Bajaj Dominar 400 vs Royal Enfield: Who to bet on?

Bajaj Auto has been very clear that its latest, the Dominar 400, is primarily here to take on Royal Enfield. In fact, Rajiv Bajaj has gone on record to say that one could ride a Bullet, but if one wants to go faster, they should get a Dominar. Rajiv also expects its latest – or as Bajaj calls it: its most powerful bike yet – to sell at least 10,000 units a month. That’s as much as the Pulsar 220 sells; Bajaj’s best selling premium motorcycle.

Meet Royal Enfield. It sells around 58,000 motorcycles a month in the domestic market (considering October figures). But, it is the Classic 350 that accounts for more than 60 per cent of those sales. In terms of numbers, the Classic 350 sold a little over 37,000 units in October this year; generally considered the best month for sales. Then there’s the standard Bullet that commands another big chunk followed by the Electra and the Thunderbird; all in 350 guise, mind.

Poaching the RE customer

Royal Enfield has its own new generation of products with higher aspirational co-efficient, namely the Continental GT and the more recent Himalayan on sale as well. But their sales numbers compared to the 350cc lineup are dismal at best. The question then is – if Royal Enfield itself can’t get its prospective buyers to invest in newer REs, what chance does Bajaj have?

The simple answer is, it doesn’t. The Bajaj Dominar 400 will not be able to turn the die-hard RE fan. What Bajaj would be hoping for then, is that there is a good percentage of RE customers who aren’t really RE fans. And, they are buying REs because there’s nothing else in the market, presence of UM notwithstanding. Bajaj, therefore, is probably depending on these customers along with the ones buying KTMs, R15s and CBR150s to gravitate towards the Dominar 400.

The non-RE fan base

Firstly, I don’t think the percentage of non-RE fans buying REs is that significant to get the Dominar its 10,000 units a month target. And, no matter how small, UM Motorcycles will eat into this non-RE fan base as well. The Dominar then will have to make a big dent in the space currently occupied by the likes of KTMs and the R15s to achieve its optimistic target.

And that segment isn’t exactly brimming with numbers either. Going back to October, if we were to combine the sales of every bike that retails around the same price as the Dominar and those that come close to it even in terms of engine capacity, we are still looking at a total figure that’s a tad under 10,000 units. And therefore to achieve Bajaj’s goals, the Dominar 400 must be a game changer, a new benchmark, and a need that’s waiting to be fulfilled.

The Dominar challenge

Coming back to the Dominar vs Royal Enfield argument, there’s no doubt that the latter is at an advantage. We might not rate Royal Enfield motorcycles to be the epitome of performance, but the brand has heritage, fan following, and an aspirational draw that’s very hard to replicate. It would take eons for the Dominar to get there.

The Dominar then needs to speak a different language. The language of modernity, technology, quality, comfort and value. But, that means it isn’t bringing anything new to table that hasn’t already been served by the likes of the KTMs, Yamahas and Hondas. And for the Dominar to harp about these would make it yet another ‘me-too’ product.

That leaves styling and performance – at an affordable price – as the only cards worth playing. Would these be good enough to make a success out of the Dominar 400? I, for one, given my risk-averse nature, wouldn’t confidently bet on it; it will be an uphill task for Bajaj.

KTM 390 Adventure: adventure is out there

Those of you who are fans of the Pixar movie ‘Up’ will recognise that headline. Just like Ellie Fredricksen, those of us who yearn to get to previously unexplored places with our house have only one real two-wheeled option – the adventure-touring motorcycle. The KTM 390 Adventure promises just that.

In a country where potholes are like those relatives you don’t like (show up at inopportune times and never go away. Ever. ) and all the fun seems to be down dirt roads, a small adventure motorcycle would be perfect. Sure, we’ve got big adv models in the market, but time to explore, money and height all are genuine problems for the Indian consumer. The enthusiasts and practical-minded all prayed and saved, but KTM was focused on other models in its lineup. Eventually, there was the Royal Enfield Himalayan but the quality and execution let it down. We were back to square one. Again, where there is a BMW streetbike, there must be an off-road version, right? Unfortunately the BMW G310 GS is nothing but a streetbike on stilts – the very thing that KTM didn’t want to do with the 390 Duke to make the Adventure. Now there are spy shots all over the internet of what seems to be the 390 Adventure – what happens next?

There’s only one serious-ish contender for the segment in the next year or two, and that’s the Kawasaki Versys-X 300. This is based off the Ninja 300, but with all the appropriate modifications to make it capable of handling off-road situations. However, Team Green will not manufacture the Versys-X here. The only motorcycle in the segment at the moment is the Royal Enfield Himalayan, and while it is a competent product, it doesn’t have the level of sophistication that the 390 Adventure will bring to it. In effect, the segment will be bracketed by these two products, with one offering the joy in a simple, uncomplicated product that can be taken anywhere with no fear of it stymying mechanics should it break down. The 390, on the other hand, will have tons of technology but will market its off-road racing success to convert prospective consumers. Of course, KTM will charge a premium, and most units manufactured at Chakan will head for export, but that also means that spares pricing and service support will be consistent regardless of sales in the Indian market.

