Hello everyone. My previous two posts have been quite different from what I do on my blog. That got me thinking — the readers know so little about me. Outside of social media, I don’t get to interact with any of my readers. Then it dawned on me — I never talked about what made me start a blog of my own. This piece is a part of a series of pieces where I talk about what made me start my own blog. This piece speaks about what makes me interested in auto and tech industries.
What attracts me to automobile industry is the way different players approach the same problem. I like the fact that every automaker has a niche of its own, even if they are a part of a larger group (like VW and Skoda). I like the fact that some of the best stories in the industry are due to egos and rivalries (Ford and Ferrari). I like how different players try to push the boundaries of what is possible (Yamaha Niken, anyone?).
I have a special bond with gadgets. I remember my first computer that came home in 2001 — An assembled unit with Pentium 3 processor (clock speed may be 800MHz), 128GB RAM, don’t recall the storage. I learned so many things on that PC — operating a PC without a mouse, troubleshooting various issues, and I even learned to wipe it clean and restart from scratch. My first smart device was the BlackBerry Curve 9220. I didn’t even know how hooked I was to gadgets until my BlackBerry was stolen in 2012. Since then, I have rarely had a day where I didn’t try to catch up with latest developments in tech industry.
How do I know which brand is my favourite? I evaluate a brand on following criteria (in order of preference) — performance, balance (or predictable functioning), design, features, and desirability.
Favourite Car Maker — Skoda
Among Indians, you will hardly find people calling Skoda their favourite brand due to their poor after-sales services. I, for one, am ready to deal with even that. That’s the kind of love I have for the brand. The brand is known for making good driving machines. The Octavia RS is currently on my bucket list to take for a spin. Skoda’s machines are quite lively and not slow by any measure. The fact that its other systems (brakes, suspension, transmission) can keep pace with all that performance is just awesome.
Skoda’s cars are not as good to look at as an Audi. Even then, good luck finding the person who says Skoda cars don’t look good. They have a youthful appeal to them which is refreshing. They are so loaded to the gills that owners may even feel spoilt.
Lastly, despite Skoda’s after-sales reputation, its cars are quite sought-after. Consider the runaway success of the Octavia RS and the good response to the Kodiaq. Most importantly, Skoda has built this desirability on the back of first-gen Octavia and Superb. All these factors make me spring for a Skoda product, despite its shortcomings. Too bad my pocket doesn’t help me turn my wishes into reality.
Favourite Bike Maker — Honda
Before I fell in love with Honda, I was drawn into the brand by its core value of doing things mindfully. The company didn’t chase its rivals when they were equipping their products with newest technology. Despite that, they stuck to their guts and kept making products that were usable in different conditions and were reliable.
It was the Honda CBR250R that drew me into the brand completely. It doesn’t have manic power numbers but is usable in both city and highway conditions. It is as friendly for tourers as it is for racers, highlighting the underlying balance between various systems of the bike.
Honda bikes do not have eye-catching design and looks but they aren’t offensive either. Honda products today have ABS or CBS (cheaper ABS), which is something most of its rivals still don’t get, even as optional equipment. Honda products, CBR250R included, are desirable as they are highly reliable and function with least failures.
Favourite Smartphone Maker — Samsung
Remember the Galaxy Note 5/Note 7? Or the Galaxy S5? It’s alright if you don’t. It is indicative of how much the smartphone industry has changed within few years’ time. This is also the reason why I love Samsung. It has continued to lead the Android smartphone market for a long time. It is also the first brand many smartphone buyers consider when looking for a new device. What makes Samsung so lovable?
Calling its devices anything other than powerhouses would be wrong. Samsung’s own chips are among the most powerful ones to be put inside a smartphone. Its phones balance this power with great battery life. Design wise, Samsung has been unrivalled for some time now. Smartphones, with/without a notch, cannot look any better than Galaxy S9 or the Galaxy Note9. Feature wise, Samsung phones are loaded.
Multi-window support, S Pen, wireless charging, 3.5mm headphone jack, switchable display resolution… Name it and chances are Samsung phones have that feature. Samsung products may not be desirable but that’s not the company’s fault as much as of fragmentation in the Android marketplace. Despite that, Samsung phones hold their value quite well.
Favourite Laptop Maker — Microsoft
Did you ever think of saying this? I didn’t. Not ever. But here we are. Microsoft’s rise from hardware infamy to supremacy is not an overnight event. It had to put behind it the controversial Windows 8 and leapfrog to Windows 10 (there wasn’t Windows 9 but a Windows 8.1 for some reason). That brought about with it a renewed hardware manufacturing push. The result? Microsoft Surface.
With the Surface, Microsoft became my favourite because of a few reasons. Firstly, buyers started taking laptop-tablet hybrids after Surface’s arrival. It was the first serious competition to Apple’s MacBook range, all the way from that slim MacBook to MacBook Pro. It had a kickstand to make it usable in different orientations. Alcantara on the keyboard? Backlit keyboard that can double up as a screen cover? Tablet-like size with laptop functionality? It had it all.
A few after the first Surface was shown to us, we forget just how big an achievement it was for Microsoft. Today, it has birthed a laptop and another tablet-laptop hybrid (this time for power users). The Surface lineup also has a desktop. Did we see it when the first Surface came to fore? No. Could we predict it? Not a chance. Some realities are so much better than our dreams and this is one of those realities.
That rounds up my favourite brands across auto and tech industries. Before singing off, let me also tell you about a few trends that I feel deserve the hype they get and some that don’t (one each per industry). I won’t take much time, I promise.
Trends to watch out for
Cars — Manual Gearbox Revival
Here’s a reason why manual gearbox buyers reduced — good fuel economy and faster shifting, two problems manual gearbox never should have had. Automakers started spending more resources developing automatics than fine-tuning manual gearboxes.The resolution to this problem is simple — offer a sequential manual gearbox. With some clever trickery, the clutch would only be needed when the car has to start from a stop. Fuel savings and faster shifting guaranteed.
Bikes — Helmet Tech
Did you think electric bikes? They are already here. It is helmet tech you should care about. Some benefits of helmet tech — reduced wiring, reduced weight, and information overlay in rider’s line of sight. With smartphones getting Bluetooth 5.0, bikes and helmets can connect to one device at the same time. All the rider’s got to do is configure the helmet display to his/her needs via smartphone.
Smartphones — Wireless Charging
Wireless charging is yet to hit its stride. Wired charging is still faster, after all. Not for long though. While going cable-free is going to take some more time, reducing cable reliance is just some time away. Who knows eateries may start using wireless charging to pull in more customers soon.
Overhyped Trends
Cars — Wings
A wing solves a purpose on a high-performance car. On a sedate car that just wants to give a sporty feel to users, a wing is as useless as a butcher knife on a dining table.
Bikes — Audio system
Seriously, if you are riding a bike and don’t have earphones on, you will likely go deaf before you can hear those speakers. However, the rest of the road users will listen to your tunes. I don’t think you’d want that.
Smartphones — Facial Recognition
Here’s a note to smartphone makers — make user privacy and data security your primary concern. Make enterprise security your primary concern. If you can do that, perhaps no one will need a facial scanner or even a fingerprint reader on their device.
And with that, I take your leave. However, do hit me up in the comments below if you have a suggestion, a question or just want to chat up. Till next time.
