Selasa, 16 November 2010
Sabtu, 13 November 2010
Making money with mobile apps
To many companies and independent developers -- not just software publishers -- mobile apps represent something even more powerful and important than a brand-new platform to deploy apps on. It's a new and dynamic source of revenue, one with a lot of room to grow. And given how tough it can be to make money selling software at all, especially in this world of open-source and free Web apps, any proven way to make money in that field can become a magnet.
To many companies and independent developers -- not just software publishers -- mobile apps represent something even more powerful and important than a brand-new platform to deploy apps on. It's a new and dynamic source of revenue, one with a lot of room to grow. And given how tough it can be to make money selling software at all, especially in this world of open-source and free Web apps, any proven way to make money in that field can become a magnet.
Just like there's more than one way to deliver software in general, there's more than one way to monetize mobile applications. The various strategies aren't conflicting, but complementary. Each app can use the business model -- or models -- best suited to it.
With mobile apps, the purchasing process varies wildly, depending on which operating system you're dealing with. On the iPhone, everything's done through one interface: the App Store in iTunes. Windows Phone 7 supports direct payment via credit cards and third-party billing of the customer's service provider. Purchasing through a service provider is convenient, but I imagine people might still opt for credit cards to avoid the possibility of spurious charges on their phone bills.
But with Android, the dreaded "F" word -- fragmentation -- comes into the picture. The main way to pay for apps through the Android Market is via Google Checkout, widely criticized for its bad end-user experiences. You can also pay the app merchant directly and there are a number of other merchant mechanisms ... all different. (PayPal has also recently been added to the mix.)
What's most lacking in Android right now is a single, consistent interface for payments. The most seamless solution would be an API that allows app purchases to be added to the carrier's bill (with user consent, of course), which would make the process of purchasing an application all but frictionless. This hasn't happened yet, but Patrick Mork, vice president of marketing for GetJar, a cross-platform mobile app store, claims that it is "right around the corner" and that Google has made no secret of its negotiations with the various carriers to make this possible. Integration with PayPal is also a step in the right direction, even if not everyone uses it.
Less clear is whether such a sea change will require a new version of Android -- meaning those stuck on older handsets that aren't being updated to newer editions of the OS would be left behind. Because Apple and Microsoft both have ecosystems where the purchasing system is already pretty seamless, Android runs the risk of falling behind unless the vast majority of its existing installed base can be brought up to speed when new merchant mechanisms arrive. And because of the way Android is delivered to the end user -- by the handset maker rather than by Google alone, and with any number of gratuitous changes -- a good chunk of the existing generation of Android phones might remain stuck on the old-school merchant systems.
The need to make app purchasing as convenient as possible will only become more important over time, to both the people buying and selling them. Smartphones have become increasingly prevalent among consumers as well as business people; many new users have no experience with buying an app and don't want the experience to be more complex than a click or two. "Many apps are currently purchased on an impulse," says Ric Ferraro, founder of mobile start-up GeoMe. "People crave apps in the same way [as candy bars], and the longer it takes to buy the app, the less likely it is that the purchase will be completed."
Mork puts it another way: "The best purchasing experience is probably the one where you never have to leave the app."
Standing out from the crowd
Along with ease of purchase, discoverability -- how easily you can find a given app and pick it out from its competition -- will also become increasingly important. I've read more than a few comments to the effect that one drawback of the Android app stores is a proliferation of me-too apps that duplicate functionality to the point of redundancy.
From this comes the argument that an app store with a more carefully curated selection of products is more genuinely useful -- like the iTunes app store, for instance. But it's also possible to make an argument that the size of the store is not as important as the interface used to query it. Few people complain about the size of Amazon.com's catalog, in part because it's relatively easy to drill down and narrow the scope of a search.
Another possible solution would be a universal app catalog -- "a single store or a single set of standards which can be accessed independent of the type of mobile device or OS it is running," as Ferraro describes it. "Some initiatives are being set up to attempt this -- for example, the Wholesale Applications Community initiative sponsored by the GSM Association could go a long way in setting unified standards and creating a single platform."
That wouldn't make things much easier for developers, who would still have to produce and test variations of a given app for different platforms -- but the app market is driven by consumers and not developers alone, and where the consumers go, the developers inevitably must follow.
The cost of selling
One other major factor that comes into play when selling an app is the cost of making the app available in the first place. Apple's iTunes store splits revenue 70-30, with Apple getting the 30%. Windows Phone 7's app store has a similar 70-30 split, but a portion of Microsoft's 30% is distributed back to the network operators. Both also have application requirements and yearly membership fees -- $99 for Microsoft, and from $99 to $299 for Apple, depending on whether you get the Standard or Enterprise iPhone software development kit.