These are all things that point to a bright future for those looking for that pocket-friendly adventure motorcycle that will broaden their two-wheeled horizons. Should the Himalayan be running scared? On the face of it, not particularly – the RE customer is a unique personality who walks into the showroom because he is sure he wants a ‘Bullet’. But when you stop and think about it, the Himalayan isn’t a Bullet; it is in a class of one. A close look at how many owners of this model are first-time RE customers will offer a very clear insight into whether the Chennai-based manufacturer needs to have a plan to make sure sales don’t fall when the KTM equivalent launches.

We know one thing for sure, though: if there is one motorcycle model that can change the perception of the adventure-touring motorcycle in the Indian market, it is this one. And for a country whose road network is only half paved, (not to mention the dissolving of most of the paved bits during the monsoon) that’s not a bad thing at all. What’s more, Ellie Fredricksen would have approved of the KTM’s sense of Adventure

Google reveals list of top 10 YouTube ads watched in India

Google on Thursday revealed the India YouTube Ads leaderboard, a coveted listing of the ads that India chose to watch during July, August and September of this year. TheYouTube Ads leaderboard showcases the most creative ads that people choose to watch.





The top 10 ads include: SheronKePanje #MaaKaDhula, #MomBeAGirlAgain, #MPMeinDilHuaBachaSa, Bajaj V - The Invincible, #BiggestSmallChange, Kinder Joy New Imagination, Kapil Sharma ne Dikhaya #AngrezipantiKoAngootha, Pepsi Mood Vending Machine - A good exam ends with #PepsiMoji, #AirtelOpenNetwork, #Fashion Kar le and Style Bana le with Myntra.

Facebook Messenger gets a weather bot

IBMBusiness-owned The Weather Company announced on Thursday that it has launched weather bot for Facebook Messenger.

Leveraging "IBM Watson" technology, new bot for Messenger will learn user preferences to provide personalised weather conditions, forecasts, news content and more.

"One billion people use Messenger every month and most want to know how the weather will impact their day," said Cameron Clayton, General Manager, The Weather Company, in a statement. 

Available in 39 languages, Facebook and Messenger users can easily access the bot through The Weather Channel Facebook fan page, as well as the Messenger app.

Some of the bot features include current conditions and hourly forecasts, daily forecast and five-day outlook and breaking weather news.

India overtakes US as second biggest market in terms of smartphone connections

ndia has become the second-biggest market globally in terms of smartphone connections, overtaking the US and trailing only China. More and more Indians are logging on the internet using their mobiles, aided by availability of low-priced smartphones — a significant number of them assembled locally and sold for as low as Rs 3,000 — and rapid expansion of 3G and 4G networks.

According to figures provided by global telecom body GSMA, smartphone connections in India at the end of the first half of this year (ending June 2016) stood at 275 million, higher than 259 million connections in the US. China, however, leads by a huge margin with overall smartphone connections at 910 million.

Alasdair Grant, the head of Asia for GSMA, told TOI that the growth in smartphoneconnections will continue to remain strong in coming years as 3G and 4G networks spread rapidly across the country. The growth will be fuelled further with the entry of new operators such as Reliance Jio.

Grant added that 4G connection base is forecast to grow from 3 million at the end of 2015 to 280 million by 2020. "Mobile broadband (3G and 4G) will account for nearly 50% of total connections in India by then."

GSMA said mobile operators are investing heavily to improve network coverage, and this should see 3G being available to 90% of the population by 2020, while 4Gto 70%, the latter registering a 14-fold increase from now.

Most of the mobile manufacturers have also read the trend as the majority of new device launches by them are only 3G and 4G compatible as 2G devices — which are mainly feature phones — are being discontinued.

Total mobile users in India (some may carry multiple SIM cards) stood at 616 million at the end of June, GSMA said. "Almost half of the country's population now subscribes to a mobile service, indicating the significant growth potential in the coming years, particularly from the rural and under-penetrated segments."

In its 'India Mobile Economy' report, GSMA estimates that 330 million new mobileusers will be added by 2020. This would push up the mobile phone penetration base across the population to 68% against 47% at the end of 2015.

The report also said that mobile phones will also become a platform to offer a variety of government schemes and other services such as financial access, information dissemination, and productivity enhancement.

The report said that data traffic will register a CAGR of 63% between 2015 and 2020, registering a 12-fold increase over the present usage. This will be fuelled by social networking and online communication.

Twitter to discontinue its Vine short video service in the 'coming months'

Twitter has announced that it will be discontinuing its Vine service within the coming months. For those unaware, Vine is a short-video sharing service that was founded in 2012. It was acquired by Twitter in the same year. The company also shared the news on its Medium blog.

