Actually the rocket level hike of petrol price will be stricktly prohibitted hearafter.Central Government celebrating their successful third year day before yesterday after the one day sudden petrol hike.Nobody is there to questioned the central government as well as our Honorable Finance minister said its economical balance due to rupee price low against the dollar.But in india already petrol price are sky level high but again their putting burden on the middle class people its really not acceptable.

This government should not run hearafter and to satisfy some group of people they are increasing this price
like anythng.Actually in Bangalore the petrol price increased like anything.I dont know why government increased too much in bangalore only. The detail list of petrol price given below.

Petrol price increased

Petrol price increased as rocket price.

Actually the rocket level hike of petrol price will be stricktly prohibitted hearafter.Central Government celebrating their successful third year day before yesterday after the one day sudden petrol hike.Nobody is there to questioned the central government as well as our Honorable Finance minister said its economical balance due to rupee price low against the dollar.But in india already petrol price are sky level high but again their putting burden on the middle class people its really not acceptable.

This government should not run hearafter and to satisfy some group of people they are increasing this price
like anythng.Actually in Bangalore the petrol price increased like anything.I dont know why government increased too much in bangalore only. The detail list of petrol price given below.

SJ Surya known for new and different thinking in the same way he is doing one project called i mean
he is acting one film called "Isai" which upcoming movie for Surya.

Actually he is directing this movie as well as he is playing a major role in his acting in this film as
well as he is doing music also for this movie.

so everyone expectations was very huge in this film because surya is doing major role as well as he is doing
music as well.In the new poster also for ISAI released in the poster also he is playing guitor.

SJ Surya's upcoming film ISAI

SJ Surya known for new and different thinking in the same way he is doing one project called i mean
he is acting one film called "Isai" which upcoming movie for Surya.

Actually he is directing this movie as well as he is playing a major role in his acting in this film as
well as he is doing music also for this movie.

so everyone expectations was very huge in this film because surya is doing major role as well as he is doing
music as well.In the new poster also for ISAI released in the poster also he is playing guitor.

In the indian history this is the first time like single time their increasing petrol price like
anything.Actually From today onwards petrol price will be drastically increased like Rs7.50 paise
starting from today night onwards.

But our financial minister said due to weak economy this price has increased as well as rupees
keep on goes dowm.To balance that the price has been increased as he said.

But in the indian history till the time this was not happend this is the first time in india single
day their are increasing one litre petrol as Rs 7.50 paise.

First time in the indian History Petrol hike will be Rs 7.50 paise.

In the indian history this is the first time like single time their increasing petrol price like
anything.Actually From today onwards petrol price will be drastically increased like Rs7.50 paise
starting from today night onwards.

But our financial minister said due to weak economy this price has increased as well as rupees
keep on goes dowm.To balance that the price has been increased as he said.

But in the indian history till the time this was not happend this is the first time in india single
day their are increasing one litre petrol as Rs 7.50 paise.

Just follow the three steps to identify the drugs are duplicate or original.
In the ach medicines there is a lable called medicines description label and it has
contains that the unique ID for the particular product.
Just note down the number and send those number to the below mobile number


 9901099010




So after sending the message you have to just wait for few seconds you will be get notified
through the sms with product number and which pharma its is so every information you
will get immediatly with notification.


But if you didnt get any reply then resend the same Uique number to the same mobile
number to register the complaint about the particular product

How to find out the DUPLICATE DRUGS AND MDICINES.

Just follow the three steps to identify the drugs are duplicate or original.
In the ach medicines there is a lable called medicines description label and it has
contains that the unique ID for the particular product.
Just note down the number and send those number to the below mobile number


 9901099010




So after sending the message you have to just wait for few seconds you will be get notified
through the sms with product number and which pharma its is so every information you
will get immediatly with notification.


But if you didnt get any reply then resend the same Uique number to the same mobile
number to register the complaint about the particular product

Three 3 Movie Reviews
Rating 4/5
Actor: Dhanush Kolarveri song famous guy.
Actress:Sthruthi hasan

The movie…its all concerning Ram (Dhanush) and Janani(Shruti) moving through all the sentiments from their
teenage +2 days until the tragedy once their marriage…and that's the suspense of the movie.
 The intro scene itself can provide you with a shock ,which is that the funeral of Dhanush….ooohh
 ..I am sorry…I am not supposed this to mention this…Finally the Wait is over…..
The KOLAVERI movie is here….. ’3′ hits the Screen,made by the ’3′ nice artists who are the predecessors
 of ’3′ masters of Tamil trade – Dhanush (son of Director KasthuriRaja who is additionally the producer
of this movie),Shruti Hassan(Daughter of Kamalhassan), Aishwarya (Daughter of Rajnikanth likewise as wife of Dhanush).

Infact I didn’t realize the other relation with this name and therefore the movie…. – Dhanush three
Tamil Movie Reviews
The entire story runs within the Flashback….which is that the real beauty and lifetime of the movie.
 i'm certain that everyone can resemble themselves to the teenage Ram who is driving a Yamaha RX100
 bike,waiting beneath the tree for a passing look from the woman,joining the tutoring category with
the simplest friend solely to be along with her for a few time,and avoiding the simplest friend to
possess a ride in his bike with woman friend…etc..etc.. These are the items to be highlighted
concerning the first 0.5,which created the movie…


The 2nd 0.5 fully turns the mood and take you to a different genre, that is that the masterpiece
of National Award Winner Dhanush – A Psychological Thriller. i actually doubt concerning this
section which may entertain all the kind of Audience attributable to an enormous transition,
which is providing a Hot and Cold treatment with romance and bipolar disorder.

Dhanush lived within the character Ram,which resembles him to his ‘Thulluvatho Ilamai’
appearance and ‘Kathal Kondein’ perspective. Shruti Hassan proved her acting skills
specially in her teenage woman section. Aishwarya stunned along with her direction
ability within the debut movie that is actually appreciable. the most temperament to
 be mentioned in Anirudh, the music Director. The boy created the planet to bop along
 with his Kolaveri Steps, pushed this movie to future level with wonderful background Scores.
The BGM may be a spicy add on to all or any the simplest scenes during this movie. there's a special
applause goes to the parental characters did by Prabhu,Bhanupriya and Rohini. Altogether this can be
 one thing modified the traditional patterns of tamil movie.Really recent

Three Movie Review

Three 3 Movie Reviews
Rating 4/5
Actor: Dhanush Kolarveri song famous guy.
Actress:Sthruthi hasan

The movie…its all concerning Ram (Dhanush) and Janani(Shruti) moving through all the sentiments from their
teenage +2 days until the tragedy once their marriage…and that's the suspense of the movie.
 The intro scene itself can provide you with a shock ,which is that the funeral of Dhanush….ooohh
 ..I am sorry…I am not supposed this to mention this…Finally the Wait is over…..
The KOLAVERI movie is here….. ’3′ hits the Screen,made by the ’3′ nice artists who are the predecessors
 of ’3′ masters of Tamil trade – Dhanush (son of Director KasthuriRaja who is additionally the producer
of this movie),Shruti Hassan(Daughter of Kamalhassan), Aishwarya (Daughter of Rajnikanth likewise as wife of Dhanush).

Infact I didn’t realize the other relation with this name and therefore the movie…. – Dhanush three
Tamil Movie Reviews
The entire story runs within the Flashback….which is that the real beauty and lifetime of the movie.
 i'm certain that everyone can resemble themselves to the teenage Ram who is driving a Yamaha RX100
 bike,waiting beneath the tree for a passing look from the woman,joining the tutoring category with
the simplest friend solely to be along with her for a few time,and avoiding the simplest friend to
possess a ride in his bike with woman friend…etc..etc.. These are the items to be highlighted
concerning the first 0.5,which created the movie…


The 2nd 0.5 fully turns the mood and take you to a different genre, that is that the masterpiece
of National Award Winner Dhanush – A Psychological Thriller. i actually doubt concerning this
section which may entertain all the kind of Audience attributable to an enormous transition,
which is providing a Hot and Cold treatment with romance and bipolar disorder.

Dhanush lived within the character Ram,which resembles him to his ‘Thulluvatho Ilamai’
appearance and ‘Kathal Kondein’ perspective. Shruti Hassan proved her acting skills
specially in her teenage woman section. Aishwarya stunned along with her direction
ability within the debut movie that is actually appreciable. the most temperament to
 be mentioned in Anirudh, the music Director. The boy created the planet to bop along
 with his Kolaveri Steps, pushed this movie to future level with wonderful background Scores.
The BGM may be a spicy add on to all or any the simplest scenes during this movie. there's a special
applause goes to the parental characters did by Prabhu,Bhanupriya and Rohini. Altogether this can be
 one thing modified the traditional patterns of tamil movie.Really recent

NDS
When: March 2012

Cisco Systems made its first major acquisition in over two years with a deal to buy NDS, which develops pay TV software, for $5 billion,
NDS as a maker of “video software and content security solutions,” NDS describes itself on its Web site as a company
that allows pay television companies to deliver all kinds of content to all kinds of devices.
 Cisco very likely plans to have NDS make more software for mobile devices, particularly tablets,
 as well as for business-friendly features, like distance learning and video conferencing.
In either case, the aim is to help phone and cable companies store and deliver more of their
content through huge data centers, where it can be fetched and shown more easily.

Sheer Networks
When: July 2005

Sheer Networks was in Cisco's backyard in San Jose, Calif.,
 and made network and service management products.
Its technologies helped Cisco further develop its own management product portfolio,
 especially for service provider businesses that rely on big operations and billing systems.

Scientific-Atlanta
When: November 2005

Scientific-Atlanta was Cisco's largest-ever acquisition by transaction amount, in this case $6.9 billion.
 It constituted a major video-networking play for Cisco, one that helped expand its horizons toward video
and other content over the Internet, as well as giving Cisco its first major foothold in consumer
electronics and further its reach into home-integration networking.

SyPixx Networks

When: March 2006

SyPixx Networks was a surveillance company specializing in H.264-standard video-camera encoders and decoders,
 transmission equipment, storage, recording and fiber-optic equipment for IP-based video monitoring.
For Cisco, it meant advancing the networking giant's physical security-monitoring systems and related product lines.

Arroyo Video Solutions
When: August 2006

Primarily an entertainment-industry-focused vendor, Arroyo Video Solutions provided on-demand television,
video and other consumer services, and Cisco proceeded to integrate Arroyo's
platform into its Cisco IP-NGN (Next Generation Network) framework.

IronPort Systems

When: January 2007

IronPort's game was Internet threat protection in flagship products such as IronPort AntiSpam and SenderBase e-mail protection.
 The company later added SpamCop to its product arsenal -- a security play for Cisco.

Reactivity
When: February 2007

Cisco snapped up XML gateway and Web services company Reactivity, whose employees and operations were folded into
 Cisco's Data Center Switching and Security Technology Group. The move furthered an agenda by Cisco to create and
offer application-aware networks to support key technologies like service-oriented architectures (SOAs).

WebEx
When: March 2007

WebEx's suite of on-demand collaboration, Web-conferencing and videoconferencing applications include Meeting Center,
WebEx Connect and WebEx WebOffice. Founded as a start-up in 1995, WebEx applications have since become key pieces of
Cisco's collaboration portfolio.

Navini Networks
When: October 2007

Cisco picked up mobile WiMax specialist Navini Networks in 2007 for about $330 million in cash to extend Cisco's Wi-Fi
and Wi-Fi mesh portfolios. Navini's Ripwave MX product line at the time included modems, antenna arrays, base stations
and element management systems.

Pure Digital
When: March 2009

Principally a consumer product play for Cisco, Pure Digital is the maker of Flip Video, a simple camcorder whose variations
include Flip Ultra, Flip Ultra HD, Flip Video Mino and Flip Video Mino HD.

Tandberg
When: October 2009

Tandberg makes a range of videoconferencing hardware and software products, and their lower-end devices are favored by SMB
customers and don't require the type of full-scale, massive conference room deployments as does, say, TelePrescence.
The Tandberg deal is expected to broaden Cisco's collaboration portfolio to reach smaller businesses.

Cisco's Major Acquisitions

NDS
When: March 2012

Cisco Systems made its first major acquisition in over two years with a deal to buy NDS, which develops pay TV software, for $5 billion,
NDS as a maker of “video software and content security solutions,” NDS describes itself on its Web site as a company
that allows pay television companies to deliver all kinds of content to all kinds of devices.
 Cisco very likely plans to have NDS make more software for mobile devices, particularly tablets,
 as well as for business-friendly features, like distance learning and video conferencing.
In either case, the aim is to help phone and cable companies store and deliver more of their
content through huge data centers, where it can be fetched and shown more easily.

