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SMM4 28: although the time has almost entered May, but due to the overseas epidemic has not improved, European and American car companies are still in a state of general suspension. Since mid-March, the big three automakers have accepted a proposal from the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) to temporarily close more than 100 car and engine plants. Germany's big three Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW have also announced shutdowns in Europe. In addition to the European and American giants, eight Japanese carmakers, including Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Suzuki, Subaru, Mitsubishi and Dafa, also announced a moratorium on domestic production.
As the automobile supply chain is difficult to recover, the supply and demand side of the automobile industry in Europe and the United States have not improved significantly. Moody's, the credit rating agency, has cut its 2020 global car sales forecast three times this year. Moody's expects global car sales to fall 14 per cent in 2020. Passenger car registrations in Europe hit their lowest level since 1990 in March, according to data released by the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA).
The domestic market is also seriously affected by the epidemic, the new energy car market recession superimposed epidemic impact, the power battery industry is facing a severe test. The Power Battery Application Branch released the installed capacity of Chinese power battery enterprises in the first quarter of 2020. The installed capacity of power battery for new energy vehicles in China decreased by about 53.84% compared with the same period last year, about 5.68GWh.
According to SMM research, due to the weak demand in the terminal car market, most of the battery factories have signs of reduction in domestic and foreign orders. At present, the battery factory expects to seize more downstream orders through the price war, and the upstream material factory and the precursor factory also have the price war phenomenon. Although the market is not good, the battery factory does not dare to stop production, on the one hand, it is worried that the market share will be occupied by other shopping malls after the suspension of production, on the other hand, after the resumption of production, it is also difficult to recruit workers again; however, non-stop production means that they have to bear more labor, cost, inventory and other expenses, so at present, some battery factories have chosen appropriate layoffs.
Recently, most battery factories have the behavior of eliminating storage, some battery manufacturers said to SMM: the domestic power energy market in May is not optimistic, the impact of the epidemic in foreign markets has been gradually transmitted to China, although battery manufacturers have reduced production in May, but due to weaker downstream demand, manufacturers can not keep up with the decline in demand. Market participants speculate that there may be policies to help the new energy industry in the future, which will boost the entire industry chain.
SMM believes that the conduction impact of weak demand on the precursor plant is gradually apparent, and the precursor factory at the end of April has felt the impact of the foreign epidemic on May orders. Combined with the downstream demand of battery-grade nickel sulfate and the current total inventory of nickel sulfate plant, the high price of battery-grade nickel sulfate in the future is lack of stable support.
2020 China International stainless Steel Industry Market and Application Development Forum
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iPhoneForums.net News Team
- Jun 15, 2010
- Reaction score
- Bay Area, CA
A new report from pretty reliable French blog iGen.fr points to some images found in the new iTunes 12.2 update. While restoring an iPod in the new update, the user can see the iPod family in a set of new colors. The colors show the devices in gold, dark blue and bright pink, which are currently unavailable for purchase.
The blog suggests that the devices might be unveiled on July 14, according to the date show on the iPod Touch calendar in the images.
The iPod Touch 5th generation was released back in 2012, running a then-powerful A5 processor. The latest iPod Shuffle was introduced in 2012 and the Nano in the same year.
Unfortunately there's no word what features or hardware we will be seeing in the new devices. If Apple plans on continuing to refresh the iPod Touch every three years, the company will need to release a device that is semi-future proof. Either way, we'll hopefully see what our favorite fruit company has in store for us next Tuesday.

domain: news


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AOL to Buy Huffington Post for $315m
The Huffington Post is a news and lifestyle website. The firm is privately owned by its two cofounders, as well as a group of investors. The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of government approvals.
The boards of directors of each company and shareholders of The Huffington Post have approved the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the late first- or early second-quarter 2011.
The transaction will create a global, national, local, and hyper-local content group for the digital age - leveraged across online, mobile, tablet, and video platforms.
The new group will have a combined base of 117 million unique visitors a month in the US and 270 million around the world. Following the close of this transaction, AOL will accelerate its strategy to deliver a scaled and differentiated array of premium news, analysis, and entertainment produced by thousands of writers, editors, reporters, and videographers around the globe.
As part of the transaction, Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Postâ€™s co-founder and editor-in-chief, will be named president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group.
Tim Armstrong, chairman and CEO of AOL, said: â€œThe acquisition of The Huffington Post will create a next-generation American media company with global reach that combines content, community, and social experiences for consumers. Together, our companies will embrace the digital future and become a digital destination that delivers unmatched experiences for both consumers and advertisers.â€
Will the acquisition benefit AOL?
Have your say and discuss with your peers on the InfoGrok community.
Participate by posting your comments now.


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Samsung is not just launching the Galaxy Note 7; several new accessories are starting to become available as well. Available now from AT&T’s retail locations and online store are the Gear VR and Gear IconX.
You might be thinking the Gear VR is not new, and you are correct. But this updated version has swappable ports, allowing it to work with micro USB and USB-C devices. The touch control interface is updated as well. It has a new black paint job with extra padding around the face for a more comfortable experience. Luckily it doesn’t come with a price increase; the Gear VR is still $99.
Samsung’s completely cordless active headphones are the Gear IconX. They can track your heart rate and some other fitness data, but need to sync with a Samsung smartphone.The Gear IconX are not the cheapest at $199


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Fitch said Thursday that it has downgraded Sears, Roebuck S, -0.97% from "stable" to "negative," citing weak sales trends and a hazy retail environment. The ratings agency also explained that Sears faces increased competition from discounters and home improvement retailers. Shares of Sears recently traded up 12 cents at $42.67.
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Coca-Cola inks pact with Siargao towns to fight beach waste
Coca-Cola Philippines is taking its World Without Waste vision to the shores of the island of Siargao through a partnership with the local government in championing sustainable tourism and environmental protection of the island.
In recent years, Siargao has faced a major boom in tourism, dubbed as the country’s surfing capital and one of the most beautiful destinations in the Philippines because of its perfect waves and pristine beaches. However, along with the spike in visitor arrivals arises a need for the development of an improved waste management system for the island.
Hence, Coca-Cola Philippines collaborated with the nine municipalities on the island of Siargao, with the support of Rep. Bingo Matugas and the provincial government of Surigao del Norte headed by Gov. Francisco “Lalo” Matugas, to preserve a litter-free island and promote sustainable tourism.
“We are firm in our World Without Waste goal of collecting and recycling every single bottle or can we sell, because it is unacceptable for us that our packaging ends up littering places like the shores of Siargao,” shared Atty. Juan Lorenzo Tañada, Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Director.
“This is why we are working very closely with local government, and also hopefully with local NGOs, to assist with the environmental conservation and sustainability efforts and strengthen recyclable PET plastic bottle collection in the island,” he added.
Coca-Cola aims to advocate responsible travel and proper packaging waste management among tourists and locals by helping strengthen the recyclable PET plastic bottle collection in the island.
To start, Coca-Cola deployed recyclable PET plastic bottle collection bins in Cloud 9 area – Siargao’s prime surfing spot. With the help of the local government, recyclable PET plastic bottles deposited into the bins will be properly turned over to the LGU’s local recycling partner.
Tables and benches made from recycled PET plastic bottles will also be installed in the area— a visual representation of what the recyclable PET plastic bottles can be when they are properly disposed of, refreshed and given new lives.
Tañada adds: “We are also launching the #betterbottlechallenge, we want to illustrate and emphasize that used recyclable PET plastic bottles should not end up littering the streets, the beaches, or in landfills, or polluting our waterways. They have value beyond their initial use, if we properly dispose of them. In this case, place them into our collection bins so they become better bottles, as they are recycled.”
Coca-Cola will also be providing the island with a state-of-the-art surf rake. Manufactured in the USA by H. Barber and Sons, the tractor-towed beach-cleaner is one of the best in the world, ensuring the safe, quick, and efficient clearing of Siargao’s beaches.
“These mark the beginning of Coca-Cola’s environmental partnership with the island of Siargao — and they are looking forward to working more closely with all stakeholders in the island— with our local government units in the island, and local organizations to come up with the best possible system that will work in the island to make sure that we properly divert our recyclables such as PET plastic bottles, and they do not end up polluting the island,” Rep. Bingo Matugas shared.
Tañada, Mayor Cecilia Rusillon of General Luna town in Siargao, and Rep. Matugas of the 1st district of Surigao del Norte made their partnership official through a commitment wall signing at Cloud 9.
“We believe that sustainability, tourism, and business can go hand-in-hand when all parties from the private sector like Coca-Cola, us – your local public servants, and equally-passionate organizations and individuals work together toward a common vision,” Rusillon said.
“We all want to live in a World Without Waste, and I hope that that is a shared end goal that we can all help contribute towards reaching,” the mayor added.
In the last couple of years, Coca-Cola has been partnering with different local government units, and NGOs on several pilot plastic collection and recycling programs. The company has reached 12 provinces so far—and they are looking for more partners to reach more communities.
One good example is their collection program with sari-sari stores where the nanays collect plastic packaging and use it as “credit points” for an eco-brick recycling facility. The Company is hoping to do something similar in the island of Siargao.
In Davao, the Company is also helping boost the recyclable PET plastic bottle collection system in the city with the deployment of PET bottle collection bins across the city’s parks and their partnership with local recycler, Winder Recycling, in creating recycled items like plastic school chairs from the collected bottles.
After the rehabilitation of Boracay, Coca-Cola also came to the aid of community with the same top-of-the-line Surf Rake that would maintain the cleanliness of Boracay and Baler’s world-famous beaches.
The Philippines abounds with ecological wonders and beautiful destinations like Siargao, Boracay, Davao, and many more across its 7,000 islands.
With this in mind, Coca-Cola aims to safeguard the country’s rich, natural landscapes and create a World Without Waste, one island, one city, and one community at a time.


