Sharing made easy with SHAREit!

The invention of the smartphone has changed our lives to a large extent, and we are now recording most of our daily events on our phones. The world of apps has taken everything by storm, and very often I find myself surprised by the various kinds of apps that are launched in the market. Today, most phones have really good quality cameras. Most of us hardly visit the photo studios or use the services of professional photographers except on special occasions. The number of pictures we as bloggers need to click to keep you guys updated about the various things happening is no joke. As a fashion blogger, my daily life involves constantly juggling between clicking pictures, recording videos and then sharing them on social media. So, you can imagine the amount pictures and videos I shoot on a daily basis. All the data cannot be stored on my phone. I need to regularly back it up on my laptop. Also at times, I need to use media from earlier shoots or from shoots where I have used my DSLR, and it is quite a hassle to transfer things from my laptop to the phone because then I have to find my cord or use my email which is very time consuming. All my concerns were put to rest when I was introduced to SHAREit which is now available across all devices – phone, laptops, and tablets.

My Authentic Thai Food Experience at ‘Songkran Festival’ at Renaissance Mumbai

When it comes to food that I have eaten on my travels, my Thailand trips will rank as some of the top ones on my 'foodilicious' list. Thai food is one of my favourite cuisines and I find it really exotic. The contrast of flavours is what intrigues me the most - sweet, spicy, hot, sour and rich along with the awesome fragrant smells of the dishes. Yum! Well this is exactly why the invitation to celebrate the ‘Songkran Festival’ - the Traditional Thai New Year at Renaissance Mumbai got an instant yes from me. Chef Cham Hun and his team of culinary experts first showcased a few of his signature recipes at a Masterclass in association with Godrej Natuure's Basket, and then they hosted us for a scrumptious Thai dinner.

5 Amazing Ideas For My Dream Home!

Everyone has their own version of a dream home. Some would love to live in a luxurious apartment, some would want a row house and some would like to have a villa. Mine would be a modern villa by the beach or really close to the sea! Well not just that, my dream home will have my home design fantasies come to life as much as possible. My fantasies are inspired by what I see on my travels, in movies, in books and of course on the internet, especially Pinterest. I have putting together my ideas and documenting them for a while now, so that when I finally have the resources to have my dream home, it is nothing less than perfect!

Preventive Maintenance is Essential for a Healthy Society

With the growing population in the country, the need for homes has also increased over a period of time. The growing demand however needs to be matched up with as much awareness about various things that should be kept in mind before buying a house. I remember when I was on the lookout to move into a bigger house, my father and husband were making sure to inquire about various things related to the age of the building, the waterproofing plans, time intervals in between structural repairs and what systems and processes the society is following in terms of drainage, cleanliness and maintenance. Knowing all these things about the society was important so that we could make the right decision, as I totally believe that preventive maintenance is essential for the existence of a healthy society.

Vaya Tyffyn - Your stylish lunch companion

Despite being a foodie, I always have advocated the benefits of eating home cooked meals rather than eating out, especially because they are complete meals in terms of nutrition and quantum. During my office days, whether before or after marriage, I would carry my lunch box from home but would land up eating cold food for lunch. Not because my office did not have a microwave, but because I do not like to use a microwave regularly as radiation can be harmful to one's health. I detested the cold food, but the health benefits kept me going. After marriage I made sure PS too would take home cooked food for lunch at work and not hog on junk everyday. However he is very particular about eating hot food and being an auditor, he didn't always get to heat his food at different client offices. So eventually he stopped taking lunch from home because he was not comfortable eating cold food as it would take away the taste that he could have relished if it was hot. Being a part of the technology driven generation, I am so happy to have now found a solution to that problem for him. The answer to my prayers comes in the form of this new age lunch box called the Vaya Tyffyn which has the technology to keep your meal warm for 5-6 hours.

