text:
• April 2021 sales were 6133.3% better than April 2020.
• Though reassuring, sales were 17.6% lower than March 2021.
• April 2021 also had numerous public holidays.
• For more motoring stories, go to Wheels24
April new vehicle sales told an inspiring story of the South African motor industry's resilience while also providing a harsh reminder of the bleak outlook experienced a year ago. With April 2020 sales essentially at a standstill as motor retailers stood closed, the rejuvenated picture a year later, while certainly reassuring, remains under pressure.
In percentage growth terms, the sales dam was over-flowing while the floodgates couldn't keep up. According to Naamsa, the Automotive Business Council, the new vehicle market grew 6133.3% in April compared to April last year. However, the reality was a little more subdued when considering that April's 35 779 sales were 17.6% lower than last month - 7649 units less than March.
Within the context of lockdown, April sales are difficult to interpret. On balance, April sales lost less against March than March sales had gained against February, meaning the market remains in its state of slow recovery. March sales had increased 18.4% over February.
Do you think the local motor industry can return to strong sales figures post-Covid-19? Email us or use the comment section below.
Impact of public holidays
Sales during April will also have been impacted by the numerous public holidays, providing fewer selling days during the month. However, reassuringly, sales during the first four months of the year remain 28.3% ahead of the corresponding period last year. This is as a result of April volumes measured against the 574 sales recorded in April last year. Within this context, first quarter 2021 sales were 0.9% lower than 2020.
The passenger car segment sold 22 911 units during April, 86.2% of which were retailed through dealers to consumers. Dealer channel sales were relatively robust and are 27.3% ahead year-to-date. The segment was 13.9% down on March sales.
Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) by comparison were 24.3% lower than March, taking a harder knock - although year-to-date sales in the segment are 46.9% higher. Dealer channels sales in the segment accounted for 90% of sales.
Demand in the new vehicle market remains high, as judged by WesBank's daily application rate. While WesBank continues to finance more than twice the number of pre-owned vehicles than new, there is a marginal shift towards new car sales as experienced during April.
Affordability remains a key purchase consideration, driving consumers towards the pre-owned market. Attractive incentives in the new vehicle market, however, as well as lower interest rates, are providing some stimulus to the new vehicle market."
Lebogang Gaoaketse is the head of Marketing and Communication at WesBank Vehicle and Asset Finance.


text:
Fashion retailer Superdry forced to rush out results after bag containing draft copy was stolen from employee
Fashion retailer Superdry was forced to rush out its results after a bag containing a draft copy was stolen from an employee.
Owner Supergroup said results for the 52 weeks to April 29 had been taken during a ‘random theft’ from a staff member.
And, as a result, it said that it had no choice but to publish its results one week early due to the sensitive material which could have been disclosed.
Sign of the times: Owner Supergroup said results for the 52 weeks to April 29 had been taken during a ‘random theft’ from a staff member
The retailer, which has 863 stores and concessions around the world, said profit for the year to the end of April was up 18.4 per cent to £87m.
There was good news for sales, which were up 27.4 per cent to £752m.
Sales across stores open for more than a year were up 12.7 per cent.
The results are a boost for the firm, which in May had warned of declining profit margins.
The company has been focusing on opening more of its stores in the US and China, as well as selling its clothes online.
Last year, the group – which is endorsed by actor Idris Elba – opened new stores in New York, Philadelphia and Orlando.
Most watched Money videos
- Take a glimpse of the Bugatti supercar set to be auctioned for £2.1m
- Kia creates an electrical storm with all new battery-powered EV6 GT
- The classic Moke is reborn as an electric vehicle
- New £95k Range Rover unveiled - and will have an EV version
- Range Rover announces new fully electric version
- Portable electric vehicle charger that can be stored in the boot
- Taking a look at the electric converted Lunaz Aston Martin classic
- Government unveils new design for electric vehicle charging point
- Renault unveils retro drone based on classic 4 for 60th anniversary
- Renault show off AIR4 retro drone version of Renault 4 without wheels
- Are BP and Shell worth investing in despite green concerns?
- MGB Roadster Limited Edition in detail

domain: news


text:
Target's (TGT) strategy is paying off as the company's stock falls on heavy volume following its earnings release.
Normally, a profit miss as wide as Target's, 39 cents per share vs. expectations of 72 cents per share, would result in a bigger drop than Target's, but the retailer has been prepping the market for this miss all summer.
The inventory the company built up during the height of the pandemic, as Americans shopped more from home, needs to go, and the only way get rid of the excess product is deep discounts.
"Back in June, we announced that our team would be undertaking a bold effort to rightsize our inventory position in the categories for which demand patterns have radically changed," CEO Brian Cornell said during the company's earnings call. "While this decision had a meaningful short-term impact on our financial results, we strongly believe it was the best path forward."
Now, looking forward the company sees some overhang for the third quarter, but expects a big holiday season ahead.
While some fear a recession and what it might do to the economy, Target is convinced that the holiday season will be strong.
Target Aims for Holiday Season
While Target is focused on the back-to-school season currently underway, the company expects "spillover" from its inventory issues to be present during the third quarter to the tune of $200 million.
But the company's own checks suggest that its shoppers are excited about the holiday season.
"The one thing that seems to be very consistent is a guest and consumer who says they want to celebrate the holiday seasons so we certainly expect that they are going to be celebrating Halloween this year and actively trick or treating and hosting parties with friends and family," Cornell said.
"We know they're looking forward to Thanksgiving and they're going to look forward to celebrating the Christmas holidays and that comes down each and every week as we survey consumers and talk to our guests so that gives us great optimism for our ability to perform during these key holiday seasons"
Not only does Target expect a strong quarter, but the company also expects favorable comps as fourth quarter headwinds from a year ago aren't present this time around.
"Guests already have their sights set on upcoming holidays and seasonal moments in Q3 and beyond," Cornell said.
Target's Q2 Collapse
Target said adjusted earnings for the three months ending in July were pegged at 39 cents per share, down 89% from the same period last year and well shy of the Street consensus forecast of 72 cents per share.
Group revenues, Target said, rose 3.5% to $26 billion, essentially matching analysts' estimates of a $26.04 billion tally. Target said same-store sales rose 2.6%, again shy of the Refinitiv forecast of 3.2%, while operating margins fell to 1.2%, below the group's July guidance of a 2% level.
Earlier this summer, Target cautioned that its bigger-than-expected 35% build-up in overall inventories over the first quarter would trigger price cuts, adding that deeper discounts would be needed to shift the excess goods onto a customer base that was already pulling back on discretionary spending.
Walmart (WMT) , Target's larger big box rival, said Tuesday that improving spending trends, as well as actions the group has taken to shift excess inventory, will ease some of the pressures it expects to face in terms of overall profits over the back half of the year.
Walmart said adjusted earnings for the three months ended in July came in at $1.77 per share, down one penny from the same period last year but well ahead of the Street consensus forecast of $1.62 per share.
Group revenues, the company said, were tabbed at $152.9 billion, an 8.4% increase from last year that topped analysts' estimates of $150.81 billion. U.S. same-store sales rose 6.5% from last year, the company said, firmly topping the Refinitiv forecast.


text:
Every mom-to-be has that special glow, but how is it that Kim Kardashian seems to have an extra dose these days? Shortly returning from a trip to sunny Greece, Kim Kardashian is exceptionally radiant. The secret to her goddess-like appearance? Celebrity makeup artist, Joyce Bonelli, who created the look for Kardashian says it’s Susan Posnick’s ColorCORRECT highlighting pencil.
ColorCORRECT is a dual-sided pencil that offers brightening & correcting. The creamy duo offers the perfect combination to bring your face into its best shape. ColorCORRECT is available for $22.00 at Susan Posnick.
For the more information, read the full article at Hollywood Life.


text:
Over the next 18 months, Honda will revamp and reposition its Acura range as well as discard its long quest of top-tier luxury-car status for the brand. For several years, Honda has been trying to boost Acura into the front ranks to compete with Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus. But Honda will settle for providing mid-level premium vehicles that favor fuel economy over performance. But there’s one exception. The Acura NSX, which is a rival to the Ferrari, will be displayed at the Detroit auto show next month. Honda will bring back a new version of the mid-engine supercar that ended in 2005 after having been around for 15 years.
The NSX will use a compact, direct-injection V-6 teamed with a lithium ion battery pack rather than a monster engine. To recalibrate the Acura, three new or redesigned sedans will be rolled out in the next 18 months, including a smaller compact and a bigger flagship. Honda Motor Co. CEO Takanobu Ito said that the company isn’t contented with the present positioning of Acura and would want to display interesting and pleasing technologies and demonstrate an outstanding environmental performance.
Acura is developing the ILX compact sedan, which is built on Honda's global Civic platform. It will debut in the spring. It replaces the ageing TSX that used the structure of the European Accord. Due next fall is a redesigned RL flagship that is bigger than the current version. A redesigned mid-sized TL sedan is expected to follow in the spring of 2013. During a briefing for dealers and the media, Vicki Poponi, American Honda assistant vice president for product planning, said that its sedans “haven't been doing the job for the brand." [source: Autonews]


text:
A new association has been established in Japan called the Japan Cryptocurrency Practitioners Association (Jcpa). The chairman is tax accountant Hirakawa Shigeru. The association holds educational seminars and provides business consulting services.
Japan already has three major industry associations. One is the recently established Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association whose members are all of the licensed crypto exchanges in the country. The other two prominent associations are the Japan Blockchain Association and the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association. Toshihide Endo, FSA’s Deputy Director-General, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that “the FSA was trying to strike a balance between protecting consumers and promoting technological innovation.”
Fully-licensed Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Quoine is rolling out its new platform, Liquid. Both of the exchange’s trading platforms, Quoinex and Qryptos, will be migrated to Liquid on September 4. The migration is expected to take up to 24 hours.
Liquid is open to everyone except the previously excluded citizens of countries on the Financial Action Task Force high-risk list. “US customers won’t have access to fiat pairings and Japanese customers will only have access to currencies and services approved by the Japan Financial Services Agency (FSA).


