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Tech

Sony launches Xperia Z2 in India at Rs 49,990

Sony’s newest phone comes with a few improved features, is waterproof and dust resistant and comes in three colour options.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Sony launched its much-awaited Android 4.4.2 device – Xperia Z2 – in India last week. The phone is an IP58 certified (waterproof and dust-resistant) device that has a 5.2-inch full HD Triluminos display.

SmartBandUnder the hood, there is a Snapdragon 801 chipset (2.26 GHz quad-core processor, Adreno 330 GPU), coupled with 3 GB of RAM. The Xperia Z2 comes loaded with 16 GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 128 GB. Packing in a 3,200 mAh battery unit, by enabling the phone’s Stamina mode, which basically puts your phone into an energy-conserving mode, you can extract some juice out of it for several days. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.0 (with A2DP), NFC, A-GPS, 3.5 mm headset jack, FM Radio (with RDS), Miracast, microUSB 2.0 (+MHL), and 3G.

On the back, there is an improved 20.7 MP (Exmor RS – CMOS) camera that can shoot 4K videos; while the front has a 2.2 MP camera with HD video capabilities. Having Sony’s own Xperia UI on top, the phone, as many other Sony phones, comes pre-loaded with a lot of Sony apps such as Xperia Link, Sony LIV, Walkman music player, PlayStation app, etc.

The Xperia Z2 is available in purple, white and black colour options, and has been launched at a price of Rs 49,990, which includes Sony’s new SmartBan SWR10 and a case. The Smartband is compatible with any Android 4.4 handset, and can also be purchased separately, available in the same three colours, for Rs 5,990.

Categories
Do

A photo contest for the eco-friendly community

Have you spotted an eco-friendly activity in your area? Document it in photographs for a very cool, national photo contest.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

We don’t do enough to appreciate the efforts of local eco-friendly warriors. If we can’t help them further their cause, we can at least do the next best thing – document their efforts for posterity.

To this end, the SPAN website is inviting entries for the ‘My Community, My Planet’ photography contest from all across the country. The photographs one sends must depict how the efforts of an individual or a group can contribute to the creation of a clean and healthy environment.

The contest is already open- it commenced on April 22, 2014 – and will close on May 13, 2014. The winners will be announced on the SPAN website on World Environment Day, on June 5, 2014. The first prize for the contest is an iPad Mini, while other prizes include a Nikon Coolpix L820 and an iPod Touch. Entries will also be considered for such parameters as entries with the most likes, the entry which scores highest on creativity, the entry which scores highest on composition, the entry which best depicts the theme, the entry which scores highest on photo quality and the entry which scores highest on originality.

Register here and know more on entry rules, submission guidelines, judging criteria, etc.

(Picture courtesy travel.india.com)

Categories
Watch

Watch: ‘Three women’, at the NCPA

Lavish costumes, live electronica and folk pop music and three fascinating characters make this production a must watch this weekend.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Avid Learning, in partnership with NCPA, Neerupama Properties and Godrej Properties will present Isheeta Ganguly’s, Three Women,  a musical theatre production based on three iconic women that represent Rabindranath Tagore’s Bengali Renaissance, two of whom are fictional and one who is from his own life. ‘Bimala’, the female protagonist of Tagore’s novella The Home and the World and ‘Charu’, her counterpart from his work The Broken Nest, are seen from the perspective of ‘Kadambari Devi’, Tagore’s sister-in-law and lifetime muse, as they instigate change from patriarchy towards  progression and freedom.

Set to electronika and folk-pop beats and laced with pathos and edgy humour, MeherAcharia Dar, AvantikaAkerker and IsheetaGanguly play urban, educated women of the 21st century, who are negotiating their notion of identity and self-worth in relation to the times that they live in, voicing issues relevant to the global gender empowerment discussion. With customised costumes by TarunTahiliani and live accompaniment by Sunita Bhuyan on the violin and Suchet Malhotra on percussion, this production, written, directed and musically composed by Isheeta Ganguly is a sensorial treat with gravitas.

After drawing a crowd of over a thousand people at the Kala Ghoda Festival in February 2014, this show’s national tour kicks off from the NCPA on Saturday, May 10, 2014, in Mumbai. 

(Pictures courtesy NCPA)

Categories
Tech

LG’s G Pro 2 is launched in India at Rs 51,500

We take a look at LG’s spanking new Android 4.4 smartphone launched a few days ago in the Indian market.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

LG has launched its brand new Android 4.4 smartphone in India – G Pro 2. The G Pro 2, successor to the popular G Pro, follows a similar pattern as the G2 of hardware buttons – volume and Power/ Lock – at the rear, next to the primary camera.