Serv'd - Going Cashless With Your Domestic Help

Technology is slowly but steadily taking over most of the work that humans do manually and it's not funny how with just a few clicks on our smartphones we run major parts of our lives. I was born in the times when mobile phones never existed and I have witnessed to the entire change, from landlines in the house to mobile technology, to the smartphone technology that has now become so necessary to cater to our needs, that we feel helpless if we are asked to live without it even for a day. India alongside has also progressed and uplifted the society norms, but something that is yet unchanged is the need for a maid in every Indian household.

Weekend Diaries: Thanksgiving At Renaissance!

Life today rushes by us at lightning speed, and we don't really get the time with hectic schedules to slow down and take a break until and unless we are not heading out of the city. Taking a break within your own city is not something that most people think of, but trust me we have some real jewels in Mumbai where you can head for a break. Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel is one such retreat on the banks of the Powai Lake that I take off to whenever I need an escape within the city as this place spells tranquility for me.

Poetry by Love and Cheesecake

All those of you who have a sweet tooth and live in Mumbai, surely must have visited the Love and Cheesecake outlets in the city to gorge on their premium range of desserts! If you haven't then you have missed out on heavenly stuff, out of which the Nutella Cold Cheesecake is my absolute favourite. And on that note you have more reason to rejoice, because on 15th July they opened doors of their newest venture, Poetry by Love and Cheesecake where they launched a brand new desserts menu, and a curated food and beverage experience which we would recommend to you as well. Located at Shop no 6, Pali Darshan, Junction of 16th & 33rd Road, Bandra (W), Poetry by Love and Cheesecake is a delicate, romantic cafe that offers desserts, garden-fresh salads, sandwiches, entrées and beverages with the finest ingredients that will satiate your wholesome food cravings. 

The spotlight is on Fun with Vodafone U! #FunWithU

Kids of this new generation are absolute digital addicts. Their solution to every situation lies on the internet. They want to share every minute of their life either over some social media channel or with friends over a chatting app. Fun via the world of internet, voice, music is an integral part of their lives and the need to stay connected for the smallest thing is what is becoming the DNA of the youth today. All this means a lot more data consumption but are the mobile networks providing pocket friendly solutions to them?  In this rapid growing demand of technology, people are constantly looking for deals that will cost them cheaper but provide more benefits and here is where Vodafone brings a first of its kind, Lifestyle Proposition for the youth - Vodafone U.

The Power of Zen at my Family's Fingertips - The Asus ZenPad 7.0 Tab

As a family, we are all gadget freaks. My mother is one because my dad has always kept her involved in all his buys and discoveries for the last 35+ years, me and my brother because we possess the genes and the curiosity :), Prateek is one because he is married to me ;-), and Aryaa at the end of the day is born in the digital age. 2016 began with a new addition to our family of gadgets. The Asus ZenPad 7.0 Tab made its way into our house nearly 5 years after the last tablet had been bought, and we all discovered the convenience of using a smaller tablet. Over the course of the last 10 days, it has become a 'Family Tab' which means that it's used by the entire family but for different things that please each one of us. Each one of us have different uses for it during different parts of the day and that kind of syncs in perfectly with our lives.

Cover Me Up! #ZenLooks

Bring in the new! #JanoTohMano

Making Diwali special with ASUS - Har Pal Happiness

The Diwali fever has started to set in. Festive shopping has begun in full swing. Whichever mall or shopping area you head to, there is happiness in the air and there are shopping bags in people's hands everywhere. It obviously is no different for me, and I've started shopping as well for gifts for my loved ones. The motive behind this all is to surprise them, make them happy and there is a certain satisfaction that you get when when you see that broad smile that lights up their face when they open their gifts. It feels like the 'Festival of Lights' in the truer sense. ;-)

The Mumbai I love through Selfies :)

Having been born and brought up in Mumbai, this city is really close to my heart. It's vibrant and the buzz and energy that this city possesses is unbeatable in this country. It's a melting pot of cultures and I love this city for the life it has given me. This post is about the fun video that we shot to encapsulate a lot that I love about Mumbai - different area, different spots, shopping lanes and places by the sea that I hang out at often and what makes this city what it is. I'm going to show you all this through selfies taken by the Asus ZenFone Selfie.

