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The local agency quotation system that we're introducing this year is helping a motorist to connect with companies locally that could be offering affordable policies.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) August 07, 2014
Agencies that underwrite insurance in the U.S. can now be searched by any consumer who uses the Quotes Pros website. A new car insurance quote tool has been activated for use by the public to find local agency rates from companies at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html.
The agencies that can be searched using the company website are located in the U.S. and are providing price information to help drivers select a coverage option. The quotation database that has been activated can be searched from a smartphone, tablet or regular computer with an Internet connection.
"The local agency quotation system that we're introducing this year is helping a motorist to connect with companies locally that could be offering affordable policies," said a Quotes Pros rep.
The insurer system is built to use zip codes as the main format for sorting companies this year. Phone systems that are used by some agencies still require consumers to give out VIN numbers, license plate numbers and other data that could be considered sensitive. The open finder relies only on a city location to produce rates.
"Agencies that are found inside of our search tool provide a base rate for coverage to make it easier and faster for a car owner to discover exact pricing for liability, full coverage or collector plans," said the rep.
The Quotes Pros company is adjusting the frequency of updates to its platform to promote more than one type of price discount from companies. The insurer system is now producing automotive, life, health, renters and homeowner plans that are fully explorable at http://quotespros.com/health-insurance.html.
The QuotesPros.com company uses its local database in the U.S. to help the public find auto, life, health or homeowner insurance prices on the Internet. The company has built its system to sort through broker and agent prices by zip code. The QuotesPros.com company is now positioned to continue offering policy information to the public due to its open partnerships with insurers that appear in the company database this year.


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Caitlyn Jenner is part of H&M’s new sportswear campaign.
“Backstage with @HM! So proud to be part of their inspiring #HMSport campaign. #MoreIsComing #StayTuned,” the 66-year-old announced on Instagram late Thursday.
In the set photo the former Olympian shared, she wears black leggings, a black track jacket and black sneakers with her legs crossed. The retail giant tweeted the same behind-the-scenes photo teasing more will come soon.
This is the second major campaign for the transgender star inked in recent months. In late February, Jenner was named the new face of MAC Cosmetics.
Although it’s unclear how much Jenner will earn from her latest endorsement, insiders say her MAC deal is worth at least seven figures.
Estée Lauder, which owns MAC Cosmetics, also employs Caitlyn’s daughter Kendall Jenner as a brand ambassador.

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Picture credit: Salesforce
It was first announced at the Salesforce1 World Tour back in May, but now Salesforce has finally launched its first UK data centre, with France and Germany on the hit list for the future.
“It sends a signal to the market about the seriousness and the strategic nature of this market to us,” commented Salesforce chief operating officer George Hu at the time. The announcement also sends out a signal about Salesforce’s strategy; the UK data centre will be fully powered by renewable energy, as well as the proposed French and German centres, supporting the firm’s sustainability goals.
“The opening of Salesforce’s first European data centre underscores our commitment to customers and partners in the UK,” said Andrew Lawson, Salesforce SVP for UK and Ireland.
“The new data centre will support the unprecedented growth we’ve seen in the region and further accelerates the adoption of cloud, social and mobile technologies, empowering UK companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way.”
The big cloud vendors are moving towards European expansion. It’s the same path being taken by IBM. Back in July Big Blue announced a UK data centre from SoftLayer, with France and Germany also in the firm’s sights. Amazon Web Services also announced a new region in Germany last week.
Salesforce is going one step further to woo UK based customers, opening up an entire London base at the Heron Tower, near Liverpool Street.
The cloudy firm had aimed to call it the Salesforce Tower, but the proposal was nixed for now by the City of London Corporation. As Salesforce only rents six of the Tower’s 46 floors, opponents argue this isn’t a sufficient investment to warrant a whole name change.


text: Binatone has launched its first Android tablet specially targeted and designed for the Kids dubbed as Binatone App Star. Company has priced this tablet for Rs. 9,999 in India and it will be available to buy in the coming days. According to the company, it has been already released in the European markets and now it will be also available in India too. Binatone App Star comes with a 7inch touch screen display and powered by a 1GHz processor along with 512MB of RAM memory. It comes with 4GB of internal storage along with microSD card slot to expand it further. It also comes with front facing camera and comes with WiFi connectivity along with battery back up of 4 hours. “This ‘APP STAR’ is packed full of software suitable for children of 4 years and above. It has preloaded fun games, educational apps, art studios, e-books, audio-books, music player and camera with video recorder. The App Star has secured password protected parental control built-in to the software to ensure time control and firewalled Internet browsing for kids,” Binatone Country Head S P Singh commented on the launch. Company has also protected this kid friendly tablet with a special cover which protects it from physical damage when dropped from table height. It can be used in two different modes – App Star mode is specially designed with cool interface for the kids and the parent mode is having basic Android screen which can be used by the parents. It is surely having decent features packed in an affordable price tag.


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Consumer Reports studies finds out of many pay highest yearly commission costs even with a good credit score results while car loan obligations soars to $step one.4bn
Us americans with the latest car and truck loans is expenses on twenty-five% significantly more for their auto each month weighed against a decade ago, according to a special analysis out-of User Accounts, having car loan financial obligation in the us now exceeding $1.4tn.
The investigation unearthed that thousands of consumers have been charged with large interest levels even in the event they’d a good credit score.
Has just, the average Annual percentage rate for borrowers of new cars which have advanced level credit score could have been https://paydayloan4less.com/payday-loans-id/ on dos
Individual Records made use of investigation out of almost 858,000 auto loans regarding 17 major lenders that have been bundled on bonds and you can marketed in order to traders. The details has details eg whenever financing is actually approved, earnings peak, credit rating, monthly payment and you may a job status. The content examined on study did not identify borrowers’ racial term.
Nearly 21,100 borrowers that have credit scores from 660 or even more which can be thought a good credit score ratings got annual payment cost (APR) anywhere between 10% in order to twenty-five%. About step 3% of all perfect and you may very finest individuals had been contained in this variety, with respect to the investigation CR reviewed. 5% to three.5%.
The difference from inside the Apr rates you may mean several thousand dollars to have customers. The analysis indexed the skills from two people when you look at the California which acquired to $18,one hundred thousand as loan for a 2017 Chevrolet Trax.


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Thursday, August 7, 2008
Franchisee Owned Restaurants Stay Open Despite Bennigan Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Though about 150 corporate-owned Bennigan`s restaurants are closing because the company is out of money, the franchise's Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing is not expected to affect the retaurants owned by Franchisees, according to this article. In fact, the bankruptcy is "not expected to affect plans to open up one of the restaurants in Mandan next year." The restaurant should be open by next spring.


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Limited Brands Inc. nudged past profit expectations for the fourth quarter, but projected earnings for this year that lagged Wall Street’s expectations.
The company, which operates Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, posted a 14.5 percent rise in net income to $411.4 million, or $1.39 a diluted share, from $359.4 million, or $1.17, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings tallied $1.76 a share and were 2 cents ahead of analysts’ consensus projection. Sales for the 14 weeks ended Feb. 2 rose 9.7 percent to $3.86 billion from $3.52 billion.
Alberta Ferretti's "Rainbow Week" sweaters are back. The designer closed her #MFW show with a few day-of-the-week sweaters, which first debuted on the catwalk last January as part of the pre-fall 2017 collection. #wwdfashion (📷: @delphineachard)


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Disney reported that the collection of the cartoon “Soul” in Russian rental exceeded 1 billion rubles. This project took less than a month – in Russia a new story of Pixar studio appeared on January 21, although on December 25 “Soul” was released in the United States on HBO Max, instantly finding itself on the net. At the moment, the tape already has 1,008 billion rubles of fees – in total, the tape for the rental period was estimated by more than 4 million people.
Thanks to all these achievements, “Soul” became the highest-grossing Disney and Pixar cartoon in the domestic rental, beating “Puzzle”, which was also shot by director Pete Docter. The plot of “Soul” tells of a music teacher who by chance gets into the afterworld, from where he tries to return to life.
More on Gambling For Diablo 2 really prepared an add-on with elements MMO Reissue Overcooked eventually released on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC Author Silent Hill, Siren and Gravity Rush revealed the concepts of his next game.