Sheer Networks
When: July 2005

Sheer Networks was in Cisco's backyard in San Jose, Calif.,
 and made network and service management products.
Its technologies helped Cisco further develop its own management product portfolio,
 especially for service provider businesses that rely on big operations and billing systems.

Scientific-Atlanta
When: November 2005

Scientific-Atlanta was Cisco's largest-ever acquisition by transaction amount, in this case $6.9 billion.
 It constituted a major video-networking play for Cisco, one that helped expand its horizons toward video
and other content over the Internet, as well as giving Cisco its first major foothold in consumer
electronics and further its reach into home-integration networking.

SyPixx Networks

When: March 2006

SyPixx Networks was a surveillance company specializing in H.264-standard video-camera encoders and decoders,
 transmission equipment, storage, recording and fiber-optic equipment for IP-based video monitoring.
For Cisco, it meant advancing the networking giant's physical security-monitoring systems and related product lines.

Arroyo Video Solutions
When: August 2006

Primarily an entertainment-industry-focused vendor, Arroyo Video Solutions provided on-demand television,
video and other consumer services, and Cisco proceeded to integrate Arroyo's
platform into its Cisco IP-NGN (Next Generation Network) framework.

IronPort Systems

When: January 2007

IronPort's game was Internet threat protection in flagship products such as IronPort AntiSpam and SenderBase e-mail protection.
 The company later added SpamCop to its product arsenal -- a security play for Cisco.

Reactivity
When: February 2007

Cisco snapped up XML gateway and Web services company Reactivity, whose employees and operations were folded into
 Cisco's Data Center Switching and Security Technology Group. The move furthered an agenda by Cisco to create and
offer application-aware networks to support key technologies like service-oriented architectures (SOAs).

WebEx
When: March 2007

WebEx's suite of on-demand collaboration, Web-conferencing and videoconferencing applications include Meeting Center,
WebEx Connect and WebEx WebOffice. Founded as a start-up in 1995, WebEx applications have since become key pieces of
Cisco's collaboration portfolio.

Navini Networks
When: October 2007

Cisco picked up mobile WiMax specialist Navini Networks in 2007 for about $330 million in cash to extend Cisco's Wi-Fi
and Wi-Fi mesh portfolios. Navini's Ripwave MX product line at the time included modems, antenna arrays, base stations
and element management systems.

Pure Digital
When: March 2009

Principally a consumer product play for Cisco, Pure Digital is the maker of Flip Video, a simple camcorder whose variations
include Flip Ultra, Flip Ultra HD, Flip Video Mino and Flip Video Mino HD.

Tandberg
When: October 2009

Tandberg makes a range of videoconferencing hardware and software products, and their lower-end devices are favored by SMB
customers and don't require the type of full-scale, massive conference room deployments as does, say, TelePrescence.
The Tandberg deal is expected to broaden Cisco's collaboration portfolio to reach smaller businesses.

The customary storefront crowds gathered as Apple's latest iPad went on sale starting in Asia on Friday.
 Gadget fans lined up in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore so they could be among the first to get their hands
 on the device.


The third version of Apple's iPad also went on sale in Australia and it will be available in the U.S.
 and five other countries beginning at 8 a.m. local time. The new model comes with a faster processor
 and a much sharper screen. It also boasts an improved camera, similar to that of the latest iPhone.


For many customers, visiting a store in person - instead of having one shipped - offers consumers a 
chance to mingle with die-hard Apple fans.


About 450 people lined up outside Apple's Ginza store in downtown Tokyo. 
Some had spent the night sleeping outside the store to be among the first when it opened at 8 a.m.
 - two hours earlier than usual.


"I wanted to be able to show it off to my friends," said Norio Nakayama, a 33-year-old computer 
consultant outside Apple's crosstown shop in the trendy Shibuya district. 
"I think I'll give my older iPad 1 to my wife."


In Hong Kong, a steady stream of buyers picked up their new devices at preset times at the city's
 sole Apple store after entering a random drawing online.


The system, which required buyers to have local ID cards, also helped thwart attempts by visitors 
from mainland China - Apple's fastest growing market - who have a reputation for scooping up Apple
 gadgets to get them earlier and avoid sales tax at home.


The iPad's release date in China has not yet been announced.


Two years after the debut of the first iPad, the device's launch has become the second-biggest 
"gadget event" of the year, after the annual iPhone release. A year ago, thousands lined up outside 
the flagship Apple store on New York's Fifth Avenue. The device sold out on launch day, even though 
it didn't go on sale until 5 p.m.


For some customers, standing in line will offer the only chance to get a new iPad on Friday. 
Apple quickly ran out of supplies it set aside for advance orders.
 The company was telling customers Thursday to expect a two- to three-week wait
 for orders placed through its online stores. Some buyers feared even longer waits.


"I knew that if I didn't buy it today it may be difficult in the future,
" said Anfernee Au, 33, who spent more than three hours outside a Hong Kong Apple reseller the 
day before for a ticket that allowed him to buy one iPad.


The new iPad is called just that: "the new iPad.
" Apple declined to give it a name like "iPad 3" or "iPad HD." 
That is consistent with its naming practice for iPods, MacBooks and iMacs,
 but a break with the way iPhone models are named.


Despite competition from cheaper tablet computers such as Amazon.com Inc.
's Kindle Fire, the iPad remains the most popular tablet computer. 
Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since its debut in 2010, 
including some 40 million last year. Researchers estimate that the 
iPad has more than 60 percent of the market for tablets.


The iPad's accomplishments have contributed to the company's success on Wall Street. 
Apple's stock touched $600 briefly for the first time on Thursday. 
Apple is the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalization of nearly $555 billion. 
It topped $500 billion for the first time in late February, 
a market value peak where few companies have ventured.

Apple ipad New released on friday

The customary storefront crowds gathered as Apple's latest iPad went on sale starting in Asia on Friday.
 Gadget fans lined up in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore so they could be among the first to get their hands
 on the device.


The third version of Apple's iPad also went on sale in Australia and it will be available in the U.S.
 and five other countries beginning at 8 a.m. local time. The new model comes with a faster processor
 and a much sharper screen. It also boasts an improved camera, similar to that of the latest iPhone.


For many customers, visiting a store in person - instead of having one shipped - offers consumers a 
chance to mingle with die-hard Apple fans.


About 450 people lined up outside Apple's Ginza store in downtown Tokyo. 
Some had spent the night sleeping outside the store to be among the first when it opened at 8 a.m.
 - two hours earlier than usual.


"I wanted to be able to show it off to my friends," said Norio Nakayama, a 33-year-old computer 
consultant outside Apple's crosstown shop in the trendy Shibuya district. 
"I think I'll give my older iPad 1 to my wife."


In Hong Kong, a steady stream of buyers picked up their new devices at preset times at the city's
 sole Apple store after entering a random drawing online.


The system, which required buyers to have local ID cards, also helped thwart attempts by visitors 
from mainland China - Apple's fastest growing market - who have a reputation for scooping up Apple
 gadgets to get them earlier and avoid sales tax at home.


The iPad's release date in China has not yet been announced.


Two years after the debut of the first iPad, the device's launch has become the second-biggest 
"gadget event" of the year, after the annual iPhone release. A year ago, thousands lined up outside 
the flagship Apple store on New York's Fifth Avenue. The device sold out on launch day, even though 
it didn't go on sale until 5 p.m.


For some customers, standing in line will offer the only chance to get a new iPad on Friday. 
Apple quickly ran out of supplies it set aside for advance orders.
 The company was telling customers Thursday to expect a two- to three-week wait
 for orders placed through its online stores. Some buyers feared even longer waits.


"I knew that if I didn't buy it today it may be difficult in the future,
" said Anfernee Au, 33, who spent more than three hours outside a Hong Kong Apple reseller the 
day before for a ticket that allowed him to buy one iPad.


The new iPad is called just that: "the new iPad.
" Apple declined to give it a name like "iPad 3" or "iPad HD." 
That is consistent with its naming practice for iPods, MacBooks and iMacs,
 but a break with the way iPhone models are named.


Despite competition from cheaper tablet computers such as Amazon.com Inc.
's Kindle Fire, the iPad remains the most popular tablet computer. 
Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since its debut in 2010, 
including some 40 million last year. Researchers estimate that the 
iPad has more than 60 percent of the market for tablets.


The iPad's accomplishments have contributed to the company's success on Wall Street. 
Apple's stock touched $600 briefly for the first time on Thursday. 
Apple is the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalization of nearly $555 billion. 
It topped $500 billion for the first time in late February, 
a market value peak where few companies have ventured.

Rahul Dravid - Wall of India

BLANK CITY tells the long-overdue tale of a disparate crew of renegade filmmakers who emerged from an economically bankrupt and dangerous moment in New York history. From the late 1970's through the mid 80's, when the city was still a wasteland of cheap rent and cheap drugs, these directors crafted daring works that profoundly influenced independent film today.

Directed by French newcomer Céline Danhier, BLANK CITY weaves together an oral history of the “No Wave Cinema” and “Cinema of Transgression” movements through compelling interviews with the luminaries who began it all.

The film features acclaimed directors Jim Jarmusch and John Waters, actor-writer-director Steve Buscemi,
Blondie’s Debbie Harry, hip-hop legend Fab 5 Freddy, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, photographer Richard Kern as well as Amos Poe, James Nares, Eric Mitchell, Susan Seidelman, Beth B, Scott B, Charlie Ahearn and Nick Zedd. Fittingly, the soundtrack includes: Patti Smith, Television, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Contortions, Sonic Youth and many more.

Made on shoestring budgets in collaboration with the pioneering musicians, visual artists, performers,
 and derelicts that ruled Downtown, the films surveyed in BLANK CITY are fitting documents of an
exhilarating and unique cultural moment. This same legendary-but-fleeting period likewise birthed
 punk rock, hip-hop and Madonna, and brought New York City to the forefront of the international art world.
 Unlike the revered musical revolution of this era, this epoch of underground film has never before been chronicled.

BLANK CITY is a love letter to New York, a cultural portrait of Manhattan in the days before Reagan, big money, and gentrification forever altered the fabric of the city. Though a look back, the heart of BLANK CITY does not live in the past. In this new age of digital democracy, the maverick spirit of the New York Underground has risen again in emerging creative communities worldwide. The Do-It-Yourself ethos, audacious storytelling, and sense of urgency guiding "No Wave" and the "Cinema of Transgression" are more relevant and inspiring than ever

BLANK CITY - Movie Reviews

BLANK CITY tells the long-overdue tale of a disparate crew of renegade filmmakers who emerged from an economically bankrupt and dangerous moment in New York history. From the late 1970's through the mid 80's, when the city was still a wasteland of cheap rent and cheap drugs, these directors crafted daring works that profoundly influenced independent film today.

Directed by French newcomer Céline Danhier, BLANK CITY weaves together an oral history of the “No Wave Cinema” and “Cinema of Transgression” movements through compelling interviews with the luminaries who began it all.

The film features acclaimed directors Jim Jarmusch and John Waters, actor-writer-director Steve Buscemi,
Blondie’s Debbie Harry, hip-hop legend Fab 5 Freddy, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, photographer Richard Kern as well as Amos Poe, James Nares, Eric Mitchell, Susan Seidelman, Beth B, Scott B, Charlie Ahearn and Nick Zedd. Fittingly, the soundtrack includes: Patti Smith, Television, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Contortions, Sonic Youth and many more.

Made on shoestring budgets in collaboration with the pioneering musicians, visual artists, performers,
 and derelicts that ruled Downtown, the films surveyed in BLANK CITY are fitting documents of an
exhilarating and unique cultural moment. This same legendary-but-fleeting period likewise birthed
 punk rock, hip-hop and Madonna, and brought New York City to the forefront of the international art world.
 Unlike the revered musical revolution of this era, this epoch of underground film has never before been chronicled.

