New Android apps worth downloading: WinePoynt, 9x9.tv, Ant Raid

if you’re the kind of person who started 2013 off with some wine (probably in addition to champagne), you might want to check out WinePoynt, an app that makes wine recommendations no matter where you are. For those seeking entertainment, 9x9.tv is a curated YouTube video app with channels based around specific subjects. Finally, we’ve got action-strategy game Ant Raid, in which you control ant forces to fight off large, terrifying bugs. 
WinePoynt (Free)
 
What’s it about? WinePoynt is a wine recommendation app that provides personalized recommendations for bringing the wine that is appropriate for the event you’re attending.
What’s cool? Whether you’re eating at a restaurant or dining in, WinePoynt pairs the right wine to go with your meal. You can filter results by restaurant, grape types, prices and even what’s on sale at nearby stores. After you purchase a recommended wine, the app lets you take notes and save photos for your records. You can also share wines with friends and create custom lists of wines you enjoy most.
Who’s it for? WinePoynt is for connoisseurs and  those new to the art of grape fermentation. It helps in building a vocabulary and palette for distinguishing wines from various vineyards.
What’s it like? For more wine apps with a similar blend of aesthetics, try Wine Dictionary and Hello Vino. 
9x9.tv (Free)
 
What’s it about? 9x9.tv is a curated app that provides video channels with specifically grouped by theme or subject.
What’s cool? Using 9x9.tv is a bit like watching TV. The app contains nine different channels of content taken from YouTube, curated into playlists you can access anytime, anywhere. You can watch any channel’s episodes or browse random videos. The app also supports sharing videos between Android devices, so you can beam a video to a friend nearby or to your smart TV.
Who’s it for? Anybody who enjoys passing the time watching videos on their Android devices should take a look at 9x9.tv.
What’s it like? For more videos, try the standalone YouTube app, or YouTube player TubeBox. 
Ant Raid ($0.99)
What’s it about? Ant Raid blends action and strategy, requiring players to defend an ant colony against attacking bugs by allocating ant forces to beat them back.
 
What’s cool? Ant Raid is one of those games that’s easy to learn and hard to master. Your job is to manage various ant types to attack different bugs. The amount of ants you send to each enemy, and how fast you react to new threats is key to survival. You’ll also need to keep some ants in reserve to save your incapacitated troops to bring them back into the fight, and use power-ups that allow you to affect the action yourself. There are multiple modes to play through, including an endless survival mode in which you compete to see how long you can last.
Who’s it for? If strategy titles with cartoon graphics are your thing, you won’t be disappointed with Ant Raid.
What’s it like? Battle Bugs will provide you with more strategy and insects, while X-Bugs is more about smashing them.

‘iPhone 5S’ to reportedly launch by June with multiple color options and two different display sizes

Apple

After a seven-month run that took Apple (AAPL) shares to an all-time high in late September, the company’s stock plummeted more than 25% and touched new lows as 2012 drew to an end. According to Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White, Apple’s strong portfolio, a reversal of the negative news trend surrounding the company, and a fresh new “iPhone 5S”  will help the stock rebound in 2013, and he maintains a Buy rating on Apple shares with a sky-high price target of $1,111.

[More from BGR: Nokia predicted to abandon mobile business, sell assets to Microsoft and Huawei in 2013]
“Apple is our top overall pick for 2013,” White wrote in a note to investors on Wednesday that discussed Topeka’s stock picks moving into the new year. “With the 25% correction in Apple’s stock from the high in September, the stock is now trading at just 7.7x our CY13 EPS estimate (less cash) and the company’s portfolio has never been stronger, in our view.”
[More from BGR: Next-generation iPhone, iOS 7 discovered in website logs]

He continued, “We believe tax-related selling was largely to blame for the downward bias in the stock price as we exited 2012 and this created a negative news cycle around Apple that we believe will be broken as we enter 2013. We believe there is still plenty to look forward to at Apple, including the potential for greater choices (i.e., colors, sizes) around the next iPhone in 2013, combined with accelerating momentum with the iPad mini and continued strength with the iPad franchise at large.”

White went on to explain that the iPad mini has seen incredible demand thus far in China, outselling the full-size iPad in the country. The analyst also called the rumored China Mobile iPhone launch and release of Apple’s HDTV “moving targets,” and he expects at least one of these major catalysts to become a reality in 2013.

In a separate note, White said that according to his checks with Apple’s suppliers, the next-generation iPhone will represent a huge departure from earlier models.

“Our checks indicate that the next iPhone will have more choices for customers,” the analyst wrote. “This entails an expansion in both the color patterns and screen sizes with the next iPhone (i.e., likely called the iPhone 5S) that we currently believe will be launched in May/June with certain supply production starting in March/April.”

