Amazon Kindle (7th generation)

It is safe to say that Amazon's Kindle is the most popular e-books reader not just because of Amazon's large library of titles but also for the ease of use and features offered by these devices. The e-commerce giant has been catering to all segments, with the base model of the Kindle providing a glare-free reading experience at an affordable price. However, it missed out on features such as a touchscreen and value added software enhancements like FreeTime and Vocabulary Builder.

The new 7th generation base Kindle model fills in the gaps and offers a reading experience closer to that of the Kindle Paperwhite (of course the base model doesn't sport a front-lit, high-resolution display). We've used the new Kindle for a few weeks to find out if it's a big improvement over its predecessor. Here's our review...

Look and feel
The new Kindle looks different from its predecessor as it does not feature the navigation and control buttons below the screen and page turn buttons at the edges. Instead it is very similar to the Paperwhite.

The device is more or less a rectangular slab with a 6-inch display. The display is placed between the black bezel. The screen is slightly sunken like a photo frame but this doesn't really affect usage. Compared to its predecessor, the new Kindle is slightly heavier at 191grams and has corners that are more rounded. It's also slightly larger in length as well as width. You'll find a micro-USB port, an LED indicator (for charging) and a physical Power button at the bottom edge. There are no other ports or buttons on the device. The back of the Kindle sports a matte finish and beveled edges. It feels good to hold and the surface offers a good grip.

Display
The 7th-generation Kindle sports a 6-inch 167 ppi e-ink display, just like its predecessor. The display is free of glare, making it easy to read outdoors under sun light. The display offers 16-level grey scale and offers great contrast. Although the pixel density is lower compared to the Paperwhite, text still appears crisp and sharp, and the lack of glare is a big advantage. We found the touch panel to be very responsive though the implementation of touch in the user interface remains quite limited compared to tablets.

The screen only blacks out for a few seconds when you turn a page after longer durations or unlock the device.

Overall, the new Kindle's display is pretty good for reading only a step behind the Paperwhite.

Software and UI
In terms of software, the base Kindle model has got an update and now runs the same OS that we've seen on the Paperwhite.

The home screen features three most recently read books though you can also re-arrange them by recency, title and author. The book covers also feature a bar that shows how far you've read. You can also see books that you've purchased and have not downloaded by tapping on the 'Cloud' option. It's very easy to buy new books and download books that you've previously purchased. You just need to tap on the book cover icon and it will synchronise!

The other part of the home screen features four suggested book titles from Amazon that you can buy. Recommendations are an integral part of Amazon's ecosystem.

The top menu bar features the Home button, a back button, a search button, a button to invoke Goodreads (an online network of book lovers), a shortcut key to the Kindle store and a drop-down menu that offers shortcuts to Kindle FreeTime, Vocabulary Builder, web browser (experimental) and Settings.

Opening a book is pretty simple. You just need to tap on it and it'll open the page you were reading, the last time.

You just need to lightly tap or swipe on the right edge of the screen to turn to the next page, tap on left to turn back a page and tap the top edge for the secondary and main menu. The secondary menu lets you change the fonts, font size, line spacing and margins; Go to a particular page, chapter or annotation, use the X-Ray feature, bookmark or share an annotation on social networks.

The bottom left corner features the page number and time left in the book and chapter while the right corner displays the percentage read. This makes it easy to track your reading progress and improve the reading speed.

The new Kindle comes with the added advantage of a touch screen which makes the experience of turning pages and inputing text easier and more streamlined. With a 20% faster processor than the 6th generation Kindle, the navigation and page turns are smoother and more fluid. The upgrade makes the base Kindle a good, 'value for money' e-book reader. The tablet is available at Rs 5,999, just Rs 1,000 more than its predecessor. So it makes no sense to buy the old one. But if you have the last generation Kindle, upgrading would depend on whether or not you desire a touch screen, improved software and more storage.

If you're ready to spend more but need an e-book reader that also lets you read in the dark, then you could also consider the Kindle Paperwhite.

