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Sharp posts first quarterly profit in 2 years

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 31 Oktober 2013 | 21.43

TOKYO: Japan's Sharp Corp reported its first quarterly net profit in two years, beating estimates, as the weaker yen and revived demand for solar cells and display panels boosted the consumer electronics maker's turnaround drive.

Sharp, a supplier of panels for Apple Inc 's iPhone, said on Thursday it made a net profit of 13.6 billion yen ($139 million) in its fiscal second quarter, its first since the three months ended September 2011.

That easily beat an expected net loss of 9 billion yen, according to Thomson Reuters' Starmine SmartEstimate, the average of the most accurate analysts' estimates.

A year earlier, in the trough of a depression brought on by strong competition from foreign rivals and pressure on its overseas revenues from a strong yen, Sharp made a net loss of 249.2 billion yen. The yen's slide since last November has turned Sharp's exports more profitable.

Sharp swung to an operating profit of 30.8 billion yen in July-September from an operating loss of 160.9 billion yen a year earlier.

Sharp has been scrambling to repair its balance sheet since racking up a total net loss of 545 billion yen in the last fiscal year.

A $4.6 billion rescue arranged by banks last year is contingent upon Sharp posting both an operating and net profit for the full year.

On Thursday, the company left its net profit forecast for the fiscal year through March 2014 unchanged at 5 billion yen.

For the first six months of the year, Sharp's net loss narrowed to 4.3 billion yen from 387.6 billion yen a year earlier.


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Internet ban in your country? Ask friends for help

LONDON: People who live under oppressive regimes will soon be able to browse the web using the internet connection of friends living in countries that do not ban using the net.

Google has supported an idea that lets people use the internet connection of a friend in a non-censored country.

According to New Scientist, in partnership between the University of Washington and non-profit firm Brave New Software, uProxy lets users share their internet connection with friends on social networks through a browser extension.

Under the new plan, after both parties have the uProxy extension installed, one can copy an encrypted link through the other person's browser and use the internet via their social network connection.

The move will not just give people access to censored content, but also could allow people in the UK to watch the US version of Netflix via a US friend's connection.

The plan has for now been tested among selected users.

Censors cannot stop uProxy just by blocking social networking websites because, instead of the standard web, it accesses the contact lists via background, hard-to-block online processes.


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Alcatel Q3 loss narrows as cost cuts start

PARIS: Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent posted higher revenues in the third quarter helped by double-digit growth in the highly profitable US market as it raced to cut costs to end six straight quarters of losses.

Alcatel-Lucent Chief Executive Michel Combes, who took the helm in April, is seeking to streamline the group to focus on high-speed mobile and fixed broadband products, while slashing the staff by 10,000 to save 1 billion euros by 2015.

He hopes to save the group, which is on its third CEO and sixth turnaround plan since its creation in a 2006 merger, and assure it an independent future.

Shares in Alcatel rose 15 percent at the open as investors cheered the progress on cost cuts and resistance in the United States where the overall market was flat.

One Paris-based trader called the results "very good" and said the company's comments that it expected a strong end to the year were also "reassuring".

Revenue in the third quarter rose 7 percent on a constant currency basis and 1.9 percent on a reported basis to reach 3.67 billion euros ($5.05 billion).

The group posted a net loss of 200 million euros, and had a gross margin of 32.6 percent, up from 27.8 percent a year ago.

The margin improvement came from selling higher-margin IP networking routers, which help telecom operators carry mobile data traffic, and fixed broadband products, as well as cost cuts. Revenue from IP products grew by 7 percent to 580 million euros.

Analysts had expected third-quarter revenue of 3.6 billion euros and a net loss of 139.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

Sales in Asia slumped 10 percent in the quarter, while Europe eked out 3 percent growth, the company said on Thursday.

The French-American group said it consumed 218 million euros of cash in the quarter, taking the cash used so far this year to roughly 1 billion euros. Cash burn has been a perennial problem for the group, which has a higher cost base than peers.

Alcatel-Lucent's woes stem from intense competition not only from low-cost Chinese rivals but also from larger vendors like Sweden's Ericsson and Finland's Nokia NSN equipment unit.

The United States, where Alcatel and Ericsson are the dominant players, has been the group's saving grace because Chinese vendors are essentially barred over security concerns.

Yet as Alcatel-Lucent struggles, some investors have begun hoping for consolidation in the sector.

Since Nokia sold its handset business to Microsoft for 5.44 billion euro, it has weighed internally whether to make a bid for all or part of Alcatel-Lucent, sources told Reuters in September.

Combes refused to say if talks had begun with Nokia, saying only that he was focused on strengthening Alcatel-Lucent.

"We will see in the coming years whether consolidation will take place depending on the conditions in the market," he said in a call after results.

"My focus is to implement my plan, which will make us stronger regardless of what happens in the industry long-term."

Cost cuts are at the centre of Combes' plan, and on Thursday he said the company would strip out more fixed cost this year than the initial 250-300 million euros initially planned.

Analysts from Jefferies investment bank said they were "concerned" about Combes ability to generate "truly significant" cost reductions.

"Historically, these kinds of cost cuts have been very elusive for Alcatel-Lucent, a by-product of their customer relationships and the high exit costs in the communications equipment sector," Jefferies wrote.

The results follow weak quarters at Ericsson and NSN, which were hit by slower spending by operators finishing superfast mobile buildouts, known as 4G.

But investors cheered a bullish year-end forecast for NSN, sending its shares higher.

Alcatel too said that its business would end on a high note with "strong seasonal activity" in the fourth quarter.

"We are seeing the first positive signs of our new operating model," said Combes.


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Starbucks CEO Schultz resigns from Square Inc's board

Privately-owned mobile payments company Square Inc said Starbucks Corp chief executive Howard Schultz had resigned from the board 15 months after joining one of Silicon Valley's hottest start-ups.

Square, founded in 2009 by Twitter Inc co-creator Jack Dorsey, said it named David Viniar as a replacement. Viniar was most recently the chief financial officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

"Howard's guidance has helped Square grow as a company and as a business. I have come to know Howard well, and I always appreciate his thoughtfulness and good counsel," Dorsey said.

Schultz joined Square's board in August last year by investing $25 million in a deal to use its technology to process debit and credit card payments at the coffee chain's stores.

Starbucks representative Jim Olson said that it had always been Schultz's intention to serve on the board for a year. A Square spokesman confirmed that Schultz had intended to hold the position for a year.


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Twitter roadshow: Less exuberance, more 'nuts and bolts'

During the roadshow leading up to Facebook Inc's initial public offering a year-and-a-half ago, New York's institutional investors were greeted by snaking queues, beefed up police presence, and a media feeding frenzy.

By those standards, Silicon Valley put forward a much more low-key contender on Wednesday, when Twitter Inc hosted a luncheon for about 600 prospective investors at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City.

After presenting two forms of ID, two guests from each investment firm were quietly led to their seats inside the cavernous ballroom on the 36th floor, overlooking Central Park. Some reporters waited to try to catch Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo, but he did not draw the kind of media circus that mobbed Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg last year.

While Facebook's CEO had shown up in a hooded sweatshirt and sneakers, Twitter's executives were clad in dark suits as they pitched investors over plates of pesto chicken salad and raspberry tart.

"I was expecting a lot of fanfare, like a wedding, but it's very nuts and bolts," said Akram Yosri, a managing partner at 3i Capital Group. "I like that very much. They're still in early stages of growth."

The luncheon was the first major event in an eight-day roadshow to promote Twitter's IPO, which seeks to sell up to $1.6 billion worth of shares in the loss-making social media company.

Investors who met with Twitter this week say they are optimistic about the deal, in part because they see little sign of the irrational exuberance that preceded Facebook's IPO.

Although also closely watched by Wall Street and Silicon Valley, Twitter's relatively conservative offering has differed from Facebook's $16 billion IPO in a panoply of ways, from its vastly smaller deal size, to a decision to list on the New York Stock Exchange over Nasdaq and down to the personal styles of the CEOs.

"It definitely was different than when Zuckerberg came through ... It's the right kind of buzz," said one fund manager, who met with Twitter on Monday.

"With Facebook, the buzz was just stupid," said the manager, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Valuation
Twitter last week said that it would price its IPO shares at $17 to $20 a piece, valuing the online messaging company at up to about $11 billion. That is less than the $15 billion that analysts had expected, and far below the $100 billion valuation that Facebook received in its IPO in May 2012.

However, Facebook had reported an annual profit of $1 billion and revenue of $3.7 billion before it went public, whereas Twitter reported a net loss of $79.4 million on revenue of just $316.9 million in 2012.

At the luncheon, Anthony Noto from Goldman Sachs, the bank that nabbed the highly coveted lead underwriting role, took the stage to introduce Twitter on behalf of other underwriters. They include Morgan Stanley's Michael Grimes, who was the face of Facebook's IPO 17 months ago, and JPMorgan star banker Jimmy Lee.

Twitter's presentation was delivered by Chief Financial Officer Mike Gupta and Costolo, who took 13 questions on subjects ranging from how the company plans to boost advertising sales to whether incorrect news being spread by users of the microblogging service could put off advertisers.

Twitter had asked attendees to submit their questions beforehand for small group meetings, which is a rare practice, one investor said. Attendees were given nametags with a blue Twitter bird and the Goldman Sachs logo.

At the upper end of its IPO price range, Twitter would be valuing itself at 17 to 20 times trailing 12-month sales, according to Reuters' calculations based on the IPO filings. The outstanding share base could swell by tens of millions of stock as holders exercise options and restricted stock units, inflating the valuation.

In comparison, Facebook trades at about 17 times trailing 12-month sales and LinkedIn Corp at roughly 19 times.

Some fund managers said they viewed Twitter's IPO price range as conservative compared to earlier estimates of $28 to $30 per share, and saw room for the stock to rise after it begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange on November 7 under the ticker symbol "TWTR." Twitter had internally valued its stock at $20.62 as recently as September.

Twitter "is getting a really warm welcome from people," said Scott Sweet, CEO of research firm IPO Boutique.

"Of all the individuals and institutions I've talked to - which include multi-billion dollar hedge funds - no one has said they aren't playing," Sweet said.

