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Monday, October 25, 2010

World's lightest smartphone to hit India via Micromax

The world's lightest smartphone , weighing just 60 grams, is all set to hit the Indian market to make the most of the ongoing festive season.

Israeli entrepreneur Dov Moran's company Modu, which launched tiny smartphone Modu T last week, has announced striking a partnership with India's third largest distribution company Micromax for the venture, business portal Calcalist reported.

The value of the deal between the two companies has not been disclosed yet because it is dependent on phone sales, the report said.

Micromax will sell the cellular phone as part of a package that includes two "jackets", which are add-on sets for the Modu, at Rs 12,500 ($282).

The Modu T is a 3.5 generation smartphone with a 2.2 inch touch screen and has Qualcomm's Brew operating system and an array of Java-based applications, including Snaptu, Facebook, Flickr and media player TuneWiki.

Weighing at only 60 grams and measuring 7.5 cms, it is considered the lightest smartphone in the world.
Keywords:Modu,Micromax

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Prabhas Exclusive Stills

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Working his way back into the fold

Yuvraj's 58 at Vizag was a significant contribution

The last fortnight in Indian cricket has been a tale of fearless youth wielding the bat with aplomb while the masters continued to sparkle.

Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara at Bangalore, and now, Virat Kohli at Visakhapatnam have surely gladdened the hearts of the fans and the connoisseurs, as have stalwarts V.V.S. Laxman who stood firm at Mohali and Sachin Tendulkar who gave the cheering Bangaloreans sore throats.

Meanwhile, Yuvraj Singh has been busy rebuilding his career.

Fitness issues and vagaries of form have plagued Yuvraj over the last year.

After an indifferent run in the tri-series at Dhaka and the alleged pub-brawl incident during the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies in May, Yuvraj seemed to lose his way. The selectors dropped him from the Asia Cup squad.

Though he was subsequently sent to Sri Lanka for a tri-series, an imposing knock remained elusive. After Suresh Raina bagged Yuvraj's Test berth with a century at Colombo, the southpaw's despair seemed complete.

The Indian team think-tank, however, has enormous belief in Yuvraj's potential — M.S. Dhoni recently said: “He is a kind of player who can change gears at any point of the game and take control.

At the same time, he has played over 250 ODIs, which means he has got a lot of experience behind him. Apart from that, his bowling is very important for us because if we decide to play with four bowlers, we will use the other part-timer as the fifth bowler. He has got both dimensions of the game and that will help us.”

Big part of the plans

Yuvraj remains a key player in India's plans as the World Cup looms, and his success in the coming days will gift a sigh of relief to his team-mates. His 58 at Visakhapatnam — though dwarfed to a certain extent by Virat Kohli's in-the-trenches ton and Raina's blitz — was a significant contribution in a tall chase that ended with India gaining a 1-0 lead against Australia in the current ODI series.

When Yuvraj walked into bat at Visakhapatnam with India struggling at 35 for two while chasing 290, nerves jangled at the venue. He soon eased his front foot and whipped John Hastings over his favourite mid-wicket region and a sense of calm enveloped the ground as he and Kohli chiselled out a crucial 137-run third-wicket partnership that proved to be a match-winning stand.

Yuvraj is often trapped in the image of being a player who can single-handedly destroy attacks — a description built on innumerable big-hits and that classic six sixes off Stuart Broad. That perception, while valid, glosses over Yuvraj's partnership-building ability. In the past, Yuvraj and Rahul Dravid have scored 2,663 runs together in ODIs. He has also teamed up well with Dhoni and the dashing duo have notched up 2,365 runs that have often heralded Indian victories.

The game's longer version may have gotten away from him but the hunger to shine in whites is still there as he made it obvious with a double hundred while recently leading Rest of India to an Irani Trophy triumph against Mumbai.

India needs Yuvraj to shine in all his facets — as a powerful batsman, a weaver of productive batting alliances, a handy left-arm spinner and an agile fielder despite a dodgy knee.

Keywords: India-Australia ODI series, Yuvraj Singh, World Cup

Rooney signs new deal with United

Wayne Rooney performed a shock u-turn on Friday by signing a new five-year contract with Manchester United, just days after appearing to be on his way out of Old Trafford.

