Creato da fribattery il 03/07/2012 |
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Australian Dementia app goes Android
Toshiba Satellite M211 Battery + Toshiba PABAS099 Battery + Toshiba Satellite L300D Battery + Toshiba Satellite L550D Battery + Toshiba Satellite L200 Battery + Toshiba Satellite A305D Battery + Toshiba Satellite A200 Battery + Toshiba Satellite Pro P300 Battery + Toshiba Equium A200 Battery + THE world's first mobile application aimed at reducing people's dementia risk is now available for Android phone users. BrainyApp, which was developed by Alzheimer's Australia and Bupa Health Foundation, has been downloaded more than 200,000 times worldwide since it was made available for iPhone and iPad in November last year. Alzheimer's Australia national president Ita Buttrose said Android phone users had inundated the organisation with requests to access the mobile app since its launch. "We have had enquiries from people and other Alzheimer's associations from around the world, including The Netherlands, South Africa, Mexico and Iceland, wanting to know when the Android version wil l be available," she said in a statement. "It is extremely encouraging to see that so many people want to make active lifestyle changes to reduce their risk of developing dementia." The free mobile app tests your brain-heart health, tells you areas that you should focus on, suggests activities you might do and lets you track how these activities have affected your health. You can also access information about dementia and play challenging 'brain training games'. A Facebook Phone Has 0% Chance of Success By Evan Niu (TMFNewCow), The Motley Fool Surely, you've heard the rumors by now: Facebook (NAS: FB) is building a smartphone. A New York Times report in May has renewed talk of a Facebook Phone, while speculation dates as far back as 2010. All Things D chimed in last November, saying the social networker was tapping HTC for the hardware, although the recent report says Facebook now wants to do its own hardware. The problem for Facebook is that it would have exactly a 0% chance of succeeding. Where do we start? Assuming Facebook is interested in building a smartphone, how would it even accomplish this? What operating system will it run? iOS is only available to companies whose names rhyme with "chapel," and Facebook already loathes Google (NAS: GOOG) , as in let's-hire-a-PR-firm-to-launch-a-smear-campaign-against-it loathing, so standard Android seems far-fetched. It has numerous ties with Microsoft, but Windows Phone has an embarrassingly low market share. Hewlett-Packard's (NYS: HPQ) webOS is about to see an open-source release, but who really wants to be associated with that platform after its tumultuous history? Not even HP, as making webOS open-source is akin to donating it to charity, complete with a tax write-off from all the impairments it ate. I doubt that Facebook wants to go with the equivalent of a "free to a good home" Craigslist post for a major strategic shift. Toshiba Satellite A505 Battery + Toshiba Satellite Pro A200HD Battery + Toshiba Satellite M205 Battery +Toshiba Satellite L500 Battery + Toshiba Satellite M209 Battery + Toshiba PABAS098 Battery + Toshiba Satellite L300 Battery + Toshiba Satellite L350 Battery + Toshiba PA3727U-1BRS Battery + The only real possibility is a heavily forked version of Android that's unrecognizable to the average user, much like what Amazon.com did with the Kindle Fire and is likely doing with its own Kindle Phone. But then at that point, you're talking about three very distinct flavors of Android -- a Google Android, an Amazon Android, and a Facebook Android -- each with their own ecosystems. That just sounds like a nightmare for developers and consumers alike. Why ask why? The big question is why Facebook would want to get into the cutthroat and incredibly complex smartphone business. The carriers themselves also happen to hate a little thing I like to call "innovation," and Facebook wants to get in bed with them? Beyond the fact that mobile is a giant Achilles' heel for Facebook as it is, I find it hard to believe that would be motivation enough to jump into smartphones, especially since the report believes that Facebook is looking at getting into its own hardware, poaching Apple (NAS: AAPL) hardware engineers in the process. No, this is beyond profiting on hardware, which is already incredibly hard to do. This is about becoming a platform company. Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have taken lessons from Apple and Steve Jobs and now don't want to be relegated to being just another social-networking app on a user's home screen. It wants to become its own platform, complete with its own payment system and cut of sales. Facebook doesn't want to rely entirely on advertising forever, growing its desktop payments platform to 16% of trailing-12-month sales. That growth is thanks in large part to Zynga's (NAS: ZNGA) success in casual social gaming, but Zynga also wants to become a platform company. IHS iSuppli also noted earlier this year that users on Facebook's platform have stagnated lately. So just as Facebook was beginning to enjoy some platform dollars, its user engagement begins to decline and its biggest contributor wants to go it alone. It makes sense why Facebook would want to move on to greener mobile-platform pastures, but Zuckerberg should also be smart enough to realize how bad of an idea this is. Burn, baby, burn! Just as Facebook and Apple are now getting awfully cozy with multiple integration partnerships, a smartphone entry would immediately begin burning bridges to Cupertino. Consider Google's decision to compete directly with Apple using Android. Big G and the Mac maker were the best of buds until then, and now Apple tries to cut Google out of the loop wherever possible, most recently by developing its own in-house maps app. Steve Jobs had also made a comment or two on the topic. Even as Android has quickly risen to become the dominant mobile OS in the world, it's hard to see who is actually profiting from that rise. Android OEMs, for the most part, aren't. Google doesn't disclose Android-related revenues explicitly, so it's hard to quantify how much Google itself actually benefits from Android. Google would have dominating mobile advertising anyway, especially if it was still close with Apple, and probably could have scored integration of its services into iOS, so the incremental monetary benefit of Android to Google relative to if it didn't exist is questionable. Yet the costs of Android are significant. It has direct costs for ongoing development and support, potential patent litigation costs, and not to mention that $12.5 billion it just spent on a bleeding business. The cost/benefit trade-off doesn't add up to me. Toshiba Satellite A500 Battery + Toshiba Satellite A305 Battery + Toshiba Satellite Pro L450D Battery +Toshiba Satellite Pro A200 Battery + Toshiba Equium A210 Battery + Toshiba Satellite L555D Battery +Toshiba Satellite Pro A200GE Battery + Toshiba Satellite Pro L550 Battery + Toshiba Satellite L455D Battery + Does Facebook want to spurn the largest tech company in the world for dubious benefits, as Google did before it? Google is already on Facebook's enemy list, and having both Google and Apple gunning against you isn't an enviable position. What were we saying? To get into the smartphone business, Facebook will need to deploy extensive engineering efforts that it doesn't have, enter the consumer electronics space where it literally has no experience, find manufacturing partners, forge relationships with wireless carriers that are notoriously difficult and controlling, and burn bridges with one of its most important and powerful partners, all for a minuscule chance that it finds but a modicum of success. What we were saying about cost/benefit tradeoffs, again? Competing directly with Apple usually doesn't go well for rivals. The iPhone now has nearly unstoppable momentum that will drive growth for years. Sign up for The Motley Fool's brand-new premium Apple research service to read more. Facebook is under pressure to find new revenue sources beyond advertising, but this social networking company already has one. Grab a free copy of this special report on the tech stock you should be buying instead of Facebook. For HTC, Beats partnership was missing a beat By Om Malik Beats Electronics, which sold half the company to Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp., for $300 million in August 2011, says it is buying back 25 percent of itself for roughly $150 million, and thus taking majority control of the company. Beats is a headphone and accessory company started by hip-hop impresario Jimmy Iovine and rap legend Dr. Dre. HTC is expected to lose about $5 million on this investment. In a press release HTC noted: Under the terms of the agreement, the founding members of Beats will buy back 25% of its total shares for a total of approximately 75% ownership, with HTC remaining the largest outside shareholder with approximately 25%. Over the last year, HTC and Beats have made great progress in sound innovation, product integration and brand awareness with successes like the HTC One. HTC and Beats will continue to work closely, including a joint global marketing campaign later this year. Frankly, I am not surprised that this partnership is heading south. Last year when the two companies announced their arrangement, I pointed out that this was indeed a bandaid being applied to a gaping wound. While Beats might bring a coolness factor, it was clear that HTC, was going to get pummeled in the market by the surging Samsung and other Chinese handset makers such as Huawei, I argued. Earlier this month when Samsung and HTC announced their sales, it was clear that two companies were headed in opposite directions. The economic troubles in Europe haven't helped matters either for HTC. By selling back half its stake in Beats, is actually a good thing as it allows the company to focus sharply on its next generation of handsets and tablets. Taiwan stocks down; HTC weighs after Beats stake sale Toshiba Satellite M208 Battery + Toshiba PA3727U-1BAS Battery + Toshiba Satellite L205 Battery +Toshiba PA3682U-1BRS Battery + Toshiba Satellite A355D Battery + Toshiba Satellite A215 Battery +Toshiba PA3534U-1BAS Battery + Toshiba Satellite A300D Battery + Toshiba Satellite Pro L350 Battery+ TAIPEI, July 23 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell 0.82 percent (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by) Toshiba Equium A300D Battery + Toshiba Satellite L555 Battery + Toshiba Satellite M216 Battery +Toshiba Satellite Pro L500 Battery + Toshiba Satellite L455 Battery + Toshiba Satellite M207 Battery +Toshiba PA3682U-1BAS Battery + Toshiba Satellite L203 Battery + Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS Battery +Toshiba Satellite A355 Battery + Jackson County Sheriff's Office unveils smartphone app BY TONY RIZZO A