SmartbuyWednesday, June 22, 2011

G A D G E T S | A U T O | L U X U R Y www.blsmartbuy.com

Business Line

Feisty FiestaFord’s new trump cardPage 8 + Samsung Galaxy S II

Top fitness apps

2 June 22, 2011Smartbuy

WHAT’S HOT this week

Team SmartbuyEditorial

Anushya Mamtoraanushya@thehindu.co.in

Ketaki Bhojnagarwalaketaki@thehindu.co.in

Mahananda Bohidarmahananda@thehindu.co.in

S.Muralidharmuraliswami@thehindu.co.in

Design

Bryan Gaughanaqua@thehindu.co.in

Balakrishnandesignkbala@thehindu.co.in

Advertising Contact

R.Diwakarramdiwakar@thehindu.co.in

Web Advertising Contact

N. Amarnathamarnath@thehindu.co.in

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If you’re a photography enthusiast, you’ll lovethe new ProArt series monitor from ASUS.

With a native resolution of 1920x1200 (16:10aspect ratio), 178° wide viewing angle and 98per cent of Adobe colour space reproduction,

this is the perfect display for editing orviewing your latest shots. Featuring a

DisplayPort, HDMI, USB and 7-in-1 cardreader, you can connect multiple devices.

Rs 31,000

For the photobug

ASUS PA246Q

Cover photo: S. Muralidhar

Elegantly strong

Alfred DunhillSolar Charger

The latest Walkman from Sony features a 2.0TFT LED backlit display and 4GB of storage.

A new addition is the alarm/sleep timerwhich lets you wake up or drift off to yourfavourite tunes. For radio lovers, there’s abuilt-in FM tuner. Other features include

voice recording, mini USB, Karaoke functionand 30 hours of audio playback. The easy drag

and drop transfer system lets you pick filesstraight from your computer and add them

directly to the player. Rs 4,990

Tuned up!

Sony NWZ E363

This classy solar charger is crafted withaerospace-grade aluminium with a brushed

silver finish. The device’s Power Halo indicatesthe power levels sourced from either solar

panels or an USB connection. The charger candeliver 70 hours of phone standby time or 5,000

page turns of an e-Book. The Alfred DunhillSolar Charger comes in a carbon fibre effect

Chassis Leather carry case.$195

3 June 22, 2011Smartbuy

The latest smartphone from HTCruns on Android 2.4, and also

comes with HTC’s proprietarySense software. It features a5-meg rear camera and VGA

front camera for video chats. Thelarge 3.4-inch screen is of

480x320 resolution. The USP ofthe handset is of course its

dedicated Facebook button,which allows you to uploadphotos with a simple touch.

Rs 22,000

The latest 5.1-channel home theatre system bySamsung includes four stylish ‘tallboy’ speakers.

With Samsung’s improved Crystal Amplifier Plustechnology, the HT-D5550 minimises sounddistortion and works with 3D Sound Plus to

deliver a truly 3D immersive experience. Otherfeatures include hi-def upscaling of videos,Samsung Smart Hub, AllShare and Built-in

Wireless LAN and a built-in Karaoke.

Standing tall!

Samsung HT-D5550

Spicy smartie

HTC Salsa

Packed with the second-gen Intel Core technology,the Inspiron 14R and 15R sport sleek form factors

with swappable covers to match your mood.Inspired by ethnic prints and designs, you can

choose from ten ‘SWITCH’ covers available. Thelaptops come with Windows 7 Home Premium andUSB 3.0 technology that make transferring photos,videos, music, other graphics and rich files faster.

Rs 34,300 onwards

Changing colours

Dell Inspiron R

4 June 22, 2011Smartbuy

SMARTPHONE review

THE BIG BANG!

Pho

tos:

S.S

. Kum

ar

the bottom of the screen. It also allows for a brand new zoom-in method where

you place your thumbs on two sides of the screen andmove the handset away or close to yourself to zoom in andout. Pretty impressive, but we wonder why we’d use thatwhen we can just pinch-to-zoom on websites, photo-graphs and the like, although the feature would be reallyuseful if Android/Samsung had games that would recog-nise that gesture.

Another novel gesture working on the handset is a pan.While rearranging or adding a new widget or app, you canjust move the handset to the left or right and place it on anyhomescreen you want to.