text:
Chinese startup begins solid-state battery production
According to a media report, Qing Tao Energy Development Co. has started a solid-state battery production line in Kunshan, China. It is reported to have an annual capacity of 100 MWh. The company plans to ramp up this capacity to 700 MWh by 2020.
Considered to be the upgrade to the current Lithium-ion (Li-ion) technology, these batteries pack in a higher energy density of 400 Wh/kg compared to the Li-ion’s 250-300 Wh/kg. These batteries are expected to allow electric vehicles to have a longer range than those currently offered in the market. Solid-state batteries are also claimed to be safer than Li-ion.
The startup has come from the Tsinghua University and has invested US$ 144 million into the battery production line. Automakers like Toyota, Fisker, Hyundai and BMW all have plans for this solid-state technology with production scheduled to start from 2030.
Source: Read Full Article


text:
SAVING FACE: A future is forming for The Face, Emap’s fashion and pop culture title that closed last month after 24 years on the newsstand. An Emap spokeswoman said the deadline for sealed bids closed last week and the publisher has moved on to in-depth discussions with potential bidders, including venture capital groups and small, independent publishers. Industry sources said a group of London City financial types with bonus money to burn are among the contenders, and the offer price is in the neighborhood of $6.3 million, or 3.5 million pounds. Other contenders are believed to include Peter Howarth, managing director of the publishing company Show Media, and Ashley Heath, editorial director of Arena Homme Plus, another Emap title. Both declined to comment. The Emap spokeswoman would not discuss the names of the bidders, nor would she confirm the sales figure. “We’re looking for a speedy solution to the situation,” she added. “The Easter holidays set us back a bit, but we hope to make a decision by next month.” As reported in March, Emap suspended publication of The Face after the May issue. — Samantha Conti
V’S SPORTS STYLE: With the Olympics coming, this summer is likely to erupt in all manner of sports-related popular culture. Even ultra-edgy V Magazine is getting into the spirit with its athletic-themed summer issue, which hits stands in mid-May. A collaboration with Adidas, the magazine features interviews and photo spreads with hip-hopper Missy Elliott and boxer Laila Ali (half the issues have Elliott on the front cover and Ali on the back cover and half have Ali on the front and Elliott on the back), both of whom have deals with the athletic giant. Another spread shows 10 Adidas-sponsored athletes training in locales around the world and the cover has even incorporated the German company’s famous three stripes into the V logo.
Editor in chief Alix Browne insisted that V had complete editorial control over the issue, despite the fact that Adidas has a number of ads in it and collaborated closely with the magazine. “We approached Adidas about working together,” Browne said. “We are a fashion magazine but we try to be connected with everything going on, and there is an athletic moment happening in fashion now. It’s new for us to have an athlete on the cover.” There are also photo spreads of athletic-inspired gear and Lacoste’s newest men’s offerings.
V, a sibling of Visionaire, has done similar joint issues with firms such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and Burberry — although not to the extent of this collaboration with Adidas — but it may be a while before another company receives the same treatment. “It’s something we want to save for special occasions,” Browne noted. “It was something really surprising at first, but now so many companies have approached us about doing something with them, so we want to taper off.” — Melanie Kletter
LIFE LESSONS: Marks & Spencer’s Vittorio Radice is teaching the British public how to live, with a little help from Tyler Brulé. The new general merchandise chief at the U.K. retail chain has just unveiled the first issue of Design Details, a slick, magazine-like shopping directory featuring homeware items from M&S. The 72-page magazine features seasonal items and will come out twice a year, in addition to the company’s larger format Design Directory. Created by Brulé, Design Details is more than just a catalogue. The full-service guide offers up everything from food pages — complete with recipes — to travel stories on Tenerife to lush spreads of uber-groomed suburbanites firing up their $177 barbecue grills, or stretched across their $356 Nyatoh wood lounge chairs. “It’s a traffic driver, and meant to give an extra sales jolt to the seasonal pieces,” said Brulé. — S.C.
MIRROR, MIRROR: It was bound to happen. Riding the wave of U.K. celebrity titles, the British tabloid The Daily Mirror has launched 3am Magazine, an outgrowth of its daily 3am column which features celebrities at their worst. Launched last month, the handbag-sized magazine comes free inside the Mirror every Wednesday. Edited by Keith Kendrick, former editor of the Nineties cult lad’s magazine Loaded, 3am features celebrity interviews, fashion, beauty and health tips from the stars. Stories include “Frock Horror,” a spread of stars’ fashion eyesores, and “Whose Juicy Bum Is This?” with snapshots of the rear ends of famous women wearing Juicy Couture. “3am Magazine…brings the world of celebrity closer to our readers by taking them off their pedestals and making the more like ‘one of us’,” said the magazine’s editorial director, Phil Hall. Hall previously edited News of the World and Hello! Magazine. The Daily Mirror has a circulation of approximately 1.9 million readers. — Ellen Burney
HIGH SCORERS: John Galliano and Bernard Arnault have more in common than meets the eye. They were the only fashion honchos to make the Time 100, the magazine’s ranking of the 100 most influential and powerful people in the world today. While Galliano was named in the “Artists and Entertainers” category, Arnault, chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, scored in the “Builders and Titans” grouping. The issue hits newsstands Monday.
Describing Galliano, Kate Betts, editor at large at Time, writes that he is “the most influential fashion designer of his generation” and transformed Dior “from a dowdy duty-free label into a must-have global brand — and the most intrepid creative machine in international fashion.”
Arnault, writes Peter Gumbel, Paris-based reporter for Time, “put his empire together over 20 years and often used hard-nosed tactics to get what he wanted.”
Others who make the Time 100 include Pope John Paul II, Simon Cowell, Frank Gehry, J.K. Rowling, Jerry Bruckheimer and Sean Penn. — Lisa Lockwood


text:
How did faulty China-made medical face masks get to Europe?
|Several countries have recalled China-made test kits and masks due to quality concern (Photo: CNSphoto)
Accordingly, Spain, Dutch, Australia took turn to recall tens or hundreds of thousands of test kits, face masks imported from China.
How did faulty equipment get to Europe?
According to ABC net, China's Shenzhen Bioeasy Biotechnology was identified as the manufacturer of Spain's faulty test kits, which local health authorities said had an accuracy rate of about 30 percent.
While China's been on a diplomatic mission to send vast amounts of medical aid around the world, including Spain and Italy, these kits were not part of the aid efforts.
Spanish health authorities said they bought Bioeasy's kits as they had European Union standard certification, which is known by its French acronym, CE.
In a statement via WeChat, Bioeasy stated its coronavirus-related products, which include the rapid test kits supplied to Spain, received a CE certificate on March 12.
However, CE certification is mostly self-declared by manufacturers, as it is their responsibility to choose between self-certification or whether to seek an EU-approved independent verifier.
In Australia, Bioeasy's products are not listed on the Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), nor has the company been granted an official vendor license from China's National Administration of Medical Products, according to a tweet from the Spanish Embassy in China.
|All products that are sold in Europe market must carry the CE certification (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Bioeasy manager Zhu Hai denied the company's test kits had a low accuracy rate in a statement to the South China Morning Post, adding that a "more detailed explanation would be given via official Chinese Government channels".
When asked to comment on the quality concerns on Monday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying said "some masks" ordered by the Dutch "were not suitable for medical staff in intensive care units".
The Chinese Commerce Ministry followed up on Wednesday with a statement compelling all medical product exporters to provide extra documentation showing their products met the standards of its export destination, and were officially registered in China.
Bioeasy initially declined an interview with the ABC, but later shared a test validation report from researchers at Chile's Desarollo University, showing its Fluorescence Antigen rapid test attained 96.1 per cent diagnostic accuracy.
“The results show that this antigen test is a very good quality test kit”, the company told ABC in an email.
The ABC was unable to independently verify the date shared.
|N95 face mask is highly sought after by consumers across the world (Photo: ABC News)
Are there universal standards for PPE or test kits?
To determine whether a product is safe to use, health professionals look at regulations in their country or at a supranational level for blocs such as the EU.
For example, the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods has a database of approved medical items for distribution, and that database is updated by the regulatory body Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
On its website, the TGA has specified an exemption for the "importation, manufacture and supply" of COVID-19 test kits to accredited pathology laboratories even if they haven't undergone TGA assessment, and it has also published a list of tests it has approved.
A TGA spokesperson told the ABC via email the body "encourages" all Australians searching for equipment to look at "medical devices included in the ARTG".
|Globally, people have scoured stores online and in person to purchase face masks amid the pandemic.(Photo: Reuters)
What happens if faulty equipment gets past regulators?
Health workers, and those most vulnerable to severe cases of COVID-19, are the people who depend on masks and test kits the most.
Until now, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, like the World Health Organisation, has advised that healthy people do not need to wear a mask.
This is to ensure that medical-grade masks such as N95 are available for those who need them the most, such as health workers in the US, which has become the world's latest coronavirus epicentre, ABC net reported.
|Thousands of COVID-19 masks for local doctors in Germany sewed by Vietnamese
Joind hands together with native community to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic in their host country, groups of Vietnamese nationals living in Germany have sewed thousands ...
|88,000 face masks from Vietnam arrived in Italy
Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro expressed gratitude for Vietnam's medical supplies sent to his country to assist in its battle against the COVID-19 coronavirus.
|Instruction to ‘disinfect’ used medical face masks with microwave
Used cloth masks and disposable medical masks sprayed with disinfectant and microwaved at 800W for a minute can be reused, said Doan Ngoc Hai, director of ...


