According to a survey by leading brand consultancy Interbrand, Coca-Cola retained the top slot for the ninth year in a row.
Companies are looking for an engaging hook, and sound is universally seen as a big emotional connector, finds Nikhat Hetavkar.
And so it ended -- 2009 arguably one of the most exciting years for gadget freaks threw up surprises for some and disappointments for some others. Here are 10 gadgets that enthralled everybody in 2009.
Amul, non-government organisations reach out to buyers through the virtual world, which is free.
If you're shopping for a new laptop, you might want to consider one of these. NS Sawaikar tells you why.
What you need to flaunt this season are touchscreen phones that are smart and sassy.
Customs officials have been directed to stop shipments of such phones. Industry experts expect the move to hit the sales of dual-SIM handsets, which are imported into the country by companies including Nokia, Samsung, Meridian Mobile and Spice. More importantly, this could also affect the plans to manufacture these handsets in the country. It is estimated that around 100,000 dual-SIM phones are sold in the country every month.
Samsung has the first-mover advantage, but Nokia wants to catch up fast.
If you are a Citibank credit card holder in Bangalore, and use a Vodafone mobile phone service on a Nokia 6212, you need not carry that Citi credit card anymore.
Find out what the leggy model has to say about her saucy fantasies.
According to Nasscom, engineering services exports had grown at 13 per cent in 2017 compared to six per cent rise in IT services exports and eight per cent in business process management (BPM). It had also recorded the highest growth in the last three years, reports Debasis Mohapatra.
At least a dozen advertisers, including Reliance Communications, Nokia, Pepsi, Hero Honda, Maruti and Visa among others, and host broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports may find themselves on a sticky wicket with India's exit from the current world Twenty20 cricket tournament.
Here are the most interesting touchscreen phones that will be battling it out for your attention this year.
After dropping "Kolkata" from Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders, actor Shah Rukh Khan has started discussions with Nokia, Sahara, the Anil Ambani group, and several other companies to sell the team he bought just over a year ago for Rs 300 crore, and exit the business.
Hi-end smartphones are all set to make a huge splash this year. Relatively new players like Acer are throwing down the gauntlet to established smartphone makers such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson. And, all this is only going to make your decision-making tougher.
Come September, the company will launch its Time Travel -- Journey 1 album with Sonu Nigam to be released on Nokia's 5130
Multinational mobile companies such as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and LG, who dominate the mobile handset space with over 75 per cent of the market share, might face a new challenge. This time it's not from Chinese unbranded products, which have been flooding the Indian market.
Apple and Samsung are international players and should work as a team with domestic companies to transform India into a global powerhouse: IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
I had been told that academic fashions are even more fickle and consequential than sartorial fashions. It is as important to keep up and know the current trends in discourse, and a researcher still stuck in colonial studies is as lost as a designer bringing out mini-skirts when the hemline is two inches below the ankle, says B S Prakash
A walk down the memory lane through pictures!
At present, 70% of the mobile handsets sold in India are imported.
Three Indian brands -- ICICI, Kingfisher and Taj -- have emerged as the most admired consumer brands across Asia-Pacific alongside global majors like LG, Sony, Cadbury, HP and Nokia in their respective segments.
While leading SEZs like Mahindra World, Nokia, Apache, Hyderabad Gems and Jewellery became operational in 2008-09, exports from these zones fell short of target of Rs 1,20,000 crore (Rs 1,200 billion) in the last fiscal, according to the Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs.
India will have 500 million mobile consumers by 2010 with 60 million mobile users having video capability, 100 million music capability, 200 million radio capability, 250 million camera capability and 250 million with Internet capability. These were some of the facts shared by D Shivakumar, vice-president and managing director, Nokia India, at the Goafest conclave. He said that in the next three years, India would add one and a half times more mobile users.
Apple's iPhone, the touch screen handset that acquired a cult status in the United States and other Western countries, will be available to Indian mobile users through private telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar from August 22, giving competitors like Nokia, Samsung and others a run for their money.
The minister said Industrial Disputes Act provides for constituting different authorities to ensure harmonious industrial relations and prevent strikes and lockouts.
Nokia has already increased prices of its base models by around 3-4 per cent. Industry analysts expect other manufacturers to follow suit. "The 25 per cent increase in the value of dollar vis-a-vis rupee (the dollar rose to Rs 50 this month from Rs 40 in March) has resulted in our import costs going up. This has compelled us to increase the prices of our old models launched during the last 6-9 months," said HTC (India) Country Head Ajay Sharma.
At present, the cheapest business phone (with personal digital assistants) is priced at Rs 15,000, while high-end phones are available around Rs 13,000.
Electronics and white goods manufacturers such as Videocon, Spice, Usha and Mirc Electronics have begun engaging the services of Independent design houses to take on the likes of global giants including Nokia, Sony Ericsson and LG in the mobile handset space. An IDH conducts research and development and designs handsets to enable Indian telcos launch their own mobile handset brands. It takes an upfront one-time fee for the purpose.
In October, the general index had declined by 4.2 per cent, while its manufacturing component went down by an even more alarming 7.6 per cent.
Having an 'Indian heart' is all about understanding the psyche of Indian consumers.
Sony Ericsson, a leading Japanese-Swedish mobile handset maker, is all set to produce its mobile handsets in Sriperumbudur through manufacturing agreements with Flextronics and Foxconn.
Jon Wilkins, founding partner of Naked Communications, which gives communication consultancy to some of the world's biggest companies such as Coca-Cola, Nestle and Nokia, is looking for people to set shop in India. Initially, he wants to work with only three people here, who have an entrepreneurial spirit & an understanding for brand strategy. He is attracted to India for 3 reasons - India is ready for change, ad market here is growing rapidly and new channels are opening up.
Looking at the response time, brands are proactively snapping ties with celebrities in the face of controversy.
Through time, Shah Rukh Khan has become the biggest star in Bollywood while Aamir Khan has always paid attention to meaningful cinema rather than focusing on the box office. So when Aamir was approached by the mobile company, Samsung, to promote their brand, it seemed to be a direct challenge to SRK, who endorses rival company, Nokia.
Global mobile phone majors Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and others are offering a slew of products including touchscreen and music capable handsets in India to counter the might of Apple's iPhone, which is expected to hit the markets in September.
Phone manufacturers, like car companies, are capitalising on the latest trends and working with cool designers as the market for designer phones is big, and getting bigger. Of the 180 million mobile subscribers, young consumers are estimated to account for around 60 per cent (108 million units). It is this consumer group that the mobile vendors are planning to lure with premium, designer or special edition mobile phones, this season.
The British mobile phone operator was widely expected to go for an international arbitration after its talks with the Indian government failed to find a solution last year.
What's the difference between a phone that costs $300,000 and one that costs $100? Details, details, details.
Microsoft has had a rough track record in making big acquisitions pay off.
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