Facebook's shadow
Facebook's float was marred by an 11 percent drop in the stock on its second day of trade and successive declines over the next few months as investors questioned the company's ability to grow revenue through mobile devices.

It didn't help that, before its debut, Facebook's underwriters raised the size of the IPO by 25 percent and also hiked the price range. Finally, technical problems with Nasdaq trading systems delayed the start of trade, sowing confusion among nervous traders.

It took over a year for Facebook shares to reclaim their IPO price.

One investor who owns shares in Facebook and LinkedIn said his firm is approaching all the Twitter underwriters to ask for a 10 percent allocation, with the hopes of getting between 1.5 to 3 percent.

"It's a stupid game that is played ... if you can get what you want, then you don't want it," he said.

Another fund manager said he expects there to be "a scramble" for shares. "It's a hot deal, the room was packed."

Investor interest is expected to build as the roadshow proceeds. After stops in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver, the roadshow ends in New York next week with pricing scheduled for November 6.

Some investors say they believe Twitter's management has learned from Facebook's mistakes and are pricing the deal in a more conservative manner.

The company founders "are gazillionaires already. I think they're not going to want to spend the year after the IPO dominated by the argument about 'why we the IPO,'" the second fund manager said. "Life is short."


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Nokia phone lost underwater for 3 months, still works

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 29 Oktober 2013 | 21.43

NEW DELHI: Nokia has a legacy of making durable handsets, from the old 3315 to the new Lumia range. A recent incident reinforces the belief that Nokia makes some of the most durable mobile phones in the market still.

According to a Swede citizen Roger Nilsson, he recently found a Lumia 800 smartphone that was lost three and a half months ago in a lake. Except that the device is not rated for water resistance and is vulnerable to damage like any other standard smartphone in the market today.

Nilsson posted his account on the Facebook page of Nokia Sweden, saying that when he found the Lumia 800 wedged between two rocks in the lake, it was covered with muck, shells and other waste. He cleaned it up, disassembled the whole handset and kept it on a radiator to dry.

Much to his surprise, Nilsson found that the Lumia 800 survived despite being submerged underwater for over three months. He says that the phone and camera work as expected and the battery lasts over two days, as usual.

Most water-resistant smartphones are rated to survive underwater for a maximum of 30 minutes. This is in stark contrast with all other smartphones whose batteries explode spontaneously.


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Microsoft investors advised to vote against director

SEATTLE: Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis has recommended that Microsoft shareholders vote against the re-election of lead independent director John Thompson, who is in charge of the company's efforts to find a new chief executive.

In a note circulated to its clients on Monday, Glass Lewis expressed concerns about a possible conflict of interests for Thompson in his role as CEO of Virtual Instruments, a cloud-computing firm that sells licenses and devices to Microsoft.

Glass Lewis is one of two major companies which make recommendations to shareholders based on corporate governance guidelines, but its views are not necessarily heeded by large investors.

Microsoft representatives did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Thompson, a former International Business Machines executive, was appointed to Microsoft's board in February 2012 and elected by shareholders at the annual meeting later that year.

The company he runs, Virtual Instruments, was paid about $2.3 million last fiscal year by Microsoft for software licenses and hardware devices, which is less than 5% of Virtual Instruments's total annual revenue, according to Microsoft's annual proxy filing.

Microsoft said those purchases were negotiated "at arms-length" and at similar terms to Virtual Instruments' other customers. Despite that, Glass Lewis said Thompson's roles at both companies created a potential conflict, and classified him as an "affiliated" director as opposed to "independent," which it said makes him an inappropriate choice to lead the board.

Microsoft's next shareholder meeting is scheduled for Nov. 19. Shareholders have three voting options, 'for', 'against' and 'abstain'. Under Microsoft's rules, a director is elected if the number of shares cast 'for' exceeds the number of votes cast 'against' a director.

Glass Lewis is recommending shareholders vote to re-elect the company's other eight directors, including CEO Steve Ballmer and chairman and co-founder Bill Gates.

Ballmer announced in August that he will retire as CEO within the next 12 months, triggering the search for a new leader. It is not clear if Ballmer will retain his seat on the board after he retires, although he has said he intends to be an active shareholder in the company.

Some investors have suggested to the board that Gates step down from his role as chairman, saying he stands in the way of radical reform at Microsoft, which has lost ground to Apple and Google in mobile computing. Gates has not indicated any intention of stepping down.


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Google rivals slam EU antitrust settlement offer

AMSTERDAM: A group that includes Microsoft and Oracle says Google's bid to settle its antitrust case with the European Union is insufficient.

The EU has been investigating Google over alleged abuse of its dominant position in the Internet search market since 2010.

FairSearch, a Microsoft-led group that complained about Google, confirmed Monday the EU has begun sending out requests for feedback on a settlement, but it cannot reveal details.

Europe's top antitrust official, Joaquin Almunia, said Google has offered to let competitors display their own logos on Google result pages.

FairSearch spokesman Thomas Vinje said on Monday the settlement appears too similar to earlier requests its members rejected.

Google spokesman Al Verney said FairSearch members don't want a settlement, but want Google wrapped up "in a never-ending dispute."


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HP unveils its first Workstation Ultrabook in India

MUMBAI: Computer maker Hewlett-Packard (HP) unveiled its first mobile Workstation Ultrabook in India, sensing demand for such devices among professionals in engineering, architecture, design, animation and film sectors.

The US-based firm also announced the expansion of its Z portfolio of professional workstation and display products.

HP ZBook 14, which the firm claims is the world's first workstation ultrabook, sports Intel's Thunderbolt technology for high-speed data transfer, HP India said in a release.

The portfolio also includes three new HP ZBook Mobile Workstations, processor and graphics enhancements to the HP Z Desktop Workstations and two new HP Z Displays, it added.

The HP ZBook 14, which is priced at Rs 1.50 lakh, also comes with the option for a touch-enabled panel.

The company is focusing on professionals in engineering, CAD, architecture, design, animation, film, education, government and healthcare with its latest range of products.

Designed for workstation-class professionals that demand mobility, HP's ZBook mobile Workstations feature the 4th Generation Intel Haswell dual and quad core processors and graphics technologies from NVIDIA and AMD.

They also include Keplar-based professional graphics from NVIDIA. The HP ZBook Mobile Workstations feature innovative tool-free chassis for easy upgrades and serviceability.

Built with IPS Gen 2 panels, HP Z displays deliver power savings of up to 37 per cent compared to HP's first-generation IPS technology products.

To free up valuable desk space, an HP Thin Client Mount Kit is also available for HP Z27i and Z30i, allowing users to securely mount an HP Thin Client or Ultra Slim desktop to the back of the display.

HP has priced its Z series -- Z27i, Z30i, Z420, Z620, Z820, Z Book 15 and Z Book 17 -- in range of Rs 75,000-2.30 lakh.


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BSNL launches app for Android, Windows Phones

KOCHI: BSNL has launched a new mobile application 'My BSNL App' for Android and Windows Phone users.

With increasing penetration of smartphones, this simple and smart app will enable customers to pay their postpaid bills and prepaid recharges from anywhere at anytime, it said in a release.

This mobile-based access to online payment gateway enables BSNL to reach the customers in the nook and corner of the country and provide a visually appealing, user-friendly application facilitating a hassle free payment mechanisation for its landline/wireless (GSM/CDMA/WiMax) postpaid and prepaid segment. My BSNL App also enables customers to check their outstanding bill, pay bill, get payment receipt to their contact details mentioned in the profile, view payment history, check prepaid balance, top-up any BSNL number etc.

Multiple payment options such as netbanking, debit and credit cards etc are also available.

My BSNL App can be downloaded free from Google Play Store and Windows Store.


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Buy apps in real world store

Written By Unknown on Senin, 28 Oktober 2013 | 21.43

MUMBAI: Smartphone users now have the option to buy mobile apps 'offline' at Shotformats Digital Production's offline application stores.

The facility to buy applications at brick and mortar stores is being offered for the first time in the world, according to the company.

Low cost, big screen and feature-loaded smartphones are now a craze in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, but most users do not know how to operate such handsets beyond calling/messaging, and only 15% have ever downloaded an app, Shotformats Managing Director and CEO Niyati Shah said here.

"As per our research 95% of mobile users are prepaid users, of which around 30-4O% visit recharge shops at least twice a day for getting recharges. Our distribution chain will consist of such mobile recharge shops," she said.

The company aims to expand this network to 30,000 retail outlets in one year and sell one million apps in the next six months, she added.

The Offline App Store will distribute digital content -- movies, music, games and apps -- across more than 10,000 mobile recharge and telephone accessory stores in the next six months.

All the products will range between Rs 2-30, targeting students, house wives, low middle class and middle class people, Internet-savvy office goers.

"Offline app store is less time consuming as there is no downloading, it is also less expensive as the product is priced very low, and there is no hidden costs of data," she said.

The content will be available in eight languages - Hindi (Bollywood), Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Marathi and Assamese.

Stores will initially be launched in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Surat, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Indore, Rewa, Jabalpur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Guwahati and Siliguri.

However, for consumers who prefer consuming data online, the company also offers apps on the Biscoot website; they will be offered through digital currency - the Biscoot Digital Wallet.

"This digital wallet is a solution for those who shy away from using their credit or debit cards for online transactions. It will be available at retail mobile recharge and telephone accessory shops," Shah said.


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Apple to unveil iPhone 6 in 2014 summer: Report

WASHINGTON: Apple could launch iPhone 6 next year in summers.

In a research note, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said he expects Apple's sixth-generation iPhone to come with 'a larger screen option', adding that it could be a 'blockbuster'.

According to the New York Post, the news of early release of iPhone 6 is good news for the phone lovers and potentially for Apple shareholders.

The stock has been sagging over the last 12 months amid slumping sales growth and could use a boost from a 'blockbuster' product.

Last quarter, Apple eked out revenues of 35 billion dollars, which were flat from a year earlier.

In addition to the 'blockbuster' iPhone 6, Apple could also release brand new products like a watch and television, the report added.


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Xolo to launch a 4G enabled smartphone in Nov

NEW DELHI: Indian smartphone maker Xolo is gearing up to launch its first 4G LTE-enabled smartphone in the country.

According to a report on GSMArena, the device, dubbed LT900, will be formally launched in the first week of November.

