buyers.

And the folks at GSM Arena are right. That’s a deal-breaker. BlackBerry Bold, here I come!

“I don’t think anyone will buy the iPhone at this price. But there is hope for Airtel and Vodafone if they have a store near a mental hospital–provided the patient has enough money with him.”

Indiatimes via ContentSutra
Also: Suckers!

Technorati Tags: Apple, iphone, airtel, vodafone, iphone 3g, iphone india pricing, iphone price

Vodafone has sent this out today:

The above, if you ask me, the one with the discerning eye, points to the fact that the iPhone will cost Rs 30,000-plus. D-uh! I can’t understand why Apple would position this as a super premium product. Sure the subsidies offered in the US are not available to the Indian consumer but at 31k+, they have driven away the largest potential market of 18-24 for whom this is an uber cool gadget to have.

Which also means that the unlock market is safe and will flourish further. Especially for handsets that are brought into India from outside. I mean, who will spend 30k+ when they can get the same for about 15-20k?

The fact also remains that those who badly wanted an iPhone already have one. They aren’t going to wait till even this weekend for the official stuff. Don’t matter to them. So who is left? Those who can’t get one from the US and those who can’t afford the illegal one. Well both parties won’t be too keen on this offering either.

Incidentally, I am selling my first generation iPhone. 8 Gig. Current cost in India is Rs 31,000! Mine’s about seven months old. In mint condition as they say. Upgraded to 1.1.4. Make an offer, if you wish.

I defend Apple at every opportunity. I run down Microsoft as if they owe me money. I try and buy only Apple products and genuine software. I have an unlocked iPhone and would have wanted the 3G official one. But alas and alak, this leaves me no option. Apple has disappointed me. They are a bad apple. Bad Apple.

I must turn to Symbian for my next fix. The Nokia E66 continues to look tempting. What say?

P.S.: I didn’t pre-register. A friend who did shared the above mailer. Hence “Hello Atul”!

Technorati Tags: apple, iphone, 3g, vodafone, iphone india, gadgets, iphone 3g, iphone price india, india iphone cost

As my favourite humor writer (and now tech as it seems!) points out:

The 8 GB version of the iPhone 3G will cost Rs. 31,000, while the 16 GB version will cost between Rs. 36,000 and Rs. 37,000.

These prices are not inclusive of the plan these phones will come bundled with.

So there. Go cry. If you don’t want to cry, I am selling mine (seems silly, but it still costs about 25% less than the price of the new one) and you can make an offer!

Of course, the above is subject to the prices not being rumors (is the Apple PR machinery at work here?).

Anyways, there isn’t any point in buying the 3G phone at this price when you can’t even use the 3G.

While on the subject, I had recently listed a few things to write on and this is one of them. So may as well!

The reasons I am bored of my iPhone:

1. It has lost the novelty value. Anyone has it!
2. My concentration span for a phone is six months max. In that sense, the iPhone has been the longest I’ve had a phone in a while (at 8 months, it beats the previous ones: E61i lasted 4 months, M600i for 6, P990i for four, MotoRAZR for four, O2 Atom for three prior to the Jesus phone)
3. I have my eyes on something else (no peeking!)
4. I want a keypad phone
5. I discovered BlackBerry. So I want my ‘regular’ phone to be basic… don’t need it for mailing or browsing since I have an unlimited plan on the BB.
6. Sliders have caught my fancy
7. Touchscreen is now passe (for me)

So there. I said it. Any offers? Leave a comment.

1. Review “The Enchantress of Florence” by Salman Rushdie: He is one of my favourite writers despite his long-drawn and often contrived manner of writing. In many ways, the book doesn’t disappoint, but honestly, it can’t even hold a candle to “Midnight’s Children” and “Shalimar the Clown”.

2. Review “The Dark Knight” by Heath Ledger!: One of the best movies I have seen in a very long time. So good, that I saw it twice in three days! Heath Ledger shall be missed… and I also wish they don’t bring back the Joker again.

3. Review “Khatron Ke Khiladi” by Akshay Kumar: A well-done gameshow for once in India. The channel may have nothing more to write home about, but this show will help them establish. And then there’s “Bigg Boss” coming up!

4. Review “Indian in a Box”: A small little restaurant that has a ‘call centre’ based in Pune Mumbai for home delivery! The food is okay, but the service is pretty good.

5. The Indian monsoon: It’ back and with a bang… some photos to be shared here.

6. Why I’m bored with my iPhone: Blasphemous as it sounds, I have had my fill of the Jesus phone and am looking at more ‘keyed’ pastures now! Especially since I got my BlackBerry!

7. The upcoming vacation: And all the preparation I have to do before I can leave (the preparations have been underway for a month… especially at work!).

8. The Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony: And how it rocked… WOW!

9. Why I think Indian cricket is now boring: And what the alternate sports options for Indians are (I don’t recommend Shooting yet!)

10. Sania Mirza, her star tantrums and no seeming interest in playing anymore. Or so I believe.

I shall perhaps get down to doing the above when point number seven kicks in. Ah…

Technorati Tags: beijing, akshay kumar, olympics, heath ledger, food, monsoon, dark knight, salman rushdie, enchantress of florence, books, movies, sports, star, cricket, sania mirza