"Today, we are sharing the news that in the coming months we'll be discontinuing the mobile app," read the post. The team however, did not mention how it plans to exactly 'discontinue' the service.

It has been mentioned that the Vine app or the website won't be affected by this move in any manner. Users will be able to access all their Vine videos and download them as well.

"We'll be keeping the website online because we think it's important to still be able to watch all the incredible Vines that have been made," the post added. The Vine team will be notifying users beforehand if any changes are made to the app or the website.

The short-video sharing service thanked all those video creators who contributed in making the service popular. "To the many team members over the years who made this what it was — thank you for your contributions. And of course, thank you to all of those who came to watch and laugh every day."

The company detailed that it is working closely with creators and will soon be giving more updates on how it plans to move ahead, both on its blog and on its Twitter account.

According to The Verge website, the decision was taken after Twitter laid off several of its employees working in the Vine division. However, it has not been revealed how many employees were affected or whether they were moved into some different department.

As reported earlier, Twitter cut 9% of its work force in order to reaffirm the company's strategy to grow. The social media network giant reported a net loss of $103 million for Q2. Twitter reported a loss of $132 million in the same quarter last year.

Apple overhauls laptop line-up with 'Touch Bar' enabled MacBook Pro

Inc unveiled a revamped MacBook Pro on Thursday, adding a fingerprint reader, replacing function keys with a small touch screen and slimming down the ageing workhorse of its computer notebook line.

Customers will be able to open up the new notebook with Touch ID, the fingerprint reader also on iPhones, and customize the touch screen bar of keys.

The Mac line accounted for about 11 percent of Apple sales in the just-finished fiscal year, with the number of machines sold down by 10 percent to 18.5 million. Apple said that was in line with an overall market decline, but analysts and investors have said Apple needs to restart growth.





"What they really need to do is get people buying Macs again, instead of upgrading old ones. They haven't had a new, powerful MacBook Pro in a while and the MacBook Air is getting old," said Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research, ahead of the event.

Apple TV's new app can manage video from various sources

Apple wants to unify television viewing on its streaming TV device with a new app simply called ``TV.''

The TV app for Apple TV is short of a full-fledged streaming-TV service, which reports say Applehas been pursuing. Rather, it brings together TV shows and movies you already get through individual subscriptions.

The app could make it easier for viewers to find shows to watch, as it means you don't have to check individual apps. Amazon's Fire TV is taking a similar approach with a software update, though the unified experience will be part of the home screen, not an app.

Apple says its Siri voice assistant will also direct viewers to live events, such as streaming sports.

Apple is expected to announce updates to Mac computers later Thursday.

Apple's new MacBook Pro shows it's not just focused on iPhones

Apple Inc unveiled a revamped MacBook Pro on Thursday, adding a fingerprint reader, replacing function keys with a small touch screen and slimming down the workhorse of its computer notebook line.

The first redesign in several years is a sign Apple still sees a role for the product that launched the company, even though its iPhones are now much more important in terms of sales.

"What they really need to do is get people buying Macs again, instead of upgrading old ones. They haven't had a new, powerful MacBook Pro in a while and the MacBook Air is getting old," said Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research, ahead of the event.

The Mac line accounted for about 11% of Apple sales in the just-finished fiscal year, with the number of machines sold down by 10% to 18.5 million. Apple said that was in line with an overall market decline, but analysts want more.

Shares of Apple were down about half a percent in afternoon trading in New York after the event.

Customers will be able to access the new machines with Touch ID, the fingerprint reader also used on iPhones, and use the touch screen bar of keys, called the Touch Bar, to control programs and apps being used on the main screen.

The buttons, which change depending on what programs the user is running, effectively act as a second screen, showing older versions of a picture being edited, for example.

The MacBook Pro with Touch ID, Touch Bar and a 13-inch screen will start at $1,799, compared with $1,299 for the previous 13-inch product. The 15-inch notebook will start at $2,399, compared with $1,999 for the previous version. Apple also will offer a 13-inch MacBook Pro without the Touch ID and Touch Bar for $1,499.

Other computer makers have chosen to use touch screens for the main display screen. For instance, Microsoft Corp on Wednesday unveiled its first-ever desktop and a revamped Surface Book laptop, both of which allow touch input on the main screen.

Bob O'Donnell, president of TECHnalysis Research LLC, said before the Mac announcement that the market believes focus on the iPhone means Apple has "almost given up on Macs," which has led to losing market share to other personal computers.

"It'll be good to have Apple keep themselves relevant" with new Macs, he said. "Though many had written the category off, it's fascinating to see both Microsoft and Apple make big PC-related announcements this week. It clearly shows the relevance that computers still have."

Apple also announced a new TV App that would work on Apple TV, iPhone and iPad products, in an effort to make it easier to tune into programs across devices.

The company also said that it would integrate Twitter feeds into live sports games on Apple TV, adding a social element to the product.