Unclutter with BoxMySpace!

Mumbai is a city that is over-populated. Zillions flock to this city to fulfill their dreams and Mumbai makes them its own too but at a cost. The cost we pay is having to cut down on living spaces and paying a premium price for the smallest of houses. It's only the affluent here who can afford huge houses here and I definitely am not one of them. Being a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogger, there is a constant flow of related stuff into the house. For me discarding things is also very difficult and hence my house is overflowing with stuff. Add to that Aryaa's entry into our lives last year and obviously a flood of things that I need and must have for her. My 2 bedroom started feeling like a studio apartment. Somehow PS and I tried to buy more wardrobes and fit everything in, not to forget I already had 3 of my own other than what PS had. We somehow were managing until we needed a lot more stuff for Aryaa and add to that her birthday last month. That was it! I had no more space left. We had reached saturation point and a solution was much needed!

This was when I was contacted by BoxMySpace - an innovative valet storage service in Mumbai, Nasik and Pune. You can store such things with them that you might want keep for the long run but don't necessarily have the space to keep at home. They offer storage by the box or by the space. The service includes picking up of things from your doorstep, storing it safely  in their warehouses and delivering it back to you in less than 24 hours to you when you need it. The USP I would say would be that they upload images of all the items you have stored with them online in your account so that you have a visual reference for anytime that you need something back. They have monthly, quarterly, half yearly and yearly packages available for you to choose as per your requirement.

This is how it works!

 And this is how pocket friendly it is!

Aryaa received a lot of things on her birthday. While the gifts were lovely, a lot of them were something that she would be able to use only after a few months and so we decided to use the services of BoxMySpace for the same. There were also a few things of hers that she had grown out of but I would need them for the next baby like her carrier and rocker and so I decided to send that off to BoxMySpace too. Here is how my cluttered bedroom work corner looked with all the stuff before I started uncluttering.

Work in progress

And finally my uncluttered bedroom work corner! :)

Can you see the difference? Well it made a huge one to me and I know I can call back for these as and when I want :)

To know more about BoxMySpace, please visit them on:

Website - www.boxmyspace.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/boxmyspace

Twitter - https://twitter.com/boxmyspace

I am nominating 2 of my blogger friends who I am sure need these services ;-) and they are Prerna Sinha from MaaofallBlogs and Dollie Solanki from Indian Shringar.

Do check out the services of BoxMySpace if you too have a space crunch issue and they for sure can help you out!

If you like what you see on Ri(t)ch Styles and want to stay updated regularly, follow Ri(t)ch Styles on 

    

You can also email me on ritchstyles@gmail.com :)

The Asus Zenfone 2 - Moving with the times!

I just got my hands on the Asus Zenfone 2! :) While there is still a lot to be explored after my post regarding the features that I had liked about it before I tried it out, this is what my verdict is of what I've discovered in the last 3 days with the phone in my hand. Asus has introduced the 1st phone in the world with a 4 GB RAM. Is this a phone with raw specifications or does it live up to the hype it has created is what this post is going to tell you :)

The Asus Zenfone 2 technically is a budget phone but by the looks of it, it doesn't behave, look or act like one. With the phone in my hand I noticed that it has a very common design that you will see in other android phones. The back of the phone is made of a special material giving me a good grip on the phone and finger print impressions don't stay. The corners are very well rounded off and the back tapers very nicely giving a very comfortable feeling in the hand. The back cover is removable giving you access to two sim card slots and a memory card slot, however the battery is not removable. The 1st thing that you'll notice when you start using the phone is that its sides are clean without any buttons. The power button is at the top of the phone which makes it difficult to reach sometimes but luckily Asus has introduced the double screen tap feature for the Zenfone 2 for it to be locked or unlocked so you don't have to reach for the power button every time. The volume button has been shifted to the back of the phone making it very easy to press and the texture of the button helps you find it easily. The same button can also be used to click selfies thus making it very convenient. The micro USB is located at its usual place at the bottom of the phone.