Playing paparzziThe perfect time to try out the 8-megger was at a gardenparty over the weekend. We started out with takingnight shots with the LED Flash on. The flash came offtoo strong at times, along with the inevitable red-eye inmany snaps. Colours were reproduced well when wetook a couple of shots in a fairly well-lit ambience.During the day, with the Flash turned off, the cameratends to underplay the lighting resulting in picturesthat look a tad bit under-exposed. The in-built PhotoEditor is rather uninspiring and you’d be better offworking with PicSay or FxCamera.

You also have an in-built Video Maker app that givesyou the option of stitching together a home video, aparty video, a video travelogue, a movie and the like.The only difference between the options is the back-ground template and making the video remains a sim-ple drag-and-drop affair. The app is something anyonecould have fun with but at the same time it lacks optionsfor those who’d like to try something even slightly moreengaging.

Stay connectedThe Kies Air app enables the Galaxy S II to be connect-ed to your PC over the same Wi-Fi network. When youlog in to the app, it displays the URL of the network thatyou can connect to from the handset. Once the connec-tion is established, you have access to all files loaded onyour smartphone, right on your desktop. You have a listof all your media, and you can either download yourstuff from the Galaxy S II on to your PC or upload stufffrom your desktop on to the handset. And the sameapplies to AllShare where you can stream content –videos, music and photographs – on to your DLNA-certified telly. Pretty convenient if you tend to forgetwhere the USB cable is!

Some of the models of the Galaxy S II (in selectcountries) are slated to be endowed with NFC capa-bilities. The units available in India do not have NFCcapabilities as of now but with this technology wecan have credit card transactions, ticket reser-vations, use the handset as a transit pass oreven for electronic door entry and the like. Iteven allows you to scan ‘smart tags’ on post-ers or billboards to download the details toyour phone. However, NFC-enabled unitswill end up being slightly thicker in order tohouse the NFC-chip.

App addictionThe new bunch of Samsung apps available on the Gal-

5 June 22, 2011Smartbuy

Mahananda Bohidar

Think thin. Think dual-core. Think betterthan Super AMOLED. No wonder then thatSamsung has tagged the Galaxy S II itsflagship product. Rivals had already

launched handsets that were primed to give theSamsung Galaxy S II some serious competitionbefore its launch – Sony Xperia Arc, an attractiverival with a sexy, slim form factor, LG Optimus 2Xwith its dual-core processor and the Apple iPhone 4with its Retina Display. Will the Galaxy S II beat‘em all to the top with all its much-promising specspacked inside?

At a glanceWe loved flaunting the super-slim body of the Gal-axy S II - one which houses a dual-core ARMCortex A9 processor - as well as the SuperAMOLED Plus display. What is undoubtedly one ofthe most stunning displays adorning a smartphonetoday, is laid out across a 4.3-inch screen. High-resphotographs and HD videos apart, even AngryBirds has never looked quite so gorgeous on anyother handset we’ve used recently.

We have to add the fact that the Galaxy S IIoutdid the Nexus S with its glass display that feelslike Samsung spread a thin layer of butter betweenthe screen and your thumb. For all the while thatwe were addicted to the handset, the matte, tex-tured back panel provided a comfortable grip.

Brains and brawnsTo test its mettle, we ran the Quandrant Standardtest on the Galaxy S II. The smartphone scored awhopping ‘3420’ on the Full Benchmark Test, itsperformance parameters shooting way ahead of theNexus One and scoring more than four times theoriginal Samsung Galaxy S’ mark.

Throughout the span of our review, there wasn’ta single occasion where the smartphone looked likeit was anywhere close to slowing down or beingoverpowered by multiple apps running simultane-ously. The processor seemed ultra-responsivewhile surfing the web, downloading apps and play-ing games on the handset.

User experienceThe Galaxy S II comes with Android 2.3 and theproprietary TouchWiz 4.0 from Samsung. TheTouchWiz does lend itself to a sleeker-looking userinterface. You could glide from one home screen toanother by sliding on to the respective numbers at

axy S II target different interests and activities. TheGame Hub lets you download high quality games, pro-viding over 20 social network games and premiumgames. But even with the free games one has to log-inonce to download the game and then again to startplaying it. It just seemed so much easier to downloadgames from Market and play them on the device. TheReaders Hub integrates several websites from wherewe can access, read and download eBooks, newspapersand magazines. But instead of being showcased in themain collection, every time we downloaded an app wehad to go back to our ‘Account’ to access the eBook.Virtual socialisers have the Social Hub that integratesTwitter and Facebook into the app. Samsung has al-ready introduced the Music Hub but the service is yetto be launched in India.