new smartphone app from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office gives instant access information ranging from deadbeat parents to fugitives. The app for Android smart devices is a free download and can be found by searching MOJacksonSO on Google Play. "It lets us get important information right to people's fingertips," Sheriff Mike Sharp said in a news release. The sheriff's office said the app will allow the agency to channel news directly to users' smartphones about things like missing persons, weather alerts, prisoner escapes and bank robberies. The app is also integrated with VINELink, a national victim notification service that provides information about the custody status of those charged with crimes. "We know that more and more people are getting the information they need from their smartphones," Sharp said in his statement. "We want to make sure we're using the latest communication technology to keep the public informed, and this app lets us do that." According to the sheriff's office, the app also offers real-time access to detention center information as well as lists of wanted criminals or non-custodial parents with the app. "The app greatly improves our ability to serve the public," Sharp said, "and that's what we're here for." While the app is currently only available for Google Inc.'s Android devices, Sgt. Ronda Montgomery said efforts are under way to also make it available for Apple's iPhone and iPad. Insert Coin: Radian lets you use your camera, iPhone and Android device for time lapse projects By Jason Hidalgo In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. We've seen our fair share of time lapse tools at Insert Coin, ranging from last year's Triggertrap to the more recent Timelapse+ and Genie rig. Now we're throwing in another Kickstarter project into the mix, a motion time-lapse gadget called the Radian. Shaped like an oversized hockey puck, the Radian works with any camera that has a trigger-release input and can be used with or without a tripod. The device can be programmed through either an Android or iPhone app and lets you disconnect your smartphone once you've got your settings dialed in. Otherwise, you can use the Radian to take time-lapse photography with your iPhone or Android smartphone as well. A pledge of $150 gets you the standard Radian, while ponying up extra moolah nabs you a charcoal-colored variant as well as other goodies. If successful, delivery is slated for January. For more details, check out the video and source link after the break. 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Samsung Galaxy S3 hits 10 million sales mark early
by Steven Musil Fujitsu Lifebook V1030 Battery + Fujitsu FMV-A8250 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook A1120 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP192 Battery + Fujitsu FMV-A6270 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook E8020D Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook C1211D Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook E8020 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook C1211 Battery Handset maker's chief had predicted the Android-powered smartphone would sell 10 million units by the end of July. Samsung's chief executive predicted last month that sales of the Galaxy S3 would hit 10 million by the end of July and it appears to have passed that milestone a little early. Shin Jong-kyun, the president of Samsung's information technology and mobile communication division, told reporters that the Android-powered smartphone surpassed the 10 million sales mark but did not reveal specific sales figures, according to the Yonhap news agency. That translate to about 190,000 Galaxy S3s sold every day for the past two months. Samsung's flagship handset, which available through AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, is one of the most sought-after smartphones on the market. Last month, Sprint announced that "overwhelming demand" had forced the carrier to delay the handset's June 21 launch. However, keeping it on retailers' shelves has been a bit of a battle. The phone has been swept up in a patent battle between Apple and Samsung, with the iPhone maker attempting to secure an injunction against U.S. sales of the device. However, that effort was tabled due to court docket overload. The Galaxy S3, which offers a dual-core processor, a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a 1,280x720-pixel resolution, has also been the target of an Apple injunction attempt, but that effort was tabled last month when Koh ruled there were already too many issues to consider. CNET awarded the Galaxy S3 an Editors' Choice rating, earning four stars out of five. Reviewer Jessica Dolcourt said that the handset is "an excellent, top-end phone," and includes "high-performing hardware and creative software features." LG Display Workers Charged Over Samsung Mobile Technology Theft By Saeromi Shin Six employees of LG Display Co. (034220), the world's second-largest flat-panel maker, have been charged over theft of technology from Samsung Mobile Display Co. The six leaked or stole Samsung Mobile's organic light- emitting diode technology and business secrets, according to an indictment filed with Suwon District Court in South Korea. The accused include two former Samsung Mobile employees. Samsung Mobile requested LG Display formally apologize and take steps needed to prevent reoccurrence, the company, merged with Samsung Display Co. this month, said in an e-mail today in response to questions. LG Display systematically took Samsung's OLED technology and core staff to overcome its own shortcomings, according to the e-mail. The information obtained is widely known in the industry and isn't considered a trade secret, LG Display said in a separate e-mail. Seoul-based LG Display said it plans to take legal action against Samsung Display, a unit of Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), for defamation. LG Display rose 1.8 percent to 23,100 won as of 11:46 a.m. in Seoul trading, while Samsung Electronics advanced 1.1 percent to 1,165,000 won. Samsung Display isn't publicly traded. OLED televisions are as thin as 4 millimeters (0.2 inch) and produce sharper images than liquid-crystal-display models. Shipments of OLED TVs may surge 62-fold to 2.1 million sets in 2015 from 34,000 in 2012, according to an estimate by Englewood, Colorado-based IHS Inc.'s iSuppli. How to Delete/Clear Browsing History on Chrome for Android and iOS Fujitsu Lifebook E8010D Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP88AP Battery + Fujitsu FMV-E8110 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook E8010 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP91AP Battery + Fujitsu FMV-E8310 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook C1212D Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP91 Battery + Fujitsu FMV-E8210 Battery + Chrome web browser for iOS is released some days back and now it has become one of the most popular app downloaded from the App Store. The popularity of this browser has risen since then. Chrome for mobile is available for two of the most popular platforms ¨C Android and iOS, but for Android, Chrome is only available for devices with Android 4.0 Ice cream Sandwich and above. This means that Chrome can be used only on devices like Samsung Galaxy SIII, HTC One V and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which runs on Android 4.0. Like most browsers, Chrome also lets you view and clear your browsing history, but sometimes things can get a little tricky. Let's learn how to delete/clear history on Chrome for mobile. Clear Browsing History on Chrome for Android Chrome for Android doesn't offer any such option from where you can delete the browsing history. That's why, just type "chrome:history" in the omnibox (the address bar). This also works on the desktop version for Chrome. This should open your complete browsing history. If you want to delete a particular website (URL) then tap it to select that URL and then tap on "Remove selected items". Of course you can select multiple items and then remove them altogether from the history. But if you want to remove/clear your entire history, then tap on "Clear all browsing data". Clear Browsing History on Chrome for iOS (iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone) Typing "chrome:history" in the omnibox won't work on Chrome for iOS. It should have worked as it works on all other platforms, but strangely this trick doesn't work on iOS for now. To clear browsing history, open Chrome and tap on menu button next to address bar. You'll now be able to see various options, just tap on "Settings" and then "Clear browsing data." Changes ring in the smartphone market By Gao Yuan Four out of the top five best-selling mobile devices in China were manufactured by Chinese companies, data from Sino Market Research Ltd showed in April. Chinese smartphone makers have managed to dominate the low- and middle-end market over the past several years. Provided to China Daily Chinese companies look to cheaper end but suffer lower profit margins Chinese smartphone manufacturers are taking more than half of the market share in China but find it hard to increase their profit margins, while the entry of newcomers will make competition more intense, industry insiders said. In April, four out of the top five best-selling mobile devices in China were manufactured by indigenous Chinese companies, data from Sino Market Research Ltd showed. The top four local brands took more than 40 percent of the total sales volume in the market. South Korean electronics maker Samsung Electronic Co's smartphones topped the best-selling list in April in the nation, selling more than 2 million smartphones, data from Sino showed. "Chinese smartphone makers have managed to dominate the low- and middle-end market over the past several years but large numbers of buyers are price-sensitive and only willing to spend a little money in purchasing mobile phones," said Henry Lin, chairman and co-chief executive officer of NQ Mobile Inc, the world's largest mobile security provider. Fujitsu Lifebook C1212 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP88 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP323AP Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook LH531 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP250 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook AH530 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook LH530 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook AH531 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP250AP Battery + Only a few Chinese smartphone makers are in the high-end market. Lower priced cellphones usually have narrow profit margins. "Apple Inc took only about 2 percent of the market share in the smartphone market but it took more than 80 percent of the profits," said Lin, He added that high-end cellphone makers are willing to