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Earlier this summer, when Anheuser-Busch launched its new Bud Light Lime product, patio season pandemonium ensued. The Beer Store couldn’t keep its shelves stocked.
Now, Waterloo’s Brick Brewing Co. has introduced Red Baron Lime beer. Anheuser, and its Canadian subsidiary, Labatt Brewing Co., is calling foul, claiming trademark and copyright infringement. They’re seeking an injunction and monetary damages.
Similarities abound between the products: clear glass bottles, green and silver colour scheme, the display of a slice of lime, similar green backgrounds on the respective product-dedicated websites, and the integration of social media into the marketing campaign. The question is whether these characteristics are distinctive of Anheuser.
Clearly, Anheuser has invested significant time, money and effort into creating a standout brand in the congested beer market. Allowing a 3rd party to trade off the goodwill Anheuser is generating undermines its creativity and innovation in developing its new product.
Brick Brewing, on the other hand, argues that Anheuser, one the largest globally-owned beer companies, is using anti-competitive tactics to quash the competition.
What’s your take? Should Anheuser be rewarded for its ingenuity, or is the beer pie big enough for more than one player?
Image courtesy of Clairity.


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Published: August 23, 2020 on our newsletter Security Fraud News & Alerts Newsletter.
If you have a Joomla account for your business, log-in and change your password. Not long ago, Joomla, a top content management system (CMS), found itself where no one wants to be–in the middle of a security breach. A Security Incident Notification posted on the Joomla website announced 2,700 users of their CMS were affected, specifically those who registered accounts with profiles on the Joomla Resource Directory (JRD) portal. The JRD is home to developers and service providers who specialize in Joomla website creations. According to the company, the breached data exposed full names, encrypted passwords, email and business addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses, and other confidential data.
Joomla representatives said the breach was discovered as the result of an internal website audit. The company claims the breach happened after a JRD team member left an unencrypted backup of the portal on a third-party AWS S3 bucket. At this time, Joomla says it’s unclear if anyone has come across the data and downloaded it. Joomla acted to mitigate the threat by disabling all user accounts not logged into after January 1, 2019.
Joomla’s entirely free CMS has been downloaded nearly 100 million times since its release in 2005, and active sites are currently at the 2.5 million mark. While Joomla continues to explore the breach, they maintain sensitive data like social security numbers were not stored on the database, making the risk of client identity theft at minimal. The company does say, at this point, they believe those affected by the breach are at risk the data will be used for marketing and advertising purposes without user consent.
Aside from taking their own security precautions after the breach, the company suggests its users take immediate action on their Joomla accounts to help minimize damage. Their key recommendation is that users change their password without delay. Just as important, they say if the same password is also used on other accounts, to change those immediately as well. Be sure to change it to a strong password that contains at least eight characters and includes numbers and special characters. The harder it is to guess, the better.
Joomla warns another reason to act quickly is over fear of credential stuffing attacks. Credential stuffing happens when a hacked password, like those stolen in the Joomla breach, is also used for other accounts a customer may have. When a hacker gets a password, they can try to “stuff” it into other accounts the victim has, hoping for a hit. If there’s any duplication, accounts using the same password can be hacked as well. For now, Joomla asks those affected by the breach to use strong and unique passwords for each account and make sure they are unique to Joomla; something cybersecurity professionals have long suggested to bolster account safety.
Keep up to date: Sign up for our Fraud alerts and Updates newsletter
Want to schedule a conversation? Please email us at firstname.lastname@example.org


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New reports indicate that we should expect to see the tetraprism camera lens with its incredible zoom on the iPhone 16 Pro models. It’s exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max right now, so it’s reasonable to expect to see it on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The exciting news is that it will also come to the smaller iPhone 16 Pro.
“Tetraprism” refers to the fact that folded glass reflects light four times, allowing the camera to reach a longer focal length of 120mm (basically, a stronger zoom).
In September, trusted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested this lens might appear in both iPhone 16 Pro models because of the sizes.
He explained that the iPhone 15 Pro couldn’t have a tetraprism lens like its Pro Max counterpart because there wasn’t enough space. The iPhone 16 Pro will have a slightly larger display than the iPhone 15 Pro (though still smaller than the iPhone 16 Pro Max), so it could theoretically fit the tetraprism lens.
In November, Kuo restated his belief that the tetraprism lens would be in the iPhone 16 Pro models. It was part of a report on Apple’s supplier, Largan, noting an increase in Apple’s orders for the folded glass used for tetraprism lenses.
The Elec (a South Korean tech news outlet) has reported the same for another Apple supplier: LG Innotek. The report says Apple will increase the models with the tetraprism lens, which is great for LG Innotek but may be complicated for its competitors. It also notes that multiple companies, including LG Innotek, have had trouble with production yields and that Apple will probably need to use more than one supplier in order to avoid iPhone 16 production lags.


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Tom Mignanelli, a former Ford executive who gave Nissan's U.S. sales company a transfusion of American business culture in the early 1990s, has died following surgery for a brain tumor. He was 73.
AutoNews.com. Thu, 12 Jul 2018 11:25:13 EST. Subscription may be required.
A former Tesla employee portrayed by CEO Elon Musk as a saboteur has filed a whistle-blower tip to the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging the company made misstatements and omissions to investors.
AutoNews.com. Wed, 11 Jul 2018 16:30:57 EST. Subscription may be required.
If Patrick Doyle were becoming CEO of Domino's today instead of leaving the job as of Friday, cars -- not the taste of pizza -- might be his No. 1 agenda item. ...
By Dale Buss, Contributor. Forbes. Wed, 27 Jun 2018 13:07:00 -0400.
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#automotive--EFG Companies President and CEO John Pappanastos encourages retail automotive to change or risk becoming a dinosaur in the changing car buying model.
Business Wire. Wed, 20 Jun 2018 12:00:00 UTC.


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SUPERMARKETS raked in hundreds of millions of pounds more in the past year despite Northern Ireland shoppers making 20 fewer trips, new analysis suggests.
With the north approaching one year since launching the first Covid-19 lockdown, data company Kantar said spending at tills increased by 14.8 per cent in the past 52 weeks.
The new research said while our spending had slightly eased compared to the fist lockdown, we’re still forking out a lot more at the supermarket during lockdown three than pre-Covid.
Kantar said spending was 12.9 per cent up in the last 12 weeks compared with the same period last year.
Smaller supermarkets, including the likes of Spar and Centra, grew dramatically in the past 12 months, with the value of sales up by 27.2 per cent.
Kantar’s analysis said ‘other outlets’, which includes pharmacy chains and butchers, saw a 22.1 per cent rise in sales during the past year.
It comes as some retailers were allowed to resume click and collect services on Monday.
The slight easing of the restrictions has only been extended to retailers selling clothing, footwear, electrical goods and baby equipment.
It's unclear when other non-essential retailers will be allowed to resume click and collect sales.
Commenting on its latest report, Kantar retail analyst Emer Healy said: “As we approach a full year since the start of restrictions in Northern Ireland, lockdowns have meant shoppers have made 20 fewer trips to the supermarket in the past 12 months.
“They have needed to pick up extra items when they do visit and volume sales have increased by 18.6% per cent compared with the previous year, picking up two additional items per trip on average.”
Despite its overall market share taking a slight knock (0.6 percentage points to 35.1 per cent), Tesco remains the north’s largest supermarket chain.
Kantar said the 12.7 per cent growth in sales in the 52 weeks to February 21 2021 was worth an extra £240 million to the supermarket giant.
Sainsbury’s 14.2 per cent growth in sales earned the retailer an extra £78.7m, while Kantar said Asda’s customers loaded up the most, increasing their shop by 28.1 per cent, earning the chain a 10.6 per cent rise in sales.
Lidl continued its powerful run during the pandemic, recording the strongest growth among the main retailers (21.7 per cent), earning it an extra £43m in store spending.
Emer Healy said shoppers in the north have continued to look for ways to indulge at home during lockdown.
“The latest 12 weeks saw the sales of alcohol boosted by 34 per cent year-on-year. Confectionery and take-home savouries also grew ahead of the total market 18.9 per cent and 17.4 per cent year-on-year.”