The Android Market also features a 70-30 revenue split, but the 30% is distributed between the payment processor and the carrier. The registration fee for developers is also only $25, but an unlocked developer phone, either the Android Dev Phone or the Google Nexus One, can cost upwards of $500. These phones are not required, but they provide some major power-developer features: They can work with any GSM network, and the Android Dev phone also lets you install any custom Android system image.
Alternative places to obtain apps are also starting to become available. For example, Verizon is planning to open its Android V Cast apps store sometime in November, for which it will be offering a 70-30 revenue split. GetJar, an independent site, takes a varying fee for each app download, using a bidding system that starts at one cent per download.
Making a living at apps
All that being said, there are a number of different strategies that developers are using to earn money with their apps -- most outside the traditional pay-for-product model.
The freemium model
The first and most basic approach to monetizing a mobile app is to just sell the application itself. But even a method this elementary is fraught with complexities. After all, how much will people be willing to pay for a given mobile app? Set the price too low and you can't cover development costs; set it too high and nobody will touch it.
One quick way to resolve that problem is to adopt an approach that's been used in the PC world for decades: Give away a minimally functional version of the application -- sometimes ad-supported, sometimes just outfitted with nag boxes -- and encourage the user to buy the full version. The missing feature or features don't have to be significant but should be worth paying for. Another way to put this would be: Give away the app, sell the functionality.
The word freemium has been coined to describe this approach, and it has quickly become an essential means of bringing a mobile app to market. Ferraro described the freemium model in his blog as "a classic marketing tool available to mobile app developers to maintain the perception of a free service, while attempting to lock-in customers into some type of charging mechanism."
The key word here is perception: As long as people feel as if they're getting something for free, they don't mind as much if they have to pay down the line -- even if they have to pay again and again. What matters is the sense that they're getting something for their investment.
Online games have developed this to the level of an art form. As subscription-based games lose favor and "freemium" gaming comes to the fore, the game makers have come up with any number of ways to scare up revenue that don't depend on selling the game itself. Ferraro concurred on this point in an e-mail interview: "App publishers can monetize free by capitalizing on the audience they obtained, and promoting upgrades. This is particularly visible in mobile games, where more advanced gaming levels are only available at a premium."
That said, reluctance on the part of app makers has been one obstacle to use of the freemium model. "Publishers of well-known brands didn't want to be perceived as giving things away or devaluing the brand," says GetJar's Mork. "But this has changed in the past couple of years." Electronic Arts, for instance, has been moving toward a freemium model for its online games -- something enhanced all the more by its purchase of game publisher Chillingo, creator of the hit game Angry Birds. Chillingo's game-development SDK includes technology to easily create freemium applications, something useful to any company that wants to push out such applications across multiple mobile platforms.
Microsoft sensed, quite correctly, the need for developers to create freemium apps. The Windows Phone 7 SDK has direct provisions for this. The free and full versions of an app created with the SDK can be the same binary; all that's needed is an unlock code. No new download is required. This takes the work out of building a separate trial version -- and gives app developers that many fewer excuses not to offer both options.
The service-and-subscription model
A major business model for mobile apps is to sell access to a service and give away an application that's just a convenient front-end for that service. The biggest question is: What service is worth paying for?
It's not just a question of the service being useful. It's about the integrity of the data provided by that service as well. Consider Zagat, the venerable dining and entertainment guide, which has a subscription version of its review service accessible through its mobile apps for $24.95 a year. Zagat's main competition is from crowd-sourced services like Yelp, but Zagat's business model is based on the idea that its information has such a known pedigree, it's worth paying for. Yelp's database may be contributed to by a broader range of people, but it's arguably much messier and more inconsistent.
Another method for selling data involves creating applications that offer a repository of locally stored data. For example, let's say you worked for a company that is known for publishing foreign-language dictionaries, and you wanted to sell mobile versions of its books. You could give away the app itself, with a minimal version of the dictionary data thrown in on top of that (say, 2,000 words), then sell the full-blown version of the dictionary, either all at once or in a regularly updated, periodic-subscription version. This wouldn't stop amateur competitors from creating their own apps and data sets, but a free dictionary that's not very accurate would have less appeal to a serious language student than a modestly priced one that has a brand-name pedigree behind it.
