Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Nokia Dual Sim Mobile Unveiled

DELHI, INDIA - Desperate to claw back the markets share it has lost to regional competitors in the Indian market, Finnish mobile handset behemoth Nokia has launched 2 dual SIM handsets for the Indian users. The company has been losing market share steadily to the other regional companies for the last few years. Korean rivals like Samsung and LG have been giving it a run for its money. Nokia used to be the default choice of users in India even a few years back but it is no longer true. It has been late to respond to the public demand for dual SIM handsets and Samsung and Micromaxx has captured a majority of this segment with their models. The two dual SIM models introduced by Nokia are C1 and C2.Nokia is hopeful that its new dual SIM models will be able to compete well with their existing dual SIM models in the market. Mary McDowell the executive vice-president of Nokia mobile handset segment said during the release event that the models have been kept affordable for the users. However, it is also true that the company has been offering low priced models since last few months to woo the customers and gain back its market share in India.The Nokia C1 is priced at INR 1999. It has convenient features like Flashlight, FM radio and other goodies. The C2, other dual SIM mobile will be launched later in 2010, has Ovi mail and Ovi tools. It also has multimedia features. The USP of the model is that it supports external memory card up to 32 GB which is a boon for the users.

A peg or two is good for you

LONDON - Downing a peg or two a day could be good for you and give you a longer life than teetotalers, new research in the United States has found.Researchers have found that good health among older people was linked to moderate drinking. The study examined data from 1,824 adults aged between 55 and 65 years. They were all former or current drinkers over the past 20 years, the Daily Mail reported.They discovered that the heavy drinkers had a 42 percent higher risk of dying in a 20-year follow-up compared to moderate drinkers, says a University of Texas release.Amazingly, teetotalers had a 49 percent higher mortality risk, according to the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.Researchers said this was because many of those who refrained from alcohol in the study sample were former problem drinkers.They were also more likely than moderate drinkers to have health problems due to lack of exercise and smoking.Study leader Charles Holahan from the University of Texas, US, emphasised the need for common sense. One or two drinks a day may be beneficial for some, but drinking a lot more can be dangerous, he said.“Older persons drinking alcohol should remember that consuming more than two drinks a day exceeds recommended alcohol consumption guidelines,” he added.

Mumbai’s 190-kg man operated successfully, recuperating

MUMBAI - Fifty-three-year-old Nizar Ahmed, weighing 190 kg, was operated upon successfully for weight-loss surgery in a hospital two days after being moved out of his south Mumbai second floor tenement where he had stayed indoors for five years.
“The surgery lasted for nearly three hours. Later, he was taken to the Intensive Care Unit for recovery,” said Mansoor Hassan, Ahmed’s elder brother. Hassan said Ahmed gained consciousness only Tuesday morning after being operated upon Monday night at Breach Candy Hospital. “He (Ahmed) is glad that the operation was successful and that he will finally get rid of his obesity,” he said.
Doctors treating Ahmed had sought help of the fire brigade to bring him out of his second floor tenement in the congested Muslim-dominated neighbourhood in Dongri. After having started to gain weight five years back, Ahmed could not stand up even for a minute. He had also developed complications like gout, leading to severe pain in the joints. He was also suffering from hypertension but luckily not diabetes - which made the surgery a less complicated affair. The weight-loss surgery that cost Ahmed around Rs.3.5 lakh was borne by state Samajwadi Party president Abu Asim Azmi as Ahmed could not afford the cost of the surgery. During the last five years, Ahmed spent all his time sitting or lying on the bed either watching TV, praying or simply looking upwards and hoping that some angel would come and give him respite from this misery. Sanjay Borude, Ahmed’s bariatric surgeon had said the surgery would involve cutting open and sealing of nearly two-thirds of his stomach, which would reduce its intake capacity. Thereafter, gradually within a year, Ahmed would shed weight and come to a manageable 90 or 100 kg, with no possibility of further weight gain.