pay a higher cost in boosting innovation and user experience because their customers are expecting the best product performance. The profit statement for the smartphone industry shows a more difficult situation for Chinese makers. Samsung and Apple Inc's products hold 99 percent of the profit, while local brands have to compete with other overseas manufacturers for the remaining 1 percent of profit, Southern Metropolis Daily reported, citing research released by Huabao Securities Co. Battlefield Moreover, overseas cellphone giants are targeting the Chinese market as the nation's smartphone penetration rate remains at about 10 percent. In March, Nokia Corp introduced its first phone that runs on Microsoft Inc's Windows Phone operating system to the Chinese market. The move was believed to be a signal that the Finnish cellphone maker was trying to maintain its hold in the country's mobile phone market. "The only way to change the situation in the Chinese market is to introduce more great products," said Stephen Elop, chief executive officer of Nokia. Most of the local brands are focusing on producing lower-price devices - costing about 1,000 yuan ($159) each. Sales were boosted by contract phones. High-end cellphone makers are concentrating on lifting user experience because their customers seem to worry less about the price of the product. "China has great potential for generating about 1 billion smartphone users over the next several years," said Lin, adding that one user will have more than one device at the same time, creating an even larger market for mobile device makers. High-end brand makers seem to find it easier to sell their devices in China. In April, China's smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp sold 150,000 phones in just 12 minutes as it launched the seventh round of an online sale. The company makes high-end performing smartphones at affordable prices. The company's phones are priced at 2,000 yuan. More than 1.65 million units had been sold by April since its debut in late October 2011, said a Xiaomi spokesman. A number of Chinese Internet companies started to go mobile this year, their first incursion into the smartphone market. In May, the Chinese Web search engine Baidu Inc teamed up with Sichuan Changhong Electric Co, China's home appliance maker, to promote low-end smartphones. The model was sold for less than 900 yuan. Fujitsu Lifebook A6220 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP251AP Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook A6230 Battery +Fujitsu FPCBP199 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP176AP Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook E780 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP199AP Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP176 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook E8420 Battery + The e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd introduced its first smartphone based on a self-developed operating system this month. The price of the new gadget was priced at 999 yuan, the same as a bluetooth earphone for an iPhone. On the same day, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd, an Internet-based IT firm, also released a slightly higher priced smartphone, Bambook. The highest priced for the device is 1,499 yuan, enough to buy two Samsung Galaxy SII phones. Qihoo 360 Technology Co, an Internet security company, also announced it would enter the mobile phone market this year. Despite the growing competition, industry insiders believe there is still a lot of room for newcomers as the market remains young and heavily relies on the development of the mobile Internet, an even younger industry. "The silver bullet for Chinese competitors to survive is to find a segment of the market and make specialized devices for that particular sector," said Lin. Cellcom Lowest Signals Need for New Markets: Israel Overnight By Shoshanna Solomon and Sridhar Natarajan Israel's mobile phone market has grown enough to ensure sufficient competition in the industry and the government is encouraging companies to enter the fixed- line and cloud computing markets to augment revenue. Cellcom Israel Ltd. (CEL) (CEL), Partner Communications Co. (PTNR) and Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Corp. (BEZQ), the country's three largest mobile phone operators, lost more than $15 billion in market value this year as government measures boosted competition in the industry and reduced costs for customers. Cellcom fell 5.9 percent to 21.3 shekels, or the equivalent of $5.32, the lowest level on record at the close in Tel Aviv today. Partner declined 6.9 percent to 12.8 shekels, or $3.20, the lowest since February 2003. "The number of players in the market is the number we wanted," Eden Bar Tal, the director general at Israel's Ministry of Communication, said in a telephone interview on July 19. "Players who want to increase revenues should do this by providing additional services and not by taking advantage of a lack of competition." The three stocks are the worst performers on the benchmark TA-25 Index this year as the measure lags behind the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index. (CCMP) The Bloomberg Israel-US Equity Index (ISRA25BN) of the most-traded Israeli companies in New York recorded the largest weekly rise this year as Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (MLNX) (MLNX) surged 35 percent. The government required service providers cut fees by disbanding inter-network call charges and opening up the sector to new competition. 'Heating Up' Hot Telecommunication System Ltd. (HOT), along with Golan Telecom Ltd., moved into Israel's mobile-phone space on May 14. Golan, partly owned by French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, began offering unlimited wireless services for less than 100 shekels, or $24.96, per month. Fujitsu FPCBP233 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook N7010 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP233AP Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook NH570 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP251Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook AH550 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook A1220 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook A6210 Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook E8410 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP234 Battery The products compete with packages of Cellcom, Partner and Bezeq, which controlled 95 percent of the Israeli mobile-phone market, according to data from the Ministry of Communication. "Pricing wars are heating up," Michael Klahr, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., wrote in a an e-mailed report on July 16. New operators like Golan Telecom and Hot will grab 7.7 percent of mobile phone subscribers from the incumbents within a year, a number that is higher than initial expectations, Klahr said. Bezeq, the Tel Aviv-based company, which operates in the mobile phone industry through its unit Pelephone, gained 3 percent to 4.17 shekels, trimming this year's loss to 39 percent. 'Dynamic and Developing' Cellcom, Israel's largest mobile phone provider, fell to the lowest level on record last week in New York as Partner, the nation's second-largest, capped its biggest five-day slump in two months. The company's New York shares have fallen 62 percent to $3.39 this year. Rami Levi Chain Stores Hashikma Marketing 2006 Ltd. (RMLI), Israel's third-largest supermarket operator, began offering mobile-phone services in December in cooperation with Pelephone. The company said last month that the service now has 56,000 customers and that it's in talks with other operators to provide cheaper wireless packages to consumers. "The telecom market is dynamic and developing all the time," Bar Tal said. "Players who want to increase revenue should do this by providing additional services and not by taking advantage of a lack of competition." Israel has a mobile phone subscription penetration rate of 130.2 percent compared to 130.5 percent for Europe, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Industries. Israel's TA-25 Index (TA-25) has dropped 1.2 percent this year, lagging behind an advance of 8.4 percent for the S&P Index and 12.3 percent on the Nasdaq Composite Index. Mellanox Surges Israel, whose population of 7.8 million is similar in size to Switzerland, has about 60 companies trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the most of any nation outside the U.S. after China. The country is also home to more startup companies per capita than the U.S. The Bloomberg Israel-U.S. index recorded the biggest weekly advance since December 2011, led by gains for Mellanox, the largest company on the gauge. Mellanox fell 3.4 percent to 361 shekels, or the equivalent of $90.12, in Tel Aviv today. The New York-traded shares reached $89.24 last week. The company more than doubled its second-quarter sales over the same period last year and its third-quarter revenue forecast was 50 percent more than analysts' estimates. Fujitsu FPCBP198AP Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP198 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP175 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP175AP Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP234AP Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook N6410 Battery Fujitsu Lifebook N6420 Battery + Fujitsu FPCBP104AP Battery + Fujitsu Lifebook N6460 Battery + |
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Nokia looks to revamp marketing strategy - FT