The ad-funded model
A third way to generate revenue from mobile apps is a method ported directly over from the Web at large: advertising. But be aware: Ad-supported apps come with all the controversies associated with using advertising as a revenue model, plus a few new ones.
Ad-supported apps can serve as a way to hook people into buying a full version of a program without the ads. For example, the MixZing Music Player for Android has a free, ad-supported version; pay $6.99 for the full version, and you not only remove the ads (which are at least unobtrusive), but unlock a slew of extra features, like an MP3 tag editor.
The problem with ads in a mobile application is -- for lack of a better word -- acreage. On an ad-supported Web page, ads can run in banner or skyscraper elements confined to the edges of the page and don't have to be as intrusive. With a mobile app, the small screen means any ad is going to eat into the UI, and a badly integrated ad will turn people off. Ads placed too near controls, for instance, may mistakenly intercept button-press actions.
Another small drawback to advertising in mobile apps: The ad system is all but useless if the user doesn't have an active data connection. This will become less of an obstacle as more mobile devices are sold with some form of data plan included and as municipal Wi-Fi becomes more pervasive. (Also, an ad can still be effective, even if it clicking on it doesn't work due to a lack of networking. As long as it raises some awareness in the mind of the viewer, it's still doing its job.)
Another method of monetizing through advertising is using revenue generated through a search engine. This has been Mozilla's model with Firefox and could just as easily be applied to mobile apps as well. Whenever a user executes a Web search via Firefox's native search box, a certain percentage of ad revenue generated from the search goes back to Mozilla through an affiliate program.
The downside to this approach is that it lends itself only to applications that have some search component -- such as a mobile browser -- which make up a very small segment of the existing app mix. That said, it's entirely possible that creative methods of integrating search with mobile apps will make search-engine revenue that much more viable a choice.
To many companies and independent developers -- not just software publishers -- mobile apps represent something even more powerful and important than a brand-new platform to deploy apps on. It's a new and dynamic source of revenue, one with a lot of room to grow. And given how tough it can be to make money selling software at all, especially in this world of open-source and free Web apps, any proven way to make money in that field can become a magnet.
Just like there's more than one way to deliver software in general, there's more than one way to monetize mobile applications. The various strategies aren't conflicting, but complementary. Each app can use the business model -- or models -- best suited to it.
With mobile apps, the purchasing process varies wildly, depending on which operating system you're dealing with. On the iPhone, everything's done through one interface: the App Store in iTunes. Windows Phone 7 supports direct payment via credit cards and third-party billing of the customer's service provider. Purchasing through a service provider is convenient, but I imagine people might still opt for credit cards to avoid the possibility of spurious charges on their phone bills.
But with Android, the dreaded "F" word -- fragmentation -- comes into the picture. The main way to pay for apps through the Android Market is via Google Checkout, widely criticized for its bad end-user experiences. You can also pay the app merchant directly and there are a number of other merchant mechanisms ... all different. (PayPal has also recently been added to the mix.)
What's most lacking in Android right now is a single, consistent interface for payments. The most seamless solution would be an API that allows app purchases to be added to the carrier's bill (with user consent, of course), which would make the process of purchasing an application all but frictionless. This hasn't happened yet, but Patrick Mork, vice president of marketing for GetJar, a cross-platform mobile app store, claims that it is "right around the corner" and that Google has made no secret of its negotiations with the various carriers to make this possible. Integration with PayPal is also a step in the right direction, even if not everyone uses it.
Less clear is whether such a sea change will require a new version of Android -- meaning those stuck on older handsets that aren't being updated to newer editions of the OS would be left behind. Because Apple and Microsoft both have ecosystems where the purchasing system is already pretty seamless, Android runs the risk of falling behind unless the vast majority of its existing installed base can be brought up to speed when new merchant mechanisms arrive. And because of the way Android is delivered to the end user -- by the handset maker rather than by Google alone, and with any number of gratuitous changes -- a good chunk of the existing generation of Android phones might remain stuck on the old-school merchant systems.
The need to make app purchasing as convenient as possible will only become more important over time, to both the people buying and selling them. Smartphones have become increasingly prevalent among consumers as well as business people; many new users have no experience with buying an app and don't want the experience to be more complex than a click or two. "Many apps are currently purchased on an impulse," says Ric Ferraro, founder of mobile start-up GeoMe. "People crave apps in the same way [as candy bars], and the longer it takes to buy the app, the less likely it is that the purchase will be completed."
Mork puts it another way: "The best purchasing experience is probably the one where you never have to leave the app."
