Infosys cheers market by Q2 numbers

                                This time around, IT bellwether Infosys announced above-expectation earnings at Rs.1906 crore, up 9.72%, to completely stump the street estimates, despite deteriorating macroeconomic scenario globally. India’s No.2 software service exporter also announced an interim dividend of Rs.15 per share. The company has revised its FY12 guidance to Rs.33501-34088 crore in rupee terms.

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Facebook Privacy Vs Google+ Privacy [Comparison Infographic]

                         One of the biggest gripe that users have/had with Facebook was its privacy. Additionally, Facebook privacy has gone through so many iterations over the years, FB users are actually more confused about it. It has been a sticky issue for Facebook for a while, however, it has not stopped facebook from reaching a whooping 800 million users.

                        Google+ on the other hand made a blockbuster opening, garnering over 50 million users in just less than 3 months – And one of the main reasons was its absolutely simplified privacy. Google+ users exactly knew what they were sharing with whom and who it would be visible to.

                         So – how does Facebook’s privacy stack up against its younger peer Google+. Here is nifty infographic published by Peer1 hosting that depicts Facebook’s Privacy Vs Google+ Privacy. It makes for an interesting visual.

Facebook Privacy Vs Google+ Privacy

  

 

Here are couple of real gems from the Infographic, if you missed them.

• The “Like” button is considered illegal in Germany and carries a fine of upto 50,000 euros!
• Facebook will guess your interests, even if you have provided absolutely no information in your profile, based on interests of your friends!

Mobile Roaming Charges may soon become Free – Draft Telecom Policy 2011

                         The new Draft Telecom Policy 2011, which is set to replace the existing Telecom Policy has number of amendments that should make Indian consumers happy and at the same may create more anguish for Telecom Operators – who are already reeling under tremendous margin pressure to keep themselves afloat.

                        One of the proposals in the new Draft Telecom Policy is to abolish the Roaming charges completely. This will be a very big positive for Indian consumers especially frequent travelers who generally pay relatively heavy roaming charges. 

                         In current circumstances, when consumer moves out of his existing “home” circle to any of the 22 designated telecom circles, he has to pay additional charges by way of roaming. But the new “Pan-India single circle” kind of setup will ensure that mobile call charges are even through-out India, irrespective of place, city or region you are calling from.

                         Currently, even though MNP is available, it becomes very difficult for users to retain their number when they move out of their existing circles as all calls are charged at roaming rates. The new policy will allow such users to retain the numbers without any extra call costs.

                         Having said that – this new proposal will not go down well with Telecom Operators who are reeling under tremendous margin pressures. According to estimates, Mobile roaming generates Rs 13,000-14,000 crore, or roughly 10% of total revenues of telecom operators. With such high chunk of revenues coming from roaming services, it will be very difficult for Telecom Operators to accept this proposal and it will most likely be met with stiff resistance.   

                        Additionally, according to article in BS, the new draft telecom policy proposes to separate the licensing and spectrum allocation functions from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which will continue to retain the policy-making area. The subordinate offices of DoT will be given with the licensing and spectrum allocation work, which will ensure that more transparency is bought in licensing norms and procedures.

                       This new draft telecom policy is expected to be unveiled next week by Indian HRD minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal, though the implementation of this policy may take quite a bit of time. Telecom Operators will not accept this decision too easily…

R.I.P Steve Jobs!

                            The shocking news of Steve Jobs death was announced by Apple yesterday – World has lost a true genius, an artist, a CEO, an inspiring leader and a visionary. Very few people come close to Steve Jobs and his greatness. It would not be wrong to take his name in line-up of select few people who changed millions of lives across the globe.

The world will dearly miss him– Rest in Peace Steve Jobs!

Note: We are republishing a post on Steve Jobs that we have featured earlier on trak.in, that shows a small glimpse of the kind of man he was and how seriously he took his work!

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Steve Jobs has stepped down as CEO of Apple . Although, he will be Chairman of Apple, his day to day involvement in Operations will not be there!