text:
Shiv Putcha, Principal Analyst at emerging tech specialists Mandala Insights, continues his series of posts from MWC Shanghai, here sharing 8 key use case examples of 5G innovations from the show, and discusses why China is ahead of the curve when it comes to 5G deployments.
1) Facial Recognition will be a big driver of edge cloud in China
Facial recognition will be huge in China. In fact, it’s already big news. Getting through immigration for entry in Shanghai required a full biometric and facial recognition scan thought the exit procedures were very fast. Facial recognition per se is not uncommon anymore but the number of endpoints in China across airports, train stations, hotels, buses and more where your face is scanned for registration and verification purposes is growing rapidly and would suggest a much bigger platform in the near future.
Facial recognition is a good example of the limitations of the current, centralized public cloud architecture. China will likely have the widest adoption and a majority of the use cases would be in “the field”, in airports, metros, highways and so on. Today, most of these endpoints will be connected by fixed-line broadband but as the “network” of endpoints grows, mobile connectivity will be crucial. Real-time verification in several use case scenarios will also require edge compute and reliable wireless backhaul networks. These new requirements will run into one major challenge – the speed of light! Put simply, the further into the field the end point is, the longer it would take for the data packets to traverse the network back to the centralized cloud data center for processing and next steps. Deployment of a robust edge cloud would solve these issues and would also mean big opportunities for vendors like Intel.
Among the many demos at MWCS19 was a facial recognition and payments application for the Guizhou Public Transport Authority. Basically, all of the buses would be equipped with a device that would accept both QR code payments or, if commuters opted in, facial recognition would automatically deduct payment from linked bank accounts and allow them to board without transacting at the door. While privacy questions are obvious and will linger, there is tremendous potential for facial recognition in this use case to speed up the free flow of commuters and avoid bottlenecks in a country with as many commuters as China.
The more impressive feature of China’s IoT leadership is the way millions of sensors, cameras, and other devices merge seamlessly with application software and payments platforms to create truly immersive experiences. The advent of 5G will throw up even more use cases.“
Shiv Putcha, Principal Analyst
2) 5G will enable AR/VR & Cloud gaming, radically changing form factors
A demo at the China Mobile booth validated some of our thinking around cloud gaming and AR/VR. While they are distinct segments, they overlap when it comes to devices and the constraints that current form factors place on growth. The issues with glasses and headsets for AR/VR and gaming are numerous but the cost of the device and the bulky form factors were significant impediments. A big part of this equation is that these devices need to perform all of the computing, rendering, etc locally. That is, on the device. As a result, a lot of components need to be packed into these devices, especially for VR.
However, 5G will have significant benefits for both AR/VR and cloud gaming segments. With high bandwidth and ultra-low latency on offer, we will see the rise of “thinner” and more “regular” styled glasses and headsets due to the fact that the heavy lifting can be done in the “cloud” with split rendering, leaving more bandwidth-light activities for the device itself. To be sure, the edge cloud location that would do the heavy bits of processing will vary depending on the use case scenario. For enterprises and vertical segments, the edge cloud server could well be located on the premise whereas, for consumers, it would be further out in the network.
At the China Mobile booth, I was able to test some AR glasses from Nreal. The video quality was quite good but the white bridge above the nose pads was too hot for sustained usage. Clearly, there are some kinks to be worked out but this is a very promising area for innovation.
3) China is a IoT use case nirvana
I’ve talked about the massive scale of the installed base of IoT devices in China, but it goes beyond the numbers. The more impressive feature of China’s IoT leadership is the way millions of sensors, cameras, and other devices merge seamlessly with application software and payments platforms to create truly immersive experiences. The advent of 5G will throw up even more use cases.
My favourite from MWCS19 was a remote mining demo in the Huawei booth, where I got to test my specialist operator skills on a bulldozer/digger machine at a mine in northern Henan province. Latency was not quite as advertised but let’s just put the overall experience down to the fact that I won’t be acquiring a specialist license any time soon!!!
4) China is truly a “cashless society”!
It’s hard to describe the sophistication of China’s mobile Internet until you experience a street food vendor accept digital payments or buy a Coca-Cola at a vending machine, or buy train tickets and pay tolls, all through WeChat.
My favorite use case was the toll payment options through WeChat and Alipay. Such innovations are not unique to China by any means but what is unique is the sheer scale of the deployments, with countless ecosystems of software and hardware vendors for every conceivable use case, all applied at a scale that is generating transformative experiences for a billion plus citizens! The ease of payments in China bodes well for the monetization potential of 5G, especially for mobile broadband and consumer services.
5) AI/ML will be crucial for handling rising network complexity
One of the announcements at MWCS19 was China Mobile adopting Nokia’s massive MIMO Adaptive Antenna (MAA). This version was done specifically for China Mobile’s unique bandwidth requirements in China. At 320W, this is likely the most powerful antenna available today. This is important because CSPs like China Mobile will spend many years trying to juggle large subscriber bases across 4G and 5G networks. The higher power output will help with coverage and bandwidth but this is not enough for managing the cost and power efficiency combinations that CSPs will face.
Indeed, network complexity will continue to rise exponentially, especially with the introduction of network slicing and other 5G features. The secret sauce for managing this in a dynamic fashion will be AI and ML technologies, which will be crucial for handling of CSPs rising network complexity.
7) China is blanketed with mobile coverage.
As mentioned earlier, China has over 5 million “cells”, which is seven times the equivalent number for another large Asian country — India! Those who continually seek to minimize the importance of the CSP community and wish to relegate them to “dumb pipe” connectivity providers should seriously consider the consequences of under-investment in networks. None of the amazing use cases in China and beyond would be possible without seamless mobile connectivity…regulators, government agencies, webscale and OTT companies will ignore this at their peril!
8) Robots and the Digital Economy Plan
Robots and automation will be a crucial driver for China’s new Digital Economy, as evidenced by the many robots, AGVs and other “vehicles” at MWCS19. The dancing robot at the China Mobile booth that mimicked the person standing behind was struggling a little with latency issues. The automated guidance vehicle (AGV) for a pilot deployment at a hospital in Guizhou province for dispensing hospital supplies…(turns out that it was sporting a Huawei fixed wireless CPE under the hood). The automated barista robot developed by ABB that dispensed espressos through Nespresso capsules. The RoboTechnik AGVs at the Ericsson booth that performed tasks in synchronized routines.
The list goes on. China’s installed base of connected devices and endpoints, ubiquitous mobile coverage, application, and consumer software and payments are all coming together in a perfect storm of innovation and co-creation that are powering the digital transformation of traditional industries and vertical segments in China.
Founder & Principal Analyst, Mandala Insights
Want to be featured on the MEF Minute?
The MEF Minute is an award winning blog that provides a cross-ecosystem and international perspectives on all things mobile. With contributions from MEF’s members and other industry experts it is a dedicated global news resource and thought leadership platform.
We welcome contributions from members and non-members across a range of formats including opinion pieces, industry views, stats, videos and infographics. MEF Minute offers a 360 look at any given topic impacting the mobile ecosystem whether that be from a MNO, enterprise, developer or provider perspective.
Download the info pack to find out more.


text:
Whoever started the smartphone patent wars opened up the biggest can of worms. Apple, Samsung, HTC, Google and Microsoft; they are all involved. And for the most part it’s Apple’s mobile products that most of them are accused of plagiarising. But now it’s time for Apple to experience the ignominy of infringing other companies patents themselves.
MobileMedia Ideas LLC has won a lawsuit in which Apple were accused of infringing on three patents. The patents centre on the camera phone, call handling and call rejection. While there is no word on damages being awarded yet; when that happens, MobileMedia CEO Larry Horn has said that they could be “substantial.”
Initially Apple was taken to court over 14 different patents, but the case was taken to trial once the number of patents in question was reduced to three.
MobileMedia said it that Apple would cause “irreparable injury” to their business if they were allowed to use their patented inventions in the iPhone without licensing them. Horn did say “we’re [MobileMedia] not in the litigation business.” Steve Bauer, a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP said in a statement:
This was a very difficult case. It required us to take the jury back to 1994-1998, when these technologies were first invented.
Apple’s stock fell 1.7% ($9.31), but they are still at the dizzy heights of $529.69. They have also refused to comment on the verdict.
Source: Bloomberg | Image courtesy of Ubergizmo


text:
by Donald Hood
Published Wed, Dec 30th 2015, 13:32 | Hobbies
1888 Press Release - Water Communications, Mumbai based 360 degree communications agency, recently unveiled the new campaign for its client, Marshalls Wallcoverings - 'Design Wala Colour'. The campaign was released simultaneously across media including print, radio, digital and social media.
Water Communications, Mumbai based 360 degree communications agency, recently unveiled the new campaign for its client, Marshalls Wallcoverings - 'Design Wala Colour'. The campaign was released simultaneously across media including print, radio, digital and social media.
'Design Wala Colour' is based on the concept that - everything around us is so beautifully designed, be it embroidery on a dress or floral pattern on curtains or carvings on crockery or funky graphics on our bags. Design is indeed an important element in our lives. However, when it comes to our walls, we think only in terms of colours and not designs. By adding designs to our walls, we can make the world around us even more beautiful.
Speaking on the new campaign, Vandana Sethhi, Director - Water Communications, said, "When we think of renovating our homes or offices, we immediately start thinking different colours for different rooms and walls but for every thing else in life, we always think Colurs plus Design. So the idea is instead of thinking mere colour for our walls, we think DESIGN WALA COLOUR."
"Marshalls Wallcoverings has pioneered the concept of wallcoverings in India. With 'Design Wala Colour', we once again intend to highlight to our audience the fact that walls, like other elements that are part of the home décor need to be designed and not just coloured. Take for example - windows, they are an extension of our walls and we invest a lot of time and money to get the best patterns and designs for the curtains. Similarly, we need to change our outlook towards our walls as well and go beyond just colours", added Mona Menon, Director- Marshalls Wallcoverings.
On the concept of Design Wala Colour, Karan Sharma, Director - Marshalls Wallcoverings, said, "The wallcoverings segment in India has not yet reached its full potential in terms of being experimented by its consumers. With 'Design Wala Colour', we wanted to communicate the idea of 'Designer Walls' as opposed to just 'Coloured Walls' to our audience in a very simple, clear yet creative manner. We needed a campaign to touch the core concept of Design v/s Colour".
Marshalls Wallcoverings, the far superior alternative than conventional way of wall renovation. It is indeed a wonder product with many advantages. Being the festive season and a category that is so close to the consumers especially during festive season when people are looking to get their homes renovated, we leveraged all the touch points where we could connect with our consumers - print, radio, digital and social media, adds Vandana Sethhi.