G Pro 2Featuring a 5.9-inch full HD IPS display, the phone is equipped with a 1 watt speaker, which is a first for a smartphone, for better audio experience. Under the hood, there is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 chipset (2.26 GHz quad-core processor, Adreno 330 GPU), along with whopping 3 GB of RAM. On the back, there is a 13 MP (AF + OIS+) camera (with an LED flash) that can shoot 4K videos and also 120 FPS settings; while the front has got a 2.1 MP camera.

As usual, the phone has got the company’s own Optimus UI in top Android 4.4.2 (KitKat). Connectivity-wise, there is microUSB 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0, 3.5mm headset jack, 3G plus 4G LTE, which is compatible with the country’s networks (wherever LTE has been rolled out).

For the Indian market, LG has launched the 32 GB model (expandable via a microSD card). It packs in 3,200 mAh (user accessible) battery cell and onscreen navigation keys.

The G Pro 2 comes in titan, black and white colour options, and is available for Rs 51,500. Flipkart is offering the model in black and white at a good discount.

Categories
Event

Seniors will laugh their way into the record books

Today, over 1,500 senior citizens in Borivali will attempt a new world record for laughter, to celebrate World Laughter Day.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

World Laughter Day was celebrated yesterday, May 4; it is observed on the first Sunday of every May. While we may have laughed (or not) yesterday, senior citizens in Borivali are geared up to celebrate the day with an ambitious goal – to set a new world record for laughter!

The Pushpa Maa Foundation, which runs a highly active Dada Dadi Park in Veer Savarkar Udyan in Borivli, will attempt to set a new world record for laughter – or laughter yoga, to be precise – this evening at the Udyan. There is every chance of the feat being recorded in the 2015 edition of the Limca Book of Records. The name of the feat is ‘Maximum numbers of senior citizens (age 60 and above) from a single organisation doing Laughter Yoga and laughing collectively.’

The Foundation has already received an email confirmation from the Limca Book of Records to attempt the record. Says Jimmy Dordi, part of the Park’s Managing Committee and Advisor, “We will have over 1,500 members of our Park congregating on Monday at 5 pm, to attempt the record. They will do Laughter Yoga continuously for 15 minutes for the record.”

However, the idea behind the endeavour is not merely to set a record, but also to stress on the importance of laughter in our daily lives. Says Sailesh Mishra of Silver Innings Foundation, which is the social media and PR partner for the event, “The record is actually aimed at building a global consciousness of health, happiness and world peace through laughter. In today’s stressful times, Laughter Yoga is a good solution to combat several diseases.”

The programme is supported by Dignity Foundation, Silver Innings Foundation, Inspired Bharat and Apex Hospital. The Metrognome is the online media partner for the event.

(Picture courtesy www.satyamevjayate.in. Image used is a file pic)

Categories
Watch

Watch: ‘Outsider’, a play in Hindi

Today, ‘Outsider’ plays as part of NCPA’s Hindi play festival, at 7 pm. The festival concludes tomorrow. Don’t miss it.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Vacation time is ideal for movies and plays. If you’re free today, you might want to check out the Hindi play Outsider, as part of the NCPA’s Ananda Hindi Natya Utsav.

Based on L’Etranger by Albert Camus, the play is about M, a free man who gets involved in a violent murder. As his story unfolds, we see the journey of a man as he struggles against an indifferent world. A stranger on the beach picks up a stranded shell and hears in it the secrets of the ocean. He is returning home after 20 years, remembering along the way all the secrets he uncovered that were hidden away in those grains of sand. Two stories and two lives that flow in and out of each other to represent that one life is good as another, is the basis of this play.

Written and directed by Gouri Dutt, the play stars Kumud Mishra, Ujjawal Chopra, Narottam Bain, Dilshaad Edibum Khurana, Jaihind Kumar and Ghanshyam Lalsa.

In 2011, the NCPA created and hosted its first-ever Hindi theatre festival NCPA Ananda Hindi Natya Utsav. The festival, held in May every year, showcases original Hindi plays that have strong literary roots. Ananda means happiness or pleasure.

Further, Ananda Hindi Natya Utsav presents a small selection of Mumbai’s Hindi theatre at its most joyous and original best. Mumbai groups such as IPTA, Ank, Ekjute and Yatri have performed, along with new and budding companies, in previous editions.

For more information and booking, look up the NCPA Mumbai page.

(Picture courtesy ncpamumbai.com)

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