Though not much is known about the device's specs, it is rumoured to have a 4.3-inch HD display along abd run on a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor.

The phone will have an 8MP rear camera with dual LED flash.

Xolo is also expected to launch an Android-powered dual core budget smartphone called A500L soon. The smartphone has already appeared on the company's website.

As per the listing, Xolo A500L sports a 4 inch touchscreen with 480x800 pixels resolution. It runs on a 1.3 GHz Mediatek MT6572 dual core processor and is powered by Android Jelly Bean 4.2 operating system. There's 4GB internal memory, 512MB RAM, 32GB expandable memory and 1500mAh battery. There's a 3MP rear camera and a VGA camera in front.

Xolo's domestic rival Micromax is also expected to launch a 4G-enabled smartphone in December.


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Nokia to soon launch Lumia 1520 in India

NEW DELHI: Nokia is expected to soon launch its Lumia 1520 phablet in the Indian market and has already listed the device on its official website for the country.

Lumia 1520 is a top-end phablet and the first Windows Phone device to have a Full HD display and quad-core processor. It will compete against the likes of Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Sony Xperia Z Ultra and HTC One Max in the market.

The new Lumia 1520 is a top-end phablet that has a 20MP PureView camera with OIS and runs on a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset. The handset also has 2GB RAM, 32GB expandable storage, 3,400mAh battery, NFC and wireless charging.

At the international unveiling of the device, Nokia said it will be priced at $749 excluding taxes. The India website of the company does not have the local pricing of the handset. E-commerce website Saholic has listed the device as 'Coming Soon', but has not given its price.

The company has also listed the Asha 500 Dual Sim, Asha 502 Dual Sim and Asha 503 Dual Sim -- launched alongside the Lumia 1520 -- on its India website.

However, the mid-range Nokia Lumia 1320 phablet and Lumia 2520 tablet that were also unveiled at the same event have not been listed on the site as of now.


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Spectrum refarming to raise cost of expand rural mobile coverage

KOLKATA: The government's move to refarm spectrum, starting with airwaves in the 900MHz band, is likely to drive up the cost of extending mobile coverage to over 42,000 villages across India which remain outside the mobile loop, according to an internal note seen by ET.

India is keen to hasten mobile services in "innumerable uncovered villages" on security grounds since many are in far flung, inhospitable zones near the Chinese and Bangladesh borders. But in the run-up to inviting bids from mobile phone companies, a telecom department panel has suggested modification in the tendering norms to ensure future cost escalations triggered by the spectrum refarming policy are shouldered by the telecom operators.

India's decision to refarm spectrum mandates incumbent GSM operators to relinquish their efficient spectrum in the 900MHz band during upcoming licence renewals starting late 2014 and buy them back through auctions, or shift to another band of airwaves.

Since many uncovered villages are in circles where mobile operators will have to repurchase spectrum in future auctions once their licences expire over the next three years, equipment costs will surge if a GSM operator, currently offering service in a region on the 900MHz band, is compelled to buy airwaves in the less efficient 1800MHz band, and launch services in uncovered villages within the circle.

"A suitable condition may have to be incorporated in the (forthcoming) tender, which should indicate the cost of change of equipment/spectrum, if any, will have to be borne by the telecom service provider, especially since many non-metro licences will come up for renewal in 2015, 2016 and 2017," a telecom department (DoT) panel says in the note.

The panel has reduced the cost of the project of extending mobile coverage to these uncovered regions to 3,800 crore from the original 4,900 crore as it now plans to first cover 42,311 villages on priority, compared to the initial 56,397 villages. Also, its capex estimates are based on delivery of mobile services on the efficient 900MHz band.

The entire project is likely to span at least three years and is proposed to be financed by Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF), but the DoT wants that cost escalations induced by the refarming policy would have to be borne by the operators. The USOF is a DoT wing that subsidizes rural network infrastructure rollouts.

Telcos have been opposing the DoT's refarming proposal since it would entail a total overhaul of networks. The move will also take away majority of the airwaves in the efficient 900MHz band from operators and possibly replace them with inferior frequencies in the 1800MHz band.


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PC first aid kit on your pen drive

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 27 Oktober 2013 | 21.43

Just like every home has a First Aid Kit for medical emergencies, it pays to have something similar for your PC. All you need is a pen drive that's loaded with essential, troubleshooting software. The tools listed in this piece are free, and run straight out of a USB stick, so you don't even need to install them. And yes, it also means you can carry this 'First Aid Kit' along whenever you want to help friends with their computer problems...

ClamWin
The portable version of ClamWin antivirus can be used to scan your PC for viruses. This is extremely useful because malware can sometimes disable the antivirus software installed on your PC. With ClamWin on your flash drive, you will be able to identify and remove infections.

To keep your PC spic-andspan, you will also need to routinely scan it for spyware and adware. These are pesky programs that get installed along with free software, or if you might have clicked on an unknown web link in an e-mail. To take care of these malicious programs, also keep SpyBot - Search & Destroy on the flash drive. Just make sure you have the updated versions of ClamWin and SpyBot on your USB stick at all times.

CCleaner
If your PC seems sluggish while performing basic tasks like opening a document, or during web browsing sessions, it's probably because of the temporary files created by the software you use. To purge your system of this junk, try CCleaner. Extract the contents of CCleaner's '.zip' file to a folder of the same name on your pen drive. Now, launch the software by double-clicking the '.exe' file and start spring cleaning your machine.

Recuva
Recuva comes with a simple, wizard-driven interface that makes it easy to retrieve files that you might have permanently deleted from your PC. A 'deep scan' lists deleted files in a friendly searchable format, along with the option to preview them if they are images. That said, there is no guarantee that you will always be able to retrieve deleted data. Also, if the files you're trying to recover are extremely critical, it is best to handover this job to professional companies that do this for a fee.

Revo Uninstaller
Uninstalled software sometimes leave residue in the form of files and Registry entries. These are not easy to find and end up hogging precious space. Revo Uninstaller saves you the trouble of manually clearing these files by thoroughly uninstalling a program. It can also be used to remove those stubborn toolbars that refuse to go away. An alternative to Revo Uninstaller is PC Decrapifier - a portable tool that does just as its name suggests.

AutoRuns for Windows
If your PC takes time to boot to the desktop, then it is probably because of the number of programs that are configured to launch during the Windows start-up process. With AutoRuns, you can cut down on these programs. It analyses your machine and shows you the services and programs that are scheduled to run during the boot process. Carefully deselect the ones that are not required at launch and you will improve start-up times. You can also use WinPatrolToGo to the same effect.

How to prep your USB flash drive
*To create your PC First Aid Kit you will need a pen drive with at least 2GB capacity. If possible, invest in one that supports USB 3.0 - this will guarantee faster read-write speeds on newer PCs that support the standard.

*Format your drive: Double-click My Computer and right-click the external drive icon that appears under Devices with Removable Storage.

*Click on Format and select FAT32 from the drop-down list as the file system of choice.

*Check the Quick Format box and click Start to initiate the process.

*Your USB flash drive is now ready to be filled with portable apps. It is recommended that you regularly replace the software on the flash drive with latest revisions. For example, an up-to-date antivirus will be more capable of detecting new threats.


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5 apps to keep spark in your relationship alive

There are a lot of crazy apps out there that claim to help you with everything - from shopping, to planning your pregnancy, and even ones that let you have your very own pet baby! Then there are the apps that promise to spruce up your love life, help you plan a romantic date and even remind you of your partner's birthday. Here's a list of some apps that promise to start, keep and save a relationship.

There are several apps that promise to start, keep and save a relationship

Your Marriage Proposal Pal
A proposal is the most personal expression of one's love, and nailing it can potentially affect the outcome, so why not leave the task to an app? With the Your Marriage Proposal Pal, all you have to do is enter some basic details about the love of your life and it creates the perfect proposal for you.

Fix a fight
This app works as a therapist as it helps couples work through their fights. Both partners need to be in the same room as the app helps them identify their feelings and rate their intensity. For instance, if you're feeling angry, you click on the 'enraged' button. After this, the couple has to pick something fun to do with each other, thereby helping them resolve the fight.

Spreadsheets
This app quantifies your performance between the sheets and compares it to that of random people on the internet. Spreadsheet measures the number of thrusts, the duration and even the decibel level of a steamy session, and uploads it on your social networking site page for the entire world to see and marvel at.

On The Rebound
Many believe that the best way to get over a failed relationship is with a quick rebound , and this app helps you do just that, but without having to go through the trouble of getting your game on. On The Rebound goes through the list of your Facebook friends, analyzes their relationship status and emotional well-being based on the contents of their posts, and tells you who you should get it on with.
KahnDoodle This app requires both partners to rank the romantic gestures they like. Once this is done, a 'love tank' is filled every time your partner performs one of those tasks, like in a game. For every task completed , your partner is rewarded with points, badges and special favours. And if you happen to forget to do something, the app sends you a push notification to remind you to give an affectionate hug, surprise, buy a gift or even initiate sex!


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Telcos training execs to deal with abusive calls, e-mails

Almost every other morning Amit Prasad starts his work day at the receiving end of a volley of abuse. "Why have you activated hello tunes without my consent," an irate caller takes off.

"You cheat, return my money, connect me to your senior you ****." It's mostly at that point — when the swear words begin — that the 22-year-old call centre executive who works for a telecom company in Gurgaon hangs up. Prasad is no stranger to the customer care business. He's worked in two similar roles in 2012. The reason for quitting both is that he couldn't cope with abusive calls.

"This is my third job in less than a year," says Prasad. And it's the worst of the three — the latest obnoxious call is the seventh in a span of a couple of hours. "I can't quit. I have to take it," he adds, requesting not to be clicked for this story by ET Magazine.

Abusive customers ostensibly dissatisfied with service or furious because their complaints are not being attended to are not alien in the telecom service providing sector.

However, industry officials point out there has been a dramatic increase in the number of such calls over the past nine months or so. "Yes, there has been a jump in abusive calls by customers," says Amanjit Kaur, head, CRM shared services, MTS India. MTS is the brand of Sistema Shyam Teleservices.

Indians were among most abusive customers in the world in 2012. While 12% resorted to profanities on the phone, 64% lost their temper with customer service.

