For your eyes only.

Quality lenses are highly recommended for best comfort and vision — both in regular glasses and sunglasses. They should protect your eyes from ultraviolet (UV) rays that may contribute to causing cataracts, macular degeneration and other diseases.

Here are some tips for purchase of sunglasses and regular glasses.

1. Blue-blocking plastic lenses. Often promoted for sun protection, blue-blocking lenses also block red, amber and blue light — which makes it difficult to discriminate traffic light colors. They make the surroundings look yellow or orange. The tint makes distant object appear clearer, especially in snow and haze. These are good for skiers, hunters, boaters and pilots.
   
2. Polarized lenses. Although polarized lenses protect against glare, they don't meet the criteria for UV protection unless they have additional UV-blocking material in the lenses. They are useful for fishermen or people that do a lot of driving, though many outdoors people prefer polarized sun lenses. These lenses cut out light from one whole meridian, typically the horizontal one. This minimizes the glare from light that bounces off water, the hood of your car, or a shiny road surface.
3. Photochromic lenses. Photochromic lenses change from light to dark depending on the amount of ultraviolet light they are exposed to. This type of lens protects the eyes from glare, sun and UV radiation while also maintaining visual acuity. Also, photochromic lenses do not distort color.
4. Polycarbonate lenses. Polycarbonate lenses hold up better under impact. A wise choice for children and athletes, as polycarbonate lenses shield the eyes from UV radiation as well as protect the eyes against impact injuries that may be sustained during play and sports.

There are also sunglass clips that fit your frames. These can be very effective in protecting your eyes if they are of good quality.

Chronograph wrist watch

Chronographs are watches that can measure time in different ways. Besides normal timekeeping they can be used for one or more specific time measurements. For this, the dial has several sub dials with a scale, from which the measurements can be read. A central second hand can be started and stopped, without interfering with the continuous time.
Some also include additional features such as a countdown timer and lap time.
In short, one can measure elapsed time , split time, lap time, accumulated elapsed time.
Terminology used in this advertisement is as under.
Crystal: The mineral or synthetic (glass-like) covering over the watch dial.
Sapphire Crystal: Scratch resistant crystal.
Crown: The button on the side of the watch, usually at the 3 o'clock position, used to set the functions of the watch, i.e., hands, calendar, etc.
Bezel: The ring around the dial of a watch that can hold crystal in place. In some watches (e.g., diver's watches) this can be rotated to show elapsed time as well as other functions.
Tachymeter: A watch function that measures the speed at which the wearer traveled by means of a numeric scale on the watch bezel of a chronograph. Frequently used to determine a speed of a car over a measured distance.
Today, wearing a chronograph is a matter of taste, rather than professional. The chronograph is becoming a fashion statement. A chronograph is quite valuable. It is more expensive than a normal or automatic watch, due to the complexity and craftsmanship necessary for manufacturing. That is why maintenance and repair are quite costly



.

Investing in Mutual Funds

MUTUAL FUND:
Mutual Fund is an instrument of investing money. One can define it as a trust that pools in savings and funds from large number of investors who have a common financial goal.

The best alternative for investment is to go for a mutual fund. The most important reason for investing in a mutual fund is that your risk is spread over a number of stocks and one can be part of a large and well-diversified portfolio with very little investment. On investing, mutual funds issue units to the investors, which represent equitable rights in the assets of the mutual fund. These funds are managed and invested by professionals. They regularly monitor market trends and economic trends for taking investment decisions. These funds declare their portfolios every month. There is also high liquidity especially in open-ended funds that can be purchased and sold in the market at prices related to the Net Asset Values (NAVs) of the funds. This is extremely beneficial especially during rising or falling Markets. Moreover, one can invest in it online just like share markets and with features like dematerialized account statements, easy subscription and redemption processes, they are sure a convenient way of investing.

In simple terms, Mutual Funds can be divided into open- and close-ended schemes.

OPEN-ENDED SCHEMES:
These schemes are characterized by the fact they are available for subscription throughout the year. You can buy or sell the units of these schemes at prices based on the NAV. In the time of recession, one can buy units at below their par value and reap profits in the medium or long term.

CLOSE ENDED SCHEMES:
Funds in these schemes are locked in for a period of time. The maturity period of schemes varies from three to fifteen years.
Exit routes:

1. Units of such schemes can be purchased during the initial public offering (IPO) and henceforth be traded in the exchanges where they are listed.
2. By way of periodic repurchases of units based on the existing NAVs.