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Anonymous street artist Banksy is told to reveal his identity amid legal bid to stop his controversial artworks from being copied in Australia
- Banksy has filed trademark’s for two pieces via Perth law firm Bennett & Co
- Wants to stop Australian’s from profiting from usage of the popular pieces
- Banksy artworks covered include Girl with Balloon and Love is in the Air
- Melbourne lawyer Tim Golder says artist must identify himself to be successful
Anonymous street artist Banksy has launched a legal action to stop Australians from reproducing his famous works but might have reveal his identity to be successful.
Banksy has applied to trademark his celebrated paintings Girl with Balloon and Love is in the Air via a Perth law firm.
The application, which will stop his art from being printed on posters, handbags, clothing and other objects, will be accepted on June 29 unless objections are filed.
Banksy has made similar attempts to trademark his work in Europe but failed after a court ruled he never had any intention to commercialise the work.
Girl with Balloon is one of the Banksy artworks subject to a copyright claim in Australia and made headlines last year when it was partially shredded in a Sotheby’s Auction House after an unnamed buyer paid $1.93million
Intellectual property specialist Tim Golder from Allens in Melbourne, said if Banksy remained anonymous his legal bid would also fail in Australia.
‘The legal person who owns the right has to make the claim,’ he said. ‘You can’t get out of that,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Speculation has raged over Banksy’s real identity since he made his name with his trademark stencil-style ‘guerrilla’ art in public spaces – on walls in London, Brighton, Bristol and even on the West Bank barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians.
There have been suggestions his real name is Robin Banks, that he used to be a butcher and that his parents think he is simply a painter and decorator.
Rumours have also spread that he is in fact a collection of artists instead of an individual but either way his anonymity has aided in his success as fans try to crack the case.
Intellectual Property Australia received the trademark applications from Banksy’s London-based company Pest Control Office Ltd in July 2019.
Perth law firm Bennett & Co lodged the application which will be accepted after the period for filing an objection expires on June 29, 2021.
The applications that have been entered in Australia are identical to two cancelled by European courts.
The latest rulings, which relate to Radar Rat and Girl with Umbrella, mean he has now lost four trademarks in total.
Banksy has filed a trademark of his famous works, Girl with Balloon (pictured) and Love is in the Air
The anonymous street artist, who has previously said ‘copyright is for losers’, was told he was acting in ‘bad faith’ because he had ‘departed from accepted principles of ethical behaviours or honest commercial and business practices’.
The EU’s Intellectual Property Office ruled that Banksy’s anonymity ‘hinders him from being able to protect this … art under copyright laws without identifying himself’.
Radar Rat is considered one of Banksy’s most iconic works and appeared on a wall in London in 2004 while Girl with Umbrella was created in 2008 in New Orleans.
Banksy had six similar trademark applications cancelled in Europe, as they claimed he cannot remain anonymous and own the works
Girl with Balloon was in headlines last year, being partially shredded in a Sotheby’s Auction House after an unnamed buyer purchased the piece for $1.93million.
The winner of the auction went through with her purchase, receiving a piece of art history.
Love is in the air, or as it is more commonly known, Flower Bomber, shows a man launching a bouquet of flowers as someone would throw a projectile in a riot.
A signed original print of the artwork, planted in Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art by the artist sold for $184,091.


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Indian tech startup heads have joined hands to push for a homegrown digital app ecosystem and approach the Centre for support against Apple and Google’s duopoly over the app market.
The group held an “informal meeting” on September 29 to discuss ways to establish a platform to host local apps to beat App Store (Apple) and Play Store (Google) and create a national-level lobby for representation with the government, sources told The Economic Times.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
Among the founding parties include Murugavel Janakiraman (Matrimony.com), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm) and Yashish Dahiya (Policybazaar), it added.
The group plans to approach the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Finance Ministry to seek redressal against the latest commission increase on purchases made via Google Play Store.
It will also seek to push the topic with the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the National Payments Corporation of India and the Competition Commission of India, it added.
Janakiraman suggested the creation of a government monitored body to ensure ‘app neutrality’ along the lines of net neutrality, adding that 80 percent of internet access in India is through digital applications which “can't be completely controlled by Google since they own the Play Store."
CCAvenue Founder and Chairman of the Payments Council of India Vishwas Patel also pushed for government intervention, highlighting the need in case of “restrictions imposed due to geopolitical tensions.”
The Centre has not received any request yet, but would take up the matter if approached, an official told the paper.
Google did not respond to queries on the matter, the report added.Google had on September 29 said that apps that choose to sell digital content through its Play Store will have to use the Google Play billing system and pay a percentage of the in-app purchase as a fee. But startups raised concerns about Google forcing Indian app developers and owners to sell digital services by compulsorily using its billing system, and giving the US-based company a 30 percent fee on each transaction.


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Connected TV is certainly the next big thing in media and advertising, but why has it taken so long to take off? The television is the ultimate shared device for watching videos and viewing large images from the comfort of your sofa, and brands are looking to exploit that by linking on-screen content with related material.
It's the next obvious technological leap, but the problem is that the focus has been on being connected, instead of on being smart.
Connected TV is seen by many as the saviour of television advertising; it combines the broad, living room reach of the TV with interactivity and tracking ability. Certain types of content are clearly best viewed on a TV and there are already several million smart TVs in the UK – globally, the market is forecast to reach 119m by 2014.
The TV is where apps can take content and make it communal and interactive. Most devices are personal but the TV is about sharing an experience, so content that's intended for sharing will always work best on a TV – it simply becomes richer. When you get it right the response can be amazing. When Spanish TV company RTVE launched its first TV app it got 100,000 downloads in the first four weeks, adding 10,000 to 12,000 new customers a day.
But there have been two key challenges for the sector. The first is technological complexity; similar to the early days of mobile, there are a multitude of platforms and the complexity of the market has been slowing brand adaptation.
Brands can be paralysed trying to prioritise between iPhone, Android, Windows, Blackberry or Nokia. In TV the challenge has been to decide between Samsung, LG, Philips, Sharp, Opera and Google TV. Mobile remains a complex market and at the recent Mobile World Congress, FT.com's managing director Rob Grimshaw admitted that the complexity of mobile platforms, and predicting which will prove most successful, remains a challenge.
The second challenge has been to persuade consumers to connect their internet-ready TVs. According to US research by In-Stat only half of those who own an internet-ready TV have connected it, and in the UK the numbers are said to be even lower, at around 40%. For some it's too complicated, and for others there's no compelling reason to make the effort.
Technology developments are already addressing the first problem. Our own offering is the TV App Agency engine, which means brands can deploy multiple platform-ready apps from a single source code. It means the only remaining task is to get smart about what the app can do. Being smart about connected TV means understanding what consumers want, and making that easily accessible.
For brands who want to be in the living room, but aren't already a TV channel, that means taking full advantage of the connected opportunity. After all, most people are using smartphones and tablets while watching TV – according to the latest Nielsen figures that's 70% of tablet owners and 68% of smartphone users.
It means finding a way to make content work across a number of devices. Dual screen apps are now being developed that allow a smartphone and a smart TV to interact, to search for, navigate and display content. It is also much easier to use a smartphone or tablet to enter words, search for content or post updates on Facebook and Twitter and then display the results on a smart TV.
The general rule is: if it's personal or requires data entry then use the smartphone or tablet; for discovery and to view or share then use a smart TV.
With dual screen apps, the second screen is starting to complement the user experience, enabling consumers to dynamically interact with content on their TV sets, and making the experience more immersive. It's also going to enable recommendations and advertising campaigns that offer a lot more scope for interaction, but above all it will deliver a lot more data that will enable brands to better understand consumer patterns.
The reality is that combining multiplescreen connections into one device stream is revolutionising media consumption. Instead of taking viewers away from the TV to their computers, we must combine all the devices to give consumers what they want, where and when they want it – we just have to be smart enough to do it right.


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Revolt Intellicorp, which made its debut with the Revolt RV400 and Revolt RV300 in August 2019, is all set to expand its India footprint by entering new markets. The company already has presence in Delhi and Pune, and now intends to expand into multiple cities this year. First, Revolt will begin operations with sales points in Ahmedabad on February 29, followed by Hyderabad on March 2, Chennai on March 5 and Mumbai by the end of March 2020. According to the company, waiting period of its AI-enabled motorcycles, including the flagship Revolt RV400, has been brought down from five months to just 90 days for orders starting from March.
“Since our commercial launch last year in August, we have constantly been receiving interest from consumers and dealers alike in other markets. The overall response to both motorcycles has been phenomenal and it surely indicates that the consumer shift is already underway, and that India is ready for an electric revolution. It reinforces our intent to continually deliver consumer delight and making EVs accessible to the masses. We have now got the delivery waiting period down to 90 days, that should help us in accelerating in getting more motorcycles on the road in the cities soon,” said Rahul Sharma, Founder, Revolt Intellicorp Private Limited.
The Revolt RV 400 is packed with new generation features, like cloud connectivity, synthesised sounds and a dedicated mobile app
The Revolt RV400 comes with introductory benefits such as unlimited battery warranty (8 years or 1,50,000 km), free maintenance benefits (3 years or 30,000 km), product warranty (5 years or 75,000 km) and insurance (1 year company owned, 5 years third-party). The Revolt RV400 is powered by a 3.24 kWh lithium-ion battery that generates 72V of power and comes with a claimed maximum range of 150 km on a single charge. The RV400 has a claimed top speed of 85 kmph. The RV400 comes with a ground clearance of 215 mm and the portable battery can be charged fully in 4.5 hours. The portable batteries can be swapped from switch stations with fully charged batteries as well.
The MyRevolt App comes with a host of features, including trips monitor, geo-fencing, locate your bike, and comes with four pre-set sounds which can be selected from the app. With the My Revolt Plan, the Revolt RV300 can be purchased for ₹ 2,999 per month, and the Revolt RV400 can be purchased for ₹ 3,499 per month, or ₹ 3,999 per month, depending on the plan chosen by the customer.
Source: Read Full Article


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Another edition in the Business series workshop organised by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, holds at the Bank’s Marine Head office, Lagos.
“Financial fitness: Balancing health and wealth for small business owners.’
UBA’s Head, SME Banking, Babatunde Ajayi, said with the vast experience of the panelists that would grace the event, the series will yield the intended result of pointing small business owners in the direction that will help galvanise their brands and position it in such a way as to attract the right customers.
Ajayi pointed out that UBA’s unending commitment and deep passion to help small businesses, which according to him, remains the engine of any developing economy.
Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Alero Ladipo, said the bank’s passion is hinged on ensuring that customers and entrepreneurs run businesses that can stand the test of time with the requisite knowledge and experience required to take their businesses to the next level.
She further emphasised UBA’s commitment and deep passion for small businesses, which according to her, remains the engine of any developing economy, adding: “We know small businesses are the backbone of the economy in every country of the world.”
In many climes, businesses with fewer than 100 employees account for 98.2 per cent of all businesses. This no doubt captures the importance of SMEs to a thriving economy which is why UBA is committed to seeing them flourish,” she said.


