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USA TODAY Nominated T. F. Green “Best Small Airport” 2021.
T.F. Green Airport has again been nominated by USA TODAY in their “10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards” for 2021!
USA TODAY’s expert panel selected T.F. Green Airport as a contender for Best Small Airport, which gives voters four weeks to vote for the candidate of their choice at votepvd.com or by visiting pvdairport.com
Individuals can vote once a day with voting ending Monday, February 1st, with winners to be announced on Friday, February 12th.
Individuals can vote via smart phone, personal computer or other digital devices at www.PVDAirport.com and can share links with friends, family and colleagues via Green Airport’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media sites.
Rhode Show Content Disclaimer: The information, advice and answers displayed in The Rhode Show section of WPRI.com are those of individual sponsors and guests and not WPRI-TV/Nexstar Media Group, Inc. WPRI.com presents this content on behalf of each participating Rhode Show sponsor. Sponsored content is copyrighted to its respective sponsor unless otherwise indicated.


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(KRON) Apple fans, brace yourselves!
The new iPhone may not be released when you expect it.
A source for the website 9to5 Mac says iPhone 7 and 7 plus will not go on sale until September 23rd.
That’s after other reports said the smartphone would hit stores earlier.
Bloomberg reported last week a September 7th unveiling.
Apple has kept quiet during the speculation no official date has been set.
— 9to5Mac (@9to5mac) August 17, 2016

domain: news


text:
Everybody's head was in the cloud, or so it seemed in 2010. Both well established and startup vendors developed solutions and strategies designed to extend their reach or provide entry into this booming market. After all, IDC estimated the cloud market will be worth $55 billion by 2014; Gartner predicted the cloud world could be valued at $148 billion at that time, in part because Gartner included Google AdWords advertising revenue in its figures, said Gregor Petri, adviser, lean IT and cloud co
Google in the Enterprise SurveyThere's no doubt Google has made headway into businesses: Just 28 percent discourage or ban use of its productivity products, and 69 percent cite Google Apps' good or excellent mobility. But progress could still stall: 59 percent of nonusers distrust the security of Google's cloud. Its data privacy is an open question, and 37 percent worry about integration.


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Over the last decade, Americans have embraced travel insurance, buying more and more of these plans that cover trip disruptions, delays, and things like missing bags. Now, insurers are stepping up with a wider choice of plans with more flexibility.
“If you go back 10-plus years, the industry has consistently grown at about 10 percent annually,” says Stan Sandberg, co-founder of TravelInsurance.com. “Factors driving people into the market over the last couple of years have been global travel disruptions that have unfortunately become commonplace events,” Along with hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires, there have been terrorist attacks in cities like Barcelona, Nice, and Paris. “These are places that people never thought of as unsafe. All of these events have an impact of bringing people into the travel insurance market.”
But while Americans are purchasing more travel insurance, they may be doing it wrong if they’re just buying one-off coverage for each trip.
The best way for frequent travelers to cover their getaways is an annual plan, something that is becoming more widely available from a number of providers. “Currently, we have a total of four annual plans and five single-trip plans,” says Richard Aquino, VP of Sales at Allianz Global Assistance. At the plan comparison site InsureMyTrip, sales of annual coverage have risen by 40 percent in the past year, the company says. And travel insurers Arch RoamRight and Seven Corners also report double-digit increases.
Travel agents are helping drive the shift. "I have recommended the annual policy for a few of my clients that travel very frequently throughout the year,” says Margie Hand, a travel agent at Andavo Travel. “One couple in particular usually took at least two luxury cruises per year, and together with their smaller trips, the annual policy was a great option for them."
While annual and multi-trip plans are not new, traditionally they were marketed strictly to hard-core international travelers. “Most annual travel plans are focused on medical coverage for medical expenses and emergency medical evacuations,” says Justin Tysdal, CEO of Seven Corners.
Meanwhile, “for domestic trips, the number one reason somebody buys travel insurance is for trip-cancellation protection,” says Cory Sobczyk, VP of business development at Arch RoamRight. Historically, he says, “there have not been a ton of annual plans out there that include a trip-cancellation component.” But this paradigm is shifting, and today some insurance companies, including Arch RoamRight, now offer annual plans with trip cancellation that cover both domestic and international travel.
The two factors that determine the price of an insurance plan with trip cancellation are the traveler’s age and the value of the trip. So let’s say a 45-year-old traveler is taking a weeklong getaway valued at $2,500. On RoamRight.com, we searched for plans with a $2,500 claim limit and found single-trip insurance plans starting at $115 and an annual plan for $192. If our traveler increases the claim limit to $5,000—that is, takes a trip that’s twice as expensive—the annual plan’s premium climbs to $320. So in this scenario, an annual plan is a better deal after just two or three trips, depending on their total cost.


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“There's a lot of high-value items that are being inscribed or created on the bitcoin chain, and for a very, very burgeoning NFT ecosystem that it's, it's been super exciting to see,” Yin told CryptoX. “And at Magic Eden, we're working on a lot of cross-chain things anyway, and we BitcoinEdenEmbracesMagicMarketplaceNFTOrdinalsReleases Read More
PRESS RELEASE. WATERPORT PLACE, GIB., March 20th, 2023 – Digital Asset Management Limited and the Damex group (“Damex” or “Damex.io”)), a Distributed Ledger Technology provider based in Gibraltar, recently announced its utility token IEO, the Damex Token ($DAMEX), which can be used within the Damex App along BitcoincryptoexchangeDamexEarnEnablesExchangesInAppNewsPressReleaseReleasesRewardsStakingTokenTokensUsersUtility Read More
Starbucks Odyssey, the coffee company’s Web3 loyalty program, today released its first limited edition non-fungible tokens (NFT), which it calls “Stamps.” The program, still in invitation-only beta, allows members to complete activities such as quizzes and in-store purchase to earn Stamps, which can be collected or resold on Nifty Gateway.
Source CollectionDropLimitedEditionNFTOdysseyReleasesSirenStarbucks Read More
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has released a report summarizing the “Project Icebreaker” trial, which explored the potential advantages and difficulties of utilizing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) in cross-border payments. The experiment was designed to test “the technical feasibility of conducting cross-border – cross-currency transactions between BISBitcoinCBDCCrossBorderDevelopsIcebreakerModelNewsPaymentProjectReleasesReportRetail Read More
Crypto bank Silvergate announced on March 3 that it is discontinuing its digital assets' payment network, claiming the termination is a "risk-based decision". The move comes after the bank's stock fell over 59% in the past five days due to fears of a potential bankruptcy. A disclaimer on Silvergate's website stated:“Effective 9.9MBitcoinBlockFiClosescryptoexchangeExchangeExchangesNetworkReleasesSilvergate Read More
The decentralized application (DApp) NEAR protocol is releasing a new blockchain operating system, focusing on improving user experience on Web3 through a common layer for browsing and discovering open web resources, the company disclosed at the Web3 and innovation festival ETHDenver 2023.In an interview with Cryptox's Turner Wright during the BlockchainOperatingProtocolReleasesSystemWeb3 Read More
Similar to AI art platforms such as DALL-E or Midjourney, Bicasso users can type in a creative prompt to produce a unique image, or they can upload an image for the tool to adapt. Users can then mint their images as NFTs on Binance’s native BNB chain.
Source AIPoweredBinanceGeneratorNFTReleases Read More
Developers expect the game to be available on the game distribution service Steam in the coming weeks.
Source AlphaBattleGameInuNFTfocusedReleasesRoyaleVersionVolt Read More
FCTR tokens fell to as low as 44 cents in the initial hours after a Camelot DEX sale and have since seen high volatility.
Source ArbitrumBasedCodeControversyFactorDAOReleasesServiceStaking Read More


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We all should’ve guessed that a weed app was in the works. As America slowly but surely allows pot to be used for medical and recreational consumption, consumers are going to be given more freedom than ever to decide where they want to go for their dimes and nickels. And so, Leafly was born.
Hardly reinventing the wheel, the website and its newly launched mobile app look to take the same customer review-style of critique that’s made services like Yelp! such a success and turn them on the dispensaries that keep popping up in your neighborhood, should you live in one of the 20 weed-friendly states.
At this point, any marijuana-related news is simultaneously surprising and unsurprising. Now that that it’s legal, there are millions just waiting to be made on the once-banned substance. Give it a few years; a national weed-store chain is bound to pop up.
But, man. Yelp! for weed? Seriously? Kind of a slap in the face for those of us with memories of picking up whatever stepped-on gram you could drum up.