Standing out from the crowd
Along with ease of purchase, discoverability -- how easily you can find a given app and pick it out from its competition -- will also become increasingly important. I've read more than a few comments to the effect that one drawback of the Android app stores is a proliferation of me-too apps that duplicate functionality to the point of redundancy.
From this comes the argument that an app store with a more carefully curated selection of products is more genuinely useful -- like the iTunes app store, for instance. But it's also possible to make an argument that the size of the store is not as important as the interface used to query it. Few people complain about the size of Amazon.com's catalog, in part because it's relatively easy to drill down and narrow the scope of a search.
Another possible solution would be a universal app catalog -- "a single store or a single set of standards which can be accessed independent of the type of mobile device or OS it is running," as Ferraro describes it. "Some initiatives are being set up to attempt this -- for example, the Wholesale Applications Community initiative sponsored by the GSM Association could go a long way in setting unified standards and creating a single platform."
That wouldn't make things much easier for developers, who would still have to produce and test variations of a given app for different platforms -- but the app market is driven by consumers and not developers alone, and where the consumers go, the developers inevitably must follow.
The cost of selling
One other major factor that comes into play when selling an app is the cost of making the app available in the first place. Apple's iTunes store splits revenue 70-30, with Apple getting the 30%. Windows Phone 7's app store has a similar 70-30 split, but a portion of Microsoft's 30% is distributed back to the network operators. Both also have application requirements and yearly membership fees -- $99 for Microsoft, and from $99 to $299 for Apple, depending on whether you get the Standard or Enterprise iPhone software development kit.
The Android Market also features a 70-30 revenue split, but the 30% is distributed between the payment processor and the carrier. The registration fee for developers is also only $25, but an unlocked developer phone, either the Android Dev Phone or the Google Nexus One, can cost upwards of $500. These phones are not required, but they provide some major power-developer features: They can work with any GSM network, and the Android Dev phone also lets you install any custom Android system image.
Alternative places to obtain apps are also starting to become available. For example, Verizon is planning to open its Android V Cast apps store sometime in November, for which it will be offering a 70-30 revenue split. GetJar, an independent site, takes a varying fee for each app download, using a bidding system that starts at one cent per download.
Making a living at apps
All that being said, there are a number of different strategies that developers are using to earn money with their apps -- most outside the traditional pay-for-product model.
The freemium model
The first and most basic approach to monetizing a mobile app is to just sell the application itself. But even a method this elementary is fraught with complexities. After all, how much will people be willing to pay for a given mobile app? Set the price too low and you can't cover development costs; set it too high and nobody will touch it.
One quick way to resolve that problem is to adopt an approach that's been used in the PC world for decades: Give away a minimally functional version of the application -- sometimes ad-supported, sometimes just outfitted with nag boxes -- and encourage the user to buy the full version. The missing feature or features don't have to be significant but should be worth paying for. Another way to put this would be: Give away the app, sell the functionality.
The word freemium has been coined to describe this approach, and it has quickly become an essential means of bringing a mobile app to market. Ferraro described the freemium model in his blog as "a classic marketing tool available to mobile app developers to maintain the perception of a free service, while attempting to lock-in customers into some type of charging mechanism."
The key word here is perception: As long as people feel as if they're getting something for free, they don't mind as much if they have to pay down the line -- even if they have to pay again and again. What matters is the sense that they're getting something for their investment.
Online games have developed this to the level of an art form. As subscription-based games lose favor and "freemium" gaming comes to the fore, the game makers have come up with any number of ways to scare up revenue that don't depend on selling the game itself. Ferraro concurred on this point in an e-mail interview: "App publishers can monetize free by capitalizing on the audience they obtained, and promoting upgrades. This is particularly visible in mobile games, where more advanced gaming levels are only available at a premium."
That said, reluctance on the part of app makers has been one obstacle to use of the freemium model. "Publishers of well-known brands didn't want to be perceived as giving things away or devaluing the brand," says GetJar's Mork. "But this has changed in the past couple of years." Electronic Arts, for instance, has been moving toward a freemium model for its online games -- something enhanced all the more by its purchase of game publisher Chillingo, creator of the hit game Angry Birds. Chillingo's game-development SDK includes technology to easily create freemium applications, something useful to any company that wants to push out such applications across multiple mobile platforms.
Microsoft sensed, quite correctly, the need for developers to create freemium apps. The Windows Phone 7 SDK has direct provisions for this. The free and full versions of an app created with the SDK can be the same binary; all that's needed is an unlock code. No new download is required. This takes the work out of building a separate trial version -- and gives app developers that many fewer excuses not to offer both options.
