Can we Survive without Technology?

In the movie “Matrix Reloaded” we see that a whole city (almost the size of a small country) is living underground. A character in the movie exclaims that there are machines out there to kill the humans and there are machines inside keeping them alive.

This sentence has a huge implication!

Add to this a few real world facts-

1. Many countries have made internet a human right.
2. Mobile phones in India are the most sold equipment (Not just gadget) overthrowing bicycles.
3. Businesses are becoming automated day by day and stock market and such businesses are completely dependent on computers now.
4. The most valuable company in the world is a tech company. (Apple)

If looking at them individually they look spectacular and interesting snippets but from an analysts point of view a clear trend is visible. Technology has become an integral part of our lives. But that is something even a child knows now. We want technology, we need it maybe, but the question is….

Has Technology become essential for our very survival?

I once saw a meme which saw Facebook, Google boasting about themselves and Internet claiming they are nothing without it. From behind comes Electricity and says one of the more famous meme phrases (B**** Please!).

I am not going that far though. I just want to imagine a world where internet goes down. Or maybe GPS satellites stop working at all. Till how much can we survive or rather for how long can our internet crazed or tech dependent generation tolerate before we begin to detox.

There is a term ‘addiction’ that is now being associated with technology. I have certainly felt the pangs of it as well as many other people. Leaving aside these side effects let me talk of the usual stuff.

In business Microsoft Office has eased out the work of a normal employee. Now, he can do a lot more work in the same time or the same amount of work in a lot less time. Take away these tools and suddenly any person who works in an office will find himself in a pile of paperwork which he won’t understand came from where. The tools used in excel like pivot will become redundant and analysis of data will become a chore. Imagine how will the communication happen if only one channel (be it email or mobile) gets interrupted.

Sometimes, it happens for a few hours and I have seen the work efficiency going down to nil.

Leave out the TV and out of nowhere we have millions of people without a job. No, I am not talking about people who are working on TV but people who are watching it.

The number of hours that are spend on TV are enormous and not going down anytime soon. What will these housewives do when they are so used to their daily soaps before the afternoon naps, or after dinner saas-bahu (or balika vadhu, whatever is current trend)?

What about the hospitals? The machines are becoming automated day by day and even a slight hitch can make the difference between someone’s life and death.

In the words of George Carlin…

The only difference between us and the old time Barbarians is electricity. Take it out and we are back to that era.

But I would go even further. I would say that Technology is now a multi limb creature whose even a single limb if cut off will create trouble and if more than one parts decide to lop off will make the basic survival of human race difficult.

These problems might seem like minor nuances that people will eventually get used to if they happen but I think that this is only possible if an equally pervasive alternative presents itself which right now seems improbable.

The post Can we Survive without Technology? appeared first on India Business & Technology Hub.

Why Singapore is Attractive to Indian Entrepreneurs…

Touted as the unofficial capital of Asia, Singapore is maturing as a regional entrepreneurial hub. The country has been singled out for its potential to turn into Asia’s Silicon Valley with an increasing number of technology enterprises, Internet start-ups, venture capitalists and incubators establishing a presence in Singapore.

Singapore’s business friendly climate, corrupt free institutions, efficient legal system, low tax regime, top-notch infrastructure, innovative visa schemes, and excellent living environment have turned it into a hotspot for enterprising individuals and ambitious business owners from all over the world; India being no exception.

Indian companies constitute the single largest business community from any single country in Singapore. As many as 120 India-based companies are reported to incorporate a company in Singapore every month and their numbers have swelled to around 5,000 as of 2011.

So what is it about Singapore that is driving Indian companies and businessmen to its shores?

Ease of doing business

The Singapore government’s timely and proactive reforms have shaped the country’s business environment, which is conducive for business growth and expansion. Corruption watchdog, Transparency International confirms that Singapore is indisputably the least corrupt nation in the world.

The regulatory procedures for registering a Singapore company are minimal and can be completed in a matter of 1-2 days. Furthermore, foreign entrepreneurs wanting to setup a business in Singapore face no extra restrictions or regulatory hurdles. 100% foreign shareholding is allowed in all business sectors and no prior approval is required from authorities.