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Teoma.com, a new search engine that went live Monday, should provide a boost to parent company Ask Jeeves Inc. and could provide a serious challenger to Google Inc.'s dominance of the market, according to analysts.
Teoma (pronounced tay-o-ma), which uses a different search method from Google, will give users a different feel in terms of results but a similar feel in terms of aesthetics, said Rob Lancaster, a senior analyst at Boston-based Yankee Group. Teoma uses the same simple opening page style that Google uses but goes about gathering information in a different way.
There is a lot more categorization in Teoma's approach, Lancaster said. Google returns queries weighted by what other users clicked on when making similar inquiries. Every time a user searches for a topic on Google, the search engine rates the results, which has an effect on the outcome of future searches. For instance, none of the top five results for a search of the word "seals" has anything to do with the sea-going mammals. Whereas, Teoma will augment search results with several broader categories, include "harbor seals" Easter seals, Navy SEALs and seals and gaskets.
"Google blasts you with the answers it thinks are most relevant," Lancaster said.
Teoma, however, will return categories of search results, said Danny Sullivan, editor of SearchEngineWatch.com, an online magazine/newsletter that follows the industry. What this means, Sullivan said, is that if you were to search for "Afghanistan" on Teoma, you might get back results ordered in categories such as, human rights, Asia or war.
"Those features might be very nice or might be very confusing depending on the person doing the searching," Sullivan said.
Those features also could be heralded as benefits or drawbacks depending on what company is promoting them, Lancaster said. "Google folks will pick holes in the Teoma strategy and vice versa," Lancaster said. "But ultimate it is for the user to decide."
Both Sullivan and Lancaster said there is room in the market for another search engine and that the move will help search engine Ask Jeeves, which acquired Teoma in September. Sullivan said Ask Jeeves had been on track to develop its own search technology and managed to skip out on the development costs and time by buying Teoma from its original developers.
The addition of Teoma will help Ask Jeeves from a business point of view, Lancaster said. "Ask Jeeves has been a struggling company for the recent past so this is certainly a boost for them," Lancaster said.
Sullivan said he expects to see Teoma get a boost because it is the "latest and greatest" technology and it's being launched with a certain amount of buzz. But he said it will have to go a long way to topple Google's "almost Microsoft-like" domination of the search engine scene.
"It could be that Google will stumble and make mistakes like AltaVista did that allowed Google to climb on top, but I doubt it," Sullivan said.


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Superfans of racing video games will soon be able to drive their virtual supercars in style thanks to a super new release upcoming from Sony: a Gran Turismo-themed Playstation 4. The special edition package, upcoming to gamers in the UK, Europe, and Australasia on October 18th, will include an etched console with the Gran Turismo logo as well as several extras.
The PS4 will include a Gran Turismo Sport silver faceplate and a fully cutomized silver DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controller with the same logo on the touchpad. It also comes with fun accessories like a sticker pack, 60 PS4 avatars, and a chrome racing helmet. Beyond those aesthetic features, the package comes with a Day 1 edition of the game itself, which includes $250,000 of in-game credits.


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The much-awaited Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 2 XL smartphones are finally going to launch on October 4. Just ahead of the official launch, a renowned tipster has recently shared the leaked images of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL via a Twitter post. As per the prior leaks, the upcoming Google Pixel mobile phones are expected to be produced by HTC and LG respectively.
Citing the sources, the leaked images were shared by a prolific leakster, Evan Blass aka @evleaks. Based on the images, the upcoming Pixel 2 is likely to feature a 5- or 5.5-inch full HD (1080×1920 pixels) display with 16:9 aspect ratio. On the other hand, the Pixel 2 XL is expected to come with 18:9 aspect ratio which is becoming a highlight feature in flagship smartphones.
Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL: Design
Furthermore, the leaked images hint at dual speaker setup on the handsets at the front. The back panel also features a glass covering the top portion. The leaked images revealed that the phones will be offered in several colour combination options. The hardware of the upcoming Pixel lineup appears to come with a complete revamp than its predecessor.
Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL: Rumoured Specifications
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are likely to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. The new Google phones are also speculated to run on the latest Android 8.0 Oreo OS out-of-the-box.
The Pixel 2 XL is rumoured to come with a QHD+ display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. The other rumoured specs suggest 4GB of RAM along with options for 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. It will have a 12MP primary rear camera.
Here are the rumoured specifications of the upcoming Google Pixel lineup:
Google Pixel 2
Google Pixel 2 XL
Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL: Expected Price
Coming to the pricing, the Pixel 2 is likely to come with a price tag of $649 (roughly Rs 42,000) for the base variant with 64GB storage and $749 (roughly Rs 49,500) for 128GB model.
On the other hand, the Pixel 2 XL will be priced at $849 (roughly Rs 55,500) for the 64GB of storage and the 128GB storage model will cost $949 (roughly Rs 62,500).
Evan Blass | @evleaks
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) October 2, 2017


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Sleep Inns & Suites Franchise News
Browse the latest corporate news from Sleep Inns & Suites.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) continues to expand the footprint of its proven midscale Sleep Inn brand with the opening of an 82-room, four-story hotel in Yukon, Okla.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) continues the growth of its proven midscale Sleep Inn brand with the opening of a 76-room, three-story hotel in Chiloquin, Ore.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) continues expansion of its proven midscale brand, Sleep Inn, with the opening of a 71-room property in Clarksville, Tenn.
Sleep Inn, part of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), has opened a new property in Houston.
The Sleep Inn brand concluded a successful 2017 with a 25 percent increase in franchise agreements over the previous year
The Sleep Inn brand, a proven leader in the midscale lodging segment and part of the Choice Hotels International, Inc. portfolio, has surpassed 400 properties open worldwide and increased its pipeline to more than 140 hotels.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. is affirming its leadership in midscale with a provocative new trade marketing platform for the Sleep Inn brand that highlights the brand's timeless appeal and proven approach
The Sleep Inn brand unveiled new guest offerings at the 63rd annual Choice Hotels Convention in Las Vegas.
The Sleep Inn & Suites hotel of Cross Lanes, West Virginia has once again been awarded the coveted 2013 Choice Hotels International Hotel of the Year Award for the Sleep brand.
Sleep Inn by Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH) today reported strong demand for its Designed to Dream® brand program which includes a new prototype and mandated refresh of all 401 Sleep Inn hotels in its portfolio.
Are you getting enough rest? 39 percent of American adults admit to getting less than the recommended allowance of at least seven hours of rest per night, according to a study by the National Sleep Foundation. In fact, 74 percent of adults...
Through a one-of-a-kind sponsorship with the USA Network's hit series Monk, Sleep Inn is being highlighted as the only hotel that can meet the infamously compulsive detective, Adrian Monk's standards for reliability, cleanliness and consistency.
Sleep Inns & Suites franchise opportunities are not currently available on Franchising.com. Fill in the form below to be notified when they become available.


