Mobile Phone Contracts: You Are Now Required To Pay Lesser Rates

Mobile phones are one of the most essential and crucial elements of our lives. Every person finds a use of it in some way or the other. This is a major reason as to why each person must be granted equal and fair access to it. Often phones are expensive due to the high technology equipped in it, so network companies offer mobile phone contracts to the public so that they gain more accessibility to he phones of the market and are eventually required to pay affordable rates over the purchase and usage of a phone.

Mobile phone contracts are provided to you by the companies of Vodafone, Virgin, Orange, O2, T mobile and 3. These companies offer their services to the user in the form of a sim. It enables the user to make use of the calling and texting facilities of the phone. The contracts are term bound legal documents, the duration can be up to that of 2 years and can be decided by the user according to his need.

The contracts can be undertaken with any kind of phone. They can be of Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Blackberry or HTC. These companies offer their phones for contracts as it is a very good way to fight intense competition and keep up with market demand. The brands display a large assortment of phones. They provide basic models and even high tech phones with cameras, music players or internet access.

Contractual benefits start with companies charging a discounted amount on the phones usage. The user can even pick up certain plans that offer him a few messages and calling minutes free of charge. He can take home LCD TVs, laptops, notebooks, play stations and home appliances in the form of free gifts.

UK ISP TalkTalk Begins Offering Mobile Phone and Mobile Broadband Services

The budget conscious Internet and fixed line phone provider, TalkTalk UK ( AOL UK , Tiscali , Opal ) has, somehow without us spotting it until today, launched its own range of mobile phone and Mobile Broadband packages. The services appeared without much fanfare and we're not sure how long they've been listed on TalkTalk's site.

At the end of July 2010 TalkTalk revealed that it had signed a new Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement with Vodafone UK, allowing them to launch their own range of mobile voice and Mobile Broadband services - TalkMobile - alongside existing products.

At the time TalkTalk said that the service was set to launch sometime later in the summer, although we haven't heard even so much as a peep about it since then. It's probably a huge oversight on our part, we can't be sure, but TalkTalk's website is now promoting the new services.

Sadly the anticipated prospect of true triple-play mobile, broadband and home phone service bundles has not yet been fully realised. Instead TalkTalk has kept its mobile deals somewhat separate from their existing broadband and fixed line phone bundles. However you do still have to be a TalkTalk customer to take the mobile service.

Source: Ispreview.co.uk

Nokia N87 12MP – Price & Features

The new Nokia N87 12MP will be a 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen mobile with 12 megapixel camera.Nokia N87 will have a slider for dedicated multimedia keys.It features ARM Cortex 8 CPU at 600 MH,GPS with AGPS.

The key features of the new Nokia N87 mobile phone are:

* GPS with AGPS

* ARM Cortex 8 CPU at 600 MHz

* 256MB of RAM

* 16GB / 32GB of internal memory

* 3G HSDPA

* FM radio & transmitter

* Music and Video Player

* 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen

* 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics & Xenon flash

* Wi-Fi

Price is not decided yet.

Man to whip North into fiscal shape

INTERVIEW: With London unveiling its spending review, the Assembly must get its balance sheet in order. FRANCES McDONNELL interviews Northern Ireland Minister for Finance Sammy Wilson

OPPORTUNITY COST is a concept Northern Ireland's Minister for Finance is more than happy to embrace. However, former economics teacher Sammy Wilson fears many of his ministerial colleagues in the North's Executive have yet to come to grips with one of the science's most basic notions which measures the cost incurred for not being able to do something because you have chosen to do something else - in terms of your time or your money.

After next Wednesday, every Minister in Northern Ireland will have no choice but to put the concept into practice as the coalition government in Westminster unveils the results of a Comprehensive Spending Review that will set out the government's four-year spending plans.

That the review will contain drastic public expenditure cuts designed to help the UK get its £109 billion (€124 billion) annual structural deficit under control has been well-flagged. The UK is paying about £120 million a day in interest charges to service its deficit. In the budget last June, David Cameron's government signalled that spending would be £83 billion lower in four to five years' time.

The review will, according to the UK treasury, "necessitate some tough choices about how the government allocates spending" because of the scale of Britain's deficit. What this means for Northern Ireland is that it is likely to lose a slice of the annual subsidy it receives from the treasury - more than £9 billion, roughly £5,000 per person in the North.

Northern Ireland's political leaders have been campaigning for a special dispensation from any sweeping social cuts. They argue that a deal struck with the previous Labour government as part of the peace process in 2006, promising investment of £18 million over 10 years, should be honoured.

But there is strong speculation the North could see budgets cut by more than £2 billion in the review. In this worst-case scenario, PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts 20,000 public sector job losses and 16,000 private sector job casualties.

According to the Minister, it is inevitable people in Northern Ireland will be out of pocket. "We know that is going to be the case in a UK context. If you are trying to reduce the amount of money spent in the public sector and close a gap between the things that we want to do and the amount of money Westminster gives us, then there are bound to be implications for individuals.

"That happens in all of our personal lives. As a nation, we have had 10 good years where money was being spent by the government. We were overcommitted - we are now borrowing £1 in every £4 that is spent in the public sector," says Wilson. "Individuals know they couldn't do that in their households for ever - they would have to start cutting back, there would be things they could no longer do that they used to do."

He expects any proposed cuts will be greeted initially with hostility but he hopes in the long run people will see potential cuts for what they are. "I think people understand we have to reduce spending. People also know that, if you don't fix that, eventually you are going to hit the buffers. We've all benefited during the good times but we are going to have to tighten the belt during the hard ones."