In contrast, entrepreneurs in India are faced with endless number of tedious and bureaucratic procedures and many weeks of wait time before the business can start operations. Even after business incorporation, entrepreneurs in India have to constantly struggle and deal with corruption, red-tape and inefficiency of the system. In the World Bank’s ‘2012 Doing Business Report’, Singapore ranked #1 for ease of doing business, #1 for trading across borders, #2 for protecting investors and #4 for starting a business while India ranked #132 for ease of doing business, #109 for trading across borders, #46 for protecting investors, and a dismal #166 for starting a business.

How Singapore and comparator economies rank on the ease of doing business

Attractive Tax Regime

The corporate tax rate in Singapore has been steadily going down and currently stands at 8.5% for profits up to S$300K and a flat 17% for profits above S$300K.

Take for instance a hypothetical company that earns US$500K. GuideMeSingapore’s tax calculator that helps estimate tax burden between two countries shows that the Singapore tax that the company would pay is US$64,243 making the take-home profit US$435,757 while the tax it would have to pay if it were incorporated in India is US$219,500, reducing the take-home profit to only US$280,500.

Excellent living environment

Singapore is a city of international character and is instantly appealing to Indian entrepreneurs for the excellent quality of life and exemplary living environment that it has to offer. Located within close proximity to India, Singapore is merely a four to six hour flight away from major Indian cities. Crowned as the most liveable city in Asia, Singapore is a natural pick for Indian entrepreneurs as it serves to function as a home away from home.

Relocation visas

Singapore’s forward looking visa schemes are designed to attract the best entrepreneurial minds to the country. The Singapore Entrepreneur Pass allows foreign entrepreneurs to relocate to the country and start a business provided that they have a reasonably good business idea, certain amount of capital and can help create local jobs.

The Entrepreneur Pass (also known as EntrePass) allows business owners to bring their immediate family members to Singapore. If the business prospers, there are excellent chances of gaining permanent residence status in Singapore.

It should be noted that the EntrePass is meant for serious entrepreneurs only i.e. entrepreneurs who are serious about starting a business in Singapore. Individuals who just want to relocate to Singapore but are not fully committed to starting a business will be disappointed as Singapore authorities are very careful in assessing and granting approval of EntrePass applications.

Furthermore, there is annual assessment of meeting the set forth targets as per the initial business plan.

On a final note

Singapore is one of the best functioning cities in the world today and offers ample opportunities to realize one’s potential and achieve ambitions. It is a city of opportunity and is best described as the perfect place to work, live and play in.

[About the Author: Pardeep Boparai is the founder of Janus Corporate Solutions – a Singapore based firm that provides comprehensive and cost-effective Singapore company registration, immigration visa, accounting and tax filing services to businesses and entrepreneurs worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.GuideMeSingapore.com. ]

Movies on Demand on DTH Services: Are they popular?

Whether it is a local Dish or Dish TV, there is one option that I have always liked. This option is the option to watch some movies on demand. These movies are comparatively new as compared to the movies that generally come on TV and most importantly we can choose the movies that we want to watch.

This option is a very insignificant one when compared to the number of channels that are present on the TV. Heck! Even the number of movie channels might be more in some cases.

Still, the fact that I can (for a small fee, of course, of the order of Rs. 50 per movie) watch a movie from a buffet is amazing and as the movies are relatively new I have the option to wait a little while for the movie which are still in theatre to come to these offerings.

With the coming of LCD TVs and also, high-def set top boxes, the image-quality is premium. I have seen theatres having worse screens. Thus, we are in a phase where a person, instead of going to various theatres can relax in the comfort of his bed and watch a movie (that is almost new) in a better quality than theatre.

Also, in homes where there are aged people living, it is a good option as they might not be interested in travelling but this gives them to watch the movie with their family without getting tired and exhausted.

I have seen in my house that the consumption of such Movies on Demand is quite substantial. 