Rooney had rocked United on Wednesday by revealing that he wanted to leave the Premier League club because it no longer had enough ambition to compete for major honours.

However United reopened talks with Rooney's agent and announced on Friday that the player had made an astonishing u-turn and opted to commit his long-term future to the club.

A statement on the club's website said: “Wayne Rooney has agreed a new five-year contract to stay at Manchester United until at least June 2015.

“The agreement follows intensive discussions between the Club and the player's representatives and means that by the end of his contract Wayne will have been a Manchester United player for 11 years.”

Convincing manager

Rooney, who was reportedly demanding wages of around 150,000 pounds (235,664 dollars) a week after tax in the original contract negotiations, insisted he agreed the new deal because Sir Alex Ferguson had convinced him that United remains committed to succeeding on the pitch.

“I am delighted to sign another deal at United,” he said. “In the last couple of days, I have talked to the manager and the owners and they have convinced me this is where I belong.”

“I said on Wednesday the manager is a genius and it is his belief and support that have convinced me to stay.”

“I'm signing a new deal in the absolute belief that the management, coaching staff, board and owners are totally committed to making sure United maintains its proud winning history — which is the reason I joined the club in the first place.”

United manager Ferguson had already revealed earlier in the week that contract talks with Rooney had broken down in August and it seemed certain the former Everton star would be sold.

Ferguson's comments about Rooney's failure to show respect for United seemed to signal a breakdown in their relationship, especially as it came after a war of words between the two over the United manager's decision to rest his star for three matches due to an ankle injury.

But Ferguson said on Friday he was delighted with Rooney's decision: “It's been a difficult week, but the intensity of the coverage is what we expect at Manchester United.”

“I said to the boy that the door is always open and I'm delighted Wayne has agreed to stay.”

“Sometimes, when you're in a club, it can be hard to realise just how big it is and it takes something like the events of the last few days to make you understand.

“I think Wayne now understands what a great club Manchester United is.”

Angry protests

Rooney had been increasingly linked with a move to arch local rival Manchester City, prompting an angry reaction from fans.

One group protested at his house on Thursday and had to be moved on by police.

Rooney's decision to stay is sure to be greeted with relief by most United fans, but several of the club's players, including Patrice Evra, had already expressed frustration at the situation.

His form in recent months had been well below-par as well and it remains to be seen if he will be welcomed back in the dressing room.

However, Ferguson is confident Rooney can go on to become one of United's all-time greats.

“I'm pleased he has accepted the challenge to guide the younger players and establish himself as one of United's great players,” he said.

Rooney has no doubts he can regain the trust of United's supporters and he added: “I'm sure the fans over the last week have felt let down by what they've read and seen. But my position was from concern over the future.

“The fans have been brilliant with me since I arrived and it's up to me through my performances to win them over again.”

Injured

However, the England international won't be back in a United shirt for a while as he recovers after being stretchered out of training on Tuesday following a tackle by Paul Scholes.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed that Rooney will be out of action until the middle of next month. “Wayne will be out for three weeks,” he said

Keywords:Rooney,Manchester United

Australia seek redemption under rain threat

The Big Picture
"My god I have never seen rain like this before," John Hastings, the Australia allrounder, tweeted on Saturday afternoon. "Chances are slim." He was right. It poured for five hours on Friday evening and rained again on Saturday morning. The forecast threatens more bad weather; if the game is washed out it would be the first time since the 1979-80 tour that Australia will leave India without having won a single game, including any tour matches. There was also a short tour in 1996 (one Test and one warm-up game) where Australia drew the tour game and lost the Test.

If the rains stay away and the drainage facility at the stadium, reportedly substandard, surprises to give us a game, Callum Ferguson will replace Michael Hussey. Ferguson hasn't played a single Test match but they say he will be the captain in the future. Do such wild expectations terrify a young talent? "That would be the highest honour as a cricketer you could possibly get," Ferguson said. "I just desperately want to get my baggy green first and see where we go from there." Before that Test debut, though, he will strive to shine in one-dayers. He had impressed in the 25 ODIs he played before his career was halted by an injury sustained in the 2009 Champions Trophy final. He has to do it all over again now, returning after knee reconstruction surgery.

