Diwali 2011: India Inc's wishlist

R. Sivakumar
MD (Sales & Marketing Group), Intel South Asia

The man who heads India's largest chipmaker firm is hoping his geeky friends would get him machines with human intelligence that will improve the quality of life.

"I need an ultrasonic sleep inducer that gives me the soundest sleep night after night, an electronic physical trainer that forces me to get more disciplined with physical exercise and a tool that takes away the drudgery of shaving every morning."

He knows that none of these is likely to be invented before this Diwali. "The day these are available, I will buy them. I won't wait for Diwali."

...

Sandeep Pathak
CEO, Bates Asia

Sandeep Pathak fancies himself as a "beta tester" of all things gizmos. "I pride myself as being first to know about everything tech," says the head of the WPP agency.

Not shy of disposing of his old gadgets, Pathak recently had a garage sale on eBay. "I sold off two HTC phones, an old iPod, an iPod dock, a Casio Exilim camera and the Archos 7-inch tablet."

The ad-man has his heart set on the much rumoured iPhone 5. "The iPhone 5 was not only on my list but the world's list. But I guess we will have to do with iPhone 4S, though without standing in a queue or going to Heera-Panna."

This season, he is looking to get a Sony Blu-ray for his car, media player and Bowers & Wilkin Series 8 speakers for his TV room. "For myself, I want a Sony Bloggie 3D camera."

...

D Shivakumar
Managing Director, Nokia India

D Shivakumar, currently country head for India, will soon also lead a roster of around 90 countries spread across Africa and West Asia.

The corporate jetsetter is looking forward to bring home a 3D TV set this season. And he quickly adds that there's going to be no "gadget clearance" from his house.

For someone who was editor of his college newsletter at IIT Madras and continued to write in his IIM-C days, Shivakumar is not yearning for hi-tech writing instruments today - he does want to pocket the first Nokia Windows phone that is set to arrive this year.

But for now, the avid golfer is putting word out to his friends that a new golf kit would be the perfect Diwali gift.

...

Ajai Puri
Operations Director (North & East India; Bangladesh), Bharti Airtel

"I am eager to bring home a Bose home theatre that was launched 3-4 months back." It'll be a gift for his daughter who's back home after three years in a hostel.

Puri is also "very impressed by the new iPhone 4S, especially for the new voice assistant, Siri, that comes with it. But I have to wait till November when one of my friends comes back from the US with it."

...

Atul Kasbekar
Founder, Bling Entertainment

He manages India's hottest celebrities and shoots perfect frames with his camera, but the title that Atul Kasbekar likes to show-off the most is of being a 'BlackBerry Boy'.

No surprises then that the email-friendly BlackBerry is on his shopping list this Diwali. But the prized addition to his gadget list will be a handmade amplifier from Doshi Audio in the US, which usually cost between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 7 lakh.

"My school friend, Nishith Doshi, makes these handmade amplifiers in the US that are for the serious audiophiles. Even with the yaari-dosti discount, I can barely afford them," quips Kasbekar.

...

Kris Gopalakrishnan
Executive co-chairman, Infosys

At 55, the man who co-founded Infosys in 1981 ensures that he is hands-on with the latest technology.

Though he'd like to clear away older gadgets, he hasn't found anyone who'd be willing to take the last generation gizmos.

His wishlist? The iPhone 4S, a Sony NEX-7 camera and a Royal Enfield motorbike. "The first two are the next generation products in their category and the Bullet is an iconic bike.

Since I may not get to ride one, it may remain just a wish." Just as patient Gopalakrishnan is with his younger colleagues at Infosys, he is also willing to wait for the new products to launch officially in India.

"I may not buy these immediately, but will probably buy them in the next six months. I prefer to buy gadgets after they have been introduced in India."

...

Sunil Punjabi
CEO, Cinemax India

"The iPhone 4S and iPad 2 top my list," says Sunil Punjabi who reads books too on the iPhone and iPad.

"The good part about Apple's media devices is that you can integrate all the music and videos on a single device. This can be connected to your iPod dock which can be synced with the home theater."

...

A Mahendran
MD, Godrej Consumer Products

On the move most of the days, Mahendran is keen to install a satellite navigation system in his car "to watch all television channels while on the move. I can't recollect the name but it is being customised by Indian automobile designer Dilip Chhabria."

He recently discarded a Sony Vaio laptop to make way for Apple's tablet computer, the iPad and even claims to have given away his BlackBerry phone. "I also discarded my Canon point-and-shoot camera and replaced it with a Sony professional camera."

Mahendran is only happy to equip himself with the new iPhone 4S. "I have the previous generation iPhone and was told that the new iPhone has better features and promises better clarity when using apps like Skype".

Since video communication is clearly on Mahendran's mind, he is also looking forward to bring a Polycom camera for his home-office.

"It will allow me to video-conference easily and clearly for all work-related calls we have to do with the colleagues in the US."

...

Anupam G Mittal
Founder & CEO, Shaadi.com

He's pining for an Apple iPhone that marries the ease of email found on the BlackBerry. Also on top of his list is "a simple-to-use universal remote and a centralised home entertainment system.

This is only complimented by the universal remote. I'm hoping to be gifted the entertainment system and will purchase the iPhone myself."

...

Prasoon Joshi
Executive Chairman, McCann Worldgroup India

Prasoon Joshi bought himself an Apple TV, a Leica camera and a Live Scribe smart pen just this month. And, "I passed on my Nintendo DSi gaming console to my daughter."

He says, "What I am yet to buy from my wishlist is Apple's music mixing software. The software will help me with the music compositions that I have started off late. I will prefer to buy it in person when I visit an Apple store in the US this December."

Joshi says that though he has managed to control the urge to upgrade his first generation iPad, he did get the iPhone 4 in lieu of his older Apple smartphone.

"Gadgets are the only things I splurge on. They bring out the child in me and I love experimenting with them."

...

Abhishek Khaitan
MD, Radico Khaitan

"The three gadgets I wish for are an Innex Electrohub charger, water pebbles and Polaroid GL20 camera sunglasses," says Abhishek Khaitan.

Innex Electrohub charges mobile phones, iPods, video game remotes and several devices at one time.

And water pebbles "uses your first shower time as a benchmark and fractionally reduces shower time by about seven times each time you use it."

...

Anirudh Dhoot
Director, Videocon Industries

For starters, Anirudh Dhoot is all set to replace his Kindle e-book reader with the latest Barnes & Noble Nook or Kindle Fire; the iPad 2 will replace the older iPad and the iPhone 3GS in his pocket will give way to the new iPhone 4S. His wishlist?

"For those few leisure moments, I need the Nikon DSLR D3S camera that is touted to be the best low-light camera available."

He also has his heart set on the iScape head mounted display 3D, a personal display headset that simulates a 62-inch wide-screen TV at just 6.5 feet in front of you.

"This futuristic pair of glasses works with just about any video source, including almost every game console, DVD player, VCR, video camera, and NTSC source."