Infosys to reduce senior staff onsite: Murthy

Infosys executive chairman NR Narayana Murthy said the software major will focus on reducing costs by trimming the number of senior employees and subcontractors it employs at on-site locations as he reassured investors the company is well positioned to regain its lost market share.

Murthy, who returned to Infosys as the executive chairman in June, told analysts from British multinational bank Barclays that employee motivation in Infosys has improved and recent senior-level exits would only have limited impact on the company's performance.

He said Infosys has a full bench of senior managers to fill in any gaps and secondly, most of the churn has been of the managers who were either not comfortable with the changed circumstance or for which the company thought that there was limited value addition. "There has been only a few exits of people who have left due to higher ambitions," the report quoted him saying.

After Murthy's return, six Infosys executives have left the company. While global sales head Basab Pradhan quit in July, global manufacturing head Ashok Vemuri quit in August. Stephen Pratt, head of Infosys utilities and resources vertical for North America, quit earlier this month.

The report said Murthy, 68, admitted that "Infosys' billing rate premium over peers is unlikely to return as customers are now more focused on near-term cash flows rather than total cost of ownership".

According to Barclays, Murthy indicated that cost optimisation could happen more quickly than the earlier guided period of 21 months with some early results visible by the March 2014 quarter. He said Infosys would not shy away from replacing bottom-ranking sales people with smarter local hires.

"It (management) also said Infosys' sales effectiveness needs to improve through a greater focus on performance management, training, proposal quality, and better internal systems and processes," the report said,

In June, Murthy said Infosys should focus on winning large technology outsourcing contracts in bread and butter segments such as software development, network maintenance etc. During the Barclays event, he said Infosys will focus on regaining its lost market share in this area, by submitting more proposals, improving its win rates, bringing in greater flexibility into pricing.

The Barclays report said Murthy admitted that Infosys needs to both improve its own systems and processes, as per the management, and in some cases improve the quality of its sales force.

Infosys been aggressively focussing on performance management, training and the proposal quality of its sales force and that internal systems and processes are being enhanced to provide a more real-time update to management, he said.

In June, Murthy returned with his son Rohan Murty and set up the chairman's office to make Infosys "desirable" once again. He announced a round of wage hikes for all Infosys employees and undertook large-scale organisational restructuring. Over the past two quarters, Infosys surprised investors with better-than-expected financial performance.

Barclays report said from FY11 to FY13, Infosys lost 360bps in its EBIT margin largely due to a significant increase in employee costs. "Although its revenue increased in this period by $1.36 billion to $7.4 billion, it came at the expense of $1.02 billion in higher employee costs. This needs to be corrected," it said.

Murthy said Infosys is now taking a more proactive role in improving employee morale, according to Barclays. It said in the past 2-3 years, as growth came off, senior management took significant cuts in their own compensation and downgraded other facilities like hotel and airline entitlements for the top management.

"Members of senior management are now meeting with employees every month, such as in discussions in the company's food courts," he said in the report.

Infosys stock closed at Rs 3307, down by 0.6% on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

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Face recognition: The next big tech leap

You open your laptop lid and instantaneously the operating system recognizes you and logs you in. Or, just as you enter your office, the camera over the door takes a look at you and opens the door after seeing you are an employee.

These may not be popular, but the face-recognition technology, on which they are based, is not a futuristic concept either. Though not widely publicised, engineers have been working on it for long.

Internet companies like Facebook and Googleare trying to use the technology to make it more user-friendly. Success has been mixed, and compounded by privacy issues. In August this year, Facebook, in an update to its data-use policy, said it was planning to include most of the 1-billion plus profile photos into their facial recognition database.

Its intent is to speed up the process of tagging friends and acquaintances who appear in photos posted on the network. Now, the technology automatically identifies faces in newly uploaded photos by comparing them only to previous snapshots in which users were tagged. And for good measure, Facebook users have the option to remove tags identifying them in photos posted by others. But the new move drew the attention of US officials who are trying to determine if it's in violation of a 2011 agreement with federal regulators.

In June last year, Facebook acquired a facerecognition technology firm in Israel, Face.com. However, after privacy concerns, Face.com's API, which could identify people based on digital photos , was shut down. Later, a US startup LambdaLabs came out with an open-source API. The company's co-founder Stephen Balaban told Tech-Crunch that the API would be available to interested developers working on Google Glass. Google later announced that it would not allow any face-recognition features on Glass.

But that has not stopped research. In June, TechCrunch reported that another company, Orbeus , was developing a face-recognition technology that takes adequate care of privacy issues.

While not revealing the person's identity, it can recognize gender and emotions, and vaguely even say how beautiful a person is. Stating that its API doesn't violate Google's updated Glass policies, Orbeus CEO Ning Xu told TechCrunch, "Even without facial recognition, we can do a lot of things with your face, without revealing your identity."

Thanks to privacy concerns, the technology has a long way to go, and it may be a while before we see its widespread application.

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Microsoft India to provide career guidance and support

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Technology major Microsoft today announced that students from participating Ed-vantage academic institutes in India can now avail career search guidance and support.

The new offering is powered by 'My Foot In The Door' and will be delivered through professionally trained and experienced recruiters who will assist students in working towards their career milestones, it said in a release.

The career consultants will also deliver pre-interview preparation while guiding students towards individual best fit occupations, it added.

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Intel wants $500m for Internet TV service: Report

Intel Corp is trying to sell its yet-to-launch Internet television service for $500 million and wants to complete a deal by year-end, Bloomberg has reported.

Verizon Communications , one of the suitors, has spoken with content providers about a streaming television service, Bloomberg also said, citing unnamed sources.

Intel declined to comment on the report.

Intel's project, called OnCue, has faced challenges getting off the ground since it was officially launched in February. The chipmaker's new CEO, Brian Krzanich, ultimately decided Intel could not afford the distraction and expense, sources familiar with the decision told Reuters last week.

While Intel came close to finalizing deals with some of the major programmers, according to industry sources on both sides of the talks, the terms were such that Intel would have faced upfront outlays in the hundreds of millions regardless of how quickly the service caught on, the same sources say.

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Dating website Match.com sued for $1.5 billion

A Florida woman has filed a $1.5 billion class-action lawsuit against online dating site Match.com, alleging the website allowed photos of her and thousands of others to be used illegally to create phony profiles intended to dupe romantic hopefuls out of money.

The website "conspired with criminals operating from locations including internet cafes in Nigeria, Ghana and Russia" who created fake profiles for romance "scams," according to the lawsuit which was filed last week.

The suit also says that Match.com, owned by media mogul Barry Diller'sIAC/InterActiveCorp, was aware of the fake profiles as the company approves, edits and posts each profile.

"The real scam here is this meritless lawsuit, which is filled with outlandish conspiracy theories and clumsy fabrications in lieu of factual or legal basis," a spokesman for Match.com said in an emailed statement. "We're confident that our legal system is as adept as we are at detecting scammers and will dismiss this case in short order."

Match.com is one of a stable of dating websites owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp, which also owns content hubs like Vimeo.com.

Match.com was "unjustly enriched" by the publication "of thousands if not millions ofunauthorized photographs" the lawsuit argues.

"Not a day goes by when someone doesn't tell me that they saw my pictures posted on Match.com or another website," Yuliana Avalos, a part-time model who is the lead plaintiff in the suit, said in a statement.

"Virtually all of this criminal activity can be eliminated with the introduction of free software to the defendants' website," said New York attorney Evan Spencer, who filed the suit.

"All IAC has to do is screen international IP addresses from posting domestic profiles in the United States, and the vast majority of fake profiles would be eliminated."

The suit also alleges that Match doesn't use facial recognition technology, which Spencer used in his investigation, to spot phony profiles and doesn't police existing profiles to root out scammers.

Nearly 200 photos of Avalos, many of her clad in a bikini posing on the beach, were found in Match profiles, according to Spencer. Pictures of more than 3,000 people, including celebrities, soldiers and Facebook users, were illegally used and disbursed in millions of daily emails to promote niche dating sites based around interests ranging from race to age to political persuasion.

Match.com has been the target of several suits in recent years over false profiles. The website launched in 1995 and claims to have millions of members in 24 countries.

