‘Display warning mandatory for tobacco vendors’
Shops or kiosks selling cigarettes or tobacco products will have to
display warnings such as “tobacco causes cancer” or “tobacco kills”
prominently on their advertisement boards.
On Monday, the Supreme Court quashed an eight-year-old Bombay High
Court order staying the implementation of Centre’s Point of Sale rules
to regulate advertisement of tobacco products. The vendors would now
have to display such ads on billboards of 60cm by 45cm size at their
shops. A vendor would also be responsible for ensuring that no tobacco
products are sold to anyone less than 18 years.
The issue of whether the rules are unconstitutional would, however,
be decided by the HC, the top court said. The order came on an appeal
filed by the NGO Health For Millions.
A bench of Justice GS Singhvi and Justice Gopal Gowda came down
heavily on the Centre for not appealing against the HC order. It said
the government was “conniving” with the tobacco lobby. As per a survey
report by health and family welfare department, 85 lakh persons would
die due to oral and lung cancer by 2015. Government statistics,
presented before the court, revealed that 10 lakh persons died in India
due to tobacco use. Surveys also disclose that 35% of adults, including
15 years and above, used tobacco in India.
Earth photographed by Nasa Saturn probe
The image shows Earth as a very small,
blue-tinged dot – paler and tinier than in other photos – overshadowed by the
giant Saturn's rings in foreground.
"We can't see individual continents or
people in this portrait of Earth, but this pale blue dot is a succinct summary
of who we were on July 19," Linda Spilker, Cassini spacecraft lead
scientist at the Jet Propulsion
Earth and the moon take up less than a pixel, but appear large because
they are overexposed.
"That images of our planet have been
acquired on a single day from two distant solar system outposts reminds us of this
nation's stunning technical accomplishments in planetary exploration,"
"The whole event underscores for me our
'coming of age' as planetary explorers," added astronomer Carolyn Porco,
who oversees the Cassini imaging team at the Space Science Institute in
Boulder, Colorado.
Usually, spacecraft in the far reaches of the
solar system do not look back towards Earth to avoid damaging their instruments
by direct sunlight. Last week, the sun was temporarily blocked relative to
Cassini's line of sight, allowing the US space agency to take the picture.
AURUS, SIR JI Idea tweak and improves the Aurus
Idea cellular has launched an
improved version of the Aurus. Called the idea Aurus II, it comes with enhanced
features, including a dual camera. It is still targeted at the affordable smart
phone segment, will consumers bite?
Look: Decent enough
It is not the sleekest phone
around. But the Idea AURUS II still manages to look simple and stylish. It is a
bit on the thicker side and comes with a rubberized plastic back cover, while
the front is dominated by a 3.2 inch, 320X480 capacitive touch screen display.
Unlike its predecessor, the Idea AURUS II does not have any hard button on the screen. Below the
display are three soft keys for Back. Home and Options, while above it is a
0.3-megapixel camera. The power and camera button are oddly placed and take
some getting used to the former is placed towards the left side on the top, whereas the camera button is
placed on the upper part of the right side. On the back is a 3.2-megapixel
camera and the speaker grille.
Hardware: Ordinary
The Idea AURUs II is powered by I
GHz processor which works fine, with not too many lags. It is a 3G Smartphone
and comes with dual SIM functionality (GSM+GSM)
- both SIMs and the microSD card are not hot swappable and one has to
remove its battery to insert them. The phone comes with 512MB RAM and 4GB of
internal memory which can be further expanded to 32GB via microSD card. On the
connectivity front, it offers 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Software: Nothing exceptional
The idea AURUS II runs on Android
4.1, Jelly Bean. There are five shortcuts on the main screen for
calling,camera, main menu, internet and messaging. There are also five
customisable homescreens, which can be used to place app shortcuts and widgets.
The smartphone also offers some pre-loaded apps like Facebook, Twitteer,
YouTube, and Gmail.
Multimedia : Good Camera and Sound
The IDEA AURUA II offers a 3.2 –
megapixel rear camera with no flash. The camera takes decent shots in daylight,
although we would not recommend using it in low light condition. There is also
a 0.3-megapixel front facing camera, which is best suited for video chats. The
sound quality of the phone was good both on the loudspeakers and on the hand
free, and FM played very well too. Voice quality over calls was good as well.
User experience: Satisfactory
The phone in general works well
without many lags. Internet browsing is also fast and hassle-free. We found the
battery backup good and display decent enough for the price point.
Conclusion
The Idea AURUS II is priced at
Rs.6490. Those looking for alternatives can go for the Samsung Galaxy Y Plus,
which runs on Android 4.0 and comes with a price tag of Rs.6400/-. They can
also consider the Nokia Asha 311 which is priced at Rs.6375/- and has a
2.0-megapixel camera.
A MUSICAL CANVAS Micromax Bets on Music
Micromax’s Ccanvas series will be
best remembered for triggering the fall in prices of large screen devices. And
now the company has tied up with JBL to woo music lovers with its latest
Micromax A88 Canvas Music. Is it a marriage made in tech heaven?
Looks: Nothing new
As far as looks go, the Canvas
Music looks like most other smart phones launched by the company. The front of the phone is dominated by the
4-5 inch display, below which are three touch keys for Settings, Home and Back.
On the top are the charging slot and 3.5mm audio jack, while the sides house
the volume rocker key and power key. The
dark grey piping on the sides and on the top of the display however, do add an
element of smartness to the device. The rubberized back panel distinguishes the
phone from others in the market, and also allowed us to grip it firmly.
Hardware: Above par for the price
The Micromax A88 Canvas Music
runs on a I GHz Media Tek MT6577 dual core processor with 512MB RAM, which is
not bad at all at this price. It has an internal memory of 4GB which can be
expanded further up to 32GB using a microSD card. For connectivity, there are
Bluetooth. Wi-Fi and 3G, while handling imaging duties are a 5.0-megapixel rear
camera accompanied with a dual LED flash and a VGA front camera. The device is
a dual SIM phone with support for GSM+GSM SIMs. The centrestage of course is
held by the big 4.5-inch display with 854 X 480 pixels resolution, which is unusual
in this price range.
Software: Micromax has a Jelly
Bean
We are beginning to get used to
the fact that when it comes to Android, most smartphones in the sub-Rs.15000
segment will come with Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean). The Canvas music does too,
although it throws in some tweaks. The homescreen is customisable now and one
can choose the number of panel to browse through when the device is unlocked.
It also comes with some pre-loaded apps from company – Mi Live, Mi Zone and
HookUp as well as some social networking apps.
Multimedia : Striking the right notes
On the multimedia front, canvas Music
sports a 50-megapixel camera, video player, FM radio and a music player.
Although the camera comes with features like touch-to-focus, colour-effect,
self timer and scene modes, the results were not too impressive. Music however,
sees the phone score heavily, thanks in no small measure to the bundled Tempo
headset from JBL. We had no complaints regarding the quality of sound on
headphones or speakers.
User experience: We expected more
Our experience with the Micrmomax
Canvas Music falls in the average category. The dual core processor handles
most tasks well but was a disappointment when it came to playing games that had
rich graphics content. Even the touch sensitivity of the device is
disappointing. We tested the device on quadrant and it scored 2,898 which is
better than many of its counter in the price range.
Conclusion
The micromax Music is available
for Rs.8499 and comes bundled with the
JBL Tempo headest, which really sweeten the deal. Those seeking alternatives
can go for the Sony Xperia E which also runs on Android Jelly Bean and offers a
decent music experience, for Rs.9,500.
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