Will Australia be tempted to give David Warner a game? Shaun Marsh was a bit scratchy in the last ODI and his technique was different from the serene version that was on show during the IPL in India. Back then, Marsh chose to remain as still as possible and play beside the line of the delivery, but he was seen shuffling all over in the previous match. Warner gives Australia an aggressive option at the top for barring Cameron White, who too can be a slow starter, the batting line-up is filled with batsmen whose strike-rates hover around the 75 mark. Time will tell whether the plan is to play Marsh along with the powerful Shane Watson during the World Cup. Visakhapatnam marked the promising debut of the 20-year old left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc. With his high-arm action he managed to extract some bounce on a life-less pitch and beat the bat of Yuvraj Singh a few times.

The match also eased a couple of India's concerns. Virat Kohli has now definitely moved ahead of Rohit Sharma in the pecking order, while R Ashwin put up a promising display with the ball. Kohli will hope he can get a couple more big knocks before Gautam Gambhir returns from injury. Ashwin impressed with his control and repertoire against two good players of spin - Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey. He will, however, want to improve on his poor fielding if he wants to firmly shut the door on his competitor Ravindra Jadeja.

Form guide
(most recent first)
India WLWLW
Australia LWWLL
Watch out for...
Tim Paine struggled to adapt to the slowness of the Visakhapatnam track. He tried to force the pace but went too hard at the ball. In the Tests, though, he showed signs of being a batsman who waits for the ball to come on against the seamers, and doesn't try to hide his bat behind the pads while playing spin. If he can return to that mode, Paine is likely to do well in the third ODI.
You could sense that Yuvraj Singh was desperate to finish the game at Visakhapatnam. He revived the innings with a calm approach and looked to be in complete control. He didn't let the pressure of the high asking rate to get to him and continued to steady the chase in Kohli's company. His end, though, revealed the inner turmoil. He scored six runs off his last 18 deliveries and was run-less for his final six. The pressure proved claustrophobic: when Shikhar Dhawan refused a risky single, Yuvraj slogged at the next delivery and was bowled. This fascinating inner battle between the adrenaline-fuelled Yuvraj and the calm senior version has been a constant feature over the years. Which one will dominate in Goa?

Team news

Vinay Kumar leaked runs in the end after a steady start - he went for 31 runs in his first seven overs but bled 41 in his final two - and India will consider replacing him with Munaf Patel who was economical in the Sri Lanka tri-series.
India (probable): 1 M Vijay, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Saurabh Tiwary, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Vinay Kumar / Munaf Patel, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Ferguson is certain to play, while Warner will hope to replace Marsh in the Australia side.

Australia (probable): 1 Shaun Marsh / David Warner, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 Callum Ferguson, 5 Cameron White, 6 Steven Smith, 7 James Hopes, 8 John Hastings, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Mitchell Starc.

Pitch and conditions
The rains have affected the pitch preparations. Australia's coach Tim Nielsen believes it would play slow. "I'm not sure it has seen a lot of sunshine," Nielsen said. They can roll a bit more tomorrow, if the sun comes out. The wicket may be a bit slow but it could be a good batting wicket."

Stats and trivia
Shaun Marsh made his name in India during the IPL but hasn't had a great time against India. His career batting average is 37.33 but it slips to 28.80 from five games against India. It's not all gloom, though, as his only ODI ton came against them.
Yuvraj Singh has picked up 84 ODI wickets at an average of 40.73 and an economy rate of 5.05 in his career. He has struggled against Australia, though. He has taken only six wickets at an average of 92.66.
Yuvraj's batting record against Australia is not the best either. He averages just 28.28 from 34 games as compared to his career average of 36.83. His captain MS Dhoni averages 40.58 (career average is 50.28) from 24 games against them, while his strike rate drops from 88.34 to 74.11.
Quotes
"I have never seen rain like this in India.. It does not look good for our game on Sunday."
Michael Clarke has an eye on the skies
Keywords:India,Australia,Cricket

Google plans to launch online music service in India

Google Inc plans to launch an online music service in India that would enable users to search for legal music streams and downloads, the Wall Street Journal said.

Google would soon add a music feature in its search service, which will allow users in India to search for songs. The top search results would be from Google's partners, according to the Journal.

The U.S. web search giant will partner with three digital music providers, who hold rights to hundreds of thousands of Indian tracks -- ranging from Bollywood hits to Indian classical music -- the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Keywords:Google India,Music