LG has made clear its ambitions to grab a higher market share in the booming Indian smartphone market. According to Soon Kwon, Managing Director, LG Electronics India, LG is aiming at a 10% market share in the Indian smartphone market by the end of 2014. As of now LG has about 4.8% market share in the segment. LG's flagship model, the G2, is expected to fuel much of this growth.

LG announced few more products today at its Tech Show 2014, taking place in Delhi. The primary one is the LG G2 4G LTE variant, to which the company has also added two colour variants, and which the company says will hit the Indian market around mid-March. The pricing of the 4G LTE versions been revealed and the 16 GB variant will leave you lighter by Rs. 46,000, while the 32 GB will be priced at Rs. 49,000. This device is a sequel of the 3G variant of the LG G2, which was launched in India back ..
LG also showcased its G Pro 2, the next in line to the G2, though it did not announce its India pricing and availability. The G pro 2 is a powerful device that comes with the Android Kitkat version, sports a 5.9 inch True IPS+ LCD capacitive touch screen rendering 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution, and is equipped with a 2.26 GHz quad core krait 400 processor and Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset.

LG also announced its wearable device called the Lifeband Touch, and with that has entered the wearable computing device segment, in direct competition with Samsung which launched its Samsung Gear Fit at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress. LG has announced that the Lifeband Touch will be available in India in the second half of 2014. However, the company has not disclosed the price of this one.

Chasing a solid 254-run target, Afghanistan got off to bad start as they lost Mohammad Shahzad early in their Asia Cup tie at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

Scorecard | Match in Pics

Pacer Suranga Lakmal gave Sri Lanka the first breakthrough when the breached the defences of Shahzad (7) to get the better of his stumps.

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara continued his impressive run of form with a fine half-century before a late flourish powered Sri Lanka to a challenging 253 for six.

Electing to bat, Sri Lanka wobbled initially as they were reduced to 83 for three in the
21st century, but recovered to 157 for four in the 37th over courtesy a 74-run stand between wicketkeeper Sangakkara (76) and Dinesh Chandimal (26).
The Afghan seamers struck back after choking the runs in the middle overs as Sri Lanka were reduced to 184 for six in the 42nd over after being 157 for three in the 37th over, thereby adding just 27 runs at the expense of four wickets in five overs.

Captain Angelo Mathews then struck a 41-ball unbeaten 45 to take Sri Lanka past 250, their lowest total in the tournament. He shared crucial 69 runs with Thisara Perera (19 not out) for the seventh wicket at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Afghanistan, who beat Bangladesh in their previous match two days ago in their best-ever result till date, used as many as eight bowlers and were initially able to restrict the Sri Lankan batsmen who have been in fine form in the tournament, having helped their side win both their earlier matches.

Sangakkara continued with his fine form in the tournament, top-scoring with a 102-ball knock, which was studded with four sixes and one six. He had scored 67 (against Pakistan) and 103 (against India) in Sri Lanka's earlier two games.

For Afghanistan, Mirwais Ashraf grabbed two wickets for 29 runs while his fellow pacers Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran and left-arm spinner Hamza Hotak took a wicket apiece. 

A Ukrainian model who has cast herself as a real-life Barbie doll says she eventually hopes to live without eating or drinking.

Valeria Lukyanova, whose doll-like features and ultra-thin waist have stirred controversy in the past, has apparently made it her goal to survive "on air and light alone."

"In recent weeks I have not been hungry at all," Lukyanova said, according to the International Business Times. "I'm hoping it's the final stage before I can subsist on air and light alone."

The website linked that dietary desire to a New Age practice known as Breatharianism, in which followers neither neither eat nor drink, believing they can exist solely on "cosmic micro-food."
Lukyanova, who believes in reincarnation and claims to have been in contact with transdimensional beings, has said she uses her appearance to promote her "spiritual ideas."

But Jezebel.com maintains that Lukyanova is merely starving herself in order to maintain her dollish proportions.

Last year, a 65-year-old Seattle woman who went 47 days living only on water and tea, cited Breatharian yogis as her inspiration. Naveena Shine's goal was to maintain the extreme fast for 100 days, but she called it off after receiving what she called "a message from the universe that it is time to stop."