APPLE A1022 + APPLE A1036 + APPLE A1039 + APPLE A1045 + APPLE A1057 + APPLE A1060+ APPLE A1061 + APPLE A1078 + APPLE A1079 + Nokia is considering ripping up its traditional mass marketing strategy ahead of the unveiling of its new Windows 8 smartphone in the autumn, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The mobile phone maker has entered secret negotiations with European operators about forming an exclusive opportunity to launch a smartphone using the Windows 8 platform from Microsoft. Operators that have held talks with Nokia include France Telecom, although no deal has yet been struck, according to the FT. Nokia's usual sales approach, which relies on trying to get as many phones in as many hands as possible across all channels immediately, would be ditched in favor of partnerships that would help create dedicated support for its smartphones, initially through one or two networks in Europe, the FT said. The newspaper cited one person with knowledge of the talks as saying these relationship will also offer the operator a financial stake in the success of the range. Nokia Halves Price of Flagship Phone Finnish Company Says Move on Windows-Based Smartphone Is 'Normal Strategy' By JOHN D. STOLL The price of Nokia Corp.'s NOK -7.57% flagship Lumia 900 Windows phone has been cut in half in the critical U.S. market, a little more than three months after the launch of the smartphone at AT&T Inc. T -0.54% stores. The Lumia 900 hit the market at AT&T stores in April and the device had been priced at $99 with a two-year agreement, but a new price of $49.99 was introduced early Sunday. The price cut comes as Nokia's smartphone performance is under significant scrutiny given the financial woes the Finnish company has encountered because of market-share losses and pressure on margins. Nokia reports second-quarter earnings on Thursday following stinging financial losses in recent periods. Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop last month announced further downsizing moves, including 10,000 job reductions and a streamlining of research and development efforts. "This move is a normal strategy that is put in place during the life cycle of most phones," Nokia spokesman Doug Dawson said in an email. It "allows a broader consumer base to buy this flagship device at a more accessible price." Price reductions aren't uncommon in the U.S. market, in which carriers like AT&T subsidize the cost of the phone as long as a customer signs a contract. The actual cost of the phone to AT&T isn't public and it is unclear how both companies¡ªNokia and AT&T¡ªwill pay for the new price cut. Mr. Dawson noted Samsung Electronics Co.'s 005930.SE -0.33% Galaxy IIS at AT&T, which debuted about six months before the Nokia Lumia 900, was on the market for roughly the same period of time as the Lumia 900 before a $50 price drop was implemented. 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Nokia has weathered a punishing decline in its share price even with the Lumia 900 on sale: The stock has fallen 64% since the April 8 launch of the smartphone. The drop partially reflects the uncertainty with which investors have viewed the Lumia lineup, which replaced other smartphones that were regarded as outdated. Nokia's stock touched a 17-year low last week and ended down 2.5% at €1.51 ($1.85) in Helsinki trading Friday. Its market capitalization of about €5.6 billion, or roughly $6.86 billion, represents a more than 95% decline from its peak days during the information-technology boom at the turn of the century. The struggling handset maker's market capitalization is now lower than the $8.5 billion Microsoft paid for Internet phone company Skype Ltd. last year. Nokia is valued at roughly half of Apple's latest quarterly net profit. Would you root your Android device to get the newest software? By Evan Selleck As companies start rolling out announcements regarding smartphones getting upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, it's pretty easy to get lost in the irony that they're getting updated to a version of Google's mobile OS that's already "old." But, there's nothing really wrong with being one version behind, right? I can understand why it would be hard, though, when the next version up is so good. In all honesty, when these staggered updates start happening, I've never been super eager to get that latest version of Android. Having the phone do what I need in the version I had at the time seemed good enough. It's different with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, though. All of the changes that Google has introduced into the new mobile operating system, specifically Project Butter and Google Now, I think it makes perfect sense for people to want to have the current version of Android, and not one version behind. We've seen Google roll out the update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to Nexus devices already. The Nexus S is even flaunting the new software. The Galaxy Nexus GSM model landed the update right when Google said it would, too, so that's a good thing. It would seem that the devices that should be running Android 4.1 are running it. Except the CDMA-based versions of Nexus handsets out there in the wild. While the GSM-based models are getting their updates, those who managed to pick up the Galaxy Nexus for Verizon or Sprint, or still have the Nexus S 4G for Sprint's network are still waiting to hear when their update will be coming. These are the only Nexus devices that are tied directly to a carrier here in the States, so it isn't surprising that we haven't heard exactly when they will get updated. If we look at past behavior, especially when it comes to Verizon, we can imagine that the Android 4.1 update will take several months before it finally starts rolling out to owners. 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For me, after I started playing with the Nexus 7, I couldn't wait to start using Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on my daily driver. On my phone. So I got a Galaxy Nexus for Verizon, and then I started doing some digging and common sense reflection. Verizon's update is coming, yes, but there's no telling when. It may take months. It could pop up here in the next few days, but I wouldn't bet on it. But I got the Galaxy Nexus specifically to use Android 4.1, so it would seem that I really only had one choice. I did something that I used to do a lot, especially with the original Motorola DROID, and even more with the DROID Incredible by HTC. I rooted the Galaxy Nexus, and then I found the best custom ROM built around the AOSP for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. After that, I loaded it up on the phone, and I haven't looked back since. It's everything I thought it would be, thanks to the Nexus 7, but better because I have a cellular connection everywhere I go and can actually take advantage of Google Now when I want to. As I've stated in the past, I am an impatient person when it comes to my technology. I'll readily admit that when something new is announced, I want it. If there's a way to get it, I'll get it. I am not personally a huge fan of having to root a device and add custom software to something I think should be running it "stock," but I can't fight the reality anymore. I can't just keep hoping and wishing that the update will come soon, when the past is a clear indicator that "soon" isn't anywhere in the equation. Are you going to root your Nexus device, if you're tied to a carrier? Are you that interested in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to make that jump? Have you already rooted it? Or are you someone who can sit by and wait for the official update? Let me know in the comments! SONY XPERIA NEO L ¨C TECH NEWS TODAY The Android smartphone market is growing by leaps and bounds and not wanting to let Samsung and HTC corner all the expanding growth, Sony is betting big on it. After a patchy ICS update to other smartphones of the Xperia series which drew a lot of ire from its users, Sony is launching three new Android phones ¨C neo L, Go and Ion ¨C this quarter. All three are being launched in the Xperia series. Neo L expands the Xperia series in the mid-range and succeeds neo V, which was launched about a year ago. We played around a bit with the phone and here's what we think of it: Looks and dimensions Sony seems to have deviated from the laws of genetics in case of neo L. Hence, its design doesn't bear much resemblance with the sleekness of its recent breed of Xperia S, Xperia U, Xperia P phones. Its shape, however, has glimpses of some older Xperia phones such as the Arc and neo V, but unlike the thin beauty of the Arc, neo L is fatter. Lenovo Thinkpad X61 Tablet Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X61s Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X100e Battery+ Lenovo Thinkpad X120e Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X200 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X200 Tablet Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X200s Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X200t Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X201 Battery + The phone measures 4.8x2.4x0.5 inches, which may seem to be sleek but once you hold the phone, it isn't really light. It weighs 131.5 grams against the Xperia neo V which weighs 126 grams, and Xperia Arc S which weighs 117 grams. Other contemporaries also weigh less, such as HTC One V, which weighs 115 grams and Samsung Galaxy S Advance, which weighs 120 grams. Hardware Though the phone is good to look at, it is like a fingerprint-magnate and any user would be hard-pressed to keep it devoid of smudges for even a few minutes. It has a glossy and rather brittle seeming plastic casing for a back cover that has to be kept clean regularly, sometimes many times a day! The frame is lined with chrome, which certainly gives it a sleek look and makes it appear similar to the neo V, Arc and Arc S. A 3.5-mm audio jack is placed in the top-centre of the phone which gives it an avoidable ugly bulge. On the left is a mini USB port for charging and data transfer, and on the right panel are the buttons for power and volume and a small speaker. Sony Xperia neo L sports a 4-inch HD TFT touchscreen with 854x480 pixel resolution, slightly larger than HTC One V's, but smaller than that of Motorola Atrix 2 and Samsung Galaxy S Advance. Below the screen are four physical buttons (in the same curved shape as the three buttons in the Arc) namely Back, Home, Menu and Search. These buttons are stiff, small and you may sometimes accidentally tread upon the on-screen controls while pressing the hard hardware buttons. Likewise, the buttons for power and volume are not well placed if the phone is held in one hand. Since, the glossy body of Xperia neo L is rather slippery, even not-so-clumsy users might end up dropping it a few times. Ice Cream Sandwich integration The phone runs on Android 4.0 out-of-the-box and that is an important selling point since users would not have to wait for an update, a la Motorola Atrix 2. However, the HTC One V, priced similar to the Xperia neo L, also offers a premium Android 4.0 straight from the box. Users can choose between seven pre-installed neon-based Ice Cream Sandwich themes in the Sony Xperia neo L, which are seen in the background when the home screen and menu are open. The overall user experience is quite smooth and fluid. Sony's Timescape has made its way to this phone as well, so that users can see the recent updates, tweets, messages etc by all contacts on a single scrollable window from the home screen. Sony has done well by adding a number of useful widgets in the Xperia neo L that add to its functionality, such as the Gallery View, which allows users to access pics, videos and music from the same widget. The dock/menu bar located at the bottom of the five home screens is also customisable and can hold a total of four applications. Users can create folders if they want to add more applications to this dock. Connectivity The phone comes loaded with all modern connectivity options available in a mid-range smartphone, such as Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, 3G, GPRS, EDGE and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and EDR. It has GTalk, Gmail and a combined inbox