text:
A fall hazard has prompted Walmart to recall more than 46,000 tripod stools.
The recall involves Mahco Inc. tripod stools with three steel legs and a realtree logo pattern camouflage polyester fabric seat.
The plastic collar that connects the three legs can break, posing a fall hazard.
They were sold exclusively at Walmart this year from June through August.
Consumers should stop using the stools and return them to Walmart for a full refund.


text:
(you read the article about this foreclosure by clicking here)
I’m Tom Dwyer,
Roughly sixteen percent of all Americans now live in poverty, but in Richmond County, Georgia, the poverty rate is forty one percent, and the Marshal’s Office handles twenty evictions every day.
Even in this bleak environment the recent eviction of an Augusta grocery business by SunTrust Bank held an even more cruel and unusual twist. Hundreds of residents filled the store’s parking lot hoping to get some of the baby food, canned goods, noodles and other non-perishables.
They went home hungry because SunTrust, who had been gifted with almost five billion dollars of our money from TARP, put the goods into dumpsters headed for a landfill while hungry families watched in disbelief.
Evictions may be necessary, but this food had no value to the bank. It actually cost them money to throw it away. The act was callous and unnecessary.
But as Banksters and their government enablers replace democracy with “austerity”, atrocities like this will become common place.
By phone at (five oh three, two three oh, twenty three hundred) or online at (tom dwyer dot com) we’re Tom Dwyer Automotive Services… trusted to keep your vehicles, safe, breakdown-free and operating at their best!
(c)2013 Tom Dwyer Automotive Services


text:
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is considering establishing its own U.S. captive finance arm for the first time in nearly a decade, CEO Sergio Marchionne said Friday during FCA's investor day in Balocco, Italy.
The captive, expected to be launched as early as 2019, could be formed from scratch or through an acquisition.
FCA currently leans on Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. and a patchwork of other banks to finance its vehicles. A captive could help the automaker become more competitive in the auto lending space and capture profits currently generated by such banks. It also could position Fiat Chrysler to better participate in the mobility, or transportation as a service, landscape, according to the company's presentation.
The move could spell trouble for Santander, though reports out of the investor event cite Fiat Chrysler CFO Richard Palmer as saying the automaker is in talks to buy all or part of Santander Consumer.
The Dallas-based lender has backed Chrysler Capital since 2013 in a partnership forged on the promise of increasing leasing for dealers.


text:
It is from him that the noise related to the new design of icons in ios 15 will take a style similar to that of big sur but today published a new tweet in which he speaks of ipad pro. We are all waiting for the new ipads and a new apple event in April but apparently there will be no event. The iPad pro in fact, with its new magic keyboard, is scheduled for next Tuesday, April 13 and will be announced simply through a press release.
Release a new product through a press release does not mean that it will be unimportant. Also last year the new ipads were announced through a press release, the same is touched to the macbook air, iphone se and airpods max. Apple no longer holds an event for every new product.
Press release for ipad pro + magic keyboard next yoursday. — leaksapplepro (@leaksapplepro) april 6, 2021In fact, there will be many new features of these models, beginning with the mini led display with greater brightness, thunderbolt 3 technology in the connector, an improved camera, 5g support and a more powerful chip.


text:
Federal judge orders Apple to pay $363K daily to patent-holding firm VirnetX
Upholds $368M jury verdict of last year, orders parties to negotiate licensing deal
Computerworld - A Texas federal judge denied Apple's move to reduce last year's $368 million jury verdict in a patent infringement case it lost, and ordered the Cupertino, Calif., company to pay more than $363,000 daily in interest and damages until a final judgment is awarded, the plaintiff said today.
In a statement, patent-holding company VirnetX reported the findings of U.S. Circuit Judge Leonard Davis, who yesterday issued an order covering post-trial motions.
Davis' order has not yet appeared on the federal court system's Pacer database.
According to VirnetX, Davis rejected Apple's motion to lower the damages awarded by a jury last November, when it found Apple's FaceTime and iMessage applications guilty of infringing four VirnetX patents. The jury awarded VirnetX $368.2 million.
Davis also ordered Apple to pay VirnetX more than $33,000 in interest, and just over $330,000 in damages daily until the two parties agree on a licensing deal, or after 45 days, whichever comes first.
If the payments continue through the 45-day stretch, Apple will have handed nearly $16.4 million to VirnetX.
To push the two companies toward a licensing deal, Davis demanded that they meet with a mediator over the next 45 days. Failing an agreement, the judge will reconsider a motion by VirnetX that would prevent Apple from selling products that include the infringing technologies.
VirnetX filed its lawsuit against Apple in August 2010, naming then-current hardware, including the iPhone 4 and the first-generation iPad. After the November 2012 jury verdict, VirnetX followed with a second filing that targeted a swath of newer Apple products, ranging from the iPad Mini and iPhone 5 to all Macs equipped with OS X Mountain Lion. That second lawsuit is still in its early stages.
Prior to its victory against Apple four months ago, VirnetX was best known for reaching a $200 million settlement with Microsoft in May 2010, after it had accused Windows of infringing on its virtual private networking (VPN) patents. As part of that settlement, Microsoft said it would license the VirnetX technologies.
Apple could yet appeal the Texas jury verdict and judgment.
For its part, VirnetX said it will withdraw a complaint filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against Apple that aimed to block importation of Apple's products.
Not surprisingly, VirnetX applauded Davis' decisions and orders. "We are extremely pleased with the Court's Order in our suit against Apple," said Kendall Larsen, CEO of VirnetX, in the statement. "We look forward to negotiating a license with Apple that includes an ongoing royalty agreement."
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.org.
- Apple unveils minor bumps to MacBook Pro laptops
- Feds arrest Florida man who allegedly conned Apple out of $309K
- Yosemite's traffic share triples after public beta debuts
- Apple hasn't exhausted its supply of Yosemite betas
- 13 pieces of advice for Yosemite beta testers
- The other Apple economy: $2B in devices on eBay
- Apple sends users scrambling for OS X Yosemite
- Long replacement cycle drags down iPad sales
- Apple unwraps OS X Yosemite public beta Thursday
- Apple grows Mac sales by 18% on the back of the MacBook Air
Read more about Legal in Computerworld's Legal Topic Center.
- 5 Customers Deliver Virtual Desktops and Apps to Empower a Modern Workforce Learn how Citrix solutions helped 5 companies realize the full value of desktop virtualization through a project-by-project approach based on key business priorities.
- Top 10 Reasons to Strengthen Information Security with Desktop Virtualization Regain control and reduce risk without sacrificing business productivity and growth
- IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Client Virtualization Software 2013 Vendor Assessment IDC has placed Citrix in the 2013 IDC MarketScape Leaders Category once again noting that, "Citrix's position reflects the company's market leadership and...
- Infographic: Top Use Cases for Desktop Virtualization A wide range of business issues is driving IT toward desktop virtualization. One solution-Citrix XenDesktop with FlexCast technology-helps IT teams empower their entire...
- What Does it Take to Deliver a Superior Customer Experience? The Two Top-Rated Online Retailers, B&H Photo and Crutchfield Electronics, Share Their Secrets Discuss practical CX tools and service methods such as contact center agents and the use of realtime speech analytics to help contact center...
- Keep Servers Up and Running and Attackers in the Dark An SSL/TLS handshake requires at least 10 times more processing power on a server than on the client. SSL renegotiation attacks can readily... All Legal White Papers | Webcasts


text:
A new generation of Pro TouchBar on the MacBook once again let the user to see the Apple's innovative power, but also look forward to the future of Air MacBook also be able to have stunning design.
Hall Brain, vice president of Microsoft's Surface market, today released a few tweets to predict Apple's new and future strategies.
Brain Hall believes that Apple will launch the next full touch screen Mac removable, similar to Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book devices, and welcome to join Apple touch 2 1 war equipment.
Although Brain Hall said categorically, but from Apple previously released the news, it is likely the face of foreshadowing.
Apple Ivey in response to the user about the new MacBook Pro why not use full touch screen questions stressed that for the Mac series of products, not what special use touch screen, inside a few years ago they decided not to use this technology in Mac equipment.
Hall Brain said the next generation of MacBook products 95% will use split / full touch screen design, and at this point, Surface has clearly been at the forefront.


