Wednesday, July 6, 2011Business Line

The A6 encounterTesting Audi’s new mid-range killerPage 8

SmartbbuuyyG A D G E T S | A U T O | L U X U R Y www.blsmartbuy.com

Fujifilm X100Le Meridien’s gourmet breakfast

2 July 6, 2011Smartbuy

WHAT’S HOT this week

This 10.1 inch widescreen HD tablet runs on Android3.0 and showcases the Honeycomb user experience –

widgets, true multi-tasking, browsing, notificationsand customisation. It comes with an 1GHz dual-coreprocessor and 1GB of RAM and also supports Adobe

Flash Player 10.2 Beta. Support for HDMI enablesviewing of videos and movies on HD displays. A 5-meg

rear camera with flash captures HD video, and a 2-meg front camera enables clear video chats.

Rs 34,490 (Wi-Fi), Rs 41,490 (3G)

Time to tab

Motorola XOOM

The brand new entertainment-focusedsmartphone from Nokia features a 4-

inch display, ideal for gaming andmultimedia. You have an 8-megapixel

camera for capturing pictures and high-def video. The handset comes pre-

loaded with Galaxy on Fire HD andAsphalt 5 HD, besides letting you accessa range of premium HD games throughthe Ovi store, free of charge. Crafted in

stainless steel and glass, the Nokia X7 isavailable in shades of dark and light

steel.Rs 22,829

The new ‘X’ factor

Nokia X7

With a 220GB hard disk drive, the SonyProjector Handycam HDR-PJ50 comes

with an inbuilt, high contrast projector thatcan project images on any flat surface

without using any additional plug-in wires,cables or laptops. The Handycam lets yourecord HD videos (1920 x 1080) and take

photos with a 7.1-meg sensor still camera.With 12x optical zoom, you can enjoy close-ups on video capture and the additional 17x

extended zoom offers even greater detailon this Handycam.

Rs 59,990

Portable theatre

Sony HDR-PJ50

Team SmartbuyEditorial

Anushya Mamtoraanushya@thehindu.co.in

Ketaki Bhojnagarwalaketaki@thehindu.co.in

Mahananda Bohidarmahananda@thehindu.co.in

S. Muralidharmuraliswami@thehindu.co.in

Design

Bryan Gaughanaqua@thehindu.co.in

Balakrishnandesignkbala@thehindu.co.in

Advertising Contact

R. Diwakarramdiwakar@thehindu.co.in

Web Advertising Contact

N. Amarnathamarnath@thehindu.co.in

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Cover photo: S. Muralidhar

3 July 6, 2011Smartbuy

The second generation of Happy netbooks from Acerare powered by Intel Aton N570 dual core processorsand 1GB RAM. A 10.1-inch LED backlit display, 320GBhard drive, multi-card reader and 8 hours of batterylife are other features on offer. It operates on a dualOS that offers you a choice between Windows 7Starter and Android. The netbooks are available infour new exotic colours – Banana Cream, StrawberryYoghurt, Blueberry Shake and Papaya Milk. Rs 15,749

Shades of summer

Acer Aspire One Happy 2

The Flyer is HTC’s maiden tablet launch.Unlike other tablets, it combines touch andpen interaction. Encased in an aluminiumbody, it is lightweight and compact with ascreen size of 7-inches. It is powered by a1.5GHz processor and high speed HSPAcapabilities. Users will have access to HTCWatch, which is the company’s videodownload service. It also integrates OnLive’scloud-based gaming service. Rs 39,890

The latest in the MiniStation range ofstorage devices from Buffalo is this USB3.0 portable hard drive. The slim, light-weight chassis is stylish as well as shockproof. It is backwards-compatible toUSB 2.0 and works with most PCs andMacs, offering transfer speeds of up to5Gbps. Plug and play functionalityrequires no external power source. Itcomes with data encryption and powersaving features as well. Choose fromred, black, pink, silver and blue colouroptions. Rs 4,000 (500GB); Rs 6,000 (1TB)

Flying high

HTC Flyer

Data warehouse

Buffalo HD-PNTU3

4 July 6, 2011Smartbuy

CAMERA review

Ketaki Bhojnagarwala

Ihave to admit, I was more than surprised when I

opened the Fujifilm X100’s packaging. Of course,I’d seen photos and videos right from when thecamera was announced at Photokina last year, but I

wasn’t prepared to handle this rather small, retro lookingcamera. For me, a professional camera has until now,looked like a clunky black box with a bunch of buttons.