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Air France KLM
Air France-KLM earned 460 million euros in net profit in the third quarter thanks to strong demand for air travel during the summer, even achieving higher turnover than the corresponding period of 2019 before the Covid. Its operating profit stands at 1.02 billion euros, a figure higher than the 844 million euros anticipated by a consensus established by the company. The Franco-Dutch airline posted a quarterly turnover of 8.11 billion euros, up 77.6%.
The aeronautical group will announce its results for the third quarter.
Danone published consolidated sales of 7.3 billion euros in the third quarter of 2022, up 9.5% like-for-like, with a price effect of +10.9% and a volume/mix effect of -1.4%. On a reported basis, revenue increased by 19.1%, thanks to the positive impact of exchange rates (+7.6%) resulting in particular from the appreciation against the euro of the US dollar and several Asian and Latin American currencies. Reported revenue also includes a positive organic contribution of +1.4% from hyperinflation countries.
Safran raised its 2022 revenue and free cash flow guidance, as third-quarter revenue grew 17.9% organically to $4.85 billion. euros, thanks in particular to the Propulsion and Aircraft Interiors activities. The group, which anticipated a turnover of between 18.2 and 18.4 billion euros in 2022, now expects it to be around 19 billion euros, forecasting growth in the activities of service and a rising dollar.
Saint-Gobain, specialist in building materials, published a turnover of 12.9 billion euros for the third quarter, up 13.4% compared to the same period a year earlier. Business grew in all geographies: +11.9% in Northern Europe, +10.5% in Southern Europe/Middle East/Africa, +14.2% in the Americas and +26.9% in Asia-Pacific.
The French laboratory Sanofi has revised its outlook for 2022 upwards, after achieving strong sales growth in the third quarter, still boosted by its flagship drug Dupixent, but also by vaccines. From July to the end of September, net profit from activities, which excludes exceptional items, jumped 32% to 3.6 billion euros (+17.7% at constant exchange rates). Net profit fell 10% to 2 billion euros, due to impairments, for sales up nearly 20%, to almost 12.5 billion euros.
In the first half of 2022-2023, Ubisoft’s net bookings fell by 2.6% to 699.4 million compared to the first half of 2021-2022. The company’s operating profit shows a loss of 215.3 million euros (139 million euros in non-IFRS). Ubisoft has confirmed its 2022-23 objectives, which are based on significant growth in net bookings and non-IFRS operating income of 400 million euros. The company has also implemented its cost optimization plan.
Valbiotis, a research and development company committed to scientific innovation, will present the significant preclinical results of its active substance TOTUM 448 non-medicinal active substance, based on plants, against metabolic damage to the liver, or fatty liver disease (NAFL and NASH) at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study (AASLD) from November 4 to 8, 2022. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of TOTUM 448 from the early stages of these diseases, on steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis liverworts


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Huge number of bankrupted firms raises concern
Local experts have raised concern over the soaring number of businesses going bankrupt due to impacts of the Covid-19 epidemic, which may lead to tremendous damages for the macro economy, said Vietnamplus website, citing a report.
According to a survey of Vietnam Report, up to 60% of enterprises saw their revenue in the first half of 2020 slumping compared with last year, in which nearly 15% suffered a steep decline.
Some 54% of enterprises said their pretax profit fell over the same period of 2019, with 31% reporting a sharp decrease or even huge losses.
The General Statistics Office has released data for the January-August period, with the number of firms that had suspended business reaching nearly 34,300, up 70.8% year-on-year. Around 24,200 firms had been making dissolution procedures and 10,400 others had finished the paperwork.
Among the dissolved businesses, there were 9,200 firms having capital under VND10 billion each and 168 enterprises with capital scale over VND100 billion each. Most enterprises that had finished dissolution procedures were active in the fields of wholesale-retail, auto and bike repairing, processing and manufacturing, construction, property trading, accommodation and restaurant.
Some enterprises have adjusted business plans for 2020 to reflect current difficulties. Some 77.1% of enterprises in the survey have completed 50% of this year’s revenue goals, in which 36.1% finished over 80%.
Meanwhile, 68.9% of firms have completed over 50% of this year’s profit plans, of this 31.1% have reached over 80%. However, the figures were just few bright spots on the overall gloomy picture of the local economy.
Nguyen Van Quyen, chairman of the Vietnam Automobile Transportation Association (VATA), said that most transport enterprises are mired in a hardship as the number of passengers and goods has tumbled by up to 90%
During the peak of the pandemic, most of transport enterprises had to cease operation or operate perfunctorily with meager revenue earned. Further, they had to pay wages and other disease fighting fees to maintain operations, leading to insolvency or bankruptcy.
Although some businesses have accessed supportive policies of the Government and local authorities such as soft loans and tax reduction, it remains unknown whether they could survive the pandemic and maintain long-term business, Quyen said.
According to economic expert Ta Quang Binh, there are many reasons forcing firms to dissolve or halt operations. They may have poor capability, suffer objective conditions such as natural disaster and unexpected problems, or fail to adapt to current economic policies.
In this situation, it is necessary to have comprehensive solutions instead of using the Government’s resources to rescue all businesses. Although saving ailing firms may help curb the rate of unemployment, heavy costs and bad impacts from maintaining poor businesses may result in worse consequences to the economy, Binh explained.
Regarding solutions for the large number of bankrupted firms, many experts said that current supportive policies still have many shortcomings, such as slow deployment and disbursement of financial aids. SGT
The number of bankrupt state-owned enterprises (SOE) in reality is low, and is not commensurate with the number of private enterprises in bankruptcy.
Banks are trying to sell Vinaxuki’s assets to collect debts, but the assets remain unsold.


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Samsung is no strange to multimillion smartphone sales, with all of its flagships in recent years having crossed the 10 million sales mark with ease. However, things haven’t been so good for its home competitor LG, which has struggled like all other Android manufacturers to make a profit and sell a hugely meaningful number of devices. It looks like times are changing though, as LG has announced it will soon have sold 10 million units of the LG G3.
The G3 will be the first device in LG’s phone making history to achieve 10 million sales. Given the phone was launched less than two months ago, it means LG has been selling almost 5 million units of the G3 per month, which is a good indication of just how popular the phone has become. Of course, the fact that it is the first smartphone from a mainstream manufacturer to sport a Quad HD display has no doubt helped, and this is hopefully a sign that Samsung won’t be the only manufacturer selling a boatload of devices in the coming months.
Source: The Korea Times


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New Delhi: Employment opportunities in the e-commerce and allied industries witnessed a 28 percent surge in 2021, and recruitment activities in this segment will gain further momentum driven by economic recovery and aggressive vaccination drive, according to TeamLease Services.
The e-commerce sector grew by 8 percent in 2020 and 30 percent in 2021. It is now poised to reach $111 billion by 2024 and $ 200 billion by 2026. The stellar growth in this sector has provided the much-needed impetus to the economy and created a multitude of employment opportunities.
Looking at the employment ecosystem, there was a 28 percent surge in employment opportunities in e-commerce and allied industries (e-commerce, social commerce, online grocery/essentials) in 2021, according to TeamLease Services. – Source- PTI


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At a highly optimistic press conference this week at the NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, Ford revealed its positive outlook for both its own company health and 2012 sales prospects, as well as internal findings indicating a strong economic recovery is beginning – for both the country as a whole and the commercial truck market specifically.
Eric Guenther, general marketing manager for Ford, said the company has shown consistent market share growth over the past three years while reducing debt by $6 billion – achievements he called a “tremendous turnaround.” Guenther added that dealer relations never have been better and that Ford’s partnership with the United Auto Workers never has been stronger.
At the core of his message, Guenther emphasized that Ford remains deeply committed to the North American commercial truck market. “Commercial trucks are not an add-on piece of business for us,” he said. “It is at the core of what we do, and the commitment is reflected in over three decades of class-leading products such as our F-Series trucks and E-Series commercial vans.”
Crunching the numbers, Guenther said that Ford sold 262,000 commercial vehicles last year, landing 48 percent overall market share in that segment. Looking ahead to 2012, Guenther said Ford sees a bright outlook, with a predicted overall North American vehicle market of 14.2 million cars and trucks. Initial surveys indicate the commercial vehicle market will contribute 655,000 units to that overall number, resulting in 21 percent growth for the commercial vehicle market at yearend, provided the forecast holds steady.
A key component to Ford’s continued success will be the introduction of new products. Rob Stevens, chief engineer for Ford, said 2012 will see the North American launch of the full-size Transit commercial van, which was developed in Europe and has been sold globally for more than 30 years. “Ford has sold 6 million Transit vans worldwide since 1961,” Stevens said. “We think this lighter but stronger product is exactly the right van for where the North American market is heading today.”
Stevens said the full-size Transit van, which is sold in Europe with either front-wheel or rear-wheel drive, will be available in North America with the exact same 3.5-liter Ecoboost powertrain found in the F-150 pickup truck line. “This compact, efficient but powerful powertrain weighs 300 pounds less than our E-Series van line, but still delivers 11,300 foot-pounds of towing power while delivering 25 percent better fuel economy,” he said.
The full-size Transit van is undergoing North American validation testing now, with U.S. assembly and sales slated for early next year. To minimize customer disruption and allow commercial customers time to get to know the new van, Stevens said full production of E-Series commercial vans will continue to ensure a seamless transition as the new van comes on line. At the same time, Stevens said Ford will continue production of E-Series cutaway and stripped chassis platforms for the foreseeable future.
Ford also will begin production of a new gasoline-powered F-650 commercial truck, Stevens announced. The new powertrain will be based on Ford’s 6.8-liter V-10 engine, cranking out 357 horsepower and 457 foot-pounds of torque. CNG and LNG versions also will be offered, with availability beginning this summer.