The question is- “Does it happen in other houses or is this confined to few ones like mine?” In theory, the idea is lucrative enough to have a rampant impact. The price of watching a movie in the house is also marginal compared to watching the movie in the theatre. The only deterrent might be that the movies are not added simultaneously with the release (for obvious reasons).

Thus if person wants to see the show early (if it is a big budget movie or a big star movie) then he has to go to the theatres. Of course, add to that malls and multiplex, people do prefer shopping and movies hand in hand.

So, I would like to ask this question to the readers, do they see a similar trend around them where people prefer to go watch movies on their set top boxes and LCD (or LED) screens rather going to multiplexes and single screens?

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Google beats Microsoft to Become World’s 2nd most Valued Tech Company

Google has overtaken Microsoft to become the world’s second most valued company after Apple.

On Monday 1 October 2012, Google Inc’s share price increased marginally by 0.96% to $761.78 taking its market capitalization to $249.13 billion. Microsoft Corporation’s share price declined marginally by 0.91% to $29.49 which saw the company’s market capitalization move lower to $247.23 billion.

After a failed bid to sell the search engine to a reputed online company for a million dollars, Larry Page and Sergey Brin went ahead with the company’s IPO in 2004. Since then, the ad-funded search engine spiraled into attracting more than a billion unique visitors per month by 2011.

In 2011-12, Google introduced Google+, invested heavily in clean energy projects, hit a billion downloads for Google Earth, gave YouTube a new look and opened new regional headquarters in Paris among other initiatives.

Since the last few years Google has consistently been ranked in Fortune magazine as one of the best companies to work for. In a pioneering and unprecedented move in August 2012, Google announced its Death Benefit policy which aims to pay spouses 50% of an employee’s salary for 10 years after the latter’s death.

The company that started from a garage now has a wide range of products and business areas including online search tools, online advertisement services, publishing tools, cloud computing, social networks, software development, operating system for mobile and TV platforms, apps, smartphones and an upcoming fibre-optic broadband network in US.

Google is a relatively new entrant in the tech industry as compared to 1975 founded Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker. In 1999 Microsoft’s market capitalization peaked at $616.34 billion, much higher than Apple’s current value if appreciation in dollar is accounted for.

The company, founded by Bill Gates, has established a virtually unchallenged position in the PC OS market with Windows. Businesses worldwide depend on the company’s iconic Microsoft Office packages every day. Over more than 3 decades, the company has evolved from being a software developer to making PC hardware, smartphones, server systems, cloud computing and comprehensive business tools.

In the last 3 months Google’s share price has increased nearly 31.2% from $580.47 to $761.78. On the contrary, Microsoft’s share price has remained at relatively similar levels. In the beginning of July 2012, the company’s shares were trading at $30.56, marginally higher than its current price of $29.49.

Microsoft is on the verge of launching Window 8 later this month and investors are hoping that the launch will inject positivity in the NASDAQ listed stock. However commentators don’t seem to see the tech giant matching the momentum of Google and Apple.

Microsoft owned search engine Bing was launched in 2009 and has since then edged out Yahoo in terms of market share. However Google still holds a dominant position in the online search domain. comScore reported that 68.8% of all searches in August 2012 had results from Google while 25.3% had search results from Bing.

In recent years, Apple devices including tablets, smartphones, laptops and desktops have clawed their way into Microsoft’s market share as users of Apple devices do not use PC based operating systems and related software.

iPad, android tabs, mac, iPhone and other devices are changing consumer preferences and the need for smaller devices may very well have caught Microsoft off guard. Even in emerging markets like India, the findings that tablet sales have tripled could be eating away into PC sales, resultantly increasing use of android and iOS mobile based operating systems.

Despite the marginal movements with Google and Microsoft’s share prices, Apple remains the world’s most valued company of all time based on nominal prices. With a market capitalization of $618.12 billion, it is nearly 25% more valuable than Google and Microsoft combined.

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SmartPhones – the New Cars?