White believes the next iPhone will be available in five different colors: pink, yellow, blue, white & silver and black & slate. He also believes there will be two different screen sizes available on the device, marking the first time Apple has released one phone with multiple display size options.

“Our checks are also indicating that the next iPhone will offer customers more choice in terms of screen size,” White reported. “Although Apple offers a 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5 and a 3.5-inch screen on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, the Company has never offered multiple screen sizes for a single model. We believe this is about to change with the next iPhone offering different screen sizes that we believe will allow Apple to better bifurcate the market and expand its reach.”

He continued, noting that multiple screen sizes could allow Apple to better address emerging markets with a lower-cost iPhone.

India - 15 places to go in 2013!

1. Badami, Karnataka
Towering sandstone cliffs glow in the evening light as the craggy hillocks surround you, dwarfing you to a tiny speck. Badami is strictly not just for heritage buffs, even though you go back in time in this ancient Chalukyan capital, Vatapi, where sculptors carved on rock-cut caves and created a montage of deities in stone. The emerald-hued Agasthya Teertham flows in the town and is bordered by several temples. Badami was fortified and a walk up to the Shivalaya is one of the best experiences as you trudge along the path of the ancient Chalukyans who built these temples atop the hills. 

2. Chettinadu, Tamil Nadu
There is art in every corner of the sleepy villages of Chettinadu, where you get a peek into the life and culture of the community of Chettiyars. Palatial homes with ornate pillars of Burmese teak, expansive halls and courtyards with chandeliers, mirrors from Belgian glass, Italian marbles, Japanese tiles greet you as some of them open their doors to you. A colorful mosaic of arts, crafts, Jewellery, culture, architecture and food, Chettinadu needs to be explored at leisure. Take a quick walk along the Karaikudi market and you will enjoy the vibrant assault on the senses. 

3. Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
Visit Allahabad to see one of India’s biggest religious gatherings at the Kumbh Mela, held on the river banks of the city this January. It is all set to receive a barrage of pilgrims, seers and tourists even as the religious pilgrimage turns into one of the biggest tourism events in the country. The site of the Kumbh Mela is the Sangama (confluence) of the three rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati – as an entire town emerges on the river banks. Join the millions that arrive here and take a dip into the cultural ethos of India. The Kumbh Mela, which takes place every 12 years, starts January 27 in Allahabad. 

4. Orchha , Madhya Pradesh
Set against the Betwa River are the Chhatris or the cenotaphs of the Bundelkhand kings, glowing in the rays of the morning sun. There is beauty in ruins, in temples, and in palaces and even in tombs. Beyond the terrace of the Raj Mahal is the towering Chaturbhuj temple with the Ram Raj Mandir adjacent to it. And on the distant horizon lies the Laxmi Narayan temple, hardly visible in the mist. Delve a bit into Orchha, where the walls speak stories, where paintings reveal a culture, where tales of friendship, romance, betrayal, mysticism and sacrifice echo from every monument. Intriguing, funny, unbelievable and irresistible, these stories breathe life into the ancient mahals and mandirs.

5. Valparai, Tamil Nadu A plantation town, a hill station, a biodiversity hotspot and a tropical rainforest all rolled into one, Valparai is located in the Anamalai range of the Western Ghats. There are patches of tropical evergreen forests and then there are rolling tea estates. But it is here that endangered and endemic species like the Lion-Tailed Macaque and Nilgiri Tahr are found. If you are lucky, you can chance upon birds such as the Great Hornbill. And if you believe in legends, an old man called Velu claims to have “seen god” in the human form here. You should probably believe him, because in that rich dense canopy, there is a possibility that God does exist somewhere.

6. Bekal, Kerala
A silent town on the seashore, Bekal would have probably been forgotten from both historic and tourism maps if it had not been for a railway track that passes through it. As a passenger looks out of the window seat, he is suddenly greeted by a formidable fort that offers spectacular views of the sea. The largest fort in Kasaragod offers views of citadels stroked by the waves as you head to the virgin beach to enjoy a glorious sunset. If a quiet holiday is on your mind, Bekal is a must-see destination. 

7. Mussoorie, Uttaranchal
Dense deodar forests, white snowy peaks of the Himalayas playing hide-and-seek, waterfalls and misty views – Mussoorie still retains a bit of the fairytale ambience and smacks of the colonial flavour as well. Head to Landour in Upper Mussoorie and walk along the cobbled paths and you may be lucky to run into the famous writer Ruskin Bond. If the locale doesn’t charm you, the locals definitely will. And while you are there, try some home- made jams at Sister Bazaar.