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INDIANAPOLIS. Marty Trowbridge is Chief Operating Officer of WidgeTek, a manufacturer with locations throughout the midwest. “Our business is crucial to customers who buy our stuff,” he says, “whatever it may be.”
Trowbridge: “There’s somebody dicking around with a bracket sheet right now!”
But last week productivity stalled at the manufacturer of fly-wheel hasps and pneumatic flanges, then…
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The German publication Auto Motor und Sport reported over the weekend in Suzuka that McLaren is looking to purchase BMW's F1 engine division in the wake of the team's departure from the sport.
The report is the latest wrinkle in the developing potentiality of the team's equity partner—Mercedes—reportedly agreeing to take a controlling stake in Brawn GP after their exclusive works partnership contract ends at the conclusion of the 2011 championship.
As part of the rumored plan, McLaren may agree to terminate the end of their contract with Mercedes two seasons prematurely so that they may commence early with a project to become a completely in-house F1 constructor. The Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, who currently own 30 percent of McLaren, would step up their investment in the team to fund the independent engine project.
Former Team Principal Ron Dennis is rumored to be spearheading the agenda. He is believed to have ambitious for McLaren to follow in the footsteps of Ferrari and become a competitive road car manufacturer after beginning in motorsports.
This latest story also follows the launch of McLaren Automotive's Latest sports car, the lightweight MP4-12c. Set to compete with the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Lamborghini Gallardo, it is the first in a line of planned new McLaren sports cars, and it is powered by an in-house McLaren 3.8L V8 engine.
McLaren Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh gave a coy response when questioned about he matter, saying "We have no plans to buy BMW's engines." Of course, the report suggests they'd be buying the division and using it to build engines under a McLaren plate, not the current BMW engines themselves.


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Eric Dell, senior vice president of external affairs for NAMA, told attendees at the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s Science Forum in Washington, DC, late last month that micro-markets may account for about 4% of the $25.1 billion convenience services market, but their popularity and presence is growing fast.
“Since 2016, micro markets grew exponentially” from a roughly $1 billion industry with just shy of 20,000 locations to “probably $2 billion with about 30,000 locations around the country,” Dell said. “And you are going to see these more and more” as retailers, brands and service providers realize they can earn a significantly higher margin on the same products that would be sold in a vending machine.
He explained that commissaries can serve the exact same sandwich that they typically would offer in a vending machine at a micro-market for double the price – allowing them to ring up a margin of 20% versus 5% in the vending machine.
“Consumers are willing to pay more in a micro market than from a vending machine because they pick something up and touch it and feel it and get the sense of it as a fresher product, whether it is or not,” Dell said.
“We have seen sales sky rocket in terms of fresh foods, such as sandwiches, compared to vending machines. Fresh sandwich sales out of vending machines may be, in the entire industry, 1% to 5% of sales. But fresh food in a micro-market with the same employee base is 20% to 30%. And that includes salads, fruits, vegetables and those kinds of things,” he said.
The format also is gaining popularity because it is flexible and the offerings can be tailored easily to meet the needs of the primary shopper for specific stores, which are always operated in a controlled environment, rather than open to the public.
For example, he noted, that many offices are replacing traditional cafeterias, “which are not as popular as they used to be,” with unattended food establishments or building micro-markets in the same spaces that once held a bank of vending machine.
Overcoming food safety hurdles
The format does have unique challenge that retailers must address to ensure the safety of consumers and the longevity of the format, Dell said.
He explained that because the shops are unmanned they need to use self-locking refrigerators that will stop consumers from accessing food if the temperature drops out of the safety range for an unsafe period of time.
Similarly, because the stores do not have an employee to monitor consumer behavior, ready-to-drink options are a better fit than self-serve machines or fresh coffee that is more typical of a QSR, Dell said. This in turn is creating an opportunity and demand for more premium packaged options that many startups are rising to fill.
Many micro-markets also use cameras to record and store activity for several days to both alert an employee at headquarters if something is amiss and to provide information potentially necessary in a trace back scenario.
“There also is a lot of innovation in the industry that is starting to push forward on things, such as a kiosk that will now report back in real time to the person who owns the micro market if something is wrong,” Dell said.
As legislative barriers fall more players will enter the space
NAMA also is actively engaged with legislators at the national, state and county level to help streamline regulatory oversight of micro-markets, which currently face a patchwork of regulatory requirements, Dell said.
“It has taken us about nine years of working on this … but in April we got some language that came out and we are now recommending to FDA to put in the US food code to protect the food safety” in unmanned micro markets, Dell said.
This includes guidelines such as what type of food can be sold – commercially packaged products and not bulk items, and guidelines for food service equipment.
Once these safeguards are in place, Dell expects more national retailers and brands to get behind the format. For example, he noted that Kroger already has a handful of micro markets as does 7-11, which has branded ‘stores’ in several work places in the Washington, DC, area.
“You are going to see other player in the c-store industry come into this space and start doing micro markets so they can reach the consumer in the workplace more directly,” and when they do that CPG brands – including smaller local companies – will have more options to reach shoppers as well, he said.


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City BBQ is once again partnering with Resurrecting Lives Foundation to raise money through special new-year tumbler sales.
During the month of January, the restaurant will be offering a new artist-designed limited edition refillable tumbler for just $5. The cup, which sells out early every year, will feature free refills through the end of March, 2018. All proceeds from the sale of the cup will be donated to Resurrecting Lives Foundation.
“Resurrecting Lives Foundation is so pleased to partner again this year with City BBQ on their tumbler sales,” said Chrisanne Gordon, RLF Founder. “Funds raised in past years have enabled RLF to provide transition services for veterans with TBI seeking employment, scholarships to receive training in meditation, and support collaborations with the Intrepid Centers and Military Traumatic Brain Injury rehab facilities, to mention just a few of our initiatives. We thank you in advance for your purchase of one of these cups during the month of January.”
This promotion to benefit RLF is happening at all 38 City BBQ in six states. Visit the City BBQ blog at https://www.citybbq.com/blog/


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Having just put a massive recall behind itself in March of 2010, Nissan announced another major recall in the United States, Canada, Japan, and several countries in Europe on October 28th. The latest Nissan recall, according to the UK’s Daily Mail, affects 2.14 million cars and over a dozen models, with the majority in The United States and Japan (2010). Recalls are nothing new in the automotive industry, but for such a stable and trusted brand as Nissan to issue two significant recalls in the same year, many car owners are starting to have their doubts about Nissan.
The latest Nissan recall is due to a problem with the cars’ ignition that could cause them to stall while moving (Daily Mail, 2010). Anyone who’s ever tried to steer or brake in a car that has either stalled, or is off and in neutral will understand why this could be a serious issue – it is very difficult to steer or brake in a car that isn’t running. The fix for the cars in this Nissan recall, according to Laurent Belsie of the Christian Science Monitor, involves a change out of ignition relay and can be done in half an hour (2010). Failure to have the problem fixed could result in your vehicle stalling while in use, or may result in difficulty starting your Nissan.
Several of the models involved in the October 2010 recall are:
• Nissan Micra (Europe)
• Nissan Cube
• Nissan March
• Nissan Tiida (Japan and Europe)
• Nissan Armadas (2004-2006)
• Nissan Titan (2004-2006)
• Infiniti QX56 (2004-2006)
• Nissan Frontier (2005-2006)
• Nissan Pathfinder (2005-2006)
• Nissan Xterra (2005-2006)
If you own one of the abovementioned vehicles, Nissan will contact you beginning in December to instruct you to schedule an appointment with your local Nissan repair facility for a free replacement of the faulty ignition relay (Belsie, 2010). Again, this is a free repair provided as part of the Nissan recall. Don’t wait if you have already experienced an ignition problem, however. Now that the manufacturing defect is known, if this problem is occurring to your car, it will be fixed as part of the Nissan recall. The delay until December to contact people is merely so Nissan can coordinate with its repair facilities and insure that they all have the necessary replacement parts (Belsie, 2010).
Nissan is still a great brand overall, and I still trust my 2010 Nissan Altima, which is unaffected by this recall. It just goes to show that every auto manufacturer is subject to quality defects. How they handle problems speaks volumes for the company. There is little doubt that the latest Nissan recall will be handled with the utmost diligence and efforts will be made to insure that Nissan continues to produce quality cars.
Daily Mail Reporter (2010). Nissan, we have a problem: Car giant to call back 2.14m cars with stalling fault. UK Daily Mail.
Belsie, Laurent. (2010). Nissan cars recalled: Ignition problem? Do this. Christian Science Monitor.


