Garmin India Launches New ‘Forerunners’, 245 and 245 Music with Ultra Modern Technology

Expanding the choices for running enthusiasts in India, Garmin India- a unit of Garmin Ltd. today launched the all new Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 245 Music. These two are the latest and advanced models under their best-selling Forerunner series. Built on the mantra of “You do the running; FR 245 series will do the thinking”, the lightweight smartwatch is loaded with advanced features such as, incident detection, body battery, race predictor, and are available in new attractive colours.

Specially made for the serious and new-age runners, these GPS-enabled smartwatches enhance the running experience with detailed data, safety and tracking features along with other advanced training options. In addition to these, the Forerunner 245 Music holds up to 500 songs and lets users sync playlists from select preloaded music streaming services like Spotify or transfer music from a computer.

Speaking at the launch of these new models of the Forerunner series, Mr. Ali Rizvi, National Sales Manager - Garmin India said, “The Forerunner series is the flagship series for Garmin, which has been highly appreciated by the running fanatics. Adding more value to the series, Garmin India today launched the Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 245 Music for all those enthusiasts who wish to combine intelligence, style and futuristic features, all in one. With features like body battery, VO2 max, incident detection, race predictor etc., this forerunner series will prove to be the perfect running partner to deliver an enhanced running experience to the users.”

The Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 245 Music are the latest solution from the ever-expanding Garmin fitness segment, which focuses on developing technologies to enhance and promote healthy and active lifestyles. Whether it is running, cycling, swimming or simply looking to stay active throughout the day, Garmin fitness devices can help athletes of all levels reach their health and fitness goals.

Key Features:

Train safer & smarter with Forerunner 245 & Forerunner 245 Music

These watches don’t just serve the purpose of your fitness, but also look after one’s safety & security. With their built-in incident detection feature, one can now easily share their location with their pre- chosen contacts, in case one needs assistance. Location can also be shared if a potential incident, such as a fall is detected.

Another new feature with the Forerunner 245 series is the newly introduced Body Battery which helps optimize body’s energy. The Body Battery energy monitoring uses collected data to gauge one’s energy reserves at any moment, so that the user can plan their day accordingly, optimizing times for activity and rest.

Additionally, the Forerunner 245 Music holds the ability ‘Store up to 500 songs’ on the watch for phone-free listening and even syncs one’s favourite music from select streaming services like Spotify or allows transferring music from a computer to your device.

Advanced Physio Features & Running Dynamics

With the improved race predictor, a runner can now easily predict the race time and plan training sessions accordingly. The Forerunner 245 model is also equipped with advanced features that will help one evaluate the training status and indicate if under training or overdoing is taking place. It also offers additional performance monitoring features like VO2 Max, to analyze the amount of oxygen a person can utilize during intense exercise. It further analyzes the recovery time post intense activity, aerobic and anaerobic training effect, and training status & load.

These watches also come with advanced running dynamics such as ground contact time & balance, stride length, vertical oscillation and vertical ratio, which work on enhancing one’s overall running sessions.

Designed for the running gene

Garmin users can now train with the help of Garmin Coach feature, which offers free training plans that adapt according to a runner’s goals and performances. Whether the user is training for a 5K or a marathon, it creates a personalized workout. The user can also download Garmin Coach adaptive training plans for free! Offering a lot more, the smartwatch also includes multiple sport activity modes like run plus treadmill, indoor track, bike, indoor bike, treadmill, pool swim, row indoor, elliptical, stair stepper and many more.

The Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 245 Music are reliable training companions with outstanding battery life - up to 7 days in smartwatch mode; up to 6 hours in GPS mode with music and 24 hours in GPS mode without music.

Pricing and Availability

The Ultra modern and sport-ready Forerunner 245 & Forerunner 245 Music comes with lightweight, adjustable, quick release bands. The Forerunner 245 is available in Slate and Amp Yellow colours, priced at Rs. 29,990 while the Forerunner 245 Music is available in three quirky colours- Black, Lava Red and Aqua, priced at Rs. 34,990

The ‘Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 245 Music is available online at Amazon.in, Paytmmall and Myntra. For offline purchase the customers can shop at GO Sport Mumbai and Bangalore, Peloton Calicut, PlayWell Calicut and Kochi and Helios Watch Stores Pan India.