8. Ganeshgudi Karnataka
A birding haven, Ganeshgudi is one of Karnataka’s best-kept secrets, nestled in the Western Ghats near the banks of the River Kali. The birds are everywhere, unabashed and loud, making their appearance on treetops gliding smoothly in the green canopy, creating a lovely picture in the verdant background. You can spot hornbills – the Indian grey, the Malabar grey and the Malabar pied hornbills creating a cacophony around the Kali river. But this biodiversity hotspot attracts several species of birds, including the multi-hued Indian Pitta and the Asian Fairy Bluebird, the Verditer Flycatcher, the Malabar Whistling Thrush, Tickell’s Blue flycatcher and the White-bellied Blue Flycatcher among others. 

9. Kaziranga, Assam
There is a tinge of romance in the air in Kaziranga as we sit around the fireside and listen to a story which talks about a couple Kazi and Ranga who disappear into the forest to escape their parents’ wrath . However it is the sheer diversity of flora and fauna on the swampy marshlands of the Brahmaputra that makes it a World UNESCO site. Home to the one-horned rhinoceros the elephants, tigers, leopards, hoolock gibbons and some amazing varieties of birds, the park is bordered by tea plantations. While the tigers may be a bit difficult to spot due to the tall elephant grass in the region, rhinos and elephants are fairly common. Go on one of the early morning safaris when dawn just breaks. Kaziranga is also a birder’s paradise and make sure you try at least one of the birding safaris. 

10. Dudhsagar Goa 

One of the best views of the Dudhsagar Falls is from a train. However, I would recommend the journey across the wild Mollem National Park where you would need to cross two full-bodied rivers. This is where the Mandovi River plunges from a height of 600 metres, forming a milky cascade on the Karnataka-Goa border. The entire setting looks out of the world though. A dense forest hemmed in with rocks while little streams and rivulets flows around them. Tiny wooden bridges sprout in the middle of nowhere. The scene is a dramatic riot of colours with people swimming in a massive pool of blue-green waters rimmed with creamy white foam. Take a dip and refresh yourself in the milky waters that the give the falls its name.

11. Warangal, Andhra Pradesh  

An entire settlement lives within the fortified walls of a dusty town that was once the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty. As you drive through the walls, the fort transforms into an open art gallery taking you to the glory of the Kakatiya kings. There are sculptures strewn all around and enclosing them are four massive stone pillars standing tall at 30 feet high, each facing a cardinal direction. A Shiva temple is surrounded by ornate pillars, shorter than the four main massive pillars. These tall gateways, symbolize “gateways of glory” and are called Kirti Thoranas, the seat of the Kakatiyas in Warangal. A couple of elephants, another Nandi, yalis, a few pillars, broken sculptures, a gaja kesari and even an old throne lies enclosed by the kirti toranas, open to the skies. Sit here and listen to tales of the dynasty or just walk along the old settlement. 12. Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu 

One would wonder how a vast, empty seaside town washed away by a tsunami 50 years ago falls into a list of must-see destinations. There is nothing left in Dhanushkodi today. Located at the tip of Rameshwaram it is the only land border between Sri Lanka and India. Yet the ruins of this town tell a poignant tale as you see the remains of a railway line and a station that were engulfed by nature’s fury. Travellers speak of the railway connection to Sri Lanka, which today lies hidden in rubble. Go to the tip of Dhanuskodi if the weather holds, for here you can see the oceans meet.

13. Spiti, Himachal Pradesh   

Tall bleak mountains caressed with snow, monasteries atop them glistening like colourful gemstones, lakes that interrupt the barrenness – Spiti is one of the most remote destinations in the Himalayas, a “middle land” between Tibet and India. The highest inhabited village is at Komik, about 4500 metres, with just a handful of households living there. Spiti literally takes your breath away, so ensure you are fit enough before you plan a hike in this mountain country. 

14. Mangalajodi, Orissa
A small village in Odisha has made it to the tourist map as it has become one of the birding hotspots in India. Located at the fringe of the Chilka Lake, Mangalajodi is home to several wetland birds and offers opportunities for sustainable ecotourism. During the migratory season, more than a lakh of birds visit this wetland. While at Mangalojodi, visit the many temples that dot this village and participate in local festivals as it also offers a peek into the culture and heritage of the locals here. 
15. Nagaland
The Hornbill Festival is not the only reason why you need to visit Nagaland. While the colourful pageantry allows you to get an experience of the tribal culture Nagaland is best explored at your own pace. However, if you do visit the state during the festival in December, you will get to see a melange of tribal traditions, folk dances, sports, arts and crafts among other sights and sounds.

Top 10 movies that rocked Bollywood

A remake yet again. The success ratio of remakes of past hits has been low, but"Agneepath" was a dream debut for Karan Malhotra. He added a contemporary touch to the eponymous 1990 movie. With Hrithik Roshan reprising the role of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan and Sanjay Dutt playing the villain Kaancha Cheena, "Agneepath" turned out to be 2012's first blockbuster and managed to mint around Rs.120 crore.

