Ten best gadgets of the year 2011

Samsung Galaxy S II: One of the biggest competitor to Apple's iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy S II has sold more than 10 million units since its launch. Among the Galaxy S II's features are a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM and a Super AMOLED Plus screens, which are stunningly bright and make for an extremely sharp, colorful display. The Samsung Galaxy S II is photo-ready with a built-in 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, with a 2 megapixel cam up front for video chat. All three devices can record video in 1080p HD.

Apple iPhone 4S: At about four times the US retail price where customers buy mandatory data-service plans, the Apple iPhone 4S still finds buyers among affluent young professionals in India. The final gadget unveiled during Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' lifetime, the new iPhone comes with a faster processor, a better light-sensitive camera, and voice-activated assistant 'Siri'.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 : Also known as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Tab 750 is seen by Apple as a real threat to the iPad. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 inch is an upgraded version of the 7-inch introduced in October. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 runs on Google's newest Android version and Nvidia's dual core processor Tegra 2. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a bigger and brighter screen and weighs less than the iPad 2. However, it has access to only about half the applications Apple users do at more than 200,000 applications compared with over 425,000 applications from the Apple App store.

Apple iPad 2: The iPad 2 dominated the tablet market fighting stiff competition from Samsung and other Android based devices. The iPad 2 is 33 per cent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than its predecessor, while it maintains the same 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. The dramatically faster iPad 2 boasts a dual-core A5 "system on a chip" processor under the hood, which is good for twice the CPU power and nine times the graphics performance of the original while maintaining the same 10-hour battery life.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus: While there are several smartphone manufacturers that use Google's Android operating system, the Nexus line is considered the cream of the crop. The combination of Google's software and Samsung's hardware makes the Galaxy Nexus one of the best candidates to compete with Apple's latest iPhone. With the latest version of Android under the hood, Ice Cream Sandwich, the Galaxy Nexus is packed with new and improved features like a massive 4.65-inch touchscreen and the Android Beam, which lets you share such content as a Web page, map or video between two Android phones by bringing the backs of the phones close together.

Kindle Fire: Billed as the common man's tablet, Amazon's Kindle Fire has taken on technology giants Apple and Samsung in the tablet war as the largest Internet retailer revealed that it is selling more than one million Kindle devices a week. What Amazon did best was not to rush an iPad clone in the market but to play on iPad's weakness. What makes the Kindle fire standout is its 7" screen size, affordable price, unlimited cloud storage, nonstop steaming and Amazon's wealth of resources right at its fingertips.

Aakash tablet: Dubbed the world's cheapest tablet computer, Aakash is powered by Android 2.3 and has a resistive touchscreen, Cortex A8-700 MHz processor and graphics accelerator HD video processor, 256 MB of RAM and 2 GB of internal memory. Other specifications are a one standard USB port, 3.5 mm audio jack, a 7 inch display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution, resistive touchscreen, GPRS and WiFi support.

Samsung Galaxy Note: Phone? Tablet? It's a Galaxy note says the tagline of the newest member of its Galaxy lineup of smartphones and tablets. The Galaxy Note is nominally a smartphone, albeit with a massive 5.3 inch HD Super AMOLED display. The Note worked on the weakness of the Dell Streak 5 and came out with a winning device, that has a 1.4GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of built in storage. It also comes with a stylus pen, which allows users to operate the touchscreen with increased precision and convenience.

MacBook Air 13": The new MacBook Air is not quite as light as a feather, but it' s pretty darn close. Apple's MacBook Air began the anorexic laptop trend but the MacBook Air 13" take it to another level. The 13-inch MacBook Air has the latest Intel CPU and outperforms its predecessor in key ways. The notebook is also more versatile and can now be used for more mainstream function unlike the MacBook Air 11".

Nokia Lumia 800: The Nokia Lumia 800 is the first Nokia-made device to run Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile operating system. It's also the first handset to be released in Nokia's new Lumia range. It sports a colorful polycarbonate body with subtle curves and features an expansive 3.7" curved ClearBack glass display. Inside there is a 1.4GHz processor, an 8MP camera with Auto Focus and LED flash, and 720p video recording at 30fps.
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What do they pray for?

Abhishek Bachchan, on a promotional tour for his upcoming film 'Players', took time off to visit the shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer after a gap of seven years. 'Had the morning off so drove down to Ajmer Sharif. Went back there after almost seven years. It's always wonderful to go there and seek blessings,' Abhishek wrote on Twitter. He did not clarify if he was seeking divine intervention for 'Players' or thanking the gods for his lovely daughter.

Emraan Hashmi makes a visit to the Dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisty at Ajmer.

Ravi Kisen was another celeb who went to offer his prayers.

Arya Babbar, Yuvraj, and actress Jenny Ghotra at the Golden Temple in Amritsar

Spotted Deepika Padukone at the Ajmer shrine recently.We do not know what she was praying for - the success of 'DESI BOYS'?

Prakash Jha was seen at the shrine too - before 'Aarkashan' hit the screens

Rohit Shetty was spotted too.

Priyanka Chopra walks with an offering at The Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Shrine in Ajmer.

Shilpa Shetty offers prayers at The Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai.

Katrina Kaif spotted the Dargah of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisty in Ajmer.