Warming upTo call the X100 old-fashioned would be unfair. It’s small,but spunky. It reminded me of the metal-bodied beautiesfrom Nikon and Minolta from the 70’s.

Full credit goes to Fujifilm for attempting to create acamera that looks like a rangefinder, yet has an array ofmanual, professional controls. The body is a piece of art –magnesium alloy and leather fusing perfectly together tocreate a camera that’s a stunning classic. There’s been a lotof talk about the limitations of the camera – for one, itcomes with a fixed 23mm lens. It also doesn’t offer anyscene modes, so you won’t be able to use a shortcut to get agreat photo. But while these may seem like negatives tosome, I think these are precisely the features that force theuser to think creatively.

Although it does have a digital menu, the main controlsthat a photographer requires are all located, physically, onthe body. So there’s an aperture ring on the lens, and twoseparate dials on the top – one to adjust shutter speed and

the other for exposure. There’s a small customisable func-tion button as well, which is pre-programmed to bring upISO. The idea of course being that you will tweak one or allof these controls to get that perfect shot.

The lensThe 23mm Fujinon lens is a 35mm equivalent. While itmight seem inadequate as regards focal length, it offers anultra wide aperture of F2 – perfect for those dreamyportrait shots where the subject is in sharp focus and thebackground is blurrily unrecognisable. It’s also surprising-ly good for macro shots – the lens can focus up to 4 cmaway from a subject. Aperture goes all the way up to F16,which is good for landscape shots on really sunny days.

There’s a switch on the side of the camera that lets youtoggle between auto and manual focus modes. This isn’tthe perfect camera for quick shooting - the auto focustakes its own time. It’s also teasingly annoying at times – itfocuses exactly where you want it to, and when you pressthe shutter button it defocuses and all you get is a blurryhaze. There’s another problem – the camera won’t focuson anything that’s less than 2 feet away from it unless youuse the macro mode. An annoying quirk is that if youswitch to macro mode and then try to adjust exposure, itturns off. This also happens when you switch betweenviewing and shooting modes.

When you switch to manual focus, which I used mostlyfor still-life or landscapes, the easiest thing to do was

frame the shot, use the AFL lock to autofocus and thenadjust the focus manually.

The autofocus assist lamp is by default switched on, so ithelps the camera focus when the subject is too dark. Thewide aperture was also perfect for night shots, because alarge aperture allows more light to enter the lens. Thismeans you can take great, non-blurry shots without usingthe flash. Because you’ll also have to slow down yourshutter speed, you can get a nice set of night shots with thesubject in focus and wonderfully hazy, streamy light trailsas the background. Something you wouldn’t be able toachieve with your DSLR kit lens. For a night shot you willhave to amp up your ISO settings, and the camera offers awide range of 200-12,800. We managed to get excellentlow light shots up to ISO 3,200, with barely any dis-cernable noise.

If you want to really exercise the lens, you can choose aburst mode of 3fps or 5fps. Once you focus the lens on yoursubject, simply depress the shutter button and the cameracaptures quick frames of either 10 JPEG or 8 RAW images.Speaking of image formats, there’s a dedicated RAW but-ton as part of the controls – a feature that pros will love.

The camera offers a shutter speed range from 4 to4,000. There is a Bulb mode as well. Like I mentioned,there aren’t any scene modes, but if you want to go fullyauto, you can rotate the aperture and shutter dials to ‘A’,which will put the camera in Program (P) mode.

These controls also let you switch between Aperture

Classic clicker,modern twist

Priority and Shutter Priority modes.

The viewfinderAn amazing feature of the X100 is the fact that it has ahybrid viewfinder –a regular optical viewfinder which letsyou look directly through the glass, and an electric view-finder that shows you the actual image you’re about totake, complete with the exposure and white balance set-tings. The only problem with using the optical viewfinderis that because it’s not located directly above the lens – it’son the left corner of the camera – you have the problem ofparallax. So this means that when you focus on yoursubject, the frame you capture will be different from whatyou view. While it’s ok for landscape shots, it simplydoesn’t work for close-ups.