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Samsung, Sony Execs Meet to Discuss LCDs and More
May 24, 2010 10:58 AM
comment(s) - last by
Meeting though to be a Sony attempt to secure more LCD screens
The flat panel TV market is booming with HDTV sales on the rise globally and demand for 3D TVs starting in earnest. With an increased demand for finished products comes an increased need by major manufactures like Sony for components, particularly LCD panels that are traditionally in short supply.
Samsung and Sony executives have reportedly
met to discuss their alliances
. The executives at the meeting included Sony CEO Howard Stringer along with Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, CEO Choi Geesung, and COO Jay Y. Lee. Exactly what was being discussed at the meeting is not being unveiled, but many suspect the topic is Sony looking to secure a stable supply of LCD screens for its TVs. Sony and Samsung are also thought to be possibly be talking about a set standard for 3D TVs.
Analyst Ricky Seo from KB Investment & Securities said, "It's [the meeting] mainly aimed at Sony rebuilding and consolidating its relationship with Samsung because its strategy of diversifying panel suppliers to the likes of Sharp has failed to ensure smooth supplies. So, it's like Sony coming back for more cooperation as it needs Samsung to meet its aggressive promotion of TV business, especially to get advanced panels for 3D TV production."
Sony and Samsung have been involved in a joint venture in the LCD market since 2004, though Sony does have a similar venture with Sharp. The Sharp venture was only announced last year and Sony invested $756 million to buy a 1/3 stake in the joint venture. Other analysts told Reuters that there is a chance that the topic of the meetings is to review the strategic value of the ties between the two companies in the LCD market.
Representatives from Sony and Samsung offered no details on the meetings. Stringer told Reuters, We [Stringer and Lee Kun-hee] meet all the time because we have a joint venture. We are pals. So we get to negotiate or discuss the joint venture a lot, and it was one of those meetings. It's a traditional meeting... But it was not a big meeting, it's a regular meeting."
This is reportedly the first major meeting Lee has been part of since he
returned as Samsung Chairman
. Lee was convicted of tax evasion two years ago and later pardoned by the South Korean President.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
Is it just me...
5/24/2010 1:22:42 PM
...do all Sony electronics seem to have a magical kill switch that goes off as soon as the warranty expires? I take very good care of my equipment and yet my Sony DVD player, VCR player, 5-disc CD changer, and digital camera all died this way. Let's hope they don't share this technology with Samsung.
RE: Is it just me...
5/25/2010 10:54:17 AM
Maybe, but they have very real but not nearly magical kill switch on features via firmware update.
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Most of us associate importance with renowned logos but we never consider what the company logo design of a particular brand might mean. Because, every line, curve and color has a unique meaning behind it, the science of logo making is very interesting. In fact, most of the designs communicate much more than their simple […]
Foxtel Logo was just a small part of the huge makeover that Foxtel underwent this week. Foxtel will now be offering the same services which a lot of other big names such as Netflix in the technological are offering to their customers in a much more affordable price.
Medcare Skin Center’s new business logo is the true copy of Umbrella Corporation’s Resident Evil Logo. The company after finding out the resemblance published an official statement to settle the matter.
A Microsoft S logo which has been filed for a trademark is linked to the technology giant’s upcoming console Xbox Project Scorpio, releasing in E3 2017. The logo related to video game consoles is a stylized alphabet S with a break in the center.
Google Inc. commemorates World Environment day with its Google Green Logo. The new Google Doodle illustration spreads a heartfelt message to spread awareness about protecting the environment.
Euronews and NBC have decided to become partners as NBC acquires 25% of the shares. The joint venture will also feature a new NBC logo retaining the multi-colored peacock design and sans serif font from NBC which will be combined with the blue logotype of Euronews. The period was however dropped from the new logo.
The recent application development of Microsoft’s Skype unveils new messaging and Highlights feature. The company has joined the list of other social and messaging services which are following Snapchat’s popular ‘Stories’
CSA recently unveiled its T20 Global League logo along with the announcement of tentative dates for the tournament. The ceremony was held at Wanderers stadium in South Africa. The board and the players all expressed their excitement over the tournament that is set to debut at the end of this year.
The Ubisoft Logo has finally been redesigned after fourteen long years. Even though, the design has not been changed significantly, the new logo is said to be more ‘player-centric’. The logo is more versatile than the previous logo and is supposedly a window to the game worlds Ubisoft creates.
June 1 2017’s Google Doodle is an addictive cricket game to celebrate ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Just swing the bat and look as you either score runs or get your stumps crashed. The batter is a cartoon cricket, and the fielders are snails.


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Telus Q2 2014 Profits Up 33%
After Rogers, Wind, and Bell, it was Telus’ turn to report its second-quarter earnings. Canada’s second-largest carrier has posted a revenue growth of 4.4% compared to $2.95 billion a year ago. Wireless revenue increased 6.2%, while wireline revenue is up 2.4% compared to the same period last year. Profits increased by 33% to $381 million, while basic earnings per share jumped by 41% to $0.62.
During the three months up to the end of June, Telus recorded a wireless revenue growth of $85 million, up 6.1% to $1.48 billion and driven by subscriber base expansion, and higher data usage and smartphone adoption.
Just like Rogers and Bell, postpaid additions were lower during the second quarter, although Telus added 78,000 subscribers – by contrast, it reported 79,000 postpaid additions a year ago – but the additions were partially offset by a loss of 20,000 lower-ARPU prepaid subscribers, so this makes a net addition of 58,000.
Darren Entwistle, TELUS Executive Chair said, “Our strong second quarter results were characterized by growth in revenue, EBITDA and free cash flow, supported by80,000 net new subscriber additions and continued leading customer loyalty with a record monthly postpaid wireless churn rate of 0.90 per cent. On the back of these robust results, we continued to demonstrate our commitment to returning capital to shareholders through our dividend increases and stock repurchases, which this year have totalled $1.1 billion to the end of July. On an absolute basis,or on a relative basis with our global peers, TELUS continues to drive industry-leading results.”
The total wireless subscriber base (excluding Public Mobile) was up 2.2% to 7.9 million, while postpaid subscribers account for 87% of the total subscriber base.
As the press release highlights, smartphone users represent 79% of the carrier’s postpaid base, up from 71% reported a year ago.
In the second quarter of 2014, blended average revenue per user (ARPU) increased 2.3% to $62.51, growing for the fifteenth straight month.


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As we have every quarter for the last several, we’re looking at Barnes & Noble’s recent quarterly report to gauge the trends that are impacting the book industry – which books were big over the last few months and what’s expected for the months ahead.
Sales dipped by -5% from a year ago for the quarter ended August 1st, consistent with the declines seen in prior quarters. “Store traffic was down throughout the quarter,” according to CFO Joseph Lombardi.
As has been the case as the company has focused more on the tough economy and other aspects of the business, there wasn’t much discussion of individual titles this year.
What follows are insights gleaned from Lombardi and Barnes and Noble CEO Steve Riggio’s comments on the conference call discussing Q1 results.
Lombardi pointed out that the same quarter a year ago had big sellers in Stephanie Meyers The Host, Barbara Walters Audition, and Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture, while sales from “bestsellers were lower this year.”
According to Lombardi, “the fall lineup looks fairly strong, with Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol being the big third quarter title.”
Barnes and Noble is pushing hard to get on the ebook bandwagon. Riggio said, “The most important development of the quarter was the launch of our e-bookstore on July 20th,” adding that the company had the “top two most downloaded apps in the iTunes store… our e-reader app, which continues to be the number one book app, and the Barnes & Noble bookstore app, which enables customers to browse, search, and snap photos of… covers of products and to buy them with ease.”
Riggio also outlined efforts to get more titles into the e-bookstore, along with a selection of newspapers and magazines, the unmentioned target being the Amazon Kindle store which has surged to a big lead in offering a large number of titles.
As we have every quarter for the last several, we’re looking at Barnes & Noble’s recent quarterly report to gauge the trends that are impacting the book industry – which books were big over the last few months and what’s expected for the months ahead.This quarter has been rather dramatic for the big chains. In March, Borders took an emergency cash infusion (with many strings attached) from a large hedge fund shareholder just to stay afloat. This came on the heels of a new strategy initiative from the chain, which we dubbed “The Froot Loop Gambit,” leading to some great discussion and a follow-up post about “knowledge products.” Two months on, Borders is out of the woods for the short term, but appears unlikely to survive as a standalone company in the long term. Right now, most are speculating that Borders will be swallowed up by Barnes and Noble.As such, our regular look at Barnes and Noble quarterly updates may offer an even broader view of the book industry as soon as next quarter. Interesting times. In the meantime, what follows are insights gleaned from Barnes and Noble CEO Steve Riggio’s comments on the quarterly conference call for the quarter ended May 5th. (Transcript provided by Seeking Alpha.) Interestingly, this quarter was much lighter on the discussion of individual books that have done well recently or that are expected to do well in current and future quarters. It’s hard to know what to make of this change in tone other than the fact that there appears to be paucity of blockbusters this year compared to the Potter-mania, political memoirs, and self-help tomes that fueled sales in 2007.First quarter numbers compared unfavorably to a year ago when Oprah-backed positive thinking pablum The Secret was a massive seller.Looking ahead, the second quarter will face very tough comparisons to Q2 2007 thanks to the huge sales of Harry Potter a year ago. “the quarter should end with some excitement with the publication of Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer and we think that’s the most anticipated book of this year, if not actually in a couple of years. Even though it’s a teen book, it has wide appeal.”April was difficult but May started out better: “We had a number of big books in the first couple weeks, including Barbara Walters’ Audition, the Stephanie Meyer adult fiction book The Host and the continued strength of the Last Lecture.”As for Riggio’s answer to the Borders question: “We’ve put together a team of senior management people and financial advisors to study the feasibility of a transaction with Borders. We’ll provide no further comments about any discussions we may or may not have.”