Dettol Unveils Dettol Co-Created with Moms with 0% Free from Parabens, Dyes and Talc

Dettol, the leading germ protection brand in the country, today announced the launch of Dettol Co-Created with Moms, a range of bathing soaps and hand washes, designed keeping consumer preferences in mind.  With this announcement, Dettol has developed an entirely new space, with a range of products that have ingredients approved by moms while continuing to deliver Dettol’s trusted protection. This is a unique innovation with products that are free from any parabens, dyes and talc, giving mothers exactly what they want.

Acknowledging a growing need for products that have lesser chemicals & avoidable ingredients, Dettol co-created with Moms has been introduced without paraben and dyes, with fragrances inspired from nature. Dettol directly went to mothers to understand the attributes they want in products and received their approval on the ingredients before launching the range.

With consumer needs at heart, this significant product innovation has been designed to ensure that today’s mother gets the best of both worlds – trusted protection with lesser chemicals. This led to, Dettol Co-Created with moms that has 0% Parabens, 0% dyes and 0% talc, with protection from 100 illness causing germs.

Commenting on the launch, Pankaj Duhan, Chief Marketing Officer, RB South Asia Health said, “Dettol’s rich heritage in India makes it - a trusted partner for mothers and we constantly thrive to innovate our product offering to best suit their needs. We are very excited to launch the Dettol Co-Created with Moms range, a - unique initiative where Dettol has gone ahead of the curve and directly engaged with mothers to understand what they want in products for their family, so that moms never have to compromise. With ingredients approved by Moms, we have added a touch of mom’s love to the trusted protection of Dettol – and this range has been co-created with moms to give them exactly what they want. It is truly a range that has, “Touch of Mom, with a Touch of Dettol”.

Dettol Co-Created with moms soap and handwash - comes in two fragrances infused with natural essences: Tulsi and Jasmine. It is available in the following pack sizes –

125g Multi Packs: Launched with a consumer offer of Buy 4 Get 1 Free, MRP Rs. 260/-
175ml Refill Pouch with a Buy 3 Get Rs. 40 off Promo: MRP Rs. 146/-
200ml Liquid Handwash with a 175ml Pouch Combo: MRP Rs. 125
75g Multi Packs: Launched with a consumer offer of Buy 4 Get 1 Free, MRP Rs. 160/-
75g Single: With an introductory MRP of Rs. 30/-

It will be available across, grocery stores, departmental stores, pharmacists in India and leading e-commerce websites.

ZEE5 Partners with Applicaster for App Development in India

OTT digital platform ZEE5 has entered into a partnership with Applicaster, one of Israel's leading global cloud platforms for media app development and management in the media space. Applicaster will work with ZEE5 to enhance the latter's user interface and experience, leveraging its state-of-the-art tech, industry knowledge on the evolving trends across the globe.

It will also enhance ZEE5's functionality, offering a seamless content viewing experience to the viewers. "India is the world's fourth largest app market and one of the most crowded one for OTT players. ZEE5 has been a frontrunner in bringing the best-in-class experience for subscribers seeking entertainment content in multiple Indian languages.

"And today we have become the first to harness the capabilities of Israeli tech start-ups and their expertise in the mobile entertainment space. With the warming up of relations between the two advanced countries, we are confident of building a winning proposition for all involved," Tarun Katial, CEO, ZEE5 India said in a statement.

He added the journey over the past year has given the company immense insights in terms of the changing behaviour of OTT viewers. "This knowledge complemented by the technological prowess of Applicaster will result in a delightful experience for the ZEE5 viewers the world over," Katial said. Applicaster co-founder and CEO Jonathan Laor said he is thrilled to partner with ZEE5.