The default Video Player on the handset doesn’tsupport a host of formats, so we stick to the usualRockPlayer Lite to test out some fast-action videos anda couple of high-def videos from the Web. Both playedbrilliantly on the Super AMOLED Plus screen withoutany stutter.

Talking and textingWe had no qualms about the call quality on the handset.We could scroll through our contacts on the semi-transparent alphabets on the right. Once you end a call,the handset gives you the option of texting or calling theperson back immediately after. The virtual keyboardwas also quite a breeze to use.

The Galaxy S II comes with a 1,650 mAh batteryunder the hood so it wasn’t surprising that it gave usenough juice for more than a working day, with ahandful of calls and texts, app-addictive behaviour andthe Wi-Fi turned on.

And the verdict is…“Vivid. Fast. Slim” Samsung couldn’t have defined itslatest smartphone more accurately. In an unimaginablyfragmented market of smartphones around the world,the Samsung Galaxy S II is packed with potential tobeat them all. And when it’s being offered with a ratherreasonable price tag, there’s no reason why you can’tget your hands on what might reign the ‘smartestsmartphone’ throne for some time to come!

Love: Excellent display, powerful processor, thin yetsturdy designHate: Mixed results with cameraRs 32,890

mahananda@thehindu.co.in

6 June 22, 2011Smartbuy

GAME mania

It’s quite difficult to find a person who hasn’t playedor at least heard about Angry Birds. Here are somefun facts about the game that has captured theimagination of millions worldwide.

Pigs may seem like an odd choice of adversary for birds,and you’ve probably wondered why pigs would steal birds’eggs in the first place. The addition of pigs was apparentlyinspired by the swine flu epidemic that was rampant at thetime when the original Angry Birds game was indevelopment.

Rovio has released over five episodes of Angry Birds,introducing new levels as well as new birds. Apart from this,there are special Angry Birds Seasons editions for Hallo-ween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St Patrick’s Day andEaster. Recently, we saw the release of Angry Birds Rio, astandalone release, which was launched as a promotion forthe animated film Rio.

What drives a game developer to come up with a conceptthat involves killing pigs using birds flung out of a slingshot?The story goes that Jaakko Iisalo, a games designer atRovio, while thinking of concepts for the team’s next pro-ject, had an idea and sketched a character of an angry bird.When he shared the sketch with his directors, they liked thecharacter and then a gameplan was developed.

Trying to cash in on the craze of Angry Birds, severalother game developers have launched games inspired byAngry Birds. These include Cannon Cadets, Bullistic, Trucksand Skulls, Pandas vs Ninjas, Chicks ’n’ Vixens, Boss Launch2, and Angry Farm just to name a few.

On YouTube, you will find several videos on Angry Birds.While most of them teach you tricks and help you pass alevel, one particular video particularly stands out. Searchfor ‘Playable Angry Birds birthday cake’ posted by Electric-pigtv. The Angry Bird cake created by Mike Cooper for his

son’s sixth birthday didn’t just look like the Angry Birdplayfield, but you could actually play it.

Since its release for Apple’s iOS in December 2009,Angry Birds has been downloaded more than 10 milliontimes from the Apple App Store itself. After its version forthe Android and Symbian platforms was released, the gamehas been downloaded more than 50 million times. It’s sopopular that it was hailed as the most downloaded app inmost countries across the globe by the recently released2011 Games Edition of the Guinness World Records.

Angry Birds has quite a celebrity fan following as well.Its celeb fans include David Cameron, Prime Minister of theUnited Kingdom, and prolific writer Salman Rushdie. AngryBirds has also been the talking point on several TV shows,and it was even featured on an Israeli comedy show thatdepicted the angry birds in peace negotiations with thepigs!

CHIP

Fast trackto fitness

You don’t need a personaltrainer to get fit, just

download these fitness appswhich cover a variety of

exercises and help you get inshape. Now there’s no excuse

for being a couch potato!