The very fact that former real-life couple Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan were the lead pair for this film was enough to draw audiences to the theatres. Its songs, picturisation and power-packed action kept the cash registers ringing, and helping this film garner approximately Rs.190 crore. Salman played an Indian spy named Tiger, who falls head over heels in love with a female spy from Pakistan, essayed by Katrina. Their chemistry, of course, worked. 

 

The return of 'khiladi' Akshay Kumar - that's what this film was awaited for. Akshay's action, mixed with Prabhudheva's distinct taste of dance and exaggerated jumps, gave Hindi movie buffs a perfect masala affair. The Bollywood remake of Telugu movie "Vikramarkudu", it also stared Sonakshi Sinha. The movie earned Rs.140 crore.

 

One would hardly think of enjoying a movie with 12 known actors playing key roles. But this one managed to entertain viewers. A sequel to hit 2010 movie "Housefull", this Sajid Khan film, with its classic comic sequences, but slightly crowded cast, made over Rs.110 crore at the box office.

 

The simple story line, sensitive treatment and excellent performances helped Anurag Basu's "Barfi!" establish an emotional connect with the audience. The love story of a deaf and mute boy, played deftly by Ranbir Kapoor, with an autistic girl, essayed by National award-winning actress Priyanka Chopra, left many teary eyed. India's official entry for the foreign film category Oscar this year, the movie, which is now out of the Oscar race, made collections of Rs.110 crore.

 

Love was redefined in typical Yash Chopra way with "Jab Tak Hai Jaan". The late filmmaker, who bid adieu to the world just a few days before the movie's release, gave his final work with the king of romance Shah Rukh Khan in the lead. The movie, also featuring Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, captured the scenic beauty of London and Kashmir very well - garnering collections of over Rs.120 crore.

 

It was hard to think of a modern day version of the 1979 comedy "Gol Maal". But Rohit Shetty made it happen - and how! This Abhishek Bachchan and Ajay Devgn-starrer turned out to be truly 'paisa vasool'. Ajay's one-liner English dialogues and Abhishek's double dhamaal paved the way for crossing the Rs.100-crore mark for this film.

 

Remember Ajay Devgn and his "Phool Aur Kaante" stunt on two bikes? He took it to the next level by riding together on two horses in "Son of Sardaar". A turban-clad Ajay managed to tickle the viewers' funny bone, along with Sanjay Dutt and Sonakshi Sinha, and helped this movie make around Rs.105 crore.

 

Aamir Khan's Midas touch rarely fails. "Talaash" was just another case in point. This suspense thriller by Reema Kagti narrated the story of a Mumbai cop trying to put a puzzle in place and it kept the audience on the edges of their seats. The film, also starring Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji, made around Rs.90 crore at the Indian box office.

 

Comedy, sadness, anger and greed. Paresh Rawal carried out all emotions in one character flawlessly. Akshay Kumar played god in the Umesh Shukla-directorial, which questioned the existence of god. Complete with humour and a message, the movie minted over Rs.70 crore at the box office.

Meet Lara and Mahesh Bhupati’s daughter: Saira's day out with dad

Months after momma Lara shared her picture we get a good look at Saira with her dad during the Aircel Chennai Open 2013

Saira who will turn a year old on January 20th looked very intrigued by what was happening around her. She did not shy away from the camera one bit.

 

Saira who was propped on her dad's lap looked very interested in how the match was played.

 

Lara along with a picture tweeted, "Star baby or not, attempting a diaper change on the Great Wall of China is no mean feat!!!:-)"

The actress, who recently attended the wedding of a friend's daughter in Jodhpur, is currently holidaying in Beijing, China with her daughter Saira.

 

"And from Jodhpur it's onwards to Beijing! With the amount of miles Saira is racking up, by the time she's 18 she should be able 2 fly free forever!," she tweeted.

 

Lara was spotted with her baby at Jodhpur for a grand Bollywood wedding recently, but the lensmen were not able to capture her face then.

Shilpa and Raj were also in Jodhpur for the wedding, and the couple had taken lil Viaan with them. Surprisingly, Shilpa went the Aishwarya way to hide Viaan's face.

 

This is Viaan's first public outing. Earlier pictures of Shilpa with a baby had gone viral on the web. Shilpa had to finally clarify that the picture was not that of Viaan.

 

It took more than 9 months for us to have a glimpse of Aaradhya's face.

 

For months, we waited for a glimpse of Aaradhya.

 

Ash had perfected the art of hiding Aaradhya's face over the last couple of months

 

Even feeding her with her face covered was something that Ash would do with ease.

 

Aamir however does not shy away from showing his son - Azad's face.

 

Celina was perhaps the only celeb who did a photo shot with her kids Winston and Viraaj and her husband Peter Haag.