Wilson is the first Northern Ireland Minister for Finance in the Assembly's short history to be in a position where he must look for ways to save money and ask colleagues to make cuts. He is resigned to "difficult days" ahead.

"It is a new experience for us all. For the whole period of direct rule, we were always able to blame someone else or tell someone else to sort out whatever financial problems there were. And during most of the devolution period, we were able to give goodies to people and now that is going to end," he says.

Some of the goodies he refers to include the Assembly's decision to freeze the domestic regional rates, award free public transport for people over 60 (which currently costs about £30 million a year) and dispense free prescriptions which costs the Department of Health about £13 million.

He is not of the opinion that anyone who can afford to pay for a prescription should be getting it for free and hints that "goodies" could be the first things to come under review following publication of the review on Wednesday.

The Minister is keen to stress that, despite the concerns about Westminster's drive to cut public expenditure overheads, the Northern Ireland Executive will still be "spending significant amounts of money" in the local economy.

"We are expecting to take a hit of less than 10 per cent on current spending and over 30 per cent on capital spending over the four-year period. But that still leaves us with over £10 billion that we are spending, plus whatever comes though on welfare and other benefits on top of the money that is handed down to us from Westminster.

"I do want to put it in context because there is this impression almost that government activity is going to implode at the beginning of the next financial year in Northern Ireland and that is not the case."

He admits, however, that the North will be in a very "different position than we have been in for the whole period of devolution". It will, the Minister predicts, be something of a culture shock.

He expects there will be some resistance to any cuts, particularly in light of the fact there are elections in the North next May.

"I suppose it will be a test of the maturity of the Assembly. People are going to have to raise their hands for difficult decisions, some of which are not going to be all that popular. But it is part of the responsibility.

"I would prefer, like everybody else, to be able to say to everyone who comes to the door, 'I can sort that out for you; here's a few more pounds'. Politicians like that. They like to be able to do popular things. I don't think anyone relishes the fact that they are making announcements that might see people lose their jobs or make it more difficult for people to pay their mortgages."

For the first time in Northern Ireland, politicians will be faced with crucial spending decisions that will impact on everyone's lives.

"I can't say 'let's just hope that Westminster gives us more money' when I know they are not going to or 'let's just resist the cuts' when I know that we have a budget that we have to present to the Assembly. We can't stick up a poster and say resist the cuts.

"If you don't take resolute action, you will make that pain even worse for people. Indecision sometimes in these things makes the problem far, far worse," he warns.

He agrees that Northern Ireland presents its own particular economic conundrum even before any proposed public expenditure cuts are taken into account.

"We don't have all that much control of the levers of the economy. We are a regional economy, 90 per cent of our budget is determined by decisions made by the treasury on a strict formula which is not negotiable. The other 10 per cent we have some control over, because we can raise revenue locally and we can make decisions about the priorities that there are."

But as a former assistant chief examiner for A-level economics in the North, he is more than aware of the "implications of not doing things".

There is one rule that most economics students learn in the first week that some Northern Ireland politicians have still not grasped throughout their whole time in the Assembly, he says. "If you choose one thing, you can't have the other - it's the whole concept of opportunity cost. You have a finite amount of resources available to you and that means if you decide to do this with it, then you can't do the other with it.

"If the pool of resources is reduced, you have to make choices within that limited pool or with that smaller cake. That is the most important lesson that needs to be learnt in this current climate - we have to make a choice," Wilson says.

He has put three questions to each of Northern Ireland's 12 government departments in advance of the spending review.

"First of all, can you find efficiencies within your departments? Secondly, can you reduce the amount of bureaucracy within your department? And thirdly, are there things your department is doing that aren't really all that high priority that wouldn't have a big impact if you stopped doing them?"

These, he believes will form the foundations for building a new budget in the North, but the Minister is convinced that Northern Ireland will also have to find new ways of raising cash itself. "Given the scale of the reductions, even if you do all those things, we are still not going to be able to bridge the gap. We have to start looking at other things to raise money. There has to be a balance between making reductions in how much money we spend as well as are there things we can raise revenue from.

Source: Irishtimes.com

Verizon Offers BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 in Fuchsia

The Research In Motion BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 smartphone hit Verizon Wireless business channels on the 16th of September and elsewhere soon after that date, and as of yesterday the Big Red is now offering the BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 in Fuchsia.

According to an article over on Blackberry Rocks, the Verizon Fuchsia BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 will set you back $29.99 after discounts based on signing your life away to a two year agreement, or if you want the smartphone at full retail price it will cost $364.99.

The BlackBerry Curve 3G Fuchsia offers a 2.5 inch display 2 megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom, full QWERTY keyboard, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, microSD expansion up to 32GB, BlackBerry OS 5.0, BlackBerry Media Player, BlackBerry App World and a host of Verizon services.

The BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 measures 4.3 x 2.4 x 0.55 inches with a weight of 3.7 ounces with up to 270 minutes of talk time and up to 252 hours standby time. So, any of our readership looking to pick up the BlackBerry Curve3G 9330 in Fuchsia from Verizon?

Source: Phonesreview.co.uk

SEO Mistake No Company Should Ever Make Says SEO Company Dallas

• One SEO Mistake No Company Should Ever Make
  
  Dallas SEO firm, One SEO Company, offers advice to professionals seeking to optimize the effectiveness of their online marketing campaigns.
  
  October 13, 2010 - SEO has grown to become a term frequently used outside of web technology circles due to an increasing reliance on online marketing for companies and professionals across multiple industries. Many companies seek out the search engine optimization services of experts; however, some fail to achieve maximum benefit from the services of some due to their disregard of the importance of a component that is integral to successful implementation of an online marketing campaign: optimized press release distribution. One SEO Company discusses the importance of optimized press release distribution when incorporating SEO.
  