text:
"Our Tech Data strategy is that the data center, cloud, and mobility all work together with each other in terms of where the market is heading," says Joe Qualia, Tech Data Corp. senior vice president, U.S. marketing and president, TDMobility. "My biggest surprise is I didn't expect the smartphone to outsell the PC in units."
Perhaps that surprise helped galvanize the Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor to open its TDMobility services offering in cooperation with Brightstar. During Tech Data's Channel Link conference in Anaheim, Calif., in mid-September, Quaglia talked about TDMobility.
Advertised as an "end-to-end mobility solution," TDMobility services help resellers and their customers choose the right devices, configure them as needed, activate them with all the major carriers, and ship them directly to the customer if needed.
How does mobility work with the data center? "You sell a hundred tablets, you'll need more storage," says Quaglia.
As part of the distributor's push into mobility, selling a hundred tablets is now a small order for Tech Data and TDMobility. In fact, the company sold more than $1 billion worth of tablets last year, and will exceed that considerably in 2013.
"We worked a project with a large pharmaceutical company that was building apps for their sales force," says Quaglia. "We sold them 5,000 iPads, all activated by TDMobility and shipped to each location as needed." And where did the sales gathered by the reps go? "The orders go to the cloud immediately," bringing together all three of Quaglia's strategy points from earlier.
TDActivate, the service that allows Tech Data to serve as the Master Agent for all major carriers, simplifies the process for resellers, and carriers pay a commission for each activation. Tech Data combines TDMobility, TDActivate, and TDWarranty in making the popular iPad much easier to sell profitably. The first major distributor to work so closely with Apple, Tech Data not only handles mobile device activation but also attaches optional AppleCare warranty certification to products.
Tom Bethel, operations manager at ACL Computers, a Maryland-based reseller in business for more than 20 years, says Tech Data's programs have enabled him to boost Apple product purchases from about $800,000 last year to more than $2.5 million this year.
"You have to get a special exemption to attach AppleCare to a product you buy one at a time," says Bethel. "Through Apple, you have to buy a minimum of 10 to get AppleCare certifications attached, and it can take weeks. With Tech Data, I can order a single iPad and get the AppleCare paperwork in just a few days."
Doing more than 80 percent of its business with the government means small margins on already tight Apple margins, says Bethel. "With TDMobility, we get a $20 to $40 to $60 rebate per device and activation, which is more than I make from the hardware in most cases."
Part of TDMobility is a program called CellManage to help alleviate the hassles of billing, deployment, asset tracking, and procurement of mobile devices. A special portal for the reseller, the customer, and the carrier simplifies billing and management.
"One of our customers received 27 bills each month for iPhones and tablets," says Bethel. "It took him 20 hours per month to reconcile each device and each billing plan to each employee and each department." With CellManage and TDMobility, the portal does all that work. "In addition, it tracks users and their plans to alert those going over their limits, and those who aren't using their devices enough to justify a higher rate plan. They can drop down and save money."
Quaglia sees no end to the excitement in the mobile device market, commenting that new projects in enterprises have mobility at the center of their new designs. "Monetization is starting in mobility and cloud solutions at a much faster pace than we thought. We haven't scratched the surface yet. Look at wearables-the glasses and watches. Will the next thing be embedded?"


text:
Out of the many developing ventures in Saudi Arabia. The gaming business is speeding up at an exceptional speed. With designers taking principles to a higher level in an interesting new domain.
In 2020, the Saudi gaming market, assessed to be worth SR2.6 billion ($690 million). With different stages dispatched to offer certainty to engineers, business people. As well as, financial backers so they can keep constructing the business.
The Kingdom, home to 21.2 million gamers, has seen its gaming industry hop 4.1 percent this year. Making it the world’s nineteenth biggest market.
Mohammad Waleed Hashim, a 30-year-old independent game designer. He is right now delivering a game the spins around a player who needs to discover his direction through the deserts of Saudi Arabia. Preparing crowds of camels, become friends with desert society. Warding off hunters and exploring the secrets of the desert, very much like his granddad once did.
“The Shepherd”, delivered soon on the Steam stage for $10 with no extra in-game buys. An arrangement he says will permit gamers to appreciate it more.
Independent games are made by a little gathering of individuals, or for Hashim’s situation, a solitary designer.
Aside from sometimes recruiting specialists for the craftsmanship and plan, Hashim said: “The game zeros in additional on the mechanics and the story and less on the graphical viewpoints.”
The engineer said that the game, intended to be a little pastime. Yet it moved into a greater task and turned into the nitty-gritty item it is today. “The Arab contacts were vital to me since I needed something the players could identify with,” he said, adding: “I discovered an image of my granddad wearing conventional garments and that is the place where the motivation for the person configuration began.”
Abdullah Bamashmoos, originator of Jeddah-based game improvement studio Hakawati. As stated, games that permit youngsters to construct their own in-game universes — like Minecraft and Roblox — can impact small kids to get on board with that fad.
“That opens the chance of one day making their own games in Saudi Arabia, the age that grew up playing the games that upgraded their inventiveness are currently figuring out how to foster genuine games,” said Bamashmoos.
The 31-year-old engineer said that there were few gaming studios a couple of years prior, so he was unable to seek after his energy for creating games immediately. He confronted resistance from his local area when he began putting his time and cash into improvement.
Bamashmoos said that his excursion was one of experimentation: “I would make records, rummage the web for answers for a portion of the product issues, erase documents, and start without any preparation.”
As indicated by the engineers, it’s difficult the product abilities that hopeful designers need to deal with. Bamashmoos said that they likewise need to chip away at their group building capacities. As well as, discovering effective engineers who will buckle down all through the improvement phase of their games.
At the point when the two engineers began on their excursions more than 10 years prior. The web was not as rich with data as it is presently, which has been a distinct advantage for designers.


text:
It is imperative for companies today to identify new engines of growth and invest more in innovation: Dilip Shanghvi
The complete speech of Dilip Shanghvi as President of 70th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress being held from December 21 to 23, 2018 at Amity University, Noida
It gives me immense pleasure to welcome all of you to the 70th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress. We have all gathered here today to showcase and commend the remarkable contribution of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry and Academia. A glance at the list of presentations, planned for the next three days, reveal the amazing diversity of research and innovations in the pharma sciences. The next three days will enrich us on topics ranging from APIs; generic formulations; diagnostics and medical devices; to biosimilar; pharmacovigilance; clinical research; herbal drugs and many more.
The global spending on medicines is expected to reach over $1.4 trillion by 2022, growing at an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.38 per cent from $1.13 trillion in 2017. India is known globally for being a leading supplier of quality, affordable drugs to more than 200 countries. It has the highest number of USFDA approved plants, outside the USA. India accounts for the second largest number of Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) and is global leader in Drug Master Files (DMFs) applications in the US. India also has second largest share of pharma and biotech workforce in the world. Overall market opportunity remains large for Indian pharma companies. While in developing nations, market is characterised by high per capita spending, high availability and access to life saving drugs, however, this is not the case for developing countries. Demographic changes in population and advances in medical treatments are expected to translate into a rise in per capita spending in developing nations. Innovation in medicines, along with economic progress, will result in a rise in volume as well access to medicines.
In the past few years, our Government has been actively working to make healthcare more accessible to the people of India. Initiatives such as ‘Ayushman Bharat’ and ‘Jan Aushadhi Kendra’ are good examples in the regard. The ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government has indeed been most successful in the field of pharma. Other initiatives like ‘Kaushal Bharat Kushal Bharat’ for skill development and ‘Digital India’ are also promising and innovative ways of strengthening pharma industry in the country.
While we all are proud that every third tablet in the world is ‘Made in India’ however, the pie of the pharma business captured by Indian pharma companies in terms of dollar value is very small. The Indian pharma market is the third largest in terms of volume and thirteenth largest in terms of value. To put things into perspective, Indian pharma industry registered sales of value. To put things into perspective, Indian pharma industry registered sales of $36.7 billion in 2017, while overall global market was $1.13 trillion in 2017. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR of 22.4 per cent to reach $ 55 billion by 2020. Indian pharma industry has till date focused on generic medicines, wherein we have been able to garner high volume share, however, have lagged behind in market share in terms of dollar value. We are global leader in quality generic drug manufacturing, however, we are yet to develop a strong, research-based pharma industry that can produce innovative medicines. We need to undertake several initiatives across infrastructure, regulatory framework, and human resources etc. to place India as preferred destination for pharma innovation.
With changing global landscape, it is imperative for companies today to identify new engines of growth and invest more in innovation. It is a good sign that some of the companies are already trying to move up the value chain and investing in innovative specialty and complex generics products. In order to build an ecosystem of innovative products coming from Indian pharma industry, it would require some early adopters to taste success with innovative products, for others to follow the suit and invest, since this would require long term commitment. This would require Indian entrepreneurs and pharma companies to augment their capacity and capability for driving research, development and manufacturing of innovative products.
Adequate regulatory framework, commensurate with the global standards is required to support investment on innovative products and expedite per-clinical research, clinical trial and launch of new drugs. Time-bound implementation of policy interventions is a prerequisite for India to realise its innovation potential and vision. New medicines require extensive clinical trails to demonstrate safety and efficacy. Clinical trial activity in India is lower than that in other BRIC countries and several other developing nations.
Lengthy approval processes and timelines and available infrastructure pose a significant challenge in terms conducting clinical trial in India, hence several companies prefer to do clinical trials outside India in order to bring their drugs faster to market. Since companies don’t pursue clinical trails in India, it hampers clinical trial capability building at our medical institutions, hospitals as well as for medical practitioners and others involved.
In order to promote innovation, Government is working towards bringing suitable regulatory frameworks and taking steps to strengthen the capability of our regulatory agencies. We have already started moving in the right direction, with Government seeking comments on draft amendments in Schedule M (Good Manufacturing Practices), Pharmacovigilance System Inspection Guideline and New Drugs and Clinical Trails Rules.
Co-ordination between Central Regulator, which approved new medicines and State Regulators, which grant manufacturing licenses as well as conduct inspection, also have to be strengthened in order to streamline time required for any new drug approval. Augmentation of physical infrastructure in terms of testing laboratories, of central and state regulatory authorities are also of utmost importance,in order to ensure that drugs manufactured in India, whether consumed in India or exported, are safe, efficacious and meets global quality standards. Moreover, regulatory bodies need human resources with adequate technical knowledge on innovation, in order to approve or disprove innovations, as well as to comply with global quality standard. Agencies have already started hiring manpower with suitable technical knowledge and additional skill sets. In order to ensure global recognition of product quality, Government desires to become a member of Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S).
Academia and industry are two important pillars of our economy. A robust collaboration between the two will augur well for developing our economy, enabling innovation and growth in the education system and producing an employment-ready workforce. We need skilled workforce equipped with the right knowledge. The curriculum and syllabus at Pharma Graduate and Post Graduate level should continuously be upgraded in line with newer regulations, guidelines, innovations and research, to keep it relevant and contemporary. Compared to other countries, India has been behind in quality research output both in terms of publications as well as citations. There is a need for improvement in the quality of our research output as well as better transfer of knowledge and technology between industry and academia. Industry R&D Centers are better equipped in terms of latest infrastructure, a better partnership between Industry and Academia will help in bringing out better quality research outputs from our students.
Price regulations by governments and reimbursement pressures in regulated markets may impact adoption of novel medicines as well as innovation of new medicines. Hence, it’s important for Industry and Academia to collaborate in order to bring down the cost of innovation and bring novel medicines in the market. Industry and educational institutes need to build a constructive framework for collaboration to make India a global innovation hub.
In summing up, with the existing calibre of Indian pharma sector, newer advances in research, industry-academia partnership as well as economic driven government policies, will take the Indian pharma sector to newer heights and support innovation.
Last but not least, I encourage you to visit the Expo, showcasing latest developments in pharmaceuticals, technology and machineries.
Also, allow me to thank our Guest of Honor, as well as those who encourage us in one way or the other, and contributed towards successful opening of this Congress. I would also like to thank all the participants, especially those who came from abroad, for joining us and sharing their valuable experience and ideas.
I sincerely hope that this 70th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress act as a collaborative platform for sharing of information, ideas and encourage innovation. I will close my address with the famous saying of Hippocrates – “Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is a love of humanity.”
President – 70th IPC