text:
After forcing Facebook users to download Messenger, the latter has now reached 500 million users worldwide, 200 million more than April 2014 – yes, that’s only six months ago.
Also Read: Is Facebook a Threat to YouTube?
Launched back in 2011, the standalone app rose from obscurity, after Facebook decided to pull the plug from the native messaging feature.
Facebook is currently focusing on its messaging app (especially after the acquisition of WhatsApp), and has introduced many features throughout 2014. Among them, the addition of stickers, videos, photos, free calls and a series of other bigger or smaller updates coming to our mobile phone screens every two weeks.
As the announcement reads:
[quote]This is an exciting milestone but with a half billion people relying on Messenger to communicate and connect, it is also a reminder that there is so much left for us to do.[/quote]
What is the feature you would like to see on Facebook Messenger?
- Facebook Adds More Functionalities To Newsfeed
- How We Increased Our Twitter Following By Over 400% In 1 Year
- Memeoirs Turns Your WhatsApp Conversations Into Book
You might also like
More from Facebook
Facebook introduces new Space Jam chat theme, an emoji search bar for finding your favorite emojis more easily and a …
Businesses in the US will soon be able to enable Facebook Pay as a payment option directly on their websites.
Facebook Gaming is scaling its cloud gaming infrastructure and announcing an expansion of its games library and availability.
Facebook has announced several new shopping updates across its apps, including the expansion of Shops to WhatsApp and Marketplace.
Facebook has announced the official launch of Live Audio Rooms, one of the social audio features it announced recently.
Facebook has announced several new features that will help Group admins manage and moderate their groups more effectively.


text:
Nearly a quarter (23%) of people have been targeted by holiday scams, a survey has found.
Lloyds Bank, which released the research, said that with around one in five adults yet to book their holiday this year, scammers could be waiting to pounce on holidaymakers looking for a last-minute deal.
It is urging people to avoid sending money by bank transfer – a method often used by criminals to trick people into handing over cash.
More than half of people said they do not know how to spot a dodgy website, the bank found.
Philip Robinson, retail fraud prevention director at Lloyds Bank, said: “Fraudsters are poised to jump on any potential way to trick people into handing over money.”
He said of fraudsters’ methods: “This could be advertising deals and accommodation on fake websites disguised as genuine companies or luring people in to buying non-existent items or package deals on social media.
“At the same time they are still profiting from a favourite scam tactic – sending texts about deliveries or so-called account activity with phishing links to gather information and then contacting people pretending to be from their bank or another organisation.”
He said that if someone insists on a bank transfer rather than a card payment or wants to avoid official payment mechanisms “this should be an immediate red flag”.
Lloyds Bank’s tips to avoid holiday scams:
- If you pay by credit card, you may be able to make a claim for a refund under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if something goes wrong with your purchase. People paying by debit card may be able to recoup their funds using chargeback.
- If a seller tries to push you into paying for something by bank transfer, that can be a big red flag that it is a scam.
- Do not click on any link in a text or email that you were not expecting. These can be “phishing” for your details and are often a scam.
- Fraudsters can easily fake websites and make documents appear real to trick you into making payments for goods or booking holidays or accommodation – never be rushed in and take time to speak to a friend or family.
The bank also has further fraud protection tips on its website.


text:
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) April 30, 2014
Since 2013, China's financial leasing industry has continued to maintain rapid growth, with total turnover reaching approximately RMB2.35 trillion as of the end of March 2014, an increase of RMB250 billion from RMB2.1 trillion at the end of December 2013. The number of enterprises totaled 1,137, an increase of 111 ones compared with 1,026 at the end of 2013. Among them, the number of foreign leasing companies grew faster, with the total number amounting to 990, an increase of around 110.
In terms of leasing business penetration of key application areas, financial lease presented the highest penetration rate in construction machinery industry, at nearly 16%, which was mainly because that machinery manufacturers were leasing companies and a larger portion of professional leasing companies were involved and therefore had remarkable financial advantages. In 2013, financial leasing turnover from engineering machinery exceeded RMB100 billion.
Purchase a copy of this report at http://www.chinamarketresearchreports.com/contacts/purchase.php?name=114794 .
What comes next is the financial leasing of aviation industry, whose leasing business penetration stood at roughly 10%. With capital advantages, banking leasing companies had a good performance in this field. Take ICBC Leasing for example. As of the end of 2013, the company’s aircraft leasing assets exceeded RMB40 billion, with the airplanes delivered 151, surpassing CDB Leasing as the company with largest aircraft leasing asset value.
Since 2013, medical device and automotive financial leasing industries with lower leasing business penetration have grown at the fastest pace, which is mainly because of the vigorous development of this industry and the involvement of professional leasing companies. Since its layout in medical industry in 2001, Far East Horizon had operated a total of nearly 3,500 financial leasing projects in medical industry by the end of June 2013.
And what about automotive financial leasing industry. Not only professional financial leasing companies, but also financial leasing companies—mainly including banks, car makers and dealers were involved in this field. As of the end of 2013, CDB Leasing, one of banking financial leasing companies, had cooperated with some car makers that cover first and second-class commercial vehicles, with the leasing business transaction volume from commercial vehicles reaching RMB10.3 billion and business volume from leasing approximately RMB4.4 billion. Furthermore, the number of vehicles involved exceeded 30,000 units, and the number of leaseholders was close to 9,000.
Complete report is available at http://www.chinamarketresearchreports.com/114794.html .
China Financial Leasing Industry Report, 2014 by ResearchinChina focuses on the followings:
- Business environment of financial leasing industry in China, including policy environment, economic environment, social environment as well as the development of global financial leasing industry;
- Operation of China's financial leasing industry, including the enterprises’ type and number, business transactions, registered capital, earnings, regional distribution, as well as the problems in the industry development;
- The key application areas of China's financial leasing industry, including aviation, shipping, engineering machinery, medical devices, printing equipment, rail transportation equipment, telecommunications and IT industry, security and protection industry, radio and television industry, and automobile industry;
- 11 financial leasing companies, 7 domestic-funded leasing companies and 6 foreign-funded leasing companies in China, including operation, financial leasing and financing channels of the enterprises, etc.
Browse more reports on Business & Financial Services Industry at http://www.chinamarketresearchreports.com/cat/business-financial-services.html.
ChinaMarketResearchReports.com (http://www.chinamarketresearchreports.com/) is an online database of market research reports offering in-depth analysis of over 5000 market segments. The library has syndicated reports by leading market research publishers across the globe and also offer customized market research reports for multiple industries.


text:
The industrial agriculture complex has been doing back flips for the last few weeks, first because of the ascendance of Blanche Lincoln (ConservaDem-AR) to the high throne of the Senate Agriculture Committee, where she promises to pinch climate legislation (or at the very least shove it aside until next year) and push a southern Big Ag agenda in the Senate for rice and cotton interests. Now, the White House has announced Islam A. Siddiqui, current Vice President for Science and Regulatory Affairs at CropLife America (you will remember the organization as the one that sent the First Lady a letter admonishing her for not using pesticides on the White House garden) as nominee for Chief Agricultural Negotiator, who works through the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to promote our crops and ag products abroad.
Why does it matter if the Vice President from the trade association representing pesticides and other agricultural chemicals takes over the Office of Agricultural Affairs at the USTR? Well, because that office, according to the USTR website “has overall responsibility for negotiations and policy coordination regarding agriculture.” That means he would oversee the office dedicated to:
Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) Development Agenda (Doha) negotiations on agriculture, operation of the WTO Committees on Agriculture and on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures, agricultural regulatory issues (e.g., biotechnology, cloning, BSE, nanotechnology, other bilateral SPS issues, and customs issues affecting agriculture), monitoring and enforcement of existing WTO and FTA commitments for agriculture (including SPS issues), and WTO accession negotiations on agriculture market access, domestic supports and export competition, and SPS matters.
The Chief Agricultural Negotiator is essentially a ‘spokesperson’ for American agriculture (perhaps the ‘bad cop’ to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s ‘good cop’) who is in charge of selling our agricultural products abroad — products of a synthetic agriculture that is dependent on too many oil inputs, too much water and a stable climate to persist as the norm into the future. Here is an official job description for the Chief Agricultural Negotiator from the website Progressive Government:
The Chief Agriculture Negotiator for the United States conducts critical trade negotiations and enforces trade agreements that relate to U.S. agricultural products and services. Also works to expand the access for America’s farmers and agricultural producers to overseas markets and is responsible for directing all U.S. agriculture trade negotiations anywhere in the world. This includes multilaterally in the World Trade Organization (WTO), regionally in the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and bilaterally with various countries and groups of countries such as Australia, Central America, Chile, Morocco, and the South African Customs Union. The ambassador also resolves agricultural trade disputes and enforces trade agreements, including issues related to new technologies, subsidies, and tariff and non-tariff barriers and meets regularly with domestic agricultural industry groups to assure their interests are represented in trade. He or she also coordinates closely with U.S. government regulatory agencies to assure that rules and policies in international trade are based on sound science.
What might a former employee of CropLife think is sound science? And what might his agenda be for expanding our markets abroad? I’m sure Siddiqui is already a regular at agricultural industry meetings, and will be ready and willing to say just what they’d like to hear. (Before CropLife, Siddiqui also served in the Clinton administration under former Ag Secretary Dan Glickman, the Ag Secretary best known for taking part in the sign-off of GM seeds as ‘substantially equivalent’ to other seeds, thus an argument for why they should not be labeled.)