There’s even a third option of a live view through theLCD screen. This works better for wide-angle shots.

Modern controlsDespite the retro-inspired design, the interface of thecamera offers you a complete set of controls that you cantweak from the main menu. Unfortunately, the menu isn’treally intuitive – for one, ISO and Auto ISO are in twocompletely different sections of the menu. You can make abunch of other changes from within the menu, includingmetering, white balance, colour, sharpness and dynamicrange. There’s also a film simulation mode that gives youold Fuji options like Provia, Velvia and Astia, as well as aMonochrome (black and white) mode.

Final callThe X100 has many limitations, but that’s what makes it soinspiring. It forces you to think out of the box, and theresults are photos you would have never thought of takingwith your point and shoot or DSLR. It also forces you touse manual controls, giving you the satisfaction of taking agreat shot that you’ve composed every detail of. Eventhough Fujifilm calls it a professional camera, I think itwould make a great first camera for an aspiring photog-rapher, because it lets you start from the basics. Thedownside is that it’s pricey - almost double that of what anentry-level DSLR would cost – a factor that could deter alot of budding photographers.

Love: Dedicated, intuitive controls, great lensHate: Takes a while to focus, expensivePrice: Rs 66,999

5 July 6, 2011Smartbuy

Clockwise (From top right)

Wide apearture isperfect for takingsharp portrait shotswith defocussedbackground

Macro mode allowsyou to focus up to4cm away from yoursubject

Images don’t appeargrainy even at ISO3,200. Perfect fornight shots.

Product photos: R. RavindranTest photos: Ketaki Bhojnagarwala

ketaki@thehindu.co.in

aperture.The Tamron lens is compatible with Nikon and Canon

(Di II VC PZD), and also with Sony (Di II PZD) APS-CDSLRs. Love: Zoom range, vibration controlHate: Focussing at longer focal lengths, slightly pricey for a third party lensRs 36,000RatingsConstruction - 5/5Handling - 4/5Price - 3/5Overall - 3/5With inputs from S.S. Kumar and S.R. Raghunathan

D. Krishnan

If you are an amateur photographer and a regulartraveller it can be quite a bummer to lug around abig kit bag full of lenses. It would be a whole loteasier if you could make do with just one primary

lens that has good range and can deliver results in varyingconditions. We tested Tamron’s latest compact, ultra-zoom for APS-C format DSLRs.

The Tamron 18-270mm F3.5-F6.3 Di II VC PZD zoomlens is said to be amongst the world’s first lens to use Piezotechnology for fast, smooth and noiseless focussing.

The 15X lens (28mm to 405 mm) is the smallest andlightest in this range and is suitable for a wide range ofapplications from landscape, portrait, sports and wildlifephotography.

It has a closest focussing distance of 0.49 metresthroughout its ‘b’ range. The lens measures 98.4mm (3.8-inches) and weighs 450 grams. It accepts a filter size of62mm making it the smallest barrelled lens in this range.

The 18 element lens is an attempt by Tamron to lureusers who have graduated from super zoom compacts to

DSLRs. The lens is an all purpose unit as it covers a zoomrange from 27mm to 405mm in the 35mm equivalentwithout having to change lenses, making it a perfect travellens.

The piezo drive is an innovative ultrasonic autofocusmotor based on an advanced piezo-electric design.

We put the lens to a series of tests to study its featuresand capability. The VC or the vibration compensation asTamron calls it was very effective. It gave you a clear 2stops advantage. We shot an image hand held at 1/8 Sec.With the VC activated and off positions and there was avisible difference in the photographs.

The piezo technology hunts a bit when you change focallengths or where there are multiple fields of focus. It ishowever, fast, noiseless and accurate in most other sit-uations. The lens functions very well in backlit conditionsholding both highlight and shadow details, besides colourand contrast.

The colours and contrast are excellent at the widestfocal length supplied to the lens, but tend to get soft as youzoom in. Edge sharpness is good even at full open

For a lighter travelbag

Photos: S.S. KumarS.R. Raghunathan

The Vibration Correction makes a marked difference as is evident these two pictures.

