Apple Stores finally coming to India

The Apple Store is coming to India — or at least a few counters are, along with those signature wooden tables. They will be debuting in India in partnership with Tata-owned consumer electronics chain Croma, which will host Apple at six of its locations as a pilot.

"We are proud to partner Apple to launch the Apple Store in India and extremely bullish about it," said Avijit Mitra, CEO of Infiniti Retail, which owns Croma. "These stores will be modeled on the global design and will offer the best experience to consumers, showcasing the entire range of Apple products."

The Apple space will be 400-500 square feet in area and will be set up at five Croma stores in Mumbai — Malad, Juhu, Oberoi Mall, Phoenix Mall and Ghatkopar. In Bengaluru, this will be at Croma in Jayanagar. They are set to open by Diwali next month.

The store design, furniture, fixtures and lighting will the same as that used in Apple stores globally and the sales staff will also be trained by the company. In India, Apple sells through premium resellers who run exclusive brand stores under the franchise model. Devices are also available at multi-brand mobile and consumer electronics retail chains and some of the larger neighborhood phone stores.

Apple hasn't been able to set up its own stores because of mandatory local-sourcing norms for single-brand foreign direct investment in retail, it is said. Going the Croma route gives Apple the opportunity to control the consumer experience without jumping through the bureaucratic hoops.

To be sure, this could also be a precursor for a possibly stronger retail presence.

CEO Tim Cook is said to have suggested an easing of the sourcing rules when he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US recently, according to two persons with knowledge of this. Croma said it has 97 stores across the country with 3.8 million customers. Apple owns more than 460 stores in 17 countries — more than half in the US. The company has significantly increased its retail presence in the country in the past year with five distributors as India has become one of the fastest-growing markets for Apple.

It's also accelerated the launch of new phones. Sales of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will start on October 16, just three weeks after the US. It also plans to launch Apple Watch in India by Diwali.

Apple sold 1.7 million iPhones in India between October 2014 and September 2015, the company's financial year, compared with 1.1 million units in the year-earlier period, according to market tracker Counter-Point Research.

Follow Me on Twitter>>> @iamBhavish
And like us on Facebook>>> The Gud1

2 years of Blogging! #CelebrateBlogging

July 27 was the anniversary of the date I started blogging. That was in 2013 and I built my first blog in about 15 minutes or so on Blogger. And there have been quite a few people  like +Raj Mehta and +Soham Gokulgandhi  that have come and gone depending on the purpose and project. Today, my focus is here and on The Gud1.

 
I still remember the morning of 20th July 2013 my ICT teacher(Information Communication and Technology, a subject I studied in my 10th Grade) introduced me to the world of Blogging.

Soon words of inspiration and likes from friends followed, inspiring me to work hard on my blog. I set up an action plan of updating an article everyday.

In a short span of time likes and comments extended beyond my friend circle with eminent scholars and tech enthusiasts started on my blog. I also got invited to write guest reviews or paid posts from both India and abroad.

Image: BlogAdda

It is hard to believe that two years have passed and I am nearing the mark of 250 posts. This birthday is special for two reasons:

1. I am writing for #WIN15 – BlogAdda’s Blog Awards on how to #CelebrateBlogging! You should too!
2. I'm planning on starting a YouTube channel. Complete with tech reviews, news or even Vlogs!

 Subscribe to my YouTube Channel... I'll be posting soon!

I have always been known as a “Techie” due to my numerous tech-based news or  reviews published on my website. Although for the first 2 years my blog has been restricted to tech-based posts mainly but I am seriously considering other areas of non fiction writing such as travelogues, book blogging, my life.... And Much More... to come!

My Blog’s achievement in the first 2 years:

• 250 posts.
• 100,000 + page views
• 100 + comments (excluding my comments)

Resolution for the coming years:

• Write non-tech, covering topics like travel,popular science, food, social science, etc.
• Connect more with the readers!
• Enjoy blogging 

The milestones I have mentioned above aren’t necessarily huge milestones but as you go along your blogging journey, these milestones will get bigger and bigger. You may not expect to hit 10,000 subscribers, but it’s definitely possible if you work hard enough...