Ketaki Bhojnagarwala

There’s been a lot of talk nowadays about notspending a bomb on a full-fledged smartphone,

and buying a budget Android instead. There havebeen a stream of many such budget smarties in themarket recently, and the Huawei Ideos U8300landed on our test bench just in time to give us ananswer.In terms of looks, the Ideos U8300 is more like asquashed BlackBerry, with an awkward cutbetween the screen and keyboard. The grey plasticcasing feels tacky and cheap – definitely notsomething you’d want to show off. It’s alright inthe connectivity department, with a 3.5mmheadphone jack, mini USB port, Wi-Fi andBluetooth. The screen is of a really low-resolution –just 320x240 pixels. There’s a constant grid thatshows up on it, which disrupts view. Huawei triesto get it right feature wise, with a touch screen-keyboard combo, but unfortunately it’s chosen aresistive touch screen, a technology that’s way toobsolete for smartphones right now. Even thoughthere is a trackball on the keypad for navigation,

you do require the touchscreen for many functions,and it’s unresponsive to the point of beingfrustrating. The Nokia X3-02 also had a resistivescreen, but way more efficient. The keyboard itselffeels cheap and flimsy, with no dedicatedapostrophe key and an inconveniently spaced-outlayout. Operating system wise, you’ll have to settle forAndroid 2.1, which is, by now, outdated as far assmartphones go. You can set up Facebook andGoogle accounts easily, as well as download appsfrom the Market. The phone does support mp4playback, but because of the screen’s quality you’dbe better off watching a shorter video rather thana full fledged movie. The mono speaker was loudand clear, so it’s a plus for music lovers. The 2-megcamera produced pictures with very poor imagequality, with blurred images even in bright lighting.The Ideos U8300 gives you about a day of batterycharge, with a couple of hours of talktime andbrowsing using Wi-Fi. Call quality was good on thephone, and we were able to have conversationseven while travelling. The screen has anaccelerometer, but it’s really not requiredconsidering there’s only a physical keyboard.There’s a proximity sensor and an accelerometerwhich worked fine.Even though the pricing is attractive, there’s nopoint in getting an Android if you’re going tocompromise on phone quality. You’d be muchbetter off opting for a Nokia or Samsung phone inthe same price range. Love: Good call qualityHate: Resistive screen, flimsy keyboardRs 8,199

Considering a budgetAndroid?

Photo: S.S. Kumar

ketaki@thehindu.co.in

AUTO focus

S. Muralidhar

Ford India has had a dream run of sorts during thelast one year with its hatch Figo taking on estab-lished models with its funkiness and value-for-money package. The model next in line and wait-

ing in the wings to be launched is the new Fiesta.What’s due in is the real deal in a manner of speaking.

Unlike, many of Ford India’s previous cars, this one will bea truly global car, developed entirely for a global audienceand it will be here with its build, design and monikerunchanged for the Indian avatar. And that is why the newFiesta will have a two-way task to complete – work past itspredecessor’s already strong reputation in the perform-ance department; and in terms of affordability and cost ofmaintenance, live up to the image that the Ford Figo hasmanaged to give to the Blue Oval.

DesignThe new Fiesta joins Ford’s other refreshed models likethe Focus and Mondeo in its aggressive new design philos-ophy. Ford calls it ‘Kinetic Design’ and the characterelements flow through in the boldness of the new Fiesta’sdesign. I surely won’t argue with the claim, since the Fordidentity is evident in the new Fiesta, as is theattempt at being a bold departurefrom the unadventurous de-sign of the past.

The cab-forward design of the new Fiesta and the tallstance does tend to give away a bit of the original intentionof building a hatch on the platform. But, at least you don’tget the vibes of the car being a hash of a sedan job, with theboot being fairly well integrated into the overall design.The most impressive angle of the new Fiesta is surely thefront and the weakest is the rather puny rear.

The more distinctive parts of the car are the character-istic airdam, the peeled-back, dual-barrelled headlampsand the stalked door mirrors. The high waistline thatgradually rises towards the rear of the car, the clamshellbonnet, and the more prominent front wheel arches (com-pared to the rear) make the new Fiesta look very much likea hatch when viewed from the front.