BLANK CITY is a love letter to New York, a cultural portrait of Manhattan in the days before Reagan, big money, and gentrification forever altered the fabric of the city. Though a look back, the heart of BLANK CITY does not live in the past. In this new age of digital democracy, the maverick spirit of the New York Underground has risen again in emerging creative communities worldwide. The Do-It-Yourself ethos, audacious storytelling, and sense of urgency guiding "No Wave" and the "Cinema of Transgression" are more relevant and inspiring than ever

Sony's PSP was a game-changer in the handheld gaming market. 
Though Nintendo reigned over this category for quite a long time, Sony stole its thunder 
in a flash. The PSP was the first handheld game device to use an optical disc format, 
the UMD (Universal Media Disc) and memory stick pro duo as its primary mode of storage. 

Over the years, the PSP hasn't changed much in terms of its form factor apart from getting a bit slimmer.
 But seven years on, Sony continues its PSP legacy with the PS Vita (earlier code-named NGP or 
Next Generation Portable) and it is definitely a huge leap from its predecessors in terms of graphics and performance. 
Vita means 'life' in Latin. It seems apt for the rich entertainment services the device offers. So, are you ready to upgrade to a Vita yet?




Design & Build
We received the Wi-Fi only version of the Vita inclusive of a 16GB removable memory card along with a PSN voucher code.
 This black beauty came buried in a hardbound white manual, which we thought was quite creative. Open the manual and each
 page defines a feature of the Vita that actually appears to be engraved into the manual. Further on, the pages list the games
 available for the device slowly revealing the Vita bit-by-bit. And after the pages end, you finally get a first look of the 
Vita and it was a breathtaking moment!






The first thing we noticed was the 5-inch OLED screen and the neatly laid out controls that are 
evenly distributed on either side of the screen. The left side houses a slightly smaller 
D-Pad with the primary analog stick sitting just below it. Adjacent to the stick is the left speaker
. And further down, is the PlayStation Home button that takes you to the home screen when pressed.


On the right side, you have the classic Sony controls; the triangle, circle, x and square buttons 
below which resides the second analog stick and the right speaker. The familiar Start and Select buttons 
are placed at the bottom we're all familiar with. Sony's motion sensor technology debuts in the Vita with 
Sixaxis motion controls just like the PS3.




A metallic plastic strip runs around the circumference of the device. There are two slots on the top edge.
 The Vita-labeled slot accepts the proprietary game card while the other one is an accessory port.
 The shoulder left and right buttons are transparent and are perfectly placed for use. The power/sleep button 
is situated next to the left shoulder button while the volume buttons are located adjacent to the right one.
 The base of the console has the headphones/microphone jack, the charging/connecting port and the Vita's new game memory storage slot.




Display


The Vita's biggest attraction is its 5-inch OLED capacitive screen with a qHD resolution of 960x544.
 Though it still doesn't compare with the iPhone's retina display, it is quite brilliant.
 It's a first we've seen on any portable gaming device. It looks stellar with the colours 
appearing really sharp and vivid. This is however when you're indoors. But outdoors, even at full brightness,
 it couldn't compete with the sun. It is very reflective and attracts fingerprints quite easily.




It supports multi-touch and most games make excellent use of the screen during gameplay. 
The PlayStation-patterned touch panel accompanies the capacitive touch-screen across the 
back with two grip pads on either side. It is a very unique feature that keeps you thoroughly engaged while playing.




Camera Quality
The Vita sports identical 0.3MP front and rear cameras. 
Though the camera finds use in games like Reality Fighters,
 it isn't the best feature. The stills produced are low on quality and don't really match up to the expectations.
 You can take screen shots by pressing the PS Home and Start buttons simultaneously. Both the front and rear facing 
cameras record video but unfortunately the quality of recording isn't that great. This is a dampener for a device of this caliber.




OS & Interface


The Vita's UI is very user friendly. 
The LiveArea screen has various bubble-like icons representing apps, games, photos, the PS store, browser et al.
 The device has multiple screens piled one on top of the other. The screen can be unlocked with a cool page-flipping animation. 
The technique is also used while closing applications running in the background. You can skim through running programs with a horizontal swipe. 
A great addition is the accelerometer and the gyroscope, which allows you to play games by moving the device in your hand.




There aren't many pre-installed apps on the Vita. Content sharing is possible with Content Manager to and from the PS3 via a USB cable.
 Remote Play allows you to control your PS3 with the Vita over a network, which means you can play PS3 games on your Vita. 
You can also use the Vita as a controller and operate most of the features on the PS3.




Gaming
No one comes close to the PS Vita in this area. As a handheld gaming device, 
the Vita offers a fabulous portable gaming experience. You may think that the analog sticks look and feel pretty small especially 
if you're used to the dual-shock controllers, don't be fooled. They're easy to get used to and happen to be very accurate.
 The device allows you to control characters on-screen in 5 different ways: the 5-inch OLED touch screen, the rear touch panel,
 the traditional PS buttons, the dual-analog sticks and the built-in gyroscope to tilt the device in different directions.


The game titles are either available for download from the PS Store or can be purchased as flash-based memory cards. Uncharted 
seems to be like the benchmark when it comes to game sizes at 2.8GB. For a country like India, this might be quite a 
task if you do not have a good connectivity speeds. Also, the system needs to be updated with the latest firmware before you decide to download 
anything from the PS Store or use other applications.


Games on the Vita are just heavenly. The detailed futuristic environments in Wipeout 2048 completely blow you away. The gadget allows you 
to explore augmented reality gaming using the front and rear cameras with games such as Reality Fighters. And if you still want something more to prove the Vita's capabilities, then load a copy of Uncharted Golden Abyss and be amazed with stunning visuals that appear crisp and are very high on detail across the OLED screen. Initial loading of games takes a while, but once a game is loaded into the memory, you can fire up saved games rather quickly.


A great feature on the device is cross-play that allows you to play games between your handheld and the PS3. If you're already playing a 
game on the PS3, you can save it and continue playing on your Vita.


For someone who is transitioning from the PSP to the Vita, the controls might take a little time to getting used to; with the introduction 
of the touch screen and rear touch panel and a secondary analog stick. For instance, when you're engaged in melee combat while playing Uncharted
, the screen prompts you with arrows that you need to swipe to take down the enemy at once. For this you actually have 
to hold the device with just one hand for a brief second which could be risky. But basic controls still remain the same.




The device certainly feels bigger and better as opposed to the PSP but all the more comfortable to hold. As far as 
games are concerned, with the abolition of the UMD drive, PSP titles when digitally released will be available for 
the Vita along with PS1 classics.


There are 25 launch titles available since day one and according to Sony a few 100 games are in the pipeline including prestigious 
titles such as Little Big Planet, Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat and Assassins Creed. Here's a list of titles exclusive to the Vita:


Uncharted: Golden Abyss
WipEout 2048
Reality Fighters
Little Deviants
ModNation Racers: Road Trip
Everybody's Golf
Escape Plan
Unit 13
Hustle Kings -845MB
MotorStorm RC
Top Darts




Pre-loaded Software


The Vita comes pretty clean without too many pre-installed apps.
 There's a web browser, music and video players, a map tool with GPS 
capability and Sony's Content Manager for sharing content between the Vita and the PS3. Other apps 
include Friends that lists your SEN friends. Sony's Near social networking service allows you to find out 
gamers in your neighbourhood, see what they're playing and share gaming information. The Photos app allows
 you to take pictures using the front-facing camera.


Welcome Park is a tutorial app that guides you through the basic operations and features of 
the device blending in some light-hearted interactive games. Party is a creative app that 
enables you to text and voice chat with players online and also enjoy online games together.
 Social networking apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Skype for the Vita are expected in the near future.


You also have a web browser that needs to be reworked upon. There's no support for
 Flash or HTML5 and the pages take quite some time to load. While browsing through them, 
you often come across a blank space that is just not acceptable. We're hoping that Sony will fix this soon.


Pricing
After we've talked so much about the device, is it really worth every single penny? Well 
many would beg to differ. This device is going to cost you a bomb. The Wi-Fi only version
 costs Rs. 19,990 while the 3G+Wi-Fi version will burn a hole in your pocket at a staggering Rs. 24,990. 
That is more expensive than a PS3 or an Xbox.


But wait, that's just the cost of the device. Add to it the PS Vita memory card
 (4GB - Rs. 1,000, 8GB - Rs. 2,000, 16 GB -Rs. 3,000 and 32 GB - Rs. 5,000) and the fact that AAA titles
 like Uncharted Golden Abyss and Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 will be priced in the range of Rs. 2,199 - Rs. 2, 799.
 Now you could probably do the math yourself!




Performance


The Vita delivers exceptionally well with all that power under its belly waiting to be unleashed. 
This machine is equipped with a quad-core processor that from where it derives all that raw power. 
It is built for hardcore gaming and leaves no stone unturned. Graphics and sound deliver top class quality.
 A pair of headphones is not a part of the standard package. But if you have a good set of headphones to match, 
the system is capable of delivering amazing sound.




What is a bit disappointing is that the battery doesn't last for more than 4 hours on continuous gameplay 
(without network and default brightness levels). Also the device does not charge via USB (Update: The device 
does not charge via USB while playing or in standby mode. It needs to be shutdown to be charged. In our opinion,
 this greatly reduces the utility of this feature). 




The Vita supports a variety of media formats including the more common ones such as MP3, MP4,
 Wave, H.264, Jpeg, TIFF, BMP, GIF and PNG. You can download videos from the PS store using you 
PlayStation Network account. However, the Vita is capable of playing only standard definition (SD) videos.




Verdict


As a handheld gaming device, the Vita offers a truly brilliant and memorable gaming experience. 
Sony has explored all possibilities with this one. The device ranks way above the 3DS outshining it 
in every way right from the user interface, the multi-touch capacitive display, the controls to the most
 important thing, the games line-up available at launch and those expected post launch. As far as pricing 
is concerned, the Vita is definitely not going to top the casual gamers' list. They'd rather pick up a smartphone 
or a tablet that caters to their basic gaming needs. However, if you'd like to venture into epic territory of games 
like Uncharted on the move, you need not look any further.




To wrap it up, the Vita has great qualities that overshadow its negativities and one thing is for 
certain, that currently there isn't a portable gaming device as promising as this one. 
Though we can't say for sure where the device is headed in terms of future upgrades, 
but for now it's safe to say that Sony deserves all the attention.
 For all you hardcore gamers out there, this one's a prized possession for sure.




We checked the Vita manual and it does indeed charge via USB but only when the device
 is switched off completely. Since we tried to charge while we were playing the game or 
when the device was is standby mode, it led us to believe otherwise. The error is regretted. 


The review has now been updated to reflect this fact.


Pros
Fantastic gaming experience
Sturdy build
Stunning display
Game titles available pre and post launch


Cons
Very expensive
No internal memory
Poor battery life
No charging via USB Can't charge via USB while playing or in standby mode


Price:
Wi-Fi Only version- Rs. 19,990
3G + Wi-Fi version - Rs. 24, 990


Ratings
Performance: 3.5
Features: 4
Ease of set-up: 4
Ergonomics: 5
Wow Factor: 3.5
Value for Money: 3
Overall: 4

Sony PlayStation Vita - Review

Sony's PSP was a game-changer in the handheld gaming market. 
Though Nintendo reigned over this category for quite a long time, Sony stole its thunder 
in a flash. The PSP was the first handheld game device to use an optical disc format, 
the UMD (Universal Media Disc) and memory stick pro duo as its primary mode of storage. 

Over the years, the PSP hasn't changed much in terms of its form factor apart from getting a bit slimmer.
 But seven years on, Sony continues its PSP legacy with the PS Vita (earlier code-named NGP or 
Next Generation Portable) and it is definitely a huge leap from its predecessors in terms of graphics and performance. 
Vita means 'life' in Latin. It seems apt for the rich entertainment services the device offers. So, are you ready to upgrade to a Vita yet?




Design & Build
We received the Wi-Fi only version of the Vita inclusive of a 16GB removable memory card along with a PSN voucher code.
 This black beauty came buried in a hardbound white manual, which we thought was quite creative. Open the manual and each
 page defines a feature of the Vita that actually appears to be engraved into the manual. Further on, the pages list the games
 available for the device slowly revealing the Vita bit-by-bit. And after the pages end, you finally get a first look of the 
Vita and it was a breathtaking moment!






The first thing we noticed was the 5-inch OLED screen and the neatly laid out controls that are 
evenly distributed on either side of the screen. The left side houses a slightly smaller 
D-Pad with the primary analog stick sitting just below it. Adjacent to the stick is the left speaker
. And further down, is the PlayStation Home button that takes you to the home screen when pressed.