  The Value of Optimized Press Release Distribution
  
  Optimized press release distribution is far more than simply releasing an announcement about one's website, products, or service offerings. It entails developing an informative, well written news release targeted for the needs of those actively searching for what one's company has to offer. Like optimized website content, an optimized press release includes targeted phrases and keywords that can generate links and increased traffic for one's website, helping to achieve greater visibility throughout the web.
  
  One SEO Company provides quality search engine optimization, press release writing, and distribution services for professionals in a range of industries. The company is currently offering free consultations to professionals in need of quality SEO.

        Source: Einnews.com

Cell phone radiation detection app comes to Android

Tawkon, a small Israeli start-up, announced Monday that its cell phone radiation detection application has arrived for Google Android phones.

The company's mobile application uses an algorithm that measures your specific absorption rate or SAR (See also: CNET's Quick Guide: Cell phone radiation levels). This is the rate at which your whole body absorbs energy from a radio frequency magnetic field. Specifically, the company measures the amount of radiation that is emitted from the phone; it uses the phone's GPS technology and accelerometers to gauge the position and proximity of the device to the body to determine the amount of radiation that is being absorbed into the person using the phone.

Tawkon radiation alert.

(Credit: Tawkon)

The idea behind the app is to let consumers know how much radiation they are exposed to while talking on a phone. It is not to scare consumers into using their cell phones less.

"We would never tell people to stop using their cell phones," said Gil Friedlander, co-founder and CEO of Tawkon. "But when you drive a car, you put on your safety belt. When you are trying to get to a healthy weight to prevent illnesses like heart disease, you count calories. We're just trying to make sure that consumers have as much information as possible to make decisions about how to reduce their exposure to cell phone radiation."

The app alerts users with a vibration when the SAR has reached a certain threshold. Users can then decide to move the device away from the body, or they may move to a different part of their home or office while talking on the phone.

Moving a cell phone even a few inches from the body can greatly reduce radiation exposure. Many consumers also don't realize that cell phones emit different amounts of radiation depending on where they are with respect to a carrier's cell phone tower. The further away a subscriber is from the cell tower, the weaker the signal. In order to connect to the cell tower, the device must boost its power, which increases the amount of radiation emitted.

Scientists know that humans absorb this radiation, but what is still unknown is what effect this has on health. Some studies suggest there is a link between cell phone radiation and some cancers. Other research refutes these findings.

The Interphone study, which began over a decade ago and involved 13 countries, was supposed to settle the dispute. But the report's publication has been delayed as researchers disagree over how to interpret the data. For now, most researchers agree that more data is needed to know for certain what the effects are.

In the meantime, some countries and at least one city in the U.S. are requiring the industry to either warn or inform consumers about cell phone radiation. For example countries such as France and Israel have released official warnings of cell phone radiation, particularly warning against the use of cell phones by children. Earlier this year, the city of San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to require handset makers to post in stores their products' specific absorption rate.

Wireless industry association CTIA is now suing the city of San Francisco over this requirement, arguing that they are unnecessary and will confuse consumers as well as add additional costs to handset manufacturers.

Tawkon's announcement was made in San Francisco as a way to symbolically support San Francisco's "Right to Know" campaign and legislation.

In addition to the new beta version for the app on Android phones, Tawkon also announced that it is using anonymous information culled from its users to provide free access to a radiation map, powered by Google Maps, that makes radiation exposure levels publicly available to users worldwide.

Tawkon cell phone radiation map.

(Credit: Tawkon)

The app also provides an in-home or office map that allows users to predict where radiation is the lowest and highest based on their individual usage. The idea is that given this information, consumers can choose to use their mobile phones in areas where radiation is the lowest, or they can reduce exposure in areas with more radiation by using a headset. The app also provides personal statistics based on usage that gives wireless subscribers an indication of how much radiation they've likely been exposed to during the last call, day, week, month, or six months.

Tawkon initially released its app for Research In Motion's BlackBerry operating system. And now it offers the app for the Google Android OS. The company submitted its app to the iPhone App Store, but it was rejected.

Friedlander said Apple told the company that the app was rejected because it used undocumented APIs.

"We're hoping Apple will add these to the SDK (software development kit), so we can have our app added to the App Store," he said.

For now, the app is still unavailable on the iPhone.

Because the application must be tested and calibrated for each individual piece of hardware, it is not yet available for every BlackBerry or Android device. Currently, the app is available for the BlackBerry 9700, 9000, 8900, and 8520. And it will initially be available for several Samsung Android devices, with more manufacturers being added soon, Friedlander said.

The app can be purchased from the BlackBerry App World for $9.99. New users can download the app for free and get access to the app for 75 calls. After that, they must purchase the app to continue using it. Android users can download the app for free from the Android Market. They will get free use of the app in exchange for in-app advertising.

He recommends that wireless subscribers interested in downloading the app register on Tawkon's Web site. The company will notify those registered when new models are added.

source: ca.reuters.com

Need A Laptop? Get Mobile Phone With Free Laptop

These days, many mobile phone sales merchants are now offering many new and tempting mobile phone deals, where from customers can easily get free laptop with mobile phones

Are you looking to buy a new laptop for your official work, or to enjoy watching movies, surfing hassle free wireless internet on laptop? And moreover, are you also looking to buy a new mobile phone? If your answer to both these questions is 'yes', then you really do not need to buy both these things. This is because many mobile phone sales merchants are now offering many new and tempting mobile phone deals, where from customers can easily get Mobile Phone With Free Laptop.