"Throughout our discussions, ZEE5's passion for delighting their customers through rich user experiences was clear and matched our beliefs perfectly. We are thrilled to be chosen as ZEE5's partner of choice in realising their desire to minimise development time and integrate the best of breed components necessary to deliver an industry leading user experience to their 61.5 million active users," Laor said. Both the parties signed the MoU in the presence of Pavan Kapoor, Indian ambassador to Israel at the Indian Embassy in Israel.

Kapoor said deals like these will set the tone for more collaborations between the two countries going forward in the field of innovation and technology. "India and Israel share a deep bond of friendship with extensive commercial linkages. Collaborations like this will bring our people closer and enable learning and mutual prosperity," the ambassador added.

Survey Finds Chief Data Officers Are Prioritizing the Right Things, But Higher Strategic Focus Is Required

Chief data officers (CDOs) and their data and analytics (DA) teams are focusing on the right priorities, but they are not yet achieving the best balance of their various responsibilities to deliver superior organizational performance, revealed a recent Gartner, Inc. survey.

“CDOs are generally focused upon the right things, but they do not have the right mix of activities,” said Debra Logan, distinguished research vice president at Gartner. The survey found that while the creation of a data-driven culture was ranked the No.1 critical factor to the DA team, there were conflicting rankings for technical and nontechnical activities (data integration and data skills training), and strategic and tactical activities (enterprise information management [EIM] program and architecting a DA platform).

Gartner’s fourth annual CDO survey was conducted online from September through December 2018, among 257 CDOs, chief analytics officers and other high-level data and analytics leaders from across the world.

While the implementation of a DA strategy was ranked the No. 3 most-critical success factor by 28% of CDOs, another strategic activity – creating a data literacy program – was ranked only 12th. This was despite the fact that, in the same survey, ‘poor data literacy’ was rated the No. 1 roadblock to creating a data-driven culture and realizing its business benefits.

“The low ranking of strategic activities can be explained because the majority of organizations are at maturity level 3 or higher for EIM and business intelligence and analytics,” said Ms. Logan. “While the survey shows that information governance is important, especially master data management (MDM), CDOs should never lose sight of the business outcomes they are trying to achieve. Focusing exclusively on governance, even MDM, is not enough to succeed as a CDO.”

Emerging Technologies Are Important to DA Strategy Success

A majority of CDO respondents rated machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) as critical at 76% and 67%, respectively. Sixty-five percent of respondents were using or piloting ML, while 53% were using or piloting AI. Less than 20% of CDOs surveyed were using or piloting smart contracts (18%) or blockchain (16%).

“CDOs are embracing emerging technologies to enable and drive data program success,” said Ms. Logan. “The survey respondents reporting superior overall organizational performance compared to competitors or peers were more likely to use ML to drive revenue growth, attract and retain top talent and translate customer or business needs into high-value products or services.”

Only 8% of CDOs Are Directly Measuring Financial Value of DA

In terms of measuring the value of their organization’s information and data assets, only 8% of CDOs were measuring the financial value of DA. Forty-five percent of CDOs reported they produce some data quality metrics – such as accuracy, completeness, scale and usage – while 29% said they measure the impact of key information and data assets on business processes, such as KPIs.

“The measurement of information value clearly leans toward data quality. There is room for improvement as nearly a fifth of CDOs surveyed have no objective measurement of information assets,” said Ms. Logan. “Organizations need to realize that those who measure either the financial value of key information and data assets or measure the impact of these on business processes are nearly twice as likely to report superior performance in DA team effectiveness.”

The survey also found that the majority of CDOs generated value from information assets to improve internal processes (60%) and increase the value of products and services (57%), with a focus on efficiency. Fifty percent of CDOs reported a focus on enhancing new offerings by innovating with information. Other means to realize value from information assets also lagged. Nineteen percent of CDO respondents were selling or licensing information via data brokers or online marketplaces and only 17% were selling or licensing to others for cash.

Overall, respondents using information and data assets to generate indirect economic benefits were more likely to report superior organizational performance when engaged in improving or developing new offerings, in increasing the value of their products/services, and in exchanging information with business partners for goods, services or favorable contract terms.