On the right side, you have the classic Sony controls; the triangle, circle, x and square buttons 
below which resides the second analog stick and the right speaker. The familiar Start and Select buttons 
are placed at the bottom we're all familiar with. Sony's motion sensor technology debuts in the Vita with 
Sixaxis motion controls just like the PS3.




A metallic plastic strip runs around the circumference of the device. There are two slots on the top edge.
 The Vita-labeled slot accepts the proprietary game card while the other one is an accessory port.
 The shoulder left and right buttons are transparent and are perfectly placed for use. The power/sleep button 
is situated next to the left shoulder button while the volume buttons are located adjacent to the right one.
 The base of the console has the headphones/microphone jack, the charging/connecting port and the Vita's new game memory storage slot.




Display


The Vita's biggest attraction is its 5-inch OLED capacitive screen with a qHD resolution of 960x544.
 Though it still doesn't compare with the iPhone's retina display, it is quite brilliant.
 It's a first we've seen on any portable gaming device. It looks stellar with the colours 
appearing really sharp and vivid. This is however when you're indoors. But outdoors, even at full brightness,
 it couldn't compete with the sun. It is very reflective and attracts fingerprints quite easily.




It supports multi-touch and most games make excellent use of the screen during gameplay. 
The PlayStation-patterned touch panel accompanies the capacitive touch-screen across the 
back with two grip pads on either side. It is a very unique feature that keeps you thoroughly engaged while playing.




Camera Quality
The Vita sports identical 0.3MP front and rear cameras. 
Though the camera finds use in games like Reality Fighters,
 it isn't the best feature. The stills produced are low on quality and don't really match up to the expectations.
 You can take screen shots by pressing the PS Home and Start buttons simultaneously. Both the front and rear facing 
cameras record video but unfortunately the quality of recording isn't that great. This is a dampener for a device of this caliber.




OS & Interface


The Vita's UI is very user friendly. 
The LiveArea screen has various bubble-like icons representing apps, games, photos, the PS store, browser et al.
 The device has multiple screens piled one on top of the other. The screen can be unlocked with a cool page-flipping animation. 
The technique is also used while closing applications running in the background. You can skim through running programs with a horizontal swipe. 
A great addition is the accelerometer and the gyroscope, which allows you to play games by moving the device in your hand.




There aren't many pre-installed apps on the Vita. Content sharing is possible with Content Manager to and from the PS3 via a USB cable.
 Remote Play allows you to control your PS3 with the Vita over a network, which means you can play PS3 games on your Vita. 
You can also use the Vita as a controller and operate most of the features on the PS3.




Gaming
No one comes close to the PS Vita in this area. As a handheld gaming device, 
the Vita offers a fabulous portable gaming experience. You may think that the analog sticks look and feel pretty small especially 
if you're used to the dual-shock controllers, don't be fooled. They're easy to get used to and happen to be very accurate.
 The device allows you to control characters on-screen in 5 different ways: the 5-inch OLED touch screen, the rear touch panel,
 the traditional PS buttons, the dual-analog sticks and the built-in gyroscope to tilt the device in different directions.


The game titles are either available for download from the PS Store or can be purchased as flash-based memory cards. Uncharted 
seems to be like the benchmark when it comes to game sizes at 2.8GB. For a country like India, this might be quite a 
task if you do not have a good connectivity speeds. Also, the system needs to be updated with the latest firmware before you decide to download 
anything from the PS Store or use other applications.


Games on the Vita are just heavenly. The detailed futuristic environments in Wipeout 2048 completely blow you away. The gadget allows you 
to explore augmented reality gaming using the front and rear cameras with games such as Reality Fighters. And if you still want something more to prove the Vita's capabilities, then load a copy of Uncharted Golden Abyss and be amazed with stunning visuals that appear crisp and are very high on detail across the OLED screen. Initial loading of games takes a while, but once a game is loaded into the memory, you can fire up saved games rather quickly.


A great feature on the device is cross-play that allows you to play games between your handheld and the PS3. If you're already playing a 
game on the PS3, you can save it and continue playing on your Vita.


For someone who is transitioning from the PSP to the Vita, the controls might take a little time to getting used to; with the introduction 
of the touch screen and rear touch panel and a secondary analog stick. For instance, when you're engaged in melee combat while playing Uncharted
, the screen prompts you with arrows that you need to swipe to take down the enemy at once. For this you actually have 
to hold the device with just one hand for a brief second which could be risky. But basic controls still remain the same.




The device certainly feels bigger and better as opposed to the PSP but all the more comfortable to hold. As far as 
games are concerned, with the abolition of the UMD drive, PSP titles when digitally released will be available for 
the Vita along with PS1 classics.


There are 25 launch titles available since day one and according to Sony a few 100 games are in the pipeline including prestigious 
titles such as Little Big Planet, Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat and Assassins Creed. Here's a list of titles exclusive to the Vita:


Uncharted: Golden Abyss
WipEout 2048
Reality Fighters
Little Deviants
ModNation Racers: Road Trip
Everybody's Golf
Escape Plan
Unit 13
Hustle Kings -845MB
MotorStorm RC
Top Darts




Pre-loaded Software


The Vita comes pretty clean without too many pre-installed apps.
 There's a web browser, music and video players, a map tool with GPS 
capability and Sony's Content Manager for sharing content between the Vita and the PS3. Other apps 
include Friends that lists your SEN friends. Sony's Near social networking service allows you to find out 
gamers in your neighbourhood, see what they're playing and share gaming information. The Photos app allows
 you to take pictures using the front-facing camera.


Welcome Park is a tutorial app that guides you through the basic operations and features of 
the device blending in some light-hearted interactive games. Party is a creative app that 
enables you to text and voice chat with players online and also enjoy online games together.
 Social networking apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Skype for the Vita are expected in the near future.


You also have a web browser that needs to be reworked upon. There's no support for
 Flash or HTML5 and the pages take quite some time to load. While browsing through them, 
you often come across a blank space that is just not acceptable. We're hoping that Sony will fix this soon.


Pricing
After we've talked so much about the device, is it really worth every single penny? Well 
many would beg to differ. This device is going to cost you a bomb. The Wi-Fi only version
 costs Rs. 19,990 while the 3G+Wi-Fi version will burn a hole in your pocket at a staggering Rs. 24,990. 
That is more expensive than a PS3 or an Xbox.


But wait, that's just the cost of the device. Add to it the PS Vita memory card
 (4GB - Rs. 1,000, 8GB - Rs. 2,000, 16 GB -Rs. 3,000 and 32 GB - Rs. 5,000) and the fact that AAA titles
 like Uncharted Golden Abyss and Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 will be priced in the range of Rs. 2,199 - Rs. 2, 799.
 Now you could probably do the math yourself!




Performance


The Vita delivers exceptionally well with all that power under its belly waiting to be unleashed. 
This machine is equipped with a quad-core processor that from where it derives all that raw power. 
It is built for hardcore gaming and leaves no stone unturned. Graphics and sound deliver top class quality.
 A pair of headphones is not a part of the standard package. But if you have a good set of headphones to match, 
the system is capable of delivering amazing sound.




What is a bit disappointing is that the battery doesn't last for more than 4 hours on continuous gameplay 
(without network and default brightness levels). Also the device does not charge via USB (Update: The device 
does not charge via USB while playing or in standby mode. It needs to be shutdown to be charged. In our opinion,
 this greatly reduces the utility of this feature). 




The Vita supports a variety of media formats including the more common ones such as MP3, MP4,
 Wave, H.264, Jpeg, TIFF, BMP, GIF and PNG. You can download videos from the PS store using you 
PlayStation Network account. However, the Vita is capable of playing only standard definition (SD) videos.




Verdict


As a handheld gaming device, the Vita offers a truly brilliant and memorable gaming experience. 
Sony has explored all possibilities with this one. The device ranks way above the 3DS outshining it 
in every way right from the user interface, the multi-touch capacitive display, the controls to the most
 important thing, the games line-up available at launch and those expected post launch. As far as pricing 
is concerned, the Vita is definitely not going to top the casual gamers' list. They'd rather pick up a smartphone 
or a tablet that caters to their basic gaming needs. However, if you'd like to venture into epic territory of games 
like Uncharted on the move, you need not look any further.




To wrap it up, the Vita has great qualities that overshadow its negativities and one thing is for 
certain, that currently there isn't a portable gaming device as promising as this one. 
Though we can't say for sure where the device is headed in terms of future upgrades, 
but for now it's safe to say that Sony deserves all the attention.
 For all you hardcore gamers out there, this one's a prized possession for sure.




We checked the Vita manual and it does indeed charge via USB but only when the device
 is switched off completely. Since we tried to charge while we were playing the game or 
when the device was is standby mode, it led us to believe otherwise. The error is regretted. 


The review has now been updated to reflect this fact.


Pros
Fantastic gaming experience
Sturdy build
Stunning display
Game titles available pre and post launch


Cons
Very expensive
No internal memory
Poor battery life
No charging via USB Can't charge via USB while playing or in standby mode


Price:
Wi-Fi Only version- Rs. 19,990
3G + Wi-Fi version - Rs. 24, 990


Ratings
Performance: 3.5
Features: 4
Ease of set-up: 4
Ergonomics: 5
Wow Factor: 3.5
Value for Money: 3
Overall: 4

Release Date: 04/20/2012
Rating: PG13
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Genre: Comedy
Director: Brian Robbins
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Allison Janney, Kerry Washington, Clark Duke

To those who believe that 2011’s surprisingly solid Tower Heist heralded the return of funny Eddie
 Murphy – you know, the guy who had us in stitches for much of the ‘80s and ‘90s before the 
laughter abruptly ceased in the aughts – A Thousand Words, which Murphy actually shot before
 appearing in the Brett Ratner comedy, provides a fervent reminder of just how far moviedom’s 
once-preeminent funnyman has fallen over the past decade. 


A Thousand Words stars Murphy as Jack McCall, a selfish, manically verbose literary agent whose 
incessant type-A striving leaves little time for the consideration of others. He neglects
 his wife (Kerry Washington) and infant son, browbeats his overtaxed assistant (Clark Duke),
 and regularly bends the truth to suit his needs. In short, he’s in desperate need of the kind 
of high-concept comic comeuppance that only the most trite and derivative script can provide. 
Thankfully, screenwriter Steve Koren is more than up to the task. (He’s also responsible for Jack and Jill, 
Adam Sandler’s most recent cinematic insult.)


Jack’s karmic reprisal begins in earnest during a trip to a new age Ashram, where he attempts 
to recruit a popular non-denominational spiritual guru named Dr. Sinja (Cliff Curtis). 
While making his transparently smarmy pitch to handle Sinja’s next book deal,
 he cuts his finger on a nearby Bodhi tree. The following day, the tree abruptly sprouts in Jack’s backyard,
 bearing the seeds of a potential life lesson: For every word that Jack speaks, a leaf will fall from the tree.
 When all the leaves disappear, Sinja warns, so too will Jack. 


Suddenly Jack, a man who prides himself on his ability to “talk anyone into anything,” 
is forced to rely entirely on physical gestures and facial expressions (writing words on 
paper makes the leaves fall as well) to get his message across. 


A Thousand Words’ entire comedic blueprint is built around this rather dubious device, and it fails,
 repeatedly, over the course of the next torturous hour. Murphy dances and flails and mugs, but the 
laughs never come, save for a handful of moments in which Duke’s beleaguered assistant 
tries vainly to translate his gestures. Part of the problem is a meager supporting cast, 
another a succession of predictable setups, but that’s hearsay, really. 
I doubt Chaplin himself could have made this ill-conceived shtick work.


There is a surprising sweetness and sincerity that manifests during A 
Thousand Words’ third act, when Jack realizes the error of his ways and 
tries to resolve the childhood trauma that led him to his present douchiness. 
It’s enough to acquit Murphy and his director, Brian Robbins, of charges of cynicism.
 Their crimes against comedy, however, are not so easily forgiven.

A Thousand Words -Movie Review

Release Date: 04/20/2012
Rating: PG13
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Genre: Comedy
Director: Brian Robbins
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Allison Janney, Kerry Washington, Clark Duke

To those who believe that 2011’s surprisingly solid Tower Heist heralded the return of funny Eddie
 Murphy – you know, the guy who had us in stitches for much of the ‘80s and ‘90s before the 
laughter abruptly ceased in the aughts – A Thousand Words, which Murphy actually shot before
 appearing in the Brett Ratner comedy, provides a fervent reminder of just how far moviedom’s 
once-preeminent funnyman has fallen over the past decade. 