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Audi said it is offering free software retrofit services for 850,000 diesel-engine cars outside North America, the latest effort by a car maker to keep diesel cars popular among consumers and mollify regulators....
German luxury carmaker Audi, a Volkswagen subsidiary, issued a voluntary recall of up to 850,000 diesel vehicles, saying it would help reduce engine emissions


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Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup parses out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. Follow along with a weekly email newsletter by clicking here and selecting the Startup Roundup button or follow Startup Roundup’s RSS feed. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.
WHO’S GETTING BUZZ
Philly is the ninth best city for venture capital investment in tech startups, according to Mashable’s story on data from the National Venture Capital Association. Not too shabby when you take into account how much of bootstrapping city Philly is.
Real Food Works, the Conshohocken healthy meal subscription service, gets featured on PhillyMag’s BeWellPhilly blog.
Learn some lessons from RJMetrics cofounders Robert Moore and Jake Stein, as well as DreamIt Ventures cofounder Steve Welch, in this recap of Penn’s first student-organized Startup Unconference.
Following Chris Stanchak‘s departure as Ticketleap CEO, new president Tim Raybould had a company powwow to figure out the startup’s core values. Read ’em here.
Local-ish startups Curalate and ElectNext, as well as accelerator DreamIt Ventures, are among the Philly attendees of this year’s SXSW.
WHO’S GETTING FUNDED
Safeguard Scientifics led a $6 million Series B round for Massachusetts-based Pneuron that helps enterprise companies develop applications (like Callowhill’s Cloudmine). Safeguard Scientifics, based in Wayne, Pa., invested $5 million and Osage Ventures, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., invested $1 million, according to a release.
Conshohocken’s Monetate raised a $15 million round, according to an SEC filing. The Philadelphia Business Journal has more on the deal here. The ecommerce optimization company was also a sponsor of last weekend’s Lady Hacks, Philly’s first women-only hackathon, and is planning for its third annual Agility Summit, which takes place this April in Philly.
Money Moves: These 5 Philly-area companies just raised millions in VC funding
DC-based Black Girl Ventures is launching a chapter in Philadelphia
A women-focused sports newsletter startup is launching its first US edition in Philly
7 biz resources we learned about at Super Meetup Philly 2019
Data analytics startup Crossbeam just raised a $12.5M series A
Haircare startup NaturAll Club is getting ‘a blank canvas’ in Bok building
NeuroFlow is teaming up with a genetic testing biz to advance its mental health platform
Paid family leave adds to the perks at Chariot Solutions
Sign-up for daily news updates from Technical.ly Philadelphia


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If you feel the American Dream is dying, our story exists to serve as an example that the American Dream is alive and well. You won't hear about it thriving in the national news unfortunately. Look to your own local news to see genuine, small family-owned businesses thriving despite the current challenges they face in this country. From our earliest days selling our Signature Apple Cider Syrups at the local Kootenai County Farmers Market and Athol Farmers Market, we could have never imagined where the journey would lead. We've been overwhelmed and blessed with successes that we had only dreamed about for our family and our preservation apple orchard-based business. It has cost us endless days of literal blood, sweat, and tears, but that is what the American Dream is all about. Being brave enough to face the challenges, and stubborn enough to persevere when the goal posts keep moving into the distance.
Celebrate the American Dream with us and check out some of our spotlight moments. We are extremely proud of how the Northwest has not only embraced our unique business, but has elevated us to levels we could have never dreamed of. The future is brighter every day.


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In 2012, the company agreed to test replacement of its foam cups with a double-walled paper hot cup at approximately 2,000 restaurants, primarily on the West Coast. The paper cup will now become the standard hot beverage cup at all US outlets.
As You Sow, which promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy and innovative legal strategies, says polystyrene is not widely recycled and has become pervasive in the marine environment, carried through storm drains to the ocean. It breaks down into small indigestible pellets that birds and marine mammals mistake for food, resulting in their death.
There are also occupational risks associated with styrene, which is used to make polystyrene. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that styrene is a possible human carcinogen and in 2011, it was listed as a possible carcinogen by the National Institutes of Health’s National Toxicology Program.
Scores of cities in California, including San Jose, have banned or restricted the use of polystyrene food packaging. In New York City, mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed a ban on foam. More than 1,000 Big Apple restaurants have written letters urging the city council to oppose the proposed ban on polystyrene foam food service products, according to Restaurant Action Alliance NYC.
McDonald’s began to phase out its iconic clam shell foam hamburger box in 1990 amid controversy about the environmental impacts of polystyrene, but continued to use foam beverage cups. The fast-food chain is already a major purchaser of recycled fiber used in its food containers, bags and napkins.
As You Sow says it’s also speaking with Dunkin’ Donuts, which uses foam hot beverage cups. The company recently announced plans to phase out foam cups in two to three years but has not disclosed what materials it will use instead.
As You Sow has also pursued similar measures with General Mills. At the company meeting in Minneapolis this week, shareholders will vote on a resolution asking General Mills to assess post-consumer waste strategies, including a policy that shifts responsibility for packaging waste from taxpayers and governments to producers, known as extended producer responsibility (EPR).