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Xiaomi raises more than $1 billion

Xiaomi has reportedly raised more than $1 billion in its latest round of funding, which brings the valuation of China's biggest smartphone maker to more than $45 billion.

The funding round -- led by All-Stars Investment, a fund run by former Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Ji -- is expected to close as early as Monday.
At $45 billion, Xiaomi would be more valuable than most other Silicon Valley technology startups, including Uber, which just closed a funding round that values the ridesharing startup at $41 billion.
Xiaomi has made a name for itself in emerging markets thanks to its phones that are highly similar to Apple's high-end devices, but sold at extremely low prices. The company shipped 18 million handsets in the last quarter -- a whopping year-over-year growth of 239% during that period. It's currently the fourth-biggest smartphone maker in the world, and the biggest in China.

3 fitness regimens to tone you up

From spinning to a special butt workout and some suspension fun, here's a lowdown on three regimens you must try...

1) Soul Cycling

The spinning regimen has Hollywood folks like David and Victoria Beckham and Katie Homes as fans. So, what's so great about it?

If you have felt like your workout needs a change, try this for size. But it's so much more than just a stationary spinning class. It is a motivational therapy that involves loads of dancing and fun. The challenging workout has caught on so much and it's getting to be quite an addiction with the celeb frat too. Victoria Beckham is reported to have called it her favourite, while actors Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller and singers Harry Styles and Mel B love it. It's not just an exercise, as you get sweaty and tire those muscles, there's a bit of drama here, as the riding instructors teach you dance moves or even yoga stretches while cycling. Did you know that one group even a carried out an actual enactment of Moulin Rouge while being on the bike!

WHAT IT IS: To put it simply, it's spinning while also moving to the music on the bike. As you pedal on, you burn the fat, tone muscles, release stress, while improving endurance. Says gym expert Althea Shah, "In Mumbai we conduct spinning, which is similar to SoulCycling. This is a high energetic pulsating class on stationary spin bikes. With no complicated moves to learn, a motivating group environment, invigorating music, and visualisation, you can have a blast as you ride your way to a healthier, stronger body," she states.

ADVANTAGES: The cardiovascular exercise helps you improve your overall physical health. "Done on a regular basis, it keeps the heart pumping strong, blood circulating properly, and helps to improve your breathing capacity, while boosting your endurance. A consistent program also reduces your blood pressure, reduces glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, increases HDL-cholesterol (the 'good' cholesterol), and decreases total cholesterol," adds Althea.

CALORIE BURN (approx) 550 calories a class.

HOW LONG? 1 hour session.

WATCH OUT!: Wrong postures and weak bones can lead to injuries. It is thus important to strengthen the body and get the form right before getting onto the bike.

2) Dedicated to your derriere

Butt camps that are made for your behind are the hot new draw

We've heard of boot camps and stretch camps and now here's one just to help you get a tight butt. These are a series of exercises that just target the lower body — butt and legs — instead of giving you the usual rounded out workout. The workout is getting to be hugely popular and a report says fashionista Kim Kardashian has actually got a dedicated special corner in her home for her 'derriere' with butt-toning gym equipment like a thigh shaper and a range of butt-toning belts and resistance bands, a source told a magazine.

WHAT IT IS: Toning the booty requires a specific regimen. Says fitness expert Jivesh Shetty: "First do squats, which work on the glutes and the butt and work on enhancing the shape. Remember, the wider you keep the feet, the more you have to sit back and this puts more focus on the butt. Lunges are apt too — beginners can do 15-20 reps of 2 sets and slowly increase this to 4 sets. It targets the glutes, quads, hamstrings and core." Add a treadmill session to this. "Doing an uphill incline is always better. Do 10 minutes of this combined with running on the flat surface for 10 minutes," he advises.

City-based fitness trainer, Swati Shah, who is doing a program on lifting the booty, says there's a huge demand for 'butt transformations' with the holiday season coming on. "This is a 10-day program, which includes bodyweight exercises focuses only on the booty. It has squats and lunges with variations and other mat exercises. It does show a marked difference as it tightens and shapes the butt," she says.