A Thousand Words stars Murphy as Jack McCall, a selfish, manically verbose literary agent whose 
incessant type-A striving leaves little time for the consideration of others. He neglects
 his wife (Kerry Washington) and infant son, browbeats his overtaxed assistant (Clark Duke),
 and regularly bends the truth to suit his needs. In short, he’s in desperate need of the kind 
of high-concept comic comeuppance that only the most trite and derivative script can provide. 
Thankfully, screenwriter Steve Koren is more than up to the task. (He’s also responsible for Jack and Jill, 
Adam Sandler’s most recent cinematic insult.)


Jack’s karmic reprisal begins in earnest during a trip to a new age Ashram, where he attempts 
to recruit a popular non-denominational spiritual guru named Dr. Sinja (Cliff Curtis). 
While making his transparently smarmy pitch to handle Sinja’s next book deal,
 he cuts his finger on a nearby Bodhi tree. The following day, the tree abruptly sprouts in Jack’s backyard,
 bearing the seeds of a potential life lesson: For every word that Jack speaks, a leaf will fall from the tree.
 When all the leaves disappear, Sinja warns, so too will Jack. 


Suddenly Jack, a man who prides himself on his ability to “talk anyone into anything,” 
is forced to rely entirely on physical gestures and facial expressions (writing words on 
paper makes the leaves fall as well) to get his message across. 


A Thousand Words’ entire comedic blueprint is built around this rather dubious device, and it fails,
 repeatedly, over the course of the next torturous hour. Murphy dances and flails and mugs, but the 
laughs never come, save for a handful of moments in which Duke’s beleaguered assistant 
tries vainly to translate his gestures. Part of the problem is a meager supporting cast, 
another a succession of predictable setups, but that’s hearsay, really. 
I doubt Chaplin himself could have made this ill-conceived shtick work.


There is a surprising sweetness and sincerity that manifests during A 
Thousand Words’ third act, when Jack realizes the error of his ways and 
tries to resolve the childhood trauma that led him to his present douchiness. 
It’s enough to acquit Murphy and his director, Brian Robbins, of charges of cynicism.
 Their crimes against comedy, however, are not so easily forgiven.

Apple's new iPad plays waves in video game market

Apple Inc's faster and sharper-looking new iPad is drawing the notice of the traditional video game industry, 
as developers are envisioning games for it that have more in common with the visceral 3D shooter "Call of Duty" than "FarmVille."


The company is also setting itself up to take on Microsoft and Sony on their home turf of console games.From Electronic Arts to "Crysis" developers Crytek, industry executives are figuring out ways to migrate graphics-intensive so-called hardcore games to the iPad. Epic Games and Namco Bandai took the stage at Apple's iPad unveiling this week to show off what they can do with an iPad that has a faster quad core processor.




With more than 55 million iPads sold to date, including 15.43 million last quarter, 
the tablet is quickly catching up to the number of consoles on the market: the PlayStation 
3 has sold 62 million units and Xbox 360 has moved more than 65 million units. That growing
 user base is drawing developers who want to see their games played on as many devices as possible.




"Apple is definitely building their devices as if they care a lot about 'triple-A' games,
" said Mike Capps, president of Epic Games, the studio behind "Gears of War" for consoles 
and "Infinity Blade" for the iPad.


The "triple-A" moniker is bequeathed to only the highest-quality video games -- 
those with the best graphics and that cost in the tens of millions of dollars to produce.
 So far, not many "triple-A" titles appear on mobile devices.


Capps, who has appeared on stage at all three of Apple's iPad
 launches, said he is trying to push the console manufacturers, Sony and Microsoft,
 to come out with more powerful devices so they do not get left behind. On Wednesday,
 he told the crowd in San Francisco the new iPad has better screen resolution and more
 memory than Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation.


While gamers today might still prefer to play shooter games at home on big screen 
TVs with a handheld controller, that could soon change, Capps said, especially 
if a bluetooth controller is developed for the iPad.


"It is quite easy to imagine a world where an iPad is more powerful than a home console
, where it wirelessly talks to your TV and wirelessly talks to 
your controller and becomes your new console," Capps said in an interview.


Meanwhile, the industry is bracing for change. Frank Gibeau, president
 of Electronic Arts' Labels, who oversees the company's biggest games such as 
"Battlefield 3" and "Star Wars: The Old Republic," said the company is eyeing Apple's moves closely.




"When the iPad gets to the processing power that's equal to an Xbox 360 and it connects 
to a television, that's no big deal to us. We'll put the game through the iPad and have 
it display through the television." Gibeau said.




BRING ON THE GAMES


EA has already brought some games from its marquee franchises to the iPad: "Dead Space" and "Mass Effect".


For publishers, "it used to be, oh hey, it's just the Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft show,
 but that's not the case anymore," Gibeau said.


Germany's Crytek, which developed "Crysis 2" for consoles and PCs,
 is working on its first game for the iPad, due out in the spring. 
While that game will be puzzle-based -- minus the free-wheeling pyrotechnics, 
the company said it could one day bring that genre of hardcore games to the device.


"As more people come to these platforms, we have to follow our fans," said Kristoffer Waardahl, a Crytek studio manager.


While speedier iPads will soon be getting into more gamers hands, Jeremy Parish, editor in chief of gaming
 blog 1UP.com, said it does not necessarily put pressure on console makers to come out with a new product any faster.
 The Xbox 360 launched in 2005 and the PlayStation 3 came out in 2006.


"For the console makers, it has got be a little bit of an embarrassment to say that this tablet has more power and better screen resolution. But at the same time, this will not be the motivating factor to get them to jump into a new generation of consoles," Parish said.


Yet the industry is counting on a new wave of gaming hardware in the near future. Nintendo will release the "Wii U," its first console with high-definition graphics, later this year.


For now, experts are divided as to whether the new iPad will make a dent on consoles but at least one investor said he does expect sales of rival gaming products to be hurt.




"While consoles won't cease to exist, it does create pressure on them by hurting their growth
 and taking away some of their customers," said Michael Yoshikami, CEO of Destination Wealth Management.


Sony spokesman Dan Race said "the PlayStation 3 business is having its strongest year ever" 
and the "PlayStation $249 price point is resonating with gamers and families alike."


Nintendo's U.S. executive vice president of sales and marketing, Scott Moffitt said 
"Regardless of the device, consumers have repeatedly demonstrated that they care more about the experience than the tech specs."




Microsoft declined to comment.


Apart from the iPad, Apple's fledgling TV product is also being watched closely by video game companies. 
Hudson Square analyst Dan Ernst said he doubts the iPad will affect console sales, but said an Apple TV 
with an app store could one day pose a viable threat.

Apple's new iPad plays waves in video game market

Apple's new iPad plays waves in video game market

Apple Inc's faster and sharper-looking new iPad is drawing the notice of the traditional video game industry, 
as developers are envisioning games for it that have more in common with the visceral 3D shooter "Call of Duty" than "FarmVille."


The company is also setting itself up to take on Microsoft and Sony on their home turf of console games.From Electronic Arts to "Crysis" developers Crytek, industry executives are figuring out ways to migrate graphics-intensive so-called hardcore games to the iPad. Epic Games and Namco Bandai took the stage at Apple's iPad unveiling this week to show off what they can do with an iPad that has a faster quad core processor.




With more than 55 million iPads sold to date, including 15.43 million last quarter, 
the tablet is quickly catching up to the number of consoles on the market: the PlayStation 
3 has sold 62 million units and Xbox 360 has moved more than 65 million units. That growing
 user base is drawing developers who want to see their games played on as many devices as possible.




"Apple is definitely building their devices as if they care a lot about 'triple-A' games,
" said Mike Capps, president of Epic Games, the studio behind "Gears of War" for consoles 
and "Infinity Blade" for the iPad.


The "triple-A" moniker is bequeathed to only the highest-quality video games -- 
those with the best graphics and that cost in the tens of millions of dollars to produce.
 So far, not many "triple-A" titles appear on mobile devices.


Capps, who has appeared on stage at all three of Apple's iPad
 launches, said he is trying to push the console manufacturers, Sony and Microsoft,
 to come out with more powerful devices so they do not get left behind. On Wednesday,
 he told the crowd in San Francisco the new iPad has better screen resolution and more
 memory than Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation.


While gamers today might still prefer to play shooter games at home on big screen 
TVs with a handheld controller, that could soon change, Capps said, especially 
if a bluetooth controller is developed for the iPad.


"It is quite easy to imagine a world where an iPad is more powerful than a home console
, where it wirelessly talks to your TV and wirelessly talks to 
your controller and becomes your new console," Capps said in an interview.


Meanwhile, the industry is bracing for change. Frank Gibeau, president
 of Electronic Arts' Labels, who oversees the company's biggest games such as 
"Battlefield 3" and "Star Wars: The Old Republic," said the company is eyeing Apple's moves closely.




"When the iPad gets to the processing power that's equal to an Xbox 360 and it connects 
to a television, that's no big deal to us. We'll put the game through the iPad and have 
it display through the television." Gibeau said.




BRING ON THE GAMES


EA has already brought some games from its marquee franchises to the iPad: "Dead Space" and "Mass Effect".


For publishers, "it used to be, oh hey, it's just the Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft show,
 but that's not the case anymore," Gibeau said.


Germany's Crytek, which developed "Crysis 2" for consoles and PCs,
 is working on its first game for the iPad, due out in the spring. 
While that game will be puzzle-based -- minus the free-wheeling pyrotechnics, 
the company said it could one day bring that genre of hardcore games to the device.


"As more people come to these platforms, we have to follow our fans," said Kristoffer Waardahl, a Crytek studio manager.


While speedier iPads will soon be getting into more gamers hands, Jeremy Parish, editor in chief of gaming
 blog 1UP.com, said it does not necessarily put pressure on console makers to come out with a new product any faster.
 The Xbox 360 launched in 2005 and the PlayStation 3 came out in 2006.


"For the console makers, it has got be a little bit of an embarrassment to say that this tablet has more power and better screen resolution. But at the same time, this will not be the motivating factor to get them to jump into a new generation of consoles," Parish said.


Yet the industry is counting on a new wave of gaming hardware in the near future. Nintendo will release the "Wii U," its first console with high-definition graphics, later this year.


For now, experts are divided as to whether the new iPad will make a dent on consoles but at least one investor said he does expect sales of rival gaming products to be hurt.




"While consoles won't cease to exist, it does create pressure on them by hurting their growth
 and taking away some of their customers," said Michael Yoshikami, CEO of Destination Wealth Management.


Sony spokesman Dan Race said "the PlayStation 3 business is having its strongest year ever" 
and the "PlayStation $249 price point is resonating with gamers and families alike."


Nintendo's U.S. executive vice president of sales and marketing, Scott Moffitt said 
"Regardless of the device, consumers have repeatedly demonstrated that they care more about the experience than the tech specs."




Microsoft declined to comment.


Apart from the iPad, Apple's fledgling TV product is also being watched closely by video game companies. 
Hudson Square analyst Dan Ernst said he doubts the iPad will affect console sales, but said an Apple TV 
with an app store could one day pose a viable threat.

When the Asus Transformer Prime hit our desk, it was like Christmas,
 Diwali, New Years and all our respective birthdays had arrived at the same time.

If that doesn't tell you how eager we were to get our grubby mits on this tablet, we don't know what will.
The Transformer Prime was launched earlier on in parts of the world, but India is finally catching up with the tablet.
 We got one in our hands and we put it through its paces and here are our observations.

Hardware

The Transformer Prime created waves across the 'tabletverse' when it was announced.
 Powered by the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core chip, the device is the only quad core tablet in the market.
 Another noteworthy addition to the hardware list is the new Super IPS display under a Gorilla Glass panel.
 The screen acts not only as a major fingerprint magnet, but is also highly reflective, meaning it has a major glare problem.

This is where the Super IPS display comes in. Once enabled, the screen's brightness changes to levels where the reflections are
completely drowned by the display, without hurting the eyes.

The Indian market will only see the 64 GB variant hitting its shores, with the additional keyboard dock bundled into the package.
The dock in itself is quite an impressive piece of hardware, doubling up as an extended battery as well.
It has one USB port on the right side along with an SD card slot. The left side houses the charging port.