text:
Consumer preference for bigger smartphones on the up
By Shona Ghosh
Posted on 10 May 2013 at 11:57
Smartphone owners not only like big screens on their devices – they actually want bigger displays when they upgrade, according to new research from Strategy Analytics.
The average consumer preference for screen size is now 4.5in, up from a preferred size of 4.3in at the end of 2011. And "nearly all" with a smartphone wanted their next phone to have a bigger screen.
But that average preference isn’t quite keeping up with the latest devices, with Samsung especially pioneering phones with huge screens. Its upcoming Mega series will encompass two new smartphones offering 5.8in (pictured) and 6.3in screens, something reviewers have dismissed as too big. That compares with a 4in screen on the iPhone 5 and a 5in display on the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Nokia, which has so far shunned larger screens, is also reportedly planning to bring out a 6in ‘phablet' in a bid to keep up.
"The intention of many manufacturers to drive screen size up has been very clear over recent months," said Strategy Analytics analyst Paul Brown. "There is the potential for 'phablets' at the lower end of the size scale to become more mainstream, especially as manufacturers work to maximize the ratio of screen to overall size, providing a larger screen on a smaller form factor."
Clearly, however, there won’t be an infinite trajectory of larger screens, with Strategy Analytics noting that manufacturers would increasingly need to consider how smartphone owners are actually using their devices.
"Larger devices are harder to interact with one-handed, and so it is important for user-interfaces, and especially on-screen key placements, to be designed to allow for easy interaction," said user experience analyst Kevin Nolan.
Is your business a social business? For helpful info and tips visit our hub.
Error: "The most preferred screen size in 2012 was 2012, ..."
By Richard_D on 10 May 2013
Personally I think tablet and ereader manufacturers should be worried about this. People are obviously buying them to 'consume content' in the argot of industry analysts. It's rather like when you walk into Curries and it's filled with huge laptops with numeric keypads that cannot possibly be portable. People are trying to save money by buying compromised devices in my opinion.
By c6ten on 12 May 2013
I seriously doubt these findings. They sound very much like a survey of people with feature phones with 2" screens being asked what they wanted in new phone, and not surprisingly wanting a bigger one. Same as for the preferred size - show a few people three screen sizes and ask them their favourite and of course they'll go for the bigger one; ask them which one they'd prefer to hold up to their ear to nake a phone call on, or carry in their trouser pocket and they'd give a different answer. Unless you can see the original questions, who the sample audience was made up from, and the response data to those questions, sweeping statements such as your headline writer creatively includes are unreliable.
How many women do you see in the street chatting into huge phones held up to their ears? I've never seen one!
By SwissMac on 15 May 2013
- Windows 8.2: release date, features and free cloud version
- iPad sales stall as owners "too happy to upgrade"
- iPhone 6 features, specs and UK release date: when does the iPhone 6 launch?
- iWatch UK release date, specs and price rumours: when is the iWatch coming to the UK?
- Killing the Surface Mini hit revenues, Microsoft reveals
- How Google Glass ruined my lunch hour
- Smartphone battery packs: can a USB power pack beat the festival battery blues?
- Windows Easy Transfer – not so "easy" in Windows 8.1
- Formula 1: what a difference virtualisation makes
- Office of the future: comfy chairs and tablets everywhere
- I went to Glastonbury and the only thing that got high was my smartphone
- Meet the robots helping teach children
- PaperLater: would you pay to print the internet?
- Amazon vs Kobo: how much to make the ebook switch?
- Phishing emails: how I nearly got caught out
- How to add in-app purchasing to an iPhone, Android or Windows app
- Remote-control ransomware: TeamViewer and software hardball
- Why laptops with serial ports matter to the Internet of Things
- Make your mobile battery last longer
- Small steps into handling Big Data
- Nexus 5: does it really run stock Android?
- How to get broadband to a garden office
- How to write your company's IT security policy
- Raspberry Pi and Wolfram: a must-have for every child
- Could you get by with Office Web Apps?


text:
Corsearch research reveals that up to 60% of search results returned offer consumers access to counterfeit and possibly dangerous goods. Learn why search engines need to do more.
*Update – September 2020
In 2020, pressure from brand owners, trade associations, and Corsearch led to a shift in Google’s stance, with the search engine giant launching a de-indexing tool for trademark infringements. This tool represents progress but does not yet go far enough in tackling entire websites dedicated to infringement. Read insights from experts at Daniel Wellington, Wiggin, and Corsearch on what the change means for brands and why a scalable solution is still needed.
*Original research – 2019
When Google is told that it is indexing and returning search results for a webpage or website that is selling counterfeit products, it will take no action.
- Google won’t de-index a URL that offers counterfeit products
- Google won’t de-index a website dedicated to selling counterfeits
Google’s refusal to act is putting consumers at risk; products such as counterfeit brake pads, fake antibiotics, and imitation baby teethers can all lead to potentially deadly consequences when used.
Significant harm is also dealt to the companies targeted, who invest time and significant financial resources to create and market their brands.
Google’s refusal is out of step with its own practices when dealing with other types of intellectual property and out of step with other tech operators:
- Google will de-index a URL when it is told that the page infringes copyright. Google removes millions of URLs on this basis;
- However, Google won’t act when it is told that a URL is dedicated to selling counterfeits – where trademark rights are infringed;
- Other tech giants like Facebook, Instagram, eBay and Amazon will act when they are told that someone is using their service to infringe copyright and/ or trademarks by selling counterfeits.
It’s time for Google and other search engines to step up
This White Paper reflects research by Corsearch into counterfeiting practices in five sectors:
1. Pharmaceuticals – focusing on antibiotics
2. Automotive – focusing on airbags
3. Children’s products – focusing on teethers for babies
4. White goods – focusing on water filters
5. Safety equipment – focusing on cycle helmets
- Up to 60% of product results returned by search engines are for websites and other online locations that offer products that are either counterfeit or otherwise infringe intellectual property.
- Some 47.3% of traffic to these websites comes from consumers using keywords that specify a brand or particular product. This is in line with research undertaken by IFOP for UNIFAB in 2019.
- 26% of the potentially harmful sites in the five researched sectors appear within the first three search results; those results appearing in the top spots were more likely to have the brand name in the domain name itself. This is particularly worrying given a 2017 study by Optify found that the first result shown in a search engine will benefit from 44.64% of all click-throughs.
In addition, our research identified serious problems in each of the five sectors that we studied. We found:
In the safety equipment sector, Corsearch observed websites acting as directories for marketplaces like Aliexpress together with wholesale Chinese sites selling cheap cycle helmets that are counterfeit.
In pharmaceuticals, 6 in 10 of Google’s first-page search results for a branded antibiotic were for suspected unlawful sites.
In automotive, the seventh-placed website in Yandex’s search results for the term “airbag sale” was selling counterfeits; this website generates 61.24% of its traffic from organic search.
In the children’s products category, 3 in 9 search results for a brand name baby teether featured potentially harmful products that misuse the trademark.
In the white goods sector, a search for refrigerator filters repeatedly directed consumers towards a website selling counterfeit goods. The site listed four well-known brands in its page title, causing deliberate consumer confusion while helping it to appear in search results for these brands.
Search engines will not tackle these rogue results
Google relies on the fact that the law currently differentiates between platforms that host information and search engines that do not.
Hosting platforms such as Facebook, Amazon and eBay are protected from any liability for damages for IP infringement committed on their platforms until they are notified about the infringing item or listing.
If a platform is notified of a fake and fails to take action, the platform can be sued for damages by the rights owner affected by the counterfeit listing. Most hosting platforms, therefore, take action quickly to remove such listings.
By contrast, search engines are not typically understood to be hosting platforms. They have typically taken the view that they do not need to take any action when they are told about a trademark infringing website indexed in their search results. Rights owners can notify search engines of counterfeit listings in their indices but no action will be taken.
Google is on record in this regard. It said:
“Google does not at this time de-index URLs or websites from its Web Search index on trademark grounds upon request.”
Corsearch’s recommendations for a new approach
Scalable court-sanctioned approach
For now, a scalable court-sanctioned approach is undermined by the search engines. They will not remove indexed search results when they have been notified that these link to a counterfeit product or website. Instead, they require the rights holder to bring legal action against the counterfeit website to secure an order that covers index removal order. This process is slow, costly and is not scalable for the vast number of brands and consumers affected. Search engines actively oppose applications for orders that are more scalable and that focus on requiring Google to act directly.
In many jurisdictions, case law is developing that may ultimately present a liability challenge to search engines. If the law starts to hold search engines liable for damages where they knowingly point to counterfeit selling websites, they will have no choice but to act.
Established legal precedent
There is a well established legal principle that applies to all internet platforms, including search engines, that could require Google to act even if it is not liable. We suggest search engines should embrace this principle and work with rights owners to demonstrate their willingness to act.
Already, a series of precedent-setting cases in Canada, the United Kingdom, and France have established that the courts are able to require search engines to remove a website or counterfeit listing regardless of their direct liability.
Download the white paper
Google shows no sign of reforming its practices. The search engine promised only “to evaluate court orders issued against third parties”. It warned it would continue to “seek relief from orders against it”.
We believe it is time for search engines to change their mindset and to work with rights holders for the benefit of the online consumer. This would mean building processes that embrace the emerging legal basis that exists for securing delisting remedies from the courts – ensuring that the process for tackling counterfeits and other infringements of is scalable and effective.


text:
ZURICH, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Swiss industrial group OC Oerlikon has made a bid for Sulzer’s coating unit Metco, the world’s largest maker of thermal spray coatings used in the car, chemical and energy industries.
Sulzer put the business up for sale to concentrate on more lucrative businesses making pumps, equipment and services for the oil and gas industry and has asked for tentative bids by mid-October.
“OC Oerlikon confirms its participation in the auction process relating to the sale by Sulzer Ltd of its Metco division,” the company said in a two-sentence statement.
Sulzer hopes the Metco sale will fetch about 800 million Swiss francs ($880 million), two people with familiar with the process have told Reuters.
Aside from Oerlikon, Sulzer has approached peers including British Bodycote, U.S-based Praxair and Japanese IHI Corp, these people said.
Russian tycoon Viktor Vekselberg owns large stakes in both Oerlikon and Sulzer - almost half of the former and a third of the latter - and Oerlikon has been cited as a possible main contender in the auction.
Earlier this year, Oerlikon’s interim Chief Executive Juerg Fedier said the company had 1.2 billion Swiss francs to spend on potential acquisitions and that the vacuum and coating segments would be in focus.