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Penn South Capital, Conway Capital and Rudd Realty Buy LES Building for $12.9M
The deal for the 1920 six-story 101-103 Stanton Street at the corner of Ludlow Streets closed today, according to Conway Capital Partner Abe Cohen. The seller was 101 Owners Corp., led by Michelle Goldstein and Charles Brick, which acquired the property for $2.7 million in 2004, city records indicate.
The new ownership group “plans to renovate the vacant apartments as well as secure new tenants for one of the most exciting retail plays in the Lower East Side,” Cohen said.
Ten of the units are market-rate and all of them are vacant, he said. The ground-floor retail space is 2,200 square feet with tenants Prema Hair and Ma Non Troppo women’s boutique.
Cohen noted that the newly formed joint venture was “formed to capitalize on the complimentary skill sets and strengths and intends to continue purchasing value-add deals in up-and-coming sub-markets of New York City.”
Penn South Capital will oversee the development of the property along with Rudd Realty; Conway Capital is leading the retail repositioning and Rudd Realty Management is handling the property management.
The building has eight open New York City Department of Buildings complaints and violations but Cohen said the “seller gave us credit to cure them.”


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After demonstrating a rapid surge in value in the past three days, the Bitcoin price has recorded a slight correction, decreasing from over $4,900 to $4,780.
Despite the correction, since October 8, within a span of three days, the Bitcoin price has increased from $4,450 to $4,780, sustaining strong upward momentum as a result of growing confidence from investors and traders over Bitcoin’s short and mid-term growth.
Possible Factors For Correction
The Bitcoin price has surged drastically over the past three days, from $4,450 to $4,980, recording a $530 increase. Normally, when the price of Bitcoin increases by over 10 percent, it tends to correct its short-term surge, providing a more stable platform to build momentum and achieve new highs.
In the upcoming days, the Bitcoin price will likely recover from its recent correction to above the $5,000 mark due to the upcoming SegWit2x hard fork in November.
Earlier this week, Bitcoin analyst and investor Tuur Demeester emphasized the decline in support of SegWit2x as a driving factor for the short-term price trend of Bitcoin. He noted that if more users, investors, the market, and businesses oppose the SegWit2x hard fork in November and the likelihood of the original Bitcoin blockchain remaining as the majority chain increases, the price of Bitcoin would likely surge in the short-term.
But, the rise in demand for Bitcoin can also be attributed to the hard fork execution of SegWit2x in November because in order for investors to obtain SegWit2x coins, which leading Bitcoin wallets and exchanges including Coinbase and Bitfinex will list as B2X, investors need to own Bitcoin prior to the SegWit2x fork.
While the replay protection implemented by the SegWit2x has been highly controversial–Jameson Lopp, the lead engineer for BitGo, went as far to describe it as a type of attack on Bitcoin–SegWit2x has implemented opt-in replay protection that would allow Bitcoin investors to be credited with SegWit2x coins or B2X tokens subsequent to the fork.
As Bitcoin developer and Paxos principal architect Jimmy Song explained:
“Segwit2x developers feel that they are going to be the majority chain after the hard fork. As such, they want all current wallets that exist in the Bitcoin ecosystem to be compatible with 2x and not require upgrades. That is, wallets and services won’t need to upgrade their software with opt-in replay protection. Their view is that strong replay protection would then cause a bigger split in the ecosystem than needs to be.”
In the short-term, the SegWit2x hard fork in November is beneficial for the price trend of Bitcoin because investors that either oppose or support the hard fork will still opt to purchase more Bitcoin for different reasons; investors that are confident the original Bitcoin blockchain would remain as the majority chain would invest in Bitcoin to hold the digital currency as it increases in value, while investors that are confident SegWit2x would evolve into a majority chain would also invest in Bitcoin to gain immediate access to SegWit2x coins after the fork.
Additionally, if the US, Japanese, and South Korean Bitcoin markets continue to demonstrate increase in demand for Bitcoin, and if the Russian government moves to licensing Bitcoin exchanges and regulating cryptocurrency trading activities as Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted this week, the price of Bitcoin could increase in the short-term.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
PlexCoin Founder Gets Jail Time, Fine on Contempt Charge
U.S. and Canadian authorities appear determined to make an example of a recent initial coin offering.
On Friday, a Canadian court ordered a two-month jail sentence against PlexCoin creator Dominic
'Bitcoin Jesus' is 'really, really concerned' about the future of the digital currency
An early bitcoin investor said Monday the digital currency can run higher, but the hype has far outpaced its usability. "I think in the short run it can run up a lot more," Roger Ver, CEO of
Bitcoin has aspects of a bubble, but it's OK to 'play' with it: Economist Robert Shiller
Bitcoin has "aspects of a bubble" but it's almost impossible to know whether it's gone too far, Nobel-winning economist Robert Shiller told CNBC on Monday. Bitcoin has been on a wild ride
Futures Launch Puts Record Bitcoin Highs Back in Play – Yahoo Finance
Digital currency bitcoin begins trading on major exchange for first time in Chicago WLS-TVBitcoin Futures Started So Hot That Trading Had to Be Halted Twice FortuneBusiness Insider Â âCNNMoney Â â
Understanding Futures: A Primer for Bitcoiners
Lanre Sarumi is the CEO of Level Trading Field, an interactive online platform for professionals in the finance industry.
"Study the past if you would define the future." – Confucius
Bitcoin Price Back Above $17k to Set New All-Time High
The price of bitcoin has pushed back above $17,000, hitting a new all-time high on CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).
As of press time, the BPI had climbed as high as $17,382.64, beating the $17
People are taking out mortgages to buy bitcoin, says securities regulator
Bitcoin is in the "mania" phase, with some people even borrowing money to get in on the action, securities regulator Joseph Borg told CNBC on Monday. "We've seen mortgages being taken out to buy
Two Firms File Bitcoin ETF Applications in Wake of CBOE Futures Launch
Two exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to create Bitcoin ETF products that trade in cryptocurrency derivatives.
According to the


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Racy knickers brand Victoria’s Secret is set to launch a new female sportswear range known as Victoria Sport and already its intentions appear clear – steal Nike customers.
The brand expansion comes amid spluttering sales of its lingerie range globally (it canned its swimwear range in April) and a move in marketing for females to be shown as healthy and fit and not just sexy and long-legged. There’s also been a huge demand for “athleisure wear” in recent times, or sportswear that’s not necessarily worn for doing anything sporty.
Victoria Sport launched yesterday with a racy social media campaign that still featured the obligatory supermodels. The trio of beauties are then interviewed on their views of what constitutes a comfortable sports bra.
On its website the company says “the worlds #1 bra brand just created the world’s best sport bras” and includes a quote from supermodel and regular Victoria Secret “Angel” Jasmine Tookes (below) saying, “When I tried these, I threw out all my Nike bras.”
On its site, Victoria Sports talks about the importance of its sports bras and the different sizes for women’s body shapes. They come in widths 30-40 and A-DDD, rather than just XS-XL. “If a bra doesn’t fit, you won’t wear it,” the site proclaims.
And it’s clear that sports bras is where everybody thinks the battle will be won or lost.
Coincidentally, yesterday Nike posted an image of the plus-size model Paloma Elsesser to its Nike Women’s Instagram account.
Typically, viewers of the site get super-fit models wearing the sports giant’s gear (see above); however, the new approach with Elsesser has proven a winner. It’s already garnered 70,000 likes and attracted comments such as these: “Beautiful. More of this please, @nikewomen”, “Let’s hear it for the curvy, sexy, sporty, women,” and “Love love love! I know a few brands who could learn from this ad.
Twitter has just experienced its fastest growth in revenue since 2014, with the social media platform benefiting from increased interest from advertisers. Revenue was up 74 per cent YoY, according to the company’s Q2 results, reaching $US1.19 billion ($1.6 billion) from $US683.4 million ($925 million) 12 months ago. The strong results came in the same […]
Wild Turkey has announced the launch of its new global creative campaign and platform, ‘Trust Your Spirit’, featuring the brand’s creative director and spokesperson, Matthew McConaughey. The global campaign and platform ‘Trust Your Spirit’ is to encourage people to be bold, unapologetically themselves, and stay true to who they are. The global tagline and ethos […]
Telecommunications company Optus has announced it will launch the world’s first TikTok sign-language activated filter. Featuring Optus ambassador Ian Thorpe, Optus will unveil a branded effect that shows TikTok users how to say key phrases in Auslan sign language, including ‘How are you?’ and ‘It starts with Yes’, through the hashtag challenge #SignYes. Optus will […]
Podsights has revealed new insights into the effectiveness of advertising in podcasts, tracking global and Australian podcast advertising trends. This is the first Australian report to be published since ARN partnered with Podsights to set the standard for best-in-class podcast advertising measurement. The report includes additional analysis and follows a series of Measurement Masterclasses held for […]
NGEN’s 2021 charity cup has raised over $175,000 for UnLtd charity partner Gotcha4Life. Gotcha4Life is a not-for-profit foundation raising awareness and funding to provide educational workshops and innovative programs that build mental fitness in individuals and communities. While Sydney and Brisbane completed the Charity Cup in June, before Covid restrictions hit, the final leg in […]
Australian tech incubator Cicada Innovations and Biennale of Sydney are launching the ‘New & Sustainable Materials Challenge,’ in an effort to create a more sustainable future. The works of chosen material-makers will be showcased to millions of Biennale audiences, exhibition partners, and exhibition makers globally. The Challenge is open to any Australian and UK startups, […]