for all emails. The social networking integration, including Facebook and Twitter, will make it a suitable choice for the youth. Call clarity is decent, but only in a quite room. When we stepped out on a noisy street, the sound became muffled, which will be a dampener for those who travel a lot. Music and videos The stock music player in Sony Xperia neo L will be welcomed by any audiophile, as it features a host of features in addition to the standard music playing options. Lenovo Thinkpad X30 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X31 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X40 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X41 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X41 Tablet Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X60 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X60 Tablet Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X60s Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X61 Battery + In the music player, tapping on the on-screen button placed in the middle of the bottom row shows a pop-up with options like Find Music Video on YouTube, Get more@PlayNow, Search Artist Info on Wikipedia, Search for Lyrics on Google, Search Karaoke Videos on YouTube, along with the option to find more extensions. This will contribute towards a rich music experience for any user. The standard features of the music player include customisable playlists, folder view for music, including tabs named Artists, Albums, Tracks and Playlists. TrackID is yet another add-on that will be favoured by audiophiles, as it shows all the details of the song being played based upon the title and artist info. It will track the data over an internet connection and show a host of details, such as artist info, lyrics etc. However, this feature proves to be rather redundant considering that Sony has already included such features in the stock music player. Sony Xperia neo L¡¯s default video player can play videos at 720p easily, though we expect it to hang after other processes eat up more RAM. The stock video player has only three options, forward, back and start/pause. Camera In today¡¯s world, the camera plays an important role in any smartphone. The best part of Xperia neo L¡¯s camera is that this 5MP unit with autofocus is accompanied by an LED flash that clicks far better pictures than many. There¡¯s also a front-facing VGA camera for making video calls. But then one notices the unexpected negative point on the camera front. The camera does not have any zoom. Considering that even the cheapest Android phones with least megapixel also feature zoom function, it¡¯s a strange miss for the Xperia neo L. Moreover, there is no way to lower or mute the shutter noise when the camera clicks a picture, which can be an irritant for many. A feature we found to be redundant in the camera was the panel located on the right side of the on-screen interface. On the bottom, Sony has placed icons so that users can choose between video, audio and panorama mode, but tapping on either one expands the window and users need to select the camera mode once again, thus making it a lengthy process. Its chief competitor, HTC One V, also features simultaneous HD and video recording in the camera, which helps it snake past Xperia neo L. Games In an effort to lure gaming enthusiasts, Sony has included EA Games, Get Games and Games & Apps in the Xperia neo L. Both the apps offer a host of games that would prove to be addictive and enjoyable. The screen resolution makes the image clarity at par with the best in the phone, but we expect that the phone¡¯s 512MB RAM would prove to be insufficient for heavy gamers. Moreover, none of the games come pre-installed; users would have to download them over the internet. The last word If an Android phone carries a mid-range price tag of Rs 18,499 today, a fair bit is expected from it, such as bundle of applications, a fast processor, a good camera, light-weight, sleek design and more. As of the design, weight and camera, Sony Xperia neo L doesn¡¯t meet the expectations. But where Sony has really lost the bet is when it comes to the processor. The phone is powered by a single-core 1GHz processor coupled with 512MB RAM which is just not enough for those who use apps or are into gaming heavily, and not just make calls and send messages. On connectivity, the phone has standard features like Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), GPS (with A-GPS support), standard Android internet browser and the other connectivity options that come bundled with Android 4.0. The good part is that the phone is powered by a 1500mAh battery that can run up to 8-hours while on an active call. HTC One V is the main competitor of Xperia neo L in terms of cost as well as features and will in all likelihood replace it. It is slightly better than this phone because of slightly lower price tag, better camera features, more internal memory, better user interface and lower weight. However, it loses out due the lack of a video-calling camera and a slightly smaller screen. The other phones in the same price range like Intel Xolo X900 (around Rs 20,00 to 21,000), Sony Xperia sola, HTC EVO 3D and Motorola Atrix 2, are powered by dual-core processors. Moreover, the EVO 3D offers the unmatched 3D viewing experience and has 1GB of RAM, whereas the Xolo X900 has a 1.6GHz processor, 1080p video recording; Atrix 2 also has 1GB of RAM, a 4.3-inch screen and 8MP camera with 1080p recording, which put it ahead of the neo L. Only the Xperia sola has similar specifications, which made us wonder why Sony launched these two devices in the market as they would cannibalise each other¡¯s market share. Overall, Xperia neo L is not a great phone and even though its native OS is ICS, it still doesn¡¯t make the cut. For a price tag of Rs 18,499, it¡¯s advisable that you look for a device that offers better value proposition before making the final pick. For camera minus zoom, single core processor and a not-so-sleek looking body, paying anywhere close to Rs 20,000 for an Android device cannot be justified. Lenovo Thinkpad X Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X20 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X21 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X22 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X23 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad X24 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad W520 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad W700 Battery + Lenovo Thinkpad W701 Battery + |
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Beats Audio Buys Back Stake In Itself from HTC
By David Murphy Dell Inspiron M5030 Battery + Dell Inspiron M5110 Battery + Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Battery + Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Battery + Dell Inspiron Mini 1011 Battery + Dell Inspiron Mini 10n Battery + Dell Inspiron Mini 10v Battery + Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Battery + Dell Inspiron N3010 Battery + HTC and Beats Audio aren't calling their partnership quits. However, Beats has bought back half of HTC's shares in the company to give itself a 75-percent ownership instead of a 50/50 split with HTC. The move should allow HTC to keep a bit more change in its coffers; According to Slashgear's Chris Davies, HTC's 50-percent investment initially cost HTC around $300 million when first announced in August of last year. Beats' buyback allegedly cost the company $150 million. As a result of HTC partially jumping out, Beats has now secured "more flexibility for global expansion," according to a statement made by both companies this weekend. However, HTC will continue to hold a, "major stake and commercial exclusivity in mobile," which means that you shouldn't expect to see Beats Audio technology accompanying any of the smartphones built by HTC's rivals. HTC's partnership with Beats initially had Beats bundling its special, red-corded earbuds alongside HTC smartphones. However, that practice ended around April of this year, as HTC realized that average smartphone shoppers don't seem to care all that much about the earbuds that ship with their phone. "An accessory like the headphone doesn't factor in when someone is buying a smartphone," said Martin Fichter, HTC product executive, in an interview with CNET at the time. "If they want a Beats headphone, they'll buy it directly." The two companies will continue to work together to stuff Beats Audio technology into future HTC phones, and they're even going to be working on a joint marketing campaign later in 2012. Beats picked up MOG, a music streaming service, for around $14 million earlier this month. It remains to be seen just how the new terms of HTC and Beats' partnership might factor into Beats' ¨C and HTC's ¨C plans for incorporating the service into the company's smartphones. Jailbreak: iPhone-4/4S/3Gs iOS-5.1.1 Issue Solved - Unlock-iPhone-4/4S/3Gs Untethered Tool Tested ! By John Smith1 ibreak Team reveals that this software can unlock and untethered Jailbreak the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3Gs up to the latest ios 5.1, 5.1.1 also enabling peoples to use any SIM card worldwide. The software guarantees extreme ease of use to Untethered Jailbreak and Unlock iPhone 4/4S/3Gs iOS 5.1, 5.1.1 . Along with the product is an illustrated guide that shows how to unlock an iPhone. The whole process takes approximately 5 minutes. Andrew from the United States, enthuses about when jailbkreaking iPhone 4S iOS 5.1, untethered, "Many thanks for your support. 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Symbian-focussed Nokia Developer Champions dropped early By Rafe Blandford Nokia Developer has ended the membership, ahead of schedule, of the Nokia Developer Champion program, for a number of Symbian-focussed developers, as the company continues its transition to Windows Phone. Access to Nokia's standard developer program, which is free to join and is open to everyone, is unaffected by the move. The Nokia Developer Champion is a program aimed at giving recognition to those whom Nokia considers to be key members of their developer community. The program is primarily about prestige and recognition, although all Nokia Developer Champions receive a device of their choice from Nokia, are given the opportunity to receive early access to developer tools, and are eligible to attend Champion-only networking events (usually co-located with other Nokia events). As the Nokia developer site explains: Nokia Developer Champions earn recognition for having outstanding expertise in certain Nokia Developer-related areas, participating in various online and offline activities, and sharing and showcasing their knowledge with other Nokia Developer community members. Nokia Developer Champions are from all regions of the world, have a variety of backgrounds, and are experts in wide-ranging mobile-development areas. But they all have one thing in common: Nokia Developer Champions are loyal Nokia Developer community members whose professionalism enriches the community for all of us. Nokia Developer Champions have a special energy. They share their thoughts and spark exciting new ideas. Their insight, vision, and active involvement inspire others and reflect the true philosophy of the Nokia Developer community. Nokia Developer Champions have certainly earned the extraordinary range of rewards we have set aside especially for them. 