While the keyboard is totally functional, it is a little cramped for our liking.
 We found ourselves often hitting the up-arrow key instead of the shift key,
 leading to several typos. It took a little getting used to, but once we were familiar with the placement of the keys, we felt it would be a good idea to type up the entire review on the tablet itself. The keyboard is accompanied by a  trackpad that comes with right and left click buttons and supports multi-touch.

One of the best experiences we had while using the Transformer Prime with the supplied dock was the ability to utilize  commonly used shortcuts such as Alt+Tab for switching from one application to the next. The ability to use common keyboard  shortcuts made us feel right at home and could definitely work in Asus's favor. Using the dock turns the Prime into a  full-fledged Netbook with an immense battery life.

The USB port is something to be highlighted here. In the past, whenever tablets that have featured built-in USB ports,they have often limited its functionality.

The Transformer Prime just does not suffer from this at all.

 We plugged in a 4GB pen drive as well as a 500GB external hard disk drive and transferred JPGs,
 TIFF files and blu-ray 1080p mkv rips without any issues.  It even charged our iPhone and read the photo library on it.



Performance

Since the Transformer Prime boasts an Nvidia Tegra 3 chip, we felt it was necessary to see how it
 performed under pressure. So the first thing we did was hook it up to our Wi-Fi and download a ton of
apps from the Android Market. We also loaded every widget on various pages and ran as many apps as
possible at the same time. At this point, the tablet and dock combo was at a 100% battery level.

Begin stress test at 8 am on day 1 and we multi-tasked, played games (ShadowGun HD), played music,
 watched a bunch of high definition movies and somewhere along the way, decided to give our laptop a day off and use the Transformer Prime for all our work related activities. The battery on the keyboard died at about 10:30 pm that day,

 so we removed the dock and continued using the tablet as normal; all the while being connected to Wi-Fi.
By 2:30 am, we grew anxious as to why the battery on this won't die. So we cranked up the brightness to full,
 turned on the Super-IPS display and went to town on it watching The Dark Knight.

By 4 am, we could barely keep our eyes open, but the Prime still showed 38% battery left!
That's about 18 hours of almost constant use!  Since our activity was mostly multi-media dominated,
we also made notes on the music and video playback.

Our review unit came preloaded with Andriod's Ice Cream Sandwich OS (though the official unit ships
with Android 3.2 Honeycomb, user-upgradable to ICS) and the built-in music player was an absolute joy to use.

Besides playing pretty much all common music formats (mp3, wma, flac, aac), we were overjoyed to see the ability to
create custom equalizer settings so as to get the most out of our music.

We also loaded blu-ray rips in multiple formats (1080p mkv with dual audio, 1080p mp4, wmv, divx and xvid) and fired them up one after the other to see how the media player would handle it.  That Nvidia Tegra 3 chip really seems to be a performance beast as not only did the player successfully play all the above mentioned formats, but it did so without any stutter during playback or while scrolling.

Our next performance test involved firing up a game of Angry Birds and for the first time, the birds didn't stutter  as they hurled themselves towards the pigs. Game play was as fluid as one would expect it to be. Next we loaded the free edition of Fruit Ninja to see how well the Transformer Prime would accept multi-touch input. Loading up the Zen mode,

we emulated the claw movements of Wolverine from X-Men and surprisingly, the processor kept up with the slicing and dicing  we did using four fingers.

During the ten odd times we played each mode (Zen, Arcade and Classic),
the game did not lag even once, and mind you, this is all while there were
already a bunch of apps running in the background.

 Since the Prime chewed through the two most popular games, we figured we'd give it a little more of a challenge and went ahead and installed ShadowGun on it.

Now ShadowGun is touted to be the only game capable of utilizing the Tegra 3
chip to the max and it surely lived up to its name. From the moment the game loads,
it is just a pure visual treat. The game played through smoothly, only stuttering when we fumbled at the controls.


Camera

The Transformer Prime boasts a camera with a fast aperture of f/2.4 accompanied by a flash.
What that means is that it can take photographs in low light conditions without breaking a sweat.
It also features a front- facing camera for skype calls or for self portraits. We shot a few images using the auto settings

and a few on custom settings and it produced  pretty good quality results. The camera also has a very small minimum focusing distance,

allowing for almost-macro-like photos if need be  Just make sure you don't use flash for such purposes though. The shooting interface on the device is pretty straight-forward and very user friendly, everything being self explanatory.

The 8-megapixel shooter gets its enhanced image quality thanks to its back-illuminated sensor.
The Prime can shoot full HD videos, recording them in an mp4 format that is friendly with most common media players and DLNA devices.

Shortcomings

Unfortunately, all is not peachy in the land of the Prime.
There are a few important areas where we feel the tablet is lacking,
such as the absence of a physical orientation lock button, something that we have gotten extremely used to being iPad users.

The second subjective drawback with the tablet is its height. Sitting in at 10.1 inches, the tablet is taller than the iPad and often feels too stretched out. Not to mention, holding it in the portrait orientation for long durations becomes rather painful, not only due to the uneven weight distribution, but also due to the edges digging into your palms.

Another area of slight disappointment was the USB port. While it did connect to every device we attached to it, it failed to recognize our Canon 40D as a camera device or as a photo storage device. This was quite a set back as the iPad can communicate with camera devices, read the image data and even email those images if needed.

It is very clear that the Transformer Prime was designed to be primarily used in landscape orientation as the tablet
 feels very well balanced, which was not the case when we switched to portrait mode. Even taking photos
in the portrait mode felt a little awkward as the camera is placed on the center of the long edge of the tablet.
The biggest setback, however, happens to be the lack of 3G connectivity. It baffles us that in the age where connectivity reigns supreme,
Asus decided to leave a 3G chip out of the Transformer Prime's circuitry.



Verdict

So how much would the Prime set you back? A whopping Rs. 50,000 for the 64GB model.
Again, this quote leaves us a little confused as to why Asus would price their 3G-less
tablet at a price point 'HIGHER' than the iPad 2's 64GB 3GWi-Fi version.
 The only consolation of such a high price point would be the keyboard dock that comes as part of the bundle.

In our opinion, the Transformer Prime is a solid performer that is built rugged without compromising
on the aesthetics. Whether or not it will appeal to the Indian masses still remains to be seen.

You can visit our photo gallery for more pics of the Asus Transformer Prime.


Updates

The amazing feature of the Prime is its ability to integrate seamlessly with Dropbox.
Once the application is installed, it essentially creates a folder in the Prime's file-system,
and it works exactly like its desktop counterpart. So when we started using the Polaris Office
that comes preloaded on the tablet, we could seemlessly work with documents in our Dropbox folder.
 This is a great feature for those who are on the move a lot and need to keep their files updated and synchronized in multiple locations.

Polaris Office allows users to create Word, Excel and Powerpoint files along with the ability to
edit such files from other common desktop counterparts. The interface takes a little getting used,
to as the options are accessible through drop-down menus, but the simplicity of the interface makes
it a breeze to use. Once again, common shortcuts such as Ctrl+B work just fine.

Asus offers something more than just quad-core processing and 12-core graphics for the gamer, and that
is the ability to control certain games (in our case, ShadowGun HD) using a PS3 or an Xbox 360 wireless
controller. Of course the controllers would need to be synced with the game.

This sets a whole new benchmark for gaming, as it allows you to connect the tablet to a
 television set through the built-in mini-HDMI port and then use the controller from the
comfort of your couch. This offers the same experience as gaming on the console, at least for the casual gamer.

Pros
Powerful processing core
Amazing battery life of 8 hours for just the tablet and 18 hours with the keyboard dock
A fully functional USB port
Elegant design
Super IPS display makes the screen readable even under direct sunlight
Large storage capacity of 64GB (plus expandable through microSD card)
Video out through mini-HDMI port
Keyboard dock turns the tablet into a functional netbook

Cons
No 3G
Screen is a fingerprint magnet
Typing is a little difficult due to the large screen size
No physical 'lock-orientation' switch
Keyboard feels a little cramped

Price
64GB Wi-Fi Only with the Keyboard Dock bundled - Rs. 49,999/-

Ratings
Performance: 5
Features: 4.5
Ease of use: 4
Ergonomics: 3
Wow Factor: 4
Value for Money: 3.5
Overall: 4

Asus Transformer Prime -Review

When the Asus Transformer Prime hit our desk, it was like Christmas,
 Diwali, New Years and all our respective birthdays had arrived at the same time.

If that doesn't tell you how eager we were to get our grubby mits on this tablet, we don't know what will.
The Transformer Prime was launched earlier on in parts of the world, but India is finally catching up with the tablet.
 We got one in our hands and we put it through its paces and here are our observations.

Hardware

The Transformer Prime created waves across the 'tabletverse' when it was announced.
 Powered by the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core chip, the device is the only quad core tablet in the market.
 Another noteworthy addition to the hardware list is the new Super IPS display under a Gorilla Glass panel.
 The screen acts not only as a major fingerprint magnet, but is also highly reflective, meaning it has a major glare problem.

This is where the Super IPS display comes in. Once enabled, the screen's brightness changes to levels where the reflections are
completely drowned by the display, without hurting the eyes.

The Indian market will only see the 64 GB variant hitting its shores, with the additional keyboard dock bundled into the package.
The dock in itself is quite an impressive piece of hardware, doubling up as an extended battery as well.
It has one USB port on the right side along with an SD card slot. The left side houses the charging port.

While the keyboard is totally functional, it is a little cramped for our liking.
 We found ourselves often hitting the up-arrow key instead of the shift key,
 leading to several typos. It took a little getting used to, but once we were familiar with the placement of the keys, we felt it would be a good idea to type up the entire review on the tablet itself. The keyboard is accompanied by a  trackpad that comes with right and left click buttons and supports multi-touch.

One of the best experiences we had while using the Transformer Prime with the supplied dock was the ability to utilize  commonly used shortcuts such as Alt+Tab for switching from one application to the next. The ability to use common keyboard  shortcuts made us feel right at home and could definitely work in Asus's favor. Using the dock turns the Prime into a  full-fledged Netbook with an immense battery life.

The USB port is something to be highlighted here. In the past, whenever tablets that have featured built-in USB ports,they have often limited its functionality.

The Transformer Prime just does not suffer from this at all.

 We plugged in a 4GB pen drive as well as a 500GB external hard disk drive and transferred JPGs,
 TIFF files and blu-ray 1080p mkv rips without any issues.  It even charged our iPhone and read the photo library on it.



Performance

Since the Transformer Prime boasts an Nvidia Tegra 3 chip, we felt it was necessary to see how it
 performed under pressure. So the first thing we did was hook it up to our Wi-Fi and download a ton of
apps from the Android Market. We also loaded every widget on various pages and ran as many apps as
possible at the same time. At this point, the tablet and dock combo was at a 100% battery level.

Begin stress test at 8 am on day 1 and we multi-tasked, played games (ShadowGun HD), played music,
 watched a bunch of high definition movies and somewhere along the way, decided to give our laptop a day off and use the Transformer Prime for all our work related activities. The battery on the keyboard died at about 10:30 pm that day,

 so we removed the dock and continued using the tablet as normal; all the while being connected to Wi-Fi.
By 2:30 am, we grew anxious as to why the battery on this won't die. So we cranked up the brightness to full,
 turned on the Super-IPS display and went to town on it watching The Dark Knight.

By 4 am, we could barely keep our eyes open, but the Prime still showed 38% battery left!
That's about 18 hours of almost constant use!  Since our activity was mostly multi-media dominated,
we also made notes on the music and video playback.

Our review unit came preloaded with Andriod's Ice Cream Sandwich OS (though the official unit ships
with Android 3.2 Honeycomb, user-upgradable to ICS) and the built-in music player was an absolute joy to use.

Besides playing pretty much all common music formats (mp3, wma, flac, aac), we were overjoyed to see the ability to
create custom equalizer settings so as to get the most out of our music.

We also loaded blu-ray rips in multiple formats (1080p mkv with dual audio, 1080p mp4, wmv, divx and xvid) and fired them up one after the other to see how the media player would handle it.  That Nvidia Tegra 3 chip really seems to be a performance beast as not only did the player successfully play all the above mentioned formats, but it did so without any stutter during playback or while scrolling.