At the rear, the new Fiesta features a short, stumpy bootwith a tight lid design. A slightly small and underwhelm-ing taillamp design makes the rear look weak. The spoilerintegrated to the lip of the boot lid gives some redemptionto the design. The oversized rear bumper may be a positivefor buyers who are picky about cost of mainte-nance and repairs.

The curvy roofline of the car is another fea-ture that manages to lend the design more

character

and also smartly addresses the issue of space inside thenew Fiesta. The roofline also leads on to a nicely sized rearglass and a fairly thin C-pillar, both of which contribute tobetter rear visibility. On the other hand, the roofline alsomanages to liberate a lot of head room inside the cabin,easily accommodating even a six-footer at the rear seat.

PerformanceFord has chosen a number of features to bolster the India-spec Fiesta’s list. Before I can pick out highlights from thatlist, I thought the most targeted and impressive choiceswere the two powertrains – one each of petrol and diesel.In the past, the diesel powertrains of Ford have been morepopular than the petrol, but I think with the new 1.5-litreDuratec Ti-VCT engine, the new Fiesta could see a moredistinctly balanced preference.

The petrol engine features a new twin independentvariable camshaft timing technology. This Ti-VCT techsimply ensures better combustion and helps reduce emis-sions and improve efficiencies. By ensuring precise andvariable control of valve overlap – the time during whichboth the intake and the exhaust vales are simultaneouslyopen – the system ensures that wastages are minimised.

The technology ensures that at any given time, theengine can perform in either economy or high perform-ance mode depending on driver demand.

The Ti-VCT system can help deliver instantpower and quick acceleration by advanc-

ing the intake valve or during highor cruising speeds, the in-

take can be pulledback to increase

air-

Fiesta-ing in the town of boiled beans

Photos: S. Muralidhar

gers and lots of storage options. The cabin is also quietthanks to a number of noise reduction measures such asthe use of acoustic-laminated windshield glass, new doorseals and wind-noise optimised grills. Overall, the newFiesta’s interior feels young and plush. Fit and finishquality is good, though I felt quality of plastic used couldhave been better.

RideThe ride quality in the new Fiesta is probably going to bethe one that manages to get on par with the segmentbenchmark – the Honda City. There is little doubt that theFiesta should be positioned as an owner-driven car. A rigidframe made of high strength steel and a suspension setupthat has been specially tuned for Indian road conditionshas clearly worked in its favour. Straight line stability is abreeze, but the new Fiesta also managed to maintain itscool when thrown into corners. The other cars in thesegment tend to grapple with understeer issues when putthrough similar conditions.

One of the features helping the Ford Fiesta maintain its

Smartbuy

flow and lower fuel consumption.Driving the new Fiesta around Bangalore’s crowded

city roads and on the highway leading up to Mysore, I feltthe best part about the new petrol engine is its tractability.Offering a flat torque characteristic that allows impressiveacceleration from low engine rpm ranges the Ti-VCTengine scores both in slow moving conditions and inhighways situations.

The engine’s 140 Nm of torque can be fully exploited at4,500 rpm and a total of 110 horses are available at about6,000 rpm. The light, but sturdy engine is responsive, veryrefined and torquey enough to keep your shoulder and feethappy. The India-spec Fiesta is said to be first to get thisnew engine and it definitely was my favourite compared tothe similarly sized diesel unit.

That doesn’t take away the 1,498cc Duratorq dieselengine’s appeal in other departments. Intercooled andturbocharged, the diesel engine is clearly meant to be oneof the most fuel-efficient in the class. With a peak power of91 PS and a strong peak torque of 204 Nm availablebetween 2,000 rpm to 2,750 rpm, the diesel engine seemslike an ideal package.

There is not much of a turbolag, but I thought that theengine could have offered a bit more of torque at low rpmlevels. In really slow moving traffic or while going overspeed breakers is when you miss a bit more torque. Boththe engines get a lot of help from the new five-speedmanual gearbox that Ford engineers have chosen to pairthem with. Featuring tall ratios, the gearbox manages toeffectively get the best out of the mills. Shift quality issmooth and close to the segment benchmark – the HondaCity.

Ford claims an ARAI rated fuel-efficiency of 17 kmpland 23.5 kmpl for the petrol and diesel engine variants ofthe Fiesta respectively.