 

                          Whether you are an apple fanatic or not, you will agree to one thing – If it was not for Steve Jobs, Apple would not have been half of what it is today. He probably is aware of every minute detail of design of Apple Products.

A example of it was given to us today by none other than Google Social Media head – Vic Gundotra. In his recent update on Google Plus, he narrated an experience he has with Steve Jobs, and it clearly goes to show why Steve Jobs is really “The Steve Jobs”

Here is the incident narrated by Vic Gundotra:

ICON AMBULANCE

                        One Sunday morning, January 6th, 2008 I was attending religious services when my cell phone vibrated. As discreetly as possible, I checked the phone and noticed that my phone said "Caller ID unknown". I choose to ignore.

After services, as I was walking to my car with my family, I checked my cell phone messages. The message left was from Steve Jobs. "Vic, can you call me at home? I have something urgent to discuss" it said.

                        Before I even reached my car, I called Steve Jobs back. I was responsible for all mobile applications at Google, and in that role, had regular dealings with Steve. It was one of the perks of the job.

                        "Hey Steve – this is Vic", I said. "I’m sorry I didn’t answer your call earlier. I was in religious services, and the caller ID said unknown, so I didn’t pick up".

                        Steve laughed. He said, "Vic, unless the Caller ID said ‘GOD’, you should never pick up during services".

                        I laughed nervously. After all, while it was customary for Steve to call during the week upset about something, it was unusual for him to call me on Sunday and ask me to call his home. I wondered what was so important?

"So Vic, we have an urgent issue, one that I need addressed right away. I’ve already assigned someone from my team to help you, and I hope you can fix this tomorrow" said Steve.
 

                     "I’ve been looking at the Google logo on the iPhone and I’m not happy with the icon. The second O in Google doesn’t have the right yellow gradient. It’s just wrong and I’m going to have Greg fix it tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

                      Of course this was okay with me. A few minutes later on that Sunday I received an email from Steve with the subject "Icon Ambulance". The email directed me to work with Greg Christie to fix the icon.

                      Since I was 11 years old and fell in love with an Apple II, I have dozens of stories to tell about Apple products. They have been a part of my life for decades. Even when I worked for 15 years for Bill Gates at Microsoft, I had a huge admiration for Steve and what Apple had produced.

                     But in the end, when I think about leadership, passion and attention to detail, I think back to the call I received from Steve Jobs on a Sunday morning in January. It was a lesson I’ll never forget. CEOs should care about details. Even shades of yellow. On a Sunday.

                    To one of the greatest leaders I’ve ever met, my prayers and hopes are with you Steve.

-Vic

                     This story just goes to tell how particular Steve Jobs was about anything that was connected to Apple. You can’t have better designed products than Apple, can you ?

                        There is a reason why Apple has become (albeit temporarily) world’s most valuable company!

MHRD’s Aakash will cost Rs. 2276! Will be sold in Retail

                             Here is the first news that has come out – The price of the MHRD’s Aakash Tablet is going to be Rs. 2276 and it will be available in retail. It was previously thought that it will only be available to students. But that’s not the case, it will be available to everyone at that cost.

                             Additionally, although we are not able to confirm this 100%, students are NOT going to have subsidized rate of Rs. 1200 (we have yet to confirm this…) as widely anticipated. It will be at same cost of Rs. 2276!

At today’s rate, the Tablet cost works out to about USD 46.5 unlike the previously announced USD 35.

                           MHRD has tied up with Canadian Datawind to manufacture these tablets.

This Post will be updated frequently as we get details from the launch – so stay tuned.