Zoomed out Zoomed in

GAME preview

Dirt 2 was a great all-round off-roadracing game, but it was guilty of oneterrible crime; the omission of the verymotorsport discipline that had got the

franchise this far - rally. Fans were understan-dably up in arms over Codemasters’ ill-treat-ment of rally and they made themselves heardon forums and blogs. Fortunately, their com-plaints didn’t fall on deaf ears, and when Dirt 3was announced, one of the first details the de-velopers released was that 60 percent of thecareer would be comprised of rally. We recentlyhad the opportunity to take a pre-release buildof Dirt 3 through its paces. It comprised of justthe first season of the career mode, and it gaveme the opportunity to see if Codies had kepttheir promise. They have. Most of the events thecareers were rally, while the rest were brokenup into race types that Dirt 2 players will befamiliar with. These include rally cross (stan-dard track-based races), land rush (standardraces with pick-up trucks), drift events with apoint system like the PGR games’ Kudos, andone-on-one events.

Taking a spinThere isn’t much of an overhaul in the way thegame plays. The cars still feel floaty as ever, andthanks to the twitchy controls, they driftaround corners effortlessly. Gentle nudges ofthe analog stick and constant feathering of

brake and throttle are vital for success in Dirt 3.But don’t let that intimidate you because all ittakes is 15-20 minutes to come to grips with it.Speaking of grip, track surfaces now have amore pronounced effect on car handling. Driv-ing on dirt, gravel, tarmac and snow all feeldifferent and you’ll need to make the necessaryadjustments when you move from one to theother. Codemasters’ racing games have alwayshad the best damage models, and Dirt 3 doesn’tdisappoint either. With every impact with othercars or trackside objects, dents form, panels falloff, and splinters of metal and carbon fibre fly inevery direction. There’s performance damagetoo, but it’s far more forgiving and nowherenear as elaborate, but getting too friendly withtree trunks will end your race prematurely.

Let’s rally!What we saw of the career events was dom-inated by rally, even after playing the game, westill weren’t sure of how deep-rooted the rallyimplementation really is. Yes, the stages lookgreat and the layouts are fantastic, with lushfoliage around, appropriate elevation anddrops, and a healthy mix of straights and hair-pins, but a lot of rally actually takes place off thecourse. Rallies play out over multiple stages,which often vary in nature from each other.Switching your car’s setting between stagescould prove crucial. Cars also tend to pick updamage progressively over stages and using the

limited time between stages to perform repairsis also vital. But since the rally events in thecareer so far have only comprised of two stageseach, there hasn’t been much scope to see ifeither of these strategic elements comes intoplay. That’s not to say that they haven’t beenimplemented. If anything, the brief intro videodid allude to their inclusion, but we didn’t reallyhave the opportunity to test it out. Hopefullythe events later in the career will consist ofmultiple stages for a more fulfilling rallyexperience.

More than you seeIf you’re just looking for more of what Dirt 2brought to the table, don’t let all the rally talkabove turn you off. There are still plenty ofopportunities to partake in the several otheroff-road racing disciplines, both in the careerand outside it. Dirt 3 also adds a split-screenmulti-player mode, something more racinggame devs need to implement in their games.Then of course, there’s the heavily publicisedGymkhana mode, which unfortunately, wedidn’t have access to in this build. It’s a freestylemode that rewards drifting, jumps and basicallyany form of stylish driving. So if you thoughtDirt 2 had a great mix of off-road events, Dirt 3is set to take things several steps further.

Dirt 3 is available now for Xbox 360 (Rs2,499), PS3 (Rs 2,499) and PC (Rs 699)

CHIP

8 July 6, 2011Smartbuy

AUTO focus

S.Muralidhar

Imust admit it was quite distracting to be remindedthat Bollywood actress Gul Panag was driving thecar ahead of mine. Swerving into the turn andexiting wide, Gul, like yours truly, was obviously

enjoying our day at the race track. If the image of Gul’s dimpled smile wasn’t bad enough,

there were even more distractions that lay all around. Wewere testing the all new Audi A6 at the Yas Marina Formu-la One race track in Abu Dhabi. Located on the Yas Island,a reclaimed patch of land that has been turned into aplayground for the rich and famous, the 5.5-km long trackis both visually stunning and a sheer delight to test on.