The deals which are offering Mobile Phone With Free Laptop are offering mobile phones of almost every big mobile phone manufacturing company whether its Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Blackberry, LG, HTC, or Apple. However, to get a laptop or any other electronic product like LCD TV, PS3, or Nintendo, customers need to sign a contract with their favorite mobile phone network service providing company whether its Orange, Virgin, T - Mobile, Talk Mobile, Three, Vodafone, or O2. These contract have a minimum period of 12 months, and maximum up to 24 months.

These deals are also being called as Contract Deals, and these deals are making their own place in everyone's heart. With these deals people might also get the connection of their favorite network service providing companies absolutely free, free unlimited internet, certain cash back, free texts and minutes. These deals are so lecherous in nature that everyone is looking ahead to book their favorite mobile phone through these contract deals, and enjoy the services of their free laptop, and the mobile phone. All mobile phone deals are available on various portals for 24 x 7.

Source: Officialwire.com

Announcing Sun Country Business Concierge

New Program Offering Personalized Travel Management Services

Sun Country Business Concierge today announced a new service for businesses offering personalized travel management services. Based on the concept of “any airline, any hotel, anywhere,” Sun Country Business Concierge Travel Specialists will provide individualized personal service to Business Concierge clients. Whether its travel arrangements, outings, restaurant reservations or just about any other traveler need, Sun Country Business Concierge will handle it all bringing the same level of high quality, award-winning service that it is known for.

“Sun Country is evolving into a Hometown Travel Company offering an expanding rage of travel services,” said Wendy Williams Blackshaw, Vice President of Marketing and Sales. “Extensions of our award-winning Sun Country brand include Sun Country Airlines, Sun Country Vacations, Cruise offerings, Group sales, Charter flights and now Business Concierge,” Blackshaw Continued.

With Sun Country Business Concierge there are no minimum requirements and bookings are handled on a nominal fee-per-trip basis. To kick off the new program, Business Concierge will be offering the first 30-days of booking services free to all new clients.

“Our Travel Specialists have extensive experience in personalized service for corporate travel management and will provide our clients with top-notch concierge service,” Blackshaw went on to say. “Sun Country Business Concierge is the perfect solution for business travelers - we make the arrangements at the best price and provide after-hours on-going support when our client’s travel plans change,” continued Blackshaw.

Consumers can find out more information and enroll with the Sun Country Business Concierge program by visiting www.suncountry.com/businessconcierge or calling 1-877-888-1404 from 5:00am to 1:00am CT, seven days a week.

About Sun Country Business Concierge

Sun Country Business Concierge is a personalized travel service for ALL business travel needs. There is a dedicated team of travel specialists with decades of experience available to offer comprehensive travel services providing value and service unparalleled in the travel industry. The Travel Specialists will make the arrangements on any airline, any hotel, anywhere and so much more, at the best price and provide on-going support when your travel plans change. The Concierge program will offer businesses of all sizes executive service with the personal touch that only the Hometown Travel Company can provide.. For more information visit www.suncountry.com/businessconcierge or call 1.877.888.1404.

Source: Kansascity.com

DreamWorks Executive Joins GridIron Software Board of Directors

John Batter Brings Animation and Digital Content Industry Expertise to Leading Provider of Workflow Solutions for Creative Enterprises

OTTAWA, Oct 12, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- GridIron Software, Inc., a leading provider of workflow and performance tools for creative professionals, today announced the appointment of John Batter to the company's Board of Directors. John Batter currently serves as Co-President of Production for DreamWorks Animation SKG. Mr. Batter joined DreamWorks Animation SKG in January 2006. From January 2000 until January 2006, Batter was with Electronic Arts Inc., serving in a variety of capacities including Group Studio General Manager and General Manager of EA Mobile. From 1995 until 2000, Batter worked in a variety of positions with DreamWorks Studios, including serving as Chief Financial Officer of DreamWorks Interactive (a joint venture between DreamWorks and Microsoft Corporation) and as Chief Financial Officer of the Company's PDI/DreamWorks unit.

"John Batter is a seasoned executive who has long been at the juncture of technology and entertainment with a proven track record of leading some of the most successful and innovative projects in the industry," said Udo Eberlein, CEO of GridIron Software. "His experience at DreamWorks and Electronic Arts provides unique perspective into the creative process and project management challenges in the media and entertainment industry."

"GridIron Software is an impressive company that has been innovative in addressing the workflow management needs of creative enterprises. Their understanding of the media industry needs and workflow of creative professionals has led to the development of GridIron Flow 2.0 Project Operating System, a new category of technology for efficient project and resource management," said John Batter. "I look forward to working with Udo and the team at GridIron to bring this groundbreaking technology to market."

GridIron recently unveiled its strategy for a Project Operating System, a new category of technology designed to help creative enterprises solve a variety of problems inherent to creative workgroups that lead to non-creative work, lost productivity and profits. These problems have afflicted the media creation industry for years and extend to all creative industries including advertising, animation, digital gaming and film production. GridIron's new Flow 2.0 product line, based on a SaaS model, addresses these problems with technology to track productivity by automatically tracking files, users, project relationships and their dependencies.

GridIron Flow 2.0 will be available in Q4 2010.