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LAHORE – Samsung on Friday launched the most recent addition to its premium Be aware sequence with Galaxy Note9 in Pakistan.
This long-awaited Galaxy Note9 options 6.Four-inch Tremendous AMOLED show with a decision of 1440 x 2960 pixels, 18.5:9 facet ratio and 516 PPI density.
The SoC on the smartphone is Octa-Core Exynos 9810 octa-core chipset, Mali-G72 MP18 GPU coupled with 8GB RAM and 512GB inner storage.
The system boasts a robust Twin 12MP digital camera on the again with OIS and a Large-angle f/1.5-2.Four, telephoto lens, together with an 8MP entrance digital camera. All this and extra is powered by a 4000 mAh battery.
Furthermore an enhanced Bluetooth stylus, in addition to a sophisticated digital camera that takes crisper and sharper photographs.
The digital camera makes use of AI to take higher photographs and can warn customers if it detects a blur in a photograph permitting entrance digital camera consumer to rapidly retake photos. The Be aware 9 options Twin Aperture know-how, which Samsung launched earlier this 12 months on its Galaxy S9 vary. This know-how is able to adjusting the digital camera lens to mild in the identical manner because the human eye. Nevertheless, it will appear the spotlight improve this 12 months is the S Pen, which is able to let customers remotely management the cellphone’s digital camera to take the right selfie.
The Managing Director of Samsung Pakistan, YJ Kim said, “The Be aware has at all times been our showcase for premium know-how and industry-defining innovation, and Galaxy Be aware 9 is not any exception”.
Samsung Pakistan is overjoyed in introducing this power-packed system to its loyal client base in Pakistan, this thrilling new system guarantees a complete new world of knowledge and leisure whereas multi-tasking, with highly effective world connectivity, for customers aspiring to excel in as we speak’s extremely aggressive and fast-paced world. “It empowers and conjures up customers to do what can’t be finished,” Kim added.
The South Korean firm has additionally launched official launch companions to supply unique advantages with the Galaxy Be aware 9. The favored transportation offering service, Careem, is giving 20% off on rides for Be aware 9 customers.
Swarovski – one of many main producers of bijou worldwide – is providing 25% off on merchandise. Be aware 9 customers may also avail a 30% low cost on membership on the premium well being and health membership, Construction.
Lastly, Jazz is offering 6GB information for all Be aware 9 customers on their community.
The smartphone is accessible for Rs130,000 in Pakistan with a present voucher and energy financial institution on pre-order.


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U.S. food prices will rise faster than prices for other goods during the second half of this year and next year, with the worst drought in more than a half a century expected to push up prices for meat, poultry and fruit, USDA said last week.
"The drought is really going to hit food prices next year," Richard Volpe, a USDA economist, told Reuters News Service, adding that the pressure on food prices would start to build later this year.
"It's already affecting corn and soybean prices, but then it has to work its way all the way through the system into feed prices and then animal prices, then wholesale prices and then finally, retail prices," Volpe said.
USDA forecast on July 25 that food prices would jump between 2.5% and 3.5% in 2012 and then rise 3-4% in 2013. Food inflation was 3.7% last year but only 0.8% in 2010.
If USDA is correct, food prices will rise more rapidly than the overall U.S. inflation rate, a turnabout from the usual pattern. The U.S. inflation rate is estimated at a modest 2% this year and 1.9% in 2013.
USDA’s food price inflation forecast for 2012 was unchanged from its previous forecast, even though retail food prices on average were flat for the first half of 2012.
The food-at-home Consumer Price Index (CPI) actually decreased 0.1% from January to June 2012, with deflationary pressure coming from unusually low fruit and vegetable prices as well as lower prices for fluid milk and pork. Alternatively, prices for beef and veal, poultry, and fats and oils have increased thus far in 2012.
USDA expects potential increases in retail prices to appear within two months and continue in 2013. In the short term, prices may fall for some meat products as drought conditions may lead to herd culling in response to higher feed costs and short-term increases in the meat supply, USDA said. That trend would in time reverse.
It will take some time for the impact of higher corn prices on packaged and processed foods to be felt.
"The full effect of the increase in corn prices for packaged and processed foods will likely take 10-12 months to move through to retail food prices," USDA said.
Historically, if the farm price of corn increases 50%, then retail food prices will increase by 0.5% to 1%, USDA said. In more general terms, as the price of a commodity index increases, about 14-15% of that increase is passed on to retail prices for any products using that commodity as an ingredient.
Editor’s note: Richard Brock, Corn & Soybean Digest's marketing editor, is president of Brock Associates, a farm market advisory firm, and publisher of The Brock Report.


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The British designer, 57, whose clothes are regularly worn by Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, was threatened by two thugs in Lawless London, The Sun reported.
Amanda Wakeley got out of the car to check a flat tire. Two men approached her, one of them was armed with an ax. The criminals forced the fashion designer to give them a Rolex watch worth £ 25 thousand and then fled the scene.
Hugh Morrison, a public relations consultant for designer, said she was not physically injured.
"The moped assailants had earlier let down her tires to make her stop to investigate and came up behind her, threatening her with an axe. She is unhurt but naturally shocked. The police have been amazing but say that this happens 5-6 times every day in RBK&C [Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea] and have asked us to share this. There were lots of witnesses and the Police feel that the culprits will be caught,” Morrison said.
18:59, December 6Audience disappointed with Disney's 1st 'Mulan' trailer
15:36, December 6Fendi and Armenian perfumer Francis Kurkdjian launch scented bags
14:59, December 6Kanye West to stage his second opera
13:14, December 6Tennis player Serena Williams becomes fashion expert? Star launches tips video series
11:14, December 6Why Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom postponed their wedding?
17:17, December 5Timberlake apologizes to his wife for scandalous photos with actress
16:16, December 5Gigi Hadid goes braless in glitzy tweed co-ord
14:15, December 5Pantone Institute names color of year
16:39, December 4Elton John throws $4,000 Gucci handbag out of plane
13:28, December 4Disney sued over Frozen 2's ‘monopoly’ in South Korea
10:59, December 4Kendall Jenner shocks fans by her casual outfit
18:16, December 3Cindy Crawford’s daughter showcases her figure in revealing bralet and maxi skirt