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A high profile example is Jan Ole Suhr, developer of the popular Gravity application, who noted: "for the next platform, this [the decision] will guide me to iOS & Android". Such statements, from previously loyal developers, will not help Nokia in its mission to help make Windows Phone "the third ecosystem". Another developer we spoke to, who did not want to be named, described the decision as, "kicking me while I'm down after the Qt debacle" and "the last straw". Ultimately the number of developers involved is relatively small, around 15 or so by our estimates, but, as you might expect from such as program, it does include a number of very long term and loyal Symbian developers. While the numbers involved do pale into insignificance when compared to the enormous developer engagement program currently being undertaken by Microsoft and Nokia, it is hard not to see the decision to cut short membership as both short sighted and rather mean spirited. It will undoubtedly generate negative developer sentiment and critical media coverage; something that could have been largely avoided if Nokia had let the membership of the affected developers expire organically at the end of their annual term. Moreover, it will only add fuel to the fire of those who believe Nokia is seeking to brush Symbian under the rug as hastily as possible. Nokia's existing developers have not had an easy time in the last two years. First, in 2009/2010, came the news that AVKON would gradually be deprecated in favour of Qt, at which point every developer was turned to move to Qt. Second, in February 2011, came the news of the switch from Symbian/MeeGo to Windows Phone, but with the caveat that Qt would be used to connect the billion, and therefore would remain a viable mobile developer platform. Third, and yet to be officially confirmed, came the news that the Qt strategy was being abandoned. A strategy that amounts to a double developer platform switch in two years has left developers with a sense of instability and anger that investments in code, training and time have, by necessity, been written off. The strategy change transition to Windows Phone made much of this inevitable, but the messaging and managing of the relationship with existing developers should have been better handled. Disclosure: I was a Forum Nokia Champion, the forerunner of Nokia Developer Champion program, for two terms, between September 2007 and September 2009. Stolen mobile phone recovered using technology AKOLA: Vaibhav (20), son of police department employee Sanjay Charpe, was robbed of his mobile by two youths hailing from Nanded while he was returning home on July 6. During investigation, railway police managed to get clues about the two thieves by tracing the stolen mobile phone. The cops arrested Piraji Menthkan (24) and Lakhan Waghmare (22), residents of Chinkhalwadi, Nanded, Marathwada, on Saturday. Both of them were remanded to police custody for two days. The railway police also recovered the stolen mobile from the thieves. Interestingly, after the complaint, the cops had refused to take complaint and were disputing the jurisdiction of the police station. However, railway police took the initiative and solved the crime with two arrests. In-laws booked for murder, cruelty in woman's death Dell Inspiron 6400 Battery + Dell Inspiron 640m Battery + Dell Inspiron 7000 Battery + Dell Inspiron 700m Battery + Dell Inspiron 710m Battery + Dell Inspiron 7500 Battery + Dell Inspiron 8000 Battery + Dell Inspiron 8100 Battery + Dell Inspiron 8200 Battery + Offences of murder, cruelty against women and criminal intimidation were registered against the in-laws after they caused grievous injuries to one Shakuntala Tiwale on Saturday. Those booked include her husband Narayan Tiwale, his father Sitaram Tiwale and mother Nanda Tiwale. Shakuntala received 91% burn injuries on July 17 at Ashtul village. Her dying declaration was taken on Saturday. She stated that her in-laws had set her afire. Further investigation is on. No arrest has been made so far. Apple heads into choppy waters as new iPhone awaited By Poornima Gupta Apple Inc faces an unusual phenomenon when reporting earnings this time around: low expectations. Few are expecting the world's most valuable technology company -- which surpasses Wall Street expectations with near regularity -- to deliver a bumper quarter once more on Tuesday. The main reason: consumers holding out for the new iPhone. Apple may still surprise market watchers, but many Wall Street analysts and investors remember how chatter over the launch of a new iPhone last year caused Apple to miss quarterly expectations in the fall, for the first time in years. The iPhone 5 is only expected to hit store shelves around October -- just in time for the holidays -- with a thinner, larger screen and fine-tuned search features. Couple that pre-launch lull with slowdowns in Europe and China, Apple's biggest markets outside of North America, and sentiment on the Wall Street darling is more muted than many can remember in a while. "No longer is Apple the company that beats every time," said Tim Lesko, portfolio manager at Granite Investment Advisors, which owns Apple stock. "I expect Apple to beat Apple's guidance, but I don't know whether they will beat Wall Street's guidance." Tony Sacconaghi, analyst with Bernstein Research, sees a reasonable chance Apple will miss expectations on revenue, citing "macroeconomic weakness in China and Europe, a product cycle lull in the iPhone, a later than expected introduction of the new iPad into China, and the late quarter introduction of new Mac notebooks." Any hiccup in demand for the best-selling smartphone can have a big impact on both revenue and profits as the five-year old device accounts for nearly 50 percent for Apple's revenues. And it comes at a time Samsung and other manufacturers that use rival Google Inc's Android software are chipping away at its market share. Apple is expected to report fiscal third-quarter earnings of $10.35 a share on revenue of $37.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Top Wall Street analysts are betting the numbers will undershoot that. Apple may miss the average sales forecast by about 0.2 percent, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine's SmartEstimates, which places greater emphasis on timely forecasts by top-rated analysts. IPAD'S LAUNCH IN CHINA Dell Inspiron 5000e Battery + Dell Inspiron 500m Battery + Dell Inspiron 5100 Battery + Dell Inspiron 510m Battery + Dell Inspiron 5150 Battery + Dell Inspiron 5160 Battery + Dell Inspiron 6000 Battery + Dell Inspiron 600m Battery + Dell Inspiron 630m Battery + But some analysts also think the Street is underestimating the impact of a late iPad launch in China, a focal point of intense expansion for the company and a huge driver of growth. Apple began selling the tablet there on Friday, but many had expected it to ship last quarter. Sales in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan jumped threefold to $7.9 billion in the second quarter, accounting for about 20 percent of Apple's $39.2 billion in total revenue. The company typically introduces a new iPhone every year, but has yet to reveal any details on the next model. However, people familiar with the situation have told Reuters the new iPhone will have a bigger display and that Apple has begun to place orders for the new displays from suppliers in South Korea and Japan. Meanwhile, Apple's iPhone 4S is just three quarters old, which is relatively new by any standard. But many fans of the phone now see it as a cyclical product with somewhat predictable launch timeframes, preferring to wait a few months to buy the new model, analysts said. Wall Street estimates Apple sold about 29 million iPhones, down from 35.1 million sold in the March quarter. Sales of the new iPad, expected to be 14 million to 15 million, is likely to offset part of the anticipated sequential drop in iPhones sales. Apart from concerns about iPhone purchases, Wall Street is worried about the rising prominence of Google and Amazon.com in the mobile market, particularly with the launch of Google's smaller and cheaper Nexus 7 tablet, which is gaining popularity. Still, no one is bearish in the longer term on the world's largest technology company by market value and most Apple watchers believe the company will make up any lost iPhone volume during the holiday season. "Big picture, it doesn't matter," said Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu. "They are still the share gainer in the larger scheme of things. This is clearly a timing issue." BIG HOLIDAY SEASON EYED Wall Street expects that the outlook for this year's holiday season will be enormous for Apple as it may include the launch of a new iPhone as well as a potential new "mini iPad." Apple has been working on a smaller tablet, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. It is unclear when Apple will launch such a tablet, but some clues are emerging on the timing of the new iPhone. When Verizon -- one of the wireless carriers that work with Apple -- was asked on Thursday why customers have been holding back on handset upgrades, CFO Fran Shammo said: "There is always that rumor mill out there with a new phone coming out in the fourth quarter and so people may be waiting." Investors will pick apart executives' comments for clues to new product introductions. While Apple has a policy of never giving advance details or timings on new products, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer has often hinted of "product transition" in earnings conference calls preceding a launch. Wall Street estimates Apple sold about 4 million Macintosh computers as the PC market saw growth sputter in the quarter. The lackluster expectations do not appear to have affected Apple's stock, which is up nearly 50 percent so far in 2012. The stock has been choppy since a high of $644 in April. It closed Friday at $604.30 on the Nasdaq. "Of all the quarters, this is the one that seems to have widest range of opinion," said Granite's Lesko. Dell Inspiron 2650 Battery + Dell Inspiron 2800 Battery + Dell Inspiron 300m Battery + Dell Inspiron 3500 Battery + Dell Inspiron 370 Battery + Dell Inspiron 3800 Battery + Dell Inspiron 4100 Battery + Dell Inspiron 4150 Battery + Dell Inspiron 5000 Battery + |
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iPhone 5? Well, not exactly. Apple's iPhone turns 5.