About GridIron Software

GridIron Software is the leading provider of workflow and performance tools for creative professionals. Founded in 2002, the company's mission is to enable creative industries to work more productively and more profitably in servicing their customers. In late 2010, GridIron will launch its Flow 2.0, an innovative Project Operating System for creative enterprise. Currently, GridIron Software's products include GridIron Flow, a visual workflow manager that keeps creative professionals and workgroups streamlined and informed. GridIron Software's product line also includes GridIron Nucleo and GridIron Nucleo Pro 3; tools that help users manage their After Effects workflow. For more information on the company, please visit www.gridironsoftware.com and subscribe to the GridIron Software newsletter.

Copyright 2010 GridIron Software Inc. All Rights Reserved. GridIron, GridIron Flow, Nucleo, Nucleo Pro, and GridIron Software are trademarks owned by GridIron Software Inc.

source: www.marketwatch.com

Virgin Mobile Phones - Offering Value Added Services

Mobile phones and mobile networks are complementary to each other. A phone without connectivity is of no use and vice versa. Like mobile phones, there are several mobile network operators in the UK who provide mobile connectivity and Virgin is one of them. Its one of the leading virtual mobile network operators in the UK and offers communication services to millions of mobile users in the UK – a trustworthy network operator who offer value proposition to consumers.

Virgin offers mobile phone deals such as pay-as-you-go as well as contract mobile phone deals. The latter one comes under a fixed monthly line rental scheme where consumers need to pay a fixed line rental on monthly basis. Under the contract mobile phone deals, there are many tariff plans that are offered by the network such as 12months contract, 18 months contract, etc., based on the handset you choose or the contract period. You may get free handset, free line rental or free insurance under a particular plan.

Unlike contract mobile phone deals, pay-as-you-go mobile phone deals do not offer anything – just buy a handset and stay connected. Virgin network offers cost-effective deals and users can select a broad range of virgin mobile phones from leading mobile brands such as Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and more. Choose any of the latest handsets under a particular tariff plan and enjoy impeccable connectivity as well as the phone features.

As far as mobile phones are concerned, there are lots of options open for consumers – from basic phones to technologically advanced 3G and HSDPA (3.5G) enabled phone. Based on the requirement, consumers can select the phone. Though there are many Virgin tariff plans such as VM20, VM25, VM30 and VM40, but all such plans are economical and cost-effective. Choose any of the virgin mobile phones and the plan and enjoy all network services whenever and wherever you go.

Source: EzineArticles.com

Micromax expected to launch Android phone around Diwali

 Will launch at least three more before March 2011
New Delhi based Micromax Informatics Ltd, which has become a known player in cheap mobile phone market in India, is said to be working on an Android phone. This Android phone will be launched around the festival of Diwali i.e. first week of November.

According to a report in WSJ, Google is helping the local cell phone manufacturers like Micromax, Spice and Olive Telecom to come up with Android phone, which will ultimately help Google make Android a mass market OS. Till now, we have a selected few Android phones, which fall in sub 10K bracket, but bringing Android phone under 7K or even 5K is a bit of challenge.

“You’ve got a lot of innovation happening from local manufacturers,” said Vinay Goel, who oversees Google’s products in India.

He said Android phones selling for more than $400 are only going to capture “a really niche market” in India. “To be in the mainstream, you have to be in the $100 to $200 range,” Mr. Goel said. “The closer to $100 the better.”

Micromax is not settling with just one Android phone, it has planned to include at least four Android phones before March 2011 in its portfolio. According to people familiar with the development, Spice Mobility is also working on more Android phones.

This is certainly good for consumer who will have a lot more choice that too within their budget.

source:  androidos.in

Travel agents prefer small firms to Thomas Cook

Travel agents have been snubbing large firms like Thomas Cook and TUI in a bid to support smaller operations during a weakened market.

According to reports in a Travel Weekly discussion, agents are looking to boost business for small-time and medium-sized operations to prevent the ‘big two’ from maintaining total dominance in the industry. Agents have reported deliberately driving business towards more local firms in an effort to keep TUI and Thomas Cook from monopolising the industry.

By ensuring smaller companies survive, travel agents hope to keep competition alive in the sector, despite the warnings that the ‘big two’ could revert to less-than-friendly tactics to quash the growing practice. Geoff Andrews, commercial manager for A1 Travel, said that currently TUI has remained friends with everyone, but that A1 had been instructing staff to push smaller companies like Jewel in the Crown or Sunvil.

Tom O’Connor from Travelzoo made similar comments, saying that small operators were the best at using travel deals websites. He added that Travelzoo found that its best relationships had been with small to medium-sized travel firms.

However, sales manager at Teletext Holidays, James Clarke said that Thomas Cook had continued to work well with the firm. He said that the group’s strongest allocation at present was using Thomas Cook’s packages.

Agents are still expressing concerns over regional flight capacity, saying there is fear that it will not be replaced even when the economy picks back up. Clarke said that core airports would continue to maintain high capacity because it would be less of a risk for airlines, despite improving economic conditions.
source: www.discountvouchers.co.uk

Guernsey States to look at finance industry regulations

The States of Guernsey is to take a more involved role in how the island's finance industry is regulated.

Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Trott, made the announcement at the annual Institute of Directors debate.

It follows concerns from the business sector that the States is too eager to appoint regulators and too susceptible to pressure from the European Union.

Deputy Trott cautioned that there was a "fine line" with the regulatory process's independence.

He said: "We are going to take a more active role in suggesting how the regulatory processes should be undertaken.

"But there is a very fine line between that and interfering with the independence of the regulatory process.