Our next performance test involved firing up a game of Angry Birds and for the first time, the birds didn't stutter  as they hurled themselves towards the pigs. Game play was as fluid as one would expect it to be. Next we loaded the free edition of Fruit Ninja to see how well the Transformer Prime would accept multi-touch input. Loading up the Zen mode,

we emulated the claw movements of Wolverine from X-Men and surprisingly, the processor kept up with the slicing and dicing  we did using four fingers.

During the ten odd times we played each mode (Zen, Arcade and Classic),
the game did not lag even once, and mind you, this is all while there were
already a bunch of apps running in the background.

 Since the Prime chewed through the two most popular games, we figured we'd give it a little more of a challenge and went ahead and installed ShadowGun on it.

Now ShadowGun is touted to be the only game capable of utilizing the Tegra 3
chip to the max and it surely lived up to its name. From the moment the game loads,
it is just a pure visual treat. The game played through smoothly, only stuttering when we fumbled at the controls.


Camera

The Transformer Prime boasts a camera with a fast aperture of f/2.4 accompanied by a flash.
What that means is that it can take photographs in low light conditions without breaking a sweat.
It also features a front- facing camera for skype calls or for self portraits. We shot a few images using the auto settings

and a few on custom settings and it produced  pretty good quality results. The camera also has a very small minimum focusing distance,

allowing for almost-macro-like photos if need be  Just make sure you don't use flash for such purposes though. The shooting interface on the device is pretty straight-forward and very user friendly, everything being self explanatory.

The 8-megapixel shooter gets its enhanced image quality thanks to its back-illuminated sensor.
The Prime can shoot full HD videos, recording them in an mp4 format that is friendly with most common media players and DLNA devices.

Shortcomings

Unfortunately, all is not peachy in the land of the Prime.
There are a few important areas where we feel the tablet is lacking,
such as the absence of a physical orientation lock button, something that we have gotten extremely used to being iPad users.

The second subjective drawback with the tablet is its height. Sitting in at 10.1 inches, the tablet is taller than the iPad and often feels too stretched out. Not to mention, holding it in the portrait orientation for long durations becomes rather painful, not only due to the uneven weight distribution, but also due to the edges digging into your palms.

Another area of slight disappointment was the USB port. While it did connect to every device we attached to it, it failed to recognize our Canon 40D as a camera device or as a photo storage device. This was quite a set back as the iPad can communicate with camera devices, read the image data and even email those images if needed.

It is very clear that the Transformer Prime was designed to be primarily used in landscape orientation as the tablet
 feels very well balanced, which was not the case when we switched to portrait mode. Even taking photos
in the portrait mode felt a little awkward as the camera is placed on the center of the long edge of the tablet.
The biggest setback, however, happens to be the lack of 3G connectivity. It baffles us that in the age where connectivity reigns supreme,
Asus decided to leave a 3G chip out of the Transformer Prime's circuitry.



Verdict

So how much would the Prime set you back? A whopping Rs. 50,000 for the 64GB model.
Again, this quote leaves us a little confused as to why Asus would price their 3G-less
tablet at a price point 'HIGHER' than the iPad 2's 64GB 3GWi-Fi version.
 The only consolation of such a high price point would be the keyboard dock that comes as part of the bundle.

In our opinion, the Transformer Prime is a solid performer that is built rugged without compromising
on the aesthetics. Whether or not it will appeal to the Indian masses still remains to be seen.

You can visit our photo gallery for more pics of the Asus Transformer Prime.


Updates

The amazing feature of the Prime is its ability to integrate seamlessly with Dropbox.
Once the application is installed, it essentially creates a folder in the Prime's file-system,
and it works exactly like its desktop counterpart. So when we started using the Polaris Office
that comes preloaded on the tablet, we could seemlessly work with documents in our Dropbox folder.
 This is a great feature for those who are on the move a lot and need to keep their files updated and synchronized in multiple locations.

Polaris Office allows users to create Word, Excel and Powerpoint files along with the ability to
edit such files from other common desktop counterparts. The interface takes a little getting used,
to as the options are accessible through drop-down menus, but the simplicity of the interface makes
it a breeze to use. Once again, common shortcuts such as Ctrl+B work just fine.

Asus offers something more than just quad-core processing and 12-core graphics for the gamer, and that
is the ability to control certain games (in our case, ShadowGun HD) using a PS3 or an Xbox 360 wireless
controller. Of course the controllers would need to be synced with the game.

This sets a whole new benchmark for gaming, as it allows you to connect the tablet to a
 television set through the built-in mini-HDMI port and then use the controller from the
comfort of your couch. This offers the same experience as gaming on the console, at least for the casual gamer.

Pros
Powerful processing core
Amazing battery life of 8 hours for just the tablet and 18 hours with the keyboard dock
A fully functional USB port
Elegant design
Super IPS display makes the screen readable even under direct sunlight
Large storage capacity of 64GB (plus expandable through microSD card)
Video out through mini-HDMI port
Keyboard dock turns the tablet into a functional netbook

Cons
No 3G
Screen is a fingerprint magnet
Typing is a little difficult due to the large screen size
No physical 'lock-orientation' switch
Keyboard feels a little cramped

Price
64GB Wi-Fi Only with the Keyboard Dock bundled - Rs. 49,999/-

Ratings
Performance: 5
Features: 4.5
Ease of use: 4
Ergonomics: 3
Wow Factor: 4
Value for Money: 3.5
Overall: 4

As you have probably guessed already, the Smart Tags clearly suggest that
the device will sport NFC connectivity when launched. The rest of the rumored
 specs include a 1GHz dual-core CPU and NovaThor U8500 chipset, 3.7"
screen with resolution of 480x854 pixels, and 5MP snapper.


Given the nature of the leaked image, we can reasonably
expect that the Sony MT27i Pepper will get officially unveiled sooner,
 rather than later. Naturally, we will keep you posted on any new findings,
 related to the device.

Sony MT27i Pepper shows up in a press shot

As you have probably guessed already, the Smart Tags clearly suggest that
the device will sport NFC connectivity when launched. The rest of the rumored
 specs include a 1GHz dual-core CPU and NovaThor U8500 chipset, 3.7"
screen with resolution of 480x854 pixels, and 5MP snapper.


Given the nature of the leaked image, we can reasonably
expect that the Sony MT27i Pepper will get officially unveiled sooner,
 rather than later. Naturally, we will keep you posted on any new findings,
 related to the device.

Story: Matt King (George Clooney) has two problems to deal with:
 his ancestral virgin property at Hawaii and a dying wife. But before that
 it's his two daughters he's got to play perfect (single) dad to.... 

Movie Review: The timing for this one's India release could not have 
been more apt: The Descendants made to the list of this year's Academy 
Award nominations in three distinct categories -- Best Picture, Best Director
 (Alexander Payne) and Best Actor (George Clooney) just two days back. For the record,
 it has already won the Golden Globes for the Best Film and Best Actor category. And here's why. 


When George Clooney plays single dad to a grown-up irreverent teenage 
daughter Alexandra ( Shailene Woodley) and a little girl Scottie ( Amara Miller) 


who picks up all things wrong from her elder sister, rest assured the dad-daughter 
equation ought to bring out the uneasiness of a father specially when the daughter 
is in the backseat of his car with her boyfriend (Will you please not touch each other 
when I'm around, says Clooney). 


And when George Clooney realises his wife was in for a  blooming affair with Brian Spears right behind his back, he makes it sure to vent out his anger and frustration at his wife even as she lies in coma... just a few minutes away  from death (You wanted to divorce me! Well I hated you too, Clooney says in his soliloquy). 


Elizabeth (Patricia) has an almost fatal power boat accident off Waikiki Beach, something 
that puts her on life support forever. But then her living will wants her off every ventilator.
 The outcome: The once split family gets together to say their final goodbye. First, it's Alexandra,
 the rebel daughter, who had issues aplenty with her mom. Next is the husband, Matt King, who never 
had ample time to perhaps give her what she wanted -- love. Even now that she is dying, he has a 
multi-million dollar virgin ancestral land deal going for him. 


Of course, it's his daughters with almost no childhood memories of the place that help him make the right choice. As for Matt King, he helps all around him make the right choice, both as a husband and father. What? One has to follow the protocol of a situation. In this case, all loved ones must get a chance to bid a final adieu to the one on no life support. 


So where exactly does the film score? Three places. First, the irony of its location.
 On one hand there's the beautiful Hawaiian landscape, on the other hand is Clooney caught
 inside the four walls of a hospital room understanding the nuances of parenthood, coping with a dying, unfaithful wife and trying to strike a big corporate deal. In fact, even board meetings in fluorescent Hawaiian shirts do not ease the nerves of the actor.


 Second is the relationship of  a never-been-around dad with a rebel of a teenage daughter and her I'm-so-cool boyfriend.  Lastly, it's Clooney himself -- sometimes as the dad who gets all scandalised and worked up each time his daughters swear, sometimes as the restless and helpless, ever questioning husband.


 Special mention: Watch Clooney convince his wife's boyfriend to make it for 
one the last time to the hospital and his dying wife. 


Relationships, pain, anger, emotions, understanding, betrayal... all handled with care. 


Tip off: Don't just go looking for sun, sand and surf. 


This beautiful Hawaiian landscape -- far from the maddening city crowd -- with its blue 
oceans and captivating visuals has more painful heartbreaks than perhaps your everyday city life.

The Descendants Movie Review

Story: Matt King (George Clooney) has two problems to deal with:
 his ancestral virgin property at Hawaii and a dying wife. But before that
 it's his two daughters he's got to play perfect (single) dad to.... 

Movie Review: The timing for this one's India release could not have 
been more apt: The Descendants made to the list of this year's Academy 
Award nominations in three distinct categories -- Best Picture, Best Director
 (Alexander Payne) and Best Actor (George Clooney) just two days back. For the record,
 it has already won the Golden Globes for the Best Film and Best Actor category. And here's why. 


When George Clooney plays single dad to a grown-up irreverent teenage 
daughter Alexandra ( Shailene Woodley) and a little girl Scottie ( Amara Miller) 


who picks up all things wrong from her elder sister, rest assured the dad-daughter 
equation ought to bring out the uneasiness of a father specially when the daughter 
is in the backseat of his car with her boyfriend (Will you please not touch each other 
when I'm around, says Clooney). 


And when George Clooney realises his wife was in for a  blooming affair with Brian Spears right behind his back, he makes it sure to vent out his anger and frustration at his wife even as she lies in coma... just a few minutes away  from death (You wanted to divorce me! Well I hated you too, Clooney says in his soliloquy). 


Elizabeth (Patricia) has an almost fatal power boat accident off Waikiki Beach, something 
that puts her on life support forever. But then her living will wants her off every ventilator.
 The outcome: The once split family gets together to say their final goodbye. First, it's Alexandra,
 the rebel daughter, who had issues aplenty with her mom. Next is the husband, Matt King, who never 
had ample time to perhaps give her what she wanted -- love. Even now that she is dying, he has a 
multi-million dollar virgin ancestral land deal going for him. 


Of course, it's his daughters with almost no childhood memories of the place that help him make the right choice. As for Matt King, he helps all around him make the right choice, both as a husband and father. What? One has to follow the protocol of a situation. In this case, all loved ones must get a chance to bid a final adieu to the one on no life support. 


So where exactly does the film score? Three places. First, the irony of its location.
 On one hand there's the beautiful Hawaiian landscape, on the other hand is Clooney caught
 inside the four walls of a hospital room understanding the nuances of parenthood, coping with a dying, unfaithful wife and trying to strike a big corporate deal. In fact, even board meetings in fluorescent Hawaiian shirts do not ease the nerves of the actor.


 Second is the relationship of  a never-been-around dad with a rebel of a teenage daughter and her I'm-so-cool boyfriend.  Lastly, it's Clooney himself -- sometimes as the dad who gets all scandalised and worked up each time his daughters swear, sometimes as the restless and helpless, ever questioning husband.


 Special mention: Watch Clooney convince his wife's boyfriend to make it for 
one the last time to the hospital and his dying wife. 


Relationships, pain, anger, emotions, understanding, betrayal... all handled with care. 


Tip off: Don't just go looking for sun, sand and surf. 


This beautiful Hawaiian landscape -- far from the maddening city crowd -- with its blue 
oceans and captivating visuals has more painful heartbreaks than perhaps your everyday city life.

Trademark, copyright or patent?
What is a trademark or service mark?


A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.
A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Throughout this booklet, the terms "trademark" and "mark" refer to both trademarks and service marks.
Do Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents protect the same things?


