Author Archive

For 2 weeks now, I have been doing my bit about understanding the mobile handset market in India from a ‘qualitative’ perspective. It is expected that very soon 50% of the Indian population will have a mobile phone in their hand. I tried to understand 3 things – What works, what doesn’t – what does the consumer really look at when he goes out to buy a cell phone? continue

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On Feb 10, Google launched a new social networking product – Google Buzz, right inside Gmail. After that there have been scores of blog-posts regarding the privacy flaws in Google buzz. Clearly the transition from something as personal as Mail to another thing as public as buzz wasn’t going to be simple. The latest update on this issue is that Google has admitted that testing of Buzz was insufficient. continue

All over the internet – be it tech blogs, twitter, facebook pages or anything that has remotely to do with technology – there has just been one topic of discussion over the past few weeks – What will Apple do on their show this Wednesday – Jan 27. The invite is as simple as ‘Come see our latest creation’ and is handed to the top bloggers/press in the USA. Its accompanied by this picture as well. continue

Ever heard of these names: Prajakta K. Kshatriya, Vrushali Kale, Vineet More ? Well, you are not alone in not knowing these names.  My guess is 90% of readers who read this article haven’t heard of these names either. These are names of students in the age range 13-22, who ended their lives in Maharashtra, due to what authorities speculate ‘intense academic pressures’. continue

As 2009 comes to a close, we keep looking at the best of 2009, the past decade and million other things. So I thought, it might well be interesting to look at what are the things we can look forward to in 2010. Here is my take on it:

1. Touchscreen tablets – Those who have used the iPhone or the iPod touch know the ‘awesomeness’ (a pure fanboy lingo used there ) associated with the user experience associated with the device. It is widely expected -atleast in the crazy world of tech-blogs that Apple would debut its Touchscreen tablet (size range 9 to 12 inches) in the New Year, perhaps even as early as Jan 2010. Whats more, another device called the JooJoo, though mired in controversy, has already started taking pre-orders. Its a capacitive touchscreen tablet worth 500 USD. Now, why is this something to look forward to? I strongly believe that the keyboards we are using today are the biggest impediments with regard to non-English languages coming onto the internet. How I would love to blog on strat/other blogs in Marathi or Hindi, even Sanskrit maybe! 2010s may well be the decade when we see a lot more people adopting the internet as a medium of communication in India and touchscreen tablets can be the tipping point of that revolution thats coming through! continue

(Note: This post has nothing to do with strategy. Its a post in the reflections category, and yet hopefully would be worth your time.)

Over the weekend, I visited Pune – one of the biggest IT-related success stories of India of the past decade.  Over there, I went to this ‘Neera’ (a fruit extract which is served cold and acts as a rejuvenator) shop run by a physically challenged person. He was an old man , probably over 65 years of age and I have seen him selling Neera over there atleast for the past 7-8 years. During my chat with him, I asked him – ‘Aap itne saal se Neera bech rahe ho, aapka koi yadgaar khsan bataiye’ (Tell us some unforgettable incident you must have had while selling Neera) . He narrated that incident and then said something that was invaluable in my opinion – continue

So, 3 Idiots released on Wednesday nights in select theaters. I am going to see the movie today, but then I see all movies of a key figure in the movie – and that figure isn’t Amir Khan. But then, thats beside the point. 3 Idiots went for some interesting promotions, with some illustrious corporates piggybacking on the hype of 3 Idiots as well. I try to put my views about the promotions of 3 Idiots in this post. continue

Just recently I bought my first ever iPod touch. Its a brilliant device and amply illustrates why Apple is justifiably the leader in this field by a margin. Essentially what such tech devices do is that they take one core need of their consumers and try to completely satisfy those. Over time, these devices such as iPods become an important medium by themselves. Extending this logic, companies have been trying to create such niches for themselves everywhere. But the underlying theme remains – customising products that would satisfy one particular need of their target consumer.Whats fascinating is that this isn’t only true for technology – its true across the spectrum of sectors. The field of finance with its gamut of instruments is an ultimate example of customisation at a very advanced stage. In this post, I try to look at different paradigms of customisation. continue

After the general elections earlier this year, there was a huge hue and cry about voter turnout. In Mumbai, it was as low as 35% in some constituencies. A laundry-list of reasons were given- summers, holidays, heat, no leave in the private sector etc. So, the authorities are trying to address this issue by proactively taking steps to get voters at the election sectors. While it is impressive that the authorities are tackling this issue head-on, why has this issue come up in the first place? Some pretty obvious causes come to mind – continue

An avid cricket fan, say Swami was watching the India-Pakistan cricket match in Mumbai at his office. Since it was a long weekend, he had to catch a flight to reach his home in Bangalore. So, he left the the small TV sets in office albeit reluctantly. But, Swami was keen to stay in touch with the scores all through. So, while he was waiting for a cab, he sent an SMS to an cricket-SMS channel about latest scores. In the car, he asked the driver to put on the live radio (and cursed his luck for not getting the FM mobile connector with him) Then, at the airport he enjoyed the match on a flat screen plasma TV. In the plane, he enjoyed live satellite TV (note: he had booked a KF flight knowing that there would be a match on) . Next, after alighting at Bangalore, he called up his friends, for expert commentary on phone - who in turn advised him to go to this new cool website on internet for live commentary. So, he checked the mobile internet on GPRS for the match. So, finally he reached home, where he quickly put on his LCD tv and logged onto the internet for a detailed scorecard as well! Clearly, Swami had not missed a moment of the match!! continue