text:
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Most people consider themselves pretty savvy when it comes to falling victim to an online scam. But there's a new cyber scam that's hiding in plain sight that could make you the next victim of what's known as "click bait."
As CBS 2's Kristine Johnson reported, nothing piques our curiosity more than a good headline -- but experts say click at your own risk.
"By doing that, it puts you and your computer in danger," President of the New York Better Business Bureau Claire Rosenzweig said.
"Click baiting" or "click jacking" is the latest cyber threat that's tricking internet users into clicking on a link that's not what it seems.
"It's hijacking your click. An example could be, 'See these nude photos that were hacked,' or, 'Robin Williams' last words,' or it could even be, 'Win a free iPad,'" Internet security expert David Sendroff said.
Sendroff says you'll never actually see any of those things; instead, when you click, you open yourself up to identity theft, spyware and more.
"They might install malware or they could steal the use of your computer," he said.
Rosenzweig says it doesn't just come in the form of a link, either.
"It could be an email, it could be a text, it could be a website that rouses your curiosity," she said.
Internet users say they see click bait all the time.
"It's like, 'check this out,' 'never before seen,'" Katie Lynch said.
"It looks exactly like it's part of the news site so you automatically think that it's connected," Mercedes Smith added.
"There's no way to decipher what's the truth and what's not," Ashley Barton said.
Sendroff agrees that it's very confusing.
So what can you do to protect yourself? Experts say you can start by using common sense and verifying the information on your own.
"If it's a celebrity, go to their official site," Rosenzweig said.
Most importantly, make sure your computer is protected.
"It's very important to keep your browser up to date. Out-of-date browsers are more susceptible to things like click jacking," Sendroff said.
Facebook and other social media sites are now taking steps to prevent the scam.
You Might Also Be Interested In:
for more features.


text:
Danske Bank tops list of Northern Ireland firms for third year in row
Danske Bank is once again the number one company in Northern Ireland, according to the Belfast Telegraph Top 100 Companies 2017 in association with Arthur Cox.
The chart, which will be given away with the Belfast Telegraph tomorrow, features the most profitable Northern Ireland-registered firms, from big manufacturers with international owners - like plane maker Bombardier - to Norbrook Holdings, the Newry veterinary pharmaceutical company and the highest-placed home-owned business.
Danske Bank staked its claim to the top spot for the third year in a row with pre-tax profits of £117m for 2016, down 18% on the previous 12 months.
Bombardier is also highly-placed with £61m in pre-tax profits, while Norbrook Holdings had pre-tax profits of £35.5m.
The publication features in-depth profiles of the 100 companies, and cutting-edge commentary and insights from Northern Ireland's top business leaders and commentators.
The remaining companies in the Top 100 operate in a range of sectors from agri-food - creating products from animal feeds to cooked-egg products - to tech companies and manufacturers of aeroplane seating.
Economist John Simpson, who compiled the Top 100 for the 22nd year in a row, said the list presented a positive view of the private sector's performance.
"The perception of a poor private sector response to the challenge of rebuilding the economy can be seen as unfair. Larger businesses in the private sector have been growing and growing appreciably in terms of the wider impact on the economy," he said, adding that the qualifying criteria in profit terms had increased, from last year's threshold of £2.2m to this year's threshold for the company at number 100 of £3.2m.
"The important headline made possible by this work is that there is firm evidence that Northern Ireland has a group of mainly successful businesses whose performances have been improving," he said.
"In contrast to other frequent statistical comments on the strength of the local private sector, there is a large and significant group of businesses which are trading, on average, modestly successfully."
Writing in the glossy 64-page publication, Ann McGregor, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the success of the profit-makers profiled in the Top 100 reflected the 'can do' attitude of business. And she said that attitude would prevail regardless of the local political stalemate.
"If companies in Northern Ireland were to sit back and wait for political perfection before taking ambitious decisions and making investments, then the decisions and the investments would never be made," she said.
"The companies detailed in this supplement are testament to the determination and commitment of Northern Ireland business people to continue to drive for increased growth despite the wider political and geo-economic factors".


text:
|Bid||100.40 x 900|
|Ask||100.44 x 1100|
|Day's Range||97.68 - 101.96|
|52 Week Range||64.15 - 141.60|
|Beta (3Y Monthly)||1.27|
|PE Ratio (TTM)||29.07|
|Earnings Date||Jul 23, 2019 - Jul 29, 2019|
|Forward Dividend & Yield||1.48 (1.23%)|
|1y Target Est||131.78|
Chipmakers were under pressure led by declines in Qualcomm and Xilinx, which tumbled 4.3% and 3.5% respectively. Xilinx also dropped 3.5%. The drop came after the U.S. blacklisted Huawei and effectively halted its ability to buy American-made parts and components.
Xilinx stock has been on a tear for much of this year, but the risk of U.S. government sanction against China’s Huawei could halt the chip maker’s gains, Nomura Instinet warns.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google and another U.S. chip maker have begun to comply with U.S. restrictions on Huawei Technologies Inc., with other companies also reportedly falling in line.
Lumentum is the canary in the coal mine, and investors should prepare for a slew of guidance cuts from other tech equipment suppliers. Xilinx, Nvidia, and Intel could be among the stocks at risk, according to analysts.
Apple and Intel dragged the Dow Jones, chips weighed broadly on the stock market Monday, as U.S. action against China's Huawei took hold.
While the sector has been one of the biggest casualties of the escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and China, news on Monday that some Huawei Technologies Co. suppliers are said to have halted shipments to the Chinese company sent chipmakers plummeting. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index fell as much as 3.3% in New York, its biggest drop in a week, while in Europe, the Stoxx 600 Technology Index slid 3%. The company said in a statement that it cannot predict when shipments will resume.
U.S. chipmakers Intel, Xilinx, Broadcom and Qualcomm have also reportedly told their employees not to sell chips or components to Huawei.
A sell-off in chip stocks intensified following a report that chipmakers are cutting ties with Huawei after the Trump administration's ban.
Chipmakers including Qualcomm Inc., Xilinx Inc. and Broadcom Inc. have told employees they won’t supply to the Chinese electronics giant until further notice, Bloomberg News reported late Sunday in the U.S. Those companies will need clarification from the Trump administration on whether they can ship to Huawei, so for now it seems they’re erring on the side of caution. The prospect that the U.S. government would cut off the supply of components to Huawei was precisely what management had been anticipating for close to a year, Bloomberg News reported Friday.
Xilinx stock has shot up remarkably thanks to the 5G catalyst, but that isn't the only reason you should be investing in it.
This Jim Cramer favorite plunged plunged 7.7% Thursday and made a new low for the move down Friday. Trading volume increased Thursday and the daily On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line made a new low for the move down -- a sign of more aggressive selling. The trend-following Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator has sunk to a new low too.
Following strong words from state-run Chinese media overnight, indexes overseas sunk back down and have sent U.S. futures into the red.
The most shocking thing about today's market rally was that it made perfect sense, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers Thursday. Investors are finally starting to figure out which stocks win and which ones lose from the ongoing trade war with China as earnings per share are again starting to matter. Cramer said Walmart may see less impact from tariffs than people expect, given the retail giant can source products better than anyone.
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Thursday officially added China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to a trade blacklist, immediately enacting restrictions that will make it extremely difficult for the telecom giant to do business with U.S. companies. The Commerce Department issued a rule, promised on Wednesday, putting Huawei and 68 affiliates in more than two dozen countries on its so-called Entity List, a move that bans the company from buying parts and components from American firms without U.S. government approval. The U.S. government will review license applications under a "policy of presumption of denial," according to a posting on the Federal Register.
President Trump's move to curb Chinese firm Huawei's access to U.S. technology drove down shares in several U.S. tech firms, including NeoPhotonics, Lumentum, Xilinx, and other suppliers.
Semiconductor Stocks Fall as Trump Imposes Ban on HuaweiTrump imposes a ban on Huawei Semiconductor stocks fell once again as President Trump played another card in the United States’ trade war with China. Trump declared a national emergency,
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has flattened the market bears, rising nearly 3% from a near-term low. The Nasdaq is also showing renewed strength.
Shares of several communication chipmakers fell sharply Thursday following the news that the U.S. Commerce Department was adding Huawei Technologies and dozens of its affiliates to an "Entity List" that would greatly restrict its ability to buy components from U.S. companies. , another communications chipmaker that got about 14% of its revenues from Huawei in 2018, according to Stifel, was trading down more than 13%. appeared to get a boost from the news, however, with Nokia trading up more than 4% on the New York Stock Exchange and Ericsson up around 2% on Nasdaq.
CNBC's Jim Cramer makes the case for why holding onto shares of chips suppliers in the middle of the China trade war may come with risk.
Semiconductors are lagging the Nasdaq Composite today, but still solidly in the green. Yahoo Finance's Jared Blikre joins Myles Udland to break down the action in the chipmaker space, as President Trump partially walks back a tougher trade stance.