Last week's death on the set of "Midnight Rider," the Gregg Allman biopic directed by Randall Miller and starring William Hurt, has prompted an outpouring of support from the Hollywood community. A Facebook page called Slates for Sarah was established to honor Sarah Jones, the second camera assistant who was struck by a train while the movie was filming on a railroad bridge. Various entertainment-industry insiders are posting photos of clapperboards from their respective film and TV sets that contain sentimental messages such as "R.I.P. Sarah" and "We will never forget you Sarah Jones."
In addition to the Facebook page, filmmakers are calling for Jones' inclusion in this Oscars' In Memoriam segment on Sunday. Cinematographer Haskell Wexler ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?") penned an open letter on Deadline.com urging the Academy to add Jones to its posthumous acknowledgements. Wexler also called for higher safety standards on film sets. "Sarah and the three injured crew members were not victims of an 'accident' but of criminal negligence," he wrote. "Something that would not have happened if proper safety rules were in place."

Here are some of the most notable memorializations for Jones, per the Slates for Sarah page.

India's stand-in skipper Virat Kohli will be under pressure to produce good results in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh, according to former captain Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar also said senior player and permanent captain MS Dhoni will be sorely missed during the course of the five-nation tournament.

Dhoni was ruled out of the Asia Cup tournament with a left side-strain injury last week, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed it in a release, along with naming Dinesh Karthik as his replacement. Kohli was named captain in Dhoni's absence. "Virat (Kohli) will be under pressure. If he produces the results then it is a good start for him," Gavaskar told NDTV in an exclusive chat. (India vs Bangladesh preview)

Gavaskar also said that even if Kohli did not deliver as Team India captain in Bangladesh, he should not be judged on the basis of just one tournament. "Don't judge Virat by just one tournament. Don't expect tremendous results from him as skipper," said the former Indian captain. (Also read: Virat Kohli ready to test himself as skipper)
"Captaincy, like anything else, is a role to be settled into. So to expect Virat to produce tremendous results might be going over the top. But if he does produce tremendous results it means that he has begun well. Yes, I think he will be under pressure because he realises that with the recent results that India has had there are a lot of expectations from him. There has been a lot of talk about Dhoni retiring as captain from one format and so maybe that is the reason why maybe Virat will feel a little more of the pressure," he added. (Related: Dhoni not the only casualty as injuries mar Asia Cup)

While encouraging Kohli as captain, Gavaskar made it clear that India could not do without the services of Dhoni, who is a combination of a great finisher, a great runner between wickets and a top-class keeper. "India is going to miss him massively. Apart from the fact that he just takes the game away from the opposition, it's the running between the wickets that he puts pressure on the opposition. So in all aspects I think he is going to be missed massively as a player in the team. Again as a wicketkeeper, he is top class. Not too many people give him credit for being the kind of wicketkeeper he is. But he is a tremendous cricketer and I just hope that whatever injury he suffered in New Zealand, he gets over that pretty quickly," said Gavaskar.

The Indian cricket legend also touched upon how the fifth bowler could prove key for the team in sub-continental conditions but said the top-four bowlers should do most of the job. "The fifth bowler will be key. Stuart Binny, Ambati Rayudu will be good options but the first four bowlers will have to do the job for India," Gavaskar added.

BlackBerry flagship smartphone, the Z10, is now available as a limited period offer of Rs 17,990. That is almost a 60 per cent cut on its launch price and the second price cut in recent months. The offer is open for the next 60 days.
Running the latest BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2.1 and with the best touch keyboard in the market, the Z10 is a good buy at this price. But you will have to live without the popular apps on other platforms, BlackBerry’s biggest pain point.
However, with the new OS you have the option of sideloading any Android app. So look at this phone as a top-end Android phone a mid-level price, with the added security and mail features of the Blackberry. Yes, this could be one of the best smartphone deals in the market at the moment.

Announcing the price cut, BlackBerry India MD Sunil Lalvani said:  “BlackBerry has a vast and loyal user base in India and we’re keen to provide these consumers with the unique communication experience that BlackBerry 10 offers. This commemorative offer puts the BlackBerry Z10 at Rs 17,990 and will ensure users are able to enjoy the cutting edge experience of a full-touch device combined with a revolutionary operating system – all at an attractive price point.”
The BlackBerry Z10 has the latest BlackBerry 10 atOS version 10.2.1, that supports Hinglish and Hindi typing and Android apps. it runs on 3G and 2G plans without a special BlackBerry Plan.  The phone has a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32GB of additional storage. Plus, there is a superb screen, NFC (near field communications) and BBM service voice and video chats. Now get that in an Android phone for Rs 18,000.
The beleaguered Canadian smartphone company must be hoping that a lot of its loyal user will upgrade to the new phone with this offer.

BlackBerry Ltd unveiled a new, cheaper touchscreen smartphone and a "classic" model with a keyboard on Tuesday, as it tries to stem losses and win back a once devoted following by security-conscious business and government users.