"The international monetary fund have been here recently assessing our regulatory conditions and no doubt they will report favourably."

source: www.bbc.co.uk/

Chairman of Korea Accreditation Board Dr. Jung Uck Seo Visited NCKU President Lai

Dr. Jung Uck Seo, the Chairman of Korea Accreditation Board, accompanied by NCKU Senior Executive Vice-President Da-Hsuan Feng, Prof. Chin-Cheng Chen of Department of Chemical Engineering and Prof. Shean-Jen Chen of Department of Engineering Science, has visited President Michael Ming-Chiao Lai of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, exchanging thoughts on the conditions of higher education and hoping to promote faculty exchange in the future.

This is the first time Dr. Jung Uck Seo visited Tainan, and he has visited Taipei, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung many times before, maintaining a close relationship with Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology and normally going around the industry site.

As President Michael Ming-Chiao Lai asked about the academic and research organizations in Korea, Dr. Jung Uck Seo expressed, “In Korea, we have group organizations of scholars or engineers. We also have branches of science, medicine and liberal arts. We currently have a big task to perform, which is to reorganize government funded organizations and to improve government funded research institutes. It is easy to say, but in practice, many things are tangled.”

In response to Vice-President Da-Hsuan Feng’s inquiry about the status of higher education in Korea, Dr. Jung Uck Seo replied, “We have to restructure our higher education system. Korea has been very successful in birth control, but we fail in production.”

Vice-President Da-Hsuan Feng said, “One of the biggest problems in the NCKU department is finding jobs for students because schools are closing classes. There’re not enough students participating. Thus, it’s hard to find positions for teachers.”

President Lai further explained, “Education has changed everywhere in the world. Twenty years ago, we have 400,000 kids every year. But now, we only have 200,000 babies. Particularly in the last six years or so, birth rate has dropped by one-third. For instance, there used to be a big elementary school in Taipei, having a student population of 12,000. Now, the student population is only 700.”

Prof. Shean-Jen Chen added, “Tainan has the same problem, especially the countryside. Parents usually send their children to new schools with young teachers and new equipments.”

Lastly, Dr. Jung Uck Seo stated, “People’s exchange is very important in the 21st century. It’s not far from Seoul to Taiwan, so we have many opportunities for cooperation in the future.”

Dr. Jung Uck Seo received his bachelor degree of Electrical Engineering from Seoul National University in 1957, doctoral degree of Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University, U.S., in 1969, honorary doctoral degree of Economics from Pukyong National University, Korea, in 1999, and honorary doctoral degree of Engineering from Chonnam National University, Korea, in 2006.

He is the Chairman of the e-Trade Facilitation Committee of the Korea International Trade Association, Professor Emeritus of the ROK Air Force Academy, Chair Professor of the Sunchon National University, Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, and Adjunct Professor of the Seoul School of Integrated Science & Technologies.
source: www.kansascity.com

Finance Chiefs Seek to Soothe Not Solve `Currency War' at IMF

Global finance chiefs warned a race to weaker exchange rates risks hurting the world economy even as they sought to downplay investor fears of a “currency war.”

As the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting began in Washington, policy makers expressed concern that efforts to boost exports by embracing weaker currencies threatened to provoke protectionism and trade imbalances at a time when economic growth is already slowing. China was again the target of criticism as foreign officials called the yuan undervalued and pushed for its rise to be accelerated.

“This is a crucial time that we need to address the commitment of our leaders to free trade, that we avoid protectionist measures,” Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said “global rebalancing is not progressing as well as needed to avoid threats to the global economic recovery.”

Currency intervention by nations from Japan to Brazil and the prospect of easier monetary policy by the Federal Reserve are roiling foreign-exchange markets. The dollar today dropped below 82 yen for the first time since 1995, and the euro yesterday passed $1.40 for the first time in eight months.

“We want peace not war,” French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told reporters. Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer said colleagues need to “foster confidence, not war” on currencies and that excess volatility harms expansion.

Better Coordination

Lagarde said France wanted better coordination and more diversification when it came to currencies, without offering specific steps. Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega suggested the Group of 20 strike a deal akin to 1985’s Plaza Accord, which successfully weakened the dollar.

Officials have a “genuine desire” to resolve disputes over exchange rates, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said. “We do need to move toward market orientated rates that reflect fundamentals.”

Most ministers nevertheless declined to offer concrete solutions other than for China, preferring instead to complain about recent trading. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs a panel of euro-area finance ministers, said the euro is “too strong” and labeled the yuan “more than undervalued.”

Brazilian Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles said a currency agreement is unlikely in the short term and blamed recent gyrations on an excess of dollars generated by loose monetary policy in the U.S. and other industrial nations. That’s fuelling capital flows into emerging markets such as his.

Excessive Price

“Brazil cannot pay an excessive price for the fact it’s doing well while others are doing badly,” he said. “Brazil needs to take its measures to protect itself from these imbalances.”

Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said his government also remains ready to act on the yen when needed, although it doesn’t intend to return to the long-term, large yen selling of the past. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said today his cabinet will meet next week to consider ways to help exporters cope with the baht’s climb to a 13-year high.

Chinese officials are pushing back against calls for a weaker yuan.

People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in Washington today that any change in the yuan needs to be gradual or risks hurting the world’s fastest growing major economy. While the currency today rose to the highest level against the dollar since 1993, it is still only about 2 percent higher than it was when China said in June it would make it more flexible.

U.S. Legislation

China faces U.S. legislation aimed at prodding to raise the value of the yuan, with Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed telling Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt” that the U.S. Senate may consider it in a lame-duck session. China today faced U.S. criticism for ignoring pledges made under last year’s global-warming accord and calls to release jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo after he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

On exchange rates, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin added to the tension by saying Brazil, Russia, India and China have united to show “rather strong resistance” to attempts to make “any harsh appraisal” of currency controls.