A majority of their grievances relate to issues on value-added services (VAS), points out Kaur. At times, customers indulge in profanity in regional languages, she adds. MTS has 10 million subscribers across the nine circles that it operates in, most of whom are prepaid customers. In addition, it has 1.5 lakh high-end data subscribers. While the 10 million voice customers generate 65% of the company's revenue, the 1.5 lakh data customers bring in the rest. Vodafone India, the country's second-largest mobile operator, too has seen an increase in such calls.

"We have seen a trend of an increase in abusive behaviour on the part of customers calling in to the call centres," says a Vodafone spokesperson in an emailed response, adding that "abusive callers are a negligible part of our calls as we get millions of calls every day." Airtel declined to participate in the story. Another top mobile service provider is also facing flak from aggressive callers. "They [consumers] want a quick-fix solution to all their problems," the spokesperson says, requesting anonymity. "And abusing they think is the solution." The anger is not just confined to phone calls. It trickles down to abusive mails, nasty Facebook posts and vulgar tweets.

Why customers are angry
From allegations of cheating by activating VAS without consent to poor quality of service, including frequent call drops and bad coverage, to inflated bills, the grievances of consumers are far too many. Take the case of Manish Kandwal. The 27-year-old marketing manager's horror story started when he first requested for deactivation of 3G services. "In spite of repeated requests, they [telco] kept on sending me bills, which included 3G charges, for three months," says Kandwal, who works at Shree Balaji Alumnicast in Gurgaon.

"It's only after non-resolution of my problem that I got infuriated," he adds. Kandwal's anger may be justified. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recently directed operators to take double confirmation from consumers before activating VAS and deactivate requests in four hours. "Activation of VAS by service providers has been the cause of many customer complaints and is a major concern for Trai as well," the regulator said in a press release in July.

Trai has been addressing, from time to time, consumer complaints relating to activation of VAS without the explicit consent of the consumer, the release added. Early this year, an audit by Trai through independent agencies found that over two crore subscribers had complained in the past 15 months that VAS had been activated without their consent.

Across India, over 100.20 million subscribers had opted for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) till August 31, 2013 — a figure that clearly shows a high level of dissatisfaction among consumers. "MNP in India has been driven by demand, almost exclusively, from postpaid subscribers," says Jagan Ramaswami, director (consulting), strategy and technical insights, Frost & Sullivan. This is usually the urban, upwardly mobile subscriber base which values factors such as connectivity, billing clarity and customer service, he adds. "The number of MNP requests is an indicator of a sense of dissatisfaction of a demanding customer."

Irritation levels soar as calls drop
However, VAS is not the only issue. Frequent call drops too bug consumers. The reasons for call drops can range from inadequate coverage and quality of signal to network congestion and network failures. But there are customers who feel this is a deliberate attempt by telcos to jack up call numbers. Dilip Hirani, a 28-year-old who works as assistant manager (imports) at a freight shipping company, is one such disgruntled customer.

"Can't they find other ways of making money," he fumes, adding he is hardly able to complete his conversation without the call dropping. Trai has benchmarked the call drop rate at 2%, which most service providers had been meeting till December 2012. Service providers insist that they are meeting the benchmark.

"Idea is well within the defined limits of Trai's quality of standards across all parameters," says an Idea spokesperson. But call drops is not the only irritant that gets Hirani's goat. He also doesn't like being put on hold for ever when he calls in. "Now that is so bugging. Why can't they resolve the problem quickly," he asks, adding he has had countless abusive call sessions with customer care executives on this count.

While consumers think they have valid reasons to be disgusted with the service of telecom providers, the telcos put the blame squarely on the consumers. "These [instances of discontent] could be a customer's perception of wrong activation or charging," says the Vodafone spokesperson. Consumers also get angry in other scenarios such as network and payment-related issues, the spokesperson adds.

It's the slowdown, too
Experts on human behaviour point out that the fuse of customers may have got even shorter at a time when the economy is not exactly galloping. Factors like high inflation and interest rates, increasing job pressures and uncertainty and salary hikes that are not keeping pace with rising prices are eating into the share of the consumer's wallet reserved for such spending. And disputes on this front can inevitably result in blowouts.

"Our society is becoming unhappy and dissatisfied," says Dr Ekta Soni, a clinical psychologist at Apollo Hospitals. While salary hikes are not happening, expenses have skyrocketed. "Every penny pinches, especially when you feel that you have not got full value for your money. It gets manifested in displacement reaction, where you try to vent out you anger on somebody else, especially somebody who can't retaliate," she adds.

"This is an era of immediate gratification and nobody has time or patience to wait." The abusive Indian customer is a realilty. Indians were among the most abusive customers in the world, revealed a Global Customer Service Barometer report by American Express last year. While 12% resorted to profanities on the phone, 64% lost their temper with customer service, compared to the global average of 48%, the report said. "Since you can't scream at your boss or shout at your wife, you find an easy target in customer care executives," says Soni.

"Who likes to be a punching bag," shrugs Yakshi Arora Dang, a customer care executive with Tech Mahindra in Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi. "Callers should understand that they are talking to humans and not machines," says the 20-yearold who has been working on the Vodafone account. "There are no quick fixes. We need time to sort out issues," she adds. Consumers may have perpetuated a crisis, but telecom companies are helping by training their staff on how to handle abusive callers.

Handling abuse
MTS has devised a special module on dealing with abusive customers. It lays emphasis on empathising with the consumers rather than sympathising. "We invest a lot of time, money and effort in training our service teams in soft skills," says MTS' Kaur. But if the empathy isn't enough, the executives are empowered to disconnect the call by using appropriate call closing verbiage, she adds. For Vodafone, which has over 155 million subscribers, there is a standardised procedure to handle abusive customers.

"All call centre executives have been skilled extensively on customer-handling; the skills include listening, empathy, telephone etiquette and objection handling," says the spokesperson. This skilling, he adds, has a special focus on irate customer handling. Idea Cellular too has increased its focus on training and is investing intensively in it. "Idea's strong focus on customer service has resulted in the company being the top gainer of MNP," says the company spokesperson. The telecom operator had the highest net gain of 7.62 million customers — 6% of its total subscriber base — as on August 31.

However, training alone is not going to help the executives. One has to develop the art of listening, feel experts. Mona Agarwal, assistant manager (training) at Tech Mahindra, says a good listener can often pacify an irate caller. "Don't lose patience, that's the most important thing," says the 39-year-old, who heads a team of nine trainers and has been training the Vodafone caller team. "You need to understand what the customer is going through. And then listen him/her out," adds Agarwal. Does she have a piece of advice for consumers? "Please understand that customer care executives too are human beings like you." But then the consumer is king, too, right?


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Market for expensive smartphones shrinking: Report

NEW DELHI: Even as the mobile phone market is expected to expand by over 5% to about 1.91 billion units by 2014, the opportunity for smartphones in the premium category is now fading, global research firm Gartner has said.

The firm expects mobile phone shipments to touch 1.81 billion units this year against to 1.74 billion units in 2012.

"The mobile phone market will continue to experience steady growth, but the opportunity for high average selling price (ASP) smartphones is now ending," Gartner said, while giving its global outlook for the PC, tablet and mobile phone shipments.

The firm added that growth is expected to come from mid- tier smartphones in mature markets and low-end Android smartphones in emerging markets, like India.

Worldwide combined shipments of devices (PCs, tablets and mobile phones) are projected to reach 2.32 billion units in 2013, a 4.5% increase from 2012, it said.

"The market is being driven by a shift to lower-priced devices in nearly all device categories," Gartner said.

Android will remain the leading device operating system (OS), as it is on pace to account for 38% of shipments in 2013, it said.

Windows OS is projected to decline 4.3% in 2013 as a result of the decline in traditional PC sales, but will return to growth in 2014 with device OS shipments increasing 9.7%, it added.

Similarly, another global research firm IDC also said that mobile phone shipments will increase aided by sub-$200 smartphones.

Worldwide smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 40% year-over-year to more than 1 billion units in 2013.

"High smartphone growth is the result of a variety of factors, including steep device subsidies from carriers, especially in mature economic markets, as well as a growing array of sub-$200 smartphones," it added.

Total smartphone shipments are forecast to reach 1.7 billion units in 2017, IDC said.

Overall mobile phone market is growing faster than previously forecast thanks to a stronger-than-expected first half of the year driven by strong gains in emerging markets like India and the sub-$200 smartphone segment.

"IDC previously projected 5.8% growth for the year. Vendors are now forecast to ship more than 1.8 billion mobile phones this year, growing to over 2.3 billion mobile phones in 2017," the research firm said.


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SAP CFO: Not interested in Bidding for BlackBerry

FRANKFURT: German business software group SAP is not interested in bidding for troubled smartphone maker BlackBerry, its chief financial officer told a German magazine.

"BlackBerry doesn't fit with our strategy," Werner Brandt told Euro am Sonntag in an interview, adding that SAP already offers mobile solutions and did not need to fill any gaps there.

BlackBerry, based in Canada, once dominated the smartphone market but has put itself up for sale after being overtaken by Apple's iPhone and devices using Google's Android operating system.

There seems to be no shortage of interest in BlackBerry. SAP, along with Cisco Systems and Google, was in talks about a full or partial acquisition, sources close to the matter had previously told Reuters.

Its co-founders are also considering a bid, and a group led by property and casualty insurer Fairfax last month unveiled a tentative offer of $9 a share.

Former Apple boss John Sculley and Chinese computer maker Lenovo have also been reported as interested in a deal for BlackBerry.


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NIIT launches platform for employees to share new ideas

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 26 Oktober 2013 | 21.43

NEW DELHI: IT solutions provider NIIT Technologies has introduced a platform 'Ignite' to encourage its employees to share and evaluate new ideas that will help generate value for company's customers.

The platform is a real-time, interactive, ideation platform, the company said in a statement today.

The new 'Idea' engine is developed for the employees to log in new ideas which can generate value, it added.

"The platform was piloted in a few projects before its introduction. 261 new ideas were generated with 1195 comments resulting in 27 ideas in implementation," it said.

The statement said that the company earlier this year embarked on a major cultural change drive to address the changing expectations of customers. This culture change programme aims to uplift service levels of the company.

NIIT Technologies is a leading IT solutions organisation, servicing customers in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.