No. Trademarks, copyrights and patents all differ. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work; a patent protects an invention.


For copyright information, go to http://www.copyright.gov . 


For patent information, go to  http://www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm .

Trademark, copyright or patent?

Trademark, copyright or patent?
What is a trademark or service mark?


A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.
A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Throughout this booklet, the terms "trademark" and "mark" refer to both trademarks and service marks.
Do Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents protect the same things?


No. Trademarks, copyrights and patents all differ. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work; a patent protects an invention.


For copyright information, go to http://www.copyright.gov . 


For patent information, go to  http://www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm .

Trademark Registration
We take great pride in introducing ourselves as a leading law firm in India, which has developed a high specialization in the field of trademark registration in India. We cover all the requirements and expectations of our global clients from our highly expertise trademark, patent and company lawyers and attorneys beginning from Trademark Search, Trademark Filing, Trademark oppositions, and Appeals, trademark registration, international trademark registration services and trademark enforcement services, which give complete customer satisfaction completely. We have a team of highly qualified and experienced professionals, who are expert in solving all types of issues related to trademark registration. Our policy is to enhance the customer satisfaction through providing high quality trademark registration services and query resolution system.


Trademark Search
A trademark search is an analytical and comprehensive way of researching a name, logo or slogan for prior use. It is highly advisable to conduct a trademark search before filing an application for a trademark. A basic trademark search includes applications for trademarks in India and registered trademarks. This search is only for required and relevant information, but every possible effort has been made to ensure accurate results. The main purpose of a trademark search is to determine if someone has already trademarked your intended mark.


Patent Registration
We are specialized to deliver patent registration, patent filing, international patent registration, and international patent filing services at affordable price to our global clients in India & across the globe. We have a team of highly qualified and experienced professional, who can assist you in providing quality patent registration services and query resolution system.


PCT Filing
The Patent cooperation Treaty is an agreement for international cooperation in the field of the patents which provides easy and affordable procedure for filing patent applications. Mainly, It is a treaty for rationalization and cooperation with regard to the PCT filing procedure, searching and examination of patent applications and the dissemination of the technical information contained therein.


We provide specialized solutions for national and international patent filing to our clients, which suit the client's requirements and expectations completely. Our experienced professionals can help you in providing easy and affordable procedure for pct filing, which meet your needs completely.

Trademark Registration

Trademark Registration
We take great pride in introducing ourselves as a leading law firm in India, which has developed a high specialization in the field of trademark registration in India. We cover all the requirements and expectations of our global clients from our highly expertise trademark, patent and company lawyers and attorneys beginning from Trademark Search, Trademark Filing, Trademark oppositions, and Appeals, trademark registration, international trademark registration services and trademark enforcement services, which give complete customer satisfaction completely. We have a team of highly qualified and experienced professionals, who are expert in solving all types of issues related to trademark registration. Our policy is to enhance the customer satisfaction through providing high quality trademark registration services and query resolution system.


Trademark Search
A trademark search is an analytical and comprehensive way of researching a name, logo or slogan for prior use. It is highly advisable to conduct a trademark search before filing an application for a trademark. A basic trademark search includes applications for trademarks in India and registered trademarks. This search is only for required and relevant information, but every possible effort has been made to ensure accurate results. The main purpose of a trademark search is to determine if someone has already trademarked your intended mark.


Patent Registration
We are specialized to deliver patent registration, patent filing, international patent registration, and international patent filing services at affordable price to our global clients in India & across the globe. We have a team of highly qualified and experienced professional, who can assist you in providing quality patent registration services and query resolution system.


PCT Filing
The Patent cooperation Treaty is an agreement for international cooperation in the field of the patents which provides easy and affordable procedure for filing patent applications. Mainly, It is a treaty for rationalization and cooperation with regard to the PCT filing procedure, searching and examination of patent applications and the dissemination of the technical information contained therein.


We provide specialized solutions for national and international patent filing to our clients, which suit the client's requirements and expectations completely. Our experienced professionals can help you in providing easy and affordable procedure for pct filing, which meet your needs completely.

COPYRIGHT vs. TRADEMARK vs. PATENT


Some people confuse patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Although there may be some similarities among these kinds of intellectual property protection, they are different and serve different purposes. 




What Is a Copyright? 


Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of "original works of authorship" including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly. 


The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. 




What Is a Trademark or Servicemark? 


A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms "trademark" and "mark" are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks. 


Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office. The registration procedure for trademarks and general information concerning trademarks is described in a separate pamphlet entitled "Basic Facts about Trademarks". 




What Is a Patent? 


A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. US patent grants are effective only within the US, US territories, and US possessions. 


The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" the invention in the United States or "importing" the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. 


(Excerpted from General Information Concerning Patents, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website) 


Some additional differences between a copyright and a trademark are as follows: 


1.   The purpose of a copyright is to protect works of authorship as fixed in a tangible form of expression. Thus, copyright covers: a) works of art (2 or 3 dimensional), b) photos, pictures, graphic designs, drawings and other forms of images; c) songs, music and sound recordings of all kinds; d) books, manuscripts, publications and other written works; and e) plays, movies, shows, and other performance arts. 


2.   The purpose of a trademark is to protect words, phrases and logos used in federally regulated commerce to identify the source of goods and/or services. 


3.   There may be occasions when both copyright and trademark protection are desired with respect to the same business endeavor. For example, a marketing campaign for a new product may introduce a new slogan for use with the product, which also appears in advertisements for the product. However, copyright and trademark protection will cover different things. The advertisement's text and graphics, as published in a particular vehicle, will be covered by copyright - but this will not protect the slogan as such. The slogan may be protected by trademark law, but this will not cover the rest of the advertisement. If you want both forms of protection, you will have to perform both types of registration. 


4.   If you are interested in protecting a title, slogan, or other short word phrase, generally you want a trademark. Copyright law does not protect a bare phrase, slogan, or trade name. 


5.   Whether an image should be protected by trademark or copyright law depends on whether its use is intended to identify the source of goods or services. If an image is used temporarily in an ad campaign, it generally is not the type of thing intended to be protected as a logo. 


6.   The registration processes of copyright and trademark are entirely different. For copyright, the filing fee is small, the time to obtain registration is relatively short, and examination by the Copyright Office is limited to ensuring that the registration application is properly completed and suitable copies are attached. For trademark, the filing fee is more substantial, the time to obtain registration is much longer, and examination by the Trademark Office includes a substantive review of potentially conflicting marks which are found to be confusingly similar. While copyright registration is primarily an administrative process, trademark registration is very much an adversarial process. 


7.   Copyright law provides for compulsory licensing and royalty payments - there is no analogous concept in trademark law. Plus, the tests and definition of infringement are considerably different under copyright law and trademark law. 


CLOTHING ITEMS 


When it comes to copyright v. trademark, we get more questions about clothing than anything else. Here are a few guidelines:


1.   Anything you silk screen or otherwise display prominently on the front or back of a shirt, top, cap or hat is generally considered artwork, and therefore covered by copyright. In fact, if you send a photo of a clothing item to the U.S. Trademark Office showing your design, logo or slogan prominently displayed on the front or back, they will refuse to register it as a trademark. 


2.   To qualify as a trademark, your logo or slogan must be used as the brand of the clothing item itself. In other words, your logo or slogan must be used the way clothing brands are typically used and displayed on clothing, namely, sewn into a waistband, collar, hem or pocket, or applied to a label, sticker or tag, and NOT in a way that dominates the appearance of the clothing item. 


3.   The caveat, of course, is that when your design, logo or slogan is regarded as artwork - even though it can be protected by copyright - the protection only extends to the artistic configuration used. To put it more bluntly, if you have a slogan or name, copyright law can protect the artistic way you display it, but the text itself is NOT protected. Copyright law does not cover names, words or short phrases. 


4.   The only way to protect a name, word, short phrase or other text, is to register it as a trademark. But this means that you have to change the way you use the mark from an artistic display to a brand name usage. 


5.   Yes, it is possible to register a design, logo, name or phrase under both copyright law and trademark law, so long as you use it in two different ways and you do it consistently. Keeping the two usages of the same design or text at the same time is not an easy task, and you can end up compromising your rights under copyright or trademark, or both, very easily if you aren't careful.

COPYRIGHT vs. TRADEMARK vs. PATENT

COPYRIGHT vs. TRADEMARK vs. PATENT


Some people confuse patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Although there may be some similarities among these kinds of intellectual property protection, they are different and serve different purposes. 




What Is a Copyright? 


Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of "original works of authorship" including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly. 


The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. 




What Is a Trademark or Servicemark? 


A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms "trademark" and "mark" are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks. 


Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office. The registration procedure for trademarks and general information concerning trademarks is described in a separate pamphlet entitled "Basic Facts about Trademarks". 




What Is a Patent? 


A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. US patent grants are effective only within the US, US territories, and US possessions. 


The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" the invention in the United States or "importing" the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. 


(Excerpted from General Information Concerning Patents, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website) 


Some additional differences between a copyright and a trademark are as follows: 


1.   The purpose of a copyright is to protect works of authorship as fixed in a tangible form of expression. Thus, copyright covers: a) works of art (2 or 3 dimensional), b) photos, pictures, graphic designs, drawings and other forms of images; c) songs, music and sound recordings of all kinds; d) books, manuscripts, publications and other written works; and e) plays, movies, shows, and other performance arts. 


2.   The purpose of a trademark is to protect words, phrases and logos used in federally regulated commerce to identify the source of goods and/or services. 


3.   There may be occasions when both copyright and trademark protection are desired with respect to the same business endeavor. For example, a marketing campaign for a new product may introduce a new slogan for use with the product, which also appears in advertisements for the product. However, copyright and trademark protection will cover different things. The advertisement's text and graphics, as published in a particular vehicle, will be covered by copyright - but this will not protect the slogan as such. The slogan may be protected by trademark law, but this will not cover the rest of the advertisement. If you want both forms of protection, you will have to perform both types of registration. 


4.   If you are interested in protecting a title, slogan, or other short word phrase, generally you want a trademark. Copyright law does not protect a bare phrase, slogan, or trade name. 


5.   Whether an image should be protected by trademark or copyright law depends on whether its use is intended to identify the source of goods or services. If an image is used temporarily in an ad campaign, it generally is not the type of thing intended to be protected as a logo. 


6.   The registration processes of copyright and trademark are entirely different. For copyright, the filing fee is small, the time to obtain registration is relatively short, and examination by the Copyright Office is limited to ensuring that the registration application is properly completed and suitable copies are attached. For trademark, the filing fee is more substantial, the time to obtain registration is much longer, and examination by the Trademark Office includes a substantive review of potentially conflicting marks which are found to be confusingly similar. While copyright registration is primarily an administrative process, trademark registration is very much an adversarial process. 


7.   Copyright law provides for compulsory licensing and royalty payments - there is no analogous concept in trademark law. Plus, the tests and definition of infringement are considerably different under copyright law and trademark law. 


CLOTHING ITEMS 


When it comes to copyright v. trademark, we get more questions about clothing than anything else. Here are a few guidelines:


1.   Anything you silk screen or otherwise display prominently on the front or back of a shirt, top, cap or hat is generally considered artwork, and therefore covered by copyright. In fact, if you send a photo of a clothing item to the U.S. Trademark Office showing your design, logo or slogan prominently displayed on the front or back, they will refuse to register it as a trademark. 


2.   To qualify as a trademark, your logo or slogan must be used as the brand of the clothing item itself. In other words, your logo or slogan must be used the way clothing brands are typically used and displayed on clothing, namely, sewn into a waistband, collar, hem or pocket, or applied to a label, sticker or tag, and NOT in a way that dominates the appearance of the clothing item. 


3.   The caveat, of course, is that when your design, logo or slogan is regarded as artwork - even though it can be protected by copyright - the protection only extends to the artistic configuration used. To put it more bluntly, if you have a slogan or name, copyright law can protect the artistic way you display it, but the text itself is NOT protected. Copyright law does not cover names, words or short phrases. 


4.   The only way to protect a name, word, short phrase or other text, is to register it as a trademark. But this means that you have to change the way you use the mark from an artistic display to a brand name usage. 


5.   Yes, it is possible to register a design, logo, name or phrase under both copyright law and trademark law, so long as you use it in two different ways and you do it consistently. Keeping the two usages of the same design or text at the same time is not an easy task, and you can end up compromising your rights under copyright or trademark, or both, very easily if you aren't careful.