In 2012 a Texas federal judge dismissed a case that argued the company duped consumers into believing it had millions of subscribers when more than half were inactive, fake or scammers.

"The language of the agreements in no way requires Match.com to police, vet, update the website content" or verify the accuracy of profiles on the site, US District Judge Sam Lindsay wrote.

This case is different, Spencer said, because none of the photos were submitted by members on Match.com putting the images outside of the website's terms of use agreement.

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Sony India launches RX10 and Alpha 7, 7R cameras

Japanese manufacturer Sony has launched RX10, Alpha 7R and Alpha 7 digital cameras in India. Sony's Alpha 7 and Alpha 7R are full-frame interchangeable lens cameras while Sony has tried to combine the features of RX100, which was launched in August this year, into RX10.

RX10
The RX10 is a bridge-type camera that has 20.2MP Exmor R image sensor which is the same as Sony has used in the RX100 II and the camera is powered by BIONZ X processing engine. The device boasts of 24-200mm Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T Lens with aperture size of f2.8. The camera features P/A/S/M operating modes and ISO settings up to 12800. It offers simple connectivity options to smartphones via Wi-Fi or NFC.

RX10 allows users to record full HD movies at 60p/24p and save photos in JPEG and RAW format.

The device has been priced at Rs. 84,990 and will be available in the market by December end.

Sony claimed the Alpha series cameras are smallest full frame mirrorless cameras in the world. The camera is equipped with advanced imaging features and it runs on Bionz X processor, bright XGA OLED Tru-finder, full HD video recording, Wi-Fi and NFC connection.

Alpha 7R
Touted as the world's lightest interchangeable lens full-frame camera, the device weighs 406 gram (body only) and has 35mm full frame sensor with 36.4 megapixel that allows 14-bit RAW recording. It also has a fast AF optimized for full-frame sensor, direct access interface for fast, natural shooting control. The camera can be connected to the smartphones through Wi-Fi or NFC.

Alpha 7R is compatible with Sony E-mount and full frame lenses.

Alpha 7
This camera weighs 416 gram (body only) and has 24.3MP resolution that allows 14-bit RAW recording. It features Fast Hybrid AF with phase-detection that offers DSLR-like speed. It also has a fast intelligent AF optimized for full-frame sensor, direct access interface for fast, natural shooting and connects to smartphones via Wi-Fi or NFC.

The device is compatible with Sony E-mount and full frame lenses. One 28-70mm (SEL2870) full-frame lens has been included.

Alpha 7R will be available in the market for Rs 1,24,990 and Alpha 7 for Rs 94,990 by December end.

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Sony India launches RX10 and Alpha 7, 7R cameras

Japanese manufacturer Sony has launched RX10, Alpha 7R and Alpha 7 digital cameras in India. Sony's Alpha 7 and Alpha 7R are full-frame interchangeable lens cameras while Sony has tried to combine the features of RX100, which was launched in August this year, into RX10.

RX10
The RX10 is a bridge-type camera that has 20.2MP Exmor R image sensor which is the same as Sony has used in the RX100 II and the camera is powered by BIONZ X processing engine. The device boasts of 24-200mm Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T Lens with aperture size of f2.8. The camera features P/A/S/M operating modes and ISO settings up to 12800. It offers simple connectivity options to smartphones via Wi-Fi or NFC.

RX10 allows users to record full HD movies at 60p/24p and save photos in JPEG and RAW format.

The device has been priced at Rs. 84,990 and will be available in the market by December end.

Sony claimed the Alpha series cameras are smallest full frame mirrorless cameras in the world. The camera is equipped with advanced imaging features and it runs on Bionz X processor, bright XGA OLED Tru-finder, full HD video recording, Wi-Fi and NFC connection.

Alpha 7R
Touted as the world's lightest interchangeable lens full-frame camera, the device weighs 406 gram (body only) and has 35mm full frame sensor with 36.4 megapixel that allows 14-bit RAW recording. It also has a fast AF optimized for full-frame sensor, direct access interface for fast, natural shooting control. The camera can be connected to the smartphones through Wi-Fi or NFC.

Alpha 7R is compatible with Sony E-mount and full frame lenses.

Alpha 7
This camera weighs 416 gram (body only) and has 24.3MP resolution that allows 14-bit RAW recording. It features Fast Hybrid AF with phase-detection that offers DSLR-like speed. It also has a fast intelligent AF optimized for full-frame sensor, direct access interface for fast, natural shooting and connects to smartphones via Wi-Fi or NFC.

The device is compatible with Sony E-mount and full frame lenses. One 28-70mm (SEL2870) full-frame lens has been included.

Alpha 7R will be available in the market for Rs 1,24,990 and Alpha 7 for Rs 94,990 by December end.

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How to move content between iPads

Apple offers two ways to move your content from one iPad to another: iCloud or iTunes. To use the iCloud method, you need to be running at least iOS 5, have an iCloud account and be connected to a wireless network with the iPad plugged into its charger. You can turn on iCloud by tapping the Settings icon from the iPad's Home screen, and then select iCloud. The option for turning on iCloud Backup is in the Storage & Backup area; you get 5 gigabytes of storage free and can buy more from Apple if needed.
Once you have backed up the older iPad's settings and content to iCloud, turn on the new iPad Air and go through the setup screens, where you will get an option to restore the data from a previous iCloud backup. Once you log in with your iCloud (Apple ID) name and password, you can download the backup to the iPad Air.
With the iTunes method, start with backing up the old iPad's contents to the computer. Connect the two devices with the iPad's USB cable (or sync with iTunes over a Wi-Fi connection). When the iPad icon appears in iTunes, click the Summary tab and then click the Back Up Now button. When the backup is finished, connect the iPad Air to the computer with the USB cable and choose the option in the iTunes window to restore the iPad from the previous backup.
Transferring your prepaid cellular data account depends on your carrier. Some let you move it yourself when you go to Cellular Data in Settings and log into your account with your previous user name and password.

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Online retailer Yebhi.com to raise $40 million: Sources

Big Shoe Bazaar, which owns and operates online retail venture Yebhi.com, is in the final stages of negotiations to raise its fifth round of risk-capital funding, estimated at up to $40 million (Rs 250.7 crore), which will see the entry of a fresh set of investors.

According to sources, the latest round will also see participation by the fashion and lifestyle e-tailer's existing private equity backers — a list that includes Fidelity Growth Partners India, Qualcomm Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners and Catamaran Ventures, the private investment arm of Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy.

An emailed questionnaire sent to Manmohan Agarwal, founder and chief executive of Yebhi.com, did not elicit any response. The latest round of funding, which is expected to close within the next four weeks, is preceded by a $12 million (Rs 75.2 crore) bridge financing round raised by the company's promoter in April this year.

Yebhi.com, which was founded in 2009, has till date raised close to $40 million (Rs 250.7 crore) since launch, across rounds with Catamaran Ventures and marquee venture capital firm Nexus Venture Partners picking up stakes in 2011 and 2010, respectively.

The transaction also highlights risk capital's return to investing in India's e-commerce sector, following a lean two years, which saw a number of companies down their shutters or drastically curtail their operations.

The multi-category players have been the biggest beneficiaries so far. Bangalore-based Flipkart raised $360 million (Rs 2,297.2 crore), across two rounds, in July and October, while its nearest competitor, New Delhi-based Snapdeal is reportedly in talks to raise about $200 million (Rs 1,276.2 crore) from a clutch of investors that include Japanese internet major Softbank and existing investor eBay.

Separately, PremjiInvest, the family office of Wipro chairman and billionaire Azim Premji, is also reportedly in talks, along with the UK's fund-of-funds CDC, with Bangalore-based Myntra Designs, which operates fashion and lifestyle e-commerce venture Myntra.com, to invest about $50 million (Rs 313.3 crore).
Additionally, category-focused e-commerce ventures, such as Healthkart, LensKart and BabyOye, have also raised between $10 million (Rs. 62.7 crore) and $14 million (Rs. 87.7 crore) in equity financing this year.

2013, has till date, seen investments to the tune of $635 million (Rs 4,051.9 crore), spread across 40 transactions, in India's e-commerce sector, a sharp rise in total deal value from 2012, which saw transactions of $433 million (Rs 2,762.9 crore), according to Venture Intelligence.