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Amazon.com recently unveiled an agreement with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver packages in some markets on Sunday, the latest initiative by the e-commerce giant to be consumers’ first and final shopping destination.
Amazon will deliver packages from its warehouses to Postal Service sites late Saturday or Sunday, and, under the terms of the deal, the agency will truck them to consumers’ doorsteps. Outside of some Sunday delivery during the Christmas holiday season, the deal marks the first broad Sunday delivery initiative for the Postal Service and could be a model for other retailers.
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The last couple of months have been a busy time of travel for me, Ben Combee, and the HP Palm Developer Relations team.
Our next event was in early October in beautiful Austin, Texas with Game Developer Conference Online. I attended as part of their iPhone/iPad Gaming Summit to be on a panel on Alternative Mobile Platforms. I was on stage with representatives from Aurora Feint (who recently launched support for Android), Sony, Microsoft, and Cydia (the app store for jailbroken iOS devices). I emphasized how many iOS developers have been able to quickly port over applications from Apple’s mobile OS to our system using the PDK’s support for OpenGL ES and I stressed how the Palm App Catalog provides a great way to gain access to a growing user base.
While in London, I also took the opportunity to visit with some of our London partners, including Quickoffice, who’ve done a great job building a first-class hybrid document viewer app that we’re including in webOS 2.0, and Ideaworks Labs, the creators of the Airplay SDK that allows building cross-platform C/C++ apps for webOS and many other systems.
Our next big event is the HP webOS Developer Day in New York City. If you can get up to New York on November 19th and 20th, it will be time well spent. We’re going to be going deep into some of the new features of webOS 2.0 while also featuring many of the cross platform technologies that can make you successful as a mobile developer and expose your apps to a huge audience of users.


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Volvo Trucks North America announces that it is going to introduce its VNR electric class 8 tractor in Martin Brower’s fleet of commercial vehicles. It will be in collaboration with McDonald’s Canada. The leading supply chain solutions provider for restaurant chains will be using an all-electric Volvo semi. Also, the vehicles will pull McDonald’s branded trailers that are used for food and beverage deliveries in the Montreal area.
“We are excited to partner with our long-time customer Martin Brower to be the first to deploy a Volvo VNR Electric in Montreal in collaboration with McDonald’s Canada,” Paul Kudla, Managing Director of the Canadian division of Volvo Trucks North America, said. “It’s a strong statement when all key partners align towards clear greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. We look forward to continued collaborations with both organizations as they begin their electromobility journey.”
Furthermore, the Volvo VNR is suited for local and regional trips due to its 275-mile range. The semi packs a 250 kW charging capability that enables 80 percent charge in 90 minutes for the six-battery package or just an hour for the four-battery option, giving the truck a quick turnaround to make several trips a day. Martin Brower also installed an on-site charging infrastructure. The VNR’s range rating and charging rate are ideal for what Martin Brower will use its first Volvo VNR for, which is to deliver to McDonald’s restaurants within a range of 95 miles, or 150 kilometers, from the supply chain company’s distribution center in Montreal.
McDonald’s Canada will assess the performance and ability of the VNR electric truck with plans to scale alternative fuel vehicles into its fleet, servicing more than 1,400 restaurants across Canada. The company has committed to achieving net-zero emissions across its global operations by 2050. “The trial of the VNR Electric model vehicle in Montreal is another example of how we continue to evolve our business to meet the current moment and rise to future challenges,” Jacques Mignault, McDonald’s Canada’s CEO and President said. “Together with Martin Brower and Volvo Trucks, we look forward to understanding how this trial can help us get closer to McDonald’s global net zero-emission goals.”
“Our goal is to deliver innovative and meaningful solutions to help restaurants, and our business creates a more sustainable, ethical, and responsible future — every day, all over the world,” President of Martin Brower Canada Julie Dell’Aniello said. “By integrating the Volvo VNR Electric tractor into our fleet, we will gain valuable experience for future zero-tailpipe emission tractor deployments that will enable us to continue driving down Martin Brower’s greenhouse gas emissions so we can meet our sustainability targets.”


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Passage of a new law in Oregon that requires industrial hemp growers to register with the state is seen as a positive move for the industry, advocates of the program are saying.
Signed by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and overwhelmingly passed by members of the Oregon Legislature, Senate Bill 1015 (http://cnw.fm/hu2EN) went into effect on Oct. 6, 2017. The measure gives the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) authority over the processing of industrial hemp and requires those who grow or process the plant to register and pay a fee. Licensed recreational marijuana producers and dispensaries would also have to…
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Motorola Mobility said its Moto Z and Moto Z Force will become the first non-Google phones to support Daydream, Google’s virtual reality platform.
The division of Lenovo said on its company blog that it will roll out Android 7.0 (Nougat) to the two handsets globally this week. The software upgrade will include compatibility with Daydream, enabling owners to use their phones in conjunction with Google’s virtual reality headset, which sells with a controller for $80.
The only other phone on the market to currently support Daydream is Google’s own Pixel.
“These are the first smartphones from another manufacturer to be recognized by Google as Daydream-ready devices—a distinction given to phones that have been certified for the Daydream platform and are built for VR with high-resolution displays, ultra-smooth graphics and high-fidelity sensors for precise head tracking,” according to Motorola. “With Daydream, you can explore new worlds, attend a sporting event or concert, enjoy your own personal cinema and so much more.”
Motorola, which was acquired by Lenovo in 2014 for $2.9 billion, is clearly hoping to boost sales by hitching its wagon to Google’s VR star. Lenovo restructured its organization earlier this year in a move that saw Motorola chief Rick Osterloh leave the company—Osterloh went to work for Google soon after—and in September, Lenovo said it would cut more than 1,000 jobs primarily from Motorola in a continuation of its restructuring.
Last year the company announced roughly 3,200 layoffs in its nonmanufacturing workforce around the world, equaling roughly 5% of its total headcount. And Lenovo was knocked out of the list of top five smartphone vendors worldwide in the first quarter of 2016, IDC said earlier this year, as Chinese upstarts Oppo and Vivo saw sales surge.
Smartphone manufacturers are increasingly viewing virtual reality as a potential differentiator in a brutally competitive market. Google has touted VR functionality in its heavily marketed Pixel, and Samsung emphasized support for its Gear VR headset when it introduced the Galaxy S7 at Mobile World Congress in February. Whether consumers find virtual reality an important factor when choosing a handset has yet to be determined, however.


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Cloud computing will soon become an area of hot debate in Washington, D.C., with policy makers debating issues such as the privacy and security of data in the cloud, a panel of tech experts said Friday.
There are “huge challenges” facing policy makers in the next year or two as cloud computing becomes increasingly popular, said Mike Nelson, visiting professor for the Center for Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown University and a former tech policy adviser for U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Among the major policy issues to be worked out: Who owns the data that consumers store on the network? Should law enforcement agencies have easier access to personal information in the cloud than data on a personal computer? Do government procurement regulations need to change to allow agencies to embrace cloud computing?
Cloud computing is “as important as the Web was 15 years ago,” said Nelson, speaking at a Google forum on the policy implications of hosted applications and services. “We don’t have any idea of how important it is, and we don’t really have any clue as to how it’s going to be used.”
Despite the growing number of people using cloud services such as hosted e-mail and online photo storage, many consumers don’t understand the privacy and security implications, said Ari Schwartz, vice president and chief operating officer of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an advocacy group focused on online privacy and civil rights. So far, U.S. courts have generally ruled that private data stored in the cloud doesn’t enjoy the same level of protection from law enforcement searches that data stored on a personal computer does, he said.
“Consumers expect their information will be treated the same on the cloud as it is if it were stored at home on their own computers,” Schwartz said.
Forty-nine percent of U.S. residents who use cloud computing services would be very concerned if the cloud vendors shared their files with law enforcement agencies, according to a survey released Friday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Another 15 percent of respondents said they’d be somewhat concerned, according to the survey, released in conjunction with the Google policy event.
Sixty-nine percent of U.S. residents who are online use at least one of six popular cloud services, the survey said. Fifty-six percent of survey respondents use Web mail services, 34 percent store personal photos online and 29 percent use online applications such as Google Documents or Adobe Photoshop Express, according to the survey.
Among the concerns about cloud computing: 80 percent of respondents said they’d be very concerned if a vendor used their photos and other information in marketing campaigns. Another 68 percent said they’d be very concerned if the vendor used their personal information stored in the cloud to deliver personalized ads to them and 63 percent said they’d be very concerned if the vendor kept their data after they tried to delete it.
Asked why they use cloud computing services, 51 percent said convenience was the major reason. Another 41 percent said the major factor was being able to access their information from multiple computers and devices.
One audience member suggested consumers’ growing use of cloud services doesn’t match with their concerns about the privacy of their data. Schwartz said consumers would embrace privacy protections if they were made easy to use.
“People are obviously making trade-offs in privacy when they use these services,” added John Horrigan, Pew’s associate director for research.
Asked what policy recommendations they’d make to the U.S. government, Nelson and Schwartz suggested a change in government procurement regulations are needed for federal agencies to embrace cloud computing. But questions about data privacy and ownership are also important to address, Schwartz added.
The U.S. government should encourage the free flow of information around the globe, added Dan Burton, senior vice president for global public policy at cloud computing vendor Salesforce.com. The benefits of cloud computing could be hampered by laws that prevent the sharing of data across national borders, he said.
The government should avoid formulating specific policies governing cloud computing, according to Nelson. Government’s role should be to ensure competition and allow vendors to work out details, he said.
“I do think government has an almost infinite ability to screw up things when they can’t see the future,” Nelson said. “We have to have leadership that believes in empowering users and empowering citizens.”