By Hayley Tsukayama sony np fg1 battery sony np fh50 battery sony np fm50 battery Wish a happy birthday to your iPhone! June 29 marks the fifth anniversary of the day the first iPhone hit store shelves and Apple began its climb in the mobile market. The first iPhone may have sported a metal and plastic back, but the general look of the smartphone hasn't changed all that much in the past five years -- new materials here, a nip or tuck there -- and has kept to its same general size. What has changed, dramatically, is what the phone can do. At launch, it sported a 2 MP camera, ran on the EDGE network and touted its visual voicemail. It came in a $499 4GB version or a $699 8GB version. Users couldn't download programs from other developers, but the introduction of a more complete Web browser on a smartphone was enough to impress reviewers. While it's hard to separate the iPhone and the App Store in our minds now, the iPhone didn't have its app ecosystem until a year after launch, in July 2008. Four years later, there are over 650,000 apps in the App Store, and the marketplace has 400 million accounts. Looking back at Apple's press release for the original phone's debut, we're reminded that the tech giant mostly promoted the smartphone's connection to the iPod -- Apple even called it a "widescreen iPod" in its January 2007 product announcement. At the time, there was skepticism about whether the iPhone could really take on market leaders Research in Motion and Nokia -- companies that are now struggling to hold on to their shrinking slices of the market. Both have announced job cuts: Nokia is set to cut 10,000 of its staff by the end of 2013, and Research in Motion said Thursday that it will drop 5,000 jobs. The iPhone, however, hasn't stopped climbing -- though it has occasionally slowed -- even as Android-based competitors have crowded the field and taken the majority of the smartphone market. Demand for Apple's ubiquitous smartphone is still red-hot: It took the first iPhone 74 days to hit 1 million sales; the latest version of the iPhone hit 1 million pre-orders in its first 24 hours. To date, Apple has sold over 217 million iPhones and has expanded to more networks and countries. According to the company's last earnings call, the iPhone is now on 230 carriers in 105 countries. It will be interesting to see how the device evolves over the next five years, particularly with the advent of prepaid iPhones from Virgin and Cricket and the company's push for overseas expansion. And, of course, it's almost a given that Apple fans will keep watching excitedly for any hint of what Apple plans for the iPhone's next incarnation. Top wishlist items include a bigger screen and support for 4G networks. canon bp 511a battery canon bp 808 battery canon eos 1000d battery canon eos 300d battery canon eos 5d mark ii battery iPhone anniversary marks triumph over crisis By Robert Cyran NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Apple (AAPL.O) rolled out its iconic iPhone five years ago, just as Bear Stearns subprime hedge funds sounded the alarm on a systemic trauma. Financial woe often impedes development. But the iPhone is proof that innovation can defy the odds and overcome hard times. The advance of technology is hard to stop. R&D budgets do get slashed in downturns. The growth rate of patent filings has slowed during the recent crisis. But companies that don't invest, or that do so poorly, can suffer. Research In Motion (RIM.TO) and Nokia (NOK1V.HE) learned the lesson all too well. Their market values have plummeted over 90 percent since mid-2007. More importantly, desired products, whether new plastics in the 1930s or smartphones now, tend to thrive regardless of the economic climate. About 40 percent of Dupont's revenue in 1937 came from products introduced during the Great Depression. Almost 60 percent of Apple's sales are now generated by the iPhone. Apple's focus on high-end customers hasn't hurt. Even reduced disposable income at a certain level still leaves plenty left over for a new bauble. But the iPhone offers value for the considerably less affluent, too. It replaces digital cameras, personal organizers, guidebooks, dictionaries, satellite navigation systems and music players. That list isn't inclusive and is bound to grow. The contrast with the financial crisis is a stark one. Apple's market value has increased by about $430 billion since the iPhone was introduced. The device represents a majority of the company's sales and an even greater proportion of profit, and has contributed greatly to the popularity of the iPad. That makes it safe to ascribe a healthy amount of the gain to the iPhone. By comparison, Apple's increased capitalization isn't far off the $470 billion that was required from the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program to bail out Citigroup (C.N), AIG (AIG.N), General Motors (GM.N) and others. Real estate crashes reverse themselves and debt hangovers get worked off. In the meantime, technology relentlessly marches on and provides fresh stepping stones for the eventual recovery. That makes the iPhone a hopeful reminder for a world stewing in another five-year anniversary that isn't much worth celebrating. canon eos d60 battery jvc bn vf707u battery nikon d3 battery Dell YD624 Battery Dell YD623 Battery Dell YD165 Battery Birthday 5 for iPhone: The Device That Changed Everything By Adam Dickter Commenting on the iPhone's 5th birthday and the impact the iPhone has had, analyst Ken Dulaney said, "Marketing consumer electronics has changed, industrial design has reached a new level of importance, and traditional suppliers have been challenged as never before." Regarding the iPhone 5 years ago: "Easy to use reached a whole new level." It exploded onto the scene with a burst of fanfare, a revolutionary device that, it can objectively be said, changed everything. "Apple's version of the iPhone is a mobile phone that combines the wizardry of smartphones with the music- and movie-playing features of the iPod," is how NewsFactor reported the story on January 9, 2007. "It features a large, 3.5" touchscreen, a 2-megapixel camera, and integrates fully with Apple's iTunes music store . It's less than half an inch wide, works on a pared-down version of Apple's OS X (which in full form powers Apple notebooks and desktops), sports WiFi, Bluetooth, and EDGE (a type of mobile broadband ), and runs on Cingular's network ." What, No 3G ? It took six months, however, for the much-hyped device to get into consumers' hands. Just before the consumer launch, we reported analysts' views that the phone set a new standard, but not without a few shortcomings. Analysts at the time pointed out that the iPhone "lacked 3G capabilities and could only use the much slower EDGE technology. The compensation for this shortcoming [was] that the iPhone could automatically switch to Wi-Fi networks, when available, for Internet browsing." On Wi-Fi, it was reported, the iPhone "flies." The original iPhone was followed in turn by the 3G, 3GS, 4 and 4S models. Today's 5-year anniversary comes as Apple is soon expected to release the sixth version of the device. While the original device was strictly tied to AT&T , the current incarnation is available via AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and a few regional carriers, with worldwide sales estimated at more than 35 million. That number makes the iPhone by far the single most popular device. However, over the past year, devices powered by Google's Android operating system -- and offered by different manufacturers -- have seized a larger share of the market as measured by operating system. The iPhone "has made the consumer king," Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney told us on Friday. "No longer is the [mobile] phone considered [just] a business tool. Data usage has exploded and it has revolutionized the distribution of software ." Dulaney also noted that the iPhone's app-centric touchscreen experience dramatically increased user interface expectations. "Easy to use has reached a new level," he said. Among other impact attributed to the iPhone: "Marketing consumer electronics has changed, industrial design has reached a new level of importance, and traditional suppliers such as Intel and Microsoft, RIM and Nokia have been challenged as never before." Challenges Overcome In addition to the above-mentioned shortcomings, Apple also had to deal with reception issues early on, as AT&T, its sole initial carrier, struggled to keep up with the demand on its network. Later, the iPhone 4 faced a backlash over signal problems resulting from contact with its external antenna. Although these issues may have caused some to be wary about being early-adopters, they never seriously hurt sales. "One reason the iPhone was able to push beyond these issues was because, up to that point, nobody had really launched a smartphone with a true immersive Internet experience," said Weston Henderek, principal wireless analyst for research firm Current Analysis. Although Research In Motion's BlackBerry devices and some Nokia smartphones were out, they were taking users to abridged mobile versions of Web sites that were difficult to navigate. "The biggest reason [the iPhone] was a revolutionary device is that it put the power of a PC -like Internet experience in your hand and it was really the first device to pull that off." samsung bp70a battery sony np bd1 battery sony np f970 battery sony np fv70 battery canon eos 350d battery Google Gives iPhone Users Browser Choice For Phone's Fifth Birthday Apple‘s iPhone, the iconic device from that revolutionized smart phones, turned five on Friday, June 29. There has been no other device like iPhone in history. Thousands of developers have written thousands of apps to organize the lives of iPhone users in a manner previously scarcely imaginable. iPhone left its competitors like Research in Motion (RIMM) and Nokia (NOK) in the dust. The mobile platform for Microsoft (MSFT) was not at all competitive. Google (GOOG) came up from nowhere to mount a serious challenge with its Android operating system. There continues to be a bitter rivalry between Apple and Google. The late Steve Jobs accused Google of copying iPhone; he called Android a stolen system and pledged to spend his last dollar to rectify the situation. On the fifth birthday of iPhone Google has given a surprise present. Google has announced that it is launching a new version of its Chrome browser to run on iPhone and iPad. The new Chrome app will allow users to sync all of their credentials, bookmarks, and tabs on all of their devices. The app may gain traction as Apple users will be able to sync easily with non-Apple devices. Moreover those tired of Safari, the browser from Apple, now have a great alternative. From an investment perspective, there should be no material impact in the short-term on the stock prices of Google or Apple. The introduction of Chrome for Apple opens a new battle front in the war between the two companies. Google is sending a clear signal that it will do whatever it takes to keep a major presence on the Apple platform. Recently Apple ditched Google Maps. Clearly Apple does not want to share the success of its platform with Google. Let another battle begin. About Me: I am an engineer and nuclear physicist by background. I founded two Inc. 500 companies, and have been involved in over 50 entrepreneurial ventures. I am the chief investment officer at The Arora Report, which publishes