Ms. Logan added that a successful CDO need to emphasize the importance of:

Providing measurable business outcomes – for example, how DA can reduce customer churn as well as deliver specific outcomes such as data quality.
Balancing tactical and strategic initiatives especially when it comes to technology implementation (the emphasis is not on implementation, which CDOs should leave to the CIO).
Experimenting with digital emerging technologies and looking for the best use cases to develop past the pilot stage.

Boeing and Rossell Techsys Celebrate Dual Milestones for V-22 Osprey and AH-64 Apache

Rossell Techsys celebrated dual milestones with Boeing [NYSE: BA] for the V-22 Osprey and AH-64 Apache programs. Rossell Techsys delivered the 2000th harness for the V-22 Osprey and the 1000th electrical panel for the AH-64 Apache to Boeing. 

 “We are proud to partner with Rossell Techsys to deliver high quality components for some of Boeing’s most advanced platforms like the Osprey and Apache,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India. “Boeing remains committed to investing in India’s supplier capability and a local work-force across manufacturing engineering services, training and skills-development, to create a world-class aerospace ecosystem in India.”

Rossell Techsys has been a long-standing Boeing supplier in India, since 2013. The contract for AH-64 Apache components was awarded to Rossell Techsys in March 2017, and the V-22 Osprey components in August 2017. In January 2019, Rossell delivered the 15,000th wire harness to Boeing for the AH-64 Apache.

“Rossell Techsys is committed to strengthening aerospace manufacturing in India. Partnering with Boeing has enabled us to further develop and position ourselves as a globally competitive aerospace supplier,” said Prabhat Kumar Bhagvandas, chief executive officer, Rossell Techsys.

Boeing has invested significantly in the development of a robust aerospace ecosystem in India, with over 160 existing industrial partners including Rossell Techsys, who are raising the bar to deliver world-class quality, cost-efficiency and productivity as they become an important part of the company’s worldwide supply chain for some of the most innovative products in the world. Boeing provides technical knowledge and support to suppliers, helping them deliver components of the highest quality standards for the global aerospace industry. Boeing sourcing from India has quadrupled over the years and now stands at $1 billion.

Boeing also partners with Rossell Techsys on skilling initiatives to prepare a future ready aerospace workforce. These curriculums and initiatives are training workers on aerospace-relevant skills to support India’s growing aerospace ecosystem.

Mars Rover MIT Excel at the World Meet at Utah in the US

Mars Rover Manipal, the student rover design team from Manipal Institute of Technology blazed a glorious trail at the 13th edition of University Rover Challenge held in Utah, USA from May 30 to June 1, 2019.

MRM, Manipal Academy of Higher Education’s official team powered by Mouser Electronics and Echjay Industries was the winner among the Asian challengers and finished 8th globally out of the 84 teams that participated. MRM also won the Barainca award for the best Science team in the competition.

For the 4th consecutive year, MRM has been amongst the top 36 international teams and was one of the only 5 teams from India to make it to the final stage of URC’ 19 at the Mars Desert Research System along with IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, VIT Vellore and SRM.

University Rover Challenge (URC) is the world's premier robotics competition for undergraduate students. Held in the desert of southern Utah, URC challenges interdisciplinary student teams to design and build the next generation of Mars Rovers.

These rovers are designed to be capable of traversing and performing tasks on Mars-simulated terrain, in goals of aiding human exploration of the red planet. The competition requires participants to complete 4 missions -- the Science Mission, the Autonomous Traversal mission, the Extreme Retrieval and Delivery Mmission and the Equipment Servicing mission.

The team was led by Safal Ajmera and V. Sai Shyam. The rest of the team members are:

Siril Teja Dukkipati, Ajay Rangan, Tushaar Neb, Nishesh Singh, Ayush Parashar, Akash Yadav, Anandmayi Bhongade, Somesh Paranjpe, Kshitij Patil, Neil Doshi, Mohammed Mohsin H, Ved Chitnis, Agniv Saikia, Gaurav K H, Tanmay Shukla, M Aditya Sharma, Aditya Kolpe, Laksh Pahuja, Anmol Kumar, Karthik Datta, Mohammad Abdul Sulaiman, Sai Raghu Teja Davuluri, Sheena Kapoor, Vedant Dhonagde, Atharv Mudur, Kavya Banerjee, Abhijit Alok, Rakshit Tewari, Rachit Shah, Shaun Meric Menezes, Bladen Martin, Harshit Sharma, Sayantika Paul, Akanksha Kaushal, Akshat Tulsani

"It was a wonderful experience of leading a team in an international competition. It was great to see the hard work by the team members has brought success. We got to learn many things and just wanted to make everyone proud. The feeling of representing the institute and country cannot be expressed," said Safal Ajmera.