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Xbox Games Showcase Summer 2023: Date, games, & everything we know so far
Xbox Games Showcase is happening this Summer, giving Microsoft the opportunity to show us what its studios have been working on. Xbox has quite a bit of ground to make up with regard to exclusive games, making these showcases a big opportunity for something new and exciting.
Here is everything we currently know about the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase for Summer 2023.
Xbox Games Showcase: Date and time
We know for certain what the date for the show is, but the time is yet to be announced. Xbox Game Showcase will kick off on Sunday, 11 June. This places the showcase right in between Summer Games Fest and E3.
Exactly what time it starts is not known, as mentioned, but the time that it ends will be very important to know for Starfield fans.
Xbox Games Showcase: Starfield Direct
We recently got the unfortunate news that Starfield has been delayed from early this year until 6 September. This news came in tandem with the announcement of Starfield Direct, a second showcase after the Xbox Games Showcase dedicated to Starfield.
Fans can expect a Bethesda presence among these two shows, but it seems that the Starfield showcase is dedicated to that one game, so if there is no Elder Scrolls 6 news in the Xbox Games Showcase, don't expect it from the Starfield Direct.
Xbox Games Showcase: What games can we expect?
Apart from the mentioned Starfield, nothing has been confirmed for 11 June. The recent Developer_Direct featured Redfall, Minecraft and the surprise announcement and release of HiFi Rush, a smaller but still very successful event. Considering the time of year that this showcase is happening, it seems safe to assume that big things are planned.
That said, Xbox has not had the best track record in recent years, so it is best to temper expectations. Xbox has plenty of irons in the fire, such as the new Fable game that has been quiet since the announcement, so the potential for big announcements is high.
That is it for the Xbox Game Showcase. For all the news and info you need, be sure to stick with us at GGRecon.


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By Zhao Likun, GM Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) South Africa.
The smartphone manufacturers that survive in the future will be the ones with technological strength, are adaptive to changes and responsive to user demands. Huawei has a visionary game plan for its smartphones to rise up to this challenge.
In 2015, the company first came up with the concept of Intelligent Phones and has been developing meaningful innovations in technology and design since.
The company’s collaboration with Leica has resulted in the dual-camera capacity of its flagship phones which is a now a benchmark for photography products.
Huawei has also made breakthroughs in the operating system with EMUI 5.0 OS that got rid of the deteriorating performance issue causing Android phones to slow down over time, which frustrated Android users for years.
Appealing to the fashionistas, Huawei partnered with the Pantone Institute to develop two special colour options for its flagship P-series range: the P10 and P10 Plus are available in Greenery, the Pantone colour for 2017, and Dazzling Blue.
Huawei has a consumer-centric approach that focuses on creating meaningful innovation.
Huawei CBG will continue to put consumer needs first and enhance its consumer-facing capabilities in the channel, retail, brand, marketing, and services.
This consumer-centric approach seems to be paying off. Huawei P9 and P9 Plus global shipments exceeded 10 million units, making them the first Huawei flagship handsets to break 10 million sales.
Huawei’s global smartphone shipments reached 139 million units in 2016, amounting to 29% year-on-year growth. Q1 2017, has seen 34.55 million global smartphone shipments, a year-on-year increase of 21.6%.
According to IDC, Huawei’s global smartphone market share further increased to 9.8%, consolidating its position in the top three smartphone vendors in the world.
Despite tough market conditions, Huawei CBG is still growing at an industry-leading pace. This can be attributed to our ongoing commitment to building a premium brand and reinforcing our global channels and service capabilities.
This success is being seen in South Africa too. Huawei SA has achieved 92% local brand awareness and has recorded an improvement in the sales of its flagship P-series devices. The first month of sales of the P10 and P10 Plus have seen a 68% increase as compared to the same period last year with the P9.
Huawei remains in the third position in terms of market share in South Africa.
The Effective Measure South Africa Mobile Report 2017 indicates that Samsung remains the dominant mobile phone brand in South Africa with 40% market share, Apple is second with 10%, followed by Huawei on 9%.
However, the company aims to grow its local market share to reach second place, by becoming the preferred brand of the flagship, premium sector products. The excellence of the P10 is helping the company to gain market share.
We are encouraged by the increasing consumer confidence in the Huawei brand and premium product segment.
Huawei is well-positioned to continue its presence in the smartphone, as well as the wearable, smart home and cloud markets, with the aim of becoming end-to-end solutions and platform service provider, offering consumers a more convenient and intelligent way to connect their lives.
We will continue building on our core competencies to lead the future and become a popular cultural and technical brand for consumers.


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As a long-standing Netflix consumer of about three-ish years, maybe more, I have suddenly lost a lot of interest in the streaming website. Why, you ask? Because Netflix have introduced a VPN proxy ban. Granted, its understandable that Netflix would only want those in the United Kingdom, for example, to access shows only available on the UK Netflix, but with the announcement, there has been a huge amount of backlash and honestly, people (including myself) are not happy about it.
The VPN proxy does not stop users from paying for Netflix. We still have to pay for it, it just means we get more for our money because the proxy masks our location and we get to access different country’s Netflix selection. I think it’s fair to say that the Netflix selection in the UK is lacking compared to the United States.
With so many people completely outraged at Netflix’s decision to block proxy servers, I wouldn’t be surprised if the popularity of the streaming website decreased dramatically.
So with Netflix deciding to shut down proxy servers, do you think they’ll risk losing out on a lot of customers? Do you think shutting down the proxy servers was worth it? Is it really worth it when in a few months there will probably be new technology which can make consumers access all countries of Netflix again? Luckily for me, Full House, which I was marathoning on the US Netflix has just been added to the UK one!


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AMG GT C Roadster Edition 50 Will Be Revealed In Geneva
In celebration of its 50th anniversary this year, Mercedes-AMG has taken the cover off the GT C Edition 50 at the 2017 Detroit auto show and now the automaker is preparing to debut the convertible version next at the 2017 Geneva auto show this March.
We’ve already seen the 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster at the Paris auto show last year with its twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 engine and 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. MotorAuthority
stated that no changes were made to either of these components so the AMG GT C Roadster will still be producing 550 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque. Top speed will remain at 196 mph with a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 3.7 seconds.
What buyers will get is a bespoke finish called Designo Graphite Gray Magno and it’ll come with black chrome accents on the side skirts, front splitter, grille, front fender vents, the rear diffuser, and the exhaust tailpipe trims. Not to be left out, the cabin will feature black accents for a bit of contrast against the silver upholstery and trims.
Going on sale later this year, only 500 of these AMG GT C Roadsters will be built and the United States is getting an allocation of just 50 units.


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The Hinkley’s Lighting store at 4620 N. Central Ave., which has been in operation for about 70 years, will close and move to a larger warehouse and showroom at 16049 N. Greenway Hayden Loop in Scottsdale. Michael Jackson, owner of Hinkley’s Lighting, said the last few years have been great for the business and it is ready to serve customers in a larger and more sophisticated location.
Shoppers can take advantage of 60 percent of the cost of all lighting fixtures all this month at the Central Avenue location. The savings will expand to 70 percent off lighting fixtures in September. Hinkley’s Lighting will donate 10 percent of all sales of in-stock merchandise from the Phoenix store to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. In its final days in the Central store, Hinkley’s Lighting will host a Black Tag Sale Party, with the Phoenix Children’s Hospital receiving 100 percent of the proceeds.
To be added to the invite list for the Black Tag Sale Party, visit http://hinkleyslighting.com.