At the circuit, a world-class luxury hotel with a uniquefaçade, imposing grand stands and a marina with luxuryprivate yachts anchored can together be distractingenough to give you a sore neck. But, within the coolconfines of the new A6 counter-distractions abound, keep-

ing me riveted to the task at hand.Unfortunately though, it was already too late by the

time I realise that the new-gen A6 is so loaded up to its gillswith safety tech that I could afford to be distracted, whilethe car’s on-board systems did the driving for me. But, thegood news for the enthusiastic driver in us is the fact thatthe A6 is an equally fun car to drive too.

DesignAudi seems to have on purpose built the A6 to be a strongerdraw than its competitors in the executive sedan category.Buyers who are young and new to the segment, and theolder buyers currently owning the previous-gen A6 will beequally attracted towards the successor.

There is enough to excite the A6 fan. A design thatborrows from the outgoing generation’s philosophy andyet completely alters the image and age of the car, the newA6 stands out despite the Audi DNA, especially from

bigger brother A8, being all together obvious. For me it looked like the new A6 had lost some of the

puppy fat of the previous-gen and has now become atrimmer, sharper model. Crisp clean lines, sharp edges andthe signature front-side design touches like the taperingheadlamps, the hexagonal bonnet grille and of course, theLED strips.

The other striking Audi design feature is the low, coupe-like greenhouse of the new A6, the visual-effect of whichhas just been accentuated by the slightly lowered roofline.The new generation model has also gotten sportier pro-portions with the overall length being tightened a bit,though, by shortening the overhangs by 8 centimetres,Audi engineers have still managed to increase the wheel-base by nearly 7 centimetres.

Giving it the sharper look, the A6’s shoulder line (Audicalls it the Tornado line) is a deeply creased stripe thatruns from the headlamp to the rear of the car. At the rear,

Will give the competition a mid-range crisis!

Photos: S. Muralidhar

the typical wraparound Audi taillamp design and the twinexhaust pipes catch the eye. The over-square overall de-sign again gives the new A6 a sharper look. The spoilerintegrated on to the boot lid adds to a sporty rear end.

The extended wheelbase of the new A6 has enabledAudi to offer more space inside the passenger cabin; felt nowhere better than at the rear seat. The cabin is also verywell lit and offers excellent visibility to all passengersthanks to a really thin construction for the A, B and Cpillars, likewise their claddings. Visibility is also better dueto the large, nearly flat rear glass.

One of the key positives of the new A6 is its lightweightconstruction. New materials including composite steeland the extensive use of aluminium, has resulted in signif-icant weight reduction in the new A6 ranging from 30 kgsto 80 kgs depending on the model.

InteriorsInside the cabin of the new A6, the quality and choice ofmaterials used is likely to give it a clear edge over compet-ing models from the other two German brands – BMW andMercedes-Benz. Some of the most luxurious and uniquetrim elements like layered wood inserts (for the wrap-around inlay) and premium, comfortable leather seats willpamper buyers in this segment like never before. The car’swide, asymmetric centre console is oriented toward thedriver. The sporty seats in the A6 are mounted low, yetmost drivers can see the entire engine hood thanks to thelow front end.

The new A6 also gets a good helping of top-end featureslike Audi’s famous MMI (multimedia interface), teamedalong with the pop-up information display located at thetop of the centre console and the numbered touch in-terface pad that we first saw in the A8. There is also anoption for a head-up display that can be chosen, if thebuyer desires. The system projects key information ontothe windshield in the form of symbols and digits.

EngineWhen it is launched in September this year, the new A6 islikely to be offered with a wide choice of four engines. Themost attractive for the average buyer in the segment islikely to be the 2.0 TDI – two-litre, turbocharged dieselengine with a peak power of 130 kW (about 174 bhp) andpeak torque of 380 Nm.

The other diesel engine option – a 3.0 TDI V6 tur-bocharged diesel engine – will be offered with Audi Quat-tro all-wheel drive tech and will generate a peak power of245 bhp and maximum torque of 500 Nm.