ADVANTAGES: Extra butt fat can be a hotbed of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, so having a slim, toned butt means lesser risk of this happening.

CALORIE BURN (approx) 100-500 calories a class.

HOW LONG? 45 minutes to 1 hour per session.

WATCH OUT! While you work out, be careful not to overdo it or you will fall prey to a 'flat-butt syndrome'. People also forget to stretch after they finish the exercises. This is crucial as it becomes harder for the muscles to recover after a workout.

3) TRX secret to fitness 

The 'suspended' workout uses gravity and your bodyweight to perform exercises

Being as flexible as it gets, this one was voted the top fitness trend of 2014! Also called suspension training, the TRX workout, this is the popular choice when it comes to getting a rock-solid core. Once a workout only used by military, it has a steady following of fitness lovers everywhere including celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Olivia Munn, Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lopez, are all said to be ardent of followers of it.

WHAT IT IS: TRX basically uses bands that are suspended from the ceiling. These straps and handle are attached to the ceiling and during the workout you use body weight to lift and lower. The resistance challenge can be increased as per your body fitness level. You can do overheads squats, side planks, lunges, push-ups, hamstring pull-ins, single arm rows and more with it. You must do each of the exercises with a 30 second rest in between. Says Hetal Madhiwalla who teaches TRX, "The underlying principle is to use gravity and your bodyweight to perform exercises. As you do the pulling and pushing exercises with the ropes, it strengthens and builds muscle tone and enhances flexibility and balance. This is especially apt after a hard day at work as you really de-stress with all the stretching."


ADVANTAGES: TRX training requires balance, so it builds concentration. It also increases muscle tone. The workout can be set up anywhere — at home, in the office or a hotel room. It helps tone muscles and works well on the core.

CALORIE BURN (approx) 160-250 calories a class.

HOW LONG? 30 minutes is enough.

WATCH OUT! If the straps are unstable, it can cause an injury. Also, those with back and joint pains should always ask a doctor before starting on a TRX workout.

Moto 360 smartwatch review

Motorola has made quite a splash with its Moto 360 smartwatch globally, offering the first smartwatch that comes with a round dial, water-resistance as well as an integrated heart rate monitor and pedometer. But do you really need a smartwatch? Will its unique features be enough to help the Motorola smartwatch speed up the adoption of wearables in India? Is this smartwatch worth the asking price of Rs 17,999?
Moto 360 has a 1.56-inch LCD display clad with Gorilla Glass 3 on a round watch-face, making it the only circular smartwatch in the market. The IPS panel is pretty good to look at and adjusts the brightness by itself if you have turned on the ambient light sensor. The display remains turned off usually but lights up automatically when you turn the wrist to look at the watch; of course, this means that the display panel lights up anytime your wrist faces upward, for example while typing an email on a laptop.

The Motorola smartwatch looks much better than the other smartwatches available in the market right now, thanks to the level of detail given to the design. The brushed metal finish and leather strap look good, and you can change watch-faces anytime you want by simply long-pressing the display and selecting the one you like; Moto 360 comes with seven pre-loaded watch-faces and a few more are available on Google's Android Wear marketplace.
Like a regular watch, Moto 360 has a button on the sides, but it does not change the time on the watch. Instead, long-pressing this button opens up a menu that shows all the features of the smartwatch, such as doing a Google search, counting steps, tracking the heart rate etc.

At the bottom on the screen is a black bar that disrupts the circular design of the watch-face. This black bar houses the ambient sensors and though it makes engineering sense, it does not make any design sense at all. This bar looks awkward and takes a lot away from the overall look of the smartwatch.

