Media-buying and advertising agencies are a worried lot. The last quarter was bad for them with overall advertising, across all media, dipping by 10-20 per cent.
Sample this. Five cyber-thieves, allegedly part of a network that hacked into the account of a Noida businessman, were nabbed today for a Rs 1.66 crore (Rs 16.6-million) cyber hack. They used Internet banking to transfer the money from the businessman's account with the Punjab National Bank's Noida branch to their own account.
The total wine market in the country consists of 1.2 million cases, according to an industry estimate, of which the imported wine segment is a mere 22,000 cases or 20 per cent. Champagne Indage -- one of the biggest domestic players and producers of domestic wine under the Chateau Indage umbrella -- recently launched Indage Vineyards to bring in contemporary and new range of wines from across the globe to India.
Talking about the company's portfolio expansion, APB-India CEO Ashwin Deo said, "Currently, we are looking at consolidating our presence and will look at introducing new products at various price points in the next eight to 10 months."
Reliance Life's virtual office has become the focal point of real-time interactions for its customers, agents and employees. It offers consumers the ability to review insurance claims and manage their plans; perform online transactions, such as ordering policies; access a consolidated, interactive snapshot of their retirement plans; and receive personalised health and investment news.
Google is testing its SMS channel in India and intends to launch it to global audiences later. It supports English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages. It was fully conceptualised by Google India Labs. Prasad Ram, head (R&D), Google India, says, "The SMS channel is in line with our endeavour to connect the 250 million mobile subscribers who have no access to information."
The price, however, will be higher than the US debut tag of around Rs 8,200 ($179). Ajay Sharma, country manager, HTC (India), told Business Standard: "We would prefer a mobile operator tie-up to introduce the Google phone in India in December."
Internet search giant Google hopes to hook the millions of cellular phone subscribers in India who do not use data or SMS-based services with its voice-based search. It is conducting pilot projects in Hyderabad and Delhi, and is expected to roll out more in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata shortly. The company is expected to add audio playback for search queries on local news and entertainment.
You have two new options -- Asus's Eee PC 1000H and Acer's Aspire One. Both, says Priyanka Joshi, are worth your attention.
A week after Apple began selling iPhone in India, experts believe that the iconic phone is ready to become cheaper by more than 15 per cent to boost sales in the world's fastest-growing mobile phone market.
When mKhoj, a mobile advertising platform, launched a mobile campaign for Reebok, little could it dream of 40 million targeted impressions, in just over six weeks, of the ad. But it did precisely that.
Can security agencies arrest you if an e-mail sent from your computer implicates you in a case of cyber-terrorism? Currently, the answer appears to be "yes" despite the fact that e-mail IDs can be spoofed (faked) and IP addresses (your computer's identity when surfing) manipulated with ease.
The Finnish handset giant, however, has never been able to cope with the mystique that surrounds Apple CEO Steve Jobs' iPhone, which has been illegally imported and unlocked by hundreds of Indians -- corporate chiefs and celebrities included. Jobs has now announced a 3G version of the device with full global positioning system for just $199 (around Rs 8,400) for the 8GB model and $299 (Rs 12,600) for the 16GB version.
Major IT firms Dell, Intel, Aricent, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Lenovo, Nokia and Tulip Telecom, among others, have realised that "going green" is profitable business. Not only does it require a low initial investment but it also earns them brownie points for helping in reducing e-waste.
Have you ever travelled on business and yearned for a quiet, memorable place to stay in, away from hordes of other business travellers? Or if on a vacation, have you longed for a unique experience? If you have, small, independently-owned boutique hotels are the answer. And these days it is not too difficult to find such properties, thanks to entrepreneurs like Mamta Sharma.
Raman's hacking expertise is much in demand -- and not from criminal elements. Indian firms and multinationals like ABN Amro Bank, Aditya Birla Group, Bank of Maharashtra, Bombay Dyeing, HSBC, ICICI Bank, Indiabulls, Centurion BOP, Citibank, India Infoline, Ispat Industries and Kotak Group proactively seek his services. Raman's hacking expertise is much in demand -- and not from criminal elements.
By far the most awaited game of the year, Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV) takes gamers on the streets of Liberty City, a dystopic version of New York City in 2008. What propels this violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire is the fun factor weaved into every scene. GTA IV has vehicles that look even more fantastic.
In what will be the first such comprehensive exercise in the IT industry, all the 91,000-odd employees of India's second-largest IT services provider, Infosys Technologies, will now have to pass certification programmes to get promoted. The certification programme, conducted every March, is now being extended across the board and will test the employees' domain expertise, and grade them accordingly to be eligible for promotion.
B K Modi-controlled Spice Mobile is all set to launch its GSM phone for Rs 800 this month. Branded as the 'People's Phone', the handset, a very basic model, doesn't have a display screen. Spice officials believe the company will sell around one million units in India and 10 million globally over the next 12 months.
Entertainment, Dhruva will be working with the company to produce games that could be marketed both in local and international markets. The company will also introduce the use of motion-sensing technology, made popular by Nintendo Wii, to PS2 game developers this year.
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