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'Micromax to launch 4G devices by December-end'

Home bred handset maker Micromax Informatics is ready for its next phase of growth. To start with, the company is planning to launch smartphones in Russia by the year end, as it starts on an aggressive road map of international expansion, having roped in Hollywood star Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassador, says co-founder Rahul Sharma.

In an interview with ET, Sharma says the company is also planning to launch 4-G enabled handsets by December 2014 and a Windows phone next year. Excerpts:

Do you think Nokia's sale to Microsoft has had any impact on players like yourself? Are you planning to make Windows smartphones sometime in the future?
It has been good for us because they have chosen to stick to the Windows operating system. Had they chosen Android, it would have been a threat for us. But now we're certain that they will not look at Android, which means lesser competition for us. We are working on a Windows phone and you might see something from us around mid of next year.

Globally, and in India, LTE that allows ultra high-speed internet is catching up fast. However, the ecosystem around devices has not developed at all. We see some handset makers looking at LTE devices, but what are your plans?
We want to establish ourselves on LTE and offer products that are LTE ready by December, so that consumers would not need to change their handsets whenever voice over LTE becomes available, be it six months or eight months later.

What are your thoughts about manufacturing handsets in India? What challenges do you face for indigenous production?
We've already put up a big factory in Rudrapur from where we're manufacturing and assembling tablets and televisions. I want to take mobile phones out there. We've created space for this purpose, so that we're the first ones to start manufacturing when the conditions are right.

Our internal target is to double sales (production) to around 50 million by next year since we're going global. Within 12- 18 months you should see some action from our side (in local manufacturing). But at the moment, I have to import everything right from chipset, fab, memory to screen. The government should give benefits that encourage companies like us that have massive scale now.

Where does Micromax plan to go next after establishing itself in India? Have you thought of tapping the developed markets which are more open to unlocked phone makers than before?
After worldwide adoption of Android, our aspiration is to become a global player. We've tested waters in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, where we are in the top 3 players by overall sales. India has not seen a global player from hardware, that's our ambition.

We're launching in Russia by December, where more than 1 million smartphones are being sold a month. Success in Russia will open doors to Eastern Europe, countries like Romania. We're also exploring Pakistan, which is similar to India and automobile makers have tasted success there.

The end goal is to finish in the US and do something around the Superbowl, maybe next year. Markets in these geographies are changing with unlocked phones becoming more popular. In the UK for instance, the share between locked and unlocked phones is 50:50 now.

What kind of growth are you expecting by the end of the fiscal? Are you thinking of an IPO now? What about acquiring a local player?
Last year, we closed our sales at Rs 3,168 crore. Within six months of this fiscal, we've crossed this number and we're on the way to double this by the end of the financial year. Right now, the situation is quite uncertain for an IPO. It makes sense for us to acquire a player in software, not in hardware.


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MTV to premiere series on app

NEW YORK: MTV is releasing a full season of a new series about a luckless high school football team on its mobile application, a week before the first episode is shown on television.

It appears to be a new milestone in the fast-moving world of technology changing traditional television content, much like when Netflix made an entire season of ``House of Cards'' available at once through the streaming service. MTV made its free app available on iPhones, iPads, iPods and the Xbox 360 in June, and nearly 2 million have been downloaded.

The series, "Wait `Til Next Year,'' is a 12-episode docudrama about a high school football team that had lost 43 games in a row and the community surrounding it.

"It will be fun to see if we can get them to come back and watch on television,'' said Kristin Frank, MTV's executive vice president of connected content.

That's always been a worry among networks about new content delivery forms, since the financial underpinning of the business is still largely dependent on viewers watching programs -- and their commercials -- on television. But MTV figures that many people who watch the series on the app will become promotional vehicles themselves, spreading the word about it on social networks and encouraging others to watch on TV.

MTV also experimented recently with its "flock to unlock'' promotion on Miley Cyrus. The network released "extras'' from its "Miley: The Movement'' documentary on the app, provided a certain number of viewers tweeted requests. They did and, in effect, the fans who successfully "unlocked'' the extra material provided MTV with free online publicity.

During the Cyrus experiment, MTV saw an 82 percent increase week to week in the number of people downloading the app, the network said.

VH1 recently made its new app available. The network aired reruns of last week's popular documentary about the band TLC exclusively on the app for a week before it aired again on television, Frank said. The CMT and Logo networks are also readying apps to be available in the next few months.

So far, a little more than half of the downloaded apps have been for iPhones, and 31 percent have been for iPads, MTV said. It is expecting to make an app for Android systems soon, a spokesman said.

MTV figured "Wait 'Til Next Year" would be a good test case for how many people are interested in using the app for new content, since it's a series that's starting without any established stars. Beyond the football team, the series focuses on cheerleaders, fans, parents and others trying to keep up enthusiasm for a program that hasn't won a game in five years.


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IBM licenses ARM for networking chips

ARMONK: IBM has licensed a broad range of ARM Cortex processors from ARM Holdings. The company plans to offer the new microprocessors to its custom-chip clients; leading companies that build network routers, switches and the cellular base stations that enable pervasive wired and wireless communications across the globe.

"IBM is a top provider of custom-built, system-on-a-chip technology to communications companies -- the silicon technology that has powered much of the mobile computing revolution," said Steve Ray, VP, Microelectronics, IBM. "With the addition of the ARM's advanced 32-bit microprocessors and peripherals to our Power-based offerings, our clients will now have the broadest array of leading silicon technology and design services available - giving them the ability to create the next generation of communications hardware."

The ARM Cortex-A15, Cortex-A12, Cortex-A7 and Cortex-M4 processors, as well as the ARM Mali-450 Graphic Processing Unit (GPU), are included in the new license agreement. The new ARM processors join IBM ecosystem of design tools and IP that simplify and extend the power of real-time embedded and advanced application processing for the company's custom-chip clients.

"IBM's manufacturing leadership and expertise in semiconductor innovation means that this agreement will result in a highly competitive portfolio of custom ARM-based solutions being deployed by leading networking infrastructure companies worldwide," said Tom Cronk, executive vice president and general manager, processor division, ARM.


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Philips cancels $207m sale of entertainment business

THE HAGUE: Dutch group Philips said it is terminating the 150-million-euro ($207 million) sale of its entertainment business to Japan's Funai, alleging breach of contract.

"Philips will take legal action to recover damages caused by breach of contract by Funai," the company said in a statement.

Philips said in January it was selling its entertainment business to long-term partner Funai in order to focus further on health products.

Under the deal, Funai was to pay 150 million euros plus an unspecified licence fee to use the Philips brand in audio, multimedia and accessories for an initial period of five and a half years, with an option to renew for five years.

That deal was to be closed by the end of 2013, while the video business was to be transferred in 2017 because of Philips' existing licence arrangements.

The Eindhoven-based Philips said it would rename its entertainment business WOOX Innovations and would seek a new buyer.

"We regret that we have to take this action, but we do so to protect our business and the interests of all our stakeholders," said Philips Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten.

Philips said that while it had completed preparations for the transfer of the business to Funai, the Japanese company "has refused to take the necessary steps to enable completion of the transaction and the transfer of the business."

It said: "As a result, Philips will start arbitration proceedings in the International Court of Arbitration (ICC) and will terminate the agreement signed in January."

WOOX Innovations will be a standalone company within Philips, headquartered in Hong Kong with over 2,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of 1.2 billion euros.

The announcement does not impact Philips' existing agreements with Funai in North America and Mexico, Philips said.

The company, which employs around 114,000 people globally, has been historically known for its televisions, small appliances and light bulbs, but has sought over the last decade to develop activities in the medical equipment and lifestyle sector.

In April 2012 the company sold its troubled television branch to TPV Technology.


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Kyocera launches Ecosys laser desktop printer

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 25 Oktober 2013 | 21.43

NEW DELHI: Document solution company Kyocera has launched Ecosys FS 1060 DN, a desktop laser printer.

Ecosys FS 1060 DN is a low-cost and power saving printer, according to the company. It runs on an ARM 390 MHz processor.

Ecosys printer weighs 7.6gm, with an input-capacity of around 251 sheets and an output capacity of 150 sheets face-down.

The printer also has a Quiet Mode that reduces noise while working. The device can print up to 25 pages in one minute in the A4 format, a 250-sheet universal cassette and manual feed USB and network connectivity as standard.

The printer is available at Rs 19,000.


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Huawei launches 'world's slimmest phone' Ascend P6 in India

NEW DELHI: Huawei has officially launched its Ascend P6 smartphone in India at an MRP of Rs 29,999. Claimed to be the world's slimmest smartphone, Ascend P6 measures 6.18mm and weighs 120g. It is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.2.2 operating system.

Ascend P6 features a 4.7-inch LCD display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. The smartphone is powered by Huawei's own K3V2 chipset, clocked at 1.5GHz. On camera front, Ascend P6 has an 8 megapixel rear camera capable of recording 1080p HD videos and a 5 megapixel camera in the front.

Ascend P6 is powered by a 2000 mAh battery and runs on Android 4.2.2 operating system. It has 2GB RAM and offers 8GB of in-built storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card. The smartphone is available in Black and White colours. The phone has Huawei's Emotion user interface on top.

Huawei's two other smartphones, Ascend G610 and Ascend G700, also recently made it to an online store in the country priced at Rs 12,499 and Rs 16,500 respectively.

Ascend G700 has a 5-inch HD IPS display, an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. G610 has a 5-inch IPS display, 5 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Both the phones have Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) OS, run on a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and pack 2150 mAh battery.


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LinkedIn's new app called a dream for hackers

Security researchers are calling LinkedIn's new mobile app, Intro, a dream come true for hackers or intelligence agencies.

"I'm flabbergasted by this," Richard Bejtlich, the chief research officer at the computer security company Mandiant, said in an interview Wednesday. "I can't believe someone thought this was a good idea."

Intro is an email plug-in for iOS users that pulls LinkedIn profile information into emails so that the sender's job title appears front-and-center in emails on a user's iPhone or iPad.

Some bloggers have hailed it as a smart play by LinkedIn to get more mobile action and to get users to stop thinking of the service as a static website they visit every couple of years to update their employment status.