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“The jury is still out,” for many who have invested in marketing through social media – because they can’t measure the results, according to a new report.
That’s the verdict from 47% of the 800-plus industry professionals quizzed for Econsultancy’s Social Media and PR report 2010. Respondents included client-side marketers and PR professionals as well as supply-side respondents. Of them, 76% said they didn’t have an ROI figure for most of the money invested in the channel.
Some 83% of respondents said they’d used Twitter for their social media activity, while 80% had used Facebook. But there’s been a decline, since last year, in the proportion of companies using other social media-related websites and technologies from podcasts to social bookmarking and virtual worlds.
While 83% of companies expected to spend more on social media over the next year (compared to 86% in Econsultancy’s 2009 report), most companies’ spending is relatively low. Some 28% are spending nothing at all, while 33% spend less than £5,000 a year.
And 29% of companies don’t have a dedicated member of staff working in this area, while 32% have only one. Forty-nine per cent say lack of resources is a barrier to success and 30% say lack of budget holds them back.
Econsultancy research director Linus Gregoriadis said: “2010 has been a year in which companies have tried to become more focused in their social media marketing activity. Much of their activity is concentrated on the use of Twitter and Facebook, with the vast majority of companies (83% and 80% of respondents respectively) using these sites as part of their social media strategy.
“Companies are harnessing these sites for a range of business functions including marketing, sales, customer service and product development.”
He added: “Newer areas such as location-based marketing and social gaming are now being hyped in the media, although the data shows that very few companies have so far actually become involved.”
However, Andrew Girdwood, head of strategy at bigmouthmedia, points out: “Twenty-eight per cent of respondents to the survey worked exclusively in B2B channels and this further underlines social media as a business tool and not an entertainment fad.”


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Rail commuters, who drive to the train station, could save an average of £587 on the cost of their journey to work in 2017, despite train ticket price hikes, simply by shopping around for their parking.
According to YourParkingSpace.co.uk, railway passengers in Guildford could save £800 annually on parking; £680 by shopping around in Reading; £480 in Harlow, and £400 in Tunbridge Wells. Further north, those travelling from Leamington Spa could save £440, while commuters in Warrington could save £720.
Train fares in Britain will go up by an average of 2.3% from 2 January, increasing annual train fares for passengers travelling from Guildford to London Waterloo by £64, Tunbridge Wells to London Charring Cross by £80 and Leamington Spa to London Marylebone by £144.
While the recent announcement that fares will increase yet again next year may have come as a blow to rail passengers up and down the country, Harrison Woods, of YourParkingSpace.co.uk, believes that by shopping around for parking, rather than heading straight to the train station car park, commuters can prevent the price hike from hitting their pockets.
“The growing popularity of people renting out their private parking spaces, including their front drives, means that local residents are undercutting commercial car parks. By looking for a cheaper place to park, commuters can make huge savings to the cost of a journey,” commented Woods.
Mr Woods explained that booking parking spaces in advance also allows commuters to be more flexible with their travel arrangements. Train stations cannot guarantee parking spaces, even for those who have bought season tickets, meaning that many have to arrive before 7.00am to get a space. For some, even getting a parking season ticket can be a challenge, with stations such as Tunbridge Wells currently having waiting lists of over 50 people. “Train stations can be notoriously difficult places to find a parking space, so by booking in advance commuters can guarantee to have a parking space waiting for them when they arrive,” Woods added.


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New Yorkers who wish to get in form for the summer season will quickly have the ability to pay for an Equinox membership with cryptocurrency, The Submit has realized.
The posh well being membership will turn out to be the primary health club within the Large Apple to permit members to pay their membership charge in digital foreign money, a supply informed The Submit on Sunday.
The health club is predicted to announce the choice to simply accept crypto funds on Monday.
Equinox needs to satisfy members “the place they’re each digitally and bodily” and is partnering with BitPay, a serious bitcoin and crypto fee service, the supply stated.
The choice comes as gyms have all however recovered from their main pandemic droop. Equinox stated gross sales have been up 122% in Q1 when in comparison with Q1 in 2019 and Crunch gyms informed The Submit its gross sales are up 60.9% in Q1 in comparison with the identical time-frame.
Equinox, which prices upwards of $250 per 30 days, is hardly the primary luxurious model to begin permitting clients to pay in cryptocurrency.
Final summer season, the San Jose Sharks turned the first NHL team to permit followers to make use of Bitcoin to purchase season tickets and suite leases.
This previous February, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated the ride-hailing app will “completely” settle for cryptocurrency as fee sooner or later.
Even Fidelity announced final week that it created a method for staff to funnel a few of their 401k contributions to Bitcoin.
Equinox’s determination comes at a turbulent time for Bitcoin, which could soon slump to $30,000 as buyers transfer money from speculative belongings to safer bets, market watchers informed The Submit in April.


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Mycelium, one of the oldest and most well-established mobile Bitcoin wallets, has become the latest crypto wallet to join the Foundation for Interwallet Operability (FIO), in a move that demonstrates the FIO Protocol’s growing support among major wallets, exchanges, and crypto payment processors.
Mycelium joins some of the world’s leading wallets and exchanges – ShapeShift.io, KeepKey, Coinomi, MyCrypto, BRD, and Edge – as members of the FIO, which seeks to accelerate blockchain adoption by reducing the risk, complexity, and inconvenience of sending and receiving tokens and coins.
Mycelium has released some of the most popular products for Bitcoin. At its peak, the Mycelium wallet was handling about 10 to 15% of all Bitcoin transactions, and was one of the most popular crypto wallets in China. The company is frequently introducing new tools to supplement the functionality and usability of the wallet, leading to the synergy between Mycelium and the FIO Protocol.
FIO’s new, decentralized, open-source blockchain protocol, which is being built by Dapix, will provide an enhanced layer of usability features for existing and future wallets and exchanges. It’s a decentralized PayPal-like platform that removes the risk, complexity, and inconvenience of sending and receiving tokens and coins. It will offer a standardized set of open source APIs and SDKs that can be globally adopted and integrated into any wallet, exchange, or crypto payment processor seamlessly.
All blockchain tokens and coins will be fully compatible with the FIO Protocol, with no blockchain code changes required. When launched, it will be a self standing, open source, fully decentralized ledger that never sits in the middle of the underlying transaction of any blockchain. Rather, the FIO Protocol operates in parallel to existing blockchain mechanisms, and provides an enhanced set of usability features.
“We’re delighted to have Mycelium join the growing list of existing FIO members and future adopters of the FIO Protocol, who believe in advancing the usability of blockchain for their users,” said David Gold, the founder and CEO of Dapix. “By making it user friendly to move tokens around, the FIO Protocol will be a driving force behind cryptocurrency adoption for more than just alternative investment and we look forward to more key players joining us in 2019.”
The FIO Protocol will initially focus on three core areas of functionality:
– FIO Addresses – Human readable wallet addresses that work instantly with every token or coin each wallet or exchange supports.
– FIO Workflow – Virtually error-free in-wallet payment request-initiated transactions.
– FIO Data – The ability to include private metadata on send/receive transactions across any blockchain.
“Joining FIO and supporting the FIO Protocol makes complete sense because we believe it will be an important milestone in the wider adoption of cryptocurrencies. We look forward to working with the founding members in helping to ensure this project is as successful as possible,” said Alexander Kuzmin, Founder of Mycelium.
Additional wallets, exchanges, and crypto payment processors can learn more about the Foundation and the benefits of becoming a member by visiting https://fio.foundation


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What do Mattress Firm, Mark Cuban, Pitbull, Ford and GM have in common?
They all inserted themselves in some way into hurricane relief efforts or other high-profile current events when they could have stayed silent. In many cases, they took the risk of igniting political attention and looking like they were taking advantage of a tragedy simply to gain notoriety for their brands. But each one also successfully navigated tricky political and cultural challenges because the actions they took were aligned with their beliefs, backgrounds and brand identities.
Deciding to donate money to hurricane relief can create other issues. For example, if your company quickly decided to donate money or supplies to one hurricane relief, should you also provide similar aid to other hurricane relief efforts? Once a company or organization starts down this road, where do you stop? Where do you draw the line?
The magic cause-marketing formula is to find a way to participate that is authentic without being excessively promotional. For example, Mattress Firm teamed up with the Houston Furniture Bank to donate nearly 2,800 mattresses and box springs to families affected by Hurricane Harvey. This seems logical given that there was a need for mattresses and the company is based in Houston. Mattress Firm also has a national retail footprint, creating a channel for their customers across the country to connect with the cause.
A few weeks later, when U.S. aid to Puerto Rico was floundering, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban let point guard J.J. Barea, a Puerto Rico native, borrow his plane in order to bring food, water and other supplies to aid in the recovery from Hurricane Maria. According to ESPN, Barea is the NBA's only active player who is a native Puerto Rican. “The Mavs plane delivering to Puerto Rico just landed!” Cuban said on Twitter.
Find Alignment Within Your Brand
Puerto Rican rapper Pitbull and other music stars also stepped into hurricane relief efforts. Fat Joe worked with Jay-Z, online music service Tidal and others to send 200,000 pounds of supplies to Puerto Rico. The effort generated headlines such as, “Fat Joe Is Doing What Trump Couldn't Do For Puerto Rican Hurricane Victims.” Fat Joe, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez and others also teamed up last year for a concert to benefit hurricane relief efforts.
What these actions illustrate is that a successful corporate response to national tragedies works best when the involvement is consistent with the brand. When designed properly, they also help the company draw the line when another, similar event comes along that doesn’t fit with the company’s mission.
In contrast, a promotion or even a discount around a hurricane or other natural disaster would reek of insensitivity or greed and could have a lasting negative impact on your company or brand. After the 2012 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, KFC, Microsoft’s Bing and Gilbert Gottfried found this out the hard way after tweets and ill-conceived marketing efforts were widely criticized.
So, how do you balance sensitivity and opportunity? Timeliness. In today’s hyper-fast, social media-driven world, speed is essential for success. There is a risk of ceding the high ground to competitors if no action is taken, but waiting too long also makes the move seem less about conscience and more about capital.
Keep It Simple
Last September, Saudi Arabia's King Salman made the decision to allow women to drive. As a result, several automakers welcomed the change with advertisements and social media statements. Ford drew the most attention for a simple yet eye-catching ad. The automaker posted an image of a woman’s eyes in a rearview mirror, surrounded by black, creating the image of a veil. “The beauty is in the simplicity -- an advantage the Ford work had over competing efforts from brands like Nissan and Volkswagen,” Adweek reported.
When Prince died in 2016, General Motors responded on Twitter with a shot of a red Corvette on an all-black background that said, “Baby, that was much too fast: 1958-2016.” The image was also featured in several full-page newspaper ads. The ad was praised for its simplicity. It resonated as a tasteful and touching ad because of Prince’s hit 1982 song, “Little Red Corvette.”
The lesson here: Use equal parts sensibility, sensitivity and relevance before connecting your brand or organization to a tragedy. Proceed with caution to avoid creating your own PR disaster and remember, “opportunistic” is a double-edged sword and only one way cuts in your favor.


