Priyanka Joshi And Katya Naidu

Stories by Priyanka Joshi And Katya Naidu

How to hook and retain customers

How to hook and retain customers

Rediff.com   20 Oct 2008

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.

Free group SMSes from Google soon

Free group SMSes from Google soon

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2008

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."

Google phone to hit Indian stores in December

Google phone to hit Indian stores in December

Rediff.com   26 Sep 2008

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."

Google entices phone users with voice search

Google entices phone users with voice search

Rediff.com   22 Sep 2008

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.

Need a small, cheap, effective laptop?

Need a small, cheap, effective laptop?

Rediff.com   4 Sep 2008

You have two new options -- Asus's Eee PC 1000H and Acer's Aspire One. Both, says Priyanka Joshi, are worth your attention.

iPhone price may fall 15%

iPhone price may fall 15%

Rediff.com   1 Sep 2008

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.

Brands latch on to mobile advertisements

Brands latch on to mobile advertisements

Rediff.com   20 Aug 2008

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.

Sending email: Can you be arrested?

Sending email: Can you be arrested?

Rediff.com   29 Jul 2008

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.

Celebs, executives excited about iPhone

Celebs, executives excited about iPhone

Rediff.com   11 Jun 2008

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.

IT companies see business in going green

IT companies see business in going green

Rediff.com   5 Jun 2008

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.

Summer trips? Try boutique hotels

Summer trips? Try boutique hotels

Rediff.com   2 Jun 2008

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.

Ethical hackers plug into demand from India Inc

Ethical hackers plug into demand from India Inc

Rediff.com   26 May 2008

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.

All the world's a game

All the world's a game

Rediff.com   24 May 2008

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.

Infosys employees to undergo certification

Infosys employees to undergo certification

Rediff.com   22 May 2008

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.

Buy a Spice Mobile handset for Rs 800!

Buy a Spice Mobile handset for Rs 800!

Rediff.com   2 May 2008

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.

PlayStaion2: Sony ties up with 13 developers

PlayStaion2: Sony ties up with 13 developers

Rediff.com   24 Apr 2008

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.

Lesser price ups popularity of small PCs

Lesser price ups popularity of small PCs

Rediff.com   18 Apr 2008

Thanks to the development of power-efficient and smaller components, small form factor desktop PCs from Acer, Dell and HP have become quiet popular among home and professional users. SFF PCs are mostly sold with kits that include a motherboard, case, power supply, and central processing unit (CPU) cooler. This makes them cheaper when compared to professional PCs. Most of the SFF systems in the market are based around Intel processors, particularly the mobile CPUs.

Projectors offer theatre experience

Projectors offer theatre experience

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2008

Projectors seem to have come of age and there is no dearth of quality images, if you have the money .

Piracy eating up Rs 16,000cr of Bollywood

Piracy eating up Rs 16,000cr of Bollywood

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2008

Highlighting piracy as the main problem concerning the Hindi film industry, founder of Yash Raj Films, Yash Chopra, said Bollywood is losing Rs 16,000 crore annually to piracy. During Ficci Frames 08, he appealed to the I&B Ministry to work out a plan of action against piracy. YRF has digitised its distribution in a bid to combat piracy. They are also getting aggressive on the new media. He lamented industry does not have the legal authority to book the wrongdoers in piracy.

IBM readies new software to enter small biz

IBM readies new software to enter small biz

Rediff.com   25 Mar 2008

In its efforts to thwart Microsoft, IBM had unveiled Lotus Symphony a few months back, challenging the former's dominance in the office desktop software market. The package includes a word processor, spreadsheets and a presentation suite. Edward Orange, director, Lotus Business Unit (Software Group), IBM Asia-Pacific, said, "Since it's free, Lotus Symphony is a formidable challenge to Microsoft's new Office 2007 suite in the market for Windows-based productivity software."