The petrol engine options will include a 2.8 FSI, whichis a V6 with Audi’s own valvelift system, and will put out apeak power of 204 bhp and peak torque of 280 Nm. Theother more powerful option that will be offered for buyersin the petrol segment will be the 3.0 TFSI Quattro. Thissupercharged direct injection petrol engine generates ahuge 300 bhp of peak power and 440 Nm of peak torque.

All the engine options come standard with a start-stopsystem for better fuel efficiency and are also fitted withbattery assist and regenerative braking as standard. Dur-ing the on-track testing I obviously wasn’t experiencingthe start-stop system, but while driving the A6 around AbuDhabi, the system did lead to a bit of jerky acceleration.The benefits to be had are obvious, but the start-stop canbe a bit annoying until you get used to it.

The engines are classically Audi units – refined, quickreacting and quiet. The cabin insulation techniques havealso been completely revamped for the new A6, making itextremely quiet inside the cabin. Choice of transmissionsis likely to be a CVT multitronic or the 7-speed S tronicwith electrohydraulic control.

The new A6 also features a new electromechanicalsteering system. Together with the new more rigid bodystructure, you can technically squeeze out a more aggres-sive on road performance from the new-gen model com-pared to the outgoing one. The new A6 proves itself to be a

thoroughly enjoyable driver’s car. The only observationhere being that the steering could have offered more feel,though it is clearly more comfortable to use in city condi-tions compared to competing models in this segment.

Feature-richThere are a number of optional additions and other safetyfeatures that take the new A6 close to the A8 territory interms of sheer tech on-board. The new Navigation plussystem that integrates the route data to the control unitsfor the headlights for optimal road illumination, the Goo-gle maps integration, the Audi pre-sense safety systemthat can effectively even stop the car if a accident situationis detected in conjunction with inputs from the adaptivecruise control system and the high-tech Bang & Olufsenwith the pop-up tweeters that first saw in the A8 are allthere in the new A6.

To take safety to new (almost driver elimination)heights, Audi has also integrated the active lane assist andpark assist systems into the new A6. These systems willenable you to keep the car within the lane you are drivingin and also enable you to park automatically and yourhands can effectively not be on the steering wheel for bothmanoeuvres. Incidentally, don’t try them at home; I triedboth the systems on the track.

Audi’s move with the new A8 was clear… make it themost luxurious flagship sedan and bump up its appeal withtech and high-end features. It flanked its flagship with theA7 Sportback and will soon launch the new A6 to straddlethe position in between the A4 and the A7.

The seventh generation of Audi’s executive luxury se-dan will find its own footing even in the Indian marketwhere the customer has fast matured. Priced upwards ofabout Rs 40 lakh, the new A6 will prove to be a toughcompetitor in the segment.

Gul would vouch for it. muraliswami@thehindu.co.in

10 July 6, 2011Smartbuy

The interior of the new Audi A6 exudes a more luxurious feel. Favourite additions and carry-forwards from

the A8 include the flip-open info display, the MMI with touch interface and the luxury yacht-style layered wood inlay.

11 July 6, 2011Smartbuy

MELANGE luxury redefined

It’s time to bring back the flip-flops, clogsand sandals back into your ‘shoedrobe’.

Crocs helps you out with its specialmonsoon range. This Crocband Flipswitch

Radius for men is a neat pick and isavailable at Metro stores in New Delhi,

Mumbai and Bengaluru.Rs 1,495

Go splash!

The Perfect Pencil celebrates 250 years ofGraf von Faber Castell’s pencil makinghistory. Handmade in Germany from woodsourced from the brand’s private forests, thepencils are embellished with sterling silverand platinum. Rs 32,500 (desk set)

‘Lead’ing to the past

A splattering of semiprecious stones forclutches, interestingembossing for shoes,silver and golddrippings to accentuateensembles – Fendi’s FallWinter ’11 collection isdrool worthy. Availableat its stores.Price on request

Chillingfashion!