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Apple is world's most valuable brand: Forbes

Global technology major Apple is the world's most valuable brand followed by Microsoft, Coca-Cola, IBM and Google, according to Forbes. Apple has topped the 'World's Most Valuable List' compiled by 'Forbes' magazine with a brand value of $104.3 billion, nearly double than the other technology major Microsoft which has a brand value of $56.7 billion.

"... the Apple name is as strong as ever. Apple is the most valuable brand in the world for a third straight time at USD 104.3 billion, up 20 per cent over last year. It is worth nearly twice as much as any other brand on the planet by our count," Forbes said.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's brand value has remained flat over the past three years, as Microsoft struggles to make the transition from PC to the mobile world, Forbes said.

"Growth has slowed, but it is still one of the most profitable brands in the world with operating margins of 34 per cent in its latest fiscal year," it said.

With a brand value of $54.9 billion, Coca-Cola was ranked third in the list, followed by IBM ($50.7 billion), Google ($47.3 billion) which make up the top five.

Among the top 10 brands, McDonald's, with a brand value of $39.4 billion was ranked sixth, followed by General Electric ($34.2 billion), Intel ($30.9 billion), Samsung ($29.5 billion) andLouis Vuitton ($28.4 billion).

Brands from US-based companies make up just over half of the list of 100, with the next biggest representation from Germany (nine brands), France (eight) and Japan (seven). No Indian company features in the list.

Technology brands are the most prevalent with 19, including six of the top 10.

Samsung, which came at No.9, had the strongest one-year gain of any brand in the top 100, up 53 per cent to $29.5 billion. The company's value soared 136 per cent over the past three years.

"Sales for Samsung's Galaxy S4 smartphone have been on fire and the company also benefits from its market leading position with memory chips," Forbes said.

However the value of a brand can collapse in the complex, fast moving technology world, Forbes noted. Forbes had valued the Blackberry brand at $6.1 billion last year, but this year it stood at just $2.2 billion and has come out of the top 100 brands list. Similarly, three years ago, Forbes had deemed the Nokia brand worth $27.3 billion, ninth highest in the world, while today it is worth just $7 billion, which ranks the company at the 71st place. Forbes valued the brands on three years of earnings and allocated a percentage of those earnings based on the role brands play in each industry. The 100 most valuable brands span 15 countries across 20 broad industry categories.

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Painting apps work better with stylus

When he introduced the iPhone and iPad, Steven P Jobs asserted the touchscreen devices didn't need a stylus because humans come with 10 great touchscreen controllers sticking out of our palms: fingers. He was proved right, and most new smartphones and tablets don't require a stylus to work their touchscreen.

But some apps work better with a stylus, particularly painting apps.

SketchBook Pro, a $5 app for iPad and Android, takes the prize for this category. It's a comprehensive sketching and painting program from Autodesk, a company with decades of expertise making design software. This powerful app comes with a variety of painting and drawing tools that you can use to create sophisticated works.

If you're no painting expert, the app is still simple and entertaining to use. It has many different controls for painting effects — pen and brush shapes, sizes, stroke pattern and so on — but the menu system makes it a breeze to navigate. You never get lost. And while you can use this app with your bare finger, if you use a stylus it'll feel almost as if you're drawing in real life, not digitally on a screen.

SketchBook Pro also has a few extras, like the ability to time-lapse record your painting in progress, that could be used by teachers to show how an expert would create a particular image. The app is impressive all around.
Brushes 3 is an art app that is definitely more about painting than sketching, given the wide variety of brush effects, including a simulated airbrush and one akin to painting with oils on a heavy canvas.

The interface on Brushes 3 is straightforward, but not overly basic. All sorts of settings let you control how the paint is applied to your image, but these are buried beneath a much simpler set of controls that make it easy to change brush effects and colour — the chief things you use when painting. The app is free on iOS.

For a similar painting experience on Android, Line Brush is worth a try. It also has a simple and appealing interface that conceals some powerful painting effects, and though it is a bit more basic than Brushes, it's worth a look. The app is free.

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TCS bags banking deal from Hungary's Keler

Country's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said it has bagged a deal from Keler Ltd, Hungary's Central Securities Depository.

Under the deal, TCS will deploy the market infrastructure solution of TCS BaNCS for modernising its technology and set up its capability for T2S settlement, TCS said in a statement.

However, the financial details were not disclosed. TCS BaNCS solution will provide Keler with a modern, standards compliant, multi-asset, multi-entity solution that will enable it introduce new products and services, it added.

"We will be ushering our Depository into a unique position in the Central and Eastern European market landscape. This opens up new avenues for us as we enhance our capabilities and offerings and be on time for T2S Settlement as well," Keler CEO Gyorgy Dudas said.

TCS vice president R Vivekanand said Hungary is an important market for the company.

"We are eager to demonstrate our market infrastructure and T2S capability there and to expand our track record in the European CSD space," Vivekanand added.

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Wipro's ex-joint CEO Paranjpe joins Advent

Girish Paranjpe, the former Wipro joint CEO, has joined as an operating partner in Boston-based private equity firm Advent International.
Soon after leaving Wipro in 2011, Paranjpe had joined Silicon Valley-based fuel cell startup Bloom Energy as head of its international operations . He quit Bloom in July this year.
Since its inception in 1984, Advent has raised over $37 billion in capital and invested in over 280 companies across 36 countries with over 140 IPOs of its invested firms. As an operating partner, Paranjpe will oversee Advent's proposed investments in the IT services sector.

"What I liked about Advent was that the role of an operating partner is full-spectrum . The partner is involved in everything from doing the due diligence to making the investment and then overseeing the investment after it is made. Advent is perhaps the only PE firm that hires an experienced CEO or COO as domain specialist . I have been on the management side before, and now I will also sit on the investment side," said Paranjpe.
Globally, Advent employs 60 operating partners and has 170 investment professionals of 29 nationalities . It opened an office in Mumbai in 2009. Advent focuses on sectors including healthcare, retail, technology , media and telecom. Last year, the PE major invested $105 million in Hyderabad-based hospital chain Care Hospitals. It has also invested in Computer Age Management Services (CAMS), a transaction processing provider for mutual funds and insurance, and in e-learning company Element-K that was bought by North American on-demand e-learning firm SkillSoft, a portfolio company of Advent.
Paranjpe was in Wipro for over 20 years, from 1990. He quit, along with Suresh Vaswani , the other joint CEO, when Wipro decided to abandon the joint CEO model.

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Perfios Launches its Android App for managing financial portfolio

With around 400000 Indians already taking advantage of managing their financial portfolio at one place, Perfios (short for Personal Finance One Stop) has launched its much demanded Android App at the Google Play Store. 

The app automatically connects with all the bank and credit card accounts of the user and gives a complete picture of the user's current cash position. Any Indian bank/credit card account can be tracked using this Android app. The app also features a budgeting section which enables users to track the current expenses vis-a-vis the dedicated monthly/ annual amounts for the defined categories. One can easily add cash transactions also in this app.

Mr. V. R. Govindarajan, Co-founder and director of the Perfios, said, "With around 600 million Indian population having a mobile phone and 150 million users actually using internet on their mobile phones, there is a huge potential for Perfios to address the needs of this mobile-savvy population. In addition to our web application which is the most comprehensive personal finance application for the Indian market, our Beta launch of this Android app caters to the most common need of any mobile user- managing bank accounts, credit cards and cash transactions. Even with the increasing adaption of online and card payments cash transactions are still a major part of a typical user's spend and are not tracked at all. This Android app from Perfios gives its users to quickly enter/monitor such transactions in addition to tracking all bank and credit card accounts automatically leveraging our pioneering technology which we have in our web application for over 5 years now."

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BJP national secretary‘s website hacked

Unidentified persons hacked the website of BJP national secretary Tamilisai Sounderrajan today.

In her complaint lodged with the cyber cell of the Crime Branch CID, Sounderrajan said that the "website had most of my political activities and speeches of national leaders including (party's Prime Ministerial candidate) Shri Narendra Modi ji."

Seeking necessary action, she also demanded for safeguards in the future.

Sounderrajan told PTI that she had received an e-mail that her website had been hacked and therefore preferred a complaint with the CB-CID.

When tried to open, her website, www.tamilisaitnbjp.com, did not respond.