The phone has a 5.5 inch screen but the overall size of the phone is much bigger because of its thick lower and side bezels, even then I think this is a good looking smartphone. The IPS LCD screen does justice with 1920x1080 resolution and respectable PPI of 403, giving you everything that would be expected from a high end phone. The screen is sharp, vivid, bright, easy to see in broad day light from all viewing angles. The screen size is perfect for all your entertainment such as gaming, You Tubing, web surfing and the occasional movie watching. The good part is that you can change the color mode of the phone depending on your liking. Apart from the default setting you have the reading mode (easier on the eyes), Vivid mode (increases the saturation), and a custom mode depending on how you want your screen to look. 

The phone comes with a Intel 64 bit new generation atom processor but it depends on the version you get. The 2 GB version comes with a Intel 3560 1.8GHz processor and the whooping 4 GB RAM version comes with an Intel 3580 2.3 GHz processor, this has got a lot of attention I must say. Well what I've tried is the 4 GB version, and man this phone is fast. Its snappier than a lot of other high end phones, animations are smooth, app switching is swift and handles all high end games and apps pretty well. Just to test the phone I loaded a couple of big games and apps and switched back and forth between the apps and to my delight the phone still didn't show any lag or stutter or signs of slowing down. So if you're a user that needs to multi-task with big applications then this phone should live up to your expectations.

The camera at the back is a 13 MP with a dual tone LED flash and an aperture of 2.0. Also like the other zenfones the Zenfone 2 features Asus's pixel master technology, for better pictures in low light conditions. The camera software is fairly straight forward and easy to use with all the usual setting you would expect. The camera packs a long list of shooting modes giving you a variety of ways to take photos. What I really liked on this phone is the HDR mode as it added some extra saturation and I really don't mind that. At low lights the performance of the camera starts to detoriate but when you put on the night mode the phone's pixel master comes into play giving you some nice pictures. If you are into selfies then the front camera is a 5 MP camera with a wide angle lens and it does a pretty good job. There is also a selfie panaroma mode to fit everyone into the frame.

With the help of the phone's Zen motion software you can lock unlock the phone with a double tap on the screen and draw characters on the screen to open an application of your choice. There is also a mode called Snapview with the help of which you can switch between the work mode or personal mode and the good part is that both these modes are password protected so only you can view all your data in each mode.  

What I loved was the kids mode which will be really useful for me when Aryaa will be playing with the phone. With that you can manage apps and content which you feel is fine for your kids to see and eliminating worry about them having complete access to your phone. You can have the applications set only for them in this mode.

The phone comes with all usual features such as WIFI, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, etc. It has storage options of 16/32/64 GB and get be extended to another 64 GB by using the MICRO SD slot. On the back of the phone you can see that it has a big speaker but it's not as loud as expected. To power the Zenfone 2, Asus has used a whooping 3000 mAH battery but I could still only make it through a day with 4 hrs of screen on time. I'm sure Asus will address this and will come out with a software update. However, the good part is that the phone supports faster charging technology which means that you charge upto 60% in just 40 minutes! If the battery life issue is solved then this phone will be a beast of a smart phone to contend with. 