They are further sub-divided as under.

Income or Debt Funds:
These schemes are targeted as risk-averse people. These funds invest mostly in the fixed income securities like government bonds and securities and corporate debentures. Returns are low but steady.

Growth or Equity Funds:
These schemes are for the risk-takers. These funds invest mostly in equities of companies. In the long run they give good and high returns than any other option.

Balanced Funds:
This is a type of hybrid fund. These schemes are meant for the risk-neutral investors. Balanced funds invest in a combination of both stocks and bonds, and thereby neutralizing risk to a great extent.

Money Market Funds:
These funds invest mostly in short term instruments like treasury bills, government bonds, commercial paper and inter-bank call money. They are the best vehicles to invest in for a short period. The returns are based on the prevailing interest rates in the market.

Industry Specific Funds:
These funds invest only in one industry, e.g. cement industry or fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). The returns are based on the performance of the industry.

Sector Funds:
Sector funds invest in specific sectors or group of sectors, e.g. software companies.

Index Funds:
Index funds are based on the indexed stocks, e.g. in BSE-30 or NSE-50 stocks. Obviously, the returns are based on the performance of the respective indices.

Hybrid Funds:
Special Schemes - Pension Schemes, Child education Schemes etc.

How to invest in mutual fund?
Investing in a mutual fund depends on various factors like income and expenses, lifestyle, but most important on age. Experts say, if you are in your late twenties and early thirties then you should invest more in equity funds. If you are in your forties, you should park your funds in a balanced manner. And if you are above fifty then you should look at steady income, and that implies more investment in debt funds.

Tax Advantages:
Investment in mutual funds also enjoys several tax advantages. Dividends from Mutual Funds are tax-free in the hands of the investor (This however depends upon changes in Finance Act). Also Capital Gain accrued from Mutual Fund investment for a period of over one year is treated as long term capital appreciation and is tax free.

Mutual Funds Investments are subject to Market Risks.

Purification of Water.

If you want to install water purifier, first of all, check the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) level of your water.
If TDS level is high or very high, then simple water purifier (with UV purification) will not be of much use except it removes bacteria, viruses and cysts. It does not remove TDS from the water.

For high TDS level, install purifier with RO technology.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is an advanced water purification technology.

Reverse Osmosis (R.O) is the process by which water molecules are forced, by water pressure, through a semi permeable membrane. Most of the impurities and other contaminants are rinsed to the drain while the refined water is routed to a special holding tank.

The special features of RO process is its ability to remove not only the suspended impurities but also dissolved impurities and salt which are harmful and spoil the taste of water. In addition, it also removes bacteria and virus better than the conventional purifiers.

The pore size of RO membrane is less 0.0001 micron (which is 50,000 times less than the diameter of our hair).

http://www.eurekaforbes.com/ website may be useful.

Update 1 : [06.06.2010]

Now companies have started giving some more informations on water purifiers.

The following ad has written-

" Issued in public interet: RO water purifiers waste upto 80% of water. It should only be used in areas where TDS levels are over 500 mg/l"

Simple ways to lose Weight.

For weight loss, physicians often recommend adjustments to eating patterns and physical exercise. Eating patterns contain reduction of the caloric content of the diet. When exercising, it becomes even more important to have good diet. The diet should contain adequate protein, essential vitamins and minerals, a small amount of fat, dietary fibre and enough carbohydrate.

May plesae refer my article on "Artificial sweetener-Aspartame".

Higher Education Loan and Tax Relaxation in India

1. From assessment year 2008-09, you can claim a deduction under section 80 E of the Income-Tax Act for the interest paid on an educational loan.
2. The loan has to be from a financial institution or a government approved charitable institution.
3. You can avail Tax benefit only if the loan is in your name and is taken for the purpose of higher education of yourself, your spouse or your children.
4. There is no ceiling limit on the amount that will be eligible for the deduction.
5. This deduction is allowed for a maximum period of eight assessment years beginning from the year in which the interest is paid or until the interest payable on such loan stands paid in full, whichever is earlier.
6. No deduction, however, is available for the principal that you repay.
   
   

DIAMONDS ARE FOR EVER

Following care should be taken while purchasing the diamonds/gems.