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Digital technology can push $20 billion sales opportunity: Nielson report

Enhancement of technologies is creating opportunities of incremental revenue for companies and by leveraging digital technology like Internet, mobile, tablets and apps can get sales opportunities worth $20 billion, a report has said.

"Disrupting established brand behaviours by leveraging digital more often, using promotions and providing consumers with good experience can provide a $20 billion sales opportunity," says the report by said market insights and information provider Nielsen.

According to Nielsen, purchases done by Indian consumers are more influenced by factors in its direct control.

"In the FMCG space alone, 80 per cent of shoppers will buy a different item than originally planned. Today's shoppers are empowered by choice and refine their decisions based on marketplace disruptions,"said Nielsen India Executive Director Adrian Terron.

The report further said that in the analysis it was found that more than half of the shoppers of the five segments had accessed Internet as part pf their pre-purchase, decision making process.

The sector are -- FMCG, movie, travel, auto and loans. Terron further added that still the share of the e-tailing in the retain sector is very low and at nascent stage but "its opportunity is high and the gender gap is closing".

The reports further said that using promotions can also influence a sale of $10 billion.

The survey has found that for FMCG products, promotions influenced 34 per cent of shoppers to make a bigger purchase than planned.

Providing consumers with a good experience can turn plans into purchases, it further added.

"A good deal can prompt consumers to buy more, buy earlier and buy different than otherwise intended," said Terron.

However, he added that the promotions need to be used tactically and strategically to cause disruption.

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All about the Google machines

If you're out shopping for a computer, depending on your needs, you can pick a desktop PC, a notebook, a netbook, or even a tablet. Now, as if to complicate things further, you will also find something known as a Chromebook - a lightweight, portable device that's been launched by Google and its hardware partners.

So what is a Chromebook?

A Chromebook is like a netbook. It lacks an optical disc drive and is designed for use on the internet. In some ways, it's also like a tablet and comes with its own web store that carries over 30,000 apps. The biggest difference is its operating system. Instead of Windows, Chromebooks are powered by the Chrome OS that has been developed by the engineers at Google.

Chrome OS? What's that?

The Chrome OS can be described as the Chrome web browser on steroids. You can use it to browse the internet, as well as run software applications inside it. Like all modern operating systems, this OS is designed to download software updates in the background, so the machine is always up-to-date. In effect, a user can unbox a new Chromebook, log in to the system using their Google ID, and start using it right away.

What can you do with a Chromebook?

If you spend all your computer time on the internet, then the Chromebook will work for you. The device relies on cloud-based services - that is, apps on the internet - for most common computing tasks. This means, you can access all your social networks and surf the web, use Google Drive and Docs for word processing, online photo tools like Sumo Paint and Pixlr Editor for image editing, and YouTube for videos. You can carry out video chats with Google Hangouts, as well as play games such as Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, even a 3D first-person shooter like Quake that's customised for Chrome.

When it comes to storage, the Chromebook is equipped with a 16GB, or a 32GB solid state drive (SSD) because it relies heavily on virtual storage available on Google Drive. Of course, you can use other cloud-based storage services like Dropbox.

Ah yes, you can also create multiple profiles for different users on a single device.

What can't you do with it?

You can't use software that runs on the Windows platform. This means no alternative web browser like Firefox; no VLC Player, WinRAR, Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop. The Chromebook is not suitable for video encoding. It also doesn't work well if you are trying to create complex sales charts, and it's not the right choice if you want to play 3D games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. Given that it comes with low internal storage, a Chromebook cannot store hundreds of videos. And you obviously can't play DVDs. But if you have video files in a pen drive or external hard disk, you can play them using its built-in video player. Still, support for file formats is limited. Full HD 1080p videos in MP4 play well. But depending on resolution, MKV, FLV and WMV files may not run. Also, support for smartphones and cameras is limited and you may not be able to copy files between some of your devices and this machine.

Does it require a 24x7 internet connection to work?

No. A Chromebook can work without an internet connection. You can access your mailbox offline, and create documents using Google Drive. You can use offline apps and even play some games. In fact, there are several software that have been designed to work in offline mode with the Chrome OS. That said, without an internet connection, this device has limited utility.

Bottomline

If you are looking for a laptop that will be mostly used for web browsing, cloud apps, and social networking, then a Chromebook is a decent buy. Compared to similarlypriced laptops, these machines offer better build quality and quicker boot times. On the other hand, if you need to run a lot of intensive software, want to watch movies, or play 3D games, pick a Windows laptop.

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Smartphone Sales Accounted for 55 per cent of Overall Mobile Phone Sales in Third Quarter of 2013: Gartner

More and more end users are opting for smartphones when they go out to buy a mobile phone. The sales of smartphones accounted for 55 per cent of overall mobile phone sales in the third quarter on 2013, according to Gartner.

Worldwide smartphone sales to end users reached 250.2 million units, up 45.8 percent from the third quarter of 2012. Asia/Pacific led the growth in both markets - the smartphone segment with 77.3 percent increase and the mobile phone segment with 11.9 percent growth.

“Sales of feature phones continued to decline and the decrease was more pronounced in markets where the average selling price (ASP) for feature phones was much closer to the ASP affordable smartphones,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner.

“In markets such as China and Latin America, demand for feature phones fell significantly as users rushed to replace their old models with smartphones,” he added.

Gartner analysts said global mobile phone sales are on pace to reach 1.81 billion units in 2013, a 3.4 percent increase from 2012.

Gartner analysts said global mobile phone sales are on pace to reach 1.81 billion units in 2013, a 3.4 percent increase from 2012.

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Pros and Cons of using Linux

Just like any operating system, Linux has its pros and cons. You've heard the pros before: It's free, it's super customizable, and it helps you learn a lot more about how your computer works. There are also a ton of distros, which means you can find the perfect one for you. While some have gotten a lot easier to use in the past few years, none are foolproof. I used Linux as my primary OS on and off for a year or so, and here are some of the things I found.

Linux has some great apps, but is missing quite a few
Linux's app situation is interesting. If you're worried about not having a good image editing program, photo library, or music player, you might be surprised-Linux has some pretty great offerings (just check out our Linux App Directory if you don't believe me). Apps like digiKam compete with professional-level apps on other operating systems, and you have a lot of choices in some categories.

However, if you use services like Evernote, Wunderlist, or Spotify, you're going to have a little more trouble. Wunderlist and Spotify do have Linux versions available, but they're often a step or two behind their Windows and Mac bretheren. Evernote has no official Linux client, and the third-party client Everpad isn't really very good. If you can rely on webapps for most of your services or are willing to switch to a Linux-native app, you'll be golden-but if you really like how Evernote works, you're going to be really frustrated and disappointed with Linux's offerings.

Linux can take a lot of initial setup, especially for certain hardware
Installing Linux is pretty easy these days, but getting everything "set up" the way you like it can take a little more work, depending on your hardware, your distro, and your preferences. For example, I have a five button mouse, but by default, only the left- and right-click buttons work out of the box. For the rest, I have to install a command line program, edit a config file to map the buttons to a function that I want, and set that program to run on startup-and all that takes a little trial and error to get working properly. On Windows, it comes with software that helps me do all this in a few minutes. I've experienced similar things with video drivers, laptop touchpads, secondary hard drives, and other specialized needs that don't work out of the box.

Again, a lot of this depends on your hardware and preferences-some people may be good to go on day one, but others may spend a week just getting things working the way they want them. And the pickier you are, the more trouble you're going to have. Linux may have more customization options than other operating systems, but they aren't always easy.

Linux is less polished than more professional, established operating systems
Even the most well put-together distros have some bugs and annoyances, and in my experience, they were far more numerous than Windows or OS X. Some are fixable by the user, but will add up to even more time just "getting things working." Heck, in my 30 days of using Linux Mint earlier this year, I experienced these known and documented annoyances:

Mouse sensitivity was way too fast, even at its lowest setting

*The keyboard shortcut configuration window was broken

*I kept getting an "Unable to Mount Floppy Disk" error, when there was no floppy drive in my machine

*The sound output setting reset itself every time I rebooted, a bug that has existed since 2011

*The screen dims itself even when playing a video

Again, some of these are fixable, and some are bugs that may have already gotten fixed down the line-but for a distro that is supposed to be polished and beginner-friendly, it certainly caused a lot of headaches for me.