text: Before looking towards the future, let’s take a moment to see what the social media landscape looks like currently. That’s why future platforms will be designed with smartphones in … It's all about how close you are to the audiences, how you analyse and track numbers. The future of social media is mobile. Add to this that bitcoin is now easily purchasable through popular services like Robinhood and Paypal, and you have fewer people who need Google to figure out the intricacies of bitcoin wallets and transactions. The existential crisis of ad blocking will resolve itself — but be careful what you wish for. Share on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1uhAXc3In July 2012, the US spent 121 BILLION minutes on social media - should we be worried? After dwindling due to a glut of Pong clones, the release of Space Invaders in 1978 reinvigorated the market. FinTech startups like Chipper Cash are providing Nigeria and other African nations with no-fee P2P payment services, along with the ability to trade bitcoin. The Matrix-like future: Movies, games, TV all blur The future of media is certainly streaming. 2018 Social Media Trends Report: 10 Key Insights Into the Present and Future of Social Media. For Boomers and Gen Xers, the shift has been earth-shattering. Axios’ Jim VandeHei on the Future of Media and the News Outlet’s Foray Into Local News. Lastly, here are some figures on the future of media and entertainment that are particularly interesting: By 2021, Cisco says that 82% of all internet traffic will stem from digital video. From your iPod Shuffle to your Spotify subscription. Which Countries are Mapping the Ocean Floor? Time will tell if 2017 is set to repeat itself, or if bitcoin is getting ready to set new all-time highs going into 2021. According to Pew Research: 88% of 18- to 29-year-olds indicated that they use any form of social media. The future of media is continuing to turn to digital media for entertainment, news, and business, which translates to major opportunities for businesses. While it’s hard to predict how the future of social media marketing will look like in the next 10 years, there are several trends that can be forecasted. Oops. But it was Apple’s iPhone that solidified the transition of gaming to a mobile platform. For as long as most of us can remember, Fox News has been at the center of the right-wing media world. “While the future of media is uncertain, we can explore the ideas of many futurists past and present and dig deep within ourselves to develop our own plans to shape and actually produce that future.” – Course Description, Producing and Predicting the Future of Digital Media… Nintendo continued to hold onto the handheld market with updated Game Boy consoles, and Nokia and BlackBerry tried their hands at integrating game apps into their phones. Read all. In just four years, eMarketer projects it will nearly double by 32.7 percent. So begins the war of the voices, to see which platform—if any—can rise to mainstream status and shape the future of social networking. I think we may be on the verge of a new wave of independent media. Social media referrals are overtaking search. Research from Pelham Smithers shows that while the tidal wave of gaming has only continued to swell, the driving factors have shifted over the course of gaming history. We had a previous wave and it gave rise to websites, blogs, and news aggregators. Keep an eye on these trends to stay ahead of the curve in 2020 and beyond. Even if current mainstream coverage isn’t far from previous peaks, it’s still likely that people are seeing an increase in bitcoin content in their news feeds following the recent surge. Additionally, more and more people are using their smartphones as their main source for accessing social platforms. Precious Metal Production in the COVID-19 Era. Meanwhile, Amazon and Google are launching their own services that work on multiple devices, mobile included. Different types of groups. There are more than 2.7 billion gamers worldwide in 2020, and how they choose to spend their money will continue to shape gaming history as we know it. Since 2015, the Nigerian Naira has lost more than 50% of its value against the U.S. dollar. – Course Description, Producing and Predicting the Future of Digital Media, … Debating the future of media. Unfortunately, the gaming industry grew too quickly to maintain. I think we may be on the verge of a new wave of independent media. Research has shown that the gap between those who consume TV news and those who consume online news is rapidly narrowing, with almost half of Americans admitting they regularly read online news sources. Interested in getting the full report? Most television of the future will still reach homes through cable lines that are already in the ground, media executives predict. It was a sign of what was to define this era of gaming history: a technological race. Just about every financial asset saw a huge drop in March, but few have had the spectacular recovery that bitcoin has had since then. With the revenue streams that have sustained the media industry for decades drying up, subscriptions may be the only viable future for independent … Fast-forward to the future, and we should see global social media usage continue on its upward trajectory. Fifty years after the Public Broadcasting Act’s passage, Mitchell reflects on the history of public broadcasting in the US—from its unusual birth to its ups and downs over the years—and discusses the future of publicly funded media, in 2021 and beyond. Longer Visits, Repeat Visits. Social media is always evolving. Ranked: The Most Valuable Nation Brands in 2020, The Year in Review: 2020 in 20 Visualizations, Animation: Mapping the Recovery from the Global Recession of 2020, 5 Drivers Behind the Sustainable Investing Shift, Visualizing the Most Populous Countries in the World, Bitcoin is Near All-Time Highs and the Mainstream Doesn’t Care…Yet, 50 Years of Gaming History, by Revenue Stream (1970-2020), Tech’s Bizarre Beginnings & Lucrative Pivots, Visualizing the Evolution of Global Advertising Spend (1980-2020), The State of the Multi-Billion Dollar Console Gaming Market, Mapped: The Risk of Eviction and Foreclosure in U.S. States, Chart: A Global Look at How People Spend Their Time, Chart: Debt-to-GDP Continues to Rise Around the World, 5 Undeniable Long-Term Trends Shaping Society’s Future, Charting The Growing Generational Wealth Gap, The Race to Save Lives: Comparing Vaccine Development Timelines, Tracking COVID-19 Vaccines Around the World, Pandemic Proof: The Most Loved Brands of COVID-19, A Global Breakdown of Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector, Mainstream EV Adoption: 5 Speedbumps to Overcome, Visualizing the Range of EVs on Major Highway Routes, Charting the Flows of Energy Consumption by Source and Country (1969-2018), Mapped: The World’s Nuclear Reactor Landscape, How to Avoid Common Mistakes With Mining Stocks (Part 4: Project Quality), Comparing Recent U.S. Presidents: New Debt Added vs. But the door is now open to a more gratifying and effective way of doing business. Media and the ways we engage with it are constantly evolving. Keep an eye on these trends to stay ahead of the curve in 2020 and beyond. With CNN being in a prime position to understand these trends, the future of media may well see this democratisation of AI, data and 5G coming to fruition. And with the proliferation of smartphones, social media games, and streaming services, they’re on the right track. And it’s up to us to create the world we want to live in, otherwise we’re enabling or succumbing to our current reality and dystopian future. Meanwhile on PCs, Blizzard was tapping into the Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) subscription market with the 2004 release of World of Warcraft, which saw a peak of more than 14 million monthly paying subscribers. By 2021, Cisco says that 82% of all internet traffic will stem from digital video, There will be 26.3 million VR headsets shipped in 2022, up from 100,000 in 2016, By 2021, there will be 650 million subscribers to services like Amazon Prime or Netflix, 5G latency is expected to be 0.001 seconds, which is 15-60x faster than 4G. By changing our way of consuming content, it will change traditional media as well. Every year it feels like the gaming industry sees the same stories—record sales, unfathomable market reach, and questions of how much higher the market can go. Social media evolves faster than the marketing industry can keep up. In 2001, Microsoft launched the Xbox Live online gaming platform for a monthly subscription fee, giving players access to multiplayer matchmaking and voice chat services, quickly becoming a must-have for consumers. The presentation was put together with the help of the BI Intelligence team, a premium research service from Business Insider. On the backs of games like Duck Hunt, Excitebike, and the introduction of Mario in Super Mario Bros, the massive success of the NES revived the console market. Online video (6.0%), online ads (4.3%), and video gaming (2.7%) are the only sectors growing at a rate faster than GDP growth. Here are some of the key trends that we found to be compelling: Annualized Media Sector Growth (Minus GDP Growth) from 2016-2021. In the long term, creativity will win. It's yours FREE! Please try again later. Read the full article. The Digital Magazine Awards have been going strong for six years, and the conference preceding the awards has been a place where the industry rebels and enthusiasts have gathered to discuss the issues facing the industry. Likewise, it was Atari that sold a home console version of Pong in 1975, and eventually its own Atari 2600 home console in 1977, which would become the first console to sell more than a million units. 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Move fast and break things. Do more faster. These are the mantras that the tech industry, particular those in Silicon Valley, cut their teeth on. Competition is fierce and timing (first to market) – and perception (category killer: think Google and Facebook) – is everything. So is it a wonder that Uber has drawn so much scrutiny and criticism for its practices lately? On all fronts, it seems.
“Has Uber Gone Too Far this Time? Is Uber involved in a Smear Campaign,?” asks Michael Spencer on LinkedIn, referring not only to former Uber employee Susan Fowler’s blog on the sexual harassment she encountered at the company, which was not unique to her but instead, fairly widespread in Uber’s frat boy culture, according to Caroline Fairchild on LinkedIn.
Then there’s the Google patent infringement lawsuit, which is alleging that Uber is using stolen technology which it acquired through its purchase of Otto, to advance its own autonomous-car development (A Stray Email Caused Google’s Waymo to Sue Uber and Otto Over Stolen Tech).
This past week, not unlike Jerry Maguire, Mark Zuckerberg issued a mission statement, with some 5700 words on the goals of Facebook. To refresh your memory, there has been some speculation of late as to whether or not the Facebook founder is preparing a presidential run, presumably in 2024, but now it seems, he has decided that, instead, he wants to rule the world. According to Mashable, with his manifesto, Mark Zuckerberg just said he wants Facebook to save the world. Same difference.
Facebook has certainly been under the microscope lately. Between the so-called fake news (we say ‘so-called,’ as while Macedonian teenagers might have posted misinformation, news sources that don’t necessarily follow lock-step with the world view of the Silicon Valley/global elite were also conveniently lumped into this category and even the ethics of Facebook’s chosen outside fact-checkers are called into question) and streaming suicides, murders and gang rapes, Facebook has become a veritable online Roman Coliseum.
As Zuckerberg discusses the evolution of peoples from tribes to cities to nations, he’s no doubt considering that that’s the progression of Facebook as well, which is in parallel to the global community that Silicon Valley would like to see, with national boundaries as a leftover of a bygone or disappearing era, and isn’t Facebook, after all, a global community without boundaries? The social network does not suffer under the inconvenience of national barriers.
Silicon Valley is fond of exits – isn’t a meaningful exit the dream and endgame of every investor and entrepreneur in tech? You have to admire – or shake your head in total disbelief at – Silicon Valley, when it comes to what they’ve managed to accomplish: namely, disrupt a number of industries, as well as the basic principles of economics and business, to get to those astronomical exits, whether or not they were real, or just so much smoke and mirrors.
When Twitter launched in 2006 and started picking up steam after its debut at SXSW the following year, they had no revenue model, but the company’s investors assured us that there would be a revenue model by 2009. Then came the IPO in 2013 and, as The Wall Street Journal noted, “The San Francisco-based company raised as much as $2.1 billion and ended the day with a market capitalization of about $25 billion. That made the six-year-old company bigger than more than half of the firms in the S&P 500 and larger than well-known brands such as Kellogg Co. and Whole Foods Market Inc.”
That was then and this is now, and the company is now worth well under its IPO price and as Bloomberg News notes on the eve of three-year-old Snap going public, Snap’s IPO to Be Haunted by Twitter and GoPro. As MarketWatch warns, Snap’s cost of revenue has exceeded sales for two years, and could grow more. Which is Silicon Valley newspeak for the company is losing money, in case you’ve never read George Orwell’s 1984 and evidently, we don’t know what the hell they’re teaching out there. As for Twitter’s revenue model (what to speak of the fact that the company is hemorrhaging users), we’re still waiting.
Esther Dyson hit it spot on when she said that there are too many entrepreneurs out there, and way too many who don’t know the fundamentals of how to work and/or build businesses properly. Many young entrepreneurs have never worked for a company, or may have worked briefly for a startup that may or may not have gotten traction/funding, and that’s not the same as working for a company that is not dependent on funding – nor are you likely to learn the fundamentals of building a true, sustainable business that way.
We talk to investors all the time and count some as being among our closest friends/longest-standing acquaintances, and they tell us things – provided that they’re shared anonymously – that they would not ordinarily share with entrepreneurs. We’re going to share some of that information with you here and, for the record, with the prior consent of those investors, and a special thanks to Veronica Guzman of WAM Ventures, who did give us permission to mention her name, for her comments and insights.
Many founders – especially first-timers – believe that pitching to investors is a panacea. Note to self: we do attend many accelerator demo days and one investor recently told us that he was writing checks to companies he had met through the accelerator, which is why he goes to demo days: to suss out good companies. Mind you, he was writing those checks to companies he had met through the accelerator three years prior, and not that day. He had been keeping a watchful eye on them, and now that they were ready (meaning, had traction/customers/sales), he was all in. A company that has nominal revenues and has only been in business a few months is asking for major disappointments, if getting funded is their goal at that point, another investor recently noted. “Advisors are telling them to pitch angels this way,” Veronica noted.
It has been 10 years since the iPhone first appeared, and when it did, people frankly didn’t know what to make of it. . According to Quartz, “When Steve Jobs stood on the stage 10 years ago today at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco’s Moscone Center, he started out by saying he was launching three new devices: “An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator.” In fact, of course, they were a single device—the iPhone, which would lift Apple’s fortunes to unprecedented heights.” Of course, it was so novel, to many it was also the Blind Men and the Elephant.
Then there’s the new innovator’s dilemma, wherein one can innovate just so much, before one is in danger of running out of ideas, in which case, it’s a long-standing tradition in Silicon Valley to simply steal from a competitor, as in the case of Instagram Stories (Instagram’s shameless Snapchat knockoff is doing marvelously well) “Instagram Stories closely mimics Snapchat—users can broadcast short videos to their followers, which disappear 24 hours after getting sent out,” says Quartz. “Upon its launch, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said he felt no shame about playing the role of copycat. In an interview with TechCrunch at the time of its launch, he admitted that Snapchat “deserve[s] all the credit” for the concept, adding that copying ideas remains somewhat of a tradition in Silicon Valley. “Gmail was not the first email client. Google Maps was certainly not the first map. The iPhone was definitely not the first phone. The question is what do you do with that format?” Systrom said.”
The iPhone may not have been the first mobile phone, not was Facebook the first (essentially) phone book, but it was not a copycat. If there was one thing that Steve Jobs could do brilliantly, it was to think outside of the dispenser. With larger companies swooping in and literally stealing ideas from smaller players, is it game over? Even the iPhone is losing market share, as we’ve mentioned previously.
The establishment of any new Industrial Age always brings with it the loss of jobs, or a shifting of them, at the very least, and technology is no exception. But the tech sector did come up with an ingenious solution for certain people who found themselves somewhat disenfranchised or in need of some quick cash: the sharing economy, which gave us the Taskrabbits, Airbnbs and Ubers of the world. Task-related solutions are one thing, but when it comes to a platform like an Airbnb, which enables one to rent out one’s abode for short term stays and a bit of dosh and which has blossomed into quite a cottage industry (pun unavoidable), it can become somewhat of a more thorny issue, and it’s not only due to regulations in certain cities around the world (Airbnb’s plan to compromise with cities as regulatory challenges pile up).
Tech has always had a bit of an ‘us versus them’ brashness to it, and again, Airbnb is the perfect example, disrupting the hospitality industry – and rental market – in ways that the founders, who started by renting out an air mattress and hence the name, had not foreseen. But given technology’s (and its investors’) insatiable appetite for more, more, more, at this stage in the game, as technology and platforms outgrow the startup phase and become seven- and eight-figure businesses, buyer – or renter – beware: it’s only ever really a matter of time before our so-called fellow conspirators become ‘them.’
According to Quartz, Airbnb is no longer the nice guy of the sharing economy. “For almost a decade, Airbnb has stuck carefully by that message, while maturing from a scrappy startup into the world’s fourth-most valuable private tech company. On paper, Airbnb is worth $30 billion, as much as Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel chain. At the same time, the company brands itself to hosts, guests, and investors as a champion of the middle class.”
Silicon Valley Has an Empathy Vacuum, according to Om Malik, whom we know personally (although it’s been a while) and for whom we’ve always had great respect, and who, in our opinion, was being kind, or at least diplomatic. “There is a new economic system emerging that is based on consumer capitalism, that innovates ways to eliminate friction of consumption — goods, services, and more than anything else, content — but is doing everything it can to diminish the consumer’s ability to afford the consumption,” says Malik. In explaining the results of the Presidential election (which shocked the tech sector and which we are not going to get into), said Malik, “Globalization is a proxy for technology-powered capitalism, which tends to reward fewer and fewer members of society.”
Tech loves to disrupt and disintermediate. At the same time, it disenfranchises, and people noticed. Except for those people in the tech bubble, and note that he did not say ‘problem:’ he said ‘vacuum.’ They’ve clearly dissociated from the world outside of their monoculture – a word often associated with Silicon Valley, although ‘cultural hegemony’ might be a bit more accurate, but we’ll let that one sit.
Tech’s language bubble may be part of the problem: It might help if we stop referring to people who utilize tech as users or the product and remember that they’re the customers, plain and simple, whether the product itself is free or not. Whether it’s investors or advertisers who are paying the bills, it’s still about eyeballs, which are almost always attached to people/customers, who are ultimately the reason why someone is paying your bills.
That’s not a typo. We’re referring to Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey and bear with us…
Silicon Valley is often referred to as a monoculture, and it’s something of a misnomer, as lately especially, it’s gone well beyond that. True, it’s basically a one-industry town, but in order to work in that industry, you also need to be of a certain mindset – and political bent. Of course, all are entitled to their opinions, and all well and good, even in Silicon Valley – as long as you move along lockstep with the accepted opinions.
Republican and staunch supporter of a certain candidate for President Peter Thiel comes to mind who, as a gay man, an immigrant and an extremely successful serial entrepreneur and investor, was practically a poster child for success/diversity/acceptance in Silicon Valley – until he expressed his political views and turned out to be – gasp – supporting a supposed homophobic xenophobe for President, who invited him to speak at the party’s convention – and Thiel accepted! Oh, wait, isn’t Thiel both homosexual and foreign-born? Never mind. Not all things have to track. Let’s stay on point here.
Don’t look at us: Mark Zuckerberg started it.
Last week, The Guardian published a piece entitled Facebook and Google: most powerful and secretive empires we’ve ever known, and, considering the power and reach of the platforms, they’re not merely tech companies: more accurately, they are perhaps two of the most powerful nation-states in the world at the moment and given how ubiquitous they are in our lives, they arguably wield more power/have a larger reach than any corporation or government that the world has seen, to date. As Ellen P. Goodman and Julia Powles state in the piece, “We call them platforms, networks or gatekeepers. But these labels hardly fit. The appropriate metaphor eludes us; even if we describe them as vast empires, they are unlike any we’ve ever known. Far from being discrete points of departure, merely supporting the action or minding the gates, they have become something much more significant. They have become the medium through which we experience and understand the world.
“As their users, we are like the blinkered young fish in the parable memorably retold by David Foster Wallace. When asked, “How’s the water?” we swipe blank: “What the hell is water?”