Twenty years back a mobile phone was a distant dream. PCOs were a rage and calling rates were a deterrent. Jump to 2012, forget normal mobiles, smart phones are a rage; tariffs hit a new low every month. To tap into the youth market which basically thrives on its social networking which has become a part of their social life is essential for any product.

Cars, in the 90s it was the symbol of prosperity. Somewhere around late 90s, a sedan became the symbol graduating from hatchback. Basically in any family if a teenager was entrusted with a car, he/ (in very few cases) she was an adult.

The same situation was in America in late 60s and through the 70s – Mustang, Dodge, and Pontiac were the symbol of a youth becoming an adult. The cars had a status and these American beauties still have a special place among the car aficionados.

The chatter about cars back then used to be more about the vehicle and its capability than its accessories. Now the real problems that the carmakers face is not making a car greener or more efficient, it is making a car more human or more social.

Since now online social life is more predominant in deciding your social status it is the Smartphone that has become the teen-adult transition decider.

Cars are driven by almost any school going kid but a Smartphone especially if it is an Apple iPhone or Samsung S3 it is not just a phone it is a status symbol. These phones are equipped with artificial intelligence that replaces the need of human interaction for big and small things. It is like a Swiss army knife of mobile phones and for social life.

Earlier when a car was about to bought the father of the family decided alone, now the youth is much more active than it ever was in decision making. So a new demographic is to be pleased along with the existing one.

This is easy since the youth are more attached to the looks and features and leave the part of mileage, maintenance to their dads. Design aesthetics and features reach a new level launch after launch with each carmaker trying to outdo the other. Basically, they are looking ways to incorporate a Smartphone inside the car.

Smartphone’s definition has certainly got more specific with ornate details about ease, functionality and ease of functionality. The 8k phone that people call a Smartphone isn’t a Smartphone, it is a normal mobile phone and 15k is somewhat a Smartphone.

Torque, Mileage, BHP, Facebook connectivity, Google sync and what not will be in the feature list of your next car.

3 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Should be on LinkedIn!

Entrepreneurs drive most local economies. Not only do they provide jobs to the local community but also boost consumerism. This is one of the main reasons why the growth of an economy is directly related to the number of professionals starting their own venture.

So it is surprising why so many of them don’t use LinkedIn to promote their services. Instead it is large corporations that have made good use of LinkedIn.

Most corporations do not understand the principles of Social media. They mostly use it as an extension of their PR and communication strategy. In a piece called Does corporate India understand social media blogger Archana Venkat had discussed some key reasons why this was a challenge for most corporations. But on LinkedIn almost 82 Fortune 100 companies are present actively scouting for talent.

But this is the tip of the iceberg. I will give you three reasons why entrepreneurs should leverage social media to enhance their offerings.

Reason 1

The Average household income of a LinkedIn user is roughly around $ 110,000 per annum according to a recent report. In India almost 24 % of users have household incomes above Rs 15,00,000 .

This is also significant as Indian professionals form the second largest group in the LinkedIn roughly around 13 Million users. So what you have on LinkedIn is a target base that has the money to buy your product or services. As an entrepreneur you would understand the importance of having a base that has the money to spend. As compared to this Twitter and Facebook users have much lower household incomes.

Reason 2

39% of LinkedIn users manage the budgets for their companies. Now this is a significant statistic. Those of us who have sold to companies or individuals realize the importance of the consent of the budget owner. So when you use LinkedIn you are reaching out to a professional handling the budget 2 out of 5 times. That is an incredibility high average.

This solves the problem of not reaching the decision maker. Most startups with frugal budgets can ill afford to spend time and money convincing a prospect only to find out that he is not the decision maker.

Reason 3

1.8 Billion Business leads were generated on LinkedIn in 2011. So if you are not among those generating leads on LinkedIn, definitely your competition is doing it. In India there were 149 Million leads that were created in 2011. Business leads on LinkedIn usually accelerate the sales cycle. This means that the entrepreneur can realize the returns on his investment much faster.

These are the three reasons that I found in my experience that are very important. But there could be other reasons as well. If you do feel there are others, please do share them. I am sure all of us would love to get a deeper perspective on this topic.