The phone ships with Lollipop 5.0 on top of which you have Asus's Zen UI which has taken the material design aspects of Lollipop. The phone has a host of features such as a single hand mode which reduces your screen size so that the phone can be handled with one hand and an easy mode with which the phone changes to a simple interface. There are lot of customization options that the Zenfone 2 offers in which you can really make your phone look good. There is a something called a beam engine with the help of which you can change the look and feel of the entire phone with different fonts, icons and changes in the lock screen and notification tab. You have a lot of options to modify your stock launcher, by changing the complete home screen experience by downloading Icon packs for your phone and installing it directly on to your phone which can be done on other handsets only if you have a 3rd party launcher. It's available with a number of different back panels shades that also come in different textures.

So with a friendly design, powerful specs and a overall solid user experience, the Asus Zenfone 2 is definitely a steal at the price its being offered which is INR 14,999 (Z3560 1.8GHz/16GB/2GB), INR 18,999 (Z3560 1.8GHz/32GB/4GB), INR 19,999 (Z3580 2.3GHz/32GB/4GB) and INR 22,999 (Z3580 2.3GHz/64GB/4GB). This is definitely going to set new standard for the smartphone market and here's what the current infographics by Asus says.

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Making wishes come true! #AbHarWishHogiPoori

Wishing for things to happen in my life is something that I have been doing since I was a kid and I do it even today. In fact tell me who doesn't? It may have started by my wishing while blowing out my birthday candles or wishing to the tooth fairy or wishing when a shooting star is seen or throwing coins in the fountain or while blowing an eyelash, and I do all of these even today because it's one of those few times when the excitement you feel is absolute child like. The only change that has happened is that I no more do it because of superstitions or traditions but simply because I want some positive things to happen in my life. It's eventually more of a logical thing as I know that I have to work towards making my wishes come true as well. Something that my parents always told me once I was a sensible age to understand such things - You don't need magic after all to make your wishes come true! In some cases though, it has to be left to God and destiny which then is more of a thing of hope and not really a wish :) Help is always welcome in making a wish come true and lately I have had someone helping me out quite a bit and that is none other than the trustworthy Flipkart who believes that in India #AbHarWishHogiPoori :)

Recently Prerna from Maaofallblogs bought a FitBit surge band for her husband and it suddenly hit me how since PS had no time to hit the gym, that was an excellent thing to gift to him to motivate him to at least start going on a walk or a jog. This triggered a chain of thoughts in my head and then it struck me that something that he really wanted since ages was a garment steamer that would save his expensive clothes from getting spoilt when sent to the laundry. He had this huge issue with the launderers especially when he sent his dark coloured shirts and pants where they would come back looking shiny, as the temperature used on them would be really high and the material would get slightly burnt. It came to my mind that he had also stopped fitting into a lot of expensive clothes and buying him these two would sort out both his issues. So two clicks and I had logged onto Flipkart to not only buy the fit band for him but also a garment steamer. I chose the Nova Garment Steamer 1500 W With Thermostat Controlled Steam Iron.

A cute thing about PS is that he is a great help for me when I want to iron my clothes as he is really good with ironing. He does it so meticulously that I doubt whether I really know how to iron my clothes or not. Being a fashion blogger I have a lot of clothes and by lots I mean lots out of which a huge chunk of my clothes are made from synthetic materials or delicate materials. I too land up not giving out a lot of my clothes for laundry as in the past they have come back in a nearly burnt and shiny state or totally spoilt. None the less, temperature issues have caused accidents at home too and so PS had been very adamant about getting a garment steamer as it definitely is the safest way to remove all the creases from your clothes and also give them a fresh appeal.

With my order placed I was on cloud nine as I know PS would love both his gifts. It also meant Aryaa would have a fitter daddy and her cute clothes too would get special treatment from now on. That would surely make her daddy the happiest too watching his princess look so pretty :) Simple things in life make us so happy right and it's all about wishes coming true with a little effort from our side!