four newsletters to help investors profit from change. Follow me here and get email notification when I publish a new article. canon eos 450d battery canon nb 1lh battery Dell YF976 Battery Dell YD626 Battery Dell YD120 Battery Dell Y9943 Battery Why the iPhone Was Truly a Disruptive Product Chances are, the smartphone in your pocket bears little resemblance to the cell phone you were carrying 5 years ago. That's largely because of what happened on June 29, 2007, the day the iPhone was released in North America. As I wrote on the anniversary last year, "every major smartphone that has gone into production since the iPhone's release has, in some way, been a response to the iPhone itself." Since 2007, I've written hundreds of thousands of words about the iPhone, iOS and the modern smartphone ecosystem. I have chronicled the impact the iPhone has had not just on Apple, but on the telecom industry, the smartphone market and computing as we know it. Now, on the fifth anniversary, I want to home in on a few specific examples of companies and individuals that the iPhone has profoundly changed. Rarus Technologies Inc. Receives Approval from Apple for Zngle's Version 1.1 iPhone App and will release version 1.2 with Video and VoIP Calling in July HENDERSON, Nev., June 29, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Rarus Technologies Inc. (otcqb:RARS) ("Rarus") announced today its newly enhanced version 1.1 of the Zngle iPhone App is now available at the Apple iTunes Store. Rarus Technologies' Zngle social media network released its first Zngle iPhone App on June 1st 2012 in the iTunes Store and then moved quickly to produce and submit version 1.1 with added features and improvements. Zngle's development team has continued gathering member feedback and this data has now been incorporated into version 1.2 which includes new and improved features like Video and VoIP calling. These two features will be free for Zngle members and users will also be able to buy the additional required storage for Video and VoIP messages through the iTunes Store. "We're very pleased to have received great suggestions through feedback from our members and have used their suggestions in the development of Zngle version 1.2 which now includes features such as Video and VoIP calling. These features will be free for Zngle members, however due to bandwidth and addition server requirements, there will be an in-App purchase requirement in order for members to acquire additional message storage. If members redeem proximity coupons they will also receive Zngle credits which they can use to acquire additional features. Due to the complexity of these features, which will set us apart from other social media companies, we have also delayed development of the Android App. We are planning to resume development of this parallel product once we receive feedback from beta testers of the Apple version 1.2," stated Mr. Manfred Ruf, CEO of Rarus. About Rarus Technologies Inc. and Zngle, Inc. Rarus Technologies Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is an emerging technology company focused on establishing an innovative business model intended to bridge cutting-edge social media and e-commerce into a marketplace that connects friends, family, consumers, and vendors in new and exciting ways. In May, 2012, Rarus Technologies Inc. incorporated Zngle, Inc. as the primary subsidiary and operations base for licensed internet platform. We are designed to be a centralized Internet portal and next-generation social media website that incorporates voice/text messaging, video email, and mobile technologies to allow consumers to access real-time information about various products and services through augmented proximity reality search features. Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 Certain information contained in this press release, including any information as to our strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance and other statements that express management's expectations or estimates of future performance, constitute "forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "will," "anticipate," "contemplate," "target," "plan," "continue," "budget," "may," "intend," "estimate," "project" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain delays beyond the company's control with respect to its plans or operations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Dell YXVK2 Battery Dell YP463 Battery Dell YP459 Battery Dell Y6457 Battery Dell Y6142 Battery Dell Y5XF9 Battery Dell Y5180 Battery Dell Y5179 Battery Apple Loop: A Hardware Update, Friending Google (Sort of) And Other News Keeping you in the loop on some of the things happening around Apple this past week. Bob Mansfield, Apple's head of hardware engineering, says so long. + Hardware update. Apple announced that the head of hardware engineering, Bob Mansfield, is going to retire and that he'll be replaced by Dan Riccio, vice president of iPad hardware engineering, in several months. The hardware engineering team is going to keep reporting to Mansfield until he leaves. Mansfield joined Apple in 1999, when it acquired Raycer Graphics, where he was VP of engineering, Apple said. He's led Mac hardware engineering since 2005, iPhone and iPod hardware engineering since 2010, and iPad hardware engineering since the tablet was introduced -- which makes him kind of an important person at the company. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook made a point of noting that his replacement, Riccio, who joined Apple in 1998 as VP of product design, has contributed to most of Apple's hardware during his tenure. "Dan has been one of Bob's key lieutenants for a very long time and is very well respected within Apple and by the industry," added Cook. "Our hardware engineering team is the best engineering team on earth and will not miss a beat during the transition."
Tomio Geron + Thermonuclear war on hiatus? Remember how Steve Jobs' told biographer Walter Isaacson that he thought Google was guilty of "grand theft" when it released the Android mobile operating system to challenge Apple's iOS for the iPhone and iPad? And how Apple was ready to launch a "thermonuclear war" to defend its patents against smartphone makers like HTC, Samsung and Google? While Apple CEO Tim Cook has said repeatedly the company will continue to fight to protect its intellectual property, it seems like it can play nice too. That's why iPhone and iPad users will now find Google's Chrome browser -- a rival to Apple's Safari browser -- at Apple's App Store. (And as of this writing, Chrome is the top free app on the App Store.) Google is also offering a version of Google Drive -- its cloud-based service for storing documents, photos, music, videos etc. and a rival to Apple's iCloud -- for iOS users. Frenemies? + Podcasts go out on their own. Delivering on some recent rumors, Apple released a standalone Podcasts app that makes it easier to subscribe and listen to podcasts (instead of having to access them out of iTunes). Podcasts are prerecorded audio and video shows you can subscribe to and stream episodes or download and listen to them offline. Here's how Apple describes the new app in iTunes: Podcasts app is the easiest way to discover, subscribe to, and play your favorite podcasts on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Explore hundreds of thousands of free audio and video podcasts from the Podcasts Catalog, and play the most popular podcasts, organized for you by topic, with the all-new Top Stations feature. Another new feature: a Sleep Timer to "automatically stop playing a podcast while listening in bed." + iTunes Plays in Asia. You couldn't tell it from the press release, but Apple's news that it was opening a dozen new iTunes stores in Asia was notable because it's the first major push in the region since it opened its iTunes stores in Japan in 2005. The new iTunes stores -- selling music and movies for the most part -- are in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Of course, Apple fans in those countries already have access to the App Store, which offers more than 650,000 apps in 155 countries. How many countries does iTunes operate in? Apple couldn't tell me (why, I don't know). By my count, it's about 50. Still no word on iTunes in China, Apple's largest market. And in case you're wondering, sales of music-related products and services accounted for about 6 percent of Apple's sales in 2011 -- or about $6 billion. + Apple to take another gamble on Reno. Apple is looking to build a data center for its iCloud service and set up a purchasing center in Reno, Nevada, as part of a $1 billion investment it is making there over the next decade, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. (Reno, the paper noted, is also home to Apple's Braeburn Capital subsidiary, which does investments and is part of its tax planning strategy, as the New York Times reported in April.) While Apple has plans to build data centers in other states, including Oregon, Steve Hill, the director of the Nevada Office on Economic Development, said Apple "wanted to come to the Silver State to diversify its locations as well as to capitalize on Reno's vicinity to Cupertino, Calif., the home of Apple's headquarters -- about a four-hour drive away." Nevada also lured the company with $89 million in tax breaks, including an 85 percent drop in the personal property tax for 10 to 30 years, which if approved, will make Apple's effective sales tax rate will be less than 1 percent, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. + Apple retail employees, by the numbers. As part of its iEconomy series, the New York Times took a deep dive into Apple's retail stores. All sorts of interesting numbers to be found -- including that the average tenure of a retail employee is 2.5 years, that they make about $25,00 a year and that store employees each brought in $473,000 in sales for the company last year. Should Apple pay its employees more since Apple is making so much thanks to their efforts? Should retail employees expect that working in retail will give them a career path to corporate jobs at Apple? Should they get an annual bonus (since they don't get commissions) for selling so much stuff? Apple said it's recently given retail employees a raise, though it declined to provide specifics. As for overall working conditions in its retail ops, here's what Apple had to say: "Thousands of incredibly talented professionals work behind the Genius Bar and deliver the best customer service in the world. The annual retention rate for Geniuses is almost 90%, which is unheard-of in the retail industry, and shows how passionate they are about their customers and their careers at Apple." Here's a question for Tim Cook: would you recommend your family or friends work at the retail store? And if yes, for how long? + It's not the iPad 3, but still. Apple didn't name the third iteration of the iPad the iPad 3 -- instead calling it simply ‘iPad.' But that hasn't stopped the company from claiming that it should be the owner of the domain, according to Domain Name Wire. Apple has filed a case with the World Intellectual Property Organization asking that the domain name be transferred to it from its current owner, a company called Global Access in Isle of Man which was registered in Jan. 2010. Laptop Battery , Lenovo Batteries , Lenovo Batteries , etc. canon nb 8l battery kodak klic 7001 battery |
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