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A report claims to have details on which titles will support this technology.
The new super-sampling technology, aka AMD Fidelity FX Super Resolution, will be released on June 22nd. Before that, a report appears to have revealed the kind of support users expect in the near future. This report releases details on which games will support this technology at launch, which ones will be adding it soon, and which l0 developers they are currently supporting.
AMD Fidelity FX Super Resolution will launch, as mentioned, on June 22nd and will be supported by seven games. These titles are: The Riftbreaker, Anno 1800, Terminator Resistance, 22 Racing Series, Evil Genious 2, KingShunt and Godfall. Meanwhile, many others are planning to support this new type of super-sampling. The twelve games mentioned are: Far Cry 6, Resident Evil Village, Baldur's Gate 3, DOTA 2, Farming Simulator 22, Forspoken, Swordsman Remake, Necromunda: Hired Gun, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt, Asterigos Edge of Eternity and Myst.
Finally, the report indicates that at present, approximately 44 developers and publishers across the industry are working with this new technology from AMD. This list also includes several big names, including Bloober Team, Crystal Dynamics, Focus Home Interactive, Rebellion, Capcom, Electronic Arts, Gearbox Larian Studios, and many more.
This is an unconfirmed report, but with the FSR launching soon, much more concrete news is expected shortly.


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PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett and are the upcoming next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Inti Creates president Takuya Aizu talked about these upcoming consoles and how they should learn from the Nintendo Switch.
The major selling point of the Nintendo Switch is that you can play games on it anywhere you go and when you come home you can plug it into the dock and play games on the big screen. Aizu mentioned that it will be difficult for upcoming consoles to compete because exclusive games are dying.
Games release on multiple platforms now and if that does not happen at first then games are ported to other platforms later on. Takuya Aizu mentioned that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett need to have exclusive games at launch in order to please the fans. Here is what he had to say regarding the matter:
So when these companies put out new consoles I think one of the most important things for them is going to be how many exclusives they can have at their launch, because if they don’t have those then the chance that they’re going to have a failed launch is going to be pretty high I think.
The Nintendo Switch Lite was recently announced and it will be coming out in the upcoming months. Nintendo will have 2 models of the Nintendo Switch on the market by the time the next generation of consoles comes out. We have also heard about the Nintendo Switch Pro that could release next year.
Uniqueness is very important and if PS5 and Xbox Scarlett want to sell, they will need to provide a unique experience like the Nintendo Switch. But simply copying Nintendo is not going to work either. Sony and Microsoft need to come up with something new.
Platforms like Google Stadia and Project xCloud are going to make things even harder for the upcoming console generation.
Let us know what you think about the upcoming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett and what you think Sony and Microsoft should do to offer a unique experience.


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Think holistically. Make every ingredient matter. Embrace local diversity and seasonal variety.
These directions, along with a few others, are listed under the words “Our Kitchen Philosophy” on a chalkboard by the entrance of Herndon’s newest gastronomic offering: 100 Bowls of Soup.
Visitors mill around a table covered with square white boxes labeled “cinnamon bread”, “bliss bars” and assorted other treat names. On opening day, voices bubble through the open-plan room, as someone pours a drop of Malay curry dip onto a turkey kebob sample.
“Mmm, this is so good, you’ve got to try it,” a female patron sipping from a small, plastic cup filled with turkey broth flavored with ginger and lemongrass, tells her friend.
On the other side of the table, proprietor Katharine Mardirosian, her thick, curly gray hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, chats with Town of Herndon Mayor Lisa Merkel.
Mardirosian owns 100 Bowls of Soup, which celebrated the official opening of its Herndon kitchen on Sept. 12.
“It’s been a journey from cooking out of my own kitchen to moving to a church kitchen and then working out of a small, commercial kitchen,” Mardirosian said. “Moving here was a big step, because it allowed us to expand our soup-making production and offer a small retail store.”
Located in Herndon’s Sunset Park strip mall, 100 Bowls of Soup is an artisanal soup company that specializes in seasonal soup and stock made from scratch with locally-produced, organic ingredients.
In addition to containing a retail store where customers can purchase soup, the Herndon kitchen will also be used to host a series of cooking classes starting Sept. 19 and continuing throughout the fall. Mardirosian shares the space with Deepa Patke, who founded Aromatic Spice Blends, and Deborah Joy, who makes gluten-free baked goods.
Citing her Romanian mother-in-law as an inspiration on the 100 Bowls of Soup website, Mardirosian says that she has always been passionate about making soup and eating healthy food.
“I really like the idea of creating things that were very flavorful and nutritious at the same time,” Mardirosian, a former marketing and business planning consultant, said. “I wanted to work with local farms and use as many local suppliers as I could.”
Initially cooking the soup in her own home and selling it at local farmers’ markets, Mardirosian started 100 Bowls of Soup six years ago and eventually opened up a smaller, commercial kitchen at Maple Avenue Market in Vienna. There, she met both Patke and Joy, two other food entrepreneurs.
Patke started making spices commercially in 2010 at the urging of her husband. Though she used to be a scientist with a PhD in microbiology and a post-doctoral degree in immunology, she left work after the birth of her son and became passionate about cooking instead.
Patke was introduced to Mardirosian when she stopped by a cooking class that Patke had started teaching, and the two women soon became good friends.
“She had this lovely space, and she was wondering if I could share it with her, so I decided to do it,” Patke said.
A resident of Herndon and a former artist, Joy began baking after returning to school and getting a degree in nutrition.
“I didn’t want to sit at a desk all day. That’s not my personality,” Joy said, “so I decided to fill a needed niche of baking really good-tasting gluten-free products.”
She originally made her food in a home kitchen in Leesburg and sold it at farmers’ markets, gradually developing a base of loyal customers. She especially found a following among people with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder where the ingestion of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye products, damages a person’s small intestine.
Joy says that the new 100 Bowls of Soup kitchen is designed to provide meals for people who don’t have time to cook their own food but want something healthier than what they might get from a fast food drive-thru.
“Even though you can’t feel it, the difference between eating healthy food and unhealthy food will show up over time,” she said. “If people just switched and ate healthy foods every day, they would feel better.”
Along with sharing the same retail and cooking space, the three women frequently taste-test each other’s creations and collaborate when experimenting with new recipes. For instance, Joy developed a caraway cauliflower soup that 100 Bowls of Soup will start selling this fall, and Mardirosian often uses Patke’s harissa spice in her soups.
“We just really enjoy being together,” Joy said. “It feels very good working with people who have the same passion and philosophies that you do.”
Mardirosian, whose products are also available at retail stores like MOM’s Organic Market and McLean’s The Organic Butcher and online via the Washington Green Grocer and Hometown Harvest, decided to move from Vienna to the Herndon location because she needed more space.
She likes the transparency of her new location that offers an open floor plan, giving incoming customers a full view of the kitchen from the room’s retail section.
This emphasis on transparency and health makes 100 Bowls of Soup an ideal addition to the Herndon community, according to Merkel, who met Mardirosian, Patke and Joy at a local farmers’ market over the summer, and cut the ribbon at their opening ceremony Sept. 12.
“I love that it’s three women that have come together as entrepreneurs, but also, we’re really excited about locally-owned businesses, especially health-minded businesses,” Merkel said, citing fellow eco/green businesses Green Lizard Cycling and The Hot Spot spa, both located in downtown Herndon. “People are into exercise and fitness, and our farmer’s market attracts people who want to buy healthy foods. I think it’s just that growing families and a diverse community are attracting diverse businesses like this one.”
Mardirosian says that, ultimately, what makes 100 Bowls of Soup special is the cooking staff, who all trained at home rather than professionally.
One of the cooks, Elizabeth Sheridan, started working for Mardirosian two years ago after her youngest child entered middle school, freeing her up to return to the workforce. The job appealed to her because she always enjoyed cooking, and the flexibility means she doesn’t have to sacrifice too much time with her family.
The cooks meet each Thursday to plan the soups they’re going to make for the next week, and they spend the middle days of the week fulfilling retail orders, which are then shipped off on Thursday. Now that the new academic year has started, they also cook for Eastern Ridge School, a small, private school in Great Falls.
“We are what we eat and what we put into ourselves is important,” Sheridan said, adding that she dislikes the additives found in commercially-produced food and prefers eating food cooked from scratch like what she had growing up in England. “That was the way I saw my mom cooking, and I just always intuitively felt that was right for my family.”
Though she is not currently looking to expand to any other locations, Mardirosian says she hopes 100 Bowls of Soup encourages people to pay closer attention to what they eat.
“We’re really motivated to bring healthy food and to help people just be healthier and eat healthier,” Mardirosian said. “It’s a great group of women, who enjoy cooking together, and we just want to spread that.”
For more information, go to: www.100bowlsofsoup.com