Till then happy prospecting.

It’s Raining New Cars in India…Drivers and Roads Must Catch up!

India is witnessing an unprecedented wave of stunning cars hitting the India automobile market.

Mahindra now has the mini-SUV Quanto on offer, which is a shortened version of the Xylo.

Chevrolet is preparing to launch new car called Sail which is expected to compete with popular hatchback options like Maruti’s Swift.

Volkswagen is revving up to diversify the market with both the soon-to-be-launched Volkswagen Up, a low priced car and the just-launched Touareg that is priced at Rs. 58.5 lakh.

Mercedes-Benz has now brought the B-class hatchback to India, the lowest-priced offering from the company so far, with versions costing from Rs. 21.5 lakh to Rs. 24.9 lakh.

Major players are keeping an eye on the upcoming festive season to register satisfactory sales, which have been affected by the rising fuel prices.

Hitting the Dangerous Roads

While Indian cars continue to get flashier, consistent with the burgeoning middle class, there are certain odds against the eye-catchers on wheels.

The Delhi-Gurgaon expressway now witnesses an average of one death every week. There have been 6,000 accidents ever since the road was thrown open to the public in 2008.

The 94-kilometer Pune-Mumbai expressway has seen a total of 680 deaths since 2005, with over 70 people having already lost their lives during 2012.

The 165-kilometer Yamuna Expressway, which was inaugurated on 9 August, 2012 as the longest expressway in India, has seen over a dozen lives lost to high-speed crashes in less than a month since it was opened.

Closer to major urban areas, traffic dangers often refuse to disappear. Rains leave behind long stretches of cratered roads, and congestion and parking trouble near key shopping areas overshadow comfortable cruises. And, every driver’s sense of urgency in getting ahead of others only serves to make matters worse.

The Solution?

Distress on the roads – right from fender benders to deadly crashes – is caused mostly by driver error. Poorly maintained roads come second on the blame list. In extremely rare cases, we get to hear of boulders falling on cars or fissures from earthquakes swallowing up cruising vehicles.

Better driving habits need to be taught and learnt – the focus is on safety and fuel efficiency. Speed radars and CCTV cameras ought to be functional and offenders brought to book.

On concrete expressways such as the Pune-Mumbai expressway that I use, frictional heat is generated more easily, with the result that over speeding and inadequate tire care are considered responsible for most deaths. I also see lane discipline on that road getting scant attention from vehicles of all sizes.

Additionally, good public transport can reduce traffic snarls and spare cars for pleasant weekend road trips – Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Electric Supplies and Transport (BEST) is an oft-quoted example and can serve as a role model for others who would love to change for the better.

Major transport projects such as Mumbai’s Metro that is expected to be accomplished in all respects by 2021 offer hope in taking thousands of private vehicles off the roads during daily rush hours.

If the challenges revolving around drivers looking for thrills and an infrastructure struggling to cope are addressed, owning some of the finest cars in India will surely be more satisfying for buyers.

Samsung Galaxy Note II: The wait is finally over for Indians

The wait for the Samsung Galaxy Note II is over. The tablet phone [phablet?] was finally launched in India yesterday at a press conference in Hyderabad. Samsung unveiled the device for its parent country South Korea just yesterday.

The price of the phablet has been kept at Rs. 39,990.

The Samsung Galaxy note II runs on Android v4.1 (Jelly Bean) which is the latest version of the Android platform. The phablet has a big 5.5 inch HD super AMOLED display, and is a treat for people like me who love photography. It has a 8 MP camera with LED flash which promises to click beautiful pictures and videos at full HD.

Video Chatting is also a pleasure on this phablet, as it sports a 1.9 MP front camera.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 houses a 1.6 GHz Cortex A-9 processor and comes in 16, 32 and 64 GB memory variants. It is available in India in two colors, titanium grey and marble white.