But security researchers have taken issue with the way the app works. Intro redirects email traffic to and from users' iPhones and iPads through LinkedIn's servers, then analyzes and scrapes those emails for relevant data and adds pertinent LinkedIn details.

Researchers liken that redirection to a "man-in-the-middle attack" in which hackers, or more recently, intelligence agencies, intercept Internet traffic en route to its destination and do what they will with it.

Iranian hackers used that tactic to intercept dissidents' Gmail accounts in 2011, by hacking into DigiNotar, a Dutch certificate authority. The National Security Agency is accused of using such tactics to snoop on Google traffic, according to recent revelations by Edward Snowden.

Security researchers say LinkedIn essentially does the same thing in the name of a new mobile feature.

"'But that sounds like a man-in-the-middle attack!' I hear you cry," Bishop Fox, a security consulting group, wrote in a blog post. "Yes. Yes it does. Because it is. That's exactly what it is. And this is a bad thing. If your employees are checking their company email, it's an especially bad thing."

LinkedIn has responded to some of those concerns in an amended blog post Thursday. The company notes that customers must opt in to the app and that, once they do, their email is encrypted to and from LinkedIn's servers. The company also notes that LinkedIn does not store any email on its servers.

But researchers note that, in order for LinkedIn to stick changes into an email, they must decrypt it and then encrypt it again en route to its recipient, adding a new layer of insecurity to email in transit.

"I worry LinkedIn is not going to treat this as the holy grail for people's email, even though it is," Bejtlich said. "The risk is that you essentially trust a box, run by LinkedIn, with your email. It's a target for someone that wants to get to your email. All the fears people now have about email - that they will be intercepted by intelligence agencies for instance - are present."

LinkedIn has not had the best security profile. After the service was hacked last year, 6 million user passwords popped up on a Russian message board, revealing that the company used only bare basic security protocols. And last month, the company became the target of a class-action suit by users who said it was improperly accessing their data.

Bishop Fox, the security consulting firm, called the app "a dream for attackers" and enumerated specific concerns in a blog post. Among them: By giving LinkedIn access to their emails, users may be waiving their rights to attorney-client privilege. The consultancy also warned users that, by opting into Intro, they may be "in gross violation" of their employer's security policies.

"I don't think people who use this are seriously thinking about the implications of LinkedIn seeing and changing their email," Bejtlich noted. "These changes are done in the name of a feature, or speed, but it just completely breaks the idea that email traffic is going where it should go and no place else."


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Samsung working on Google Glass rival revealed

SEOUL: A patent filing shows Samsung Electronics is working on a device it calls sports glasses in a possible response to Google's internet-connected eyewear.

A design patent filing at the Korean Intellectual Property Office shows a Samsung design for smartphone-connected glasses that can display information from the handset.

It said the glasses can play music and receive phone calls through earphones built into the eyewear's frame. It also gives hands-free control over the smartphone.

Reminiscent of the Google Glass design, Samsung's sketch shows a thumbnail-sized display over the left eyeglass. Google's eyewear has a tiny display over the right eyeglass that shows information and websites.

It was not clear from Samsung's sketch and description whether its eyewear would be equipped with a touch control and a camera like Google Glass nor whether it would connect directly to the mobile internet or be a slave to a smartphone.

The name and the description specify the Samsung product is designed for outdoors activities or sports.

Samsung did not respond to an email and a call seeking comment.

Google Inc. is testing an early version of Google Glass with 10,000 people in the US after giving the public a first look at its internet-connected eyewear in June last year. The early version can take pictures, record videos, navigate maps and works without a smartphone.

Other tech companies are also exploring ways to bring mobile computing to everyday objects such as watches and glasses.

Samsung introduced a smartphone-connected watch called the Galaxy Gear last month. Sony also announced a smart watch.

Samsung filed the application for the eyewear design patent on March 8.


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How to get Siri-like features on Windows Phone 8

How often do you speak to your phone? If you use Windows Phone, it might not be as often as you would like - but in fact there are several very good speech recognition options for this platform.

Although not as advanced as Siri on iPhone, Windows Phone 8's voice recognition is surprisingly good, and can certainly aid with productivity. Some of its native features require third party apps on Android, making Windows Phone a good alternative, if good voice recognition is what you're looking for in a phone.

Windows Phone 8 enables you to launch apps with your voice, open communication with contacts, take notes, and search the web. Some apps also allow additional voice interaction.

Preparing your Windows Phone 8 for speech

Windows Phone 8 supports speech for languages around the world, but to begin you'll need to configure the phone for this, which involves changing some settings and downloading a voice pack.muo-wp8-speech-settingsIn the Settings menu, open Speech, and view the available options. You may like to Use Speech when the phone is locked, so check this box; you may also like to the device to Read incoming text messages aloud, which can be done with Bluetooth, wired headsets, Bluetooth and headsets, or generally switched on and off. Having text messages read regardless of the situation could prove embarrassing, of course.

You can also choose between a female and male Text-to-Speech voice, and once this choice is made you should proceed to the Speech language option. Depending upon your device manufacturer and/or mobile network, this should have been configured already. If not, you should see message reading "Speech is off until your language pack has been installed."

To deal with this, open the menu and select your preferred language, and wait while it downloads (if you have a metered mobile Internet connection, performing this step over WiFi might be wise).

With the language pack downloaded and installed, you'll be ready to start using your voice to communicate with your Windows Phone. For the best results, confirm that Enable Speech Recognition Service is checked.

Launch apps with your voice

Perhaps the first thing you will want to try is to open an app with your voice.

All Windows Phone voice controls are initiated by tapping and holding the Start button and waiting for the prompt. You will notice that some examples are given in the voice recognition box; there is also a help button you can tap for further suggestions.muo-wp8-speech-To launch an app, simply say "Open [APPNAME]". This works for all pre-installed apps, third party apps and even games!muo-wp8-speech-appsDepending on which apps you have installed, you will find that additional voice options are available. You can check these by holding Start, tapping the voice recognition help button (labelled with a question mark) and swiping to Apps. Here you'll see a list of voice commands associated with the apps you have installed.muo-wp8-speech-dominosFor instance, I might be rather peckish after a long day writing, and still have hours to go to beat my deadline. What could I possibly do, with no time to cook? The solution, surely, would be to utter the immortal words to my phone: "Domino's I am hungry!"

Moments later I'll be able to quickly order a pizza and wait for it to arrive while I carry on working!

Communicate with contacts

You already use your voice to communicate with people over the phone, right? Windows Phone 8 features voice recognition tools to open a conversation without manually finding and calling the contact yourself, either via phone call, text message or email.muo-wp8-speech-msgsFor instance, you can instruct the phone to call someone using the phrase "Call [CONTACTNAME]." If your contact has multiple phone numbers in your address book, then you would say something like "Call Phil Work", which would prompt Windows Phone to dial the work number saved for Phil.

You might also use the following: Call Phil on speakerphone - dials a number and uses speakerphone mode.

Other voice communication is possible. From the email app you can create a New message and after entering the recipient name (alternatively you might choose Send email from a contact listed in People) tap the Speak button and dictate your message. Although more suited to an office or multitasking environment than to driving, these can be very productive, and we've previously dedicated a full article to the various voice messaging options for Windows Phone 8.muo-wp8-speech-onenoteYou can even use the OneNote app to make an audio recording and then have it transcribed within the note! Do this by saying the word "Note" followed by the message. The text version will appear in the newly created note, below a play button that you can use to review the audio command. This can then be synced with your OneNote notebooks.

Search The Web Verbally

Much has been made of Android Jelly Bean's ability to search the web with your voice. Windows Phone 8 has a similar feature.

While there is no problem solving facility (as yet) available, it is a simple matter to hold the Start button and find the information you need.muo-wp8-speech-coffeeFor instance, if I was in Manchester and wanted to grab a coffee, I could say"

Find coffee in Manchester" and Windows Phone would connect to Bing to return local results, as pictured.

It's also possible to search the web using your voice, although be aware that the results will come from Bing rather than that other search engine.

Conclusion:

Very rarely will Windows Phone 8 answer you back. Problems such as mathematical equations cannot be solved and weather reports cannot be dictated to you (although they can be retrieved using the phrase "Find weather in [CITYNAME]"). On the other hand, it has been developed far more than the rudimentary system that was available on the old Windows Phone 7. All in all, Windows Phone 8 voice recognition isn't yet as developed as Siri on iPhone, and is roughly on par with that on the most recent version of Android.

This hopefully means that the system - which can prove very useful when driving and in desk-based productivity scenarios - will be further developed with future Windows Phone updates.

Source: Christian Cawley, makeuseof.com


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Accenture, Wipro, Infosys preferred employers in India: LinkedIn

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 24 Oktober 2013 | 21.43

NEW DELHI: Technology services company Accenture has topped the list of 20 most sought after employers in India, compiled by professional networking site LinkedIn.

IT majors Wipro and Infosys have been ranked at the second and third place respectively as the 'most InDemand employer brand' in India by LinkedIn.

In India the top sectors are tech, telecom & media , professional services, and aero/auto/engineering.

This is the second year in a row Accenture has retained its numero uno spot, the professional networking site said.

The top 10 companies in the list are IBM (4th), Hewlett Packard (5th), Oracle (6th), Tata Consultancy Services (7th), Amazon (8th), Microsoft (9th) and Airtel (10th).

LinkedIn has determined these rankings by analysing the actions of its members on the platform.

The professional network has more than 238 million members globally with over 21 million in India.

Internet giant Google which has been ranked as the top employer in demand in the world by LinkedIn, took the 13th spot on the Indian list. Google is followed by Apple and Unilever on the global list.

Other firms in the top 20 list in India included Larsen & Toubro (11), Dell (12), HCL Technologies (14), Cognizant Technology Solutions (15), Deloitte (16), Cisco (17), Genpact (18), Adobe (19) and GE (20).

"The companies who have made it to this year's list are definitely ahead of the curve in their talent management efforts," LinkedIn India Director Talent Solutions Irfan Abdulla said.

"Building and maintaining an employer brand to attract the right kind of candidates is the need of the hour, failing which they will surely lose out in the war for quality talent," Abdulla added.


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Wipro veteran Anand Sankaran joins Dell

BANGALORE: Anand Sankaran, who quit Wipro earlier this month, has joined Dell Services as its president and global head of its infrastructure and cloud computing business.