1. Select reputable jeweller.
2. Choose a diamond that carried a report (certificate) preferably of GIA (Gemological Institute of America) or AGS (American Gem Society) or IDI (Indian Diamond Institute) or certificate from reputable institutue of one's own country clearly mentioning the diamond’s Cut, Clarity, Colour and Carat weight.
3. A certificate describes the quality of a diamond, but it does not place a monetary value on the diamond. An appraisal places a monetary value on your diamond, but does not certify the quality of the diamond.
4. Make sure the quality, grade and value of the diamond are provided in a written format.

GIA Sample Certificate

IDI sample certificate

IDI sample certificate

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL)

CFL lamps are energy efficient lamps as most of the electric energy used is converted into light rather than heat. They consume 75% to 80% less electricity and last ten times longer compared to standard incandescent bulbs. Although they cost from 10 to 20 times more than comparable incandescent bulbs, they last 10 to 15 times as long. They have also good colour Characteristics. There are no flickers or hums generally associated with fluorescent lamps. They provide the same amount of light as our current incandescent light bulbs as under. CFL lamps are not suitable for dimmers or electronic switches or remote controls.

How to use bank ATMs

Here are some tips from SBI for how to use (Automatic teller machines) ATMs.

At ATMs you can -

Withdrawal Cash
Make a balance enquiry
Print mini statement
change your PIN
Many more new utilities and services at ATMs are in the offing.

Not all banks allow their credit cards/debit cards to be used free of charge at other bank’s ATM other than their own interconnected ATMs. i.e. when you use debit card to know your account balance other than bank’s ATM they will charge fees or if you withdraw cash against your bank account at other bank’s ATM they will charge higher transaction fees.

Before, using other bank’s ATM or merchant outlets, look and match for sign at ATM or a merchant outlet, with the sign printed on your credit card/debit card. If VISA sign is printed on card then other bank’s ATM or merchant outlet should display VISA sign.

If MASTERCARD sign is printed on your card, then other bank’s ATMs or merchant outlets should display the sign of MASTERCARD.

Here is an interesting advertisement from Union Bank of India.

Update 1: [04.04.2009]

ATM/Debit cards in India :

Reserve Bank of India has provided relief to all ATM/Debit cards users by instructing all banks not to charge any fee for cash withdrawals using ATM and debit cards issued by other banks form 1^st April, 2009 and onwards. That means, you can withdraw cash from any ATM fro free by using ATM/Debit cards from 1^st April, 2009 and onwards.

However, banks can still charge extra for services such a cash withdrawal with the use of credit cards and at ATMs located out side India.

Update 2: [17.05.2010]

Here is a good ad from ICICI bank on precautions while using an ATM

Update 3: [15.09.2011]

Multi-Purpose ATM:

More information on www.icicibank.com/atm

Tips for buying mobile phone:

If you are going to buy a mobile phone, the following tips may be useful.

1. Know your requirement and your budget first.


2. Basically , there are two types of handsets- GSM and CDMA.
   Knowing the difference between GSM and CDMA will help you choose the phone and carrier as per your needs.
   GSM phones have SIM cards. The removable SIM card allows phones to be instantly activated, interchanged, swapped out and upgraded, all without carrier intervention. The SIM itself is tied to the network, rather than the actual phone. Phones that are card-enabled can be used with any GSM carrier.
   The CDMA uses an equivalent, a R-UIM card.CDMA carriers require proprietary handsets that are linked to one carrier only and are not card-enabled. To upgrade a CDMA phone, the carrier must deactivate the old phone then activate the new one. The old phone becomes useless.
   CDMA has been traditionally faster than GSM, though both technologies continue to rapidly leapfrog along this path. Both boast "3G" standards, or 3rd generation technologies.
   Roaming coverage: GSM carriers, have roaming contracts with other GSM carriers, allowing wider coverage of more rural areas, generally speaking, often without roaming charges to the customer. CDMA networks may not cover rural areas as well as GSM carriers, and though they may contract with GSM cells for roaming in more rural areas, the charge to the customer will generally be significantly higher.
   