The service-and-subscription model
A major business model for mobile apps is to sell access to a service and give away an application that's just a convenient front-end for that service. The biggest question is: What service is worth paying for?
It's not just a question of the service being useful. It's about the integrity of the data provided by that service as well. Consider Zagat, the venerable dining and entertainment guide, which has a subscription version of its review service accessible through its mobile apps for $24.95 a year. Zagat's main competition is from crowd-sourced services like Yelp, but Zagat's business model is based on the idea that its information has such a known pedigree, it's worth paying for. Yelp's database may be contributed to by a broader range of people, but it's arguably much messier and more inconsistent.
Another method for selling data involves creating applications that offer a repository of locally stored data. For example, let's say you worked for a company that is known for publishing foreign-language dictionaries, and you wanted to sell mobile versions of its books. You could give away the app itself, with a minimal version of the dictionary data thrown in on top of that (say, 2,000 words), then sell the full-blown version of the dictionary, either all at once or in a regularly updated, periodic-subscription version. This wouldn't stop amateur competitors from creating their own apps and data sets, but a free dictionary that's not very accurate would have less appeal to a serious language student than a modestly priced one that has a brand-name pedigree behind it.
The ad-funded model
A third way to generate revenue from mobile apps is a method ported directly over from the Web at large: advertising. But be aware: Ad-supported apps come with all the controversies associated with using advertising as a revenue model, plus a few new ones.
Ad-supported apps can serve as a way to hook people into buying a full version of a program without the ads. For example, the MixZing Music Player for Android has a free, ad-supported version; pay $6.99 for the full version, and you not only remove the ads (which are at least unobtrusive), but unlock a slew of extra features, like an MP3 tag editor.
The problem with ads in a mobile application is -- for lack of a better word -- acreage. On an ad-supported Web page, ads can run in banner or skyscraper elements confined to the edges of the page and don't have to be as intrusive. With a mobile app, the small screen means any ad is going to eat into the UI, and a badly integrated ad will turn people off. Ads placed too near controls, for instance, may mistakenly intercept button-press actions.
Another small drawback to advertising in mobile apps: The ad system is all but useless if the user doesn't have an active data connection. This will become less of an obstacle as more mobile devices are sold with some form of data plan included and as municipal Wi-Fi becomes more pervasive. (Also, an ad can still be effective, even if it clicking on it doesn't work due to a lack of networking. As long as it raises some awareness in the mind of the viewer, it's still doing its job.)
Another method of monetizing through advertising is using revenue generated through a search engine. This has been Mozilla's model with Firefox and could just as easily be applied to mobile apps as well. Whenever a user executes a Web search via Firefox's native search box, a certain percentage of ad revenue generated from the search goes back to Mozilla through an affiliate program.
The downside to this approach is that it lends itself only to applications that have some search component -- such as a mobile browser -- which make up a very small segment of the existing app mix. That said, it's entirely possible that creative methods of integrating search with mobile apps will make search-engine revenue that much more viable a choice.
Five ways to make money from social networks
The average Facebook user will spend over six hours on the social network every month. When you consider that there are 25 million Facebook members in the UK alone, that’s an awful lot of time that could be better spent.... making money.
Because, believe it or not, you can actually make money using social networking sites nowadays. Here's how:
It pays to talk
Social networks make money by taking your content and monetizing it by adding adverts. It’s a cracking business model for sites like Facebook and Myspace as they’re effectively providing a blank website; setting you to work providing photos, music and videos that will draw in readers to the site, and then pinching the advertising revenue that your content earns!
But many smaller start-up sites will pay members to comment on profiles, upload photos and pretty much do anything else that they would normally do on a social network. Yuwie is one such site and claims that some members are earning between £200 and £250 a month. But we haven't tried it ourselves so we're not sure how accurate this claim is - if any lovemoney.com readers do sign up, please come back and share your experience using the comments box below.
Similarly, 'social utility' site MyLot pays out for blog posts and discussion comments whilst the ‘social networking for grown ups’ site, Gather, allows you to earn points for participating in group activities and sharing videos and photos. These points can then be redeemed for cash or exchanged for Tesco and Starbucks coupons.
Referrals
Many smaller social networks will also pay you a flat fee for referring new members to the site. MyLot and Yuwie will shell out for every person you sign up and will also forward you a percentage of the advertising revenue that your referred user attracts. So whilst it’s still a good idea to canvass your friends for potential members, if you can get them posting and chatting on the network then you’ll earn more.