The Z3 smart phone, which is to be priced at under $200, is being built under a partnership deal with FIH Mobile Ltd - the Hong Kong-listed unit of Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn.

Code named Jakarta, it will go on sale in April in Indonesia, where BlackBerry's BBM messaging service is proving very popular, said John Chen, the group's new chief executive who took over late last year.

"It's going to be under $200 on retail price," he said at the annual Mobile World Congress trade fair in Barcelona.

"It's a 3G phone, and we have a plan to expand the phone to different parts of southeast Asia after Indonesia, and in addition we have a plan to go global with an LTE (high speed 4G) version of it some time in the future."

BlackBerry, once a must-have device for every business executive and government official because of its pioneering secure email service, has haemorrhaged market share to Apple's iPhone and rival devices running on Google's Android software.

Opening up its BBM messaging service to be available on other operating systems - with Windows Phone the latest addition - has further hit device sales, particularly in emerging markets.

It's been nearly six months since Rick Owens' Spring/Summer 2014 fashion show took place in Paris, but we just can't stop talking about it -- and for good reason. The designer sent a slew of traditional African-American step teams down the runway to show off his wears and inevitably promote the importance of both racial and body diversity within the fashion industry.

Owens' message and clothing have now found themselves at the center of AnOther Magazine's newest editorial. Katie Shillingford, the glossy's fashion director, teamed up with photographer, Matthew Stone and created images that captured the fearlessness of Owens' now iconic presentation.

"I think it was very admirable that a designer with such a big brand, who is commercially successful too, had made such a brave choice," Shillingford said. "There is not enough of that in the fashion industry today, no one is brave enough to take a risk because everyone is worried about selling clothes."

The series of clothed and nude photos, which are reminiscent of old world paintings, were cast with real people (pulled from the street and friends of friends) and a few professional plus-size models.

"I wanted to applaud this fearless move and celebrate women of all colours and sizes," Shilligford explained. "That's also why I wanted to show a lot of nudity, because for me it wasn't just about clothes, it was about a really powerful message and putting that into print form."

With the fashion industry still struggling with racial diversity and body image, it's encouraging to see stories like this being created.

Chasing a 297-run target, Pakistan got off to a bad start as they lost their top order cheaply against Sri Lanka in the first match of the Asia Cup in Fatullah.

Scorecard | Match in Pics

Pakistan tried to get its run chase back on track courtesy a steady stand between Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez.

The Shehzad-Hafeez duo stitched a crucial 49-run partnership for the second wicket soon after losing opener Sharjeel Khan early.

However, Chaturanga De Silva and skipper Angelo Mathews struck in consecutive overs to send Shehzad (28) and Hafeez (18) back to the pavilion.

Spinner Sachithra Senanayake then joined the wicket taking party when he scalped Sohaib Maqsood (17) by getting him caught at deep mid-wicket.

Pakistan lost their first wicket when Suranga Lakmal had Sharjeel (26) caught comfortably at mid-on by Mathews after the Pakistan opener mis-timed a short of length delivery.

Earlier, opener Lahiru Thirimanne notched up his second ODI hundred to power Sri Lanka to a challenging 296 for six against Pakistan.

Thirimanne hit 11 fours and a six in his 110-ball 102-run innings and starred in a 161-run stand with Kumar Sangakkara (67) for the second wicket to lay the foundation for a huge score at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.

Pakistan tried to make a comeback in the middle overs as they picked up a few wickets, before skipper Angelo Matthews provided the late charge, cracking a 50-ball 55, to take Sri Lanka close to the 300-mark.

For Pakistan, Umar Gul (38) and Shahid Afridi (56) picked up two wickets each, while Saeed Ajmal (1/50) took one.

Electing to bat, Sri Lanka made a watchful start before opener Kusal Perera (14) edged an Umar Gul delivery straight to Umar Akmal behind the stumps in the eighth over to slip to 28 for one.

However, Thirimanne continued his good run and notched up his fifty off 56 balls in the 20th over, his first half-century since last July.

He and first-down batsman Sangakkara ensured Sri Lanka suffer no more damage as the two left-handed batsmen amassed runs at good pace and took Sri Lanka to the 100-mark in the 20th over.

The duo then changed gears, piling up 68 runs in the next 10 overs. Sangakkara, who has been in red-hot form, brought up his 84th fifty in as many balls in the 27th over when he blasted Mohammad Hafeez for a boundary through the midwicket area.

In the 31st over, Thirimanne picked up Hafeez for special treatment as he sent him over deep midwicket to bring up the first six of the match and move into the 90s.