InteriorsTalk about other India-specific features and some of thenovelty that has been built into the interior of the newFiesta comes to mind. For example, there is the voiceactivated controls that the new Fiesta has been endowedwith. Press a button on the additional stalk sticking out ofthe steering column and you can voice activate changes tothe airconditioning, music system and your mobile phone.

But apart from the novel trim in the new Fiesta, theinterior is by itself quite a departure from what we haveseen in Ford vehicles of the past. For one, the entire cabinis fresh and young in terms of design and layout, and therehas been no dipping into the parts bin of previous models.There are funky cuts and layers and of course, the mobilephone keypad style layout of the various in-dash controls.Automatic aircon, steering controls, telescopic dials, USB

connectivity and cruise control are all part of the newFiesta’s interior.

The cabin is also comfy, with nicely bol-stered seats, easy reach controls, spa-

cious legroom for rear seatpassen-

line and poise is its new EPAS system (Electric PowerAssist Steering) with pull-drift compensation. The systembased on a proprietary algorithm constantly measures thedriver’s steering input and adapts to changing road condi-tions. The pull-drift system compensates for slight direc-tional shifts caused by heavy crosswinds or poor roadconditions. The system effectively corrects steering inputerrors that may be unwittingly caused by externalconditions.

BottomlineThe Fiesta is due to be launched next month and despitethe good overall package that the new Fiesta represents,there will be a lot riding on the pricing strategy that Fordwill adopt for the car. I think a price range of Rs 7.5 lakh toRs 10.5 lakh will be the ideal. Ford can pull it off with somuch of the new Fiesta already localised. That is probablyalso why the competition (read Honda City) has alreadystarted reacting by cutting prices ahead of the Fiesta’sofficial roll out.

muraliswami@thehindu.co.in

9 June 22, 2011

CLOCKWISE (from top left):

Dual barrel dial design

Funky centre console sure to be a hit amongst younger buyers

Small taillamps gives the Fiesta a weak rear side

Stalked door mirrors tested in the wind tunnel reduce wind noise

Peppy 1.5-litre petrol engine is neatly packed

Centrally mounted info-display may feature sat-nav system in other markets

11 June 22, 2011Smartbuy

MELANGE luxury redefined

The 500 by Gucci collection getsinspiration from the Fiat 500 specialedition and gives the brand loving man adelish range of bags, hats, small leathergoods, sunglasses, watches and more.Available at its stores across New Delhi andMumbai.Price on request

The 500 spirit

Blemishproblems?Hide’em underLord & Berry’stwo newadditions to yourmake-up kit – aConceal It penciland stick – tomake those finelines, dark circlesand scars vanishin a jiffy.Available at selectstores.Rs 950 (pencil) andRs 1,100 (stick)

Underwraps

It’s Biodegradable footwear

this week from Woodland for

the green heart. Made of crepe

rubber, vegetable tanned

leather and cotton thread and

laces, the shoes and sandals are

available at its select stores.

Rs 3,000 onwards

My eco foot!

Bath time gets awhiff of floral,

natural scent withForest Essentials

latest range of bodymists hitting the

shelves. Pick one orall from rose-

cardamom,sandalwood-

vetiver or jasmine-saffron at its

outlets. Rs 995 (100ml)

Mistyfragrances

A descendant of the legendary ‘Officer’sKnives’ of 1897, Victorinox’s SpartanSwiss Army pocket knife is an ideal giftfor the adventure loving dad. Available atselect outlets.Rs 840

For the hiker dad

Back page: DKNY Be Delicious EDT50ml: Rs 2,420; 100ml: Rs 3,320

12 June 22, 2011Smartbuy

PREMIUM interiors

Saving the environment is the need of the day. With more architects, product/interior designers and companies becoming aware of this, the variety ofsustainable options available in the market is increasing. Before you makeyour choice, it is important to understand the materials that contribute to a

green lifestyle.

WOODWildernest, an eco-resort that’s literally carved out of a jungle on the Goa-Karnataka-Maharashtra border, has employed acacia wood (from a certified wood plantation) inthe construction of its beautiful cottages. The flooring has been crafted out of oldrailway sleeper wood. It is interesting to know that the state governments of Goa,Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have set up certified wood plantations where you can buyacacia wood. It is eco-friendly because the tree, Mimosoideae, from which the wood isobtained, grows rapidly, uses less water and is commonly found.