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Nokia is preparing to launch a new, entry-level Android Go smartphone soon. The device will succeed the Nokia 1.3 launched in March last year and will be expectedly called Nokia 1.4. Leaks pertaining to this ultra-affordable smartphone have been doing rounds on the internet for some time now. The device also popped up in a retail listing on Finnish retailer Multitronic’s website earlier this month, revealing its price.
However, HMD Global has yet to officially unveil the phone. And as we continue to wait for the Finnish company to make an announcement, detailed specs of the Nokia 1.4 have now leaked online. Needless to say, it appears to be an upgrade from Nokia 1.3 on pretty much every front.
Nokia 1.4 specs leaked
According to a new report, the Nokia 1.4 features a relatively big 6.51-inch HD+ LCD panel. Under the hood of this phone is an unspecified quad-core processor running at 1.3GHz. The chipset is paired with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. However, if that’s not enough, you can expand the storage to up to 128GB via a micro SD card.
The phone gets a dual-camera setup consisting of an 8-megapixel primary sensor along with a 2-megapixel depth sensor and an LED flash. The front-facing camera is a 5-megapixel sensor.
A 4,000mAh battery fuels the Nokia 1.4. The device features a micro-USB 2.0 port to replenish the battery juice. Connectivity options include dual nano SIM (4G + 2G), 2.4GHz WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.2. The device boots Android 10 (Android Go edition) from day one.
Sensors on board include an ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, and accelerometer. The Nokia 1.4 also gets a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. It is the first Nokia 1 series phone to feature a fingerprint scanner. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack on this phone.
A bigger battery, dual rear-camera setup, and a larger screen means the Nokia 1.4 is significantly bigger than the Nokia 1.3. It has a dimension of 166.42 x 76.72 x 8.70mm. The phone will be available in Blue and Grey color variants and will cost under €100.
As mentioned earlier, the Nokia 1.4 had recently popped up in a retail listing on Multitronic. The listing has now been pulled down, suggesting that it was published prematurely. The Nokia 1.3 was introduced in the month of March last year, before hitting the store shelves in April. HMD Global will likely stick to the same launch timeline for its successor as well. Watch out for an official announcement from the Finnish company in the coming weeks.