   International Roaming: If you need to make calls to other countries, a GSM carrier can offer international roaming, as GSM networks dominate the world market. If you travel to other countries you can even use your GSM cell phone abroad, providing it is a quad-band phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz). By purchasing a SIM card with minutes and a local number in the country you are visiting, you can make calls against the card to save yourself international roaming charges from your carrier back home. CDMA phones that are not card-enabled do not have this capability, however there are several countries that use CDMA networks. Check with your CDMA provider for your specific requirements.
   
   The chief GSM carriers in the United States are Cingular Wireless, recently merged with AT&T Wireless, and T-Mobile USA. Major CDMA carriers are Sprint PCS, Verizon and Virgin Mobile.
   In India,major GSM operators are Airtel,Vodafone,Idea cellular.While there are only two CDMA operators RelianceMobile and TataIndicom..
3. If you plan to GSM operators, then while buying handset,check whether it is triband,quadband or dual band. Dual band phones don’t work in foreign countries.While triband and quadband phones work in foreign countries.
4. Check for the number of contacts and messages the phone can store.This is practically , a very important feature that people generally forget to think of while buying.
5. FM radio:
   Even low end phones nowadays have good quality inbuilt fm radios. Radio in mobile phones do not work without the headset. Also while buying make sure whether the radio works in loud speaker mode or just in the earphone mode. Some low-end radio phones do not play loud speaker radio.
6. Music player
   The music player in phones vary in quality with the price range.Sony Ericsson brought about a revolution in the mobile phone industry by introducing their music dedicated “Walkman” series in the market.If music is your priority make sure of the follwing things before buying a phone:
   
   
   
   • The phone has enough memory to store all your music or preferably it has extendable memory.
   • It supports the maximum type of formats like mp3,aac,avi,wav etc.. for eg. Most sony ericsson phones don’t play avi or wav sounds,while nokia supports both the formats.
   • Try to have a demo of the media player before purchase to make sure whether it suits your needs and if the quality matches your personal preferences.
   • Be sure about the file transfer facilities available.A datacable or a Bluetooth makes it easy and convenient to transfer media files.
   • I would personally recommend you to go for the sony ericsson walkman series if music is your opmost priority.
7. GPRS ,MMS and Internet:
   GPRS in simple terms is mobile internet.It help surf mobile sites using your phone.Mobile sites usually start with wap intead of www. Many WAP sites have come into existence is the GPRS is becoming more and more popular.GPRS is most useful in checking mails on the go,using mobile messengers,and downloading media to your phone.GPRS is usually charged on per kb transfer basis by mobile operators.Using java softwares like opera mini(mobile browser),you can surf almost any site using your mobile phone.
8. Camera:
   The quality of the picture taken by the phone depends on the following factors:
   
   • The resolution of the camera (it maybe anything from VGA (640*480) to 5 Megapixels.Recently Samsung introduced 7 megapixel camera phones)
   • The lens used.(High end nokia phones use Carl-Zeiss optics which provide a very high quality image. But that doesn’t mean that phones which do not have such lenses are bad camera phones)
   • Additional features
     Built-in flash:This helps in taking photos in darkness,albeit the flash is not very powerful except in high-end phones.
     Autofocus:It improves the quality of the pictures taken compared to phones without autofocus camera.
     Bestpix:Typical of SE phones,it takes a series of pictures and helps you get the best shot.
     Nightmode:it helps capture better pictures even in bad light.
     Macro mode:Useful to take close up shots.
   
   Also make sure that the camera lens does have a lens-cover.It reduces chances of damage to the lens.
   The more the resolution,the more space a picture taken will occupy.For eg. A typical 2mp camera phone occupies around 250-500 KB memory.
9. Blue tooth facility:
   Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology used today for connecting and transferring information between devices such as mobile phones, laptops, PCs, PDAs, printers, digital cameras, mice and keyboards.
   As different devices use different cables and plugs to connect to other devices, it can be tricky to move data around -- most phones have a unique, proprietary port to serve as an interface, for example. Bluetooth defines wireless standards that allow data to be transferred between such devices securely, easily and, of course, free of cables.
   