Cautioning that using currencies as a tool of economic policy can “lead to very bad situations,” IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said his staff is working on “spillover reports” to highlight how the actions of one economy affect others.

Global Impact

Investors and economists today said further exchange-rate volatility could hurt the world economy.

In an article in the Financial Times, billionaire investor George Soros said he shares “the growing concern about the misalignment of currencies” and that talk of a currency war “is not far off the mark.”

New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini, who predicted the 2008 credit crisis, said in Washington that the euro at $1.40 is “painful” for the euro area, and that it may relapse into a recession.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Kennedy in Washington at skennedy4@bloomberg.net
source: www.bloomberg.com/news

Mobile Phone Contracts: Time to Cut Down Monthly Phone Bills

Mobile phones are one of most excellent communication tools fulfilling the social needs of people. Customers need mobiles to keep in touch with dear ones and to be reachable in the event of an emergency. So every user can pay for high tech phones companies are providing Contracts Phones through which user gets desired phones, very low monthly rental, free incentives and free gifts at reasonably price.

To get these plans, customers have to enter into a contract with the network service provider company. Generally the time period of these plans are from 12 months to 18 months. This can be increased or decreased as per the desire of the customer. With these deals, user can have the freedom of using some innovative handsets at reasonable costs.

Many of these handsets are designed and developed by some of the leading mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson among others and these are available with some very attractive Mobile deals. These plans are easy to get to with various renowned network providers such as T mobile, 3 mobile, O2, Orange, Virgin and Vodafone.

A number of free gifts available with this deal are free LCD TVs, Laptops, Bluetooth headset, gaming consoles and phones accessories etc. with free gifts users also get additional incentives like free mobile insurance, cashback deals, free monthly line rental, reduced call tariffs, free text messages and many more through the network providers.

The best possible way to purchase recent Mobile Phone Contracts is online mobile portals. There are several existing online mobile websites which help the customers in buying the new plans that suit to there routine and financial capabilities. These also save user precious time by not visiting the market to buy a new mobile phone as he or she can buy it from your home only.

Mobile Phone Contracts are one of the ways by which users can attain their dreamed high tech mobile phones and decreases their monthly mobile budget. This is the reason of their popularity among the users of UK.

BlackBerry Torch gets software update

Add caption

A software update is now available for the RIM BlackBerry Torch, and it should bring improvements to the overall performance of the smartphone.

The update (Release bundle v6.0.0.695, Platform v6.4.0.105/Application v6.0.0.246) will pushed out to users over the next week and a half and includes the following enhancements:

Quicker page loading and panning in the Webrowser

Improved responsiveness after unlocking the phone
*

Faster launching, switching, and exiting of applications
*

Smoother transitions when switching between home screen panels
*

Faster rendering of thumbnails in the photo gallery
* Improved audio quality
*

Smoother scrolling in message lists and when reading e-mail

Torch owners will receive a notification on their phones when the update is available for download, but if you don't feel like waiting, you can get the software now from BlackBerry's support site.

souece: /www.cnet.com

Investment Column: TUI Travel can weather the storm – it's still a buy

Imagination Technologies; Norseman Gold

Edited by James Moore

Our view: Buy

Share price: 225.9p (+9.1p)

Just when it looked like the cold winds of recession had finally given way to spring sunshine and hopes of summer holidays, along came sovereign debt crises in Europe, unexpected good weather at home and a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Is it any wonder that so many would-be holidaymakers decided to stay put this year?

The timing could not have been worse. The mayhem induced by the ash cloud put enough people off their trips to send some lower-end companies – most recently Kiss Flights – to the wall. Behemoths such as TUI Travel, owner of Thomson and First Choice, were better protected, but the group was still forced to issue a profits warning in August, which took a chunk out of the share price, despite rumours of a takeover bid from a major shareholder. What looked like a good bet at more than 250p earlier in the year is now languishing at less than 230p, even after early gains put the stock as the FTSE 100's fastest riser first thing yesterday.

The story behind the sudden leap in price was an update that reported encouraging trading in the late summer season, a healthy outlook for the winter programme and even a good start in sales for next summer. It was not untrammelled good news. Peter Long, the TUI chief executive, said his outlook for the coming year remained "prudent" and stressed a continued focus on cost-cutting to protect margins. But the outlook for the share price is improving. And holidaymakers, even in the depths of recession, have generally proved unwilling to sacrifice the sunshine entirely. Even in a tricky climate, TUI looks cheap. Buy.

Imagination Technologies

Our view: Tentative buy

Share price: 384.7p (+4.7p)

Consumers cannot get enough of smartphones – the iPhone, HTC, and Samsung to name a few have been flying off the shelves – while the emergence of tablet computers, led by the iPad, has also proved a hit. A good place for any technology company to be, it seems, is inside these devices. Imagination Technologies is one such company which, along with its UK rival ARM Holdings, designs chips for use in them. Imagination specialises in graphics, video and display processors. Yesterday, it signed a useful little deal with the semiconductor group NetLogic Microsystems, which will use Imagination's kit in future products and will therefore produce licence fees and royalty revenues.

In an interim management statement earlier this month, Imagination said interest in its products was growing, both from existing and new partners. Especially interesting is its growth in emerging markets and plans to enter new areas such as televisions, set-top boxes, satnavs, tablets and netbooks. Licensing revenue should progress along with royalty revenue, with the number of shipped devices containing its technology hitting 200 million in the 12 months to April 2011.

Licensing revenues, however, tend to be "lumpy" and hard to predict. The economy is also a worry and, at 37 times forecast 2011 earnings, it looks pricey. But analysts think the number of devices with its technology could double in four years. That's some growth so, tentatively, we are buyers.