None of this is to say Linux is bad or that you shouldn't try it. As we've said many times, Linux has a lot of advantages-you may just need to put in a little extra work to get things up and running properly. Which apps, bugs, and frustrations you run into depend completely on your specific setup, and some may be much better off than others. But after a year or so of Linux use and multiple distros, this has been my experience.

In the end, Linux is great for a lot of things, even if you don't use it as your main OS. It's perfect for setting up a home theater PC without buying Windows, or reviving a super old machine. But if you want to really dig deeply and use it as your main operating system, just know that things are going to be a little different than Windows or OS X. For some, it's well worth the effort, but others may find that it's too much work for little payoff. The only way you can know is to try it out for yourself.

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Do you need a smartphone with 1080p display?

If 1080p in a phone sounds like a lot, that's because it is. When the first iPhone with a "retina display" came out, it packed a 3.5" screen with a resolution of 960x640, giving it 326 pixelsper inch (or ppi). Notably, when Apple increased the physical size of the iPhone to 4", it also increased the resolution to 1136x640 which is still 326ppi. In most cases, 300ppi or so exceeds what the human eye is able to distinguish at a normal viewing distance (which is what Apple's "Retina" is supposed to refer to).

A 1080p phone, on the other hand, has an insane amount of pixels in comparison. In a 5" phone, a display of 1920x1080 has a whopping density of 440ppi. If you go down to, say a 4.7" phone like the HTC One, you reach 468ppi. That's a resolution that's about 50% higher than what most human eyes can readily distinguish under normal usage. You can probably see pixels if you squint really close, but is there any real benefit to going up this high?

High resolution displays use more battery power
It's impossible to add more pixels to a device without needing power to run them. Some types of panels like AMOLED only light up pixels as they're needed, which means you can conserve some power by using darker themes, but LCD displays will light them all up no matter what, which requires more juice. Not only to physically turn them on, but it also requires battery power to run the processor harder to account for the added complexity (which we'll come back to in a bit).

Just how much extra power does it take? Well, when Apple released the 3rd generation iPad with "retina" (here defined as 264ppi), it came with a whopping 11,666 mAh battery, which was 70% larger than the battery in the previous generation. However, it still only promised the same 10 hours of use. Why? Well, it would be oversimplifying to say it's solely because of the new display, but it's also correct to say that doubling the ppi over the previous tablet (132ppi for the iPad 2) would require a significant increase in power consumption.

You can somewhat see this reflected in Android phones as well. While Android phones vary wildly in battery size, the ones that last the longest are also typically the ones with the biggest batteries. LaptopMag rated the LG G2 as the Android phone with the best battery life around. It also carries a 3,000 mAh battery. Comparatively, the Moto X has a 720p display with 2,200 mAh battery. Both phones will run a full day (and the G2 can actually run longer than that), but larger batteries don't make phones more efficient. They're more akin to Hummers with large tanks than a fuel-efficient hybrid.

High resolution displays use more processing power
While powering all those pixels will have a direct effect on battery life, they'll have to go through some processing power on the way. How much is difficult to gauge since there are so many factors that affect performance and efficiency in software. However, as one independent game developer explained to us, increasing the number of pixels in a display will always tax the GPU more:

These higher res screens tax fragment shaders (which do the processing for each pixel) on the GPU more. That means you get worse battery life for the same GPU/battery because for all applications more pixels need to be processed. It also means that in anything that actually gets near the limits of the hardware you have (primarily games), you're going to hit those limits much more quickly. Especially because, in games, the fragment shaders are, the vast majority of the time, going to be the primary bottleneck.

In most cases, we accept this trade-off because things look nicer. However, since the human eye can't tell much of a difference between a 300+ppi display and a 400+ppi display, the extra processing power needed to run those pixels is mostly wasted. Ironically, having a higher resolution display can result in worse-looking graphics purely because the GPU is wasting time on rendering more raw pixels (that you probably can't see), instead of allowing developers to use those resources on adding more elements or details (like the advanced particle systems, lighting effects, and texture mapping you see in advanced AAA games).

High resolution displays are Good for CJK characters
There are, however, a few benefits to having a high resolution display-like CJK characters. If you haven't heard of CJK characters, then this benefit doesn't apply to you. CJK stands for Chinese, Japanese, or Korean characters. Unlike the Latin-based alphabet that consists of a small collection of a couple dozen or so distinct symbols that create words based on combinations, CJK symbols can be distinct words on their own and potentially bear striking similarities to different words.

The question of whether or not super high-resolution displays actually aid in reading CJK characters is, as with anything, highly subjective. However, text is one of the first things to become illegible at low-resolutions and CJK characters are considerably more complex than Latin ones.

Keep in mind that, while it's true in an overwhelming majority of cases that a ppi exceeding 300 is overkill, it depends heavily on how good your eyesight is and how far away you view your device. You probably don't normally look at your phone three inches away from your face, but if you do, 300ppi might not be enough.

If you have a need to read text using CJK characters, your best bet is to just look at a phone with a 1080p display yourself, hold it the way you normally hold your phone, and see how it feels for you. However, if you stick with latin-based characters, it's equally likely that trying to distinguish between two screens will just result in your brain playing tricks on you.

Ultimately, your phone choice is up to you and none of them are particularly bad. However, the higher up the ppi in phones get, the more questionable the benefit is. Even if you feel a tangible benefit to a 1080p display in a 5" phone, it won't stop there. LG, for example, recently showed off a 5.5" display with a mind-boggling 538ppi. Arguments about viewing distances, special characters, and "retina" definitions aside, there's an upper limit for phone displays and we're straddling that line now. Chances are for most consumers, worrying about battery life and performance should be a much higher priority.

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5 hot Google Chrome apps

Even without a Chromebook , you can still try out some fantastic web apps if you have Google Chrome installed on your machine. Whoever said a browser is only good for surfing the web, didn't hear of the Chrome Web Store... Head to google.com/chrome to download and set up the Chrome browser. Once installed, visit the Chrome Web Store at chrome.google.com/webstore and search the app (by the name in bold). Click, and download.

Quake The game's premise is simple: you're armed with some really big guns, and you have to run like crazy in a dungeon-like setting, pulverizing monsters before they pulverize you. Strictly Darwinian - it's all about the 'survival of the fittest.' If you haven't played Quake yet, in Chrome, you can. Load times are minimal, there's a lot of action, and it can be played offline. It even includes support for a gamepad, freeing you from the keyboard. Run!

Until AM
Itching to scratch some vinyl? Download Until AM and turn Chrome into a DJ console. The dashboard lets you load tracks on its virtual turntables from SoundCloud and your Google Drive account. You can also use Until AM offline, adding songs from your PC. Cross-fade from one track into the next, tweak the tempo, change the pitch, and create your own groove. Mix it, beat master!

piZap Photo Editor piZap Photo Editor is your digital fairness cream, teeth whitener and shine shampoo. This photo 'rejuvenator' is a simple, but useful tool that lets you create some awesome Facebook cover photos and Twitter header cover shots. You can upload pictures or import from Picasa, Instagram , Facebook and Flickr. Add stickers, paint over the photo, or create a meme. The edited image can be downloaded or shared directly on your social networks.

Little Alchemy So you're not the great Wizard Merlin, but you can still put your powers to the test with Little Alchemy. You start with the basics of nature - fire, water, air, earth - and you are entrusted with the job of conjuring up to as many as 430 new elements. At first, it's really simple: fire and water give you steam; water and earth creates mud, but as you proceed your true 'metal' will be tested. Take help from the random hints and click on objects to drill down to their original composition. In the end, there's just one question. Can you create gold?

365Scores If you're a 'born spectator', with 365Scores, you can keep tabs on your favourite sport - football, tennis, basketball, volleyball and hockey - while you are at work, or stalking somebody's timeline. It's your go-to app for team standings, news and videos, and also a "Who will win" polling section that displays what fellow users think about your team's chances. You can catch up on highlights and commentary in the video section, dive into a game result for a quick stat check or click on "All Scores" to skim through results.

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iPhone 5S, 5C now free in India on two-year contract

Reliance Communications (RCom) has said consumers can own the 16GB models of iPhone 5S and 5C by paying Rs 2,999 and Rs 2,599 per month, respectively, for 2 years.