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Maven Successfully Marketing the Chevy Bolt EV
Not only is Maven thriving as a budding ride share initiative, but it is also increasing popularity of the Chevy Bolt EV. The vehicle tops the list of popular vehicles requested from Maven ride share users. Out of the 125 million miles driven since Maven launched in 2016, 2 million of those miles were taken in the Chevy Bolt. 60,000 Maven users have been passengers in a Bolt.
Rachel Bhattacharya, director of commercial mobility products at Maven, articulates the company’s surprise at the Bolt’s popularity in the context of the platform: “What we didn’t factor in is that the passengers would react in the way that they have reacted. The reason our drivers like it is that the passengers like it, and our drivers get better tips.”
Family-Friendly Choice: Discover the perks of the 2017 Chevrolet Traverse
The company is also been impressed with the Bolt’s compatibility with customers who desire a ride for lengthy trips. Originally, Maven though customers would be afraid of driving the Bolt EV long distances due to its limited battery range. The statistics prove otherwise. As Bhattacharya comments, “What we see in the data is that, they’re in an EV, they have it for a couple of days, they get into their groove very quickly with charging, and they’re off and running.”
As Maven goes into its second year, is currently thriving in 19 different markets. The service caters to different needs with three different pricing options: city, home, and gig. The city category is for short-term rentals while the home category is apartment dwellers. Gig is for ride share drivers who pay weekly or monthly rental fees to use Maven’s cars.
We anticipate the continued growth of this nascent ride share as it expands its reach while also doing PR for the Chevy Bolt EV.
Muscular Might: Make your life simpler with the 2017 Chevrolet Silverado
Source: Auto News
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There will be no egg (drop soup) on P.F. Chang's
Earnings per share clocked in at $0.34 for the period. That was flat with last year's showing but well ahead of the $0.26 Wall Street was targeting.
Sure, the company was able to prop up its profits on a per-share basis by buying back shares over the past year. Analysts knew all about that, yet their models still spat out lower projections.
The rest of the income statement is a mixed bag. Operating margins contracted for the quarter, even though overall operating income improved, thanks to an 18% gain on the top line.
P.F. Chang's continues to expand aggressively -- but its original concept isn't the real driver. It will open twice as many Pei Wei diners this year as it does its continentally influenced P.F. Chang's China Bistro eateries.
The busy slate of new openings will find the company's revenue growth rate accelerating in 2007. It expects to grow its top line by 19% this year, a healthy improvement over 2006's 16% advance. Earnings should clock in 17% higher, at $1.45 a share.
The stock opened 11% higher this morning, so it's clear that the market likes the company's prospects here -- enough to pay a hefty 30 times forward earnings, even. Investors often have to pay up to cash in on a proven chain early in its growth trajectory, but P.F. Chang's is pricey even on that level. Texas Roadhouse
So proceed carefully. It's your fortune, cookie.
For more on restaurants, check out:
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a fan of P.F. Chang's and really wants to see how its third concept -- specializing in Japanese eats -- will pan out. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.


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PLDT SME Nation launched its new campaign last March 22 at Opus in Resorts World Manila. Present during the launch are PLDT SME Nation’s AVP and Marketing Head Amil Azurin, PLDT SME Nation VP and Head Kat Luna-Abelarde, PLDT Executive Vice President Eric Alberto, and PLDT Bossings Joey Concepcion of Go Negosyo, Bobby Claudio of Toby’s, and Joe Magsaysay of Potato Corner.
PLDT SME Nation aims to assist our small and medium entrepreneurs through its digital business solutions. With services such as F.A.S.Track, PLDT Checkout, and Watcher, PLDT SME Nation empowers negosyantes to improve their operations and grow their businesses.
For more info on what PLDT-SME Nation can offer your business, you may call 101-888 or visit www.pldtsme-nation.com.ph.


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Not everyone is singing the praises of Michelle Obama’s recent fashion choices. Within major fashion houses, there is a growing desire for Mrs. Obama to broaden her choices by including their designs, according to Women’s Wear Daily. The First Lady’s now famous J. Crew beaded cardigan reportedly sold out by midmorning Wednesday. Now, many American household name designers like Donna Karan and Tommy Hilfiger are expressing their desire to dress the President’s wife.
It is widely accepted that most, if not all, of Mrs. Obama’s wardrobe goes through Ikram Goldman of Chicago’s chic Ikram Boutique. However, Seventh Avenue darling Oscar de la Renta shared that Lady O would benefit from expanding her present range of fashion advisers, particularly on matters of protocol (like her recent meeting of the Queen of England) and added one doesn’t go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater. —BB


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It’s a new trend, but it’s not entirely new. Standing desks, that is. It’s easy to find examples of famous people who did their work standing up decades, even centuries ago: Michelangelo, Jefferson, Churchill. The new part is that this not-so-quirky idea is slowly taking hold in offices across the country.
But nowhere is it more popular, and gaining ground more quickly, than in Silicon Valley–which makes sense since tech companies are, almost by definition, ahead of the curve. San Francisco designer Yves Béhar hit the mark in saying: “Traditional office furniture isn’t well adapted to the way that young companies and young people like to work.”1
AOL offers its employees the option of standing for work. Google offers standing desks as part of its wellness programs. About ten percent of Facebook employees use standing desks. Facebook even offers treadmill desks, so people can not only stand, but also walk while they work.2


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Minecraft Caves and Cliffs was all set to be the biggest update in the game's storied history - but it has now been split into two parts that will release months apart.
While Mojang gave players a clear breakdown of what will be coming in the first Caves and Cliffs update, things are much less clear with the second.
Here's what we know so far about the second Caves and Cliffs update, slated to launch just in time for the holiday season.
Caves and Cliffs Update Split Into Two
Minecraft 1.17, the Caves and Cliffs update, is all fans have been looking forward to since its announcement in late 2020.
Mojang have dropped a bombshell however, surprising fans with the reveal that Caves and Cliffs would be split into two different updates.
While overall this seems mostly negative for players, it does mean the massive changes coming in Caves and Cliffs, which would've been the biggest update in Minecraft's history, will now be spaced out.
Mojang gave several new details about the Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update in their new announcement - including release date windows for the first time ever!
According to Mojang, the first Caves and Cliffs update release date is in Summer, and the second will arrive around the holiday season.
Unlike the first Caves and Cliffs update, which Mojang gave a detailed list of features for (which you can read over below) - the second Caves and Cliffs update has been given no content specifics.
From elimination, however, we know some of the bigger changes to expect that won't come around in the first update.
Here's what's scheduled to arrive in the first Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update in Summer:
- Tinted Glass
- Lightning Rods
- Glow Squids
- Glow Ink
- Powder Snow
- Lush Cave Blocks
- Dripstone Cave Blocks
- Ore Variants
- Glow Lichen
- Multiplayer Sleeping Rule (Java)
With this list, we can expect the second Caves and Cliffs update to contain the following:
- Cave generation changes
- Mountain generation changes
- Ore distribution changes
- Ore visual changes
- The Warden
- Deep Dark biome
- Skulk blocks
- Skulk chutes
- Skulk sensors
We don't expect to receive the Minecraft Caves and Cliffs patch notes for update 2 until well after Summer - but that doesn't mean Mojang won't offer them earlier.
Once the patch notes arrive, we'll update with all of the latest information here.


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Ever since Mr Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, announced the best Google Voice Activated Assistant till date “GOOGLE ASSISTANT” , it has taken centre stage all around the globe. Is it the beginning of a new “AI”ge?? Well, it definitely is.
Onstage at I/O 2018, Google showed off the extraordinary new feature of Google Assistant: in the not too distant future, it’s going to make phone calls on your behalf. CEO Sundar Pichai played a demo and the person on the other end had no idea they were talking to an AI. Google Assistant even dropped in a super casual “mmhmmm” early in the conversation making it seem more natural.
How Google Assistant is going to take Digital Marketing a step ahead:
Voice Searches are emphasizing the Featured Snippet:
Google Assistant gets the answers to voice searches from sites that are ranked in position zero for particular queries, thus making getting a featured snippet. Traditional SEO Training strategies are majorly focused on the way users input text searches. It’s predicted that by 2020, 50% of all searches are to be voice searches. Therefore, it’s now more important than ever to optimize your website for the different types of searches. The future of SEO is here.
Google Assistant is yielding more Web Traffic:
Google Assistant will now tell the users to open the Google Home app to see more at the end of the verbal answer given by the Artificial Intelligence. It not just raise your brand awareness through the initial answers but it is now directing the users to go to the app and navigate to your webpage to read more. As time goes by, more and more users will be directed to your website which means more traffic will be generated to your website by the Google Assistant.
Results in better content and stories:
Since Voice Searches have yielded longer queries with more natural language, it has also been changing the way marketers tell stories. Google Assistants have also been pushing brands to create new range of content. For brands to get to good reach, they have to think about the customer experience, both in how their audience engages with the content, but also the ways in which their products can combine with the AI from a technological point of view.
We can agree that Google Assistants are driving diversity and variety in marketing. To keep up, marketers need to reconsider their communication process to make sure they can deliver a variety of content over a wide range of channels.
Makes Lead generation easy:
Google Assistant has made it possible for small time business owners whose business majorly depends on making bookings through the phone. Like we all saw the other day when the CEO of Google gave a demo of Google Assistant, on how bookings can be done if you give an instruction to Google. Similarly, small-time business owners have major beneficiations when it comes to Google Assistant as it helps them in generating leads. And do the follow-ups of the leads.
Language is not an issue for the Voice Search:
By the end of the year, Google Assistant can understand and speak more than 30 languages, enough to cover 95% of android users around the globe. Also, the Assistant won’t be limited in speaking just one language whereas it’ll automatically detect the language you speak and respond in the same language. As of now, Google Assistant speak up to 9 languages such as-
English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Spanish, Japanese and Brazilian.
Later this year, Google is coming up with adding 21 more languages which also includes Hindi.
So, it is important to not just optimize your website but also it is very vital if you have proper Voice Search Optimization. These are the ways as of now where Google Assistant might play a big role when it comes to Digital Marketing. We can clearly say that AI is the future of Digital Marketing, and sooner we get along with it.
For more information about SEO training and PPC training, log in to www.onlineidealab.com, best digital marketing institute in Bangalore. Drop down your comments below and let us some more points on how Digital Marketing will be impacted by Google Assistant in case if I’ve missed any point.


