Foreign shores beckon

It's the holiday season and most travellers have packed their bags to head to Europe, US, or UK; at least that's where folks from Delhi and Mumbai are headed. In Bangalore, thanks to the runway which is under repair, travel agents' bookings are down by 50 per cent.

On average, people spend around Rs 1.5 lakh per head for a foreign tour or Rs 25,000 per head for a South East Asian or domestic tour. Popular destinations during the summer in India are hill stations like Manali, Ooty, etc. Jammu & Kashmir has seen a spurt in domestic demand too. Prices are up by 20 per cent this year thanks to the increase in the dollar rate. Apart from that, the increase in service tax is also expected to put a dampener on this holiday season.

Obama dubs tax plan 'Reagan rule'

Washington: Barack Obama suggested Ronald Reagan would be sympathetic to a minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans, saying the so-called "Buffett rule" could be renamed the "Reagan rule" in the Republican icon's honour.

Surrounded by a group of millionaires and their secretaries, Mr Obama invoked the late president in support of a measure to prevent millionaires from taking advantage of tax breaks to allow them to pay lower rates than some middle-class Americans.

Administration officials say the push for the Buffett rule is an attempt more broadly to reframe the debate ahead of the November election in a way which forces Republicans to drop their opposition to tax rises in any form.

In his second event in as many days to push for the rule, Mr Obama quoted a speech from 1985 in which Reagan said it was "crazy" that in some cases the wealthiest Americans were paying "nothing" while bus drivers were paying "ten per cent of their salary".

"What Ronald Reagan was calling for then is the same thing that we're calling for now – a return to basic fairness and responsibility, everybody doing their part," said Mr Obama.

"And if it will help convince folks in Congress to make the right choice, we could call it the Reagan Rule instead of the Buffett Rule," he said.

A $650 bulletproof case for the Apple iPhone

London: A Japanese firm called Marudai has unveiled a $650 bulletproof case for your iPhone.

It could offer the perfect protection for those planning to recreate the infamous 'iPhone vs gun' videos popular on YouTube, which see amateur marksmen shooting their phones and other gadgets to see what happens to them.

The bulletproof case features an inch thick slab of steel plating the firm claims can resist a .50 caliber round, the Daily Mail reported Sunday.

However, the protection does come at a cost - apart from the high price tag, only the back of your handset is protected - and there's a hole for the camera lens drilled into the metal.

The front of the camera is protected by a thin sheet of aluminum, although the firm has thoughtfully made both white and black versions available, the newspaper added.

The iPhone is first placed into a protective case, then the steel and aluminum case is bolted together around it to secure the handset. The firm also throws in a bonus for purchasers - an empty bullet so you can show friends exactly what you are protected against, the Mail said.

Samsung to launch 'the next Galaxy' phone on May 3,2012

New Delhi: The wait begins or ends? Samsung is now all set to unveil its next Galaxy phone, unofficially dubbed - the Samsung Galaxy SIII, on May 3.

Reportedly, the company has started sending invitations with the tagline "come and meet the next Galaxy" for an event that is slated to held in London on May 3.

The invite features some color patches which suggest that the new phone to produce rich colours. Also, it hints at the high-resolution of the display.

Rumours of Samsung's new galaxy phone have been floating around for a quite a long time. If rumours are to be believed, the phone is expected to have a 4.6-inch Super AMOLED Plus HD screen, a quad-core processor, a 12-megapixel camera, and 2GB RAM.

Samsung became the world's top smartphone maker last year on the back of strong sales of Galaxy lineups and the latest edition comes after it released Galaxy S II in late April last year.

The South Korean firm sold over 40 million Galaxy smartphones since the model was released in June 2010.

Review: Sony Xperia S scores on design

New Delhi: Before everything else - what is great about this phone and how it manages to stand apart in the smartphone crowd - what is interesting is that the Xperia S is the first smartphone under the Sony's Sony Mobile Communications brand. Sony had acquired Ericsson's 50 per cent stake in the pair's former joint venture Sony Ericsson.

Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, the phone has finally hit the Indian shores.

Priced at Rs 32,549, the phone comes in two colours – white and black. The review unit given to me was the black version. However, I have seen the Xperia S in both white and black colours and both have their own grace.

Now on to a comprehensive review of the device.

Hardware and styling

In the first look, the phone looks sexy. The design is simple, yet it manages to attract attention. Chances are, you could fall in love at the very first sight with this phone. What attracted me the most is the translucent strip along the bottom, which houses icons for the navigation touch points – back, home and menu. While some of you might not find it as attractive (design after all, is often a matter of personal choice). For instance, my best colleague did not find it impressive. But I found it voguish and think it adds beauty to the device.

Skyfall: Daniel Craig beefs up for the sex scene

London: Actor Daniel Craig is said to be working out hard to beef up for his sex scene in the next 007 film 'Skyfall'. "Daniel knows his body will be scrutinised in the bedroom scene so he's been training like a mad man," thesun.co.uk quoted a source as saying.

James Bond film 'Skyfall' is to shoot almost entirely in the UK after budget cuts meant production could no longer head to Bali and China.

The forthcoming 23rd installment of the franchise - starring Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Dame Judi Dench - was expected to shoot in locations across the globe including Bali and China, but because of budget cuts Turkey is now the only other country the movie will go to, reported Daily Mirror.

IBNLive

"Six different countries were selected but after several technical and financial problems, it was decided to scale back and just use Turkey as the sole foreign location," a source said.