The firm said that no down payment is required to purchase Apple's new phones.

"The company has announced two game-changing offers, just Rs 2,599 per month for theiPhone 5c and Rs 2,999 per month for iPhone 5S, both for a duration of 24 months, which include handset cost, unlimited local and STD calls, SMS, national roaming and 3G data," RCom said in a statement.

It added that users will not receive any usage bill for 24 months, as the monthly payments includeusageges.

Customers would be required to pay additionally for international calls and international roaming, RCom said.

RCom has also tied-up with credit card providers for its latest offering.

The company said the offer is part of its efforts to bring more smartphone users to its 3G network, which will increase postpaid customers to its customer base and further cement its position as a data services provider.

Customers can buy the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C at any Reliance outlets in the company's 13 3G circles, it said.

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4 ways to better use your smartphone camera

How often do you use your smartphone camera? With every new model that comes out, it seemscamera quality is often a huge selling point. But do you take advantage of those advancements? There are a lot of neat uses for that camera you carry around everywhere regardless of whether it's the latest and greatest or three years old.

Personally, I use my smartphone camera maybe once or twice a year. It's pretty sad and a waste of potential, so I've been interested in figuring out how to make better use of it. If you're in the same boat as me, you may be surprised to find out that your smartphone camera is great for more than just family photos and Instagram filters.

Makeshift scanner

Based on what I've seen, scanners have started disappearinghomes. The only scanners I've seen are the printer-fax-scanner all-in-one machines for home offices which are bulky and eat up space. What if you don't have a scanner and want to scan a document? Nowadays, your phone camera is good enough to do that for free.

With appsCamScanner (Android, our review), Document Scanner (Android), and Genius Scan (iPhone), you can take photos of various documents and images and instantly transform them into PDFs that are ready for office consumption. In most cases, the final document quality is on par or better than home office scanners.

Makeshift webcam or security cam

Nowadays, most laptops and netbooks come with integrated webcams and some monitors even have webcam capabilities. However, if you don't have a webcam, you can buy a passable one these days for less than $20 if you look in the right places - or you can just hook up your smartphone and use its camera instead.

There are a lot of smartphone-as-webcam apps out there, both for Android and iPhone, and the level of setup difficulty varies depending on which app you use. However, on the whole, it's pretty simple. Use your Android as a webcam or use your iPhone as a webcam, then tell us how it went and how youit!

By using your smartphone as a webcam, you could even turn it into a security cam. This can be useful in a number of situations, whether it's to watch for night intruders at home, keep tabs on your children as they sleep, or just as an extra set of eyes for various corridors at work.

Proof and documentation

Many of us probably know that camera photos can be useful as evidence when something goes wrong, but how many of us actually use our smartphones for that purpose? The most common example that I've heard is in the case of a car accident (snap photos of the damage and the offender's license plate), but this could be applied in so many other ways.

For example, if you frequently sell items online, snap photos of the product just before shipping so you have evidence. Not only does this protect you against a buyer's retaliation, it can be used as proof against the shipping company.

If you ever rent something, snap photos of any potentially incriminating marks, dents, and damages, no matter how insignificant they may seem. If you document the state of your rental at the start of your renting agreement, you can protect yourself against those who want to pull a fast one on you. This is applicable for vehicles, apartments, etc.

For more personal examples, you could use smartphone photos to document any disassembly you do. When you take apart an electronic or mechanical device for the first time, these photos could prove invaluable when it's time to put things back together.

And then there's price matching. If you visit a store with a robust price matching policy, you may be able to present photos of a cheaper priceanother store and get them to match.

Memory aid

Photos were originally meant to capture a moment in time as a memory, so why not use your smartphone camera to help you remember mundane details that you might normally forget? Doing so might reduce the amount of inconvenience in your life.

Before you leave on an extended trip, take a photo ofof your luggage and everything inside each bag or case. At the end of your trip, review these photos to make sure you have everything and aren't forgetting anything. Quick and easy, isn't it?

Similarly, if you park in a multi-story parking garage, you could snap a photo of location signs to help you rememberyou parked your car. No matter how good your memory is, there are times when you'll blank and forgetyou parked. Save time and energy with a photo.

"Are you taking any medication?" You'll hear this a lot when filling out medical forms or whenever you go in for a hospital checkup, but sometimes it can be hard to remember everything you're on. Take a picture of your medicine cabinet so you can pull it out whenever you need to know. Who knows, it may even save your life one day.

Conclusion

There is nothing wrong with taking photos of a family event or your latest trip to the beach, but your smartphone can be used for so much more than that. A few creative applications can turn your smartphone cameraan afterthought into a tool that makes your life easier - even the old spare smartphones that seem useless.

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How to get free OS X Mavericks

Apple really outdid itself this time. The words "software sells hardware" never rung more true, and now that OS X Mavericks is free to all, isn't it about time you got on-board? Absolutely. There's a lot to love about OS X Mavericks, and much of the improvements aren't visible until you've actually installed the free upgrade.

If you put off installing Mountain Lion then you'll be even more amazed, so let's take a look at the how and why regarding Apple's 10.9 announcement.

Can I run it?

Before jumping in and gettingexcited about a free upgrade, it's useful to know that your Mac is compatible with OS X Mavericks. As a general rule of thumb,Macs that are compatible with its predecessor OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion can install the upgrade. So, if you're running Mountain Lion you can go ahead and download the upgrade.

If you've held off on paying for Mountain Lion, happy instead with Lion or even Snow Leopard, then you'll need a Mac that fits the following requirements: iMac (mid 2007 or newer)Original MacBook(Late 2008 aluminum and early 2009 or newer)MacBook Pro (late 2007 or newer) MacBook Air (late 2008 or newer)Mac Mini (early 2009 or newer)Mac Pro (early 2008 or newer)If you've got an old Mac but you're not sure exactly how old it is, you can find out by clicking the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen, choosing About This Mac and in the window that appears More Info.... The window that appears reveals the model (in bold, at the top) as well as the year of manufacture and your basic hardware specifications too.

The Mac in question must also be running OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard or later. If you have an earlier version of OS X but are also running a Mac listed as compatible on the list above, you can still buy a copy of Snow LeopardApple for $19.99.In order to install the new operating system your Mac must have at least 2GB of RAM and 8GB of free hard drive space, in addition to the space you'll need for the 5.29GB installer file.

Sodo I get it?

The new upgrade must be downloadedthe Mac App Store, hence the reliance on having an up-to-date copy of OS X Snow Leopard installed. When you're ready to download, click here and open the link in the Mac App Store. You are also bound to find the upgrade at the top of the screen on the Featured tab for many months yet, as people adopt the new software.

You'll need to input your Apple ID password, as ever, to authorise the download. Once the download is complete you'll find the installer in your Applications folder, under the name OS X Mavericks Installer. Run it, follow the instructions and you'll be running brand-spanking-new software in no time.

What's so great about it?

OS X Mavericks isn't exactly loaded with brand new features, but that's what many Mac users have come to expectyearly updates. It also doesn't pack a brand new look and feel, a la iOS 7. What it does contain are a handful of new features, number of long-awaited tweaks to existing elements, and a lot of under the hood work.

One of the most important changes is to Finder, the somewhat antiquated file browser. At long last Apple has introduced Finder tabs, negating the need to have 10 Finder windows open; keeping everything neat and organised. Multiple-monitor support has been bolstered, an area many have felt that Apple has neglected since the introduction of full-screen apps.

For the first time the Mac gets its own version of iOS favourites iBooks and Maps. iBooks allows you to keep your reading materials synced between your Apple devices thanks to the magic of iCloud. You can also use it to read stuff too, if you want. Maps takes full advantage of the power of your Mac with 3D flyovers and the ability to plan a route then send directions to your iOS device straightthe desktop.

I've not yet extensively tested performance, but initial findings and user reviews suggest that the work Apple has performed under the hood improves the OS X user experience considerably. My mid-2012 Retina MacBook Pro feels slightly quicker and more responsive, and this seems to be mirrored across the board among many Mac users. These benefits might be even more pronounced on less-able and older machines, as Apple's 10.8.3 and 10.8.4 updates to OS X Mountain Lion quelled many of my initial woes relating to performance.