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai paying obeisance at The Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Bipasha Basu at the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumba

Vivek Oberoi pays his respects at the Golden temple Sikh shrine in Amritsar.

Shah Rukh Khan visits the sacred Sufi Shrine of Khawaza Moinuddin Chisty in Ajmer.

Raveena Tandon and Mahima Chaudhary pay their respects at the Sikh Shrine of The Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Govinda pays his respects at Sikh shrine the Golden temple in Amritsar.

Salman Khan poses with Sikh elders after paying his respects at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Miss India Earth 2011 Hasleen Kaur paying obeisance at the Golden temple in Amritsar.

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Indian Celebs & their pets

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan must have posed for thousands of photoshoots. But says the star, this photoshoot, with his pet dog Shanouk, was unique! 'Did photoshoot with Shanouk, my Piranha Dane for cover of a magazine on dogs by the ebullient Farzana Contractor, wife of BusyBee (Behram Contractor)!!' Amitabh posted on his Twitter page. The 69-year-old, who loves spending time with his dog, even posted one picture out of the photoshoot, and wrote: 'That picture is of Shanouk, my Piranha Dane...Shanouk - a warm gentle breeze on a cold winter morning...' Recently, Big B had shared his thoughts on how his dog had been feeling ignored ever since Abhishek and Aishwarya had a baby.

"I have four dogs. Animals can immediately sense when you are sad. Whenever I get depressed, my dogs come to me to give me company. It is not that I do not trust humans. To be honest I trust my animal friends more. The best way to see the trust of a person is through your bad times," SRK revealed.

Like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Koena Mitra too has got seven puppies at her home. They all belong to toy breed and she got them from exotic counries.Koena has named them Cookie, Jerry, Jiggy, Missy, Fluffy etc

Salman Khan with his pet dog Myson, who died of heart ailment while he was shooting for 'London Dreams'

Stay away from Fardeen Khan's dogs. They are named Tiger and Gunda!

Esha Deol's pet pooch is called Piccola

File photo of Rekha with her pet dog Pisti. After Pisti's death, Rekha adopted another pet dog Shiva.

Manisha Koirala with her two Persian cats - Mischief and Morgan.

You are sure gonna love Tusshar's dog, for his name is Whiskey!

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Iconic Moments of 2011

Japan's killer tsunami, Sikkim's devastating quake, the Occupy Wall Street movement, and Anna Hazare's hunger-strike were some of the many significant moments of 2011. Here they are in pictures:

On March 11, Japan was hit by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded. The magnitude-9.0 quake spawned a deadly tsunami that slammed into the small island nation, leaving a huge swath of devastation in its wake

Gary Kirsten ended his term as India's coach on a high, guiding India to a historic World Cup triumph, said it was an honour to coach Team India.

Anna Hazare's crusade against corruption has grabbed headlines all over and inspired the common Indian to demand for a Jan Lokpal Bill that would hold politicians accountable for their actions.

US President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and several other government officials gathered to monitor the raid that killed the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.

Nargis, a girl born in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, was welcomed as the world's seven billionth baby -- an honour she shares with a girl child born in the Philippines and a boy in Russia.

Steve Jobs, the Apple founder and former CEO who invented and masterfully marketed ever-sleeker gadgets that transformed everyday technology, passed away.

The last convoy of US soldiers pulled out of Iraq, ending nearly nine years of war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives, and left a country grappling with political uncertainty.

Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya with an iron fist for over 40 years, was killed after being on the run for two months by National Transitional Council fighters.

The success of the Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit helped soothe the bitter memories of a messy and shambolic Commonwealth Games.

Dev Anand, the 'Evergreen Romantic Superstar' of Indian cinema, has passed away in London following a cardiac arrest.

"Everybody was expecting me to score a double hundred and I think I lived (up to the) expectation," a visibly tired Sehwag said at the innings break.

Rioting and looting spread across London as hooded youths set buildings and cars ablaze, smashed shop windows and hurled bottles and stones at police in a third night of violence in Britain's worst unrest in decades.

Serial blasts struck Mumbai, less than three years after the 26/11 terrorist attacks of 2008. The three blasts targeted Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and the Kabutarkhana area of Dadar West, killing at least 17 people and injuring 131 others.

Over 90 patients in Kolkata's well known AMRI hospital were killed along with three staffers when a blaze started in the basement of the annexe building and toxic fumes quickly spread to the other floors, trapping hundreds of people.

The entire world watched their wedding live, and then it was time for the Prince to kiss his beautiful bride. He kissed not once, but twice! This one beats even the fairytales.

Streets around the square which hosted Egypt's historic uprising are spattered with the blood of protesters now demanding an end to the army rule that replaced Mubarak.

Over 50,000 troops and about 500 main battle tanks like T-90s, T-72s and the indigenous Arjun, as also infantry combat vehicles, participated in the exercise codenamed 'Sudarshan Shakti', which also featured fighter jets, transport and helicopters of the Indian Air Force.

"I AM DADA to the cutest baby girl," Amitabh Bachchan announced on Twitter.

While Vancouver city was burning following the riots post their team Canucks' disgraceful defeat in Stanley Cup, a young couple - Scott Jones and his girlfriend Alex Thomas were snapped kissing amidst the commotion.

A leopard strayed into Prakash Nagar village in West Bengal and mauled several people, including three guards, before being caught by forest officials.
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