Update: The MHRD’s Aakash Tablet has been unveiled, and the details given above are quite accurate. Here is Hon. HRD Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal inaugurating low cost Aakash Tablet

Aakash Tablet Hardware Specifications

• Processor: 336 Mhz Connexant with Graphics accelerator and HD Video co-processor & graphics Accelerator
• Memory: 256 mb ram
• Storage (internal) : 2Gb
• Ports: 2 USB 2.0 ports
• Audio: 3.5 mm audio jack
• Display: 7” resistive touch Screen
• Resolution: 800X480 resolution
• Connectivity: GPRS and Wifi
• Battery Backup: Upto 180 minutes on battery

Aakash Tablet Software Specifications

• OS: Android 2.2
• Office Document Support
• Audio / Video / Image support
• PDF Viewer & Text Editor
• and other standard software supported by Android OS.

                          So, finally we have details on this much awaited, much talked about and much controversial low cost tablet called Aakash!

 

Brand Arrogance: How Market leaders lose the plot – lessons from Honda

                          Market leaders are always in a peculiar position. Always faced with the daunting task of keeping their position, Often than not, they lose track of what got them to the top and end up as laggards in the Industry they once dominated. In other words they become victims of Brand Arrogance.

                         Take Hindustan Motors (HM) the makers of the iconic ‘Ambassador’ for example today they are a shadow of their former self. But up until the mid- 80’s the only challenge for Hindustan Motors was coming from Premier Motors and a substitute competition from Bajaj scooters.

                         But then the arrogance steeped in and HM never thought of providing what customers wanted and slowly but surely slipped into oblivion.

                         Twenty years later, another auto company is going down the same route and this is actually a surprise. When Honda entered India, it was with a bang. They had brought in a popular car that was in many ways built for Indian roads, the Honda City. In the early 2000’s it used to be a matter of pride to own and drive a Honda City. City ruled the roads in its segment for many years but soon the Customers were looking for a change and Honda was not listening.    

                             They released a Civic as a logical upgrade but that did not have many takers. Honda Accord was too expensive for most. The Honda Jazz though a very good car was definitely over priced for its segment.

                           And after losing much of the market share Honda finally launches the Brio one of the cheapest cars in its segment. But in my opinion it is a little too late.

                           The Brio comes in at a time when the market is flooded with cars, and also with petrol only variant when the Petrol prices are at an all-time high. Further Honda cuts the prices on the Jazz and City, an act that it has never done. 

It is not difficult to figure out what the result would be.

So how can a market leader avoid brand arrogance?

                      I believe there are three simple steps in which a good brand can keep its ears open and be cognizant of what the customers are saying.

Listen to the customer

                      Often brands go into a ‘speak only’ mode and even use their communication channels to only broadcast. They often stop listening and taking in any feedback from customers and prospects. I once recently overheard a Honda official calling the City a luxury car. I was really amazed at that analogy, it could have been 10 years ago but now with every second car being a sedan, the concept of luxury in India had become an Audi or Bentley.

Effectively Leverage Social Media

                      A quick check on the Honda India Twitter account shows just 240 odd followers and 740 odd tweets. In a piece earlier I had discussed what lessons Marketers can learn from Volkswagen.

                      Currently Volkswagen India has about 5000 followers and has been present in India only in the last two years. Also Volkswagen is running a contest which is in sync with its marketing campaign for Jetta called ‘anything4jetta’.

Brands should always strive to build a community and engage the same to bolster themselves. A good example to this effect is Apple which over the years has built a strong community of Apple fanatics who would not hesitate from paying the price for an Apple product.

Play to your strengths

                       Honda has traditionally been strong at R & D. Hence it should continue doing the same rather than trying to reduce the price and get into a very dangerous price war which its competitors like Suzuki and Hyundai. I feel what Honda should have done earlier was to dazzle existing customers and prospects with its technology by bringing out cars with advanced features that the Consumers are seeking.  

Volkswagen did introduce many new features on the Vento and stole the march over Honda.

                        In conclusion I feel that most brands, when they get into leadership position, forget about the very attributes that got them there. This situation is not endemic to Auto but can be seen across Industries.

It is the role of the marketing managers to ensure that Brand Arrogance is kept away and customers are always the focus of a brand whether it is a leader, challenger or niche player.

Your thoughts welcome!