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Earlier this week Microsoft announced the Xbox Game Pass program. Coming in at $10.95 per month, the service will offer gamers a library of titles to download as they please. Like Netflix, the list of available games will grow and change over time.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen services like this. PlayStation Now is offered by Sony, allowing users to stream PS3 games to their PS4. OnLive was a cloud-based service, which allowed subscribers to stream games in a similar fashion. This week, we ask you:
Do you think we’ll be seeing more Netflix-like solutions for games in the future?
As internet speeds get faster, the idea of downloading an entire game – or streaming one – is less of a concern. If these models prove popular, do you think we'll see consoles transitioning to offer games as services, instead of products? Or do you think one-time purchases will reign supreme?
Let us know in the comments below!


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She managed to put on a brave face to model a dress designed by her late friend Alexander McQueen at a fashion week to raise money for orphans in Haiti.
But the emotion became too much for Kate Moss shortly afterwards when Topshop boss Sir Philip Green bid £100,000 for the the digital print creation from the 40-year-old's spring/summer 2010 collection, his last before his suicide a week ago.
Moss was comforted by McQueen muse Annabelle Nielson at Naomi Campbell and Sarah Brown's Fashion For Relief event on Thursday night.
Then, with London Fashion Week opening yesterday, tributes to the talent of Lee Alexander McQueen continued to come in thick and fast. There was a minute's silence in his honour during the opening ceremony, and the British Fashion Council (BFC) unveiled a memorial wall in the catwalk tents, where those attending the shows this week are able to leave personal messages of remembrance. "You made the world a more beautiful place," one read. "You will be greatly missed" and "You will forever remain an inspiration to us all," said others.
Although McQueen latterly showed his collections in Paris, London was the scene of some of the first steps in what was to be a glittering international career. "He has inspired so many," BFC chairman Harold Tillman said at the opening of the event. "I feel that ensuring London, his home city, continues to grow as a global fashion centre will be a fitting tribute to this brilliant man."
Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, also spoke at the unveiling of the autumn/winter shows at Somerset House, praising the "talent and creativity" of the British fashion scene.
The first day's schedule was a fitting representation of British fashion, with shows from well-established labels such as Caroline Charles and Maria Grachvogel in the morning, paving the way for upcoming young talent in the afternoon. Two names on the timetable, Aminaka Wilmont and Jena Theo, have come up through Fashion Fringe, a platform for young designers. The annual award offers financial support and mentoring to those trying to establish their own label.
"London is known for its great designers – Vivienne Westwood, Hussein Chalayan and the late, lamented Alexander McQueen," said Fashion Fringe creative director Colin McDowell. "They all started with something new and fresh, before making their labels more commercial."
Wilmont's collection was inspired by Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and featured elegantly pintucked dresses printed with blown-up images of barren landscapes, combining the provocative with the eminently wearable.
Wearability is key in this difficult climate, and Turkish designer Hakaan, who made his London catwalk debut yesterday, has already dressed the likes of actress Rose Byrne for the red carpet. Kate Moss – seemingly in better spirits – was on the front row at his show, as was French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, who said she had come exclusively to see Hakaan's collection, and comedian David Walliams, cheering on his fiancee, model Lara Stone. Other breakthrough designers who showed for the first time included Hannah Marshall and Jean-Pierre Braganza.