In terms of design, the size of the watch's dial and the weight of the whole watch matter a lot. In Moto 360's case, the metal-finished watch does not feel too heavy on the wrist. The dial itself does not look too big on the wrist of a man, but is pretty big on the more svelte wrists of women.
Battery life
Moto 360, sadly, does not have all-day battery life if used to its full capabilities. During our review period, the maximum battery life that the smartwatch delivered (with ambient light sensor turned on) was 17 hours, while the average period was in the range of 14 and 15 hours. Turn the ambient light sensor off and you get over a day of battery life. This is decent for a small 320mAh battery, but most people are not used to charging a watch every night and it is a small inconvenience.
Unlike other smartwatches in the market, the Motorola model does not have any microUSB port ruining the design. Instead, it relies of wireless charging (magnetic induction type) to recharge the battery. Just plop the smartwatch on the wireless charger and the battery will start charging instantly.
Do I really need it?
Frankly, no wearable device today is good enough to be a gadget that you cannot live without, Moto 360 included. This smartwatch, at least initially, felt like just a complementary device to the smartphone, making it easier for us to check out what's going on with our smartphone. That's what we thought after using it for a week — it's only a convenience that we can live without.

But surprisingly, once we stopped using the smartwatch, it was actually missed. The convenience it provides just makes everything easier. Taking the phone out of the pocket each time to see who called or messaged felt like a huge chore after a week of checking it out by simply turning the wrist. Similarly, using Google Maps on the small screen is also convenient while travelling. It's just so simple!

why workout ??????

There are hardly any negatives to working out and today i give you the five best motivations to hit the gym!

Boosts confidence: According to a recent psychological study, those participants, who followed some sort of an exercise routine, were found to be more confident than those, who didn't workout at all. The participants, when exercised, gained more confidence than before. It didn't matter for how long they exercised.

Better health: Not only does exercising get you in good shape and makes you look great, it also does wonders for your health. It keeps your blood pressure in check, reduces the chances of cancer and also helps prevent the early onset of diabetes.

Improves mood: Another study suggests that people with anxiety disorders felt better after exercising, as it reduces depression and stress.

Increases productivity: A fitness routine also boosts your productivity at work, as you are able to concentrate better and manage to get more work done in a shorter time, as per an international health journal.

Ripple effect: A physically fit person is able to give more in his/her personal relationships too. Since there is an increase in your patience levels, you are able to solve issues and problems of your family and friends. And it gives you the opportunity of living a healthy, stress-free life.

feeling young

Think positive
Your mental state reflects in your overall appearance. So keep positive thoughts rolling. Negativity can make you feel dull and can make you age faster.

Meditate
Even if you manage to sit with your mind open to meditation for a 5 minutes it can help you immensely. Meditation not only clears your mind, but also helps in stabilizing and streamlining your thoughts.

Eye cream
Don't squint your eyes, it is an effective trick to keep looking fresh. If you think such cosmetics are only made for girls, you need to read some new age magazines.

Stop smoking
Smoking is one of the main reasons behind fast aging. It not only causes major illness, but also irritates your skin and deprives it of oxygen and water which bring more wrinkles.

Reduce sugar intake
Sugar control can not only help you reduce extra pounds piling on, but also help you reduce wrinkles. High level of sugar activates a process called glycation which results in wrinkles.             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AjSG4ApOBg

Important of taking the stairs

It is said that an overweight person can lose up to twelve pounds by climbing two flights of stairs a day for a year. Only strenuous activities like dragging logs and sprinting seem to burn up more energy per minute than climbing stairs. Regular stair climbing is also a beneficial augmentative exercise in a vigorous cardiovascular workout.

Burns more calories: Stair climbing engages your body's largest muscle groups to repeatedly lift your body weight up, step after step. Thus using your muscles to carry your own weight is far higher to running as compared.

Maximises your cardio efforts: It also raises your heart rate immediately thus maximizing your cardio benefits.

Increases core muscle strength: Climbing stairs is a great way to amp your core muscle strength.

Tones and sculpts your body: It also engages every major muscle in your lower body — glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and calves to exercise and thus tones your body better.

Low impact workout: You don't have to ideally sweat it out while climbing stairs. Just a few stairs every day will give you a good workout.