It’s also worth checking how many levels a sites referrals programme runs for. This means that when the people you’ve introduced to the site start getting their own referrals, you’ll keep earning!
Host your own advertising
As I mentioned above, advertising is the real money spinner for the social networking entrepreneur. Most sites will use pay-per-click advertising – where a client will pay a set fee every time their ad is clicked on. This also gives the owner of a social network a way of tracking how profitable each profile is – the more clicks on ads on your homepage, the more money goes into your pocket!
Many social networks host these adverts through the Google application AdSense, but there’s nothing stopping you signing up for your own personal account and hosting adverts on your own webpage. It’s free to use, and if you’ve got a popular website you could see a hefty chunk of cash come your way every month. Google even tailors the ads to your webpage’s content and they can be altered to suit the style of your site.
Even if you don’t have your own webpage you can still make money from AdSense. Senserely allows you to write blogs, reviews or just general waffle and have your AdSense feed displayed next to your content.
Tagfoot also allows you to input your AdSense code, and places personalised ads next to blogs, videos and photos that you upload. But they’ll take a share of any per-click revenues that your ads bring in.
Social networking bargains
There’s not just money to made social networking, you can also save a few pounds by getting social online! Sites like Groupola, Groupon, Keynoir and Living Social offer cut price flash sales on adventure days or group activities in your local town or city. You can get between 50 and 90% off the high street price - but that's not all.
The deals only last one day and these sites need a critical mass of people to sign up to each deal. So they will reward you if you can convince your friends to buy too. Groupon, for example, will give you a £6 credit as a reward for each friend you sign up to a deal, while with Living Social, if you can get three friends to buy the deal after you’ve picked it up, then you get yours free!
Twitter perks
Companies have also cottoned on to the power of social networking and the ability of the so-called ‘Twitter-verse’ to sell products and bolster trends. This could be good news if you fancy yourself as a social networking expert as companies are beginning to offer freebies to those online identities they deem to have a large enough influence over others.
In fact a whole company has sprung up that identifies influencers across the social web – the aptly named Klout. Earlier this year Klout teamed up with Virgin America to offer free flights to Twitter users with a great influence. They’d hoped that favourable tweets would help kick-start business on new routes between California and Toronto.
Of course, creating an influential online identity won’t happen overnight and if you want to start making big bucks from social networks you really have to throw yourself into it and start posting and commenting every day. Cross advertising profiles, sites and blogs on different networks will also help drive more traffic to your pages and see your per-click advertising revenue increase.
Finally, you can’t be a profitable social networker without a good internet connection – so take a look at our article on the best – and cheapest – broadband deals for a bit of expert insight.
Selasa, 26 Oktober 2010
Senin, 25 Oktober 2010
Sabtu, 09 Oktober 2010
Kamis, 07 Oktober 2010
Sabtu, 11 September 2010
Motorola Droid 2, more than a hardware device
The new Motorola Droid 2 is better than the earlier Android device.Learn the attractive updates of this new device, the part where it excels, and the design which makes it more attractive.
Meanwhile, the new Motorola Droid 2 is powered with features like:-
1. It is powered with Verzon Wireless.
2. Its processor has TI OMAP 1.0 GHz with dedicated GPU.
3. It has 512 MB RAM with storage capacity of 8 GB internal + 8 GB microSD (expandable to 32 GB).
4. Motorola Droid 2 has 3.7-inch 480×854 FWVGA and dimensions of 4.58(h) x 2.38(w) x 0.54(d) inches.
5. The device is powered with 5.0 MP Camera, digital zoon, dual LED flash, auto-focus, image stabilization.
6. Its keyboard includes 45-key slide-down hardware QWERTY; vertical and horizontal on-screen keyboards.
7. The device is loaded with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n; Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR; DLNA as well as 3G Mobile Hotspot (connect up to 5 devices via Wi-Fi).
The original Droid was just introduced in the electronic market around 10 months back, and was the first Android 2.0 smartphone, the first Android product to hit the huge market. But, the Android was hit hard due to launch of devices from HTC, Motorola, and Samsung, which forced that month after month fall with the
launch of new devices.
On the other hand, the new Motorola Droid 2 also has some draw-backs as well. It has smaller screen as
compared to devices like HTC EVO, the Droid X and the Samsung Captivate. Further, its keyboard was awful, if fact you can say that one of the worst smartphone ever.
However, the new Motorola Droid 2 is out in the market with the price tag of $199 with 2-year contract.