"The team has been remarkable at work since the start. It has been a wonderful experience during the competition, lots to learn and showcase. At the end, we just wanted our well-wishers to be proud of everything we did," remarked the other leader of the team, V. Sai Shyam.

Bangaluru Rates Dell, Amazon and Tanishq as Top 3 Trusted Brands

TRA’s Most Trusted Brands Report, India Study, 2019 (BTR 2019), in its ninth edition, has listed the country’s Most Trusted 1000 brands based on a primary study with consumer-influencers, based on TRA’s proprietary model of Brand Trust. Out of a total of 27 brands from the city listed in the report, Dell is Bengaluru’s as well as All-India Most Trusted Brand. The city’s 2nd most trusted is Amazon (All-India rank 4th) followed by Tanishq at 3rd.Titan, ranked 4th in the city (All-India rank 39th) is also a leader in the Category of Watches. The report has sevenbrands from the Super Category of Internet; 3 each from Apparels, Personal Accessories and Technology that make it to the list.

N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research on emphasizing the unique differences in each of the cities said, “The internet-tech scenario and the entrepreneurial spirit in Bengaluru are booming. An evident shift can be seen from software-factory model to a startup mindset. To remain competitive in today’s economic landscape, brands have to keep innovating and nurture trust-relationships with its customers. Bangalore remains ahead in this and can be evidently seen in the national listing in TRA’s Brand Trust Report 2019.”

Several Bengaluru brands have risen significantly in ranks over last year. The consistent brands from Bengaluru include Foodpanda(up 516 ranks from last year), Swiggy (up by 440 ranks), Big Basket (up 290 ranks), Bharti Axa(up 245 ranks), Café Coffee Day(up 119 ranks), Canara Bank(up 119 ranks).

Seven brands from the city lost Brand Trust ranks with Wrangler leading the fall with 639 ranks down from last year, BPL down 526 ranks, Myntra eroding 289 ranks and Wipro slipping 219 ranks

TRA’s Brand Trust Report 2019 is the result of a comprehensive primary research conducted on the proprietary 61-Attribute Brand Trust Matrix of TRA. This year’s study involved 15,000 hours of fieldwork, and generated 5 million datapoints and 9,000 unique brands, from which the top 1000 brands have been listed in this year’s report. The study covered 2,315 consumer-influencers across 16 cities in India. Indian Statistical Institute is TRA’s statistical partner for the research methodology.

In the All-India list Dell has been ranked as India’s Most Trusted Brands in TRA’s Brand Trust Report, 2019. It is followed in second position by Jeep, which also becomes the Most Trusted Automobile Brand of India this year. LIC and Amazon are ranked 3rd and 4th and Apple iPhone is India’s 5th Most Trusted Brand, rising 116 ranks from 2018 to also lead in Mobile Phone-Series. The mobile phone brand of Samsung is at 6th spot and the leader among Mobile Phones. LG’s Televisions makes to 7th rank and is also the leader in the Consumer Electronics Super-Category. The 8th Most Trusted Brand rank is held by Aviva Life Insurance, Maruti Suzuki is at 9th position and is followed by State bank of India at 10th slot. The largest number of brands are from the Tata Group and it has 23 brands in among the Most Trusted list. Godrej has 15 brands, Amul has 11 and Samsung is represented in 8 Categories. LG, Honda, Cadbury’s, Nestle, Parle and Dabur are represented by 7 brands each. A significant achievement for Dabur is that its brands are leaders in each of the Categories represented.