One of the most understated benefits of OS X Mavericks is that it is an upgrade you're probably going to want, particularly if you've put off upgrading last time round. Those of you still running Lion or Snow Leopard will gain featuresiMessage compatibility through the new Messages app, proper notifications with Notification Centre support, AirPlay mirroring and iCloud integration. There really hasn't been a better time to own a Mac.

The future is free

This is the first time Apple has delivered a free OS X upgrade to Mac owners, and it's quite indicative of a pattern many have noticed for a number of years now. The lines between iOS and OS X continue to blur, as OS X undergoes somewhat of an "iOSification" with featurestheMac App Store and Gatekeeper yielding mixed results among die-hard power users. Don't panic: Apple are fully aware that computers are computers, and it's very unlikely that they'll cripple their premium desktop hardware with mobile software.

The flip-side is that as a Mac owner, it's likely that the next few versions of OS X (and quite possibly its successor, whatever that may be) will also follow this model. Apple has adopted this stance with iOS, delivering free updates to a healthy back-catalogue of devices since iOS existed; and it would be difficult for the company to back-out of this policy without treading on toes now.

Linux users may be fast to point out that their operating systems have been freealong, but this is somewhat of a moot point. Mac OS X is a tailored experience for a relatively small set of computers. Going free is a way for Apple to sell even more hardware, and it's a policy that is bound to have Microsoft feeling a little vulnerable since they still primarily rely on licensing for their income. Instead, Cupertino has leveraged their ability to maintain healthy profits on desirable computers and app sales, a tactic which is clearly working.

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How Amazon is trying to lure Indians online

Free shipping on a Rs 100 book. Delivery times guaranteed to the minute.

These are some of the incentives the world's biggest online retailer Amazon.com is using to entice Indians to shop on the web, a sectorgrowth has been stifled by payment problems, low internet usage and a challenging logistics environment.

Amazon's investors are counting on its international business and expansion to help drive growth and support its $165 billion market value, one of the highest among US firms.

India is Amazon's third emerging market investment after Brazil and China, and one vice president and country manager Amit Agarwal said would take time to pay off.

Most Indians do not own a credit card, and less than half the 152 million internet users have shopped online. Then there are the bad roads, the snarled bureaucracy and the petty bribery that greases business.

The potential, however, is vast.

Online retail sales in India are forecast to grow more than a hundred-fold to $76 billion by 2021just $600 million at the end of 2012, retail consultants Technopak said. E-tail sales in China, by comparison, are expected to grow to $650 billion by 2020around $200 billion in 2012, consultants McKinsey predict.

"A lot of invention is required to capture the potential of this market and our focus is to build this," said Agarwal, who returned to India to head Amazon's business after 14 years with the company in the United States.

"We are going through a lot of trial-and-error to fix problems on the ground," he told Reuters at Amazon's India office in the technology hub of Bangalore.

Convicing Indians to click
Indians, on average, spend between $24 and $35 per online transaction, a figure dwarfed by the $150-$160 spent by US shoppers online per transaction, according to dataUS based analysts comScore and Retail Decisions.

Agarwal spent two years advising Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos at the company's Seattle headquarters, and believes Amazon's long-term strategy will work in Indiait did in the United States,the company ran up losses for years.

"Right now we are focused on giving customers great service and making sure they shop more," he added, sitting behind a large desk that he brought back with himSeattle.

Amazon's biggest local rival is Flipkart, set up by two ex-Amazon employees in 2007 and which has yet to turn a profit.

Since July, Flipkart has raised $360 millioninvestors that include South Africa's Naspers. It said it aims to have $1 billion in sales by 2015.

Agarwal would not give any forecasts or figures, but said Amazon's investments in India have a 7- to 10-year horizon.

He said Amazon was building its own logistics network, which it can leverage when the rules change and it can sell directly to consumers. Indian regulations now prevent international e-tailersmaking direct sales.

Made for India
Amazon's initial entry into India was through the 2012 launch of Junglee.com, a price comparison site that gave it insight on what consumers want to buy and are willing to pay.

Amazon's India website, set up in June, is currently a market place for other vendors, in line with regulations.

Amazon is working with these local vendors to ensure goods are packaged properly to speed up delivery, Agarwal said. It is also training local couriers to make good on its promised delivery times in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.

"We receive itemssellers inkinds of situations. Most of them are not packed properly, stickered properly and that increases the delivery time," Agarwal said.

"Even if you go to really large sellers they don't know how to describe their item because they have never had to have a digital catalogue."

An unstable internet banking system means online payments often fail, frustrating buyers and leading to abandoned purchases. Agarwal said Amazon uses a made-for-India system that keeps orders active and allows the customer to try again. The option of cash on delivery is also offered.

To avoid shipments getting stuck at toll booths or held up by police demanding bribes, Amazon getsthe permissions and documents required, as well as extra permits, just in case.

"We are not cutting corners. It is taking a longer time to build things but compliance is important and that takes care of blockages on the road to a large extent," Agarwal added.

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Google+ adds location widget for tracking of contacts

Google+ has recently added a location widget to its new 4.2 version that makes tracing friends and relatives quick and convenient.

This widget is a lot faster than navigating through the Google+ app, which involved a fussy, long process before you could find the person whose location you want to see, Cnetreports.

According to the report, users can now useHome Screens of their mobiles to get to the appconveniently and directly tap on the map for the person they want to locate.

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Updated: Android 5.0 release date, news and rumors

Android 5.0 news and rumors

Google's showing no signs of slowing its pace of Android development, with Android 4.0 appearing on the Galaxy Nexus late in 2011, followed by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean release that arrived powering the super Nexus 7 in July of 2012.
Two more flavors of Jelly Bean were to follow: Android 4.2 was released on 13 November 2012, and then Android 4.3 arrived on 24 July 2013.
Then on 31 October 2013, Google officially revealed its next minor update, Android 4.4 KitKat, which now clears the road for Android 5.

Cut to the chase
What is it? The next major upgrade for Android, to follow onAndroid 4.4
When is it out? We're thinking mid-2014
What will it cost? Nothing, it'll be a free upgrade

The dessert-themed code name that we assume will begin with L is anyone's guess at this stage. Android 5.0 Lemon Cheesecake or Android 5.0 Lemon Meringue Pie, anyone?
As we wait on official news of that name, as well as the Android 5.0 release date and features, we can start to pull together the latest rumorsaround the web.

Android 5.0 release date

Until Android 4.4 was announced we had expected the Android 5.0 release date to be some time in October 2013. We instead saw Android 4.4 KitKat launch on 31 October and in the face of that point release, we think it's now likely that we'll see Android 5.0 shown in mid-2014, quite possibly at Google IO, Google's annual two-day developer conference in San Francisco.
That's a year onwhen we had originally expected to see Android 5.0, which was at Google IO 2013, which took placeMay 15 to May 17 2013. Given that Google announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at 2012's IO conference, it seemed reasonable to expect to see Android 5.0 at the 2013 event.
But on 13 May 2013, we got our confirmation that there would be no serving of Android 5 at Google IOSundar Pichai, Google's new head of Android. Pichai told Wired that 2013's IO is "not a time when we have much in the way of launches of new products or a new operating system". Boo! "Both on Android and Chrome, we're going to focus this IO onthe kinds of things we're doing for developers so that they can write better things," he added.

Android 5.0 phones

Rumors of a new Nexus handset started trickling in during the third quarter of 2012, as we reported on 1 October 2012. There was talk that this phone would be sporting Android 5.0 but the handset, which turned out to be the Google Nexus 4, arrived running Android Jelly Bean.
While the Nexus 4 didn't appear with Android 5.0, speculation that we reported on 21 January 2013 suggested that the Motorola X was the Android 5.0-toting handset that would be revealed at Google IO. The Moto X wasn't on show at IO and instead appeared in August 2013, running Android 4.2.2.
We also heard whispers that a new Nexus phone - the Google Nexus 5 - might be blessed with Android 5.0 but when Google officially announced the new handset, it was confirmed that it would arrive sporting Android 4.4 KitKat.

And if rumors that we covered on 30 May were correct, then HTC would have brought us an Android 5.0-powered 'phablet' in the form of the HTC T6. But that device launched in October 2103 as the Android 4.3-powered HTC One Max.