Kamis, 09 September 2010
Rabu, 25 Agustus 2010
Personal Finance
A key component of personal finance is financial planning, a dynamic process that requires regular monitoring and reevaluation. In general, it has five steps:
1. Assessment: One's personal financial situation can be assessed by compiling simplified versions of financial balance sheets and income statements. A personal balance sheet lists the values of personal assets (e.g., car, house, clothes, stocks, bank account), along with personal liabilities (e.g., credit card debt, bank loan, mortgage).
2. Setting goals: It is not uncommon to have several goals, some short term and some long term. Setting financial goals helps direct financial planning.
3. Creating a plan: The financial plan details how to accomplish your goals. It could include, for example, reducing unnecessary expenses, increasing one's employment income, or investing in the stock market.
4. Execution: Execution of one's personal financial plan often requires discipline and perseverance. Many people obtain assistance from professionals such as accountants, financial planners, investment advisers, and lawyers.
5. Monitoring and reassessment: As time passes, one's personal financial plan must be monitored for possible adjustments or reassessments.
Monthly Budget
A budget should have a purpose or defined goal that is achieved within a certain time period. Knowing the source and amount of income and the amounts allocated to expense events are as important as when those cash flow events occur. The more complicated the budgeting process is, the less likely a person is to keep up with it. The purpose of a personal budget is to identify where income and expenditure is present in the common household; it is not to identify each individual purchase ahead of time. How simplicity is defined with regards to the use of budgeting categories varies from family to family, but many small purchases can generally be lumped into one category (Car, Household items, etc.). There are several guidelines to use when allocating money for a budget as well. Past spending is one of the most important priorities; a critical step in most personal budgeting strategies involves keeping track of expenses via receipts over the past month so that spending for the month can be reconciled with budgeted spending for the next month. Any of the following allocation guidelines may be used; choose one that will work well with your situation.
Financial Planning
In general usage, a financial plan can be a budget, a plan for spending and saving future income. This plan allocates future income to various types of expenses, such as rent or utilities, and also reserves some income for short-term and long-term savings. A financial plan can also be an investment plan, which allocates savings to various assets or projects expected to produce future income, such as a new business or product line, shares in an existing business, or real estate.
In business, a financial plan can refer to the three primary financial statements (balance sheet ,income statement, and cash flow statement) created within a business plan. Financial forecastor financial plan can also refer to an annual projection of income and expenses for a company, division or department. A financial plan can also be an estimation of cash needs and a decision on how to raise the cash, such as through borrowing or issuing additional shares in a company.
While a financial plan refers to estimating future income, expenses and assets, a financing plan or finance plan usually refers to the means by which cash will be acquired to cover future expenses, for instance through earning, borrowing or using saved cash.
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The term “eco-friendly” is used to describe activities which are good for the environment. It is an acronym for “ecologically friendly,””. There are a range of ways in which activities can be eco-friendly, ranging from products which are constructed in an environmentally friendly way to making lifestyle changes which are designed to benefit the environment. People engage in eco-friendly activities because they are concerned about the health of the environment. Pollution, rampant use of natural resources, and other activities are those activities that hurt the environment, and people should begin to look into more eco-friendly ways of living and doing business.
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Sabtu, 13 Maret 2010
Airtel broadband offer to add on IPL fever for its customers on YouTube
Airtel is now the official broadband sponsor of Season 3 of IPL cricket 2010. The 45 day long matches will be streamed by YouTube, which is the subsidiary of Google and this year has got the official rights to offer uninterrupted viewing of Live cricket.
Airtel broadband, therefore gives this unique opportunity to its customers to upgrade the speed of their current broadband.
Maruti to export 35,000 A-Stars to Nissan
The company has a three year export contract with Nissan, which sells the A-star badged as the ‘Pixo' in Europe. In the first year of the contract, the company has exported close to 50,000 units to Nissan, due to the high demand in Europe, following the scrappage incentive.s .
“We have a three-year contract with Nissan, under which we have already exported 50,000 units in 2009-10 . In 2010-11, we expect to export 35,000 units, which is the minimum quantity. It may be higher as per the demand. The total contractis for around 1,05,000 units ,” Mr R.C. Bhargava, its Chairman, told Business Line.
Nissan sells the Pixo in mostly the same European markets where Suzuki sells the A-Star - branded as ‘Alto'. According to Mr Bhargava, both cars are essentially the same, except for minor cosmetic changes and the badging.