The launch of this much-awaited device in India comes at just the right time. The launch of the iPhone 5 is fresh in people’s minds, and this is just the appropriate time when Samsung can make an impact before people make the final decision of buying iPhone 5. And with all the features that the Galaxy Note 2 has to offer, it would surely be worth the money if one makes a decision to buy it.

The Korean company had started taking pre-orders for this phone 4 days ago. All the people who have booked the phone would have to pay the whole amount within 15 days of the launch, or the booking will be cancelled and the deposit of Rs. 5000 would not be returned.

To woo people in booking Note II, Samsung is providing a free desktop dock to people who booked it in advance, but it would be available for free only if one pays the whole amount within 3 days.

What is interesting about this launch is that Samsung has preferred Indi over most other countries including USA, where it is expected to launch by Mid-November!

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Google Play celebrated 25 Bln downloads with Huge App discounts!

If you open Google Play right now, you will be greeted with pleasant information that Google Play has reached 25 Billion downloads. That is a huge number. Google is also ensuring that users of Android are part of this celebration.

For the next few days (in all 5 days I guess) many apps on Google will be $ 0.25 (Rs. 13.37 currently). The link is here.

The apps present there too are not any cheap apps but good quality products like Angry birds Space, cut the rope: experiments, Office suit pro and many other apps are available at less than a quarter of the actual price.

How many of us will not share this link after seeing apps going at Rs. 13? It is tempting! So, if you wanted to make your smartphone more productive and fun with paid apps, head to Google playstore right now!

This is not the first time Google has come up with this idea (or for that matter they are not alone in it). Earlier too, the apps have been on sale for around Rs. 5. I nicked in Swiftkey that time. Around 50 apps will be on offer this time and I can bet; at least 5 apps in the bunch will be indispensable to one or the other group.

Discounts are a great way to share your happiness with the clients. It helps in a bumper sale of the apps that are involved in the offer. Also, with apps, word of mouth means a lot (It means a lot in everything but in mobile apps a person can only use it on someone else’s mobile. To use it yourself you have to buy it or use its trial version). Thus, a person can facilitate in sale of more of the same app (or different apps from same author) once he has downloaded it.

Coming to the figure of 25 Billion android app downloads…. Its really amazing…

The climb to this number is quite impressive and shows the faith that people have shown in the platform and of course the success of the apps-based ecosystem. (Even iPhone has equally-if-not-better feat to show, but Apple app store came in lot earlier compared to Android).

People were waiting for this to happen and now it seems a distant past (for smartphones owners) when mobile phones did not have an app-model. Even feature phones now have various apps to compete with entry level smartphones (Nokia Asha series comes to mind).

Be it Apple or Google, apps have won the war for the users.

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Internet freedom: India Ranked 3rd in Asia!

Internet freedom in India has been rated as Partly Free by American NGO Freedom House. The report titled Freedom on the Net 2012 measures the levels of freedom and editorial independence enjoyed by populations of various countries in the world.

Despite the Partly Free rating, India was ranked 20^th worldwide, ahead of most Asian countries.

The Freedom on the Internet report scored countries on a point scale of 0 to 100 to quantify the freedom enjoyed on online and digital media. Lower scores between 0-30 signified most freedom, 31-60 implied partial freedom while 61-100 implied lack of freedom on the internet. Points were given on the basis of how the government of a country imposed obstacles to internet access, limited or filtered online content or violated user rights by surveillance or other forms of harassment.

The score of 39 attributed to India was driven by 13 points in Obstacles to Access, 9 points on Limits on Content and 17 points for Violation of User Rights. The deterioration from a slightly better score of 36 in 2011 was being driven by a nominal uptick in all the 3 categories.

With more than 100 million people in India finding their way online, India has the 3^rd highest online audience in the whole world after US and China.

This signifies an internet penetration rate of about 10%, one of the lowest of all the countries in the report. Lack of broadband penetration, infrastructural limitations, low levels of literacy and bureaucratic inefficiency in licensing were cited as findings that posed as obstacles to internet access.

Despite the hindrances, the report also noted that internet access in India was on the increase as crores of new users were finding their way online every year. The powerful potential of increased internet penetration in rural India is undeniably omnipresent.