   Here are the advantages:
   Cable-free, so less messy leads to worry about
   Interoperability - In most cases, you can use your portable Bluetooth device to connect with other existing Bluetooth points, without having to carry a data lead and CD of drivers around with you
   Here's an example of some of the things you can do with today's Bluetooth:
   Use your PDA and mobile to surf or check emails on the move
   Transfer files (such as mp3s and photos) to and from your mobile
   A wire-free headset for your mobile
   Backup your PDA or mobile to your PC
   Use a Bluetooth GPS device for satellite navigation on your PDA, laptop or mobile.
10. Infrared facility in mobile phones:
    Infrared is a wireless file transfer method ,which has become less popular these days because of Bluetooth which has more features.
    Infrared works only at a very close range (5-7cms),and has a slower speed compared to Bluetooth.You can transfer files like mp3s,pictures,videos etc using infrared.
    The infrared technology works through the straight line connectivity which works by in sight feature. It means your infrared port should be must pointed towards the other phone you wish to connect.
    Today mobile having low memory acceptance also featuring Bluetooth has resulted in minimum use of infrared.But still for unknown reasons, mobile phone manufacturers still provide infrared ports!(alongwith Bluetooth).
11. Global positioning system , road maps
    High end phones have GPS systems,even google maps.But these features are not practically that useful for a normal mobile user.So wasting your bucks for GPS systems does not make that much sense unless you are an adventurer or a spy!!
12. Videography:
    The quality of the video taken by the phone mainly depends on the resolution of video the phone supports.Typically for mobile phones,it may vary anywhere from 176*220 to 640*480 .
    The higher the resolution ,the better the quality.
    Another important aspect is the frame rate.But most mobile phones these days have 15 frames per second rate.
    So if video shooting is your priority while buying a phone then you may check for the resolution for shoot and frames per rate.
    Normally in the mid-range,Nokia phones give a better video quality compared to other phones as they support a higher resolution(640*480).But in almost all mid-rang to high-end phones,the video quality is average.
13. Video call
    Nowadays phones have a secondary video camera in the front having low resolution which can be used for video calls.But these facilities being not provided by operators (esp. in India) , its practrically useless!Also these cameras cant even be used for normal photo capture purpose,thus if you are buying it,you are not only wasting some money but adding some unnecessary weight to your phone!
14. If you plan to purchase it on credit card, and will repay in more than six installments, then it is better to convert it into loan from the credit card company, ranging from 6 to 18 installments. This will not only reduce the loan interest, but also reduce the monthly burden. Check out for tenure and minimum amount with the credit card company for this. Normally, companies like HSBC allows Rs. 2,000/- while ABN AMRO allows Rs. 5,000/-.
15. If you want to use mobile banking like-
    Transfer your funds to any bank account.
    Pay your utility bills.
    Make balance enquiries.
    Make cheque book request, get cheque status and issue ‘stop cheque’ instructions.
    Recharge your prepaid mobile.
    View details of your credit card account, DEMAT account and loan account, etc.
    
    For this basically java enabled handsets is required. May check the compatibility on the concerned bank’s website, if providing such facilities.
16. Check out the following sites for more guidance.
    http://univercell.in/
    http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/
    http://www.mobile-review.com/index-en.shtml
    http://sony-ericsson-stuff.blogspot.com/

Update 1 (12.04.09):

Unbranded Chinese mobiles to be useless soon in INDIA:

As per the report published in The Times of India (04.04.09), around 30 million mobile phones- or about 8% of all mobiles in the country- will become useless by the end of this month of April 09. These are unbranded Chinese mobiles that do not have IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers and pose a serious security risk.

All mobile phone service users have been directed by the department of telecommunication to disconnect these phones.

All mobile phone service users have undertaken to acquire the necessary equipment to track these Chinese phones and discontinue their services by the end of this month of April 09.They already missed two deadlines – January 6 and March 31.

IMEI:

IMEI is a 15 to 17 digit code which appears on the operator's network whenever a call is made.

The IMEI number is also used by the GSM network to identify valid devices and therefore can be used to stop a stolen phone from accessing the network.

If the Mobile phone is stolen, the owner can contact their mobile network provider and ask them to disable a phone using its IMEI number. With an IMEI number, the phone can be blocked from the network quickly and easily. It will be useless even if SIM is changed because IMEI number is stored in the phone itself, not on the SIM cards.

The IMEI can be displayed on most mobile handsets by dialling *#06#.  It is usually found printed on the phone underneath the battery.

Update 2 [25.01.2014]: 

LG G2 , LG G PRO 

 LENOVO VIBE X SMARTPHONE 

SAMSUNG S4 & SAMSUNG S4 MINI

[Update: 10.05.14]