What is it that you are currently wishing for, and have you logged on to Flipkart and checked out if maybe a few clicks could make your wish come true? :)

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Life with the Phicomm Passion 660

With the amount of work blogging entails, one phone is just not enough to manage everything. While my current one is more than a year old, I'm currently looking at having another one which will be purely a work phone. Testing phones to see which one best fits that bill is what I am upto these days and the latest one that I have laid my hands on is Phicomm's Passion 660 which has made quiet a mark on me I must say. With so many Chinese phone makers in the market, Phicomm - another Chinese company makes a bold move to start selling its phone in India. Priced at INR 10,999, the P660 comes packed with a 2GB RAM, a full HD display and a processor which can take care of all my multi-tasking needs.

Since I am already using a pure android phone, I was amazed when I got the P660 in my hands. It's a phone which is at one third the price of my current phone but most of the features either match up or are much better. As a premium phone user, my notions regarding Chinese handsets stand changed with the P660.

The phone’s design is like any other rectangular shaped phones, but the moment I took the phone in my hands, it felt so light! Can you believe that it weighs only 110 grams?! The phone is really slim and compact too. The sides have a very neat alloy finish (giving it a premium feel) with the power button having a metallic bronze touch to it and the volume buttons on the other side are also metallic. The back is pretty neat with a black matte finish which according to the company is scratch resistant and to my liking does not bear any finger prints after being used. The camera and flash also have a chrome finish to it. Over all I feel the built quality is really good for a phone in this price range.

The P660 has a 5-inch full HD (1920x1080p) IPS display with good brightness and colors at decent viewing angles. Over time as I used more of this phone, I realized the screen was much better than the supposedly more premium phones in the market.

The camera is one of the most important features for me and that makes or breaks my decision. The phone comes packed with a 13 megapixel rear camera, a 5 megapixel front camera(selfies come out fabulous), and with a camera app of its own. Check out the awesome pictures taken with the Passion 660 on the right in the collages below.

The options for zero shutter mode and burst mode makes the camera app comparable to a high end phone. The burst mode took upto 15 shots without any lag and I must tell you it was impressive. It has a sunset mode which is actually the HDR mode. The front camera works very well with the burst mode and this feature is not available in most high end phones. You can also pre-choose the color mode before you take a shot.

The user interface makes handling the P660 a breeze. It comes packed with the Kitkat 4.4 with its own set of customization. The dropdown menu has simple and useful shortcuts which make using the phone very easy. Apart from the usual google apps the phone comes with its own apps for music, calculator, messaging, file explorer, data transfer over wifi and many more. What really caught my eye was the gesture control option. With the help of the front camera the phone detects hand movements and I think it was pretty accurate. The hand gestures can be used to pull down the notification tray and browse through the screens from left to the right at the flick of a hand.

A video posted by Ritcha@RitchStyles (@ritcha) on Jul 5, 2015 at 1:22pm PDT

I extensively blog on the go as well as vlog on YouTube now, have a heavy usage of social media, photo editing softwares and messaging apps which slows down most phones. However the P660 worked without any lag while doing any of these or switching between apps. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa core chip with 1.5GHz processor, Adreno 405 graphics and 2GB DDR3 RAM does a pretty good job without any doubt.

As a fashion and lifestyle blogger, memory for me is really important as I create daily content of 200-500 MB. The phone comes with a 16GB internal storage which can be extended upto 64GB which I think is pretty decent for my kind of usage. As far as my battery need is concerned, any phone which can work atleast for 5-7 hours at a stretch without being put on charge works for me especially when I step out. The 2300 mAH battery does a decent job of being alive for 9-10 hours of normal usage and 4-5 hours of heavy usage.

Can you see how happy this phone makes me? Well that's all because the Phicomm Passion 660 has been a total surprise package - light weight, sleek design, great screen and my most favorite the camera, all at a price of INR 10,999 which is absolute value for money. If you are looking at anything in the same price range with the same features, don't look anywhere else because not even premium phones at double the price offer you some of these features. This phone definitely has made it to my top 3 choices and I can't wait to make the final decision soon :) Stay tuned!

Photos Courtesy: My adorable brother Rischav

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