Six fun and colourful palettes of eye shadows andliners are the latest to grab eyeballs at Revloncounters. The CustomEyes Shadow and Liner isenriched with a jojoba and shea butterlightweight formula and come in varying finishes.Available at lifestyle and cosmetic stores. Rs 625

Eye spy you

Mission! Preventwrinkles, eliminate fine

lines, repair existingdamage. Shiseido steps

up again with a new andbetter version of its

BenefianceWrinkleResist 24 range.

Softners, cleansing foam,day and night creams and

emulsions, the range isavailable at select

lifestyle stores.Price on request

Line ofcontrol

PREMIUM interiors

kitchen and bathrooms. One has tosteer clear of harmful chemical clean-ers and only use leather solutions forremoving stains. Furniture legs alsoneed to be padded to make sure theydon’t damage the leather surface. Idealplaces to use leather flooring are dryareas with plenty of sunshine thatbrings out the best in the material overtime. It’s best to wax it twice a year tokeep the sheen going.

Environ-friendlyAmidst all the excitement around leath-er flooring, the use of recycled leather isdoubly interesting for interior design-ers who are particular about nature-friendly décor. Recycled from old leath-er products like jackets, belts and shoes,the tiles and flooring get unique pat-terns, and are sought after for homeoffices and media rooms.

aesthetic appeal with intricate embroi-dery, design stamping and inlaid motifs.What worksWhat makes leather floors a winner isits rich appeal. If used in the right interi-or spaces and maintained well, it canlast long, very long. And the patina thatit gains over years of use only adds to itsexclusivity. Apart from this, the proper-ties of leather as a material makes it abad conductor of heat and cold, hencewelcoming your feet every time with awarm touch. It works well as a soundinsulator too, thus making it an aptchoice for home recording studios.Many companies coat it with a layer ofwax or treat it to make it water resist-ant, making maintenance just a dampmop away.

What doesn’t workGrandeur notwithstanding, the task oftaking good care of your leather floorsis perhaps its major let down. It is not asdurable as hard flooring. Water andmoisture are its biggest enemies, mak-ing it a complete no-no in wet areas like

We have had our share offantasies and woes withpristine marble, exoticgranite and old-world

wood. While these materials can stillfloor you, leather has arrived in a quiet,majestic way to change home interiorsfor good. Imagine your private librarydressed in a dark brown leather floor,perfect to match the rose wood furni-ture and coffee table editions. Or evenyour new bar, with large mahoganyunits to display the prized single maltsand plush velvet stools, offsetting thetan leather floor with paisley motifs.

Leather does have its way withspreading the oomph into an alreadysplendid setting.

Material talkLeather tiles or flooring are available inan interesting set of varieties. The besthowever, is full grain leather, which ispure, untouched and is of high qualityand cost too. The clearer the hide, thebetter the grade. This is followed bycorrected leather, where the hide istouched to repair flaws. One can choosesofter ones for walk-in closets and high-durable leather for areas with moretraffic. Apart from being custom dyed,designers offer the choice of giving it an

Hideyour

floors!Decking up the floors

of your home hastaken on a leathery

twist. Classic andexotic leather is thenew material to ‘tile’

on, says TEAM SMARTBUY

Photo: IDUS leather flooring

13 July 6, 2011Smartbuy

Theodore Alexander’s occasional furniturecollection makes for elegant niches. Coffee tables,

end tables, chests of drawers, sideboards, bookcasesand more are crafted in mahogany, satinwood,

rosewood and other veneers and finishes. Availableat International Furniture Brands, New Delhi.

Rs 30,000 onwards

This and that

Making your gourmet meal morescrumptious is Luminarc’s exclusivedinnerware collection – DecoratedOpalware – in summery floralpatterns and pleasing hues. Availableat select lifestyle outlets.Rs 2,999 (20 piece set)

Table dressing

The famous Indian print blends beautifully into PorticoNew York’s new range of bed linen in a vast selectionof colours. This bright pink one, is a favourite.Available at all Portico stores and select lifestylestores. Rs 2,299 onwards

Ikat prints

Action Tesa’s laminated woodenflooring range is the latest to hitthe market. Available in a widevariety of decors, designs andstyles at select outlets across India.Rs 75 per sq ft onwards

Floor talk

Movietime!