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While the summer sun blazes on, Instagram’s favorite skiwear brand is making waves with some exciting news. Best Moment, renowned for its stylish all-in-one snowsuits and vibrant matching ski sets, has secured a minority investment from the power couple, Nick and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. This venture marks the Jonas couple’s inaugural foray into the fashion industry and represents Best Moment’s first external funding beyond a limited family and friends round.
In an interview by phone, Nick Jonas expressed their enthusiasm for Best Moment, stating, “It is a brand that we’ve really come to love over the past couple of years, initially just as consumers, as fans of the brand. We were introduced to it by some friends and just fell in love with the story and how bold the aesthetic was.”
Best Moment has come a long way since its inception in 1984 in Chamonix, France. Originally conceived by professional skier and extreme-sports filmmaker Thierry Donard, it began as a technical sports line primarily worn by thrill-seekers involved in his freeride ski and surf documentaries. However, under the ownership of former hedge fund manager Jane Gottschalk and her financier husband Max Gottschalk since 2012, it has transformed into the hottest ski brand on social media, favored by celebrities like Chiara Ferragni, Nicky Hilton, and the Duchess of Cambridge. It is also stocked at prestigious retailers such as Net-a-Porter, Saks, and Selfridges.
With the backing of the Jonas couple, the brand’s owners are now looking to expand into new markets and diversify their product offerings, including a stronger presence in men’s fashion and a venture into surf and swimwear. Additionally, they plan to explore physical retail opportunities, capitalizing on the pandemic-fueled surge in outdoor technical fashion, a market projected to reach $38.2 billion by 2024, according to research firm Euromonitor.
Under the leadership of its first CEO, Negin Yeganegy, who was appointed in May 2020, Best Moment aims to attract further investments to fuel its growth. The brand is considering tapping into financial markets through an IPO or securing a deal with a strategic investor later this year.
Best Moment may be an emerging player in an increasingly competitive space, with luxury giants like Chloé and Chanel entering the skiwear market in recent seasons, alongside established specialist labels like Moncler and Arc’teryx. Nevertheless, the brand’s new investors see significant potential to capture the next generation of fashion-conscious skiers. Priced starting at £460 for a ski jacket and £225 for a wool jumper, Best Moment occupies a sweet spot that is exclusive yet more affordable than Fendi or Moncler. Its core customer base is aged 25 to 35, with the United States being its largest market, a region that has been driving growth for luxury brands since the pandemic. The endorsement of stars like Jonas and Chopra is expected to provide a marketing boost, introducing the brand to new customers in both established and emerging markets.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas commented on the brand’s appeal to today’s young consumers, saying, “We see a really big opportunity here, especially because you’ve seen in such a short period Best Moment has become one of the most desirable skiwear brands on the market. Young people today, in fact, you’re looking for function and fashion, and that’s the biggest part of Best Moment.”
The Rebirth: New Ownership, New Look
Jane and Max Gottschalk first crossed paths with Best Moment’s founder, Thierry Donard, in 2007 through mutual friends, bonding over their shared love of skiing. After a heli-skiing trip together, the couple decided to help Donard with a business plan for his label while also investing some capital in the business. Over the years, the couple took the risk of acquiring the brand outright, hoping to revitalize its somewhat outdated image to drive commercial success.
Under Jane Gottschalk’s creative leadership, the brand underwent a complete transformation, reimagining its products, distribution, and marketing strategies to cater to a younger, fashion-conscious skiing demographic seeking both style and technical functionality. Jane drew inspiration from the success story of luxury cycling brand Rapha, which had built a $75 million business by fostering a highly engaged community within the sport by 2016.
Jane said, “I just thought, how genius that they could do that. And they can create this online community. There was [cool] ski stuff if you knew where to go, but it wasn’t readily available online, it definitely wasn’t on Web-a-Porter or Matches, or at Harrods and Selfridges.”
She reimagined Best Moment’s look, modernizing its iconic logo and signature elements like the chevron pattern and polar bear motifs, all while embracing its retro roots. The brand drew inspiration from the on-piste styles of professional skiers like Jean-Claude Killy and fashion icons like Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn. Unique silhouettes and bold prints set the brand apart from traditional players in the market, and an emphasis on fit allowed customers to choose between low-waisted, slim salopettes or high-waisted, flared and cargo styles.
Instead of relying on specialist ski retailers, Jane sought out high-end fashion stockists such as Lane Crawford, Net-a-Porter, and Matchesfashion, targeting fashion-conscious consumers already accustomed to investing in their wardrobes. Despite having limited marketing budgets, the brand prioritized social media, leveraging its use of vibrant colors and distinctive silhouettes to capture attention on Instagram.
“Best Moment moved the ski category away from functional clothing and made stylish skiwear more accessible,” remarked Libby Page, Senior Market Editor at Net-a-Porter. She noted that Best Moment was the first ski performance brand the retailer stocked and remains one of its top-performing ski brands today. “The brand’s accessible price point plus their colorful, eye-catching pieces attract a younger customer.”
Jane also introduced a surf collection that combined technical fabrics with playful, elevated designs, envisioning it as a summer complement to the brand’s core ski business. She believed in the importance of maintaining a strong brand identity, saying, “You have to keep bringing everyone back to who you are, the story of what you are. We’re a technical sportswear brand — and we look a bit fun.”
The Next Chapter: A Fresh Market Opportunity
Jane Gottschalk was seeking a strategic partner to help scale the business back in 2020, but negotiations fell through due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Best Moment claims to have weathered the storm well, with sales remaining flat year-on-year in 2020 and 2021 despite the closure of major European ski resorts.
Under CEO Negin Yeganegy, formerly Yoox Net-a-Porter’s Group Director of E-commerce, the brand shifted its focus to expanding its US business, where ski resorts remained open. In Europe, the company pivoted towards promoting its cropped puffer jackets and vibrant merino knits as urban essentials. This year, the brand finally achieved profitability.
With the world reopening, Best Moment is now embarking on an ambitious expansion plan. Expanding in the Middle East and Asia, particularly in China following the Beijing Winter Olympics, is a priority, along with growing its men’s and surf and swimwear businesses. While physical retail is on the horizon, it’s viewed more as a tool to fuel e-commerce growth rather than a primary focus. Direct sales on the brand’s website already account for half of the business.
The brand is actively pursuing a deal by year-end to support its business ambitions, whether through an IPO or a partnership with a strategic investor. Jane Gottschalk mentioned, “There are a few options on the table,” but declined to provide further details.
For now, the backing of new partners Nick and Priyanka Chopra Jonas may provide fresh momentum and help kickstart post-pandemic growth. The couple is widely perceived as youthful, attractive, and intelligent, boasting a massive online following with 111 million Instagram followers.
Best Moment has not disclosed the terms of the deal with the Jonas couple, but the future appears promising for this innovative skiwear brand as it aims to capture the hearts of the next generation of fashion-conscious winter sports enthusiasts.


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WWDC 2023: 15-inch MacBook Air coming! Wonder tech or not? Check likely specs
With just days to go for WWDC 2023 which kicks off on June 5, we already know that Apple could announce a new 15-inch MacBook Air. Here’s what we know so far based on various leaks and reports.
First Published Date: 30 May, 18:50 IST
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Fashion designer and Take 5 boutique owner Sakina Iskender never expected to be making business decisions based on an episode of TLC's "What Not to Wear."
But that's exactly what happened last year after she saw an episode that featured a breast cancer survivor who opted not to go through reconstructive surgery.
"She didn't know how to feel pretty again. They took her to more than 10 stores or boutiques, but it wasn't easy to find something that could fit her really nicely," Iskender said. "It was emotional to watch it. She's already been though so much, and then she's there crying on TV."
As a result, Iskender and her husband, Mahir, who own Take 5 in Merrifield, have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $20,000 to launch a line of clothing for women without breasts.
To get started on the designs, Sakina Iskender researched clothing for mastectomy patients who choose not to have reconstructive surgery. A few online shops offered items, but they didn't look quite right to her.
She started sketching garments she thought would flatter women who had mastectomies, but she put the project on hold when they decided to move their business from Bethesda to Merrifield late last year. Then, after she met a breast cancer survivor who came into her boutique, she started working on the project again.
Now, the two are trying to raise startup funding for what they're calling the Steel Flower line — a tribute to the survivors' steely resolve. The money will help them start producing garments at factories in New York City. They hope to release the line this spring and begin selling it for the fall/winter season later this year.
Sakina Iskender has put the traditional line she was designing for next season on hold in order to work on this project.
"This was more important," she said. "There are so many good designers that other people can go and buy clothes from."
The Kickstarter will run through Feb. 27, and many of the pledges come with a gift. Among the offerings are items of clothing from the Steel Flower collection, or, for non-breast cancer survivors, a "Lifeline" shirt designed by Sakina Iskender.
Take 5 focuses on clothing lines designed by Sakina Iskender and others exclusively for the store, but the entrepreneurs are envisioning a little less exclusivity for Steel Flower. They plan to offer it online and eventually hope to sell it to retailers such as Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom.
The price point will be a bit lower than the one-of-a-kind designs Take 5 offers in its boutique. Items in the Steel Flower line, which will include tops, dresses, pants and skirts, scarves and hats, will range in price from $50 to $350, Mahir Iskender said.
It is their hope to spread the line as far as possible — maybe even hosting an international fashion show where the clothing is modeled by actual breast cancer survivors.
"Our intention is to get it to as wide as possible an audience," he said.