Is self-reliance the right approach in a mega-buck game, or better to be part of a network? asks T N Ninan.
A few days ago, Reliance Retail surprised the market by acquiring the Campa brand from Delhi-based Pure Drinks Ltd for Rs 22 crore. A successful cola brand in the eighties, especially in North India, Campa Cola thrived when Coke exited India in the late seventies. When the Atlanta-based major returned and PepsiCo set base in India, it went down fighting.
Its overall picture quality is nowhere close to what Samsung, Sony or even Lloyd 4K TVs offer, says Veer Arjun Singh.
Time was when you turned on your car's ignition, all that happened was that the mechanical system fired up your engine and made it run. Today, the moment you do so, your stereo system probably lights up, connects to the Bluetooth on your smartphone, and lets you make calls through an audio assistant or play music from your phone, which you can hear on the car's speakers. All these smart features in a car are powered by semiconductors, or chips, as they are commonly called.
Your idiot box is getting smarter fast. Consider this: You can now surf the web, download videos from YouTube, stream games from websites and even download news and traffic updates for a quick take on what's happening around you.
The onslaught of Chinese mobile brands is virtually obliterating Indian brands, especially in terms of value. According to industry estimates based on excise and Custom duty trends, the value share of Indian brands (across smartphones and feature phones, operator phone sales - which is mostly Jio phones - and the value of phones smuggled into the country) has dropped to a mere 1.2 per cent in January-October 2021 compared to 25.4 per cent in the calendar year 2015. In the same period, the Chinese have established their domination, hitting a value share of 64.5 per cent, up from 17.8 per cent.
But the ban remains on Galaxy Note 7, which has seen battery overheating, manufactured before September 15 and having a white battery charge indication on the screen.
So far Blackberry has been the only and the preferred smart phone of choice for the White House, including President Barack Obama.
The industry is expecting double-digit growth on a year-on-year basis, helped by a possible price correction after softening of raw material inputs and factors such as positive sentiments, pent up demand and improving economic conditions. Besides, a shift in consumer behaviour from price consciousness towards technologically advanced premium products with quality, value proposition and safety aspects leading to a rise in demand for home automation products is making the industry upbeat. With the government's production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods, which has witnessed a committed investment of Rs 4,614 crore, in place, many manufacturers are gearing up to make the most out of the opportunity as well as take steps towards reducing their dependency on imports and make products more affordable.
Rediff.com's Ashish Narsale presents a list of gadgets that will fit your budget and instantly impress your bae.
The base model is estimated to be priced at Rs 30,000.
It has captured 38 per cent of the feature phone segment in 2018 through frequent innovation, says Arnab Dutta.
Abhik Sen & Kakoli Chakraborty draw up a checklist for audiophiles.
Chinese giant Xiaomi is going for the premium segment with a view to grabbing market share in the Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 smart phone market as well as having offerings up to Rs 70,000 where players like One Plus, Samsung, Vivo and Apple are key players. "Two years ago, the Rs 20,000 plus smart phone market which is considered premium in India was very small. "Out of every 100 phones sold, only 10 were above this price mark. "However, in the last two years, it suddenly grew and we thought it was big enough for us to focus on now," said Manu Kumar Jain, managing director, Xiaomi India.
Rediff.com's Ashish Narsale lists the smartphones that ruled our hearts in 2019.
Apart from bringing new suppliers on board, Xiaomi is also hoping to take advantage of the newly launched PLI scheme that offers incentives on incremental production of smartphones with 2020 as the base year.
With the world of technology evolving at a rapid pace, 2014 witnessed a sea change in terms of the gadgets that arrived to the party.
With some of the world's most amazing gadgets, the 2015 International CES kicked off on January 6 promising a fantastic show with more than 3,600 exhibitors.
Technology became more personal in 2015.
The festive season, which usually starts from September, is when 35 per cent annual sales get transacted for most durables firms.
Known for its phones and emerging from nowhere in the segment, it might take on the scooter Goliaths.
Xiaomi now a lifestyle player, quietly launching a slew of non-smartphone products like Mi branded luggage, backpacks, apparel, U-shaped pillows, pens, home security cameras and air purifiers.
With a plethora of smartphones in the market to choose from, you are spoilt for choice.
'Whoever owns the best chip industry will be the Saudi Arabia of the era of data,' predicts Rajeev Srinivasan.
Has Steve Jobs' handpicked successor inherited the magic touch or is Apple's winning streak coming to an end?
For what it does, the RX10 is an incredibly good choice regardless of your requirements
Sony's flagship Xperia Z seems to be topping the list at the moment, boasting of some incredible hardware, beating even the likes of Samsung Galaxy S4 with unprecedented benchmark scores.
According to market sources, there has not been any real sale for most recent launches in the large screen category so far.
Samsung's Gear Live is available in India for about Rs 15,900, while LG's G Watch is priced at Rs 14,999.
Get Ahead reader Arun Iyer lists out three quick facts smartphone buyers must know before choosing the mobile they desire.
Recently, Apple did two things differently. First, it entered video streaming sector with cheaper options and second it has opened up its OTT service for non-Apple users too.
The company's overall share was sliding -- its market share stood at 49.3 per cent in 2010 -- and Korean competitor Samsung had dislodged it from the top slot in the aspirational smart phone segment in November 2011.
The global sales of mobile phones surged 35 per cent to 417 million units in September quarter, fuelled by a strong market for smart phones, according to research group Gartner.
With its new line-up, the firm has managed to touch the right chords, but to regain market share from the established players, Micromax will have to fight a protracted battle.
The latest smartphone is a cop out. Here's some tech for thought.
The wait for the new iPhone is over as the tech giant Apple officially launched its new iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro on September 14.
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