In February this year, the company had admitted that from December onwards it had recalled more than one lakh units of the A-Star due to problems in the fuel tank gasket and O-ring. The recalls also affected 35,000 units sent to Nissan in 2009-10. However, the minor problem does not seem to have affected the popularity of the car.
Jumat, 12 Maret 2010
Taiwanese research finds relation between Tobacco and Lung Cancer
In some breaking news released by the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the Taiwanese research had finally identified the reason behind why tobacco causes lung cancer and other smoking-related damages to the human body as well.
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Moreover, the news was made cover story of the February release of the world’s leading biomedical journal.
According to the study, it clearly shows the mechanism of how tobacco-specific carcinogen causes lung cancer. It also reveals the important ingredient of tobacco carcinogen, nicotine-derived nitrosamine ketone (NNK), would induce the accumulation of a protein, DNA methyltranferase 1 (DNMT1), which reduces the tumor suppressor genes and thus it leads to lung cancer.
Meanwhile, it also reveals that the accumulation of DNMT1 in lung cancer patients who smoked regularly has very poor recovery chances.
Further, the report also says that if lung cancer patients leave smoking, after two or four weeks, the level of DNMT1 would start falling and it would result increase in the life span of the patient. Lung cancer patient who quit smoking can live eight or ten months more than who do not quit smoking.
Meanwhile, doctors can locate lung cancer samples and test for the stage of the DNMT1. Patients with low level of DNMT1 can avoid going through chemotherapy and radiotherapy as well.
Mobiado unveils Classic 712GCB luxury phone
The Classic 712GCB is blended with gold, sapphire crystal and stainless steel to build a new standard in opulence. The frame is said to be CNC machined from brass, hand polished, and then plated with a chunky coating of gold. Moreover, the phone is covered with huge sapphire crystal plates that are hand painted with gold lettering and precision inset into the gold body.
The keypad buttons are studded with sapphire crystal and hand painted from beneath with gold. The Mobiado logo is precision CNC machine embossed into the device to bequeath a concluding stroke of class. The phone is believed to give out an air of mechanical perfection, mastering of aesthetic particulars and the integrity of unswerving craftsmanship.
The phone can run on any GSM network operator. The device is quad-band GSM and encompasses triple band WCDMA Band I, II and VIII coverage on up to five continents. The handset sports a huge 2.2-inch QVGA display, and includes a 5 megapixel camera and video camera with flash. Moreover, the device is equipped with GPS, web browser, email support, and a music player that is compatible with AMR, MID, MP3, MP4, M4A, .WMA and AAC files.
The price of Mobiado Classic 712GCB is currently under wraps
HTC Smart all set to hit the Indian market shortly
HTC Smart all set to hit the Indian market shortly: The first ever BREW based handset developed by the Taiwanese company is all set to hit the Indian market shortly.
Previously identified as the Touch B, this phone was regarded to be a “dumbphone”. This is the first ever smartphone for the masses.
This handset will be available at Rs 10,000 and will give a tough competition to Corbys, Cookies as well as Nokia 5233 touchsceen handset.
This phone will soon be launched in Europe. HTC smart phone has specifications such as 2.8” QVGA touch screen, Bluetooth, 3 mega pixel camera and headset jack.
At the same time, it would come with 256MB RAM, 256MB ROM, MicroSD card support and 1100 mAh battery.
Previously identified as the Touch B, this phone was regarded to be a “dumbphone”. This is the first ever smartphone for the masses.
This handset will be available at Rs 10,000 and will give a tough competition to Corbys, Cookies as well as Nokia 5233 touchsceen handset.
This phone will soon be launched in Europe. HTC smart phone has specifications such as 2.8” QVGA touch screen, Bluetooth, 3 mega pixel camera and headset jack.
At the same time, it would come with 256MB RAM, 256MB ROM, MicroSD card support and 1100 mAh battery.
Karisma becomes Mother, Blessed with baby boy
The all time hot and talented bollywood actress Karisma Kapoor, who is married to industrialist Sanjay Kapur, gave birth to a boy at Breach Candy Hospital March12th morning. This is her second child.
While talking to reporters, the Hospital officials said, “Karisma has given birth to a baby boy. The delivery took place in the morning.”
The Ex-actress, who earlier gave many hits to the industry including Raja Hindustani, Hero No1 and Dil Toh Pagal Hai, is also blessed with a six-year old daughter, named Samaira.
Moreover, her friend and well known jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali wished her on her Twitter page. She writes, “Karisma Kapoor just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Many congratulations to her and her family.”
Written by:-Himmat Singh
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