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Cricket Australia (CA) has today unveiled its playing kit for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.
The uniform was produced by apparel partner ASICS and features the First Nations design that will appear on all of Australia’s international playing kits.
The playing kit also features the logo of global technology company and existing CA partner, HCLTech on the sleeve.
For the first time, HCLTech has become Australia’s official Team Sponsor at an ICC event and will also feature on the training kit.
HCLTech has been a digital partner since 2019 helping transform CA’s digital assets including cricket.com.au, the CA Live app and PlayCricket, while digitising and streamlining community cricket processes.
Cricket Australia’s Executive General Manager Broadcast & Commercial, Stephanie Beltrame said:
“We’re excited to continue to grow our relationship with HCLTech. Following our recently announced five-year renewal, this is another exciting opportunity in our partnership.
“The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is a major event on the sporting calendar that has huge global reach, so we’re delighted to have trusted global brand in HCLTech continuing to back the Australian team on and off the field.”
HCLTech’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jill Kouri said:
“We’re thrilled to further our partnership with Cricket Australia and support the Australian team at the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
“The HCLTech brand is synonymous with purpose-led partnerships within the global sporting community, and we see the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup as an opportunity to showcase HCLTech and celebrate cricket as a sport.”
The release of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup kit caps off CA’s Kit Week which also saw the unveiling of new Big Bash League and international kits and the announcement of Mitchell & Ness as the exclusive on-field and supporter headwear partner of the Big Bash Leagues.
Australia starts their World Cup campaign against India in Chennai on Sunday, October 8.


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San Luis Obispo-based Honest Label Foods
, a new startup, said today that it has launched both iPhone and Android apps to help consumers sort out food labels. The firm's new app allows users to scan barcodes on food products, and receive more accurate food labeling information on products. According to the firm, its free app will help users flag foods containing ingredients users are looking to avoid; will recalculate daily values based on a person's specific dietary needs and calories, and more. Honest Label Foods was founded by Talor Ernst, who according to his LinkedIn profile recently graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law.
posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2011
> MeFeedia Hits iPhone, Android
> Local.com Launches New iPhone, Android Daily Deals Apps
> DogVacay Updates iPhone, Android Apps
> Fandango Adds PayPal To iPhone, Android Apps
> The Honest Company Launches iOS App


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India’s automotive industry recently overtook Japan to become the third largest in the world after building a sizeable lead over traditionally strong markets such as the UK and Germany. India is currently only behind China and the United States on this list, and positive sentiment and strong demand are likely to keep the spirits going.
The Indian automotive industry is showing sustained growth, especially with increasing demand for passenger cars, tractors and commercial vehicles. The introduction of new models, a gradual shift to electric mobility and increased purchasing power after lockdown months are some of the factors that have added wind to the sails. The story contrasts with the story of countries such as Japan and the UK.
Consider the case of the UK. About 775,000 cars were built in the country in 2022, according to data from the Automobile Manufacturers Association compiled by AFP. This is his lowest level since 1956, down 10% from a year ago. Two manufacturers – Nissan and Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover – account for more than half of all cars produced. The biggest challenge in production has been the shortage of semiconductors, and many other critical components from China have also created supply chain problems. It is said that there is something.
Next is Japan. The country’s new car sales in 2022 were the lowest in his 45 years. It wasn’t until 1977 that the industry recorded similar sales figures. Domestic car sales fell for he four years in a row. It is also unlikely that demand will recover in the near future. (Click here for the full report)
The momentum is led by China, the world’s largest car market, and the United States, where demand for larger vehicles remains strong. India is also likely to retain her No. 3 spot.
(with agency input)
First issue date: January 26, 2023, 10:14 AM IST


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H-E-B has removed its generic pain reliever acetaminophen medication from the stores after a national recall Thursday. The company that produces the medication, Perrigo Co., recalled about 11 million bottles after finding pieces of metal in some of the 500-milligram pills.
Spokeswoman Shelley Parks said only about six boxes of the product were covered in the recall, but all H-E-B brand acetaminophen medications were removed from each of H-E-B's 30 Gulf Coast region stores.
The medication will be back in the stores once the product is deemed safe, she said.
Heather Ann White
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Google’s Next Nexus Phone: How it Could Be Like the iPhone
Late in 2015, we pondered the question of whether Google should make its own Nexus phones, instead of collaborating with Android partners like LG and Huawei on their development. The discussion was catalyzed by a report from Walt Mossberg, who argued that it was time for Google to claim full control over its line of “pure Android” devices, the kind of control that Apple has over the iPhone or Microsoft has over the Surface. As it turns out, 2016 may be the year when Google goes solo on the design and development of its next Nexus device.
As Amir Efrati reports for The Information, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai has signaled to colleagues and outsiders that Google may take an “Apple-like direction for Nexus phones.” Pichai reportedly wants Google to take greater control over the Nexus program by reducing the involvement of the hardware partners that have traditionally made the phones with Google, a group that includes manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola, LG, and Huawei.
In Efrati’s assessment, the shift in strategy would be the latest in a series of moves “to make Nexus phones more like the iPhone, which is controlled by Apple top to bottom, and strengthen Android’s brand overall in order to capture more share at the high end of the market that Apple dominates.” He adds, “Google doesn’t want its revenue-generating services for high-end smartphones to be at the mercy of Apple like they are now.”
According to Ron Amadeo at Ars Technica, the new Nexus strategy would see Google’s relationship with Nexus manufacturers shifting to a model that much more closely resembles the relationship that Apple has with its contract manufacturers. “Apple designs its phones, SoC, and other parts and then ships the plans off to third-party factories to have them built,” Amadeo notes.
The report alleges that Google is conflicted about the change, since it’s afraid of making its OEM partners angry. But that fear is likely offset by the growing number of reasons for Google to control its line of smartphones, with the Information reporting that “Google leaders have become increasingly concerned about Apple’s monopoly over the high end of the smartphone market, the inability of Google to influence Android phone hardware so that it can enable new experiences, and the inability of the Nexus program to gain traction with consumers beyond a relatively small group of Android enthusiasts.”
While it’s wise for Google to worry about its relationships with Android manufacturers, it bears mentioning that those manufacturers don’t have much choice when it comes to non-Android operating systems, should they become angry enough with Google to consider looking elsewhere. Most probably wouldn’t consider switching to Windows 10 Mobile. The Information also reports that many OEMs aren’t happy with the Nexus program, anyway, since “Google currently keeps around 15 percent of the sales price of Nexus phones that it sells online.” That makes profit margins on Nexus phones much lower than those of devices that are made solely by the hardware manufacturer.
The report also indicates that Google “micromanages the hardware development, asking for tweaks to minutiae, like screws.” It’s likely because of those drawbacks that only the weaker smartphone makers or those that need a boost in name recognition participate in the Nexus program; a prime example is Huawei’s collaboration with Google on the Nexus 6P. It’s also telling that the biggest Android smartphone manufacturer, Samsung, hasn’t been involved with the Nexus program since 2011, when it developed the Galaxy Nexus.
It’s possible that some Android manufacturers would benefit from a rethinking of the Nexus program. Efrati reports that Google is interested in enlisting HTC to build a Google-branded Nexus device. That turn of events would see HTC returning to working as a manufacturer for hire, in a situation that would be similar to Foxconn’s relationship with Apple and other OEMs. In such an arrangement, HTC would build the device to Google’s specifications, but the phone wouldn’t be co-branded.
Amadeo reports that while HTC is reportedly conflicted abut the prospect of returning to “being a background player,” the company is declining rapidly enough that The Information notes it’s “likely desperate for more revenue and unit-sales volume.” Even so, there’s nothing to say that Google’s plan is definite, especially because there are so many moving parts and outside partnerships to coordinate.


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Just announced in Europe is the 2012 Opel Astra OPC, a 280-horsepower super hatchback with an appetite for the upcoming Ford Focus ST.
Read This Article
Is the Buick Regal America's best-kept secret?
Announced earlier this week, General Motors will be recalling select 2012 and 2013 model year Buick LaCrosse and Regal vehicles, as well as the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco equipped with eAssist.
We don't know if there's a bingo hall anywhere near our offices, but if we were to meander our way to one, chances are the parking lot would be littered with Buicks and Lincolns.