In fact, many forward-thinking architects are looking at sustainable, reclaimedwood options. Used for flooring and furniture, the wood comes from managed forestswhich, unlike regular ones, are never destroyed in one clear sweep. Only select treesare removed. Each area then is maintained and replanted, allowing the trees toregenerate. A few companies like FunderMax India buy untreated wood waste fromsawmills across the country, which is then used to fashion organic fibre panels thatavoid using synthetic resin. A new collection of wooden floors called Eco Core, fromEuropean company Kährs Impex, essentially has a middle layer of post-industrialwood waste that ensures a low carbon footprint.

BAMBOOInternationally, designers are talking about India’s stunning success with bamboo and

jute. A bamboo grove releases 35 per cent more oxygen into the air than a similar-sizedstrand of other trees. It matures and can be replanted within seven years (as compared to 30to 50 years for species like teak, sal, oak, etc). It also helps improve soil conditions andprevents erosion along the way. Bamboo grows so fast that it can yield 20 times more timberthan trees in the same area.

In Tripura, young designers have come up with simple bamboo and jute products thatminimise the use of hardware. Rhizome, a social design firm, which works with theKotwalia community of Gujarat and runs Bamboo Canopy in Ahmedabad, has a raft ofproducts — from new-age bookshelves to quirky stools.

Pondicherry-based architect Fabian Chirou has innovated with Bamboo Mat CorrugatedSheets (BMCS) as a roofing material. To manufacture BMCS, bamboo is converted into matsthat are hand-woven by artisans. A commercial plant at Burnihat, Meghalaya, then proc-esses these mats into BMCS. The roof is thick, keeps the home cool and is durable, unlike atiled roof which tends to crack and break with time.

COCONUT SHELLKirei Coco Tiles (from American company Kirei) are largely imported, but easily available todesigners and architects. It is fashioned from reclaimed coconut shells, low volatile organiccompound (VOC) resin and sustainably harvested wood. This eco-friendly product can beused as decorative tiles or panels, placed horizontally or vertically. It features several colouroptions. Coconut shells are also being crafted into sustainable bowls, lamps and the like.Such merchandise is easily available at stores like Tribal Route (Mumbai) and Mother Earth(Bangalore and Mumbai).

RATTANRattan is a thin climbing plant that grows very similarly to vines in tropical regions such as

Grow agreen BHK

13 June 22, 2011

Besides furniture, architects like Goa-basedDean D’cruz and Gerard da Cunha are using

stone to construct houses. Liberaluse of locally-available laterite isevident in their residential projects

within the state. In Rajasthan, too,yellow and green kota stone are be-

ing used in the construction of ha-velis and villas, a centuries-old

practice. In fact, in areas like Bikan-er, stone was extensively employed in homes,

a tradition that is seeing a revival.

RECYCLED GLASSMade by melding sand, soda ash and lime, recy-

cled glass is considered a better alternative tothe traditional variety. Sometimes, indus-

trial waste is also used to fashionthis green-tinted glass. It finds ap-

plication in flooring, worktops, par-tition walls, panels, lampshades and

even dinnerware! Interestingly, it isresistant to heat, acid and staining.

ECO PAINTSUnlike conventional paints, which might betoxic, eco-paints have low emission levels.Paints with low VOC/ no VOC are finding a

place in the portfolio of paint manufacturers. Furthermore, theyare odourless as they don’t contain injurious chemicals. Though it isn’t possible

to create 100 per cent non-toxic and non-allergenic paints, these have a lower concentra-tion of the harmful elements.

Now that you know which materials will help conserve our planet, do your part andincorporate these eco-friendly materials in your home.

Deepali Nandwani (Better Interiors)

Indonesia. Rattan furnitureis either made by hand ormachines by weaving the ma-terial around a cane framework.It is considered to be one of theworld’s most eco-friendly fur-nishing options. Nowadays,this material is used forboth indoor and outdoorfurniture.

CORKRapidly renewable cork is employed as floor tiles. Thematerial comes from the bark of the cork oak tree whichcan be harvested every 10 years. It is rot-and fire-resist-ant, transmits little sound, and low on VOCs. Itsmanufacturing process produces almost no materi-al waste. Another option is linoleum, which ismade from dried and milled flax seeds mixedwith other plant materialssuch as pine resin, woodflour and ground cork. Moreimportantly, it is 100 per centbiodegradable.