Suresh Vaswani, head of Dell's services business, told TOI that infrastructure services was one of the larger businesses within Dell Services and Sankaran would be leading a team of about 10,000 people.

"He is extremely well suited to this role," he said.

Sankaran was a senior vice president and head of global infrastructure services at Wipro at the time he quit. He was with Wipro for 24 years and was made head of the infrastructure services business in 2011. The business constitutes nearly a third of Wipro's revenues.

Sankaran and Vaswani had a long association in Wipro. Vaswani too was in Wipro for 25 years and was its joint CEO when he quit to join Dell in 2011.

Sankaran said he was excited to be in Dell. "It will be a challenging and interesting opportunity. Dell has strong capabilities around technology in infrastructure services, and has geo-presence and scale that few can match. It provides infrastructure services for small companies, mid-market and large enterprises. So I believe we can shake up the infrastructure business," he said. Sankaran holds a Bachelor degree in engineering from the Karnataka Regional Engineering College.

Dell is a $57 billion revenue company, and its services business accounts for $8.5 billion. Vaswani said he could not disclose the contribution made by the infrastructure services and cloud computing business. "We'll be deeply investing in this business. And our objective, unlike most IT service vendors, would not be to only outsource a company's infrastructure services, but would be also to migrate the infrastructure to a future state, so that it creates a very different customer experience," he said.

He said Dell would be able to do that also because of its traditional expertise in end-user devices, and the server, storage and networking business.


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Micromax launches Canvas Turbo at Rs 19,900

NEW DELHI: Indian handset maker Micromax, today, announced the launch of its Canvas Turbo smartphone in the market.

Canvas Turbo A250 is the first fullHD smartphone from Micromax. The phone has full aluminum casing and a 5-inch screen that offers 360-degree viewing angle. Canvas Turbo runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor coupled with 2GB RAM.

Canvas Turbo features a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. The camera offer features like 360-degree panorama, Cinemagraph and Object Eraser.

The phone comes packed with a 2000 mAh battery. The device comes preloaded with apps like BBM, Hike and Spuul among others. Canvas Turbo also has 'Blow to Unlock' feature that Micromax first introduced in its Canvas 4 handset. The connectivity options include Bluetooth v4.0 and Wi-Fi.

Micromax Turbo will be available in white and blue colours in the market at a price of Rs 19,990 from October 26.

Commenting on the launch, Rahul Sharma, co-founder, "Canvas Turbo further builds on our promise to constantly empower our users with superior technology. This is complemented by a refreshed ecosystem of applications enabling users to multitask offering great value to them."

Specs

*1.5GHz Quad Core processor & 2GB RAM, Android 4.2(Jelly Bean)
*5-inch FullHD screen
*Full aluminum casing
*13MP rear camera; 5MP Front camera, 360 degrees panorama, cinemagraph, object eraser
*2,000 mAh battery
*2 GB RAM; 16GB internal storage
*Preloaded apps: BBM, Spuul, Kingsoft Office, Blow to Unlock, Opera, Hike


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Micromax to launch Canvas Turbo at Rs 19,900

NEW DELHI: Indian handset maker Micromax, today, announced the launch of its Canvas Turbo smartphone in the market.

Canvas Turbo A250 is the first fullHD smartphone from Micromax. The phone has full aluminum casing and a 5-inch screen that offers 360-degree viewing angle. Canvas Turbo runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor coupled with 2GB RAM.

Canvas Turbo features a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. The camera offer features like 360-degree panorama, Cinemagraph and Object Eraser.

The phone comes packed with a 2000 mAh battery. The device comes preloaded with apps like BBM, Hike and Spuul among others. Canvas Turbo also has 'Blow to Unlock' feature that Micromax first introduced in its Canvas 4 handset. The connectivity options include Bluetooth v4.0 and Wi-Fi.

Micromax Turbo will be available in white and blue colours in the market at a price of Rs 19,990 from October 26.

Commenting on the launch, Rahul Sharma, co-founder, "Canvas Turbo further builds on our promise to constantly empower our users with superior technology. This is complemented by a refreshed ecosystem of applications enabling users to multitask offering great value to them."

Specs

*1.5GHz Quad Core processor & 2GB RAM, Android 4.2(Jelly Bean)
*5-inch FullHD screen
*Full aluminum casing
*13MP rear camera; 5MP Front camera, 360 degrees panorama, cinemagraph, object eraser
*2,000 mAh battery
*2 GB RAM; 16GB internal storage
*Preloaded apps: BBM, Spuul, Kingsoft Office, Blow to Unlock, Opera, Hike


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Infosys adds 12 executives to its management team

BANGALORE: In perhaps its biggest ever expansion of its leadership team, Infosys has inducted 12 new faces to the executive council (EC), taking the total strength of its highest operational decision-making body to 30. The EC had only 16 members at the end of 2012-13, which means its strength is now almost double that..

The company said this was done to provide greater focus to its new growth areas. Business unit and subsidiary heads of emerging businesses are now part of the council.

It may also have been done to retain key executives. Infosys has seen several top level exits recently, most prominently that of board member Ashok Vemuri and Sudhir Chaturvedi, the financial services head for the Americas. As EC members, the new inductees will be entitled to an allowance of $150,000 per annum pro rata for the period as member.

The new EC members are: Dheeshjith V G, who is the senior VP-growth markets that combines the operations of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Middle East, South East Asia, France and Germany. All the country heads in these countries report to him.

Eric Paternoster, CEO and president of Infosys Public Services, an Infosys subsidiary focused on healthcare and public sector in the US and Canada; Ganesh Gopalakrishnan, senior VP-information systems; Gautam Thakkar, CEO of Infosys BPO; Haragopal Mangipudi, senior VP and head of Finacle; Jackie Korhonen, country head of Australia and New Zealand; Manish Tandon, senior VP-life sciences; Muralikrishna K, senior VP-computers and communications division; Ravi Kumar S, senior VP-insurance; Ronald Hafner, CEO of Infosys Lodestone; Sanjay Jalona, senior VP-manufacturing; Subu Goparaju, senior VP at Infosys Labs.

India's second largest IT company had appointed three members to the EC in August. These were Ranganath Mavinakere, Binod Hampapur Rangadore, and Nithyanandan Radhakrishnan.

Mavinakere, who was the chief risk officer of the company, now heads the cost-optimization initiative in the chairman's office. Rangadore heads the new global delivery model in the chairman's office. He was previously the head of the India business unit and global head of corporate relations. Radhakrishnan is a senior VP and general counsel.


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LG launches first Firefox OS phone, Fireweb

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 23 Oktober 2013 | 21.43

South Korean manufacturer LG has unveiled its first smartphone running on the Firefox OS, named the Fireweb. The device runs on the Firefox OS 1.1 operating system and has been launched in Brazil first. The device will cost $207 without contract and $59 on contract (only on telecom operator Telefonica Vivo).

The new Fireweb smartphone has a 4-inch screen with 480x320p resolution and 144ppi density. It has a 1GHz Qualcomm processor and 2GB internal storage and supports microSD card up to 32GB. The device packs a 5MP rear camera with LED flash, but no secondary unit. It will be available in black colour and run on a 1,540mAh battery.

The new LG Fireweb comes with Facebook and Twitter integration, Nokia's Here maps and Firefox mobile web browser. Buyers can download apps from the Firefox Marketplace for the platform.

Jay Sullivan, COO of Mozilla, said, "Our partnership with Telefónica Vivo demonstrates the rich, new experiences offered on Firefox OS by combining the best global and local content with LG's elegant new device experience."

Other smartphones powered by Firefox OS include Alcatel One Touch Fire, ZTE Open, GeeksPhone Peak+.


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'Steve Jobs wrong about small tablets'

SAN FRANCISCO: Three years ago, Steve Jobs compared personal computers to trucks and tablets to cars. PCs will still be around, he said, but more people will want tablets.

Apple took another step toward making that prediction come true. It souped up its iPad tablets with faster processors and zippier internet connections.

The company upgraded its iPad Mini, the smaller tablet, with a higher-resolution display. The full-size iPad with a 9.7-inch screen was renamed the iPad Air, because it has a slimmer design and has lost some weight. The small iPad starts at $400 and the bigger iPad will cost $500. Both iPads will ship in November.

"This is our biggest leap forward ever in a full-sized iPad," said Philip Schiller, vice president for marketing at Apple, at a company event here.

Jobs, who died in 2011, declared at a business conference in 2010 that the era of the personal computer was nearly over. He said that tablets, which are more portable and easier to use, would cut people's ties to old-school computers, relegating PCs - like trucks - to carrying the heaviest loads.

"When we were an agrarian nation, all cars were trucks, because that's what you needed on the farm," Jobs said. As cars became faster and easier to use, trucks became passé, he said.

Tablets are already devouring the PC market. About 120 million tablets were shipped in 2012, nearly seven times as many as in 2010, when the Apple iPad was first released, according to Gartner, a market research company. IDC, another research company, predicts that sales of tablets will surpass those of PCs in the fourth quarter of this year, and on an annual basis in 2015.

The new iPad mini gained a high-resolution Retina display. It costs $400-$70 more than the previous iPad mini. But Apple said it would continue selling the older iPad mini for $300.

The iPad Air is about 20% thinner than the previous iPad and weighs one pound, down from 1.4 pounds.

Both new iPads will include new chips, called A7 and M7, which Apple introduced in its latest high-end iPhone last month. The A7 is a faster processor with a new architecture that makes it better at multitasking. The M7 is a separate chip dedicated to sensing movement, which could allow for new capabilities in software or games that incorporate motion, like a racing game.

Both iPads will also include an improved antenna system for faster Wi-Fi connections. They will come in silver and gray. The iPad Air goes on sale November 1, but the new mini will ship later in November, suggesting that supply is limited for the smaller tablet.

The new iPads do not include the fingerprint sensor technology, TouchID, that Apple introduced in the high-end iPhone 5S. Analysts believe that may be because parts are in limited supply, since the iPhone 5S is selling so quickly.

Mac computers have taken the back seat of Apple's business, with most of Apple's profit coming from iPhones and iPads. The company said that, beginning Tuesday, it would make its new Mac operating system, Mavericks, available free.