Editions, part of Natuzzi Group, has launched its HomeTheatre Sectional Sofa for a pleasureable moviewatching experience. The sofa has embedded speakersand iPod and MP3 plug points apart from othertechnological and aesthetic features. Available atItalsofa Gallery in Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.Rs 4,03,250

>> New launches

14 July 6, 2011Smartbuy

GOURMET encounters

Anushya MamtoraMahananda Bohidar

It’s that time of the day. When you are groggy-eyed,reluctant to head to work and are searching forexcuses to jump back into your cosy bed. That is, tillyou take a shot of Honeydew Passion Fruit Chilli.

Looking tame, like a fruit punch in a tequila glass, thesweetness of the fruit is beautifully overpowered by chilli.It hits you from the very first sip. No wonder, it’s aptlycalled the ‘Eye Openers’. It literally pops them open withits zesty flavours, gearing you up for a hearty breakfast anda heartier day.

This is just one of the ‘creative works’ of Michelinthree-star Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. We are at LeMeridien’s restaurant at Chennai, treating ourselves to anexclusive breakfast menu crafted by him for all the LeMeridien hotels across the world. A signature spread thatis simple, yet gourmet.

The potent welcome is joined by a list of others like theCarrot Orange Passion, Cherry Lemon Black Pepper,Mango Chilli Lime, Raspberry Pineapple Clove and more.We gulp down shots, making faces each time we hit a spicyor tangy note. It’s a fun beginning to the day for sure.

Global cuisineThe Jean-Gorges breakfast has six signature dishes, all ofwhich we try out. Two vegetarian specials included theSpinach and Herb Buckwheat Crepe and Warm GoatCheese Custard. The former makes for a healthy andwholesome breakfast with an aromatic blend of gruyerecheese, spinach and fresh herbs rolled up in a crepe. Butwhat won us over was the comforting texture of the goatcheese custard. Le Meridien calls it the ‘textural decon-struction of the Provencal quiche’ and the warmth of goat

cheese with thecold goat cheesefoam topping andblack olive and dillpuree makes it a divinecombination. Servedwith toasted bread, theplate was wiped clean in a jiffy.What got to the table next was aCroque Madame Reinvented - crun-chy toast filled with softly fried eggs andslices of bacon. The dish brought along with itan interesting melange of textures, melting in themouth. It was what one could call gourmet comfort food.The Espresso-steamed Eggs were presented to us in acoffee cup. Despite the innovative method of steaming theegg in a high-pressure espresso steamer to create a light,fluffy-steamed eggs, the dish lacked flavour and failed toimpress. Although, it’s not a bad option for those who justcan’t do without their daily dose of proteins. The SmokedSalmon and Silken Tofu again were quite predictable withlittle to surprise us in terms of flavours.

Coffee and moreWhile breakfast buffet spreads are brimmed with crois-sants and cakes with exotic fillings, Jean-George has kepthis morning dessert nutritious, yet delectable. The SpicedOatmeal Soufflé is warm, wafting with aromatic spices andsatisfies your weighing scale, thanks to the brown sugar. Itis accompanied by a bowl of fresh berries and urges you todig in for a heart-healthy morning meal. And what’s break-fast without a round of coffee? The Jean-Gorges Breakfasthas a tie-up with Illy, the Italian coffee-makers, to helpyou end a satisfying morning meal with a dash of caffeine.

We had to choose from a menu that included Mochachino,Amore, Vodka Expresso, Irish Coffee and Café Royale. Wepicked Amore, an Illy double espresso with Amaretto andfresh cream and a Vodka Espresso. The former tingled ourtaste buds with its subtly sweet flavour and the kick of theVodka Espresso was good enough to get us going for theday ahead.

With the Jean-Georges breakfast at all Le Meridienhotels, you start the day with a pleasant jolt when you sipthe aptly named Eye-Openers – each of the six beingdistinctly unique. However, we wish there were morethan just six dishes to choose from the gourmet-stylebreakfast to add to the experience of a breakfast designedby a Michelin Chef.

What: Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s signature breakfast spreadWhere: Le Meridien hotels across the globeHow much: Gulp down an Eye Opener for Rs 160

Signature dishes range from Rs 250-350

Power mealpacks a

unique punch