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Back in September, Facebook announced that it would begin to offer video support for 360-degree film that are meant to be watched with a virtual reality headset like the Oculus Rift.
GoPro heads to Facebook
Thursday saw the release of GoPro’s third virtual reality film, a surfing spectacle featuring Anthony Walsh and Matahi Drollet. GoPro’s first VR release was a sand dune jumping video with Ronnie Renner with a second set on the ski slopes of Chile. The release yesterday came at the same time that Facebook announced that it would roll out 360-degree video support to mobile devices as well as desktops that had already been enjoying the company’s support. GoPro along with Vice, and Discovery are using the partnership with Facebook to good use.
Here is what Zuckerberg had to say on Facebook yesterday:
We just started launching 360 video on mobile.
360 video is a completely new experience because you can move the camera around. This opens new ways of sharing experiences and makes you feel like you’re part of what you’re watching. It’s a step towards even more immersive experiences.
We think people will share a lot more 360 content in the future, especially as technology makes it easier to record it themselves. We’re excited you can discover them on Facebook.
More from Zuckerberg and Facebook
“We’re really entering into this golden age of video online, where that’s becoming the primary way that people share and consume content online, but I don’t think that that’s the end of the line. There’s always a more immersive and richer way in which you want to experience things,” said Zuckerberg in October while speaking to the limitations of 2D video.
“Every 10 or 15 years, there is a new major platform that comes along,” the CEO concluded. “I do think virtual reality is going to be that.”
“We think people will share a lot more 360 content in the future, especially as technology makes it easier to record it themselves,” he added.
Just last week, Facebook announced that over eight billion videos are watched each day on the social network. Those videos are watched by around 500 million daily visitors to Facebook.
“Viewers will not need a headset to access the new GoPro videos on Facebook,” the company said in a release yesterday. “People can discover these immersive 360 videos right in News Feed on web, iOS, and Android, where viewers can choose what angle they want to see it from.”
“On the web, the content can be explored by dragging the mouse around the video. On Android and iOS devices, viewers can drag their finger across the screen or turn the device on its side to navigate.”


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Procter & Gamble has awarded the majority of its North American hair care accounts to Carat after a review, according to a report published by Ad Age.
Carat, who already looks after the Aussie brand for the region, is picking up Pantene, Head & Shoulders and Herbal Essences, which were previously handled by Omnicom’s Hearts & Science. The US FMCG manufacturer is said to have spent some US$261 million on measured media for its hair care brands in 2017 – some 10 percent of its overall budget.
Carat’s win will see it take approximately a quarter of P&G’s business, up from the 15 percent it was awarded following a pitch in 2015. The hair care review was part of a wider reassessment of P&G’s marketing model.


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Texas sales tax collection falls to 30-month low
Texas sales tax revenue for September fell 6% compared to the same month last year as low crude oil prices and the pandemic continued to slow the state’s economy, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.
The $2.57 billion collected was the lowest for any month in 2020, including May, when sales tax revenues fell more than 13%, the sharpest percentage drop of the year and the deepest decline in at least a decade. The September collections were the lowest since March 2018. Revenues have fallen in five of nine months in 2020.
The majority of September sales tax revenue is based on sales made in August and remitted to the agency in September. In most years the March collections are the lowest for the year. September was the first month in the state's 2021 fiscal year. Sales tax makes up 60% of Texas revenues, Hegar said.
“As was the case the last month, state sales tax receipts from all major sectors, other than retail trade, were down compared with the same month last year, with the steepest declines in the oil and gas-related sectors.
“Receipts from the information sector were down due to federal preemption of sales taxation of internet access service,” he added. “While tax receipts grew from some lines of retail business, especially those related to home improvements and outdoor recreation, most of the increase from retail trade was due to remittances from online out-of-state vendors and marketplace providers who did not collect Texas tax a year ago."
“Pandemic-induced changes in consumer shopping behavior also were apparent in generally increased receipts from big box retailers and declines from department stores, apparel stores and other mall and strip center specialty retailers,” Hegar said. “Receipts from restaurants also remain significantly below pre-pandemic levels.”
Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in September 2020 was down 2.5% compared to the same period a year ago.
The effects of the COVID-related economic slowdown also were evident in some other sources of revenue in September 2020, Hegar said.
Vehicle sales and rental taxes produced $454 million, up 4.3% from September 2019, while motor fuel tax collections of $294 million were down 9.7%.
Taxes on oil production fell nearly 32% to $227 million while those on natural gas were down 28% to $71 million.
With hotels and restaurants in dire straits, hotel occupancy tax revenue was down 37% to $34 million and taxes on alcoholic beverages were down 34% to $78 million.
Coming a month before election day, the report could serve as an economic guide for voters. After decades of Republican domination, polls show that Texas is in play between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
“Historical studies indicate that the economy typically grows at faster rates under Democratic presidents,” Texas economist Ray Perryman noted. “The difference is not large, but it is statistically significant.
"Most policy changes involve lag times, and current performance can be due to actions taken during prior administrations," Perryman said. "Some presidents inherit structural problems, and others implement policies that only bear fruit down the road.”


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What's Going On with Vringo?
Dr. Osman is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
Vringo (NASDAQ: VRNG) was incorporated in January 2006 in the state of Delaware. The company was formed to take advantage of the growing popularity of smart phones. To do this, Vringo developed four mobile video application platforms: Facetones, Vringo Video Ringtones, Remix Fan and Fan Loyalty. The company's core concept was initially designed to provide mobile users an additional option of integration with social networking; that’s why it has profited from the rising popularity of social networks such as Facebook and video sharing websites like YouTube. In July 2012, Vringo merged with Innovate/Protect, Inc. (I/P). The merger indicated an effort to expand the business beyond being a key source of software platforms for mobile video and social applications. Interestingly, the merger proved to be a huge catalyst that pushed Vringo onto the intellectual property scene.
Vringo is involved in a number of lawsuits against large tech companies, such as AOL (NYSE: AOL), and IAC/InterActive (NASDAQ: IACI). Although the company has reached a partial settlement agreement with AOL, other lawsuits still stand, including litigation against retailer Target (NYSE: TGT). Vringo has recently filed another patent infringement suit against the British subsidiary of Chinese telecom giant ZTE. However, the biggest company Vringo is suing is Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).
The lawsuit involving Google is about two patents I/P bought from Lycos, one of the biggest search engines of the 90's. Lycos, along with several others, were completely eliminated after Google introduced its own search engine. Thus, this lawsuit could be targeting the very foundation of Google's business model. The judge overseeing the case has recently refused to end the case in Google's favor, a decision that has created widespread expectation of another settlement between Google and Vringo.
Google has generated about $146 billion in revenues since 2005. About 96%, or $140.16 billion, of the sum comes from the company’s advertisement revenues. As per the original complaint, the Vringo is looking for compensatory damages for the full period of infringement. The period would start from Sept. 15, 2005, and extend through the expiration of the two patents in 2016. However, the lawsuit covers only domestic activity, from which Google collects a little less than 50% of its overall advertising revenues.
Assuming that domestic ad revenues are 49% of Google’s total advertising revenue, that will put the eligible revenue for royalty at about $68.68 billion. Vringo is looking to get $696 million for the past revenues and a further $700 million in future royalties. In case of a favorable outcome, the company will be able to get a substantial amount cash. In its original filing, I/P stated that its patented technology was known to Google in part from prior litigation. Due to the knowledge of the existence of patents, there is a possibility that Google could be found guilty of willful infringement.
How should the stock be valued?
In the case of Vringo, fundamental and technical analysis does not help much. In the most recent quarter, the company reported revenue of $100,000 and a loss of over $5 million. The stock has mainly been riding on investor sentiment and the hope of receiving substantial cash settlement from the lawsuits. The only metric suitable for Vringo at present seems the cash per share, due to the expected cash settlements. If the firm is able to get, let's say, between 50% of the sum it is asking for, it will put the cash settlement at about $700 million. Note that this is the best case scenario. In the worst case scenario, the company will receive nothing, and that is also a possibility as well.
At the moment, Google is in a tough spot. The company realizes that if it settles with Vringo, it will open the door for other patent cases. As a result, another possible way for Google to save face is to simply buy Vringo and add the patents to its own treasure trove. However, Vringo’s stock has been jumping up since the start of the year, and different sources value it between $300 million and $500 million. Even with this growth, acquiring the company can still be a cheaper option for Google than settling. However, Vringo’s management will want to get a significant premium above the current value.
The recent lawsuit against ZTE is interesting. It shows that the company is optimistic about its chances of multiple settlements. As a result, a bidding war could ensue, and Vringo will surely benefit from that scenario. I believe the firm will want to get premium above present cash per share figures, and the takeover can happen anywhere between $15 and $20.
Vringo is evidently hopeful that it can win in court against the industry giants, or that many of these giants will settle and pay hefty licensing fees. At the moment, the stock is a dream for traders and without a doubt has brought handsome returns. However, the long-term investors have stayed away from the stock due to the elevated levels of volatility. Betting on legal outcomes is a risky proposition, but traders are excited about the company's prospects. At the moment, the future looks bright for Vringo. Cash settlement or acquisition, whatever the outcome, Vringo shareholders are likely to be the winners.
ecofinstat has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Google. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.If you have questions about this post or the Fool’s blog network, click here for information.