Norseman Gold

Our view: Buy

Share price: 52p (+0.25p)

Norseman Gold raised £11.3m through a private placing yesterday. The move was well received: the offer was substantially oversubscribed. The money will go towards developing a fourth mine at the Norseman Gold Project in the eastern goldfields of Western Australia. The North Royal Open Pit mine will help the company to achieve a medium-term production target of 140,000 ounces of gold. With strong finances and development plans on track, Norseman looks well.

That's the business side of the story. What about the gold price? It has done well of late, hitting records as traders seek hedges against inflation and sluggish economic growth. While Norseman could be prone to some profit-taking, for the medium term, with central bankers gearing up to pump fresh stimuli into the world economy, we think gold prices will stay high for a while, and that should underpin sentiment around Norseman, so buy.
source: www.independent.co.uk

Dragons coach Paul Turner rues Heineken finance gulf

Dragons boss Paul Turner says the big financial difference between his region and Heineken Cup rivals Toulouse puts the Welsh club at a disadvantage.

The Heineken Cup champions visit Rodney Parade on 16 October with Turner highlighting the gulf in the two teams' wage bills.

"Toulouse work on an 8.5 (million) salary cap for players; we are working around 2.83 (million)," said Turner.

"I suppose it's like Preston North End playing Real Madrid."

Added Turner: "I've watched them quite a bit this season and at times it's quite frightening, but that's what we are in it for. You have got to be in this European Cup every year."
Scrum V's preview of Wales' Heineken Cup chances (iPlayer)

And he is determined to be optimistic about the prospect of facing Toulouse home and away.

"Glasgow showed two years ago that you can go out to Toulouse and win which was a hell of an achievement," he said.

"But on your day, as Glasgow showed, it is possible to get those victories and that's what Europe are about."

The Dragons have not had their best start to the season winning just one of their first four Magners League matches - a 23-11 victory at home to Glasgow.
   
And Turner is hoping to go up to Glasgow in their opening Heineken pool encounter on Friday night and beat Glasgow again.

"We have had some success at Fir Hill in the past. So we are hoping to do a job up there and get the champions back to Rodney Parade the following week.

"We have not started well. There are reasons for that. I felt the second half against the Scarlets we found our form and the players were quite pleased with that, but we didn't quite get the desired result.

"It's step by step really. We are getting players back from injury. We were pleased that we played some good football [against the Scarlets]

"We started the season poorly but we are going to get better that's for sure."
source: news.bbc.co.uk

SEO India: Affordable outsourcing SEO services in India

SEO Outsourcing Services in India are available at affordable prices. The services are affordably priced for every organization to hire them. They are tailor made for different websites and come at affordable costs.

The affordability of SEO Services in India continues to make news all around. The price tag associated with these services has been quite prudent for all these years. Companies have never had any inhibitions in approaching Indian vendors and continue to show faith in the pricing of this service. Indian vendors continue to price their SEO Services so well that any organization can approach them with their website for optimization service. Indian vendors price themselves according to the enormity of the projects they handle.

The services are tailor made for all websites. They are made such that the website gets a perfect dose of what should augur well for it and ensure its success over the web domain. The affordability comes out of the fact that Indian vendors handle too many projects all the time and never idle or short of work. Organizations approaching them from foreign shores come with a certain set of expectations about the quality and affordability of service, and to their satisfaction, the same is delivered effortlessly.

The outsourcing service providers in India exemplify frugality and this is evident in their pricing. They price their service very well and ensure that the same is given to the client at the same affordable cost. This has helped them earn a lot of goodwill amongst all strata of organizations and clients feel free while approaching them for services. The services are affordable and all organizations need to do is come over and use them. They are quality oriented, and make a world of difference to the fortunes of the site and help it do well.

source: www.mynews.in/News

Htc Desire contracts: All elegant phones at low cost

In this ever growing communication market every company is trying hard to figure out the different and unique way to get the place in the user’s heart. Htc is one of the top- notch companies in this sector and has already made it remarkable presence by its advance and designer phones. Now Htc has come up with different kind of deals which are associated with different network providers like Virgin, Vodafone, T mobile, 3 mobile, O2 and Orange. Htc desire contract phones are the reasonable way to get a high tech phone at very low price.

For availing an Htc contracts mobile phone deal, the user needs to deposit some fixed cash and sign on a contract period for 12 to18 months. In terms of free gifts and offers and lowered calling rate, these deals are the best choices. Subscribing to this deal, user can win free texts, free minutes, cash back besides getting iPods, XBOX 360, Sony PlayStaion3, Nintendo gaming console, mobile accessories and so on.

With the help of suitable tariff plan user can get the Htc phone even free of cost and the best part of its plan is that it allows the user to keep their phone bills under their budget and avoid the growing monthly phone bills. There are different network provider’s offers different plans along with incentives. So user need to be careful before opting for these deals.

The phones like Hero, touch Diamond2, Touch Pro2, Touch HD, Htc Snap, Magic, and p3450 Touch are some handsets which are available with Htc desire deals. These phones are highly capable and wonderful with their designs like Htc Magic is an Android phone. The Magic offers 3G, HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity as well as GPS navigation and quad band technology. Also onboard the model is a 3.2-megapixel camera and a host of multimedia features including an audio and video player and all accessible, through the 3.2-inch QVGA touchscreen with built-in user interface.

Htc contracts have all kind of phone for catering the various need and desires of the users. You just need to select your favourite and wonderful handset with suitable plan so that you get the phone for free or in economical price.