 

Are you a Blogger who wants to get better at the art of Blogging?
Do intelligent interactions and discourse excite u?
 
Would you like to attend #WIN15 on 20th September with The Gud1?
 
Yes! Then visit here http://adda.at/WIN-WIN15

Every person who uses the below mentioned code to book a #WIN15 ticket, gets a whopping 15% Discount on the Ticket.

Use this code to get 15% Discount: WIN151032

Please ask your friends to use this Access Code to buy the ticket and enjoy The Biggest Blogging Event,  #WIN15 on 20th September.

Here's the ticket link : http://adda.at/WIN-WIN15

See you at #WIN15 in aamchi Mumbai on 20th September!

If you’re one of those who has been following me and my blogs “forever”, give me a shoutout in the comments so I can say a “hi”!

Microsoft Missed Shift to Mobile Due to Focus on PC, Says Nadella

Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged that "one big mistake" the company made in the past was to think the personal computer will reign supreme forever and failing to anticipate the technological transformation of the mobile phone.


"If anything, one big mistake we made in our past was to think of the PC (personal computer) as the hub for everything for all time to come. And today, of course, the high volume device is the six-inch phone. I acknowledge that. But to think that that's what the future is for all time to come would be to make the same mistake we made in the past without even having the share position of the past. So that would be madness," Nadella said in an interview with technology news website ZDNet.

He added that the company has to be on the "hunt for what is the next bend in the curve".

"That's what, quite frankly, anyone has to do to be relevant in the future. In our case, we are doing that. We're doing that with our innovation in Windows. We're doing that with features like Continuum. Even the phone, I just don't want to build another phone, a copycat phone operating system, even," he said.

Nadella recalled that when he had joined the company in 1992, the focus and ambition was to take the personal computer in every home and on every desk.

"Guess what: We achieved that. And a company has to outlast any given technology paradigm and any ambitious goal. And so for me this going back to what is it that drove Bill (Gates) to build even the BASIC compiler or the interpreter to what we did in terms of inventing productivity or democratising client-server computing," he said.

The Microsoft chief had spelled out personal computing, reinvention of productivity, and business process and building an intelligent cloud platform as the company's three "bold ambitions" going forward at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2015 underway in Orlando.

Elaborating on his outlook for the Windows Phone, Nadella said he does not want the phones to be like any other phone operating system or device. He stressed Microsoft will also not launch a phone a day but focus on few phones that are unique. "And that's what I want our devices and device innovation to stand for."

The conference was the first major company event following the announcement on July 8 that Microsoft would be cutting 7,800 jobs and write off $7.6 billion, all related to its Nokia business.

Nadella said the announcement about the Nokia business was not about any change to the comany's vision and strategy, but for sure it was a "change to its operating approach".

"The way we're going to go about it. I'm not going to launch a phone a day. I'm going to focus on a few phones that actually grab share that, in fact, showcase our uniqueness," he said.

Press Trust of India

Follow ME on Twitter>>> @iamBhavish
And like us on Facebook>>> The Gud1

Gmail's 'Undo Send' option is now official

The undo send option has existed in Gmail's Labs for six years now, but has only just been made a part of Gmail officially.



Google’s ‘undo send’ option for Gmail is now officially available to all users, both enterprise and individuals. As the name suggests, it allows users to unsend an email that they’ve already sent to someone, by mistake or otherwise. The undo send link will appear at the top of the screen after you have sent an email accompanied by a 'view message' link. Users can pick a time period, which ranges between five and 30 seconds, for clicking on this link. In case you’re wondering, after clicking send, your email won’t actually be sent before this time period is over. Once you click undo, the email appears again in a 'Compose' box on your Gmail screen, and you can decide what to do with it.

There’s a good chance you’ve already been using this for a while. The undo send option was in Gmail's Labs tab for a long time, six years actually, and many have enabled this already. The option has now just been made public and brought into the main Gmail Settings tab. To activate the option, you have to click on the gear menu on the top right of your screen and choose Settings. Scroll down from here and find the Undo Send option. You can then enable it and choose the time period for the feature.