Availability of content in local languages, government’s plans to boost broadband infrastructure and a growing mobile user base are set to reduce the urban-rural divide when it comes to internet usage.

Aligning with reports indicating a growth in rural mobile internet users, Freedom House’s findings mentioned "India’s overall mobile phone penetration figures continue to grow at fast speeds, and an increasing number of Indians are also getting online via mobile devices."

Freedom on the Net 2012 also noted that the government’s monitoring, control and censorship of online content in India is on the rise. Recent blocking of content in public interest has been seen as an attempt by the authorities to increase control over online content. Various instances including the arrest of a professor and a cartoonist, and fines imposed on internet companies for not providing customer data have also been mentioned.

The last couple of years have seen a flurry of government activity in the online domain. Google, Facebook, Twitter and other popular online platforms have been summoned by authorities on various occasions.

However there is little denying that anti-social elements are also present online. Hacking attacks on government agencies and public portals, rumour mongering on social media leading to violence and other illicit online activities have emerged. The government cannot be entirely dismissed for its attempts to add structure and framework to an explosively growing domain.

As per the Freedom on the Net 2012 report, India’s point tally of 39 puts it well ahead of many other countries including Indonesia (42), Russia, Sri Lanka (55) and China (85). In fact, Malaysia (43), Russia, Sri Lanka, Libya (43) and Pakistan (63) are in Freedom House’s list of Countries At Risk – implying state policing to a certain extent, with significant restriction, censorship and blocking of websites/content. India ranks behind developed western economies like US (12), Germany (15), Australia (18) and UK (25).

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iPhone 5 available in India for Rs. 60,000!

Yes, 60…f****** thousand!

That’s what it will cost you to get a new iPhone 5 in your hand.

Its amazing the price that iPhone commands, that too even without having some top of the line features which others have.

Ebay.in has listed a Factory Unlocked Apple IPhone 5 16GB  Version for Rs. 59,900 and yes, it has very limited stocks. According to the ebay seller, the iPhone 5 will be shipped to buyer in in next 10 working days.

So, if you are one of those real Apple Fan boys, and have loads of money to spend – you are probably the right person to be an iPhone owner.

You will definitely score high on the bragging rights – I can definitely say that!

You must definitely check out these iPhone 5 Toons, the first one is definitely in line with iPhone pricing!

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Excellent tips on getting Exposure for your Startup [Reference Guide]

One of the biggest reason for startup failure is due to the fact that many entrepreneurs are not able to garner enough exposure without spending money. Majority of startups are boot-strapped and they do not have advertising & marketing budgets to spread the message about their startup.

Having said, that it is equally true that there are enough channels for Entrepreneurs where they can pitch their startups to get exposure. While many don’t know about these channels, others are not able to take advantage of them in proper manner.

Alok Kejriwal, a serial entrepreneur and head of 2win group of companies, has published a slideshare deck which offers excellent tips on how an entrepreneur can do focused PR for his / her startup. This deck not only gives pointers but also put across practical examples of how it can be done.

And yes, all the tips and methods that Alok has mentioned in this deck are free and does not cost anything. I am sure if these tips are used, a startup stands a very high chance of getting exposed in Offline, Online as well as Social media.

PR for Startups! A Reference Guide

Note: If you are seeing this in newsletter, please click on title link to see the slideshare deck, which may not be visible to you

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Facebook Asks Users To Snitch On Their Friends [Trak.in Toons]

Desperate times lead to desperate measures.

After Facebook recently announced that it would be clearing its site of all fake profiles, an action with respect to this was needed urgently. And they came out with "The Snitching Plan"….

In a recent report, it was revealed that Facebook tests prompt asking users to snitch on friends who aren’t using their real name. More like Facebook declaring themselves that their algorithm isn’t good enough to identify fake profiles.

We had our own little take on it..

The Snitching Plan

 

[Editors Note: We are always looking for ways to improve. Do let us know how you find our newly launched Trak.in Toons!]