Apple also released upgrades for some of its Mac hardware on Tuesday. The MacBook Pro notebooks with Retina displays are now thinner and faster, with better battery life. The 13-inch version will cost $1,300 and the 15-inch model will cost $2,000.

Apple also said the high-end Mac desktop computer, the Mac Pro, which was introduced in June, would begin shipping in December, for $3,000. It will be assembled in the United States.

Although the tablet market is growing quickly, tablets are not nearly as ubiquitous as smartphones. Gartner said that manufacturers would ship 1 billion smartphones and 184 million tablets this year. Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner analyst, said smartphones were probably more popular because the phone function makes a smartphone a necessity, while a tablet is considered a device that is just nice to have.

Jobs was wrong about one thing regarding tablets. In a conference call with investors in 2010, he mocked smaller tablets, calling them "dead on arrival" and saying they would need to come with sandpaper so people could sand down their fingertips to use them.

For Apple's competitors, smaller tablets are getting the most traction, partly because of their lower costs. And that also appears to be the case for Apple. Since the release of the lower-cost iPad Mini late last year, the average selling price of iPads overall has fallen, according to the company's financial reports, meaning that the iPad Mini is most likely outselling the bigger iPad.

Apple is No. 1 in the tablet market with about a 32% share, according to IDC. But Apple faces fierce competition from companies like Amazon, Samsung Electronics and Google, whose tablets undercut the iPad in price. Samsung, the No. 2 tablet maker, is quickly gaining traction, with 18% of the market in the second quarter, up from 7.6% in the period a year earlier, according to IDC.

Milanesi of Gartner said she expected smaller tablets to continue gaining in popularity as the smartphone market became saturated.

"We expect this holiday season to be all about smaller tablets as even the long-term holiday favorite - the smartphone - loses its appeal," she said.


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Apple seeks to prove Steve Jobs right with new iPad

SAN FRANCISCO: Three years ago, Steve Jobs compared personal computers to trucks and tablets to cars. PCs will still be around, he said, but more people will want tablets.

Apple took another step toward making that prediction come true. It souped up its iPad tablets with faster processors and zippier internet connections.

The company upgraded its iPad Mini, the smaller tablet, with a higher-resolution display. The full-size iPad with a 9.7-inch screen was renamed the iPad Air, because it has a slimmer design and has lost some weight. The small iPad starts at $400 and the bigger iPad will cost $500. Both iPads will ship in November.

"This is our biggest leap forward ever in a full-sized iPad," said Philip Schiller, vice president for marketing at Apple, at a company event here.

Jobs, who died in 2011, declared at a business conference in 2010 that the era of the personal computer was nearly over. He said that tablets, which are more portable and easier to use, would cut people's ties to old-school computers, relegating PCs - like trucks - to carrying the heaviest loads.

"When we were an agrarian nation, all cars were trucks, because that's what you needed on the farm," Jobs said. As cars became faster and easier to use, trucks became passé, he said.

Tablets are already devouring the PC market. About 120 million tablets were shipped in 2012, nearly seven times as many as in 2010, when the Apple iPad was first released, according to Gartner, a market research company. IDC, another research company, predicts that sales of tablets will surpass those of PCs in the fourth quarter of this year, and on an annual basis in 2015.

The new iPad mini gained a high-resolution Retina display. It costs $400-$70 more than the previous iPad mini. But Apple said it would continue selling the older iPad mini for $300.

The iPad Air is about 20% thinner than the previous iPad and weighs one pound, down from 1.4 pounds.

Both new iPads will include new chips, called A7 and M7, which Apple introduced in its latest high-end iPhone last month. The A7 is a faster processor with a new architecture that makes it better at multitasking. The M7 is a separate chip dedicated to sensing movement, which could allow for new capabilities in software or games that incorporate motion, like a racing game.

Both iPads will also include an improved antenna system for faster Wi-Fi connections. They will come in silver and gray. The iPad Air goes on sale November 1, but the new mini will ship later in November, suggesting that supply is limited for the smaller tablet.

The new iPads do not include the fingerprint sensor technology, TouchID, that Apple introduced in the high-end iPhone 5S. Analysts believe that may be because parts are in limited supply, since the iPhone 5S is selling so quickly.

Mac computers have taken the back seat of Apple's business, with most of Apple's profit coming from iPhones and iPads. The company said that, beginning Tuesday, it would make its new Mac operating system, Mavericks, available free.

Apple also released upgrades for some of its Mac hardware on Tuesday. The MacBook Pro notebooks with Retina displays are now thinner and faster, with better battery life. The 13-inch version will cost $1,300 and the 15-inch model will cost $2,000.

Apple also said the high-end Mac desktop computer, the Mac Pro, which was introduced in June, would begin shipping in December, for $3,000. It will be assembled in the United States.

Although the tablet market is growing quickly, tablets are not nearly as ubiquitous as smartphones. Gartner said that manufacturers would ship 1 billion smartphones and 184 million tablets this year. Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner analyst, said smartphones were probably more popular because the phone function makes a smartphone a necessity, while a tablet is considered a device that is just nice to have.

Jobs was wrong about one thing regarding tablets. In a conference call with investors in 2010, he mocked smaller tablets, calling them "dead on arrival" and saying they would need to come with sandpaper so people could sand down their fingertips to use them.

For Apple's competitors, smaller tablets are getting the most traction, partly because of their lower costs. And that also appears to be the case for Apple. Since the release of the lower-cost iPad Mini late last year, the average selling price of iPads overall has fallen, according to the company's financial reports, meaning that the iPad Mini is most likely outselling the bigger iPad.

Apple is No. 1 in the tablet market with about a 32% share, according to IDC. But Apple faces fierce competition from companies like Amazon, Samsung Electronics and Google, whose tablets undercut the iPad in price. Samsung, the No. 2 tablet maker, is quickly gaining traction, with 18% of the market in the second quarter, up from 7.6% in the period a year earlier, according to IDC.

Milanesi of Gartner said she expected smaller tablets to continue gaining in popularity as the smartphone market became saturated.

"We expect this holiday season to be all about smaller tablets as even the long-term holiday favorite - the smartphone - loses its appeal," she said.


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Can Surface 2, Lumia 2520 tablets co-exist?

Nokia's first Windows tablet, introduced is a colorful device born under some curious omens.

For starters, the Nokia device, named the Lumia 2520, was announced the same day that Microsoft's new tablet, the Surface 2, went on sale. Microsoft does not yet own Nokia's devices business. If it did, it is questionable whether the Surface 2 and Lumia 2520 would both exist, because they are similar in several ways.

The Lumia 2520 and Surface 2 both have screens around 10 inches and run Windows RT, the variation of the Windows operating system designed for thinner, low-power mobile devices based on the ARM class of processors. The $499 Lumia tablet comes with access to wireless LTE networks, which Microsoft does not offer in its Surface tablets. (It plans an LTE model next year.)

The Lumia tablet comes in red, blue and other colors, making it look festive compared with the more serious, professional-looking Surface 2. A $149 cover that doubles as a keyboard will be available for the Nokia, as similar products are for the Surface.

Microsoft will not say how it plans to reconcile its Surface product family with Nokia's tablet when its $7.2 billion deal to buy Nokia's device business closes, which is expected to occur in the first quarter of next year.

The new Nokia tablet also had the misfortune of being announced the same day that Apple announced upgrades to its popular iPad products in San Francisco.

Nokia held a press event to announce its tablet in Abu Dhabi, which is likely to inhibit the attention the product receives.

Nokia chose the location partly because it also announced a range of new mobile phones, and sales of those devices have been better outside the United States and other Western markets. The most prominent of those new phones is the Lumia 1520, a Windows Phone that will come with a 6-inch display - a giant screen for a smartphone that puts the device firmly in the tablet-phone hybrid category.

The Lumia 1520 will be offered in the United States exclusively on AT&T's network.

Microsoft and Nokia also took steps to address one of the most glaring holes in the selection of apps available for Windows Phones. Instagram, the photo site owned by Facebook, will release a Windows Phone version of its app "in the coming weeks," Kevin Systrom, Instagram's chief executive, said in a statement.

Microsoft has been providing financial incentives to developers to encourage more of them to develop apps for Windows Phone, and it has succeeded in getting many of them, including Pandora, to join the party. But Instagram, a wildly popular app with young mobile users, had so far eluded Microsoft.

Microsoft also said that Flipboard, a popular app that puts social media news feeds and other information into a magazine-like layout, will be available for Windows 8 tablets like the Lumia 2520 and Windows Phones.


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Google world's best place to work for: Survey

NEW YORK: Internet giant Google has emerged as the world's best multinational company to work for, followed by software developer SAS Institute and network storage provider NetApp in the second and third place, respectively.

Software giant Microsoft was ranked fourth by human resources consultancy 'Great Place to Work Institute', which has compiled a list of 25 such companies.

There is no India-based company in this list and all 25 firms are either American or European.

Others in the top 10 include W L Gore & Associates, which was ranked 5th on the list, followed by personal and household goods maker Kimberly-Clark (6th), hospitality giant Marriott (7th), consumer goods firm Diageo (8th), National Instruments (9th) and IT company Cisco (10th).

While there are no Asian companies in the list, and 9 out of the top 10 positions have been occupied by US firms. London-based Diageo was the only firm in the top 10 which did not belong to the United States.

This year, more than 6,000 companies participated in national Best Companies list competitions in more than 45 countries across the world. The organisations featured in this list represent the 25 Best Multinational Workplaces in the world.

"The 25 companies on the 2013 World's Best Multinational Workplaces list set a high standard for us all. Their outstanding achievement builds a better society by creating great workplaces," it said.

The list also includes Autodesk ranked at the 11th place, followed by Monsanto (12th), BBVA (13th), American Express (14th), Hilti (15th), Telefonica (16th), Accor (17th), Quintiles (18th), SC Johnson (19th), FedEx Express (20th), Atento (21st), Mars (22nd), McDonald's (23rd), The Coca-Cola Company (24th) and Novartis (25th).

Together, these companies employ more than 11.9 million employees.

These companies were selected from more than 1,000 corporations, they have appeared on at least 5 national Best Workplaces lists, have at least 5,000 employees worldwide, have at least 40% (or 5,000 employees) of their workforce based outside their home country.


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