The undo send option though is unique to Gmail, and competing webmail services like Hotmail and Yahoo don’t have it yet. In fact, undo send isn’t even Google’s first attempt at preventing emails from being sent by mistake. In 2008, the company had tried out an option called Mail Goggles, which asked users to solve math problems before they could send an email. This was designed to prevent late night drunk emails but was discontinued in 2012.

Do you plan to activate “Undo Send” for your Gmail account? Let me know what you think of the feature in the comments section!

Follow ME on Twitter>>> @iamBhavish
And like us on Facebook>>> The Gud1 

Happy "Hug Your Dad" Day! #HugYourDad

"I have learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words."
-Ann Hood

Its father's Day today.. And I found an essay I had written back in school. This essay made me cry on how I used to love my Dad back then.. Though I love him much more now, I can't express my love much. I used to hug my Dad on the smallest of joys and sorrows but now I don't even have much time to talk to him..

This father’s day, I am expressing my love towards my dad by participating in the #HugYourDad activity at BlogAdda in association with Vicks.



Here is the essay I had written back in school on my Dad.. Though I have made some changes to it..

My Dad, My Hero!

We all love super-heroes. We admire them. We idolize them. That is because they are paragons of honesty, bravery, self-less sacrifice and of course, loads of fun. Whenever someone is in trouble, they swoop in and save the day. They set an example for us to follow and inspire us to be better human beings. But before the comics, before the cartoons and before we even learnt to say the word “hero,” we all had someone in our lives who already had the traits I just mentioned.

Our Dads!

My Dad is my real hero because he is the most special person in my life. He is a very good athlete & an artist. He is a Businessman by profession. At weekends he loves to play with me the whole day. During weekdays he works hard & spends maximum time working at his office. He tries his best to keep our family happy.

He works hard to make money for our family. He loves me a lot & always tries to cheer me up whenever I am in a sad mood. He has always taught me good values & not spoiling me by buying me all the things that I wanted. But at the same time he has gifted me many things that I always wish to have. My Dad has always tried his level best to make me a good human being.

My Dad helps me in my studies too. Maths is a subject he love's the most. And Maths.. Uff.. How I hate Math's! But he is the person who make's all the math's problems appear like magic! Swish..!! Move the wand and its done! My Math's homework is complete without any headaches!

My Dad is the most precious gift of God to me. He is a loving father and the most gracious person I have ever seen in my life. He wants me to become a good human being like him. That is why he always teaches me to differentiate between wrong & right.

Every day he takes out little time for me in the night to acknowledge my day to day activities & problems if any. He is my best friend. I can discuss everything with him without any hesitation. Things that I fail to reveal out to my close friends, I can easily discuss them with my Dad. Whenever I need his help, he is always available for me. He is like a hero to me. He is a funny, cool, adventurous and smart human being.

He loves to travel and that is why we both always go to long distant places (sometimes abroad) on vacations. I love to travel too & that is why vacations are always awaited as far as its Dad’s company. I may have travelled almost the whole of India in just 17 years! He always says "explore India first its history is greater compared to the rest of world together"

Dad says that he started visiting the globe when he was a college student. According to him his experience has helped him to broaden his horizons. This is the reason he started me quite early. He wants me to experience the world because he believes that travelling is an education in itself.

I have learnt a lot of things under my Dad’s guidance which education my have failed to teach me. The most important lesson that Dad has taught me is to be disciplined & hard working in life. These are the 2 key ingredients to achieve success in life.

Today I am just 17 years old & at this tender age Dad has taught me a lot of things that people at the age of 20 fail to understand. He has taught me what life is all about. He has showed me the way to achieve success. He has showed me the opportunities that exist in front of me. But at the same time he has left the decision up to me in terms of which path to choose. He is very confident that his efforts to make me a good human being will never go in vein.

Seeing his confidence in me some day I am going to make him proud.

So all of you do me a favor. After you’re done reading this, let go of any anger or resentment you might have towards your Dad.(If any!)  Give him a call,(If he isn't around!) say hi, tell him you love him. And the very next time you see him, give him a hug. Because whether they say it or not…dads love hugs.(Believe me I tried it!)