STONELocally available stone, likegranite, slate and limestone,used largely in construction,is now finding application even in fur-niture, especially outdoor furniture. Designer RimzimAbha often uses natural stone to fashion products like tables,benches, washbasins, etc, as they season well, look stunning and are eco-friendly. InRajasthan, designers like Jaipur-based Raghav Behl, are trying out blue and brown kotastone to make outdoor furniture.

Smartbuy

Michael Swamy

Amidst food drama and billows ofsteam, ‘Spices’, the restaurant at JWMarriott, Mumbai, is bustling with ac-tion. The open kitchen is a treat to

watch, with chefs opening and closing pots andplating food. The interior isn’t exactly understated,

but the décor is luxurious with high ceilings and com-forting silence. And what makes the experience better is

savouring the specialities of the restaurant’s new expatchefs from Japan and China. The pan Asian restaurant

now boasts a new menu thanks to the introduction of fournew chefs within its kitchen fold. Being one of the best fine

dining restaurants serving Hakka Chinese and Japanesefood, the management’s penchant for flying down the finest of

Asian chefs is evident in this exclusive gourmet rendezvous.

The spreadThere’s only one word to describe the Peking duck with plum

sauce, and scallions wrapped in a small crepe… sublime! Pekingduck takes 45 minutes to cook, and its preparation is a longdrawn-out affair. The duck is marinated in spices then dried in ahot oven to leave the skin crisp and the meat tender. The duck isthen further cooked to perfection, using several techniques toproduce different versions. The best way to enjoy this delicacy is towatch it being carved, right in front of you.

Another dish we tried is a Japanese specialty with dried fish andabalone, cooked in pleasant broth with Chinese mushrooms, whichseem to have disappeared off the menus of other restaurants. Thesmooth, silky feel of dried mushrooms is complemented by the thickJapanese Udong noodles it is served with.

A slice of black cod looks ever so enticing. In all simplicity, placed ona white plate and topped with pickled vegetables, each mouthful isexotic. One can also opt for the tea smoked chicken; the crisp skin isoffset by soft flesh, the mild flavour of soya and scallions and stir friedwild mushrooms.

Sushi flavoursSushi has taken India by storm, and the sushi at Spices is full offreshness and flavour. Each sushi maker unfolds his own style ofmaking it, a technique that takes years to perfect. Sushi making was ameans of preserving raw fish, where cleaned fish was pressed betweensalt and rice and covered with seaweed till the fish underwent stagesof fermentation. It wasn’t until the 18th century that a chef left out thefermentation process and created the basis of sushi as we now know it.

The Edo style and the Tokyo style are different. Now we also haveCalifornia rolls which were created in the USA. This includes manyvegetarian styles and the use of exotic ingredients like avocado andasparagus.

The Japanese chef at Spices has created some lovely vegetarianversions. The one with finely sliced eggplant over a ball of rice is amouthful of flavours when dipped in a light sauce with a small hintof wasabi. There was also smoked salmon in sushi, wrapped in riceand encrusted with golden roe, and even a fried sushi option.

Tripping over TeppanyakiThe restaurant boasts of a Teppanyaki station, a concept thatoriginated in Teppan, Japan in 1945. Here one can sit aroundthe hot plate and food is cooked right in front of you on a largeiron griddle, heated with gas and not to be confused with aHibachi grill, where food is cooked over a coal fire. It is inTeppanyaki cuisine that one witnesses true Japanese cook-ing in full flair and skill. The chefs at Spices have created awhole range of dishes one can experiment with. The com-bination of the two cuisines, Chinese and Japanese,makes it a popular restaurant among those who love

Asian flavours. The price feels right too. At about Rs1,500 plus taxes per person for a meal, it’s an ideal mix

of quality ingredients, honest ambience and a gour-met experience.

Where: Spices, JW Marriott, MumbaiWhat: Pan Asian cuisine

How much: Rs 1,500 approximately (plustaxes) per person

(The author is a Cordon Bleu Chef, food stylist and writer)

GOURMET encounters

Photos: Michael Swamy

Oriental hotpotSpices, JW Marriott