text:
Just in time for the holidays, a new e-commerce site gives shoppers piece-of-mind when shopping for a legitimate Swiss-made watch.
Troverie is a brand-authorized, omni-channel luxury watch site that fills a long-standing gap between luxury watch makers and online sales.
Many manufacturers in the industry have kept tight restrictions on online sales because of the "grey market" of watches.
“The majority of them are not authorized,” said Lane Schiffman, who owns and operates Greensboro-based Schiffman’s Jewelers with his brothers Arnold and Vance.
Schiffman's is one of a number of retailers in 22 states to partner with Troverie.
Lane Schiffman, who oversees the watch, marketing and sales departments for Schiffman’s, said many online Swiss watches are either refurbished or fakes.
“There’s been a big problem in the industry with grey market and unauthorized dealers selling watches online and those of us that are the authorized official dealers haven’t been able to sell watches directly online,” Schiffman said. “It’s left the market to these secondary type people.”
Schiffman said grey market watches do not get the support an authorized jeweler can provide.
“The consumer has been put off by it,” Schiffman said.
Among the manufacturers Troverie is authorized to sell are Bell & Ross, Blancpain, Breguet, Breitling, Bvlgari, Girard-Perregaux, Hamilton, Longines, Movado, Nomos, Omega, Raymond Weil, Tag Heuer, Ulysse Nardin, and Zenith.
Schiffman’s in Greensboro sells Michele, Omega and Raymond Weil brands.


text:
Andrew Scott, president of the Southeast Produce Council, has been named director of sales and marketing for Coosemans in five cities.
It’s a new position at the Coosemans operations in Tampa, Fla., Miami, Dallas, Cleveland and San Francisco.
Scott, who started Jan. 3, reports to Roy Kane, a partner with Daniel Coosemans in those cities. Kane is also president of Worldwide Produce Direct.
“As Roy grows more businesses, I’m going to help him manage that side of things for Coosemans,” Scott said Jan. 27. “I’ll help him with those five locations, and with the marketing side of it. We’re going to enhance the website.”
Scott comes to Coosemans from Hudsonville, Mich.-based shipper, distributor and repacker Superior Sales Inc., which he joined in September as vice president of sales and marketing. Superior’s addition of J&R Baker Farms, Norman Park, Ga., was a factor in bringing him to the company. He remained based in the South.
“I left on great terms,” he said. “This phenomenal opportunity came along with Roy to grow his businesses. It was an easy decision to make.”
Scott was sales and procurement manager for Forest Park, Ga.-based General Produce Inc. from 2006 to 2013. He was at C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. in various roles from 1991 to 2006, finishing as Atlanta produce manager.


text:
Retailer to host first-ever food festival in NYCBy Natalie Taylor on May. 10, 2018Emerging from a tumultuous period of bankruptcy and restructuring, Fairway Market has launched a new marketing initiative, branded as not just a grocery store but also “the place to go fooding.”
The New York-based retailer will debut its new brand identity at its first-ever food festival on June 10 at the Armory Track Arena in Manhattan, located at 216 Fort Washington Ave. Drawing inspiration from the local foodie culture and events such as Smorgasburg—NYC’s popular weekly outdoor food market—the one-day event will feature live entertainment, cooking demonstrations and about 80 vendors from participating brands such as Chobani, Big Gay Ice Cream, Murray’s Chicken, Earthbound Farm and Atalanta.
Under ownership of Blackstone Group’s GSO Capital Partners following its Chapter 11 filing in 2016, the initiative serves as a turning point in Fairway’s mission to differentiate itself in a crowded market, identifying as “an experience for the senses” while exposing consumers to new and unique items.
“It’s something that’s always been there, but we’re positioning ourselves where we know what our strengths are, and we know how we’re going to compete,” says Alina Rodriguez, Fairway’s director of marketing. “Now we’re really focusing on how we can turn this ship around and create an experience of the senses, whether you’re shopping online or coming into our store.”
The retailer has already begun introducing its new brand identity with updated store signage at each of its 15 locations, featuring images of people enjoying food.
In addition to partnered vendors, Fairway Food Festival will host the retailer’s own booths, highlighting signature products among its more than 60,000 SKUs, including specialty cheese, olive oil, coffee and olive varieties.
Fairway Food Festival tickets are available for $5 each via the company’s website and in-store purchase. The retailer anticipates 6,000 to 9,000 attendees, and plans to continue hosting the event in the coming years.


text:
Chainlink (LINK) is set to launch on the Coinbase PRO service in aproximately 12 hours.
Transfers have been opened at 10am Pacific Time and once a sufficient supply of LINK is reached, trading is set to open for LINK/USD and LINK/ETH trading pairs. Trading will be opened in phases and once metrics for a healthy market are met, trading fully unlock.
Coinbase also wants to open up trading to its consumer mobile apps and coinbase.com, stating:
“Please note that LINK is not yet available on Coinbase.com or via our consumer mobile apps. We will make a separate announcement if and when this functionality is added.”
Coinbase PRO users have been requesting more assets and Chainlink (LINK) should be seen as a great addition to the Coinbase PRO portfolio.
The move comes after Chainlink (LINK) reached a new All-Time-High of $2.42 following an announcement by Google and Oracle that Chainlink will be their provider of choice for blockchain cloud applications.


text:
Bicycle has been the preferred mode of transport for Kazi Rokibul Haque for a good few years now.
At first the 35-year-old took to the two-wheeler as a form of exercise given his sedentary lifestyle.
But as he started riding it he found that it was a quicker mode of transport in the congested Dhaka city than cars: he could easily dodge traffic and reach his office on time.
"It saves both time and money. Before I start for office I take a look at Google Maps and decide what to use today: cycle or car," said Haque, who works at an apparel buying house in Uttara.
His commute strategy encouraged six more of his colleagues to buy two-wheelers.
Like Haque and his colleagues, an increasing number of people are signing up for cycling and thus buoying the market for the environment-friendly vehicle.
"The overall demand is definitely growing," said Joynul Abedin, chief operating officer of RFL Bike Industry, which makes and markets Duranta bicycle for both the Bangladesh and European markets.
Today, the value of the domestic bicycle market is Tk 1,200 crore and it is growing at 7-8 per cent annually, according to an estimate of RFL Bike, a concern of PRAN-RFL Group.
More people in urban areas are showing interest in using bicycles as people are progressively becoming more health conscious.
"This is also good for the environment and a good vehicle for short distance commuting," Abedin said, adding that the entry of food delivery services like HungryNaki, foodpanda, Uber Eats also added to the demand for bicycles.
Marketers and sellers said the bicycle market has been growing over the last decade thanks to improvements in the quality of roads, health consciousness, growing traffic jam in Dhaka and environmental awareness among a section of youth and mid-aged people.
The relatively lower price of bicycle than motorcycles is another factor propelling the demand for the non-motorised vehicle, which costs between Tk 8,000 and Tk 20,000 each in general.
"The use of trendy bicycle with options like gear changing is increasing in urban areas," said Abedin, adding that two lakh bicycles are sold in the domestic market in a month.
The expansion of the two-wheeler, which is seen in abundance and used by people irrespective of ages and gender in European cities like Copenhagen, comes at a time when Dhaka is termed as one of worst cities for air pollution.
And encouraged by the spiralling demand for the two-wheeler, Omar Faruk, owner of Babul Cycle Store in Dhaka's Farmgate, started selling bicycles in 2015 apart from providing repairing and maintenance services to cyclists.
Babul Cycle Store now sells roughly 20 bicycles a day, which is double the number it could sell five years ago, according to Faruk.
"Once people were purchasing cycles as a hobby. Now, many people are buying bicycles to commute to work and do other tasks to avoid traffic jams," he added.
Mohammad Jewel Mia, who works as a mason in a construction firms, is one of such person.
He has been using bicycles for the last two and half years to go to the construction site at Banani from his residence at Mohammadpur.
"This is very helpful. It saves me Tk 85 as bus and rickshaw fares on each way," he said.
Imported bicycles from China account for 60-70 per cent of the domestic market, according to sellers.
Yet, manufacturers said locally manufactured cycles are becoming popular as these are also adorned in the European markets.
"People are buying bicycles for various purposes. We see great promise," said Md Luthful Bari, secretary of the Bangladesh Bicycle & Parts Manufacturers' and Exporters Association (BBPMEA).
Both Abedin and Bari urged the government for support to facilitate expansion of domestic manufacturing and bicycle markets.
"This could be an alternative solution to traffic jam and saving the environment from pollution and reducing the use of fossil fuel," said Bari, while calling for a separate lane on roads for bicycles.
The government should also reduce the corporate tax to make the prices of domestically manufactured cycles more competitive against the imported ones and in the export market, said Bari, also the director of operations of Meghna Group, another local manufacturer and exporter of bicycle.
Competitiveness of locally made bicycles is eroding in terms of prices against the imported ones as a section of the traders are bringing the two-wheeler in the completely knocked down (CKD) format and assembling them here, said Abedin of RFL.
Subsequently, he urged the revenue authority to discriminate between complete and painted and raw finished or unpainted components of bicycles to encourage domestic manufacturing.
But what will truly ramp up bicycle sales would be a good traffic management system to enable cyclists to move about safely.
"Once people deems it safe enough, they will jump in and get one themselves," added the plucky cyclist Haque.


text:
Founders of nine Indian startups have come out together in favour of net neutrality and raised their voice against Free Basics.
On Tuesday, these founders have jointly sent a letter via email to TRAI chairman RS Sharma, endorsing their support for Net Neutrality, and calling for TRAI to issue clear regulations that prevent telecom or content providers “from acting as gate-keepers offering restricted Internet services instead of the Open Internet.”
The letter has been co-signed by the following (names in alphabetical order):
Alok Agarwal, Cofounder and Business Head at Teesort.com
Bharat Gulia, Cofounder, Metis Learning
Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO, Zomato
Faisal Farooqui, Founder and CEO, Mouthshut.com
Manish Vij, Founder and CEO, SVG Media
Sachin Bhatia, Cofounder and CEO, TrulyMadly
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm
Vineet Dwivedi, Founder and CEO, FlipClass.com
9. Vishal Gondal, Founder and CEO at GOQii
The letter draft has been prepared by SFLC.IN, a non-profit organization supporting the SaveTheInternet.in campaign against Free Basics and similar zero rating services in India.
Here is what the letter said:
What’s your take? Feel free to share your opinion in the comment section below.