Android 5.0 tablets

The original Nexus 7 tablet was unveiled at Google IO 2012, so we thought it possible that we'd see a refreshed Nexus 7 2 at Google IO 2013. The speculation earlier in the year was that Google would team up with Asus for this, as it did with the original Nexus 7. We expected an upgraded display on the new Nexus 7 tablet, while Digitimes reported that the 2nd generation Nexus 7 would have 3G service and range in price$149 to $199.
The new Nexus 7 was a no-show at IO, but the Asus-built device was later launched by Google on 24 July 2013, albeit running Android 4.3 rather than 5.

Samsung's Android 5.0 upgrades

Although Samsung is yet to officially confirm its Android 5.0 schedule, a SamMobile source is claiming to know which phones and tablets will be getting the upgrade. According to the source, the devices set to receive the upgrade are the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 8.0 and Galaxy Note 10.1. Do note that this claim was made before Google announced Android 4.4, so if it was ever correct, it's probably a lot less correct now.

Android 5.0 features

For 24 hours, it seemed as though the first kinda, sorta confirmed feature for Android 5.0 was a Google Now widget, which briefly appeared in a screenshot on the company's support forum before being taken down. As it was so hurriedly pulled, many people assumed it was slated for the big five-o and accidentally revealed early.
As it happened, the following day, on 13 February 2013, the Google Now widget rolled out to Jelly Bean.
On 28 February 2013, we learnedAndroid Central that Google is working with the Linux 3.8 kernel, which gave rise to the notion that this kernel might power Android 5. One improvement that the 3.8 kernel brings is lowered RAM usage, which would mean a snappier phone with better multitasking.
On 13 June 2013, VR-Zone also claimed that Android 5.0 will be optimised to run on devices with as little as 512MB of RAM.
We're now expecting that Linux 3.8 kernel to show up in Android 4.4, given that Google's stated aim with KitKat is "to make an amazing Android experience available for everybody".
Android Geeks reported that Google Babble would debut on Android 5.0. Babble was the code name for Google's cross-platform service and app with the aim of unifying its various chat services which include Talk, Hangout, Voice, Messenger, Chat for Google Drive and Chat on Google+.
A screenshot that we were senta Google employee on 8 April confirmed that not only was this unified chat service on the way, but that it was called Google Babel not Babble. The service was to come with a bunch of new emoticons and Google+ built-in so you can jumpBabel chat to hangout. A leaked Google memo on 10 April provided a few more juicy details including talk of a new UI and synced conversations between mobile and desktop.

On 10 May, we discovered that Babel would launch as Google Hangouts, and on 15 May we saw it come to life for devices running Android 2.3 and up. So much for it debuting on Android 5.
Following an 18 April tear-down of the Google Glass app MyGlass by Android Police, it looked as though there may be an iOS Games Center-like service coming to Android 5.0.
Android Police found references in the code to functionality that doesn't exist in Glass, which suggested that developers accidentally shipped the full suite of Google Play Services with the Android application package.
The files in the package contained references to real-time and turn-based multiplayer, in-game chat, achievements, leaderboards, invitations and game lobbies.
As expected, we found out more about Google Play Games at Google I/O, but it's not an Android 5.0 feature afteras it has been made available already.

Android 5.0 interface

While this is pure speculation, we're wondering whether Android 5.0 might bring with it a brighter interface, moving awaythe Holo Dark theme that came with Android 4.0.
Google Now brought with it a clearer look with cleaner fonts, and screenshots of Google Play 4.0 show Google's app market taking on similar design cues. Is this a hint at a brighter, airier look for Key Lime Pie?

On 6 August 2013, we learned that Google had applied to patent a rather cool piece of functionality whereby an Android user would be able to launch different apps by drawing different patterns on the lock screen.
If this feature makes it into Android 5, we could be able to launch the camera app by drawing one pattern and Twitter by drawing another.

Our Android 5.0 wishlist

While we wait on more Android 5 features to be revealed and scour the web for more Android 5.0 news, TechRadar writer Gary Cutlack has been thinking about what we want to see in Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. Hopefully the new mobile OS will feature some of these things...

1. Performance Profiles

It's bit of a fuss managing your mobile before bed time. Switching off the sound, turning off data, activating airplane mode and so on, so what Android 5.0 really needs is a simple way of managing performance, and therefore power use, automatically.
We've been given a taste of this with Blocking Mode in Samsung's Jelly Bean update on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Note 2 but we'dto see the functionality expanded.
Somethinga Gaming mode for max power delivery, an Overnight low-power state for slumbering on minimal power and maybe a Reading mode for no bothersome data connections and a super-low backlight.
Some hardware makers put their own little automated tools in, such as the excellent Smart Actions found within Motorola's RAZR interface, but it'd be great to see Google give us a simple way to manage states.
Another little power strip style widget for phone performance profiles would be an easy way to do it.

2. Better multiple device support

Google already does quite a good job of supporting serious Android nerds who own several phones and tablets, but there are some holes in its coverage that are rather frustrating.
Take the Videos app which manages your film downloads through the Play Store. Start watching a film on one Android device and you're limited to resuming your film session on that same unit, making it impossible to switchphone to tablet mid-film.
You can switch between phone and web site players to resume watching, but surely Google ought to understand its fans often have a couple of phones and tabs on the go and fix this for Android Key Lime Pie?

3. Enhanced social network support

Android doesn't really do much for social network users out of the box, with most of the fancy social widgets and features comingthe hardware makers through their own custom skins.
Sony integrates Facebook brilliantly in its phones, and even LG makes a great social network aggregator widget that incorporates Facebook and Twitter - so why are there no cool aggregator apps as part of the standard Android setup?
Yes, Google does a great job of pushing Google+, but, no offence, there are many other more widely used networks that ought to be a little better "baked in" to Android.

4. Line-drawing keyboard options

Another areathe manufacturers have taken a big leap ahead of Google is in integrating clever alternate text entry options in their keyboards. HTC and Sony both offer their own takes on the Swype style of line-drawing text input, which is a nice option to have for getting your words onto a telephone. Get it into Android 5.0 and give us the choice.
UPDATE: Google heard us and this feature appeared in Android 4.2.

5. A video chat app

How odd is it that Google's put a front-facing camera on the Nexus 7 and most hardware manufacturers do the same on their phones and tablets, yet most ship without any form of common video chat app?
You have to download Skype and hope it works, or find some other downloadable app solution. Why isn't there a Google Live See My Face Chat app of some sort as part of Android? Is it because we're too ugly? Is that what you're saying, Google?

6. Multi-in the contacts

The Android contacts section is pretty useful, but it could be managed a little better. What if you have the idea of emailing or texting a handful of your friends? The way that's currently done is by emailing one, then adding the rest individually. Some sort of checkbox system that let users scroll through names and create a mailing list on the fly through the contacts listing in Android Key Lime Pie would make this much easier.

7. Cross-device SMS sync

If you're a constant SIM swapper with more than one phone on the go, chances are you've lost track of your text messages at some point. Google stores these on the phone rather than the SIM card, so it'd be nice if our texts could be either backed up to the SIM, the SD card, or beamed up to the magical invisible cloud of data, for easy and consistent access across multiple devices.

8. A "Never Update" option

This would annoy developers so is unlikely to happen, but it'd be nice if we could refuse app updates permanently in Android 5.0, just in case we'd rather stick with a current version of a tool than be forced to upgrade.
Sure, you can set apps to manual update and then just ignore the update prompt forever, but it'd be nice to know we can keep a favoured version of an app without accidentally updating it. Some of us are still using the beta Times app, for example, which has given free access for a year.

9. App preview/freebie codes

Something Apple's been doing for ages and ages is using a promo code system to distribute free or review versions of apps. It even makes doing little competitions to drum up publicity for apps much easier, so why's there no similar scheme for Android?
It might encourage developers to stop going down the ad-covered/freemium route if they couldge for an app but still give it away to friends and fans through a promo code system.

10. Final whinges and requests...

It's be nice to be able to sort the Settings screen by alphabetical order, too, or by most commonly used or personal preference, as Android's so packed with a huge list of options these days it's a big old list to scroll through and pick out what you need.
Plus could we have a percentage count for the battery in the Notifications bar for Android 5.0? Just so we know a bit more info than the vague emptying battery icon.

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