Stay indoors this summer

HOT STUFF

SONY'S GRAND WEGA

Making home entertainment bigger and more lifelike than ever, Sony has launched its Grand WEGA, a range of LCD projection televisions. These televisions have a high resolution picture quality, consume lower power and have a sleek design.

Three models have been launched so far, and all are priced at between Rs 1,99,900 and Rs 3,49,900. The Grand WEGA is lightweight: the 60 inch (the television is available also in 42 and 50 inches) weighs only 50 kilos.

Sony have used their own 3LCD technology to bring a resolution of 3.15 million dots, and this is further enhanced with WEGA Engine technology "" watch out cinema halls, soon there'll be no reason to leave your living rooms.

HITACHI'S QUADRICOOL TM AND ATOM UV

Hitachi has launched what it has pegged "the world's most silent AC", following in last year's Quadricool and Atom room airconditioners.

Hitachi Home & Life Solutions India (HHLI) is trying to corner the market by zoning in on what it feels consumers must want more of in today's busy, hectic world "" peace and quiet: both the Quadricool Twin Motor and Atom UV (the world's first AC that uses Ultra Violet rays) were developed after extensive consumer research in India.

The Quadricool Window AC has a "Twin Turbo" which apparently makes it 300 per cent more silent than others "" good news to anyone living in Delhi, Mumbai or any of the large cities in India. Its Atom range helps solve another modern conundrum by making air cleaner and healthier.

According to Akira Kamitani, managing director HHLI, "Hitachi Atom was introduced with the Lambda technology that enables super efficient cooling even at extreme temperatures. Last year itself the Atom and Quadricool contributed almost 40 per cent of sales. Its promise of customer benefits based on cutting edge technology also built a strong customer pull that led to a rub-off on overall sales."

We're guessing the new models will be even more popular now that summer is officially here.

OFFICINE PANERAI

A lot of good things have come out of Italy. The Roman Empire, the Rennaissance, Roberto Baggio, pizza and now Panerai.

Panerai, in some form, has been around since the1860s "" when it supplied high-precision watches to the Italian Royal Navy "" and they've been on the market in Italy since 1997, but they've only been in India since February.

Panerai watches come in three broad categories: historic, contemporary and special edition, and all are priced in the range of 2,600 - 19,000 euros (their watches are priced in euros all over the world and not in local currency).

If this seems pricey, remember that their long connection with the military means that you'll be paying for high precision and reliability.

Watch out for the Panerai Mare Nostrum (the name the Ancient Romans gave the Mediterranean Sea), developed during the Second World War, and the Panerai Luminor, which has a luminous dial made of a tritium-based compound (both available in the limited edition collection along with a platinum version of the very first Radiomir Panerai, one of the brand's signature pieces).

Today, Panerai watches have became cult objects among mechanical watch enthusiasts. Old model are much sought after, with volumes and aesthetic details carefully replicated.